The Blood Alchemist Chronicles

by Alexia C. Praks

  John took the bait and said, “John O’Neill.”

  Maiko sighed in resignation at John’s trusting nature. He was truly innocent, despite his age, and she knew they were at a disadvantage where their position was concerned.

  She said, “John, please don’t offer them any more information. Your master would be very displeased with your willingness to aid these people.”

  John frowned darkly at this, which made most of the men in the room draw back in aghast. He truly looked intimidating when he scowled so severely.

  Indeed, John was troubled by Maiko’s words and was upset with himself for doing something that would have displeased his beloved Master Dan. He said lowly, as an upset child would, “Sorry, Maiko-dono.”

  Standing to one side of the room, Zach watched the entire exchange between his relatives and their suspects. He did not miss the golden glow of Maiko’s eyes, nor the strength of her supernatural qi. From what he had witnessed thus far, he presumed the woman was no ordinary person. Considering she was of Japanese origin and had that particular striking beauty—slanted, phoenix-shaped eyes with slim face, small chin, and spun-gold hair that wasn’t dyed as the current fashion favored—she must be one of the Sacred Beasts of the East, according to the manuscript written by the Sage Xi Ling, a Taoist philosopher from the twelfth century.

  He understood his cousin Jeremy’s proposition and took over the interrogation.

  Once his younger brother Connor had finished thanking John for the offered information, he came to stand in the center of the room, thus drawing everyone’s undivided attention. He said, his eyes on Sir Arthur Fielding, Detective Chief Inspector from Scotland Yard, who had walked in on them some half an hour ago, “If I may, I have a method I find works marvelously.”

  “What is this method of yours, my lord?” Sir Fielding asked, his brows raised in curiosity.

  Zach eyed Sir Fielding, who was standing beside the desk with his arms folded across his chest for a moment. Then he turned his attention to his father, the earl of Middlemarch, standing beside Alessandro Creco, the conte of Acquaviva Plataniat from the kingdom of Darnia. When he noted them waiting patiently for him to begin his method of interrogation, he turned to their suspects, the rough-looking man who, by Connor’s unusual coquettish way, they deciphered was named John O’Neill and the Japanese beauty named Miro Maiko.

  Instinctively, Zach knew these two had nothing to do with the shooting and neither were they the woman’s accomplices. As for the dead maid, he wasn’t sure if they had anything to do with that. He knew, however, that they were the youth’s co-conspirators, and the youth knew something about the shooting. Obviously, the youth must have heard or seen something tonight, and he suspected it had happened in the library. That also meant the youth was the prime suspect for the maid’s murder.

  “It is called hypnotism.” He began at large. “The subject will only tell the truth as to what he has heard, seen, or experienced.”

  “So, how does it work?” Alessandro asked.

  “Psychology, my lord. Now, if I may,” Zach said. He pulled out a chair from the desk and placed it opposite John. Then he sat down, as everyone in the room, including his father, crowded around them, waiting to see what he was about to do.

  Zach took out his gold-chain watch from his left breast pocket, lifted his hand, and dropped the jewel. Then he started to swing the timepiece like a pendulum.

  “Now, Mr. O’Neill,” he said, as the watch swung back and forth. “I want you to look at the watch, follow it with your eyes.”

  John hesitated for a moment, confused, and wasn’t sure what to do. He glanced at Maiko for guidance and saw her shaking her head. Determined to be on guard this time, he returned his attention to the watch as it was swinging side to side insistently in front of him.

  “Look at the watch, Mr. O’Neill,” Zach said firmly, his tone low but commanding.

  John refused at first, averting his good eye and thinking how his Master Dan would be so pleased with him for not aiding these people. But that beautiful, golden watch swinging so insistently before him was enticing him like a flame for a moth. Suddenly, his canine, playful instinct took over, and he eagerly ogled the shiny timepiece, wanting so badly to toy with it. His good eye followed the pendulum, left to right, then right to left, and back to right again.

