Hetalia Cluedo! Book 1-- A Deadly Game Part 3

Read this chapter carefully then leave your deductions in the comments below!

I hung up the phone and turned to the crowd of worried and panicked party goers. “Alright everyone, listen up!” I announced. “My name, for those of you unfamiliar with me, is Detective _______ _______. I have just called the police; they will be here in thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes?!” a panicking woman exclaimed, “We have to sit in the same house as a murderer for thirty minutes?! What's taking them so long anyway?!”

“Ma'am, Hetalia Manor is located in a rather isolated location quite a distance from Hetalia Falls. There is no possible way they could get here any sooner than thirty minutes” I explained. “However, you do bring up an important point. Someone in this house is a killer. I have been given permission to begin my investigation while we await the rest of the force. I will require that all of you remain here in the lounge unless I say otherwise. Now, first order of business,” I pulled a pair of handcuffs from my pocket, and approached Gilbert, “Mr. Beilschmidt, I'm going to handcuff you to this chair.”

“Vhat?!” the German exclaimed, “Vhy?!”

“Because while I was on the phone, I also ordered a warrant for your arrest. And since I can't drag you all over the house while I investigate for clues, I'm going to have to leave you somewhere and trust you won't try to escape. Oh, and before I forget; you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you do not have an attorney, one will be provided for you.” I cuffed him to a large arm chair before returning to the crowd.

“Alright, Francois, you know this crowd better than I do; can you tell me from a glance if everyone in the house is present and accounted for?” I asked.

The blue clad Frenchwoman came forward and glanced around the room. After a moment she answered. “...Oui,” she replied, “Oui, I believe everyone is...wait...non! Non, where's Feliks? And zhe colonel?”

“I'll find them” I said, moving to exit. Just as I reached the door, Feliks entered the room with a tray of champagne.

“Like, champagne anyone?” he asked. The crowd only stared at him.

“Well,” I sighed, “The job's half done. Someone clue Feliks in while I find the colonel.”

“Like, clue me into what?” the servant asked.

“Feliks, you may want to sit down for this,” Arthur said, escorting him to a chair. I left the room before Arthur dropped the bomb. I searched the house for Ludwig, which took some time considering there were a total of five floors to the manor (the basement/wine cellar, the first floor, second floor, third floor, and attic). I eventually found him out on the veranda smoking a cigarette.  After explaining the situation, we returned to the lounge, where Feliks was now visibly shaken and had drunk three of the five glasses of champagne out of panic.

“Alright,” I announced, “Now that everyone's here, I can officially begin my investigation. I should tell you now that I had a hunch something like this would happen, so unbeknownst to all of you I've been listening in on certain conversations and I've made a few hypotheses of my own. But, without any leads, you are all guilty until proven innocent. I am going to examine the body. Remain in this room; I shall return soon to conduct interrogations. Ludwig, please keep an eye on your brother and retrieve the check Francois gave him.”

“Hey, zhat's my money!” Gilbert protested, struggling in his binds. “You'll take it over my dead body!”

“Gilbert, you realize you're sitting in the same room as a murderer, yes?” I deadpanned. After pointing this out, he relinquished the check without a fight.

I left the lounge and went to the body. Elizabeta had been murdered and stuffed in the coat closet in the foyer. Gilbert discovered the body when he attempted to retrieve their coats. I outlined her body with chalk before dragging the corpse into the middle of the room for inspection purposes. Her eyes where still half open, but they were now dull and lifeless. But seeing as she's dead that's to be expected.

Riga mortise had yet to set in, meaning the murder was recent, likely in the last half hour. There were no obvious wounds that could have possibly caused her death, although with a full half hour the killer could have easily cleaned up the blood before stashing the body. I pulled off the top of her cocktail dress to examine her chest and throat area more closely. She had a rather long cut on her back, but without proper tools I couldn't tell if it was deep enough to be fatal. For all I knew, Gilbert could have done that to her during a previous session of sex (I know Ludwig has some messed up fetishes, so I wouldn't put it past his brother to share his tastes).

