Mrs. Darwin
Black Butler: The Adventure of Sukai Mori
"It's time to wake up, my lady"
I opened my eyes to see my butler, Sebastian gently shaking my shoulder.
"Oh... Good morning Sebastian," I greeted as I sat up rubbing my sleepy eyes.
He grinned as he poured a glass of water.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, handing me the glass.
"Yes, I did. Thank you," I replied and gulped the water down.
"It's my pleasure."
I waited for him to exit the room so I could change... Only he stood there.
"Um... Sebastian... I need to change," I informed.
"Oh, I apologize," he said in a sincere manner and he left the room.
Later, June entered.
"Good morning, Sukai," she greeted, but in a more casual manner. Unlike Sebastian, June has been with me for as long as I can remember to the point where we are in fact very good friends.
"Good day to you, June."
She helped me remove my night gown and put on my outfit.
"You look lovely in that dress!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you June."
"You're welcome. Now it is best for you to go eat your breakfast this moment! It is unhealthy to skip meals!"
She's very naggy, but that's one of the good things about her.
I walk down the stairs to have Yuri bow and greet me.
"Good morning, Ms. Mori! Sebastian asked for me to inform you about today's meal," she began.
"Gosh Yuri! You don't have to speak so formally you know... We're friends after all aren't we?"
"Yes but I am still your servant so I must serve you in a polite manner. But lets put that aside. Today's breakfast is 'Le Bon Vivant Cote Nord'".
"I see. Thank you very much for telling me that. You may go now."
"Yes, Ms."
And she bowed and left.
Then Jin came running to me.
"Sukai!! Sukai!! I finally finished t the bushes!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes!"
"In that case, I will look but after my breakfast."
"Great!"
And she ran away to God knows where.
I sat in the dining room waiting patiently for my meal. In no doubt, Sebastian arrived with it.
As soon he set the plate on my table, he served the tea.
I took a sniff of it. Earl Gray, my favourite. I love the smell of it. It somehow creates a light aura... And I think Sebastian knows because he always serves me it.
"Is the tea and breakfast alright?"
I took a bite of the hasbrown and eggs and I must say it was very good... And the tea was perfectly well brewed as always.
"Yes," I replied.
"Very well then. I will be here whenever you need assistance."
"Alright."
And he left the dining table.
Life in the mansion used to be lonely until these four came along. Yuri, Jin, and June were my childhood friends from Hokkaido and did not reside here until the Great Fire which destroyed the majority of houses there so I decided to invite them to my mansion. They felt too guilty having me provide them without any cost so they begged for me to let them be my maids. As for Sebastian... That is a secret.
...
...
...
Ok fine I will tell you. The truth is, me and Sebastian have a contract. He is suppose to help me avenge my parents in return of marriage so I guess you can say he is my fiancé... But only because of the contract. I honestly feel hesitant about it. I understand Sebastian can do just about anything, but he is a demon! If he succeeds in helping me, I will have to become a demon AND marry him...
"Are you done with your breakfast?"
Sebastian stood beside me waiting for my answer so he would know to take the dishes or not.
I glanced at my plate. I had just a little bit of food left.
"Let me take a bite before you take the plate."
I don't like wasting food. I feel guilty thinking about all the kids who starve on the streets so that's why I always finish whatever is given to me whether I like it or not.
"Thank you my lady," Sebastian said as he took the plate.
"Also, you missed a phone call while you were asleep. It was from the police department," he added.
Now this is the part where I talk about myself. You should know by now that my name is Sukai Mori. I am a crime investigator even though I am only 16. It's a pretty stressful job but I manage to get through it. Ok now back to what I was originally talking about...
I went to my office and dialed the number that belonged to the Police Department.
...
...
...
"This is the London Police Department. May I help you?"
"This is Sukai Mori. Someone had called me earlier this morning however I was not available at that time. Is there any business to be taken care of?"
"Oh! Ms. Mori! Mr. Jones called you to inform you about the new case regarding Mrs. Darwin. He would like you to come to the department to receive information about this matter."
