There was a lot of blood. Jongdae couldn't help but turn away in revulsion as he walked into the room.

"Was she stabbed?" Junmyeon asked, staring at the lifeless body.

"Yes." Yunho answered quietly.

It had been a couple of hours since they had been summoned to the residence, Yunho requesting Junmyeon and Jongdae meet him there at once. Jongdae had felt dizzy when he recognized the address. It was a distant cousin, an elderly Baroness who he could recall fondly.

"Who could do such a thing?" Jongdae shook his head. He still felt a bit sick staring at the scene. She was his relative after all, even if they were not the closest.

"Her jewels are missing." Yunho remarked, a detail that instigated their involvement. This wasn't only a murder. It was a murder and a jewelry theft.

Junmyeon knelt down near the body. The woman was dressed in her morning dressing gown. According to a maid she had been taking her morning tea in the sitting room, as she had done every morning for decades.

"She must have startled the thief." Junmyeon guessed.

"We have to find D’Adderleigh." Yunho balled his fist.

"You still think it was Minseok?" Junmyeon questioned. He had been largely removed from the investigation of the last day. Jongdae hadn't told him about what he found in Yunho’s office, and Junmyeon was still of the belief that the evidence started and ended with his friend Minseok. It had weighed on Junmyeon's mind, but he had nothing else to go off of besides what Yunho had reported.

"Yes, I do." Yunho's tone was chilling, devoid of emotion. Jongdae felt tense. Yunho had withheld information from him, information that could potentially point to another suspect. Could he trust his Uncle anymore? Yet, here was an elderly woman, lying dead, very much the work of some sort of murderous thief. He desperately hoped that Minseok would never do such a thing - could never be capable of doing such a thing. He desperately hoped.

***

"I wish I could confront him myself." Luhan sighed.

"No. You can't." Minseok reminded him. There was no way Luhan could go bursting into Baekhyun's apartment and confront him. Besides, Minseok was pretty sure that Baekhyun would not admit any sort of guilt just because Luhan asked nicely.

"I would reckon you should start with their servants. You would be surprised what they might know." Minho suggested, taking a swig of the black coffee that he so happily served for the second day in a row.

Minseok had considered the servants as well. If Baekhyun was in any sort of trouble the servants probably had an inkling about it. The problem was he couldn't very well knock on Baekhyun's door and ask to see his maid or butler either. Not based on what Taemin had reported that morning. It seemed that a flier was spotted with Minseok’s picture on it, hanging in a very visible spot near the location where the East End started. Minseok couldn't risk being caught.

"I can't very well go myself." Minseok noted glumly. He hated it. He didn’t want to put anyone in danger or ask for any favors.

"Do you still have money for Kibum?" Minho suggested.

"Can we continue to trust him?" Luhan asked. He wasn't too sure about the ruffian. He was very capable at ascertaining the resident of the apartment, but letting him in on another task may give too much away. Plus he had seen Minseok's face. What was to stop him from turning him in and claiming any reward money that may be offered?

"You can. Let’s just say he owes us." Taemin butted in. Minseok wondered what that man of the streets might owe them, but thought it was best not to ask.

"Very well then. Let’s ask Kibum for help." Minseok hoped that Taemin wasn't wrong, that they could trust him.

***

Junmyeon and Jongdae followed as Yunho explained the crime scene in great detail.

"The thief must have entered through the upstairs window. He likely knew the Baroness would not be in her room at the time."

"What about the maids?" Jongdae asked. If the Minseok was the criminal he would certainly understand the workings of a large house. In the morning, assuming the resident was an early riser, it would be expected that the maids would be upstairs, completing their daily cleaning.

Yunho looked at his nephew but didn't answer, instead he continued his explanation "He pilfered the jewelry from her room, but had knowledge of the safe in the study. He likely made too much noise, startling someone. When he ran to make his escape he encountered the Baroness, who surely could have identified him. Wishing to keep his identity a secret he stabbed her and then fled out the sitting room window."

"And yet no one saw him apart from the Baroness?" Junmyeon was perplexed. He was on the same page as Jongdae, knowing that it was highly unlikely one of the Baroness’s staff would not see someone walking through the house during the morning hours.

"I will question the staff." Jongdae spoke up. Before Yunho could give him the go ahead he was already walking away, the gnawing feeling eating at him. His Uncle was hiding something.

***

Baekhyun did not really care for his sister, if he were to be honest. She was, well, very like him to the point it was annoying.

“How could she even dare say that to me?” He lamented to Chanyeol the day after he had met her for the first time. The two friends were taking an early afternoon ride through the park.

“Well, it is the truth.” Chanyeol muttered, earning a scowl from his friend.

“My engagement wasn’t broken! It wasn’t even announced!” Baekhyun pouted “And who is she to say anything?! If what she says is true she has half a dozen suitors herself. She even claimed she has no intention on marrying!”