I examined her hands. She had chipped a nail on her left hand. Signs of a struggle, perhaps? But if there was a struggle, I would expect someone still alive to bear their own wounds. As far as I saw, everyone in the lounge was unscathed.

I decided that the corpse wouldn't talk, so I returned to the lounge to begin questioning. And I already knew who would be first.

“Feliks,” I began, sitting in front of the butler in drag, pen and pad ready, “Your actions roughly thirty minutes ago were rather 'shady' to say the least.”

“S-shady?” he studdered, tugging at his collar and his eyes darting around the room, “Like, what do you mean?”

“Okay, see; tugging at your collar and moving your eyes left and right is not helping your case” I said. He immediately ceased his actions. “Anyway, I watched you offer Gilbert and Elizabeta pink champagne.”

“Like, yeah?”

“But those two glasses were the only drinks on the entire tray. Where is the rest of the bottle of pink champagne?” I asked.

“It's gone,” he replied simply.

“Feliks,” I narrowed my eyes “did you do anything 'special' with those drinks?”

He began to sweat. “Uh...well, like, I might have added, like, a little something or other. Like, maybe a little...poison...” The patrons in the room loudly gasped. Feliks looked around the room a moment before continuing. “But, like, what was I supposed to do when poor Sakura came running into the kitchen the way she did?! Sobbing her eyes out and her make-up a wet, running mess!”

“Feliks, please elaborate on this” I asked.

FLASH BACK-- 45 MINUTES AGO AND FELIKS POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was sitting in the kitchen alone, downing the left over champagne I found in the discarded glasses. No sense letting it go to waste, right? I knew I didn't have too long; the third poker game just ended and I was sure there would be some depressed losers who would need a drink. Just before I was about to stand, the door to the kitchen burst open causing me to jump.

Sakura stood there in the doorway, her cheeks puffy, her eyes red, tears streaming down her face, and her mascara running like ink. She ran over to me, fell to her knees, wrapped her arms around me, and began sobbing hysterically into my chest. I didn't even need to ask to know that she and Mrs. Bonnefoy had lost.

“I hate them!” she wailed. “I hate them so much!”

“Like, hate who?” I asked.

“Bonnefoy! And those cheaters!” she cried. “Francois kept raising the ante and then those horribur peopur cheated us out of every cent! Now Francois' terring me to pay up or move out! I can't even pay off the gambring debts I arready have! Oh, Feriks, what am I going to do?!” She continued to wail and cry.

I stroked her long, ebony hair and tried to comfort her. She was usually very calm and collected, part of the mysterious charm men found so attractive about her. So seeing her like this caught me off guard. “Now now, calm down” I cooed. “You wouldn't want to ruin that pretty red dress by dripping mascara on it would you? You should go up to your room and clean yourself up. I'm sure Mrs. Bonnefoy is planning some way to save you both.”

She nodded and left to go upstairs. As soon as she was gone, I moved to fill another tray of champagne. But when I went to grab a new bottle, I saw two things in the cabinet: a fine, expensive bottle of pink champagne, and a small vile of liquid poison. Well, from there my movements seemed almost unconscious; like I had no control over my body and could only watch from inside my own head. Before I even knew what I was doing, I had poured the poison into the two glasses of pink champagne and walking over to the lounge.

I walked in and immediately moved to those awful people causing Mrs. Bonnefoy and Sakura so much stress. “Pink champagne?” I offered. I could barely contain my excitement when they both took a glass graciously. But I hadn't noticed they were talking to Mr. Kirkland and that he had seen them take the pink champagne.

“Oh, I would love some too, Feliks” he said. “Is there any more?”

“Fresh out!” I snapped back, without thinking. I almost ran out of the room and back to the kitchen. As soon as I was in the kitchen, I grabbed the bottle of pink champagne and poured it down the sink. After all, I certainly wasn't about to drink it.