"I see. I will arrive there shortly. Goodbye."
"Have a nice day Ms."
I put the phone down and wore my coat.
"SEBASTIAN!" I yelled, "We're going to the police department!"
"Yes, my lord."
Then we head out to go there.
"Well hello there Ms. Mori!" Mr. Jones greeted when I got there.
"Good morning sir! I came here for information about the new case."
"Oh yes! Here is the envelope where everything is covered. Now I'm quite busy so if you could excuse me, I shall be going now. Goodbye!"
I took the envelope from his hands and waved as I left the police department. At the mansion, I immediately took out the contents of the envelope and read them.
"Mrs. Darwin is suspected to be the cause of the murder of 3 children. She has been widowed for 3 years and had to raise the children alone. She has said to have been shopping at the scene of the crime though that has not been proven evident. The children were found dead at her house around 4am."
I scratched my chin. It was strange to me that a woman would kill her own children.
"Shall we investigate this further after lunch, Ms.?" Sebastian asked.
I nodded, "We need to investigate it further at the location where the crime was committed."
"Very well then."
After lunch, Sebastian and I once again head out to investigate the crime.
When we arrived there, there was a huge crowd and the police trying to investigate the crime.
"Excuse me," I said approaching an officer, "I'm here to investigate this."
Apparently, the officer looked at me is if I were crazy. The majority of them already knew who I was by now.
"You? A girl? Look little lady. We have no time for your little games," he said exasperatedly and tried to shove me but Sebastian stopped him and showed him my ID.
"She may be seem to be a fragile lady, but she is an officer no doubt," Sebastian proclaimed in a charming manner and tone of voice.
The officer gaped at us as he hesitantly made way for us into the house.
"That's impossible!" he yelled behind and I just rolled my eyes.
The inside of the house was eerie. Perhaps it was because of the murder, but it was so dark and cold that it made me think ghosts resided here... And I hate ghosts.
"Don't worry Ms. I doubt there are any ghosts here at this moment," Sebastian replied almost instantly as if he had been reading my mind.
"Oh," I mumbled and continued to look around the house for clues.
We searched all the rooms and dug through drawers and cabinets but we did not find anything special like a diary or something.
"We'll go ask some of the witnesses," I suggested.
When we came out, everyone in the crowd made room for us to walk through. The first stop was at the house on the right.
Sebastian knocked the door for me and when it opened, a plump lady opened it.
"May I help you?" she said, quivering as she said the words.
"I am from the police department. I would like to ask you a few questions regarding the murder of the Darwin children."
As soon as she heard that, she shut the door.
"Odd," I mumbled.
"It seems so my lady," Sebastian agreed.
"Let's go somewhere else."
We went around the whole neighborhood but they all shut the door on us whenever we mentioned the Darwin kids.
"Why won't anyone cooperate?!" I grunted in frustration.
"It seems like they may have been told not to say anything about the matter."
I shrugged, " I guess we'll just have to figure out."
Just then, I spotted a creaky, old house. "Hey Sebastian... Did we check that house yet?"
No answer.
"Sebastian?!??"
I looked behind to see Sebastian staring at a fluffy white cat.
"SEBASTIAN!! FOCUS!!!"
He turned around, "Oh I apologize..."
I pointed at the house.
"It seems we have not checked with that house."
So we knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" a scratchy voice asked.
"I'm from the police department! I would like to ask you a few questions regarding Mrs. Darwin."
"About Julia?"
The door opened and a very old woman opened it.
"What would you like to ask?"
I was surprised. She must have been a friend.
"A couple of questions. It may be time consuming but I hope you will be eager to answer them all."
"I see. Come in."
I'll admit that although the outside view of the house was unpleasant, the inside was rather special. The walls were covered with bright paintings that has some sort of symbol on them (http://www.3dm3.com/tutorials/tribal_logos/tribal_logo_2.jpg), probably a trademark to represent the woman's paintings.
She ushered us in the living room and offered me and Sebastian some tea however we kindly declined since we already had some earlier.
She then sat down with us.