“Is that so?” Chanyeol cocked an eyebrow “Who are her suitors?”

“I don’t know, she wouldn’t tell me. Some kind of code for her kind or something.” Baekhyun sighed heavily “I don’t think I will be visiting her again.”

“Who was it that told you of her?” Chanyeol asked offhandedly, very curious as to how Baekhyun was let in on her existence.

“My Father.” Baekhyun said quietly, cursing the old man for attempting to reconcile his children into one happy, disjointed, secret family.

***

The maid was nervous. A small thing with mousy blonde hair and barely weighing enough for her to resist the strongest of wind gusts, she shifted her weight on her feet and clasped her hands anxiously. Jongdae was sure she was hiding something.

“You swear that you did not hear or see anything out of the ordinary?” Jongdae asked yet again, watching as the young woman continued to squirm, her eyes downcast.

“Miss, if you did see anything you may be in trouble if you don’t tell us.” Junmyeon piped in.

“I…” She bit her bottom lip, tears welling in her eyes “I…”

“It is okay. Just start from the beginning.” Jongdae tried to offer a kind expression to the girl in hopes she would start talking. Thankfully his approach worked. Through broken sobs the maid recounted the events of that morning.

“I was scared. I didn’t know who he was or what he wanted but he said he wouldn’t hurt me if I let him in.” She wailed “I didn’t know he would hurt the Mistress!”

Jongdae and Junmyeon looked at each other in unison, their eyes widening. So she had seen the culprit? Finally, a witness.

“It will be all right. I know you had no ill intent.” Junmyeon reached out a hand, patting the maid’s shoulder in a comforting manner he urged her to continue.

“He…was at the service entrance. He said he forgot something here at last night’s dinner party. I didn’t know what to do, he was threatening.”

“What did he look like?” Jongdae questioned, bracing himself to finally receive a description.

“I didn’t get a good look at his face, he had it partially covered with a scarf.”

“How tall was he?” Jongdae cursed the fact the man had taken the precautions to cover his face, but at least the maid had a look at his figure.

“Um. He was tall. Perhaps-“

“Jongdae!” Yunho stalked up, interrupting the maid. She jumped back in surprise at the intrusion. “Did you find anything out?”

“Yes. She saw the man, but not his face.” Jongdae gestured for the maid to continue her story. “How tall was he?”

“About his height. Maybe a bit taller.” The maid pointed to Yunho.

“Minseok is not nearly that tall.” Junmyeon commented.

“No, he isn’t.” Jongdae agreed. He turned to his Uncle, attempting to read his reaction. Yunho’s expression remained like a mask.

“Did you see anything else of note? His clothing or where he came from?” Yunho asked.

The maid shook her head. After a few more questions which the maid could not answer, she was dismissed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

“Uncle, surely you must not still believe it is D’Adderleigh.” Jongdae crossed his arms, waiting for his Uncle to admit it. But he didn’t.

“We cannot know if D’Adderleigh is working alone. Logically he likely has accomplices, based on the evidence we found at the jewelers. You have to recall that Luhan and a servant from the Hayden estate are missing too. It could very well have been that servant acting on orders from D’Adderleigh.”

“What of Baekhyun’s sister?” Jongdae blurted out. In retrospect he should have held his tongue, kept the information close. Not revealed he knew of it.

Yunho paled, Junmyeon looked confused. “Baekhyun has a sister?”

“When did you learn of this?” Yunho’s voice had an edge to it, fighting back anger at his nephews obvious snooping.

“I saw the report in your office. Why didn’t you tell me?” Jongdae looked hurt.

Yunho sighed heavily. “Jongdae, if I keep things from you there is a reason.”

A reason? Jongdae couldn’t think of a good reason for hiding such an important detail from someone that was supposed to be aiding in the investigation.

“It may be for the best if you remove yourself from this case. You too, Junmyeon.” Yunho looked from Jongdae to Junmyeon “Your friendship with Minseok may be endangering your deduction skills.”

Jongdae didn’t trust himself to speak. Instead he grabbed Junmyeon’s arm and turned heel and strode out of the home, his blood boiling. Once they were outside of the house, Junmyeon dug his heels in and forced Jongdae to stop.

“What just happened?” Junmyeon asked, still fighting off his confusion.

“I will explain everything during the ride to Baekhyun’s sister’s house.” Jongdae walked towards the street, prepared to hail a hackney. Junmyeon followed dutifully, hoping to god everything made sense sooner rather than later.

***

Jongdae paid the hackney fare, quickly scurrying out of the carriage. He had mustered a courage he didn’t know existed – or he was being consistently foolish. From the moment he told Yunho he had read the report to the moment he had decided to knock on the apartment door, he was either making a series of mistakes or committing to actions that needed to happen.

Junmyeon followed behind him loyally, now the wiser about what Jongdae had discovered in the report. Junmyeon tended to be less suspicious of Yunho’s intentions than Jongdae, though in the grand scheme of things that did not really bother Jongdae. Not when everything was in flux and there was still so much to be discovered.

