Episode 27 Continued - Her Butler, Knowing the Culprit
“Thank you all for gathering here today,” I said, closing my eyes kindly as we sat at the breakfast table. “It is much appreciated.”
Matilda just scoffed, tearing into her meal and chewing loudly. “Why else would we be here? It’s food time anyway.”
I didn’t dare touch my meal, though. Sebastian never said anything about it being poisoned, but I wasn’t willing to risk it.
“What did you call us out here for, my lovely granddaughter?” Madam Beham said then, smiling slightly. “Is there news you wanted to tell us?”
I glanced over at her. “As a matter of fact, there is.”
“Are we close to shore yet?” Kate said then, glaring. “I’m done with this place.”
I just gazed up. “We are about five hours from shore, I’m afraid.”
She just glared and continued chewing into her food.
“Well, I have some news,” I said then, sighing as they all gazed up at me. “About the murders.”
“Are you next?” Jamison said then, laughing. “It’s about time.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, there have been at least two attempts of murdering me,” I stated honestly. “And it takes much effort for me to realize that. It’s very unsettling, honestly.”
“I hope they succeed,” Jamison said then. “You’re a spoiled brat.”
I just gazed over at her. “I would be careful of how you speak to me, you brainless child.”
She threw her head up. “Excuse me? I am two years older than you! And why should I be careful?! Your little butler is no longer around to protect your sorry ass.”
I smiled then. “Did you really think he was my only protection?” I closed my eyes sweetly. “Maddox.”
He immediately stepped out from the wall and cocked two guns, aiming it at them.
Jamison screamed, throwing herself off the chair and hiding behind it.
Matilda and Kate just shrank back, eyes growing in fear.
“WHAT IS HAPPENING?!” Madam Claudia screamed, scrambling backwards until she met the wall.
“It’s alright madam,” I said then, gazing up at her. “He will not aim at you, just these children.”
All of my family members breathed shallowly, eyes trained on guns aimed at them.
“Now,” I said, “Maddox has very good aim. He can shoot all of you in two seconds with a bullet for each person. What is your body count again?”
“Fifty in thirty seconds,” he said then.
All of their eyes grew in fear.
“Don’t mess with a Phantomhive, children,” I said then, lashes lowering. “I have many tricks up my sleeve.”
Madam Beth just breathed uneasily as her husband shrank back like his children.
Madam Beham, on the other hand, looked a little relieved. “Back to your old self, I see. Now… the news, Yumi?”
I glanced over at her. “Oh, yes. I found the murderer.”
They all gazed up then, eyes widening.
“You did?” Matilda said.
“How?” Madam Beth said.
“Who?” Curtis retorted.
I just gazed up. “The evidence points to four people, but the murderer must only be one.”
“You mean…” Claudia said then, sweat sliding down her temples, “there’s one murderer? Not two? How is that possible?”
“There must be a person on this boat then!” Matilda said. “That’s the only explanation!”
I just smiled, setting my cheek in my hand. “Let’s go through all evidence, shall we? First victim, Sir Denver. Stabbed through the heart with a blade. Second victim, Scarlet Manslaughter, stabbed through the heart with the same blade.” I gazed up. “Then it changed, third victim, Madam Deneise, hit over the head with a vase and stabbed through the eye with a glass shard. Messy scene, not well planned. Fourth victim,” my lashes lowered as my smile fell, “Sebastian. Stabbed through the heart with a table leg. Last two victims, Sir Jeffery and Madam Savage. Both murdered differently but at the same time, hit over the head with a shower pole, and poisoned with cyanide.”
I gazed up then, the smile forming on my lips. “The first murder, however, pointed directly toward Madam Beham. Which is odd, don’t you think? If mama wanted to kill someone, she’d make sure that she wouldn’t be caught.”
All of them gazed over at her in horror.
“Second victim,” I said then, smiling sweetly, “same outcome. But Madam Beham was innocent, and the culprits pointed to Jamison and Aunt Beth.”
“So how the hell is there only one murderer?” Curtis questioned.
I pointed up a finger. “Ah, ah. Let me finish.” I gazed up. “Didn’t you notice that the first two murders were premeditated and planned well? They had the same weapon, same outcome, same timeframe. And centered toward one or two culprits. Whereas the other murders were messy, in the spur of the moment, the murder weapons were used were grabbed from the scene it took place in. Let alone the most confusing thing… they pointed to multiple culprits.”
All of their brows drew together.
“There is one murderer,” I said then, lashes lowering. “And it’s Aunt Beth.”
Beth immediately stiffened, cheeks burning a bright red. “Excuse me? How could it have been me?! That makes no sense!”
“Yeah, the first murder she had an alibi!” Jamison said then, although I could see her shaking a bit. “You can confirm!”
“Oh, I can,” I said then, smiling sweetly. “But it was she who murdered Sir Denver, and the others.”
“What evidence do you have?!” Beth yelled.