PRESENT AND YOUR POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By this point in his explanation, Feliks now had tears running down his face. “Like, that's what happened” he croaked out. “I didn't mean to kill her, really I didn't! But, like, I've been here for ten years and, like, I've never seen Sakura so upset! Like, I don't know what came over me!”

“Feliks, why did you pour the bottle of champagne down the drain if you only poisoned the glasses?” I asked.

“I couldn't have Arthur trying to find it for himself!” Feliks exclaimed. “Like, he would know I lied and would ask questions! Of course, like, it didn't do me a lot of good since I just, like, spilled my guts after two questions.”

“No, it certainly doesn't” I nodded, taking notes. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've deduced that the murder could not have been committed in the lounge, the weapon was not the poison and that Feliks is totally exonerated of suspicion.”

“What?!” everyone exclaimed, including Feliks.

“But he just confessed to poisoning them!” one man said, “He admitted it!”

“Yes he did didn't he?” I said, standing up. “Both hustlers were poisoned, yet Gilbert is still alive and well in that chair over there. If poison killed Elizabeta, why didn't it kill him? Moreover,” I picked up the two glasses of pink champagne Gilbert left on the table before the body was discovered, “here are the two poisoned glasses of pink champagne. Notice how neither glass has been even half drunk. Neither Gilbert not Elizabeta consumed enough poison to be a lethal dose. In fact, there may not have even been a lethal dose of poison in either of these glasses. The two could have possibly consumed the entire glass and gone home without so much as a stomach ache.” I set the glasses down again, marking them quickly as evidence. “Poison was not the killer here, and neither was Feliks. Besides, if Elizabeta died in the lounge, how could she have done so without the other thirty or so party guests noticing? And how could she have been moved out of the lounge and stuffed into the closet without being seen by someone in here?” I walked back to Feliks. “Feliks: you are innocent and free to go. However, I ask that you remain here to answer any questions I may have for you.”

“Like, I didn't mean to kill her!” Feliks exclaimed, apparently missing everything I had just said. “I just, like, I have no idea what came over me!”

“Feliks, Feliks! Breath” I instructed, “In...and out...In...and out... Now then, I said you were INNOCENT. You did not kill Elizabeta, you're off the hook.”

“Oh” he blushed.

I looked at the other five residents of Hetalia Manor. “You five, on the other hand, still have the finger of suspicion pointing your way.”

“Us?!” Roderich exclaimed, “Ve're your best friends!”
“You're also the only five people in this room with a real motive,” I replied. “You could each benefit from Elizabeta's or Gilbert's death. Francois, you were about to lose thousands in a rigged game. Sakura, you couldn't pay up and feared eviction from Francois. Arthur, you would have lost funding for your charity. Roderich, you just witnessed your friends being cheated out of their money in a rigged game you knew all about. And Ludwig, you're the one who set this whole thing up to begin with.”

“What?!” Francois shrieked, glaring at the colonel. “You planned zhis?!”

Ludwig's face went pale. “No! Vell, yes. I mean, I didn't mean for zhem to--” *SLAP* He was cut off by a loud, painful slap across the face from Francois.

“Why?” she hissed.

“Ve vere tired of your gloating and rubbing you vin in our faces, so I vanted Gilbert to teach you a lesson.” *SLAP*

“Zhat bastard almost walked out of my 'ouse wizh a check for fifty zhousand dollars because YOU WANTED TO TEACH ME A LESSON?!” * SLAP *

Ludwig turned to me. “Doesn't zhis count as assault?!” * SLAP*

“I'm gonna allow it” I shrugged.

“Bitch” he grumbled. * SLAP * “FRANCOIS VOULD YOU STOP HITTING ME?!” *SLAP *

“NON!” * SLAP *

“Alright, Francois, give it a break” I said, finally ending the routine. “Anyway, as I was saying, professor, this is hardly a matter of friendship; I'm doing my job. And when it comes to murder I don't hold back. Now back to the business at hand.” I sat back down and flipped to a new page for notes. “Francois” I said, “You and Sakura had a rather unpleasant conversation in the dining room shortly after the last game, yes?”

