Chapter Twenty-Nine – Conspiracies
It was no surprise to Lawrence to see Felix opening the door after one quick knock.
"Fifi?" he asked with a sly smile.
Felix rolled his eyes. He was still in his pajamas, a dead ringer for the pair his brother wore. His messy hair suggested that he hadn't been awake for long. "How did you know it was me and not my brother?"
"You have gravitas. Your brother is the funny one."
Felix opened the door wider. "Good. Let's see how amusing things become as you try to get him out of bed. I need to get ready for lessons, therefore I would appreciate your help."
"I don't recall offering it," Lawrence teased.
Felix snorted and turned on his heel. "Bastien praises you for your perfect manners, Sir Knight. Ali is over there."
Lawrence took in the inside of the room with unhidden curiosity. It didn't matter if he was too forward in his observations because Felix was busy grooming himself in front of the sink.
The two beds in the room were placed flush against the opposite walls. The way the tall spire housing the students here was designed shaped the room as a semicircle. Large windows let the light in, one of them placed above each bed. Soft rugs and a few paintings made the place look inviting and perfectly cozy. Not that Lawrence needed more convincing, but it had to be hard work for Ali to abandon the lazy comfort of his room to go on wild goose chases with his new best friend who doubled as his partner in investigation.
A narrow stack of shelves housed an impressive number of books, which Lawrence wanted to get close to so he could start reading the spines. However, to get there, he needed to walk past Ali's bed, and the little dragon was guarding his treasure by having one arm and one leg out, barring anyone from passing.
"It's amazing how your brother can sleep through people talking and moving around him like this," Lawrence said. He kept his voice low on purpose since he didn't – yet – want to wake Ali.
"He's too lazy," Felix commented. "What are you two up to these days?" The question was asked casually, while Felix was carefully styling his hair. Lawrence hadn't imagined the Golden Circle Martel to have to work so hard on his bouncy waves, but it looked like beauty came at a cost.
Ali snorted in his sleep, reminding Lawrence that he was there with a purpose.
"We discovered our shared passion for conspiracies," he said boldly and danced around Ali's stretched limbs to get to the bookshelves that had drawn his attention from the moment he had walked into the room.
"Conspiracy theories, you mean," Felix corrected him.
So Bastien hadn't lied. Lawrence began perusing the titles on the spines. After the usual mandatory reading at Veridien, finally, something was catching his eye.
The Lost Order: Men in White and Their Best Kept Secrets
Lawrence shook his head. At least Lukas was approaching the so-called lost secret of the Knights Templar in an academic way. Ali appeared to be invested more in the pulpier versions of the secret in question.
Hidden Fortresses and Secret Tunnels
The Telluric Magic and Its Principles
All right. They continued in the same vein. But Lawrence was so absorbed by reading the titles in Ali's collection that he missed Felix asking him a question. When he turned, Felix looked absolutely dashing, somehow having managed to slip into his uniform already, his hair perfectly styled, his face fresh, and his overall appearance impeccable.
"Don't you clean up nicely?" Lawrence teased him.
Felix closed his eyes for a moment in feigned suffering. "You didn't hear a word I said," he reproached.
"I was a bit taken with the literature back here," Lawrence said.
"Oh, yes, literature. Salon mystics peddling their wares to people with too much time to waste on their hands."
"You don't indulge the same way as your brother?"
"Nor do I condone it," Felix replied. "But it doesn't matter. As long as it makes him happy."
Despite the dismissive tone, Lawrence could read true care beyond the words.
"If you want to join your friends, you can leave waking Ali up to me," Lawrence offered.
"He'll be happy to see you." Felix walked over to him and squeezed his arm briefly. "Thank you for accepting him, as eccentric as he may come across."
Lawrence nodded. "No problem. I enjoy his company. What did you want to tell me? When I wasn't paying attention."
"Be careful of Ali's propensity for finding conspiracies everywhere he looks. He can be a fascinating magic wielder when he puts his mind to it. Also, the reason for his downfall."
