"What do I even say?" Elizabeth shuttered. Patrick tilted onto his toes.

"I wouldn't know. You're the one with a journalist for a sister." He pointed out, digging his hands into his pockets. Ella gave him a death stare as the door in front of them opened.

"Do you have an appointment?" The butler asked before even noticing the children. His gaze shifted downwards, and his eyebrows raised. "Do you have an appointment?" He repeated, appearing slightly amused.

"No, but I would like to ask him some questions. I'm with the Albany Gazette." Elizabeth replied, lifting her chin. The butler gave them a look of disapproval.

"Wait here. Bloody journalists." He muttered, shutting the door. Hardly a few moments later, he reopened it, flanked by a man Patrick seemed to recognize. He tensed.

"My butler tells me you wanted to interview me." The man who must have been William looked between the two teenagers with an amused look on his face. Elizabeth has been expecting him to be older, but he looked hardly in his twenties. His hair was slicked back like Jimmy's, and his coat was loosely thrown over his shoulders.

"That's right." Ella confirmed. Patrick shuffled his feet.

"I'm alright with it." He smiled, beckoning them in. The butler looked like he was about to protest, but stopped himself. "Would you like something to drink?" William asked, holding a glass of some sort of alcoholic beverage.

"No, it's alright. I just have a few questions, and then I'll leave." Ella's breath hitched.

"What about you? The newspaper office usually hires only pretty girls." He directed at Patrick and shot Ella a wink. Ella blushed and tried to hide her discomfort.

"I-I'm her escort." He bluffed, caught off guard with a sudden story. He shot her an apologetic shrug.

"I see. That's nice." He smiled. "Now what was it you wanted to ask me?" He drunkenly waved for them to take a seat. Ella obliged, but Patrick remained standing beside her.

"Well," Ella swallowed, flipping out her notebook and pencil, "how about we start with a short overview of what you have in mind for this city?"

"It's simple, really. A better world. Automobiles will fill the streets... along with people to fix them." He tipped back onto his heels and collapsed into a nearby couch, almost spilling his whiskey. "The city would be run by one... me." He pointed at himself to accentuate his point. "And maybe some little advisors here and there." He waved his hands. Patrick exchanged a look with Ella. He was definitely tipsy.

"I plan to make this city the greatest city America has ever seen." He continued, a little louder than before. Ella hunched over her notepad and began writing. "I'm going to find myself a wife, and together we can make this city better. Just you watch." He set his glass down with a sudden force that Ella thought it might shatter.

"I see. What about the workers?" She slowly started to turn the conversation.

"Workers? Well... they'll keep doing whatever work workers do." He chuckled. She waited several seconds for more, but he didn't seem to have anything else to say on the matter.

"What about when they die? Like will their families get some money to help them?" She directed.

"Eh... it depends on the event. If it was an accident, I would make the company pay for the family for... say a year." His answer was short yet again.

"Like Ms. Wethers?" Elle elaborated.

"Hey... what is this? An interrogation?" He slowly stood to his feet.

"Just journalism." Ella swallowed. "I can move to another topic if-"

"It's alright." He deflated like a balloon. "Of course. Her too." He collapsed back in his chair dramatically and took a sip. Patrick finally seemed to relax beside her.

"My sources mentioned something about a Leonard Stewart..." she began. "I was told he is related to you?" He seemed to process what she was saying, and then suddenly leapt to his feet as if it offended him.

"Leonard... Stewart." He hissed, walking towards her. "How do you know that name?" Patrick positioned himself half in front of her, which seemed to make the older man pause.

"I told you, my sources-"

"Leonard Stewart was my cousin. He came here to help me run my campaign." He looked between the two threateningly. "You better tell your sources to back off if they know what's good for them. It's my personal life." He cursed, backing up and giving them a glare. The butler shuffled awkwardly from the stairwell.

"That comes with running for mayor." Patrick muttered loud enough for only Elizabeth to hear.

"Thank you for your time, sir. That is all the questions I have." She nodded, taking his sudden outburst as a cue to leave.

"Mark will see you out." He gestured to the butler, but kept his gaze on the floor. He seemed lost in thought. The butler named Mark was suddenly at the door, holding it open.

"Good day." Mark mumbled, giving them a frown as he shut the door behind them. Elizabeth folded her notebook and hid it in her pocket.

"Everything happened so fast, I'm not sure what to think." She realized. Patrick nodded in agreement.

"I've never noticed him drunk at his rallies before, but then again, we hardly see him." He mused. "It's strange to see him that way."

"Hm. Well, he admitted knowing Leonard Stewart, and we know why he was here." Elizabeth summarized.

"True. I did notice, though, that he referred to Leonard in the past tense... 'Leonard was my cousin'. How did he know he was passed?" Patrick pointed out.

"We never found the body... he could still be alive." She mused.

"No way. There was a clean hole through this forehead." He poked his forehead and made a gunshot noise. "I searched it, remember? All this has to be connected somehow."