She was taken aback. “'ow did you know about zhat?”

“Madam, you know fully well that I make a nasty habit of eavesdropping,” I replied. “Anyway, you ended this conversation by leaving the room. Where did you go exactly?”

“I went to the study,” she said. “Zhat's where I 'ad left my checkbook.”

“You disappeared for quite some time,” I pressed on, “You did not join the present company for nearly thirty minutes after the game ended. Does it really take you a half hour to write a single check?”

She gritted her teeth. “I'll 'ave you know zhat I wrote two checks.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I originally wrote a check for $250,000; zhe correct sum I 'ad owed Gilbert to begin wizh. But zhen I rezhought zhat idea. I began to zhink; Gilbert and Elizabeta are only two people. I'm not alone in zhis, I  zhought; no, I 'ad Arzhur and Roderich and Ludwig. Between zhe four of us, we could be very... convincing, so to speak. So I shredded the first check,wrote zhe check for fifty-zhousand to keep Gilbert from causing an uproar, and I employed Arzhur and Roderich to 'elp me talk to zhem. Before you ask, I could not find Ludwig; 'e was no where to be found.”

“I see,” I said, scribbling down notes. “Francois, I hate to seem doubtful, but you keep a shot-gun in the top drawer of your desk in the study, yes?”

“Detective, I know what you are implying,” she growled, “but zhat gun 'as not been fired in monzhs. Go to zhe study and check for yourself--if zhere's even zhe smallest trace of gunpowder on zhat barrel, you may take me away.”

“I'll take you up on that offer” I retorted. “But for now, I would like to know exactly what you did after you wrote the second check.”

She sighed. “I left zhe study to discover Roderich and Elizabeta were apparently 'aving a conversation just outside zhe door.”

FLASHBACK – 30 MINUTES AGO AND FRANCOIS' POV
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I put down the pen and glared at the check. Fifty thousand may have been pocket change compared to what Sakura and I really owed those assholes, but it was still more than I would like to spend on anything. But it couldn't be helped. I took a long drag of my cigarette to help calm my nerves.

For the fourth time since I entered the study and sat down at my desk, my eyes drifted down to the top drawer. It was so tempting. I always keep the gun loaded for fear of intruders, and as far as I was concerned Gilbert and Elizabeta were intruding. I pulled open the drawer and held the shotgun in my hand. My index finger sat on the trigger, so tempted to shoot, but my will was strong and I replaced it before I did something irreversible. Bullets are too easily tracked, I'd be found out in moments.

I let out a deep sigh before pushing away from the desk and standing up. I placed the check in my blue pocketbook, snuffed out my cigarette in the silver ash tray, and moved to leave. I opened the door to the hallway only to run face-to-back with that wretched Elizabeta woman. She and the professor were apparently having a conversation on the opposite side of the door. The Hungarian turned to face me and I forced a smile on my face.

“Professor. Madamoiselle” I nodded to each of them.

“Mrs. Bonnefoy,” they replied in unison, nodding back at me. I walked past them and began to ascend the staircase.

“Oh, professor” I called down from half way up the stairwell, “When you've finished your...chat...if you would please come up to my bedroom. I 'ave an important matter to discuss wizh you.”

“Yes, madam” he replied. I left them to await the professor in my chambers.

PRESENT AND YOUR POV
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“And zhere I stayed until Roderich came for me” Francois finished.

I turned to the professor. “Is this true?” I asked.

“Of course it is” he replied. “Just as she told it.”

“But that's the problem” I said, “She told it. I want to hear your side of the story; exactly how did this conversation start, what were you talking about, and what exactly happened after Mrs. Bonnefoy went upstairs?”

“Fine, fine, I'll talk” Roderich groaned.

FLASKBACK—30 MINUTES AGO AND RODERICH'S POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After leaving the colonel in the billiard room, I chose to find Mrs. Bonnefoy. I couldn't bear to keep this whole ordeal secret anymore, not even for Ludwig's sake. Maybe, perhaps if I told her, she could take legal action. We have a detective on the grounds after all; what else is _______ good for?