"What do you mean?"
Felix sighed. "Ali got called a liar one too many times. People don't take him seriously anymore, which is a shame. But he brought it on himself all by his lonesome. No one made him do it."
Or maybe Ali was making sure the family wouldn't press him into accepting a public function, a career he didn't care for, and a life already planned to its minutest details. Lawrence kept such thoughts to himself.
"He is safe with me. In case you didn't notice, I'm a bit of a black sheep myself," Lawrence said with, hopefully, a believable self-deprecating smile. "Also, I believe your brother is brilliant. He makes amazing music."
"Yes, he does," Felix agreed, and his face lit up some. "Make sure you two don't run late. Ali might get away with his truant reputation, but I would worry about you."
"Bastien keeps warning me not to be dull and mediocre. You warn me to be a stickler for the rules. I'm starting to get the hang of being a Veridien student, I think."
"Good." Felix patted his arm, harder this time. "We'd hate it if anything happened to you."
"What an ominous thing to say. What could happen to me? Should I worry about falling victim to a conspiracy?"
Felix flashed a grin at him. "Not on our watch. But if the Rector chooses to expel you, we won't be able to save you. Not even Bastien, in case I wasn't clear enough."
"Warning received. As long as Ali is with me, he's in good hands. May I give you a piece of advice, though?"
"I can't guarantee that I'll take it but go on."
"Abelard can be so nasty. As a fellow member of the same club, can't you politely put him in his place?"
Felix's beautiful mouth twisted in a grin. "Ali can take care of himself. But as the lazy bum he prefers to be, he'd love to have someone else fight his battles. Don't be that person, Lawrence. Ali is spoiled. Too spoiled."
"Duly noted."
It made sense for Felix to exert this level of protectiveness that wasn't too much to stifle Ali's own individuality. As far as brothers went, Felix Martel was a good apple.
Felix was barely out the door, when Ali opened one eye.
Lawrence stared him down, his arms crossed over his chest. "You haven't been asleep for a while, admit it."
"Ugh, all right." Ali stretched and yawned. Then he finally realized that it wasn't the norm for Lawrence to visit him instead of the other way around. "Wait, why are you here?"
A game of chess or a game of cards? Lawrence was willing to show his hand while keeping cards out of the deck completely.
"What conspiracy theory were you and Lukas into before he died?"
Ali made a perfect O with his mouth and then got out of bed like an automaton programed to execute a certain routine. "I need to wash my face."
"Deflection is not that good a look on you, partner."
Ali began brushing his teeth. He kept pointing at the foam at his mouth to justify his inability to speak.
"No problem," Lawrence said. "I can wait. As long as you don't forget your honorable pledge to uncover the truth, no matter what it entails. Do you mind if I start leafing through one of your fascinating titles?"
Ali made a troubled noise and started brushing his teeth faster. Lawrence decided against torturing his partner further and simply waited.
"How did you figure it out?" Ali asked, quickly patting his face with a towel.
"If there's ash in the grate, what does it mean?"
Ali shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Someone," Lawrence said, leaning forward, "made a fire."
"No, but seriously now. How?" Ali exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration.
"Bastien tattled on you and your passion for conspiracy theories. Lukas's last reading was a book that reads like a mystery waiting to be uncovered that involves old and new buildings alike. And," Lawrence weighed his next move, "there is a mysterious double-door on the grounds that you don't want to get anywhere near. I only had to confirm that you were, indeed, the type of student who'd rather chase the Lost Order in unlikely places instead of dedicating himself to study." He gestured at the bookshelf. "I have my confirmation, it seems."
Ali's eyes were as big as saucers as they took him in. "Larry, you are a detective."
"More deflection? Ali, what's behind those doors? You know what I'm talking about. The ones with the white oak painted on them. Or carved? Is it a carving or a painting?"
