CWs/TWs: mentioned relapsing, mentioned murder, mentioned suicide

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Pearl cleared her throat. "Where were you on the night of August twenty-third?"

fWhip fidgeted nervously. "I was with my fiance, Sausage..."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"You look so handsome," Sausage said fondly, making me turn around and smile, much to my tailor's dismay. "Oh, and you're even more stunning from the front. Though the back's a pretty good view, if you know what I mean." He winked, and I rolled my eyes to play off the blush that rose on my cheeks. Sausage walked over and kissed me, resting his hands on my hips. "You look good in a suit."

I scoffed. "Suits are stuffy," I huffed, which I knew had probably angered my tailer, "and stiff and insufferable to wear." Sausage snorted, and I could just imagine the tailor throw his arms up in the air in disbelief. "They're so... not me."

"It's just for one day," Sausage said gently, tilting my chin up. "You'll live."

"Will I?"

Sausage smiled and kissed me again, curling his arms around my waist to wrap them around my torso, hugging me loosely. "You've been so busy lately, I've hardly gotten to see you at all," he said quietly. "I've missed you."

I smiled, too, closing my eyes as I hugged my fiance. "I've missed you, too, Sausage," I breathed. "I'm sorry we haven't been able to be around each other lately. It's just the coronation, it takes a lot of time-"

"I know," Sausage said, pulling away to rest his hands on my shoulders, keeping me arm's length away. "You don't need to apologise, I totally get it. I'll get over it once the coronation is over and we can finally start planning our wedding."

I couldn't help the sheepish smile that crept onto my lips. I was so excited to be married, I could barely think about anything else most of the time. "Okay."

Sausage giggled, then kissed me one last time before making his leave, letting my tailor finish his job.

Later on, I had greeted Lord and Lady Estels from the Elven kingdom of Rivendell, as well as Prince- no, King Scott and his new husband, the Codfather, upon their arrival in the Grimmlands. Princess Sephone Moon from Gilded Helianthia arrived not much later, followed by Wizard Gem and King Joel and his wife, Queen Lizzie. All of them being there so early before the celebration made me nervous, but Sausage being there with me calmed my nerves a bit.

All of the royalty and nobility were checked into the VIP suites at the Grimm Hotel after a bit of sightseeing around the kingdom, most of them wanted to just see what was new in town.

"I see the old tavern is still intact," Joel said, and I nodded proudly.

"It's the best tavern on the continent," I said.

After they were settled into their suites at the hotel, I returned to my mansion for a while.

I came back to the hotel around eight P.M. to find the place a wreck. Chaos filled every inch of the place; the Codfather was comforting a wailing King Scott, King Joel and Queen Lizzie were hurriedly checking out of their suite, Wizard Gem was trying to calm Conner Thompson, who looked like he was going to have a panic attack, and all of the staff were running around like headless chickens.

"What's going on here?" I asked, walking briskly over to Mr. Thompson. "Conner?"

Mr. Thompson was hyperventilating. "The- The Estels- They- They're dead-"

My eyes widened in surprise. How could they have been murdered? The Grimm Hotel very much did not take security lightly. Not with so many people of such high social status checking in every day. I looked over at Scott, realising that that was why he was crying.

"I don't get it," Scott sobbed, letting his husband hug him tighter. "They were such good Elves! They did nothing wrong..."

I huffed. "We'll get to the bottom of this," I said confidently to Scott, hoping it would be of some comfort to the poor Elven king. "I know just who to call."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"So, you were... where and doing what exactly?" Pearl asked. "During the time they were murdered, I mean."

"I was at the mansion being fitted for my suit," fWhip answered.

Pearl nodded. Odd how he mentioned the tailor had already finished the suit before he greeted the Estels, she thought to herself, jotting down a note about it. "And there was nothing out of the ordinary?" she asked. "Nothing out of place? Nothing even feeling out of place?"

fWhip shook his head. "The only thing I can really think of is the fact that Joel and Lizzie left right after it happened, though I would've left, too, if royals were murdered just a few doors down from me," he said.

"What about the crime scene?" she questioned further. "Were there any notes or strange messages left behind by the murderer?"

"No."