I figured she would be in her study. It was simple reasoning; she needed to write a check, she keeps her checkbook in her safe, and her safe is kept in the study. I approached the door to the study, but it was then I saw that vile woman, Elizabeta, descending the stairs. I couldn't stop myself and forced her into an argument right there in front of the study.

“I vant to have a vord vizh you” I snapped.

“Oh come now, professor” she rolled her eyes. “This was Luddy's idea. Aren't you barking up the wrong tree?”

“Ludvig intended you to show zhem up, not hang zhem out!”

“Oh please, Roderich, lighten up” she scoffed. “I mean just look at this place! It's not as though Bonnefoy can't afford it; she's loaded! And as for that Honda woman...well, if she can't pay up, that red Chevrolet parked outside would look lovely in my driveway. I'm sure that would about cover her half of the pay, give or take.”

“You just have no conscience, do you?” I sneered.

“Give it a break, Edelstein. Besides, look on the bright side” she smirked, “I don't think you'll hear a peep out of them about poker for quite some time. Now, make yourself useful for a change and point out a phone for me.”

“Do you not have a cell phone?” I questioned.

“Of course I do” she rolled her eyes again. “But any calls I make from here would be long distance. Why rack up my own phone bill when I can use a land line and let Francois pay for it? You know, for a professor, you're not very smart.”

I almost couldn't hear her over the sound of my own teeth grinding together with fury. Just then, the study door opened from the inside. Francois appeared in the doorway, wearing a fake smile on her face.

“Professor. Madamoiselle,” she nodded.

“Mrs. Bonnefoy,” we replied. She walked past us and began to ascend the stairway. She stopped half way up and spoke again.

“Oh, professor, when you've finished your...chat...if you would please come up to my bedroom. I 'ave an important matter to discuss wizh you” she requested.

“Yes, madam” I replied. She climbed the rest of the stairs and disappeared.

“Well?” Elizabeta suddenly said.

“Vhat?” I glared at her.

“Telephone?”

I let out a heavy sigh. “Study.”

She turned and entered the empty study. I bit my bottom lip and resisted every urge that told me to follow her.

PRESENT AND YOUR POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And after she entered the study, you went immediately upstairs?” I asked.

“...No” he replied, “I vas furious and I felt zhat approaching Mrs. Bonnefoy in such a state vould upset her more zhan she already vas. So I chose to step outside for a moment to calm myself and zhen I vent to see her.”

“How long did this whole process take, approximately?”

He shrugged. “I don't know. Five minutes? Certainly less zhan ten minutes. Somevhere in zhat time zone.”

“And did anyone see Elizabeta after she went into the study?” I asked.

“I did” Sakura spoke up, “I walked in on her in the study. She didn't see me; she was on the phone and her back was to the door. My intent was to find Francois and I thought she was in her study writing a check. But I chose to risten in on the conversation. It did no good; she was speaking Hungarian. Anyway, she reft the study and I saw her head towards the birriard room, more towards the front of the house. I don't know if she went into the birriard room, I didn't forrow her.”

“She didn't” Ludwig suddenly said.

“You saw her?” I inquired.

“Yes...and no” he replied. “I vas in zhe billiard room. I only saw a glimpse of her dress as she moved past. I tried to follow her, but I heard a door slam and by zhe time I vas in zhe hall she vas gone. I assumed she vas in the restroom.”

“And what exactly were you doing in the billiard room by yourself?”

“Playing billiards, vhat else?” he retorted.

“Uh-huh” I said doubtfully, “And can anyone back up this alibi?”

“Roderich can” he said, nodding to the violet clad Austrian. “He and I had a conversation in zhe billiard room shortly before.”

“About ten minutes before, assuming he was telling the truth” you said. “Ten minutes is quite a long time, Colonel. Did you really stay in the billiard room all that time?”

“Yes!” he insisted.

