Chapter Two: Have You Ever Danced With The Devil By The Pale Moon Light?

The second, more serious chapter of my odd mystery story.

My name is Nicholas Deddle, but of course you know all that. You also have a good idea of what I wear every day and what sort of pests can be found nesting within my walls. 

So I wont bore you with details. After Nellie left, I went inside for dinner. We had leftover chicken dinner from yesterday, but mom had added a bit of spice to it by drizzling it with cheese sauce. I sat down and picked up my fork. “So did you take care of those elephants?” Mom asked. “Yeah. We trapped them.” I replied between bites of chicken. “Then we sold them as pets on the street corner.” “How did that go?” My father asked, also between bites of food. “Are there any left?” “It went well.” I said. “And there’s plenty left.” “Good!” My father said. “Well done. Did you get them all?” “No.” I said. “Just about though.” “Good, good.” he said. “How did your baking go this afternoon, Laura?” And dinner conversation continued along in that sort of way. I said good evening to my parents and went up stairs to change into some more suitable clothes. Whereas Nellie’s daily schedule consisted of waking early, going to work, and going home, with often detours to my families house so we could work out problems, fix things, and carry out assignments (with varying amounts of productivity), my daily routine consisted of waking late, working on who knows what until dinner (unless Nellie comes over), and changing clothes and heading out for the evening, often until very late. Of course I paid my rent, bills, and other things. Staying at my parents house after the age they thought it was proper to move out was not cheap. The more suitable clothes were for my night of investigating. Rather than wear my paint-splattered regular clothes, I changed into a smart-looking slightly crisp white button up shirt with a banana yellow tie and dark grey vest over top, a pair of down right classy black dress pants, and matching shiny dress shoes. My hair stayed its trade mark just-out-of-bed messiness of course. I went down stairs, said goodnight to my parents, and started off in the direction of the seedier part of downtown.

The seedier part of downtown, or the Fishbowl as it was called affectionately by the people there, was bustling tonight. I wont describe the people passing me, because there were too many to do so. I was on my way to my office, a small, out of the way room with a wood desk, matching chair, two filing cabinets, and a dim light, located just inside a small out-of-order-but-not-abandoned building. I rent it for thirty birds a month. When I got there, there was already a customer waiting outside. “Hello.” I said. “Can I help you?” The woman turned around. “Are you Inspector Deddle?” She asked. She had lustrous black hair flowing down to her shoulders, she wore a red-black suit-skirt and top, she had deep green eyes, and looked to be about 25. A real looker for sure, but I wasn’t interested. I already had my eye on another girl. “That I am.” I said. “What can I do for you?” “I have a case for you.” The woman said in a way that left me in no doubt that she was trying to seduce me. I had no idea why, though, a freelance detective like me would take just about anybody who came to my door with a job. “Let’s discuss this inside.” I said. “I’ll need to take notes.” She moved so I could open the door. I went inside and sat behind my desk and turned on the light. “So, tell me everything.” “My name is Rene Pearl, I live in the Pearl mansion, and I am the only heir to the Pearl name.  “My families most treasured possession, the Pearl Diamond, went missing a few days ago.” “So? A lost rock is no big deal.” I said. “Why do you need me?” “Well, you see, my mother, the previous head of the Pearl family, was murdered just the day before.” I furrowed my brow. “Hmmm.” I took some notes. “Tell me the details.” Miss. Pearl leaned back in her seat. “My mother, Joe’phine Pearl, hired Melephant as our house maid just last year. We knew nothing about her. All I knew was she was bad news.” “Did she do something to arouse suspicions, or did she just give off bad vibes?” “Both. She owned several figgy vipers, which she doted on incessantly. I did not want them kept in the mansion, but mother insisted that we let our staff keep what pets they wanted as long as they were kept in the employees quarters.” I shall stop here for a moment. Figgy vipers are extremely dangerous winged snakes with fig coloured scales and black wings. They are only found in the vilds of Harmania, a place very similar to the earth country of Africa. Continue. 

“Describe her for me. Melephant.” “She has long green hair, a very dark green, and she always wears her maid uniform. My mom likes old style, so the uniforms the employees wear vintage style uniforms for their jobs. Melephant wore a classic french maids uniform with a badge that symbolized she was the head house maid. She got it because she was the only house maid.” “Tell me about the murder.” I said, taking more notes. “Was Melephant a suspect? Or was she convicted of the murder?”  “No, she’s still walking free. She wasn’t a suspect either.” “How did she die? Your mother.” “Deliberate food poisoning. The murderer used an acute form of Mogweed.” “How was it consumed?” “They found traces of it in her soup.” “Was anyone convicted, if so, who, and are they still at large?” “No one has been caught yet. We have a few detectives on the case, and the police are involved.” “So I suppose you suspect Melephant, then?” “Yes.” “Why?” she started at my question. “She has always been in envy on my families wealth.” “Hmm. Any other reasons?” “W-well like I said, I’ve always thought she was suspicious.” “Hmm.” I said, tapping my finger on my chin thoughtfully. “Explain how you lost the diamond.” “I just went into the display room and it was gone.” “Has the scene been touched since?” “No. I ordered it to be locked up as soon as I found out. No one has touched a thing.” “Just how far away is your mansion?!” I said incredulously. “Not far, but it took me quite a while to find a trust worthy detective.” She moved closer to me. “I’ve heard some very nice things about you, Inspector.” “Hmm.” I said boredly. “Sorry, Miss, but I’m not into older women. Besides I’ve got my eye on someone.” “Oh do you?” She said and leaned on my desk. “How interesting, Inspector.” I blushed a little. “My associate and I will accompany you back to your mansion. We will find your killer, and your diamond.” I stood up. “We leave tomorrow morning. Now if you will excuse me, madam, I have some paper work to take care of before I go anywhere.” “Certainly, Inspector.” She rose. “Although I do see one flaw in your plan.” “and what might that be?” “Where were you planning to sleep, Inspector?” “I’m no stranger to camping, Miss.” She laughed. “No, Inspector. I formally invite you and your associate to stay at my manor until this case is solved.” “Thank you very much, madam. Good evening.” “Good evening, Inspector. I’ll see you back here at 10 tomorrow.” “Yes.”