Step by step

Choices shape the world.

   Watching the crumpled body next to his feet, Alton sighs. The boy is shaking, constantly switching between going tense and limp, clawing on his hair and mouth letting out choked whispers. The girl next to him is trying to console him with little results. He looks at the inspector, who shakes his head.

   They've been like that since we found them.

   'What happened?'

   'Murder. And attempts.'

   'Plural?'

The inspector nods, gesturing him to come and leave the two teens alone. Alton walks around them to the corner of the room, away from the commotion. The floor is black and white"checker patterns. Alton frowns. That certainly doesn't give a good vibe.

   'What's the problem?' the inspector says. Alton shakes his head.

   'Nothing. Just the floor.'

   'I never thought you'd be the kind who'd get bothered, but I'm just going to say this. Two cases that are linked"likely the same criminal. One is a man who drunk poisoned wine, the second around six people pushed into the sea. Bodies found washed on the shores nearby, alive. The servants were locked in their rooms"they only got out after they managed to contact us.'

   'When did this happen?'

   'About four hours ago, for the poisoned man. The others are probably killed not long after he died.'

   'What is inside the wine?'

   'Ethylene glycol.' Alton takes in a deep breath, shaking his head. The inspector smiles, although it looks more wry than anything.

   'And those children?'

   'The boy is suspected to be the killer.'

That makes sense. Psychologically, he shows plenty of signs of guilt-ridden person. There is no blood in his hands, but his actions are enough to conclude that. It's likely to be true, too. Everything clicks together, but it sounds so wrong.

   'I know I'm not supposed to make judgement based on feelings but this is just... he's a teenager, you know? There's no question he did it, but look at him right now. Mentally broken, I reckon. He probably didn't do it by his own will.'

   'Guilt doesn't invade only the forced killers, Nicholls.'

   'Yes, but what makes them kill people? Pressure.'

   'That fact might be viewed differently in the eyes of law,' the inspector says, voice distant, 'You're thinking too early.'

   'Perhaps the best course of option is learning about what pushed him into doing all this, as everything is answered,' Alton says, looking at the pair on the floor, 'except for one thing.

  'Who would poison someone with ethylene glycol for a quick murder?'

 

   The medics are taking off the boy's shirt. It is almost mutilated by the scabs and scars and burns. The girl cries and holds his hand (singular, he notes) tighter, the boy clutches her like he couldn't let go. Alton looks away.

   'I guess that question about his motives is answered,' he mutters. The inspector shrugs.

   'Like I said, everything is up to the court.'

Alton scoffs, turning away from the inspector.

   'It better do him some justice.'

 

   'Mister?' a small, high voice says. Alton looks down to see the girl tugging slightly on his sleeve. He smiles and puts a hand on her shoulder.

   'Yes?'

   'Len will be okay, won't he? Will he go to jail? He won't, right? You know he was forced to do that.'

   'I'll try to make sure he won't, but we don't know who forced him to do this and he's not saying. He is not mentally stable, so I suppose the jury would wait until he is stable, but as for everything else, I can't be sure. I'll try my best.' The girl smiles"it's small, but it's a smile nonetheless.

 

--

 

   forced to push the people under threats of death of the girl and after long periods of torture, mental already broken down due to psychological and physical tortures. was told to get poison for the real criminal but only got gasoline antifreeze because he can't get anything else and just for him to die in agony for longer. The rest of his words were muddled, but Alton can see the picture.

   There's no way he'll be letting him get into jail. The man who pressured him into going this is one with quite an influence and money. He already has a lot of back-ups. Alton won't be surprised if the other party makes up some stories just to lay down charges and averting the punishments. Even if the man"that criminal"committed suicide. That coward.

   The boy"Len is still undergoing therapy. The girl"Rin is staying with him, although she does make it a point to visit Len as often as possible. Something about him saving her before he was taken by the man.

   He'll need to dig up old contacts. He has fallen out of touch with his lawyer friends but it's not too late to call them regarding this. Sipping on his coffee, he wonders if he really has to call Russell and risk losing his temper due to the man's apparently unreasonable dislike. Rin walks into the kitchen.

   His thumb already pressed the call button.

   'Nicholls, do you know that this is seven in the morning?'

   'You've called me at six in the morning.'

   'I have briefing right now, and you know that. Or maybe you don't, because I really doubt you have anything left inside that skull of yours.'

   'Do you have a lawyer? A good one.' He can imagine him rolling his eyes, probably thinking, do I ever hire a bad one?

   'For those kids?'

   'Yeah.' A period of silence"not exactly silence, since Luther is saying something away from the phone, before he could hear the breaths again.

   'I'll call you about that later.'

Well, that went better than he expected. Why did he dread the call so much anyway? As much as Luther dislike him, he never said no to helping others. Now, though, it's time to make breakfast.

 

--

 

   The case is done"duress, he's free from prison. Len had willingly talked about the man's actions. His mental is still fragile, but much better than before. Alton suspects it has something to do with Rin. They are really close.

   Things are going better than he expected, surprisingly enough. Luther seems to think that his decision to help the two teens was enough to balance the reason he hates him, which he still doesn't know to this day. Whatever. At least he's not cursing his very existence.

   'Hush, what did I say about going physically intimate here?' Rin grins at him, hugging Len closer. The boy looks a bit flustered, but otherwise not bothered.

   'That's probably just you not getting some, Luther!'

Well, there's that.

   'I do not make it a point to get some around kids, little one. And what did I say about inappropriate, blatant innuendos? That's not even an innuendo.'

   Alton smiles, and Len laughs.

   Honestly. If this is the price of doing something he thinks is right, then he'll make it a point to do things like this everyday.

Author's Note

I was about to get into the court case, but then it'll be too boring. So I decided to cut it into happy ending, tadaa. Well, on the way.
And also I was about to create this based on a song (a boy claiming that he's the murderer on both cases, telling the girl that the criminal is "the one in front of you." while playing detective.) but then it evolved into this. This WAS supposed to be a crime/mystery fic but there you go.
Crits welcomed.