“Colonel, I happened to overhear a conversation between you and the professor just before Roderich's apparent encounter with Elizabeta” I explained. “The professor thrust a billiard cue into your hands and was quoted as saying 'Colonel, you are a man of action. Get creative!' Did you follow through with his advice?”

“Certainly not! I am a decorated war hero! Do you zhink I'd risk all my glory and medals for somezhing like zhis?! Living on a colonel's salary, my title is all I really have left!”

I turned to the professor. “And what about you, Edelstein? What exactly were you implying when you handed Ludwig a blunt instrument and told him to 'get creative'?”

“I vas merely implying zhat he use intimidation to force his bruder from zhe house vizhout zhe money” he said. “I'll admit I probably worded it wrong and, hearing it from somevone else's mouth, I can see how it may have been misinterpreted. My apologies, Ludvig.”

“Yeah thanks a lot” Ludwig grumbled.

“Alright, alright ladies” I said, “I think I have everything I need from you for now. Next, I need to search each room that could have potentially housed the crime. Once again I ask that you all remain here in the lounge while I--”

“Hold on hold on!” one of the guests cried. “You're not going to leave these five in here with us, are you?!” she motioned to the five suspects.

“Well what would you have me do?” I groaned. “I only have one other set of handcuffs and I need them for the actual murderer. Besides, I don't know what your all worried about; the only other potential victim in this room is Gilbert.”

“Hey!” the older Beilschmidt exclaimed.

I ignored him. “Do you expect me to take them with me as I search the house?”
“Yes!” the guests cried in unison.

“Fine” I groaned, “Francois, Arthur, Sakura, Feliks, Ludwig, Roderich; get up, we're going on a field trip.” The six complied and formed a cluster behind me. But to the dismay of the other guests, I wasn't quite ready to leave the lounge. “Unfortunately, there are some important details in this room I must investigate” I explained, “Or should I say, a lack thereof.”

“What do you mean?” a man asked.

I pointed to the mantlepiece above the fireplace. “There for example.”

“The mantle?” another man asked.

“Not the mantle,” I elaborated. “It's what used to be on the mantlepiece but is not there now. The candlestick!” I turned to Francois. “Mrs. Bonnefoy, you were the last person I saw using it, to light your cigarette before the poker game even began. What became of it?”

“Ah, oui” the blue clad Frenchwoman nodded. “Let me explain. Zhat was a brass candlestick. I only own two brass candlesticks; all my other candlesticks are gold or silver or glass or crystal or somezhing of zhe sort. But I only own two brass candlesticks, and zhey do not belong in zhe lounge. I ignored it at zhe time, but during zhe intermission between zhe second and zhird game, I asked Feliks to take zhe candlestick and reunite it wizh it's counterpart.”

“The brass candlesticks sit above the fireplace in the study,” Feliks added.

“If the brass candlestick belongs in the study,” I said, “How did it end up in the lounge to begin with?”

“That was my doing,” Arthur said. “I went into the study this morning looking for some donation receipts I had misplaced for the Hetalia National State Park Fund. I couldn't remember where I had left them, only that I had left them under a candlestick I used as a paperweight. I checked under the one candlestick in the study, left to search the lounge, and absentmindedly took the candlestick with me. Without thinking, I must have left it in this room. My apologies. But I found the receipts!” He pulled a few papers from his pocket and waved them for emphasis.

“Well la-dee-da,” I rolled my (color) eyes. “Moving on, I also see that there is a curtain tieback missing from the window over there. Arthur, I saw you playing with a tieback when we spoke outside the library.”

“Right,” the green Englishman nodded. “I found it here in the lounge on that end table closest to the window.”

“And, I suppose I should admit zhat I broke it in zhe first place” Roderich meekly raised his hand. “It was an accident; I wanted to let more light in zhe room and zhe tieback just came off in my hand.”

“Oh, zhat zhing's been fraying for weeks,” Francois said, “I was wondering when it would finally snap. I meant to replace it, but it just never was at zhe top of my priorities list.”

“Where is it now, Arthur?” I asked.

“I left it in the library,” Arthur said. “I dropped it on the poker table as everyone was leaving for the lounge.”