"So what did you need to talk with me about?"
"Well... First of all what is your relationship with Mrs. Darwin?"
"Before I can answer that, pay up."
"Um, excuse me?"
"Pay up. I'm the only one here who can answer your questions so give me some money."
I rolled my eyes, "How much?"
"A lot."
I buried my face in my hands, "Sebastian... Give her some money."
He gave her a stack of about £15.
She grinned as she clutched the bag, "Ok I shall tell you all you need to know. Julia has been my friend for many many years. We practically got married at the same time."
"She's your friend?"
"I am not as old as you think."
"Um alright. Was she happy even though she lost her husband?"
"I will tell you for £5."
"More money?"
"Yes. Now pay up!"
I snapped my fingers to prompt Sebastian.
"She was upset but she knew that her children were in her hands so she raised them all alone for 7 years so I can not see how she could possibly kill them as she loved them so."
"Hmm. I see... Where was she at the scene of the crime."
This time, Sebastian took out the £5 on his own but the lady shook her head, "For that.. I will need £30."
He dug into the bag of money but we had run out of money already.
"So you have run out of money eh?" the old lady said almost excitedly, "I guess I won't be answering anymore questions.
She practically shoved us out of the door, "Run along now! I need to work!" and she shut the door.
Sebastian and I exchanged glances, then went back home.
Nothing special happened. I just went back to sleep after dinner and yeah...
But the next day, I decided to go to the police department to talk to Mrs. Darwin.
When I went inside the dungeon, I could barely see anything. Sebastian had go guide me to her cell. When I had finally gotten there, she was a wreck. Her hair was frizzy and very unkempt and her clothes were tattered.
"W-Who are you?" she said in a way that made it seem as if she had not drank water in a long time.
"I'm investigating the case you were thrown in here for. May I ask you some questions."
"Please do."
I took out my notepad and set myself in the writing position.
"How old were your children?"
"The oldest was 16, the middle 12, and the youngest 5."
"Do you have anyone who dislikes you?"
"As far as I know, no one has ever seemed to dislike me."
"What about your children?"
"They have stayed inside the house for as long as I can remember."
"I see. Do you have any relatives residing here?"
"All of them are in Italy... But I have a friend if that information is of any use to you."
I paused as I thought about the old lady. Compared to Mrs. Darwin, she looked as if she were her mother.
"Alright. Thank you very much M'am. I will be going now."
And I left the dungeon. I honestly doubted that she really was the murderer by how weak she looked... But looks can be deceiving.
"My lady, shouldn't you ask for any weapon that was used in the murder?" Sebastian asked me.
I face palmed. I can't believe I had forgotten to ask for it.
"Mr. Jones!" I called out as I opened the door to his office.
"We meet again Ms. Mori. What may I help you with."
"I would like to ask if there was a weapon that was used in the crime."
"No weapon was found however this was dropped."
He opened his desk drawer and handed me a ring with a big diamond in the center.
"Alright. Thank you very much. I will see you later."
"Goodbye."
When I got home, I examined the ring. It was not a fake one for sure. But who did it belong to? The case was beginning to stress me out already. I barely had any clues.
Knock knock.
"Come in," I said.
Sebastian came in, "How is the case so far my lady?"
"We barely have any clues. I'm already stressed out," I moaned.
"Don't worry. It has only been 2 days since it had been assigned."
"But the execution is in about 4 days. I have a feeling Mrs. Darwin is not the culprit though and it's odd that I barely have any clues to the case."
"Don't put pressure on yourself. I assure you that it will be alright. It takes time and patience to resolve a case."
And with that, he patted my head and left.
He was right. I was putting unnecessary stress on myself. It would probably interfere with my work so after examining the diamond, I put out what I had gotten so far and examined all the info carefully.
From what I had summed up, the old lady was definitely the most suspicious one on the list, but I couldn't tell for sure. Maybe the next day I would be able to find more clues.
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Author's note: Yes this chapter is incomplete because I thought the whole chapter would be way too long to fit in.I hope you still liked it (⌒-⌒)
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