Love Journal – As Told By An Emotionally Constipated Half-Genius - Chapter 229

The study room was something that made Scarlet’s heart flutter. If there was a desktop on that oak study desk, everything would be perfect! It would be her ideal home office but Scarlet didn’t have much time to appreciate it. Edward started working immediately and Scarlet looked around, not knowing where to start.

Eventually, Scarlet just decided to look at the scripts and study where to find the doc.u.ments to support the evidence and story of the information they’d gotten from the actors. The first thing she wanted to confirm was the invitation list for the guests. If Miss Katherine’s name wasn’t there, Scarlet hoped to find a separate invitation letter elsewhere.

As the writer went through the invitation list, Edward was working on something else. He was hoping to find a bonus list of names for the schedule of servants working because the murder suspect in his mind had never changed. He wasn’t expecting the game master to be so detailed to hide a schedule of servant rosters in the study with a pile of useless doc.u.ments. However, he was still pleased with the outcome.

Nook grinned at last while the couple went through the study room and the doc.u.ments. This was the most time-consuming portion of the second stage simply because of the amount of distraction and unnecessary details that often confuse participants. He hoped that it would stall them for long enough to cross the twenty-minute mark but his hopes were crushed when Edward showed Scarlet what he found.

“Nice work,” she smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I found the invitation list for the party but Miss Katherine’s name isn’t on it. We still have to find the letter inviting her to clear her name.”

Edward agreed and picked up the journal that belonged to Mr Roger. Strangely, while all the information was useful, they were not tagged. Edward didn’t pay much attention and left reading the juicy information to Scarlet while the girl took down notes in her case file. He was looking only for potential items with tags when he found something that shouldn’t be revealed so early in the game.

The picture frame on the wall could be moved and Edward froze. There was certainly something behind the picture frame and he looked back to see if Scarlet was watching. When she wasn’t watching, Edward shifted it to take a peek behind and smirked. Now, things were getting more interesting. The game master must really have taken his inspirations from classic detective movies. Nobody hides a safe behind their paintings nowadays. Besides, back in the Victorian days, people didn’t really have safes of this design. Still, he had to give it to the game master for trying. The one key and one knob design was victoria-ish but the magnetic mechanism behind the lock wasn’t. Antique safes used a complex locking mechanism and not electromagnets. Strangely, there were no tags yet so Edward didn’t bother with it.

They didn’t stay too long in the room, only five minutes before they left. Without any tagged items, Edward deemed it a bust and a time-wasting trap that Scarlet agreed and quickly left to find the maid.

Nook had mixed feelings as the couple left to find the last suspect. He hoped that the maid actress could stall them for a longer time than everyone else.

The maid was an interesting character as Edward thought she would be. She had a poker face on the entire time they questioned her and the story matched what they learnt from the chef. She had indeed been the one to talk to the chef and asked him to pass the wine to the master of the house last night while attending to Miss Katherine. According to this timeline, there was no way she had any chances of poisoning the master. They also couldn’t find a suitable motive.

“What do you think of Miss Roger and Mr Roger’s relationship? I think you’re aware of Mr Moreau’s relationship with Miss Roger.”

This was a trick question and Scarlet was hoping that the maid would take the bait to answer what she knew. Edward knew what his girlfriend was up to and supported the idea. Unfortunately for them, the maid was a more professional actress than even the guest actress and they couldn’t get her to talk more than what she was asked. Scarlet looked at her question cards, things were not doing good.

Pulling Edward aside, she asked if they could demand to search her room because the maid didn’t seem like she had a favourable enough opinion of them to warrant such a thing. Edward thought about it and told her to leave it to him.

“We found the roster of the staff in the study,” Edward began. “We also spoke to the chef and there was something that didn’t match. Normally, maids were on a roster to aid Mr Roger with his nightly routine. However, according to the chef, you had been the one delivering his wine every night which meant that for a while now, you’ve been the sole person attending to Mr Roger’s nightly routine. Could you explain that to us?”

The maid’s eyes widened for a fraction and Scarlet looked around the room in hopes to find something. The maid seemed a little apprehensive when she did that and Scarlet asked for permission to search the maid’s room based on that assumption that the maid was hiding something suspicious.

“I have nothing to hide,” the maid actress declared bravely and allowed the couple to search her room.

Edward and Scarlet gave each other hi-fives and the maid actress shot a look of help to one of the cameras that she knew Nook was watching. It was probably the first time that someone had found the link between the useless staff schedule and the chef’s story. That was a bonus that they slipped in and wasn’t a huge part of this murder mystery storyline but the couple was simply too sharp and followed the clues like sharks after blood.

After a minute of searching and flawless teamwork, Edward discovered a strange item although it wasn’t tagged. Why was there a man’s tie in a maid’s private quarters?

Scarlet was slightly surprised at the turn of events. Surely this was not another romantic thing happening, right? According to the backstory that Katherine told her, the master’s wife was often away. This maid couldn’t possibly be his mistress, right?

“Why do you have a man’s tie in your room? If I wasn’t mistaken, this is the same tie that the dead master wore. We saw him wearing something exactly the same earlier. Can you explain?”

Finally, the maid’s expression changed into one of regret although Scarlet didn’t know if this was genuine regret or a faked expression of regret. Regardless, this actress was extremely convincing and Scarlet found herself doubting about who the true murderer was.

“I cannot hide anything from you, inspector. You’re too smart so I shan’t withhold the truth. Yes, I know about Miss Roger and Mr Moreau’s illicit relationship and I am in no position to comment about it because I am in one myself with the late Mr Roger.”

Usually, there would be some kind of dramatic response at the revelation but neither Edward nor Scarlet reacted. Scarlet calmly took down notes and Edward carried on with the interrogation about the maid’s activities last night and the people she saw. They were currently no longer following the script and Scarlet wondered how the actress was able to keep up with Edward’s intensive questioning session. Even the things that she didn’t manage to think of, Edward did.

“I see, so you’ve been romantically involved with Mr Roger for over three years now. Can I say that you’ve also taken over the routine of nightly duty and most aspects of his daily needs ever since you’ve gotten closer to each other?”

The maid nodded and Edward smiled. “Does Miss Roger or Mrs Roger know about this?”

Horrified, the maid shook her head. “They can never! Mr Roger told me that it was only a fling and that there would be benefits. He wasn’t an unfaithful man, he was simply a lonely one.”

That sounded horribly ironic to Scarlet but she didn’t comment on it. She kept her judgement to herself and continued taking notes despite feeling anger simmering beneath her calm surface. What a sc.u.m of a man! Even if this was a game, he deserved to die for cheating on his good wife.

“What kind of benefits did he promise you?” Edward asked. “A stable job? A pay raise? Or the title of the mistress of this house?”

At this, the maid decided not to answer and smiled bitterly. “Does it matter now? He’s dead.”

Scarlet just stared at the actress dumbly as Edward concluded the interview and thanked her. On their way out, Edward told Scarlet that there was no longer a need to talk to the daughter again.

“Why?” she asked. They still had points that are uncovered, how could Edward be so confident? Once the scenario ended, it couldn’t be turned back. Scarlet was also considering going back to talk to the guest but Edward patted her on the head with a smile.

“I’ll explain it to you after this while the stagehands work. I have a feeling we know who the murderer is already. Let’s end this for now, alright? Time is ticking and I know you want to be thorough but there really isn’t a need. The murderer has already exposed themselves.”

Scarlet looked at Edward then nodded. If he said that it was resolved, she would do her best to be patient and wait for him to talk.