BBDW 55 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland

Section 58 (UNEDITED)

Dozens of minutes after Jude and Alvin met the others on the first floor, Lyle came down from the second floor. It was suspicious seeing that he was wiping under his nose with a handkerchief instead of his forehead thinking that he might hurt somewhere. Jude, who was about to put a canapé in his mouth, said to him.

"Lyle, are you okay? You don't look good."

"Huh? Uh-huh. It's just that there's a little bit of a problem with the business."

"What about George? Is he still up there?"

"Yes. He, he’s pretty upset talking on the phone, I came down first."

His voice was unstable. He's working with George, and he's being abused like Cinderella? When Jude raised one eyebrow curiously, Lyle's eyes shook nervously at what Jude might interpret it as.

"Why, why? Is there a problem?"

"No, it's not a problem...."

"Jude, did you happen to see where Jack is?"

Kate's voice rang out next to Jude, who was tilting his head. Looking back at her with long brown hair, Jude shook his head with his round eyes.

"No? Why, don’t you see him?"

"Yes, I don't know where he is all of a sudden."

"If it's him, it looks like he was going outside earlier."

"Oh, really? Where on earth did he go, leaving me alone ..."

Frowning at Alvin's answer, Kate soon opened the orphanage door and went outside. Jude, who was looking at her strangely restless appearance, smiled a little dumbfoundedly. His voice toward Alvin was full of unexpectedness.

"Oh, my God, I can't believe they've been married for two years now. But I'm glad to see that they're doing so well. Especially that Jack, he's so grumpy that I wondered who would marry him."

"You look like you're on good terms. But that woman..."

"Huh?"

"No, no."

What's wrong with you all of a sudden? He gave Alvin a look with his eyes but Alvin just shook his head and smiled, but said nothing. Jude also put the canapé in his mouth without questioning him. Yeah, what does it matter if he thinks about something weird or not? As long as there's no troublemaker here.

Kate, who came back in about ten minutes later, was still in a not so good face. She didn't seem to find Jack. Perhaps because of the cold outside, her face, as she was thinly-dressed was white.

"Oh, my God, where do you actually go......woo, it's cold."

"Did he go somewhere far away to buy something? If you really can't find him, you should at least call him."

"Yes.........I'll just wait a little longer."

"Hey, that's weird. It's not supposed to take this long..."

Lyle, standing uneasily in front of the table next to Jude, looked at the clock. The way he looked at the stairs to the second floor was more disturbing than before. George's long phone call seemed to bother him. Soon, he put down the plate he had picked up and headed for the second-floor stairs. Looking at the small profile, Jude soon turned to Alvin.

"Oh, didn't you say you had an acquaintance with Ms Mary?"

"Yes, I'll say hi later. It seems that she is busy taking care of the children now. I don't think she has found me yet.”

"Do you have to say hello, really…."

Jjeut, Jude clicked his tongue once. Even if it was not a bloodguilty association, it was not so pleasant to end up linking a serial killer with an ordinary middle-aged woman. Alvin was just smiling where he stood. After swallowing one more canapé, Jude's hand, which was trying to pick up a glass of juice to soothe his throat, soon stopped in the air at the scream that jumped into his ears.

"-Oo, euaaaag! Gegege, George! George! Uaargh!"

Surprise and uneasiness came almost simultaneously. The bustling crowd froze in an instant. In front of Jude's eyes, Lyle, who had just gone up to the second floor, descended the stairs as if he was going to roll down, breathed a tired breath and an ominous premonition brushed his head. Everyone's eyes were focused on Lyle's face. The small-framed man shouted at Jude with desperate eyes.

"Jude, Jude! Come on….George...!"

Calling me means there's highly likely to be a dead body. If he was hurt, there was no reason to scream like that, and he would have called 911 instead of me. I guess I'm born to be a detective since I can't even shake off my work even until I come to an orphanage event. Jude, who was comforting himself, looked back at Alvin. Since he introduced him as a partner, he couldn't help but go with him. The blue-grey eyes were stiffened with a slightly irritated look.

 

People were a little relieved that there was a detective. Realizing that they didn't have to step up and do anything in this situation, they began to murmur something ominous. What’s wrong with George? What about Lyle? Is it possible that he's dead? Oh my god, why? Who killed him? Or is it a chronic disease? I don't know, there must be something to say now that the police are up. Oh my god, what a wonderful coincidence. An ugly thing happened at the orphanage reunion, and I can't believe there was a police officer in it.

Jude paused for a moment in front of the scene where he arrived under Lyle's guidance. A small door to the reception room. As Lyle couldn't manage to close it properly when he was running out, Lyle turned his head curiously toward Jude, who just stared blankly through the half-open door.

"Ju, Jude, why?"

"Jude, are you tired? Should I go alone?"

When Alvin's hand touched his back, Jude quickly raised his face. A murmuring voice came out.

"Oh, no. It's okay. Let's go in."