  The room was in a complete silence as the audience’s attention was glued on the scene taking place. Slowly, John’s eyelids began to drop and then shut. A moment later, as if he were trying to fight the hypnotism, he flickered his eyes open, but only to slowly drop again.

  Zach’s face was impassive as he watched John carefully, taking in every detail.

  “Now, Mr. O’Neill,” he said. “You are beginning to feel drowsy. Soon, you will go into a deep slumber. I want you to relax. Let your mind wander.”

  John shut his eyes completely and his head fell forward as though he were in a deep sleep.

  Zach halted the swinging watch and leaned toward John. He inspected the man closely, noting their suspect was in a trance as he expected, and then began.

  “Mr. O’Neill, you will remember everything that has happened today. You will listen to my questions, and you will answer them accordingly.”

  John’s body became fully relaxed as his head fell farther forward.

  “Mr. O’Neill?” Zach asked. “Can you hear me?”

  John nodded his head obediently in reply.

  “Amazing!” Alessandro said. “Now, ask him the questions.”

  Zach nodded and said, “Mr. O’Neill, please lift your head and open your eyes.”

  Obediently, John raised his head and flickered his eyes open.

  Zach leaned forward and stared into John’s eyes, or rather one of his eyes, the working one. The brown iris was dull and the dark pupil unfocused. Then he began the interview.

  “Tell me your full name,” he instructed.

  “John O’Neill.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Newfoundland.”

  “Where is that?”

  “A small island near Canada.”

  Zach narrowed his eyes at the answer as he stored that information away in his mind. He continued. “Where were you this morning?”

  “At the Thames with Master Dan,” was his prompt reply.

  “Whoa, that was good,” one of the policeman said.

  Connor nodded his head and said, “Way to go, brother. So far, so good.”

  Zach continued. “What were you doing at the Thames?”

  “A new ship came in from America. We picked up our friends.”

  “Who are your friends?”

  “Ones with bucket loads of money Master Dan said.”

  Zach had no doubt what that meant. Friends with buckets of money from America. Must be pickpocketing indeed.

  He continued. “What were you doing before you came to Hasting House this evening?”

  “Admiring Master Dan... Looked very handsome... The earring makes Master Dan look like a young pirate.”

  Zach swallowed his urge to laugh.

  Mystery solved!

  So this Master Dan was indeed the youth he had met this evening. Suddenly, he could just imagine those small hands of the youth sliding into the pocket of his unsuspected victim. What a shrewd little devil this Master Dan is.

  He continued his interrogation. “What were you doing in Hasting House?”

  “Enjoying ourselves... Master Dan... instruction...”

  Ah, Master Dan again. Small, he realized, but powerful. Then he simply needed to know why this Master Dan was so powerful, which meant he had to structure his question carefully to get the answer he desired. He cleared his throat and said, “Who is Master Dan? Why do you follow your Master Dan’s orders?”

  Maiko’s head snapped up. “John! No!” she shouted.

  Everyone turned to look at her then, frowning darkly at her interruption.

  Jeremy, who was standing beside her, frowned at her and said, “Please be silen
t, mistress, while we conduct our investigation.”

  Maiko clamped her mouth shut and stared at John, demanding him to stop talking nonsense. But it seemed John wasn’t in control of his own mind. She was holding her breath as she, and everyone else in the room, waited for John’s answer.

  “Master Dan... my master. Master Dan’s seventeenth birthday.”

  Maiko breathed out a sigh of relief. She was pleased nothing of importance was revealed. Ironically, thanks to John being an innocent simpleton.

  Zach glanced at Maiko. He knew she was relieved because John did not answer the question directly.

  So, the youth hadn’t lied to him that it was his seventeenth birthday today. But what about the maid’s murder in the library? The corpse they had found a few hours ago by incident? Zach suspected it wasn’t just a simple murder. The corpse itself was indeed unnatural, as though she had been killed by a creature that was not human.