“Let's test that,” I smirked, “To the library!” I lead the crusade out of the lounge, leaving the still panicking guests behind, and heading straight for the library. “Well,” I said once we were all gathered in the room, “There's the tieback, just like you said. I suppose the real question is why did you pick it up in the first place, Arthur?”

He shrugged. “I suppose I just have a bad habit of carrying around strange objects, especially when I'm flustered or stressed.”

“Yeah, that helps your case,” I deadpanned. “But at any rate, this room does not interest me much. I'd much rather see the study, wouldn't you all?” And, without waiting for them to reply, I was already charging to the study. “According to your testimonies, there should be two potential weapons in this room: the candlestick and the gun. Feliks, which of those candlesticks on the mantlepiece was in the lounge?”

“The one on the right,” he replied.

I pulled out my magnifying glass and closely examined the piece. “Feliks, did you clean in here today?”

“Not today, no. I was, like, busy with the food and stuffs. Like, for Mrs. Bonnefoy's party.”

“I thought not,” I replied. “Next, I would like to see the gun, Francois.” She went into her drawer and pulled out the shotgun. First I checked the bullets. All six, present and accounted for. Then I wiped the barrel; clean. “Alright, your story checks out, Francois.”

She smirked. “See? I told you so.”

“Don't get cocky; this merely proves the gun wasn't the murder weapon. You're still a suspect.” She glared at me and crossed her arms. “Alright, next to Elizabeta's last known whereabouts: the billiard room!” And off we went. Once in the billiard room, something immediately caught my eye. “There's a cue missing.”

“I reft it in the dining room by mistake,” Sakura spoke.

I turned to her. “You were in the billiard room? When?”

“Shortry before I came to the rounge,” she explained.

FALSHBACK—TWENTY MINUTES AGO AND SAKURA'S POV
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I went to see the colonel. I had to get him to control his brother. I entered the billiard room, where he was playing a game of billiards by himself. I picked up a cue and joined. “Stripes or sorids?” I asked.

“Vhat do you want, Honda?” he groaned. “I'm not in good spirits at zhe moment.”

“Oh, rike I'm gushing with joy!” I sneered.

“Vhat do you vant?” he repeated.

“I want your brother out of this house!”

He sighed. “Sakura, you don't understand--”

“What's not to understand?!” I retorted. “You're tarrer than him, you're stronger than him, you're smarter than him, why are you restraining yourserf? Show some back bone and terr him to get packing!”

“It's not that simple, Sakura!” he groaned. “Believe me, I too zhink Gilbert's overstayed his velcome, but if I tell him to leave he might...vell...he...he might...”

“He might what...?” I asked.

Ludwig sighed. “He might tell Bonnefoy zhat I set her up in zhe first place.”

I was at a loss for words. My jaw went slack. But shock was quickly replaced by rage as I swung my billiard cue at his head. Of course, having practice with such matters, the colonel managed to dodge. But that didn't stop me from trying again. And again. And again. I kept swinging and he kept dodging, desperately trying to calm me with meaningless words.

“I'm out two hundred fifty thousand dorrars BECAUSE OF YOU?!” I screamed.

“S-Sakura, please!” he cried, “I never meant for it to go zhis far! He vas only suppose to leave vith a hundred dollars at most! How vas I suppose to know he'd betray me like zhis?!”

“So herp me God, Rudwig, you'd better fix this,” I grabbed his yellow tie and pulled him down to my level, “Or I wirr fix YOU!” I released him and stormed out of the room. I was on my way to the lounge when I realized I still had the billiard cue in my hand. Not about to go back to the billiard room and to Ludwig, I simply tossed it into the dining room for Feliks to find and replace and I continued back to the lounge.

PRESENT AND YOUR POV
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After hearing Sakura's story, I turned to the colonel. “Why didn't you mention this earlier?”

His face went pale. “I didn't zhink it vas important.”

“I see” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I say it's time to head back to the lounge. I'm ready to make an arrest.”