2Chapter Eight: The Quiet Criminals
Edeline Hamilton was quite certain she had never been more annoyed in her life. Here she was in a hideously dirty dungeon. Well, maybe dungeon was being a bit dramatic. It was a basement realty, a dirty old basement that looked as though it hadn't been entered in as long as this entire place was around. It even had cell-like bars, for heaven's sake! Anyway, she was in a dungeon with a man who almost never spoke, and had a hatchet. And what did she have? A stupid ribbon. Just what on earth was she supposed to do with that?
Sir. Casterly was giving her a strange look. Oh damn, she was talking aloud again wasn't she? She was. Sir. Casterly raised his eyebrow at the southern woman. For someone known as the Silent Thief she sure made plenty of noise. He did not tell her this, of course. That would have been terribly rude. Well, if he had to be stuck with anyone in this house, he preferred this situation. Though Ms. Hamilton did tend to talk too much, she was not a particularly large threat. She was right. A ribbon was no match for anything he had.
Edeline paced the room, still muttering to herself. It wasn't fair! All she wanted was a nice dinner, and her life. Was that really too much to ask? She was a good person, mostly. Went to church every Sunday, and mass every Wednesday. She took care not to curse, and never took the Lord's name in vain. She was so sure that those things made her a good person that she seemed to overlook the commandment that said to not steal.
"Quiet," Sir. Casterly said, suddenly. He listened intently. Footsteps. No, not footsteps. Something else. No, now there were footsteps, he was sure of it. Wait.
"What is it? I don't- what was that?" Edeline jerked her head around, trying to spot some invisible intruder. "I heard something. There's something here!"
Okay, Sir. Casterly took back his previous thoughts. He most definitely did not want to be stuck in a room with Edeline Hamilton. This must have been hell. That was it. He had died somehow and gone to hell. Wasn't there a play about hell being other people? Well, whatever it was, it was clearly correct.
"We gotta do something. I ain't about to be killed today," Edeline demanded. She squeaked as she heard rats scurry by. All around them, more sounds of things that go bump in the night popped up. Sounds that shouldn't have been possible echoed across the room. Wait.
It wasn't real. The sounds, that was. Everything else was very much real, but the sounds were probably just designed to spook them. Nonetheless, there was always a possibility that some of them were legitimate.
"They're gonna kill us, oh Lord have mercy on my soul," Edeline was on the verge of a full scale panic attack from what Sir. Casterly could tell. He internally sighed, but did nothing. There was no denying that this sort of situation definitely warranted something to that effect. Sir. Casterly had fought in the war, on both sides. He had seen unspeakable things, but nothing could have prepared him for this- this thing.
From the darkness, a figure headed towards them. Ignoring Edeline's petrified scream, the butler handed Sir. Casterly a box. Then, before anyone could say another word, he was gone.
"Well, ain't you gonna open it?" Edeline rushed forward to retrieve the box. Despite asking her question, she already had the box open and was reading through the note. It was the same as everyone else's.
1.The Killer has dark hair.
2.The Killer has another dark secret.
3.Do not trust the above statements.
"See! This proves one of y'all is the killer and I ain't," Edeline said, far too gleefully. Sir. Casterly merely pointed to the final clue. It proved nothing. Edeline huffed in annoyance, before moving around the dungeon.
Edeline was someone who really could not remain in one place, despite appearing to be a quiet and mild woman. Evidently she was neither of those things if she got nervous enough.
"Miss. Hamilton, it would be prudent if we were to stay calm," Sir, Casterly advised. Sir. Casterly didn't trust Edeline, but he also believed her to be innocent in this crime at least. He still made sure to keep one hand on his valuables though. Just in case.
"I am calm!" Edeline all but shouted her reply.
Well, they were quite a pair weren't they? The man who said little, and the woman who never seemed to shut up. Both were criminals in their own right, and both felt they were above the others in the house. After all, what were they compared to assassins, and rapists?
Sir. Casterly prided himself on being a tolerant man. He had been through far too much in his life to become angry at such trivial things. But this night was sorely testing his patience. First, the blackmail, then the murder, and now this woman. Honestly, he thought that if he was the murderer- and he wasn't- he would kill her next.
Edeline prided herself on being a tolerant woman. She lived in the south after all. They were among the most polite of people. She was so modern that she wasn't even that bothered by the fact that Anita Brown was black! However, if there was one thing she couldn't tolerate was this man. He was infuriating. Acting so high and mighty while simultaneously being such an utter misogynist. This was a man who acted like a gentleman, but who's views were antiquated as anything. He wanted women to be seen and not heard. She knew her constant chatter would grate on his nerves, and was definitely going to take full advantage of it. Let it be known that Edeline Hamilton was nothing if not petty.
"Well-" Edeline stomped over to the other side of the room- "we need to figure out a way to get out of here. And whoever's watching us, can you quit it with the noise?"
Of course, the exact opposite of what Edeline had requested happened. The sounds of footsteps, rats scuttling, and god knows what else could be heard even more clearly. She huffed in annoyance, but went over to the bars to see if there was any way to get past them. If the butler could do it, so could she.
As it turns out, getting out was fairly simple. She really only needed the classic hairpin to pick the lock. The Shadow Queen wasn't the only one who was good at breaking and entering. It was kinda Edeline's thing.
Sir. Casterly followed the strange woman out of the cell and through the tunnels. He was fairly certain this sort of architectural design was not common in this area. The Manderly couple did not strike him as the type to enjoy an evening stroll in an underground dungeon.
"Wait!" Edeline stopped short. "We can't just go wandering into the unknown. What if we get lost and never get out. If we leave a trail we can at least find our way back. Like that fairy tale." Sir. Casterly looked at her quizzically. Just where did she think she would find anything to leave behind? Edeline seemed to come to the same conclusion and seemed to deflate. Almost immediately she perked up. "They say if you keep your hand on the left wall you'll always get out. So you do that. I ain't touching it."
Rather than argue with her, Sir. Casterly did as he was told. They started walking once more. He found it strange that the more time he spent with Edeline, the more her southern accent showed. There were more 'ain't's, and drawling than when he first heard her speak. She was also far more jarring in her voice now too.
As Edeline made her way through the dungeon, she made sure to keep one hand near her purse. As long as she had her purse, she wasn't afraid of anything. If there was one thing that was true about the South was that everyone was armed. Edeline Hamilton was no exception.
Sir. Casterly may not have liked Phaedra Hoáng, but she was right. He was an excellent marksman, and there wasn't a soldier alive today who didn't still carry a gun with him at all times.
The final two players had taken their places. With no one but each other to help them escape this wretched labyrinth, they would have to learn to respect each other. But first, they must play the silent sniper games.