Investigation part 1

Hector looked at Albert and smiled "Ah... Yes, you are right."

"But still we can get their preliminary statements so police will have an easier job of investigating. And as the host of this event, I'm curious who would dare to kill her?

"So first thing first. Who found Mr. Arthur's body?" Hector asked the people who were present.

Unfortunately, Hector did not have the means to channel Arthur's spirit, as that would be very helpful in the situations like this.

"I... It would be me sir." the woman spoke with a still shaking voice. He knew her as Mary Conor wife of Henry Conor.

And if he remembered correctly he saw her talking with Arthur before.

"If I may ask what were you doing in this part of the house?" He asked what was an obvious question as they were located on another side of the villa, far from the place where the ball was located.

"I got lost when I saw Arthur's body and..."She spoke solemnly and at the end, no more than a whisper came from her.

"And If I may ask the rest of you how did you all gather here?" Hector asked when Albert came to his field of vision. Behind him, he saw an older police officer.

"Sir, leave the questioning to the police please..." He spoke to Hector and then he turned to the rest of the people and raised his voice.

"The first thing first. If I may have your attention, please. Come with me to the room so we can leave the police to investigate without hindrance on our part.

"And sir, you too come with me. Police have some questions."

After he saw people enter one of the rooms police officers came to Hector and started to ask questions.

The police officer was polite as he questioned him. His questions ranged from where he was been, where his guards were, and if someone else was missing.

Hector didn't think that the police officer was beyonder but he knew that they can get involved so he will need to be careful.

After he spoke to the police officer he went downstairs and formally informed the people gathered of what had inspired him and asked them to continue with a ball without him.

It may have sounded strange but Hector didn't care as his mind was preoccupied with who was killed and ways to deal with any official beyonder interference.

Luckily he and Arthur were both believers of the God of Steam and Machinery and so nighthawks would come with their dream visits, which could pose him great danger as he didn't know how much he would be in control of his dream. If he would be lucid like Klein or more like other people.

Machinery Hivemind could use Arodes mirror but as this was not a big case in his opinion, the scale of investigation should remain low.

'But it is important to not underestimate Machinery Hivemind. They are still beyonders and they could pose a threat if the truth about themselves would come to light.

'I will need to act as an ordinary person who was stuck in the middle of this. But I also can't forget that overplaying can be equally dangerous.

'Thankfully as the host of the event it was only normal that he would want to know what happened. Hopefully, this will not create more trouble down the line.'

And that leaves the murder itself. In Hector's opinion, it was either Mary, Hanry, or Martha. Mary was strangely close to him and Hector suspected that they may be lovers.

It was possible that Hanry found out and decided to confront Arthur in one of the guest rooms so they would be far from spying eyes, but then he snapped and killed him.

Martha also could not be disregarded as she too could find out the truth and strike at him.

Then he remembered that he saw Martha and Henry talking to each other at the ball. And from their interaction, they should be close.

'Is it possible that they are accomplices?' Hector thought as he returned to them and went to Albert.

"What can you tell me about Arthur," Hector asked as he wanted to know if there were some hidden secrets.

"Arthur was a philanthropist that was loved by many. His wisdom and determination lead him to success. His devotion to his family and his values made him a true gentleman. At least that is what people think, and they can't be more wrong." Albert spoke slowly and at the end, he started to smile.

"You see, the truth is Arthur is a gambler that recently got into big dept. From what I have heard he is trying to sell the factory that he owned with Frank, who is also present here. But problem is that his half is not enough and rumors are that he is trying to discredit Frank from the company so he could keep all the money.

"There is some talk of Arthur getting involved with gangs to force Frank from the business.

"Henry is his friend from childhood, they even grow together as best friends. Henry later joined the army and thanks to his actions in battle he was awarded quite a high rank. But when Henry joined the army Arthur became very friendly with his wife Mary. He would often visit her at home and even took her to a social gathering."

Albert gave Hector a look and he understood the meaning behind his words.

"It is my belief that Matha, his wife, already knows about his relationship as she started to visit Henry more often."

Hector agreed as he saw them together at the ball, but he did not know the precise relationship they had together.

"You see Martha may seem like an as proper lady but in past, she was a bounty hunter and was known for her ruthless behavior. But after marrying Arthur she mellowed down, and if she found out about Arthur who knows what she would be able to do?

"He had some trouble with his butler Samuel who too is present here."

"What type of trouble?" Hector was interested as Arthur was becoming more and more evil in his eyes and so he had already branded him a sinner.

"Samuel's son became ill and his medical treatment wasn't cheap. They did not have enough money, so Samuel went to his employer for help.

"At the beginning, all seemed fine as Arthur was sympathetic to his struggle and gave him a loan of money.

"But after some time he went to Samuel's wife to inform her that he may soon be forced to fire Samuel and even demand money that he owed to him.

"Of course, if she was willing to come to an agreement with him he may forget Samuel dept and keep him as his butler."

"You got to be kidding me," Hector spoke bewildered

"But unfortunately for him, she went to her husband and informed him what had happened."

"How do you know so much about them?" Hector asked

"It is butlers need to be informed about the guests that were invited to the ball." He spoke while smiling.

"So everyone present has some enmity with Arthur?"

"Yes, that would be correct sir." Albert gave an affirmative response and Hector decided to speak with them personally.