“The scene of the crime,” I said, gazing up. “You are a doctor, correct? You determined the cause of his death was a stab wound to the heart.”
“It was!” she yelled then. “Did you not see the blood?!”
“Ah, yes, indeed,” I gazed up, “the blood was fake.”
Her face immediately paled.
“I recalled Sebastian saying something at the scene of the crime,” I said then, thinking it over sarcastically. “He said it smelled like almonds. Now, it was a very odd thing to say at that point in time. Very random. But then it got me thinking… what smells like almonds?” I then gazed up. “Cyanide smells like almonds.”
She shrank back in her seat then, seething. “How could it have been me? Everyone saw me! Everyone saw what I was doing that night!”
“Ah, yes, but… what if Sir Denver drank it himself?” I said then.
They all gazed up in question.
“I read through Sir Denver’s records. You paid for some of his medical bills, and he owed you a favor in return. Now… from Sir Denver’s personality, I promise you that no one in the world can withstand him, so the remorse in the murder was lessened… especially by you.
“This is what you did,” I said kindly, “you asked him to fake his death.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“You gave him the cyanide and said it would make him sleep, and then when he woke up, he’d be as good as new. So, he poured the fake blood on himself and drank the cyanide. Died shortly after in the hallway, where you told him to go. Before he could scream because everything went wrong, he was dead. And because you’re a doctor and no one else is, you knew you’d be assessing the body thoroughly because others cannot stomach it and ruled it a stabbing.”
“How the hell can you prove me wrong, then?” Beth snapped. “No one else assessed it!”
I laughed then, tipping my head back, but I immediately stared forward. “Did you seriously think that my servants can’t stomach an autopsy?”
Her eyes widened then.
“You’re smart,” I said, lashes lowering. “I’m smarter.”
“How can you explain the other deaths, though?” Jamison questioned, voice shaking.
I sighed. “Scarlet’s death was the only one who pointed directly to Madam Beth, but… that was purposeful.” I looked up with a smile. “That look on your face when you saw she was killed was priceless, I think Sebastian did a pretty good job setting it up.”
Madam Beth’s eyes widened. “What?”
I knocked on the table. “Scarlet. Come out.”
A door to our right opened, and a small, thin figure stepped out.
Scarlet, the girl with blonde hair and emerald-green eyes. She closed the door behind her and moved to stand with Maddox.
“What…?” Beth said then, brows drawing together. “What…?”
“Sebastian planned her death,” I stated, smiling. “After Denver died, I asked him to fix this, he did. He made you look the murderer because you are.”
Her eyes blazed in anger then. “You… insolent child.”
“That’s why when Scarlet died, it didn’t affect Yumi that much,” Kate realized. “Yumi knew it was fake the whole time.”
I smiled sweetly. “Indeed, I did. Scarlet did quite a performance, too. With her previous job, it required her to control her breathing. So she slowed it enough so her chest didn’t rise and fall. She did the same as Denver and poured fake blood on her chest.”
“Mom didn’t look at her body…” Matilda realized quietly. “When she asked to assess the body, Sebastian said he already did and determined it a stabbing. The same as the first.”
“What of the other murders then?” Beth retorted, face red in anger. “They were all different.”
“Because Sebastian scared you,” I stated darkly. “He caught you red-handed. And he framed her murder to you, just to see how you’d react. When a murder feels they’ve been caught, they grow messy, less planned. Try to cover their tracks without thinking of the other prints they’d leave around.”
Beth just shook her head, glaring. “How the hell could I have killed that Deneise girl when I was locked in that room with mother and Jamison?”
I gazed up, laughing softly. “Seriously, are you going to say locked up?”
Her brows drew together then.
“Cammie was watching you, indeed,” I said then, nodding. “But… here’s the thing about leaving prints… when I was outside Deneise’s room, I found this on the hallway floor.”
I raised a thin, yellow-like yarn that had been cut short. “Yarn sticks to clothes very thoroughly.
“So?” she said then.
“A decoy,” I stated, setting the yarn aside. “Of you.”
Her teeth clenched. “You have no proof.”
My lashes lowered, and I waved my hand to the side.
Cammie stepped out from the wall and opened a closet door, finally tearing out a doll-like figure that replicated Madam Beth.
Everyone gasped, shrinking back in their seats.
“Looks like you,” I said then, smiling. “Typical doll-trick. You set the doll on a couch, facing the TV. Then—when Cammie’s distracted—you run out of the room, kill Deneise, and then come back. Everyone assumed the doll was still you. It’s a very risky trick, but you were not caught.” I raised the yarn again. “If you didn’t leave this.”
Her lips drew back in anger. “And what of Sebastian?!”
“Sebastian, Savage, and Jeffery’s murders could’ve been anyone,” I stated, lashes lowering. “They were done at the dead of night, while people were asleep. You have no alibi for them, I can assure you.”
She just clenched her teeth, snarling at me. “You are jumping through hoops here, girl.”