  “What about the maid? Do you know a maid named Ruth Richmond?”

  John shook his head.

  “Do you know who wanted to murder her?”

  Again, John shook his head.

  Zach glanced at Maiko as he was about to ask his next question. He noted the woman’s face had turned pale, almost white. He guessed she suspected he was about to ask John the question she didn’t want him to answer—the whereabouts of their home. Oddly enough, Zach decided to drop that particular question. He’d order his own men to investigate. It won’t be that hard.

  His mind made up, he moved on to the next question at hand. “Mr. O’Neill, are you an accomplice of the woman in the magenta gown?”

  “No.”

  “Then what were you doing below stairs?”

  “Looking for a man, as instructed by Master Dan.”

  Jeremy cleared his throat and said, “If you ask me, looks like they were snooping around for something rather than searching for a man. And what about the dead maid?”

  Maiko took the opportunity. “We were looking for a man. Err... our friend,” she said to Jeremy. “Now you know the truth. We are not that woman’s accomplices, nor did we do anything wrong apart from looking for our friend.”

  “Then what about those rings I found on you?” Jeremy said, his face so close to her that Maiko could feel his warm breath on her skin.

  She blushed. That reminder only made her angry as she suddenly remembered his hands over her body, searching her, after she and John had gotten caught. How dare he? She swore she’d teach him a lesson after this sorry mess was sorted out.

  “Those were ours,” she snapped.

  “Be careful, mistress. Stealing can cost you your life.” Jeremy warned, eyes glinting.

  “Now, then,” Alessandro said, turning to Zach. “It seems as though this man cannot give us any more information.”

  Zach nodded. He turned to John and said, “Mr. O’Neill, I’m going to count to three, and when I’m done, you will wake up.”

  John nodded.

  Zach counted, and when he was up to three, John blinked and came completely awake. He looked around him in confusion.

  “Do you remember what just happened?” Sir Fielding asked.

  John looked at the detective blankly, shaking his head. Sir Fielding nodded.

  “It’s her turn,” Jeremy said.

  * * *

  Two constables standing behind the woman in the magenta gown brought her forward and seated her on the chair John had just vacated. After a bit of struggling, she finally calmed down and gave Zach a hard stare.

  Ignoring the disgruntled glare from the woman’s eyes, Zach began the process by swinging the watch, thus creating a pendulum effect. When he noted their suspect still refused to comply, he said, “Please look at the watch, mistress.”

  The woman stubbornly refused to oblige and turned her face in defiance.

  “She is not cooperating,” one of the constables said.

  “That means she is guilty,” another commented, nodding.

  Zach was patient as he continued to swing the watch back and forth. He knew soon she’d have no choice but to conform.

  The first policeman, however, was not patient. He came forward and thrust her face up forcefully.

  Watching the scene ever so carefully, Connor didn’t like the way the rookie policeman was treating their suspect. He came over and said in exasperation, “Oi! Oi! No need to be rough with the lady.”

  He shooed away the disgruntled-looking constable with a wave of his hand. Then he got down to one knee and said, “Please, mistress. Comply with us. It’s easier that way. The sooner we get this done, the sooner this is over for you.”

  He leaned closer and whispered so only she could hear him. “Besides, this is only for show. You truly don’t believe this hypnotism works, do you?” He gave her a meaningful look, his emerald eyes twinkling.

  The woman stared at him long and hard. A moment later, Connor nodded and got up, returning to his position by his father.

  Zach knew Connor’s words had done the trick and began to swing his timepiece again. “Mistress, please look at the watch,” he instructed.

  The woman was persistent at first, refusing to look at the watch by shutting her eyes and tilting her face away. A moment later, she seemed to have complied and opened her eyes again. To Zach’s relief, her gaze followed the rhythm of the timepiece, and it wasn’t long before she fell under its spell.

