A Murder Most Dapper | A Werewolves in Space novella

The Brasslantis Summit

Oliver and Juliet took the Brasslantis Grand Express straight to the summit of the floating city. Juliet's nerves grew with each fraction of a degree the train climbed, winding around the city as it crept toward the top.

"Oliver," Juliet said. "Deckerton is still out there, do you think he'll go into hiding?"

"It's hard to know what a murderer will do," Oliver said as he pulled out his pipe. "Unless you're me, the greatest detective to ever live."

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Alright, then let's talk about how we will approach Dappersby with our findings. Deckerton's motive is clear, he's jealous of Professor Stirlingwell's success where he failed."

A harsh scoff from a man behind her caused Juliet to turn. A handsome older gentleman with a cane, an eyepatch, and silver at his temples. Her eyes widened as she plucked a fan from her corset, waving it over herself dramatically. 

"Oliver!" Juliet hissed, turning back to her companion subtly. "Do you see that man?"

Juliet glanced again, as subtly as she could over her flittering fan. The man in the seat behind them was poorly covering himself behind a copy of today's Brasslantis Gazette, peeking over the top of it in a comically large pair of fake glasses that did not really sit well against his eyepatch. His steam-powered cane sat nest to him on the seat.

"What man?" Oliver asked, looking behind them with a frown.

"Not so obviously, Oliver!" Juliet whispered behind her fan. "That man behind the newspaper, it's Mortimer Deckerton, The killer!"

Oliver looked again, studying the figure flipping through the pages of the business section.

"Deckerton doesn't wear glasses," Oliver scoffed. "Juliet, you need to be more observant."

"Are you serious?" Juliet snapped her fan shut and poked Oliver in the chest with it. "You haven't been willing to listen to me all day, and this detective bit has gone on long enough!"

The train slowed to a stop, nearly unnoticeable from its usual pace along the tracks. Juliet stood in a huff, shoving her fan back in her bodice as she marched out of the train. Oliver followed, trying to figure out how he solved this case with such an irritable female underfoot.

The Great Clock Square was the largest public space near the summit of Brasslantis. The train station took up one full side of it, and many other official buildings sat in the square. City hall, the library, and most importantly for the purpose of this story, the Brasslantis Police Department. 

The BPD was crowded, but Juliet Titania Katherine Desdemona Montague would not be intimidated by a crown. Straightening her elaborate goggles, smoothing her skirts while avoiding the steam-powered buttons, and lifting her chin, Juliet pressed forward with a still-baffled Oliver in her wake. 

"Excuse me," Juliet said softly but firmly to a loitering couple in the BPD doorway. "I must get through immediately."

The couple turned to look at Juliet, startled. The gentleman blushed lightly under his neatly waxed mustache. "Oh, sorry there. But you see, the famous Professor Quimby Stirlingwell is in there! It seems he's been arrested for something or other."

"Yes," his companion agreed. "I do wonder if an autograph would be out of the question? I know he's in jail and all, but I don't know when I'll get another chance to meet him. He's remarkable, isn't he?"

The woman swooned, and Juliet rolled her eyes. As if Quimby would fall for such cheap feminine tricks, no matter that she herself had been using them on him for the last year. 

"I am not here for such frivolous notions as that," Juliet grumbled. "Let me through this instant, I have important information on the case that would clear Professor Stirlingwell's name!"