“You overcomplicated things for something so simple,” I stated, ignoring her comment. “None of the others had to die.”
She just shook her head. “My motive? What is my motive?”
I set the yarn aside again. “Me.”
“What?” everyone said at once.
“You were planning on killing me,” I stated then, voice dark. “I was your main target, wasn’t I? Your original plan was to frame Denver’s death on someone else and then kill me. You wouldn’t be caught then, would you? But this is modern days, Madam Beth. You will be caught eventually.”
“What is she going on about?” Beth said then. “Are you that self-centered? Everything is about you?”
“Ah, in fact, I am not,” I said then, gazing up. “Because you had a motive for killing everyone that died. Whereas others had not.”
Her lashes lowered then.
“Denver was the key to pointing the view at Madam Beham,” I stated. “Deneise found the truth, so she had to go. Sebastian was to get my bodyguard out of the way, same with the last two. Savage and Jeffery had been switching positions and standing outside my door at night when my servants were not. You were planning on poisoning my drink, but they were in the dining room, so you ended up killing them first and then poisoning the drink. But… in the end… I knew the soda was poisoned. My point was proved correct when one of you daughters tried to drink it and you told them not to because ‘it’s cruel to steal drink from others.’ With how much you resent me, I was bound to become suspicious.”
She just made an impatient sound. “Are you pulling this all out of your ass right now?”
“Why else would your children and husband be untouched? Why else would you go through no precautions to protect your children when there was a murder on the loose? Why else would Madam Beham be alive…? She is your escape route, after all, isn’t she? She was the one to be framed.”
“This makes sense but her motive is all messed up,” Claudia said then, brows drawing together. “Why kill you, Yumi?”
“Madam Beth has been craving to be the earl Phantomhive her entire life,” I stated then, gazing over at her to find her fuming. “She wanted to be the earl, but my father was chosen. When my parents died, she wanted to be it again, but then… I was chosen. A child compared to her. That’s why she bullied me all these years; jealously. Her children, too, were jealous. They weren’t rich enough to get a butler and servants, get any car they wanted, have an ice rink in their basement. I took that away from them. If I died, then she’d be next in line, wouldn’t she?”
Beth remained silent, eyes narrowing at me.
Matilda piped up, “Then how can you prove she was the one who attempted to poison your drink?”
“Can you prove against it?” I said then, gazing over at her. “The drink could’ve been poisoned any time from four in the evening to six in the evening. Anyone was a suspect, once again. I was the only one with that flavor of soda. The whole bottle was poisoned, clearly. Especially knowing it was disposed of right after it was poured for me.”
“Why frame her mother?” Claudia said then. “She could’ve framed you, right? Because you were her last and final victim?
I gazed over. “Good question.” I smiled then. “None of the victims could be suspects. It would mess up the entire plan. It would gain suspicion, which was a risk she did not want. And… why my grandmother? It’s because Madam Beham was the one who chose my father, and then me. She’s mad and feels betrayed. She’s not willing to kill her own mother, but framing her and sending her to jail? My, my… that would be perfect revenge, indeed. Let alone that Madam Beth’s been in town with my grandmother for quite some time. She found out that my grandmother goes to bed early without telling anyone. It was the perfect time to commit the crime, as well, knowing that everyone else would be together in different rooms. Including herself.”
She broke then, slamming her hands down on the table. “You little brat! You had it coming!”
I smiled then, chuckling.
Aggravate the perpetrator enough, they will crack and snap, revealing that they committed the crime. Especially knowing that Madam Beth is hot-headed.
“You had everything coming!” she snapped, standing quickly. “You should’ve been gone WHEN YOUR PARENTS DIED! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU WHO SURVIVED, HUH? WHY?”
I just lowered my lashes, smiling slightly.
“You took EVERYTHING from me!” she yelled, face growing enraged. “My money! My fame! My BUISSNESSES! They were all supposed to be MINE BUT YOU TOOK IT!”
She then pulled a knife from her napkin, making her children squeal and fall off their chairs to hiding. “YOU DESERVE TO DIE!”
Maddox raised his gun, but I put out a hand, making him stop.
She then started toward me, but I remained calm.
I gazed up at her then. “Don’t do it. I’m warning you.”
“Mom!” Matilda cried. “Mom, stop, please!”
“Mom, please, for the love of god!” Kate screamed.
Claudia said nothing, just remained in the corner, face hidden in shadows.
She just struck off the ground and came straight toward me, screaming when she caught the knife with both hands and shoved it down onto me.
It was getting closer… and closer.
Inches…
Centimeters…
Millimeters…
But her arm was caught, and she froze, breaths straining.
Her clothes settled around her, flowing down at the stop of movement, and her eyes widened in horror, the light in them dissipating.
I gazed up in boredom.
“I’m sorry, Madam Beth,” Sebastian said, “but I cannot allow you to hurt my master.”
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