  Noting her eyes begin to drop, he said, “You are beginning to feel drowsy. You will soon go into a deep slumber.”

  The woman’s head fell forward, her eyes shutting completely.

  Zach caught the end of his watch, thus ending the pendulum effect, and put it back into his breast pocket. Then he began. “Mistress, can you hear me?”

  The woman nodded.

  “Please lift your head and open your eyes.”

  Obediently, the woman did as she was instructed.

  Zach leaned in closer so his eyes and hers were level with each other. As he stared deep into the hazel of those irises, he began the cross-examination.

  “Tell me your full name,” he instructed.

  “Jenny Katherine Turner,” she replied tonelessly, in a trance, her eyes staring into the void.

  “And the man who is your accomplice?”

  “Peter Jason Turner,” she said.

  “What is he to you, mistress?”

  “My husband.”

  “Are these two, Mistress Miro Maiko and Mr. John O’Neill, your accomplices?”

  With her face impassive and her eyes staring into the void, she said mechanically, “No.”

  The audience murmured to one another at this revelation.

  Zach said, “Have you ever seen them before this night?”

  “No.”

  Zach didn’t beat about the bush and went on to more important questions. “Tell me what happened before the shooting, in detail.”

  A long silence and then, “We were in a room. I don’t know which one... Peter led the way... It was on the first floor... It was dimly lit... I could hardly see him. I was scared, but Peter insisted we go through with it.”

  Zach narrowed his eyes.

  So, that was what Master Dan had witnessed. He had heard the two talking. Otherwise, the youth wouldn’t have asked to be taken to his father to inform the man of the potential danger.

  Zach stored the information away in his mind. “What happened next?”

  “I gave Peter the pistol,” she said.

  Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for the woman to continue, including Daniella, Ren, and Shin outside.

  “I was scared. Peter kissed me... He does that. He loves me... He held my hands... We went to the ballroom...” She paused for a moment. “The earl started making his speech...” She paused again. “When the crowd laughed, Peter shot the king.”

  The constables nodded at the narrated testimonial, even if it was somewhat volunteered by unusual means.

  Zach glanced over to his left, and his eyes met Sir
Fielding’s. There was a silent, mutual communication between the two.

  Zach returned his attention to his subject and continued. “Was the king of Darnia your target?”

  The woman replied promptly, “Yes.”

  Zach turned to look at his father then.

  The earl of Middlemarch and Sir Fielding both turned to look at Alessandro at the same time, who was shocked and, indeed, confused as to why anyone would want his king dead.

  “Why did you want to kill the king of Darnia?” Zach asked the burning question.

  “We were ordered,” came the reply from Mrs. Turner.

  “By whom?”

  “A man.”

  Zach narrowed his eyes. “Who is this man?”

  “The Master.”

  Everyone in the room looked at one another, murmuring about who this Master could be.

  Zach asked, “Who is the Master?”

  “We do not know his real name... We only refer to him as the Master, as we have been instructed.”

  Zach decided to go around the topic. Trying to find the answer they needed by asking the woman direct questions would never work.

  “Mistress, tell me when you and Peter were given the order,” he instructed.

  “A week ago.”

  “Tell me what happened a week ago from this day.”

  “The Master came.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “I did not see him.”

  “Then how did you know he came?”

  “Peter talked to the Master’s servant. The servant said the Master was in the carriage.”

  “What did the man tell you and Peter?”

  “To murder the king of Darnia.”

  “What else did he say?”

  Mrs. Turner was quiet for a moment. Zach thought she had no answer to this and was about to move on to the next question when she said impassively, “He said there will be murder in his house. Nobody will suspect him because it is his birthday and he is the earl of Middlemarch.”

  Silence.

  Sir Fielding and the earl looked at each other.

  “What did you say?” Zach leaned forward, frowning.

  “The earl of Middlemarch is powerful. He will use you again in the future,” Mrs. Turner said mechanically.