***
Lily brought everyone into the room. The group remained silent when they saw the shivering detective. Even Lily was a little taken aback, and this was not the first time she had been present for Happigo's special work. Even now...
Lily was very adjusted for a wolf. She fit in with vampires and mummies. She was only a half-breed with a human mother, but she took after her father. She was a creature of instinct, and she felt her ears prick when her friend employed her namesake Bloodeye. This was not a feeling related to scent or sight. The entire room seemed to draw outward. Sounds were distant. Echoes of far away voices bounced around inside Lily's head. None of this really happened, of course, but Happigo's state radiated a haunting vibration. The guests and Dame Venetti must have sensed it too. It was something in the shadows.
Happigo was huddled on the floor with her back against the bed. She had her knees up to her face, hugged in tight as though she was afraid of being dragged away.
"Thank you, Lily." Her words had a hissing, squeaky quality. She might have been sitting in ice water, the way she quivered. When she turned to the assemblage, her uncovered eye was wide with fright. The pupil was tiny and unfocused. Happigo seemed far away, and from the uncomfortable looks on their faces, some of the guests wished they could be far away also. Then Happigo cracked a wicked smile, cackling quietly to herself before turning to face the wall again. She began to speak.
"I have the who, and there is little to say on that matter. I have a lot of misconception I wish to clear up. First, it is obvious that no one in the house at the time of the murder was capable of climbing the stairs after Benton Harles without being seen by Honduras Whitetail. The possibility of someone being seen by Dame Venetti also existed, and there seems to be no way that a murderer could have known the whereabouts of all the guests. Honduras Whitetail, seated in the hall outside the dining room, would have seen anyone going up the stairs. Dame Venetti is in the west wing, and Nist and Talatia are in the east wing. No one else entered the hall. This is all according to the testimony of Honduras Whitetail. If his testimony is one hundred percent accurate, this makes it very likely that the murderer had to fall under one of two categories: he was up in the room before Benton Harles climbed the stairs or he was Honduras Whitetail."
Honduras didn't reply to the accusation, but he snarled briefly. Talatia took him gently by the wrist, and he withdrew into silence.
"It was not in the blood. I couldn't see a motive for Honduras Whitetail. I couldn't see any motive until I saw the blood, and nothing told me Honduras Whitetail was the murderer."
Happigo smiled. "But I know the murderer now. I suspected something early on, and it was obvious from the start. Anyone climbing the stairs would be seen, so the murderer, if not Honduras Whitetail, must be someone for whom he would stay silent. Yet Dame Venetti tells me that the Whitetails were not very well acquainted with the guests that are present. Could the sister and brother have put together some plot?"
Talatia started to squeak, but was hushed by the powerful hand of her brother clamping over her shoulder. Happigo noticed this. "Objecting to my implication, Talatia Whitetail? Don't worry. I don't think you and your brother were colluding. Not for a second. Besides, you would have to be working with Nist as well. If Honduras was not the murderer, and I can establish that he was not, he would likely have planned the murder with you, but you could not have acted on his behalf with Nist standing between you and the staircase. Taking all of this into account, and with the curious observation made by Golucki Ponent, who observed an unknown figure traveling through the yard incognito, the likely solution to the problems of movement during that period is that someone went through a window on the lower floor and made their way to Dame Venetti's room from the outside."
Lady Venetti spoke up. "I don't have windows in this room. Vampires do not sleep where light can enter, Ms. Bloodeye. Just look." She indicated the walls with an exasperated gesture.
"No. But this is a large house, and there are other rooms on this floor with windows."
Dame Venetti drew back. "Oh."
"Simple," Happigo added.
Dreamily, as if lacking the strength to do much else, Happigo scratched at the floor delicately. She went on, her soft voice like an echo in a stone room. "So anyone without a constant eye upon them could have been the murderer. No one could be entirely ruled out, save our unlying homonculus. Someone smarter than myself, or with more time, might have solved this front to back, but as you know I have an advantage. I saw the shape of the weapon in the blood just now. It is very peculiar, because the weapon is still in this room, and yet it is not. That is how I came to the conclusion that this was not about murder at all, but about a robbery."
Everyone stirred in confusion. Lily looked disheartened. "Happigo, you know that no judge is going to issue a warrant based off the evidence of what you saw. I believe you, but any judge would ask you to establish the truth, not just take your word for it. Do you have something tangible?"
"I do. But I will save it. Let me tell you about a robbery. It happened recently. A museum or gallery had a certain object on display. Someone here coveted this object, and they stole it, or had it stolen, and it now rests on that pedestal."
"My Moxillia?" Dame Venetti started to protest. "But that's a replica! I had it made because I loved it. I..."
Lily interjected. "So Dame Venetti is a thief and a murderer? You're saying that? Happigo, I...think you had better choose your accusation carefully."