"Both," Ali admitted, his shoulder slumping in defeat. "You can't tell for sure until you're really close. It's really weird." He wrung his hands together. "Does that make me a suspect? Are you going to report me to the police?"
"If I didn't spend the last week with you, getting to know you, I probably would. But I have no intention of wasting the police's resources so you can live out the drama taking up too much of your mental energy. Tell me about the doors. What's in there?"
Ali sat gingerly on a chair. "We don't know. I mean, I don't know, because Lukas is--" He sighed and covered his face. "I needed someone to share this with. I needed it desperately."
"Why not share what you know with Bastien? Or your brother? Don't you think they want to learn the truth?"
Ali looked away. "I can't really trust anyone."
"Truly? Don't tell me you suspect everyone of having pushed Lukas to his death."
Ali squirmed in his chair. "It's not like that. But it must have been someone here." His voice dropped to a whisper. "What if," he worried his bottom lip, "I end up talking to the killer by accident? No, the fewer people know, the better."
"Know what?" Lawrence continued to press.
"Whatever is behind those doors, it's dangerous, Larry."
"Dangerous how? What makes you think that your little play at conspiracy theories had anything to do with what happened to Lukas?"
"Because he was close," Ali snapped. He pursed his lips and lowered his voice again. "He told me that he only needed to see it. That the answer had to be in front of our eyes, but we couldn't see it because we were wearing shades at night or something of the sort."
"Wasn't he sharing his findings with you?"
"Not until he was sure they were true and valid. He was a stickler for correctitude. As much as you might like to sneer at us, conspiracy theorists, it's just like you said. Ash in the grate, don't search for a freaking dragon. Find out who made the fire."
Lawrence knew Ali would be a capable conversationalist. The way they stood right now, two paths opened as possibilities: either Ali was in cahoots with the people who had hurt Lukas and wanted to keep the new transfer away from the truth, or Ali was scared because he and Lukas might have stumbled upon a thing that couldn't suffer being discovered. And yes, in that case, he needed a new friend, someone not already involved one way or another.
This interrogation, however, was not yet over.
"Still, not even your brother?" he insisted.
"Felix is with them."
"The Golden Circle, you mean?"
"Yes. And it has to be one of them. It has to be."
"Why? Can it be your brother?"
"No." Ali showed no hesitation when he said that. "But he'd be quick to dismiss whatever I tell him. He loves me, yes, but he doesn't trust me."
Ali, who Felix himself considered a liar caught one too many times. In that light, Ali's reluctance to talk to his brother made sense.
"All right. So you think it is one of them. Who?"
Ali looked down at his hands.
"Anton?" Lawrence asked.
"I… don't know," Ali said, grunting in frustration. "It's never the most obvious suspect, right?"
"You've watched too many detective movies. Reality doesn't care about Hollywood storylines. Why would it be Anton?"
"He disliked Lukas."
"Because he was Bastien's boyfriend? Anton doesn't exactly seem to be in love with Bastien."
"Not for love. For power. He was just jealous that it hadn't crossed his mind to use such designs to lure Bastien to his side. Not that Lukas did any seduction on his own. Bastien was far more invested in the game."
"Your argument regarding Anton has a flaw," Lawrence warned.
"What flaw?"
"Such entanglements are fleeting. Friendships are much more durable. Anton, if he's the Dark Eminence you claim him to be, wouldn't risk a life of advantages built on trust and loyalty for an occasional tryst."
"Well, good point," Ali mumbled.
"What about Abelard? He seems, to me at least, a lot more volatile than Anton. Maybe he thought he'd do his master a solid by eliminating Lukas."
"Abe is a dog without teeth. He bites you, and then you see that the poor dog has no teeth. How vicious can a beast like that be?"
"Ali, you might be underestimating him. He does have a nasty character."
"But, Detective, that's hardly enough to be a motive, right?"
"Fair enough. We are left with few choices. But you're wrong about Anton being the most obvious suspect. Bastien is."
"Bastien loved Lukas," Ali whispered as if it pained him physically to even consider such a possibility.