"Okay." Pearl made another note, then tore the paper off of her notepad to place in a manila file folder. "That's all I need, thank you. And good luck at your coronation."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"I hate this," Ms. Maymerry said in an unusually high-pitched tone, shaking her head and fidgeting with her hands. "He was a good man, a good man! He didn't deserve to die, no, I should've been the one- I should've been the one-"

"Ms. Maymerry," Mumbo said gently, "I need you focus for me, okay?" She nodded, though she looked anything but focused. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened the night the Estels died."

She nodded again. "I had been watering the flowers just before..."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"Hello, Ms. Maymerry," Mr. Thompson said to me as I came inside from the garden. He gave me a soft smile and I blushed.

"Y-yes," I stammered nervously. "Hel- hello, sir!"

He chuckled and shook his head as he walked toward his office. I watched as he closed the door behind him before going upstairs to check on the royals that had just arrived only hours before. I grabbed my cart with all of my cleaning supples on it from the closet at the end of the hall before checking up on everyone.

But when I started down the hall, a note fell from the cart. I picked it up to read it.

"When the church bell strikes eight . . ."

I didn't think much of it, so I tossed it into the trash and went on my way. I figured it didn't mean anything.

I knocked on Princess Sephone's door and she answered immediately. I asked if she needed anything and she politely asked for a pitcher of water and a couple glasses.

I went to the Estels room next, screaming horrifically when I opened the door after no one answered. Sephone was quick run out and make sure I was okay, catching me when I nearly fainted. The other royals followed suit in making sure nothing was wrong, then suddenly King Scott was sobbing.

Lord and Lady Estels had been brutally murdered.

I rushed to tell Mr. Thompson in hopes that he would know what to do about the situation, but it seemed that I only caused him a great deal of panic by doing so. Eventually the entire staff had found out and were terrified as if they were all next on the murderer's list. King Joel and Queen Lizzie had even checked out and returned to Mezalea and The Ocean Empire.

Fortunately, fWhip knew what to do.

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

Mumbo finished writing down what she was saying, then scribbled down some of his own thoughts about the story. He found it strange that she had been "watering the flowers" so late in the evening, seeing as the bodies were discovered around eight P.M.

"Mr. Thompson was a good man," Ms. Maymerry muttered, slowly returning to her nervous hysteria from before. Mumbo felt bad for her; she was clearly traumatised about Mr. Thompson's death. Though he did take into account that it could've been an act. "He was a good man, a good man-" She took a shaky breath. "He didn't deserve death, he was a good man..." She continued to murmur about Mr. Thompson, though her volune decreased substantially and Mumbo could no longer understand what she was saying.

He chose to continue interrogating her. "Ms. Maymerry, can you tell me more about-"

"He should've killed me instead!" she screamed suddenly, then dissolved into a fit of sobs. "He should've killed me..."

"He?"

Ms. Maymerry didn't answer.

"Ms. Maymerry, who is 'he'?" Mumbo asked urgently, shaking her arm. "Ms. Maymerry, what do you know that you're not telling me?"

She wailed and shook her head.

She definitely knew something about the murderer, and it just might have been his identity.

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"Petal," the Codfather, Jimmy, said softly to Scott, who was reluctant to say anything to Impulse about the murders. "Come on, I know you're upset, but we could help solve this."

Scott huffed and turned his face away, his braided hair swinging over his shoulder.

"Petal," Jimmy said again.

Impulse gave Scott a reassuring smile. "This is a safe place, Your Majesty," he said gently. "If you know anything, anything at all, I need to know. We can't bring justice in honour of the Estels if we don't have all of the information."

Scott glanced at Impulse, then sighed. "Fine," he said, and that was the first time Impulse had heard him speak. He had a rather regal sounding voice, and mixed with his accent, too, it was even more beautiful. "I watched Ms. Maymerry go into the Estels' room, then she left the floor. She came back a little while later with her cart and she dropped a note on the floor. I picked it up to give it to her, but when I read it, it said something weird."

Impulse nodded. "What did it say?"

"'When the church bell strikes eight.'"

"That's the exact time when Ms. Maymerry discovered the bodies," Jimmy said. "Could there be a connection there?"

Scott sighed and played with one of his earrings. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was Ms. Maymerry," he said bluntly. "She's awfully suspicious."