"I'm not saying that! Look at it. It sits there in one piece, but I saw it just now, lying in the blood on the floor. That's what my eye does, Lily. It's a tool that dissects the world of blood. If there is any disturbance made by an object, and made deeply enough, I can trace events backwards and see the shape of the object. I saw a broken edge of the lip slash Mr. Harles' neck. How? There's only one solution to that mystery. There was a second vase. Did you own a second vase, Dame Venetti?"
"No."
"Right. Besides, since the object is already here, why would you need to sneak away and replace it? Dame Venetti says she had a replica made. No robbery of such a vase has been reported, right Lily?"
Lily sniffed, suddenly in the spotlight. She cocked her head. "I'm not a catalogue of recent crime. I could call the station and..."
Happigo shook her head. "I don't need the answer to that, because it will not be necessary to establish who the murderer is. The point is that it was replaced, with a similar replica. Dame Venetti? Why did you have a replica made?"
Venetti answered with poetic zeal, as if speaking of a lover, "Because I thought it was beautiful. But it sits in my room because it is a replica. My truly valuable displays, except for my jewelry box on the dresser, all decorate the rest of my house, where the guests can view them. I would never put an imitation on display."
"Correct. The vanity of a vampire. But it was a treasure, worthy of hiding in your sacred chamber. Which brings me to the first reason Talatia Whitetail tried to steal it."
"I beg your pardon?"
Happigo stood awkwardly. She looked so weak, but that perception changed when she flashed a dangerous look in Talatia's direction. "I'm afraid I can't pardon you, Ms. Whitetail."
Honduras Whitetail gave a low rumble from his throat and replied, "Detective, you had better not suggest something of my sister if you cannot prove it."
Lily responded by instantly transforming in front of them all. She was only half the wolf of the Whitetails. Her shape did not do much to enhance her small size. Honduras as a man still looked more powerful and intimidating, and it did little to help that Lily vainly pampered her precious, blue coat of fur, which had a soft, inviting glow. Anyone else might not have earned the sudden threat from the lieutenant, but that irksome, wolfish aggression from Honduras had signaled Lily's territorial and protective instincts concerning her best friend. Cadm stepped alongside her and
placed his webbed hand right in front of her snarling jaw.
"Everybody," Cadm said, calmly, "please allow the detective to continue."
Lily withdrew, still snarling. "Contain your anger and let Ms. Bloodeye finish." She was obviously annoyed, realizing that any threat to Honduras was more realized in the enormous aquatep than a provoked puppy. "Tore my damn uniform now...of all the..."
Happigo waved her into silence. "Serves you right, you hair-trigger alpha."
Talatia didn't contain her outrage at all. She did not raise her voice, but the tone was penetrating. "I've never even been here. How could I know what was in this room? Why would I steal a replica?"
"Because you didn't know where to hide the real one. But you knew about a certain diamond bracelet. You knew it was in this room, because you had been in here. I see it in the open lid of that jewelry box, plain as day. And when your theft turned to murder, you needed anything to mask yourself in innocence. You asked to see a diamond you knew to be in a room where a murder had taken place. Nevermind how you knew to find your way to the room. It could be that you guessed exactly as anyone could; that Dame Venetti made a replica but was too vain to display it for guests. It must have been in her room, then."
"That's a stretch, Happigo." Lily looked uncomfortable. "I hope that's not it."
Cadm blinked ponderously. "It seems quite backward. How can you conclude all of this, and that Talatia was here, just because she asked about a bracelet? Dame Venetti has probably noted it, or worn it at parties. I've read about it in papers."
Happigo smirked. "I said I'd establish it. Talatia certainly asked because she wanted someone to discover the body while veiling herself in innocence. All I need to do is prove she is the murderer, and that point sticks, because if she is the murderer, the murder was committed before everyone returned for dessert and before she mentioned the bracelet."
