Extra's Perfect Ending

Chapter 94: The thing in the box

The room fell into a tense silence as Reeva examined the contents of the box. The item inside was nothing extraordinary on the surface, but Reeva knew better. This simple object carried a weight far beyond its appearance.

It was a shoe.

A black gentleman’s shoe, neatly placed on red fabric. But what caught Reeva’s eye even more was the accompanying white slate invitation—an invitation he had become all too familiar with. A white slate with no mystic property.

"Who sent this?" Reeva wondered aloud, perplexed. There was no note, no indication of who the sender might be. He quickly flipped over the white slate, searching for clues. On the back, he found a large, carved "L."

"Landlong?" Theia voiced his thoughts, breaking the silence.

"Seems like it," Reeva responded, his mind racing.

"But why?" Theia asked, her confusion mirroring Reeva’s own.

Reeva wished he had an answer. There wasn’t any wedding scheduled this month, at least not one involving someone whose name started with an "L." The only logical conclusion was that Landlong was behind this, but the reasoning eluded him.

"Is he planning to recruit people at this wedding like he tried with us?" Theia speculated. She remembered Landlong’s earlier attempt to recruit Reeva and how unimpressed Reeva had been by the offer.

"I don’t know, but he certainly has a thing for weddings," Reeva replied, still piecing things together. "But this doesn’t change our plans. You and Hilda need to investigate Ulla while I check out whatever Landlong is up to. We’ll also need to stop by Holen’s place to make sure our stories align."

Reeva’s mind was still buzzing with questions. Why a wedding? What was Landlong’s true goal? And why was he so intent on involving Reeva? As much as these questions bothered him, he knew they had to proceed with caution.

-----------

In the afternoon of the next day, the trio made their way to Holen’s office, as they often did. However, something was off this time. The usually open office had its windows shut and doors locked.

After knocking three times, there was no response.

"He’s not in the office?" Theia asked, surprised, as Holen was always there when they visited.

"Looks that way," Reeva muttered, puzzled.

Just as they were about to turn away, the talkative lady from next door emerged. Reeva nearly flinched at the sight of her, while Theia subtly hid behind Hilda. The lady looked at them with a mix of curiosity and surprise.

"You folks looking for Holen?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Noting the earlier knocking.

"Do you know where he is?" Reeva responded cautiously, choosing his words with care.

"I saw him earlier, but..." the lady began, her voice trailing off.

"Three burgers!" Theia interjected, trying to cut the conversation short before the lady could delve into more details.

The old woman chuckled at Theia’s quick response.

"I think Holen’s in some trouble. The church folks and the coppers paid him a visit this morning."

Reeva’s eyebrows shot up at this news. It made sense, though. Holen should have been under suspicion long ago, especially after the chaos they had caused.

Since the ’incident’ at the hotel, where two servants were killed, the authorities must have started asking questions. If the servants didn’t have families, the situation couldn’t be easily swept under the rug. It was surprising that it had taken this long for the authorities to come after Holen. Reeva knew he was partly to blame, especially after the mess at the church.

"What do we do now? Do we save him?" Theia asked, uncertainty in her voice. Holen had been nothing but helpful to them so far.

"We should," Reeva agreed. "Holen’s a treasure trove of information, and he’s been helping us crack this cult case. It wouldn’t hurt to return the favor."

Theia nodded, determination replacing her earlier hesitation. Hilda remained silent but ready, as always. The trio quickly devised a plan, knowing that time was of the essence. If Holen was in trouble, they needed to act fast.

-------

They made their way to the police station, a half-hour walk from Holen’s office. The building, nestled among others of similar design, was distinguishable only by the sign that read "Police Station" at the entrance.

The police station comprised several connected buildings, stretching across two or three building spaces. It housed not only the station itself but also holding cells and living quarters for the police officers and their families.

In a world dominated by mystic powers, the police force acted as a front for the church, managing ordinary people who weren’t particularly religious.

The true reason for the station’s existence was that the church preferred not to allocate its manpower to mundane crimes like robbery and murder.

They were more interested in dealing with supernatural occurrences—ghosts and mystic-related incidents. Almost daily, something anomalous would crop up, and people would flock to the church. But when it came to regular murder cases, the police, or "coppers," were called in.

Reeva, Theia, and Hilda entered the station, greeted by a receptionist at the front desk. Unlike the usual bustling atmosphere, the man behind the desk today was a bespectacled figure who looked too tired to be doing his job.

"Hello, I’d like to ask something," Reeva began.

"Hi..." the man replied, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up.

"Has Holen been brought in recently?" Reeva decided to be direct, sensing the man’s reluctance to engage in small talk.

"Holen?... The bad detective? Yeah, we got his ass... are you here to bail him out?" The man’s voice dragged with fatigue.

"Yep."

"Well, you’ll have to... sign this paper..." The receptionist fumbled through a stack of papers before handing Reeva a form. It appeared to be an information sheet, likely used to identify the person being bailed out.

"Is his crime serious?" Reeva asked, trying to gauge the situation.

"Nooope... I hoped he’d done something stupid, but nope... just got called in as a suspected murderer... But he doesn’t fit the description... And this isn’t a normal murder... we should’ve handed this case to the church already..."

The receptionist rambled on, his exhaustion evident. Reeva couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the man. He remembered having rough moments like this in his previous life, times when he was just as weary at his old job. It reminded him of the long, draining days at the company.