"Do you have anything else worth sharing?" Impulse asked. "Anything at all?"

Scott shook his head. "Not other than the fact that Sephone took too much pity on Ms. Maymerry," he huffed. "She was even using magic to comfort her."

Jimmy made an awkward face and looked away from Scott.

"Then that's all," Impulse said with a cheerful smile. "Thank you for your help."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

Grian slept for most of the morning whilst Scar talked to Cub on the phone.

"How are the kids?" Scar asked quietly.

Cub laughed a little. "Penny's been a bit, uh... difficult," he admitted, "but Michael's been an angel. It's hard to understand him sometimes, but we get by fine. Olive and Penny are a little shy around each other, but Olive and Michael are getting along well."

Scar smiled. "That's good."

"How's it going over in the Grimmlands?"

Scar paused, then sighed. He looked at Grian, who rolled over on the bed, his wing flipping over his arm and curling around his body like a blanket. He was adorable. "It's... rough," he said finally. "Grian relapsed and got totally wasted last night, Mumbo... Mumbo's being really difficult, but he's mad because I- because I did something I shouldn't have done," he said simply. "He made a comment and now Grian's mad at him and won't go near him, which piled on top of Grian already being upset with Mumbo because they had a fight at the airport-" He took a deep breath. "But uh, the others are interrogating the staff and royals right now."

Cub let out a shocked laugh. "Royals?" he echoed. "You mean you guys get to meet the royals of the Empires? You lucky bastards."

Scar smiled. "I'll see if I can bring home some pictures," he said. "I'll probably not get any with King Scott, though. He doesn't seem like he'd like pictures."

"Well, it sounds like you've had an exciting trip so far," Cub said, then he yawned. "But I need some sleep. Taking care of two little kids and a teenager isn't an easy task."

"I bet. Get some rest," Scar said lovingly, leaning back in his seat. "I'll take you out to a nice dinner when we get back."

"Sounds good," Cub said. "I love you, dork."

Scar chuckled. "I love you, too, goofy." He blew a kiss, then hung up and sighed, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. He looked back over at Grian, who was wide awake and clutching his stomach. "Hey, are you okay?"

"My stomach hurts really bad," Grian murmured, turning his face into the pillow. His feathers were all puffed up. "'M gonna throw up..."

"I'll see if I can go get a bucket for you," Scar said softly, running a hand down Grian's wing to smooth out his feathers. The smaller man let out a soft trill at the action.

Scar left the room and went down to the ground floor, finding Pearl, Impulse, and Mumbo discussing what they discovered so far.

"Ms. Maymerry is definitely my number one suspect," Mumbo said, his voice hushed. "Based off what she and King Scott said, at least."

Pearl nodded. "fWhip is also suspicious to me," she said. "There's a hole in his story."

"King Scott and the Codfather are the last two people that I think would have something to do with it," Impulse said. "Scott believes it was Maymerry."

"Well, we can't jump to conclusions yet," Pearl said, a little louder now. "We haven't questioned everyone. We still need to interrogate Seph, the security guard, and the other royals that were here."

"Seph?" Impulse asked.

Pearl laughed. "Sorry, I meant Princess Sephone."

Impulse nodded, then noticed Scar out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, hey, Scar," he said, waving. Scar waved back. "How's Grian?"

"He's complaining of a stomach ache," Scar said with a sigh. "I'm trying to find a bucket for him so he can lay in bed and not worry about throwing up everywhere."

"He's okay, though, right?" Mumbo asked, fidgeting with his hands.

Scar shrugged. "He's just hungover," he said simply. "He'll feel better tomorrow, I'm sure. He just had way too much to drink."

"I'm surprised he even had anything to drink at all," Impulse said with a light laugh. "I thought he made himself a promise not to drink anymore." He earned glares from Scar and Mumbo. "What?"

"It wasn't his fault," Scar said, then shook his head. "But I need to get back to what I was doing. Good luck on the interrogations." He waved and walked away.

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"I'll speak further with Maymerry," Pearl said, picking up the file with Ms. Maymerry's name on it. She opened it up and looked briefly over Mumbo's messy notes. "Maybe I can get some more out of her since I'm also a girl."

