First Clue

"Ugh! Three days passed and we still don't have any clue about the murderer," Alfred said irritatingly as he paced around in his council's department. He appeared to be agitated from the way he was acting.

"We will find something soon," Evelyn said looking at his panic stricken face.

She glanced at Elric, who sat at his desk with eyes closed, seemingly unconcerned about the situation. Shaking her head in disappointment, she turned her gaze back to Alfred and said, "Let's discuss the acknowledged facts of the case and try to pull something out of it." 

Listening to those words, Alfred stopped in his tracks. "Give me one minute and don't start the discussion before I return back." With that he marched out of the room.

Silence enveloped the two people in the room. Evelyn glanced at Elric who's eyes were still closed. She admired his features. Right after a few seconds, she remembered how he annoyed her the other day and changed her soft gaze to a peeved one.

"Is he sleeping?" She thought to herself, finding no movement from him.

"Elric," she called, her voice nearly in hushed tones.

There was no response from his side. She stood up and slowly moved her chair without making any screeching sound. She took a step forward and approached him without making a sound.

She extended her hands to wake up by shaking vigorously so that he would get frightened and her revenge of scaring him would be satisfied. Instead, she came to a halt and glanced at his face, completely forgetting about everything. His face was serene like a river. His hairs dishevelled as always. Her attention was drawn to his closed eyelids, which she wanted to open, only to be captivated by the brown eyes.

"I've returned. I hope you two haven't begun yet."

She was surprised by the sudden opening of the door and veered away from Elric. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realised Alfred hadn't noticed her.

"Shall we get started now?" He stated his case.

She nodded nervously.

Alfred frowned at her in confusion and asked, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," she said, vigorously shaking her head. Her eyes fell on the black board that Alfred brought along with him. "Why did you bring it here?" she inquired, her brows knitted.

"To note down important points while we discuss. It will be simple to figure things out."

She gave him a nod, thinking that this was the only thing he had done correctly during his time in the council.

"Wake up man and stop slacking off," Alfred said loudly, waking up the sleeping Elric.

Elric blinked open his eyes and stared at them, perplexed. Evelyn realised he didn't notice her staring at him.

"Let's begin then," Alfred said, standing closer to the board to write down the things.

"Till now we know that Mr Hall was a frequent traveller," Evelyn said.

"And?" Alfred asked as he scribbled it on the board.

"He's unemployed and self - absorbed."

"And he's not married," Alfred added.

"That's all," Evelyn said.

"Hmm," Alfred pondered, before adding, "What can we infer from this information?"

"Oh lord not this way," Elric murmured which both of them couldn't grasp and looked at him confusingly. He said loudly, "Don't you two think for a person being unemployed travelling frequently is something we should suspect about?"

Evelyn looked at him astonished. She wondered how he thinks like an expert while joining newly. She put it off for the time being, deciding to think about it later since they had more pressing matters to attend to.

She agreed to what he said and asked, "Does that mean he has some illegal means to earn?"

"Unless his father left a treasure," Elric stated, "which is definitely not the case."

Evelyn agreed with a nod. "We should investigate the coachmen in the village. At least one of them might be aware where he was going," she proposed holding a contemplative expression.

"Now you are thinking in the right direction," Elric said, praising her.

Her face flushed. She wondered about her conflicted feelings for him that just by one compliment he made her flushed.

They three left for the village for the investigation. From investigation they discovered that Mr Hall used to visit a village which comes under another Lord's province.

As they marched back to the department for further discussions, Evelyn grinned internally, pleased to have found a link to the case. As she entered the room, she noticed Mr Condrad standing in front of the black board, his back to them, staring at it.

"I presume you all went to investigate the village coachmen," he remarked, turning around and glancing at each member.

Evelyn nodded her head.

"It's good that you're all learning how to approach the case. So, what information did you obtain?"

"Mr Hall used to visit Limemere village, sir," Alfred informed him.

"I see. What have you all decided to do now?" Mr. Condrad enquired.

"We will discuss it now sir," Evelyn replied.

"Well, I suggest two of you visit the village and investigate there and one search for the missing body here."

Seeing them nod at him, Mr Condrad continued, "Evelyn and Elric, you two leave for the village as soon as possible and Alfred you will investigate with me here."

Evelyn glanced at Elric to see him unaffected by the orders. She wondered why on earth it's always him she has to be with. She couldn't contemplate whether she was pleased about it or was annoyed. She was in utter confusion.

"Is there a problem Miss Evelyn?"

She swiftly shook her head in response to Mr Condrad's question.

"I hope the Lord permits you to go out," he said, wondering about it.

"He will. For him work comes first and so for me," she replied confidently.

"I appreciate it," Mr Condrad said.

Evelyn smiled at him. Just thinking about going out with Elric even though it was for investigation made her flushed. She was curious as to how long the journey would take. She glanced at Elric to see him stand silently.

"Why do I feel something is wrong?" A thought made Elric perplexed.