"Now look who's been reading 'too many novels'." Ella mocked, giving him a sly grin. "Where to next?" He shot her a look and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Well, maybe we can talk to the workers at the carpentry warehouse. They ought to know a bit more about your uncle, and maybe the accident." He paused as the clock chimed once. "And you'd better get back to your aunt soon... she may be wondering where you've run off to."
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Elizabeth took a deep breath as she shoved her aunt's door open. She stood in the doorway as her aunt peered back at her from the dining room table.

"With that entrance, I'd assume you would have a decent explanation." She lifted her chin and gave her niece a look of disapproval. Elizabeth bit her lip. Hardly moments ago her and Patrick had agreed on not telling anyone what they were investigating. 'Anyone' included her aunt.

"I... I had an appointment this morning. I tore my dress yesterday evening, and I went to the shop to buy another." She began, shutting the door behind her and finding a seat across from her angered relative. "I met up with Patrick, and we got talking."

"And?" Her aunt pressed.

"I... I thought while I was here I might as well get a job," she bluffed. "The best place I could find accepting my age was a newspaper office... the Albany Gazette."

"Posh." Her aunt muttered. "And that took you all day?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ella nodded.

"Well. While your here I suppose we should have a proper visit without you galloping off with a boy you only met only yesterday." She straightened her dress and stood. "I will prepare our lunch... I trust you will not run off as you did yesterday?"

"I will not." Ella promised. Her aunt gave her one last look before disappearing into the kitchen. She sat back with a sigh of relief. Her aunt wasn't all that mad. If she were it only would have made matters worse.

"I have decided," her aunt chimed from the kitchen, "you will be spending the remainder of today with me. I want the both of us to enjoy your visit. I can take you to the dress shop and help you pick one out, if you'd like. I can see you hadn't gotten one on your trip." Ella glanced down at her empty hands and readjusted her father's satchel.

"I would like that." She played along.

"Good." Her aunt nodded, returning into the dining area with a small tray of sweets. "Eat up, dear. We have a long day ahead of us."
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"Oh, I think I'll love this color on you." Her aunt gushed, running her hand along the soft fabric of a silk red dress. Ella had to hide her disappointment as her aunt handed it to her to try on. On her way to the fitting room, she stole a glance outside the shop's window, towards Jimmy's, but didn't see Patrick. She ducked inside the changing room and stood for several seconds before exiting.

"It doesn't fit." She fibbed, returning it to the rack.

"Oh that is a shame. I really liked it. I'll go see if they have a bigger size." Her aunt announced, heading towards the lady behind the counter. Ella peered out onto the street once more, searching for a familiar face, but found none.

"Looking for me?" A voice asked quietly behind her, making her jump.

"Patrick! You-" he held a hand out towards her and grinned.

"If the women find out I'm here, I could get kicked." He explained. "I got a little worried when you didn't stop by earlier." He admitted, peering around her at the woman behind the counter.

"My aunt wanted us to hang out... that's the reason why I came here, after all." She pointed out. "I may be tied up the rest of today." He nodded.

"That's okay. I was talking more with Jimmy about the body, and he suggested we look for it. If we can find it, we would have-" he ducked suddenly and remained crouching behind her, "have evidence to show the police. Why do they keep looking this way?" He groaned, focusing on the woman gathered near the front. Ella stifled a giggle.

"They should move soon." She promised. "Did you get to talk to anyone else?"

"No... I've been waiting for you. How much longer do you think you'll be?" Ella let out a puff of air.

"All day, I'm afraid. I've kind of been... away since I've got here." She explained. Patrick nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll check with the wood workers and report back." He decided. "Blimey... are they coming this way?" Ella raised an eyebrow at his words.

"Yes. You'd better move." She instructed, pushing aside some clothes behind her. Her aunt, followed by the cashier, approached her, harboring a shiny, red dress. Ella heard Patrick snort in amusement behind her.

"Here. Try this." Her aunt beamed, hanging it over her arm. "Go on." She shooed. Ella reluctantly headed for the fitting room and quickly changed. She peeked outside a moment later, hoping with maybe a chance to get away, but her aunt was already waiting on the other side of the curtain.

"It's beautiful!" She smiled. Ella's face flashed a deep red as her eyes swept towards Patrick's hiding place. He had a hand over his mouth, and there was pure amusement in his eyes. She wanted to mouth an insult, but her aunt noticed her looking off. She followed her niece's gaze, but she saw only clothes. "What are you looking at?" She scolded. Ella blushed harder.

"I... that dress, over there." She pointed vaguely in the direction she had had been staring at. "I thought the color was pretty." She fibbed. Her aunt smiled a little.

"Then let's go look at it, shall we?" Her aunt took her arm and led her towards the clothing rack. She reached out towards the dresses and, before Ella could stop her, yanked them apart. Ella immediately expected a scolding, but instead her aunt held up a turquoise dress to compare.

"Hm. Actually, I don't fancy the color." Ella ignored her as her eyes darted around for Patrick. They landed outside, and immediately she winced. Patrick stood just outside the window with a cheeky grin on his face. He noticed her staring and blew her a kiss. He was enjoying her discomfort. She frowned at him, which only made him laugh. Sometimes... times like now... she wanted to strangle him.