Jongdae knocked loudly, once then twice. Listening he heard no movement on the other side of the door. He knocked again.

“Perhaps she is out.” Junmyeon offered, craning his neck in an attempt to see into the side window. It was a fruitless effort as heavy curtains blocked his view. Jongdae knocked again, this time with more force.

“She didn’t leave the apartment for a few days.” Jongdae commented, as if that fact meant the woman had to be at home at all hours of the day.

“It would appear that no one is home. We should return later.” Junmyeon suggested sensibly, however Jongdae seemed not to hear him. In fact, he seemed not to care one bit about Junmyeon’s suggestion. Instead he braced his shoulder and with a solid movement, a show of force, he hit the door.

“Are you breaking the door down?!” Junmyeon squealed, despite the fact it was quite evident Jongdae was doing just that.

Three more solid slams into the door and it sprang open, hitting the plaster wall and cracking it. Jongdae didn’t acknowledge Junmyeon’s shock, he walked into the apartment as if breaking down a door was the most normal thing in the world.

“This is illegal!” Junmyeon cried from the doorway, not stepping foot inside the place. Jongdae didn’t care, he couldn’t, not when he needed more answers.

The apartment was furnished in a rather gaudy fashion. Red velvet, heavy drapery, dark rugs. It reminded him of a certain brothel one of his school friends liked to describe over a few glasses of brandy. The apartment was quiet, eerily so.

Jongdae walked into the parlor, noticing immediately that the room was in disarray. A candle was on the floor, cushions strewn about, drawers open on the sidebar as if they had been wrenched open forcefully. Walking further into the room he gasped as he encountered a frightening sight. Lying on the floor was a very pretty young woman. A very pretty, very lifeless young woman. She had been stabbed, blood pooling around her.

***

“I wish we could go outside, do something on our own.” Luhan said glumly. They had spent the day indoors, carefully hidden from the city in Taemin and Minho’s house. Jongin had engaged Kibum to help with the Baekhyun situation, Kyungsoo had spent most of the day further organizing the place.

Luhan and Minseok had discussed the details of the crimes time and time again. Then they fell into a boredom that neither man wanted to admit. Being trapped indoors was not an ideal situation, though a necessary one.

“I do too.” Minseok agreed. They were lying in bed, the sun already having set many hours ago. Minseok hoped that Kibum would have some answers for them the next day, something they could act on.

“What if I contacted Baekhyun?” Luhan said softly.

“No! Definitely not.” Minseok was growing slightly afraid, the way Luhan fixated on the idea. “If you try to you will be arrested.”

“What if I am careful?”

“No.” Minseok reached over, pulling Luhan closer, whispering “Luhan, I can’t lose you.”

Luhan nodded. He didn’t want to contact Baekhyun and end up in prison. No, what he wanted was to avoid losing Minseok. He would do anything to avoid having the man next to him taken away. Anything.

***

Kyungsoo settled in for another night of snoring and discomfort. He pulled the thin blanket up to his chin, staring at the ceiling. Well, what he knew was the ceiling. It was pitch dark in the house, all of the candles extinguished.

Kyungsoo waited for what was becoming a familiar snore. Jongin was quick to fall asleep, Kyungsoo realized, which was even more of a curse considering his sleeping habits. When the snoring didn’t come after five minutes, Kyungsoo spoke.

“Are you awake?” He asked quietly. Why he asked, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as though he particularly wanted to converse with Jongin. No. It had been awkward between them, ever since Jongin started rushing forward to save Kyungsoo from horses and falling pots and – Kyungsoo felt the heat rise up his cheeks as he recalled the incidents.

“Yes.” Jongin answered.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo said lamely. A few minutes passed in silence.

“Kyungsoo, why did you become a valet?” Jongin broke the silence first.

Kyungsoo considered the question. He wasn’t sure that anyone had ever asked him that. “My Father was a valet. I find it to be a respectable position.”

Silence.

“Why did you become a valet?” Kyungsoo asked, considering it only polite to return the question.

“To escape this place.” Jongin answered. Kyungsoo thought there was a tinge of sadness in his words.

“Oh.” Another lame response.

“Kyungsoo, do you think we could be friends?”

“Friends?” Kyungsoo practically squeaked the words.

“If you don’t mind. I like you.” Jongin’s words made Kyungsoo feel warm all over.

“You like me?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Kyungsoo normally had an impressive vocabulary at his disposal, especially considering his position in life. Where had that vocabulary run off to? When he finally found his voice he spoke “That would be nice. Being friends.”

His only response was a loud snore. Apparently Jongin hadn’t heard him.

--------------------

a/n- So interesting. Very interesting indeed. Muhahahah! Next chapter will be up in a second, so I will leave my detailed rambling for the end of that one :)