As Evil As Murder

26 | We Meet Again In Flames

Williams Halls was the definition of subtle wealth.

I have never been there because it was seen as the elite club, but everyone knew where it was built, its history, and of course, the incident.

When the gas leak story first got out, it spread across the town igniting conversations so fast, much like the fire itself. It was the talk of the town for the next few days.
Hey, seven people died in the fire, it would have been surprising if we didn't talk about it.

But that's what exactly happened. One day, the entire town stopped talking about it and why wouldn't they? People died, and we knew what killed them. That's where we went wrong. We were focused on what killed them, that we forgot to ask who actually died.

Seven victims, but who were they?

My thoughts were running off in all directions so I did the reasonable thing and looked at where I was currently standing in front of. Which brought me to the point, Williams Hall was the definition of subtle wealth.

There were no marble statues or a beautiful garden. Instead, the entire place looked like an academy. Untidy bushes and strange trees made up of most of the olive green that dominated my sight, and the warm brown walls made it feel like a huge library. It didn't look sophisticated but you could tell in a glance how hard it must have been to build, especially since everything had a certain aura.

I strode over the small herbs, not knowing what I'd do if the place was actually empty like Rex said. All I was sure of was that I couldn't trust Rex, and if he wanted me to stay away from here tonight, that's exactly where I'm gonna be.

The front door was wide open like someone was already waiting for me. I gulped but didn't stop. Did I have anything for self-defense?
No.
But look, I was never the smartest.

My breath was knocked out by the decor inside. I was 85% positive that this was where all princesses from fairytales came together to gossip and drink tea.

Glass windows constituted most of the walls, and outside we could see bunches of tulips and trees. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and it looked magnificent as ever, except it wasn't silver or gold like I usually thought it'd be. It looked like it was made of wood, and weeds wrapped themselves around the handles, making it seem like a Christmas tree hung upside down. Even the floor seemed to be made of wood.

"Miss. Alberto?"

I twisted my neck so fast to where the sound came from and almost sprained my neck. A small, thin guy seemed to be the speaker. He was standing behind a trunk-like desk, looking like a confused little elf.

"How do you, uh, know my name?" I asked slowly. To be frank, I didn't feel scared at all. Come on, he looked like he had berries for breakfast and a small cottage to live in. I'm not getting spooked by an elf.

"Oh, someone important is waiting for you!" He brightened up, fixing the round glasses with a professional smile.

"Who?" I asked warily.

Fuck you Charlotte, see, this was a trap you are going to get killed and the only witness would be a goddamn elf and-

"That'd be me," someone said from my left.

"CJ." I sighed, feeling my heart slow down. She sneered, obviously pleased that she spooked me.

"Thank you Oca, you can go back to whatever you were doing." She winked towards the elf guy.

"Yes, ma'am." He complied and was out of the room in five seconds.

My mouth fell open. For a fleeting moment right there, I wondered if she was someone I should be scared of. Then the logical part of my brain said, don't be stupid. It's CJ.