Alice sat across from the three detectives in the interrogation room. Seemingly unfazed by their attempt at intimidating her, she went ahead and spoke first.
"I see you've grown into quite the man, Donarenzo." She paused for a moment, her eyes tracing his face.
"You're no longer the boy who cried for his mommy. However, I see you still can't fight your own battles–"
"My God, you really love to talk, don't you?" Lucien interjected.
"You seem to forget that you're the one held in here, and you won't be leaving anytime soon."
Lucien raised a finger to his lips.
"Unless you're willing to give us what we want to know."
"And what would that be, exactly?"
"Don't play dumb. You're clearly tied to the killer in some way or another." Lucien raised his cane to her neck.
"Be warned, I'm not as chivalrous as the two next to me."
Archibalt grabbed Lucien's cane gently but kept a strong grip on it.
"Relax a little bit, won't you?" he said with a nervous smirk on his face.
"She's not a threat at the moment."
He pointed to Donarenzo.
"Plus, I'm sure it's best if we let him do the talking. They seem to go way back. A connection like that surely means something."
Archibalt stood up and got Lucien up on his feet as well.
"Let's let them talk for the time being. If that doesn't work, we can change strategies."
"Tch, you're too soft for your own good," Lucien said, sounding annoyed.
They walked out of the room and shut the door behind them.
For a moment, there was complete silence. The only sound of activity was the breath leaving both people in the room and the slow, heavy creak of the settling door.
"They are quite the pair, aren't they?" Alice said while stretching her arms.
"I'm sure the two of us could take them, though."
She leaned back, a playful glint in her eyes. "The White Rabbit and the Lion."
Donarenzo raised his head and met her gaze.
"I thought you hated that name," he said with gloom in his eyes.
"I still do, but whatever makes you join my side," she shrugged.
Upon hearing that, Donarenzo's gloom turned into a quiet fury. "You… still haven't changed a single bit."
"But why would I?" Alice replied in a soft, mocking tone.
"A fair maiden like myself should never need to change. At least, that's what all my suitors tell me."
"You know just as well as I do that men in love lie without a second thought, Alice."
"Ahhh, just like how you lied to me all those years ago," she said boldly.
"You know that I had to. I was never going to solve my mother's murder without honing my skills as a detective first–"
"And how did that go, exactly?"
Donarenzo went quiet as he heard that question. It felt like a knife stabbing through his heart and into his soul.
He stood up and slowly walked across to where she was sitting, standing directly in front of her. He then crouched so they were face to face.
With his eyes full of pure animosity, he asked her a simple question: "What have you done while I was away?"
"What?" she responded, sounding confused.
Donarenzo grabbed her hair and pulled
her so close she could feel his breath on her face.
"You look down on me and criticise me for not solving my mother's murder. And yes, you can call me a liar, a man who's failed to keep his promises."
He locked his eyes with hers.
"But at the very least, I've done some form of good while I was away, and all that good was accomplished because of the skills I acquired. I didn't achieve my end goal, but I've grown in ways that I wouldn't have been able to with you as my partner."
He pushed her back and rose to his feet.
"So I'll ask you again," he said, fixing his collar.
"What have you done while I was away? Or have you been no better than the sewer rats that scatter around this city?"
Alice's eyes were wide with shock as she sat there in silence. She gathered her thoughts and cleared her throat before she responded in her usual condescending tone.
"Well, I see that the one with the cane has rubbed off on you."
Alice looked to her side and whispered, "Fine, I'll tell you what I know. For old times' sake."
Donarenzo went back to his seat, and Archibalt burst through the door with Lucien close behind him.
"Tch, I would've preferred more resistance. That would have given me a reason to get revenge for what she did to me in that alleyway," Lucien scoffed.
Archibalt patted Lucien on the back and gave Donarenzo a thumbs up, smiling quietly.
"The stage is yours," Donarenzo said to Alice.
She responded, "Well, if I'm being completely honest, I don't know much about who this killer is or what it is he's after. What I do know is that he has influence in this city, and it stretches much further than the eye can see."
She paused, trying to gather her thoughts.
"I remember hearing that one of the higher-ups was to meet with him to handle certain business. I thought it was the usual scandal. However, that same week, an assassination occurred."
"Assassination?" Archibalt interjected, concern in his eyes.
"Yes, it was published in the paper before you and Donarenzo came back."
"You mean the commoner girl who was found hanging on a tree just outside the entrance of the city?" Lucien asked, sounding disappointed.
"Bingo."
"But that case was solved," Lucien countered.
"It was a petty murder, like the usual filth that goes on around this city. In fact, it was rather sloppy. The attempt to cover it up as a suicide had to have been done by a novice."
"That's true, but there's information that you seem to be missing."
Lucien looked up and locked his eyes on Alice's, now intrigued by what she had to say.
"When did you examine the body?" Alice asked.
"After it was recovered from the scene," Lucien replied quickly.
"How long after it was recovered?"
"Maybe an hour or two."
"And did you do a thorough examination?"
"I determined the cause of death based on what I saw and what I was told of the body's condition. A thorough examination took place right before my eyes."
"Well, clearly that's false."
"Enlighten me."
"I caught wind that she had a 'W' carved into her back," Alice said, her voice dropping. "And when they searched her residence, there was a faint scent of alchemical residue. Not enough to catch anyone's attention, though."
"Jesus," the trio said in unison.
"Well, that doesn't make sense," Archibalt said with a look of confusion in his eyes.
Everyone turned to him.
"If something like that was found, wouldn't it have been reported to Lucien? Or at the very least recorded and documented?"
"That does raise concern."
Lucien raised a hand to his chin, pinching it in deep thought.
"The only person with access to such documents is Captain Halden…"
He trailed off, his expression hardening.
"But… to even think that he would do this… I'll need to look into this further."
Lucien stood up and left the room with haste.
Alice rested her head in her hand. "It seems the influence of this person has already deemed your investigation pointless."
"That can't be," Donarenzo said with urgency. "If he was involved, then why would he even let us investigate these murders?"
Alice leaned forward, her eyes dark."A spark is easy to ignite, Donnie. It's even easier to smother."