Her voice grew very mocking, like a hungry witch cranking up a two-child oven. "You had a second replica made, because you knew Dame Venetti had one. You replaced the original with your fake, and planned on hiding it here, in exchange for the Dame's replica. I must say, the original theft had to be impressive. It seems you made the switch completely unnoticed, or you wouldn't bother with this hacked hiding job. Once the exhibit was discovered to be a fake, there would be an investigation, and as long as the real one was held by Dame Venetti, she would be in danger, not yourself. If it was never discovered, then sooner or later you would reclaim it. Your purpose in coming here tonight was not only to make the switch; you also wanted to establish a friendship with Dame Venetti so you could return at some point in the future. For whatever reason, Harles was alerted to what you were doing. I can't say why he decided to attack you, but you were startled, and dropped the replica. When Harles came at you, you panicked, grabbed a piece of the shattered vase, and lashed out in defense. Your plan was torn apart in that instant, because now you'd brought a corpse into the mess. Being someone that loves art as much as yourself, you had no doubt hidden the vase in a package upon the property somewhere, wrapped up safely, perhaps in a bit of cloth that would be easily at hand for someone in the fashion industry. The swap was made, but now you had to hide the replica, because it had become an article of interest in what would soon be an investigation. There was little time, so you picked up all the pieces, wrapped your face up with whatever packaging had contained the priceless vase, and snuck away through the same window you entered. You hoped not to be seen at all, but you were in such a hurry that your best option risked you being seen but not recognized. The mask did its work. Golucki Ponent saw you, but he did not know it was you. The proof of all this is obvious. You didn't have time to get rid of the broken vase or the bandages once you returned to the room where you were supposedly resting. It is somewhere in--or around the back yard of--the mansion. Why don't you save us time and tell us where?"
"I...I did not do that! It could be anyone, just like you say! No one saw Dame Venetti, or Nist, or Corund, or even my brother!"
Happigo came face to face with Talatia, and Talatia leaned back. Happigo was a small woman, but she looked ready to bite. In this short time, Happigo's dark, red hair had messed itself up in every direction. Her eye looked full of madness. She was every ounce the vision of terror recalled from historic battles between the Bloodeyes and the vampires.
"Your brother's fingerprints will not be on the broken vase. And just by looking, would you even think he needed a weapon to kill Benton Harles? Would Dame Venetti have reason to be replacing her replica with the real item during a dinner party? She could have done it any time when there was no one around. Can you apply any motive to Nist Hatterly, who is far more concerned with her status as human than with artwork? How about Corund, running across the yard? Or Golucki? Was he not in the kitchen as he says?"
"But you're just saying all of this!"
Talatia held her breath. She was displaying much more confrontational verve than before. Even the most introverted wolf lashes out when threatened.
Happigo stepped back, delighted to give the girl some room to breathe. After all, was this not the finishing touch? Wasn't it wonderful to see the wall come up from behind? The trap set? The prey caputred? "Then produce the medicine that your brother gave you today. Can't you? No, because it is not on your person, and it will not be in the room where you were resting. The only place it could be is with the other contents of your deceitful stash. That is something else I saw in the blood. Someone had dopped a tiny bottle. There. The imprint is even visible to the naked eye. You couldn't keep it on you if it had touched that blood. Dame Venetti would sense it and your brother would have noticed the smell of blood on your person. By luck alone, you avoided getting any blood on your clothes. Again, by luck, you came to the room ahead of your brother when Nist screamed, so your scent never raised any questions. If I am wrong, produce the medicine. Show us."
Talatia dug around in her pockets, then threw up her hands. "I don't know what I did with that medicine! Maybe someone stole it to frame me! Besides, how could I possibly know about the replica? I've never been here! You are mistaken. Mistaken."
"Someone stole medicine to frame you for an unpremeditated murder? I doubt it. But if you need more proof, then let's establish that you knew about the replica. Dame Venetti? Nist? You two met Talatia a while back, while you were out shopping?"
They both answered, "Yes."
"And I would guess that this was the day you decided to have your replica made?"
Dame Venetti looked surprised. She nodded.
"Then I take you back to the day the plot came together. The artist would remember getting two separate requests for the same replica, and that he would certainly be able to place Talatia Whitetail at his shop on that same day." Happigo came nose-to-nose with Talatia. Her exposed eye cut into the clever girl, who froze with a gasp. Happigo continued. "Or maybe it was a different sculptor? How long would it take to find someone that had sculpted a replica of a Moxillia vase? Only slightly longer than it will take for us to turn this mansion upside down looking for the hiding place that will prove you guilty. Right now I have nothing. No evidence at hand. But I think you know you are trapped. Save yourself the torture. You are finished."
It took a moment of teeth-grinding and fist-clenching. She might have lashed out and bit Happigo. There truly was not a thing here and now that could convict Talatia, even if Happigo was right. But if she was right, Talatia had no way of preventing discovery of the evidence. She would be held in this room with everyone else, and the search would commence. If necessary, the sculptor would even be contacted at this very hour. Talatia's lower lip began to quaver, and she sagged, pouring tears with her face buried in her hands.
"Behind...behind a statue in the garden. I put everything in a box. Oh, god...I never meant to kill him. I never meant it! I was in the room when he passed in the hall. He came in and charged me.
I know he was only protecting Ms. Venetti's home, but I was scared, so...so..."
Happigo joined Lily, who gave her a look of concern. Sated from exposing the murderer, she steadied herself by leaning against the post of the bed. She would be okay, and Lily had a job to do now. In the miserable little room with these miserable people, Lily and Cadm took Talatia into custody.
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