As Eve approached the mansion's entrance, she noticed Alfie appear to greet the men and lead them inside. Soon she entered the mansion and saw Vincent and his father walking from the other end of the hallways.
"Good morning, Viscount Moriarty. Mr. Moriarty," the two men greeted while Lady Camillie's butler deeply bowed his head.
"Good morning," Vincent greeted the two men who were the officers looking after Skellington. He asked, "What brings you two gentlemen here this early in the morning?"
"Lady Camille Wright has been reported to be missing since last evening. Even her coachman. We are trying to search for her, Mr. Moriarty," answered one of the men, who wore a brown coat. "Her butler here was worried and informed us."
Eve's eyes fell on the butler, who looked tense and had a suspicious look in his eyes. As the people stood in the middle of the hallways, she had to walk past them if she was going to the piano room.
"It is always good to have a reliable butler," Vincent praised the butler, and he asked, "Did you find anything so far about where she last went?"
The man in the brown coat nodded and said, "Lady Camille's carriage was found in front of Lady Layla's mansion without the coachman. But the butler said that the last time he spoke to her, she told she was on her way here. To your mansion"
"Here?" Eduard questioned with a frown. "What time did she leave home?"
Lady Camille's butler answered, "It was around four or before it."
Eve heard Senior Mr. Moriarty state, "If she was here, we would have definitely known because we were in the mansion. Alfie," the man turned to the butler. "Did you see her?"
The butler bowed and replied, "No, Sire. I was at the entrance getting the carriage ready. I would have seen her."
The man held a grim expression and said, "We have already spoken to Lady Layla before coming here and would like to question the people in the mansion. If you don't mind? We don't mean to doubt you or the people who work here. It's just for protocol's sake."
"Of course, we understand, Walter. Anything so that we can find Lady Camille," Vincent calmly responded, offering the key to the two men to unlock the door of answers.
With how he was behaving, it was as if he hadn't helped her bury the ground last night, Eve thought in her mind. As she got closer, her eyes met Vincent's for the briefest second, before walking away from there.
One of the two men, whose eyes fell on Eve's back, asked, "Who is that?"
"That is my youngest daughter's governess," Eduard answered. "Why don't we take this conversation to the drawing room? You can then inquire whomever you want there."
"Thank you for your cooperation. It is very much appreciated," the person in the brown coat replied, while being led to the mansion's drawing room.
Eve reached the piano room and was about to step inside the room, when her eyes fell on Lady Camille's body lying on the ground. For a second, she stopped in shock, only to realise it was her mind playing tricks and there was nothing on the floor.
"Ms. Barlow?" Came the small voice that belonged to Allie.
Eve looked away from the ground and looked at the young vampiress, who was already in the room, who stared at her. Mustering a smile, she greeted the small girl, "Good morning, Miss Allie. Did you finish your breakfast?" It was because the vampiress always came ten to fifteen minutes after she entered the room.
Allie nodded and replied, "Toast, blood, boiled potatoes."
Sounded like a wholesome meal in the household of vampires, Eve thought. She placed her things on one side of the room. When she came near the table, Allie jumped out of the chair and jumped to hug Eve's legs because of her height.
Eve was slightly surprised by the small vampiress's action. She placed her hand on the girl's head, gently stroking it and asked, "Did something happen?"
Allie didn't move for a few seconds and whispered something that Eve didn't quite catch at first.
"I was worried," said the little one.
Eve wondered if Vincent had told Allie about what happened and, if he did, how much he had shared with the girl. She assured the girl, "You don't have to be worried about me. I am here standing in front of you now."
The young vampiress pulled away from Eve while dropping her small hands to her side.
Eve saw Allie craning her neck, where the small girl's worried eyes met hers, as if to ensure Eve was alright. The action was enough to warm Eve's heart. Allie's eyes shifted to look at her governess's neck, which was now covered by her collared dress. Seeing the small frown on the small girl's face brought a smile to Eve's lips.
This caught Allie off guard, and she looked at her governess in question.
"We should get some studying done now, Miss Allie. What do you think?" Eve asked Allie, who quickly complied as if her governess's words were absolute.
While teaching Allie, Eve tried to keep her mind occupied. After some time, the two men of authority, Lady Camille's butler, Alfie and Vincent, appeared in front of the door. Vincent knocked on the piano room's door and smiled at Eve,
"Ms. Barlow, these two gentlemen here want to ask a few questions."
Eve nodded, standing up and facing them. She offered them a bow.
The man in the brown coat introduced himself, "I am Walter Holmes and this is Adrian Parker. We are here with questions that concern Lady Camille Wright. Have you met her before?"
"I have. I am acquainted with her niece. Rosetta Hooke," Eve answered the question.
"Did you meet her yesterday or see her?" Came the obvious question Eve was expecting.
Eve had gone through the scenarios so many times in her mind that she was now calm and shook her head. Yes, she said in her mind.
"No, I didn't." Buried her body.
While Eve was questioned and she answered the basic things, another man's eyes fell on the little vampiress in the room, and he said to Vincent, "I would like to ask your sister questions."
For the men to want to make a thorough check here, it meant only two things. Either the men were covering all grounds, or the butler had his suspicion focused here.
Vincent nodded, "Go ahead. As you know, my younger sister isn't too fond of speaking to strangers, but you can ask simple questions with yes or no. She's more cooperative than her elder sister," he smiled at the men, where one of them grimaced as if they had just met and inquired with the Viscount's first daughter.
"Miss Allie," Walter asked the young vampiress, "Did you see Lady Camille in the mansion?"
Allie shook her head.
"I see. It looks like something happened between Lady Camille's house and yours, Mr. Moriarty," Walter said to Vincent.
Lady Camille's butler said worriedly, "Do you think someone kidnapped her?"
"It could be one of the possibilities. But who would ever have the audacity to kidnap a woman from Skellington? Less when she's the Marquee's sister," Vincent looked appalled and asked, "Did she have any quarrel with anyone recently?"
The butler pursed his lips, staring at Vincent, "I don't think so, Sire."
Vincent said, "Isn't it odd that something like this happened after Marquee Hooke left? Maybe it is someone who was targeting him?"
Walter sighed and replied, "Nothing can be told right now. Lady Layla said the carriage had been stationed since last evening, and hasn't moved from there. Some people found the coachman next to the carriage until late at night and then he disappeared with no trace. If we find the coachman, we would be able to get answers on where Lady Camille is." He then turned to look at Vincent and said, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Moriarty. We would like to take our leave."
"Always a pleasure," Vincent offered a charming smile to the two men.
"Mr. Moriarty," the other man bowed and stepped out of the room. Vincent turned to the butler, who quickly bowed and followed the men to lead them out of the mansion.
Eve let out a sigh of relief. She was sure the two men would bombard her with questions, but they didn't. Technically, she was an outsider, and it wasn't easy for her to be the prime suspect.
"You don't have to be bothered with it now. I told you I got everything covered," Vincent remarked with a crooked smile. He walked to where his younger sister was and patted her head. "You did well," he praised.
That was right, Allie had seen Lady Camille with her in this room, yet she had denied seeing the woman.
Eve asked Vincent, "You told her?"
"Allie came to me this morning. She saw Camille's body with your feet through the gap below the door yesterday. Next time drag the body to the corner," Vincent explained in a nonchalant way. He said, "Hamster is good with secrets."
Eve noticed Vincent pat Allie's head. This got the little girl to close her eyes slightly as if enjoying it with a small smile.