"They fought. Quite a bit, as Bastien himself admits. Nobody says that Lukas's murder was planned. It could have been an accident. A heated argument, a moment of inattention, a push meant only to prove a point, and you have a dead body on your hands."
"With all due respect, Larry, I have to ask. Is it your secret pleasure to take killers to bed, then?"
It was Lawrence's turn to wince. "Not really, no. But fair point. Your theory, however, that it must have been a member of the Golden Circle has feet made of mud. Eldric is as feeble as you are. Viv is too empty-headed, and Norris too honest. Tell me who is that you can truly suspect?"
"You're right," Ali admitted. "Norris would be strong enough to have done it, and he has always been in love with Bastien, but--"
"But he is fucking Viv anyway, so his loyalty to Bastien might not take him further than platonic admiration."
"He is fucking… okay, what the hell, Larry? You've barely been here a week! Right, you're a detective, and I said it."
"I notice things," Lawrence said breezily. He had no interest in divulging that he had only inferred Norris's involvement with Viv less than fifteen minutes ago. "But you do have a point. We can't truly exclude anyone until further proof points away from them or simply to someone else."
"What about my brother?"
"Anyone, I said."
"What about Bastien?"
"Anyone."
"What about me, then?"
Lawrence sighed. "All right. You, your brother, and Bastien are highly unlikely to have done it. You three belong at the bottom of the list. And anyway, I think that you named a possible motive that might have little or anything at all to do with the Golden Circle."
"What?"
"Your conspiracy theory, Ali. Whatever you and Lukas were working on."
"But I'm afraid to get anywhere near that, now. What if… someone pushes me off a cliff, too?"
"Stay away from cliffs," Lawrence said matter-of-factly.
Ali began to dress, showing his reluctance every step of the way.
"Stay close to me. When you're not with me, stay close to your brother."
"But what if he's the killer?"
"Paranoia will make you age prematurely, Ali. But let's play it your way. Felix would never hurt you. While fratricides have happened in history, twin killing twin--"
"Romulus killed Remus so he could give his name to Rome," Ali said pointedly.
"Are we having an academic debate now? That's what the legend says. Legend. Do I need to explain the word to you?"
"Okay, you do make a fair point. For the record, I'm not scared of my brother."
"Good. If you were, I'd have you sleep in my closet, since Bastien is taking over my bed. That monk cell wasn't made for such a crowd, I assure you."
"And I am not interested in becoming your very own Peeping Tom," Ali assured him.
They had to leave or else they'd be late for breakfast and later, lessons. Still, Lawrence had one last question he needed to ask.
"Your fight with Bastien. What was it about? I must remind you that I require honesty."
Ali fidgeted and looked pained the way someone barely waiting to use the bathroom would.
"What do you think?"
"I think it's about how you went to him with your theory regarding Lukas's death. And he must have heard enough from you over the years to dismiss you."
Ali nodded. "He even called me a clown. But I forgave him. He's been suffering the most of all of us."
Was it wise to trust Ali and his fantastic theories? What the others didn't know, thus being quick to judge their resident conspiracy theorist, was that, indeed, Lukas had been quite absorbed by such a theory and he was sharing it with Ali and only with him.
"Why do you think Lukas chose to involve you and no one else, not even Bastien?"
"Extracurricular activities are not exactly encouraged or condoned here. Lukas was smarter than me. He didn't expose himself to the others' disapproval."
"What happens with you and your music."
"Yes."
"So did Lukas care about not being judged?"
"Nothing like that. He just didn't need anyone getting in the way. Oh, and he didn't exactly come to me with his theories. I… let's say that I sort of stumbled on his research by accident and he agreed to us becoming partners."
"In exchange for your silence, I bet. Do you always acquire partners by strong-arming them?"
Ali offered him a perfect innocent smile. He even dared the bat his eyelashes, the imp. "When have I ever strong-armed you into anything, Larry?"
TBC