Impulse snorted. "What does gender have to do with her opening up?"

"Typically people are more comfortable with the same gender," she said. "But I think that maybe somebody else should interrogate Sephone," she suggested. "If I did, we'd never get anywhere."

Mumbo quirked a brow. "Why's that?"

Pearl shrugged. "Because she's my sister."

Mumbo and Impulse exchanged looks.

"Your sister," Impulse started, "is the princess of Gilded Helianthia." Pearl nodded. "What the fuck."

"Listen, I never told anybody this since I left the kingdom," Pearl said, sighing, "but I was the heir to the throne. I ran away when I was fourteen and I've lived in Boatem since."

Mumbo looked shocked. "Why would you run away from that?" he asked genuinely, but kept his voice sort of hushed as if he might hurt Pearl's feelings if he spoke too loud. "That sounds like the life of dreams."

She shrugged. "I didn't like the idea of being 'princess' or 'queen'," she said simply. "I like having freedom and a will of my own. You don't get that when you're royalty." She sighed. "Besides, I like being a detective. It's fun."

"I can't believe you're of royal descent," Impulse said with a shocked laugh. "That's so cool, Pearl."

"It's... it's whatever," she said. "I'm going to go find Ms. Maymerry." She waved and walked away with the Maymerry's case file, her heels clacking on the wooden floor.

Impulse watched as she left. "Is she mad?"

"No clue," Mumbo said. "Women are confusing."

"That's why I'm gay."

* • ○ • ' ♤ ' • ○ • *

"Void's name, where is this woman?" Pearl breathed as she walked down the hall of the fourth floor. She'd been looking for Ms. Maymerry for the last half hour, finding absolutely no trace of her. It was starting to get worrying. "I hope nothing happened to her..."

At first, Pearl thought she was hiding because she slipped up and said something that caught Mumbo's attention, thinking she was in a lot of trouble. But as Pearl continued to search the hotel up and down for her, she began to think that maybe Maymerry had become a target herself. Which meant Pearl had to mentally prepare herself to potentially walk into a muder scene.

Pearl approached a supply closet and slowly opened the door. "Ms. May- Ah!" She squealed as Ms. Maymerry yanked her by the wrist into the closet, slamming the door shut behind her. "Ms. Maymerry, what are y- Mmph-"

"Shh!" Ms. Maymerry covered Pearl's mouth with her hand. "What do you want with me? I already told you detectives everything I know, so just leave me alone. I don't want to end up like those royals and Mr. Thompson."

Pearl blinked, shocked by her abrasiveness. "I was just wondering if you knew anything about the murderer-"

"No, no, no," Ms. Maymerry said, shaking her head frantically. "Nope, no. Nuh. Uh. I know nothing. Now, is that all? Will you leave now?"

"Ms. Maymerry," Pearl said slowly and calmly, "you are hiding in a supply closet, clutching a broom, and speaking unlike yourself. I think you might know something." She waited patiently for a response whilst Maymerry looked down at the broom in her hands, her eyes watering. "Listen, if you tell the truth, then you won't be in any trouble, alright?" Ms. Maymerry looked up at Pearl now. "But if you lie and we find out you were involved later on, then you'll be severely punished for assisting a murder."

"What... kind of punishment?"

"Prison for life, death..." Pearl shrugged. "Whatever the court decides, really."

Tears began to pour down Maymerry's bright pink cheeks and she trembled. "I swear, I- I had nothing to do with it," she said, shaking her head again, the movement feverish and panicky. "It wasn't me-"

Pearl nodded and reached forward to gently rest her hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Whether you did it or not," she said softly, "I need to know whatever information you have on the killer."

Ms. Maymerry shook her head some more. "No, I-"

"Ms. Maymerry."

The maid let out a loud cry of fear and panic, dissolving into tears as she sank to the floor with the broom still tightly clutched in her hands. She sat there and sobbed and cried out until her throat was raw and her voice was scratchy. With every cry, Pearl could feel the amount of pain she was in. And if it was an act, it was pretty damn good act.

"M-Mr. Thompson wasn't m-murdered," Ms. Maymerry stammered out, Pearl nodding as she spoke. "He commited suicide."