Jude strode into the door. Alvin followed quietly, and Lyle couldn't think of going in with his legs still shaking. It was an exemplary reaction for the populace who saw a dead body, so Jude did not rush him.

The air in the reception room was damp. It was not known whether it was due to lack of ventilation for a long time or because of the dead body. Fanning the air with his hands for no reason, Jude looked around with his eyes. The body was not immediately noticeable. Lyle's small voice came from behind.

"Well, there, in the fireplace, in the hearth... eup, I'm going down. Ueup!"

Perhaps he was just looking at the fireplace, the sound of Lyle thumping down the hallway as he was about to vomit and rushing down the old wooden stairs can be heard. Inside the fireplace? Jude turned to the fireplace he had been consciously avoiding. A badly crumpled figure of a man can be seen inside the hearth. In a way, it looked like Santa's posture when he lost his footing while climbing down the chimney. The neat black suit was stained with grey ash. And blood stains sticking to his head. Alvin slowly approached the hearth.

"I think he got hit on the head once, and then he hit this corner behind him. There is a sharp mark on the back of the head. Oh, there's blood on the edge of this wall."

The blond detective didn't answer. No, he couldn't answer. Alvin's voice lingered in his ears like paint loosely mixed on the palette. A voice rising from deep inside his head, not the voice heard from outside, rang through his spine. Some disturbing voices were whispering anxiously, like a bad hint.

-Don't do that.

-You idiot. Because you can't do it.

-Don't do that.

-Just keep your mouth shut. Actually, you don't want to stop me.

You don't really want to stop me, do you? Yeah, I did. I did. Jude nodded as if he was about to lightly dipped his feet on the surface of the water. The boy grinned. That's a good idea. Now stay back. Yeah, I got it. Okay. He looked back. The boy laughed again. And the dull sound of something falling to the floor, the girl who flinched and cried...

"Jude."

Suddenly, Jude looked up. Alvin was grabbing Jude's arm lightly. The blue-grey eyes looked at Jude as if they were exploring him. Jude was embarrassed for a moment. I think I just had a dream. I'm sure I was standing.

"......did I just fall asleep?"

"You just stood there as if you had lost your soul. Why, did you dream?"

"Oh, yeah... that's weird. I'm not that sleepy. What's wrong with me?"

He tried to laugh off awkwardly, but Alvin's eyes didn't catch up. Yeah, I know this is not going to work. Alvin asked with an unblinking look.

"Fireplace? Are you triggered?"

"That's.....I don't know."

"I’m asking now, answer me straight. Do you want me to do this?"

Alvin's eyes poked straight in. Unlike his usual delicate voice, the tone was clearly powerful. Jude stammered unexpectedly for a moment. The afterimage of the dream and Alvin's eyes stirred his brain at once.

"Huh, what?"

"I know you don't like my involvement in your detective work. It was the same on the last flight, but I'm saying this because I think this situation is different. Do you want me to do it?"

"What......what? We'll have to call the forensics soon anyway. You and I won't have much to do, as long as we keep the suspects from going back, and as long as we preserve the scene..."

"We can close the case before we call the forensics team."

Jude shut up. Alvin's face was infused with overflowing pride, the pride that he had seen through a great deal of work, the seriousness of considering the weight of the work was non-existent. Just like when they first met, the sculptured features were looking at Jude as if he was smiling. The next question Jude asked was not about the truth of the matter at hand.

"Why should I do that?"

"What ‘why should I do that?’"

"You said you weren't very interested in ‘solving’ these things, on the plane before. But why do you have to solve this instead of me now? That is right now."

Alvin's mouth went up very slightly. But at first glance, the face looked upset, so Jude suspiciously narrowed his eyebrows. Are you upset? Why? Alvin's voice was still calm.

"Gee, don’t say you don't know."

What's wrong with calling the forensics team? Jude, who was about to say it - soon swallowed it down. Alvin spoke flatly to Jude, who had guessed the situation.

"If the forensics team is coming, it means the cops are coming. It's not that I can't get out of it, but I'm introduced to people as Jude's partner, so who’s going to deal with them? And most of all, when the inspectors show up, I have to leave."

"I suppose so."

"It's been a while since we've seen each other. I don't want to go back because of this little thing.”

Little thing. Jude didn't bother to refute. Instead, Jude asked something else.

"Do you know? Who did it."

"It's just a feeling. It's hard for a killer to keep a cool head and it's bound to be different from everybody else. It's a subtle blending of anxiety and despair, hatred and regret. I didn't really care about it until a while ago, but things are different when it goes like this."

"..........what kind of radar is that? Wavelengths."

Alvin laughed briefly. Alvin, who glimpsed at George in the fireplace, soon turned to Jude with a clear look. Calmly holding onto both of their hands together, the man who escaped from prison for half a year owing to the fact that he is a rare serial killer and was on the run, spewed up his words refreshingly.

"Well, I'll do it my own way."

Jude frowned slightly.

*        *        *

Poor Alvin is upset that their 'date' is interrupted. And canapé is yummy.