Arthur Aesalon would never boast that he was the finest detective in the wizarding community- he was much too modest for that. However, no one could possibly dispute his investigation skills and knack at spotting things which other people didn’t. Yes, he was retired- but that didn’t mean his skills were getting rusty. He was much too pleased to receive the invitation to investigate the unfortunate death of Portia Nott. It was an opportunity for him to further sharpen his detective skills and at the same time, make a mint.
The Notts were known for their generosity, or by putting it in another way, their willingness to spend a huge amount of people in order to maintain their image and status. Alexander Nott had only enlisted his help because of his long-standing past reputation and owing to the fact that he was one of the Greegrasses’ close friends, he could be counted on for maintaining a certain level of discretion with regards to the case. Of course, Arthur wasn’t going to charge any fees because he was retired. He didn’t need any reminders of that. He was doing this solely because he was interested in the case though he was slightly surprised when he found out that he had been called in mainly to solve the theft rather than the murder, which was rather unusual for him for he normally took on highly publicised murder cases. Still, Alexander Nott couldn’t possibly control him. Arthur would make solving the murder as his first priority. After all, a dead body is much more exciting to examine than a boring old jewellery case.
And so, the next morning, he found himself ringing the doorbell of the Noots. The impressive mansion did not frighten him. He was well aware of the extravagant habits of the Notts.
“What do you want?” An old woman said, having come out and now peering at him suspiciously.
“I’m Detective Arthur Aesalon,” he introduced himself in a suave manner.. The woman’s eyes widened and her lips formed into an ‘O’ shape. Arthur didn’t care to enquire about her reaction.
“Please come in.”Her face eased into a tight, accommodating smile. She didn’t look amused by the situation. Opening the brass gates, she led the strange man into the compounds.
Without so much as an acknowledgement, the woman strutted ahead and Arthur mutely followed her. There was no conversation as they made their way down the carpeted corridor.
“ Has Mister Alexander Nott been expecting me for long? ” Arthur enquired politely, hoping to make some small talk with the servant.
“ The master does not bother himself with such trivial household affairs. ”
“ What about Mrs Eleanor Nott? Will she be briefing me on the required details? ”
“ The mistress does not entertain anyone of a lower social standing. ”
Frowning, Arthur turned away. The servant’s answers irritated him. Feeling as if his honour and social standing was being challenged, he wanted to prove that he was able to solve the case even more.“ How am I expected to start then? ” His voice strained slightly.
“ The master says that you should do as you deem fit. ” The woman repeated Alexander Nott’s instructions in a monotone voice.
Well, damn him. Arthur was slightly miffed that he was insulted and that nobody even bothered to formally entertain him unlike some of his previous patrons. However, feeling slightly cheered up that he would be able to conduct his investigation in peace he started to strut forward in a more confident stance.
After a few minutes, they arrived outside of brightly-lit room in the hallway. The servant said hesitantly, “Here we are. This is the vault where the accident, I mean, the murder occurred. ” She corrected herself quickly.
Arthur’s eyes peered into the room and found it filled with many treasures and heirlooms.
“ Wait a minute, I- ” Arthur turned around to tell the servant something but she had disappeared without so much as a trace. The corridor was empty and Arthur felt an unmistakable chill down his spine.
“ What on earth was that? ” He wondered before shaking his head.
Still, it was time to get down to business.
~~~~~~~~~
Putting all thoughts of the servant behind his head, Arthur started to survey the vault. He recalled an excerpt from a book he had read many years ago back when he was only an amateur detective while undergoing a brief training in diamond smuggling.
The Cordalis had an infamous reputation and they possessed another name which had been used untill a century ago, ‘The Blood Jewels’. The name was accompanied with a long brutal history of tragic events.
While the jewels have been passed down for generations within the Nott family, they originally belonged to a beautiful maiden called Annabelle Malfoy. She was sought after by many gentlemen- including numerous princes and kings. She was renowned for wearing the necklace studded with precious diamonds that was said to make men lust after her and make her even more desirable than before. One day, Annabelle’s sister, Daniella found out about Annabelle’s affair with her husband. She mercilessly killed her own sister with the Killing Curse. It was rumoured that Daniella had stolen the necklace from
Annabelle after murdering her as she had coveted ever since a long time ago. She escaped unpunished as there wasn’t enough evidence to prove her case. Her husband, Angus, never knew about it and just assumed that his lover had died due to just common poisoning by accident. However, with the strange power of the necklace, Daniella became even more attractive and alluring to the opposite gender and it was with that that Angus returned back to her side.
Many years later, Angus found out about the truth after reading a page from Annabelle’s secret diary. In that same day, he committed suicide, too shocked by the ruthlessness of his wife. When Annabelle, who was very old by then,committed suicide with Angus’ body by her. And since then, the Cordalis Jewels became associated with lust and death and have earnt an infamous reputation. Nobody knew what became of the jewels as they disappeared suddenly after the entire affair. Through someway or another, they came into Nott family and it has been in their possession ever since- up till today.
Then again, how was the theft connected to the murder? Technically, Portia Nott didn’t own the necklace- her parents did. Or was this murder due to a rivalry at a workplace? Or perhaps someone envied and wanted to steal the jewels for their value but sadly, Portia Nott had been in a wrong place and at a wrong time.
The possibilities were endless. Arthur Aesalon gazed around the room. It was air-tight and secure. The only people who could possibly enter it were the people who knew the secret entrance- the family members and servants. A charm had also been placed to ensure that nobody broke into the vault. Who had broken the charm? It must have taken a great deal of magic to do that- probably someone with experience.
At this moment, a voice interrupted his thoughts, “ So, you’re the famous Arthur Aesalon? ”
Turning around, he saw a fair lady gazing at him with curiosity. She had golden blonde hair and was wearing a tight robe.
“I presume that you’re Miss Bianca Nott? ” He bowed whilst addressing her with formality- just the way she liked it. He instantly recognised the beauty who often appeared in the magazines due many endless rumours associated with her.
“ I’m glad you know that, detective, ” she replied haughtily and then asked, “ Have you solved the case already? ”
“ I’m sure, Miss Bianca Nott, that given your exceptional intelligence, you must know that it isn’t always so easy to solve a murder case or retrieve the jewels,'' he laughed.
“ How do you know its murder? ” She sniffed. “ That idiotic sister of mine could quite possibly have killed herself. ”
‘’
“ That’s true. But how will it explain the disappearance of the Cordalis Jewels? ” Arthur enquired, closely watching the reaction of the young woman.
“ Well… I…” Struck by this question, she quickly turned flustered before attempting to cover up with a nonchalant smile. “ That was probably just plain old robbery. ”
“ Was it? ” Arthur’s face curved into a sceptical look.
“ Was it not? ” she shot back haughtily, as if challenging the detective to oppose her viewpoint.
Being tall, she saw eye to eye with the detective. Arthur could sense a fierce determination and arrogance in the girl. She believed that everything revolved around her and everyone had to fulfill her wishes. She was clearly unwilling to back down.
“ Well, if you don’t mind me asking, I do have some questions for you. ”
“ Speak. ”
“What’s your relationship with your sister like? ”
With this question, Bianca Nott grew uncomfortable. “ Just like any other siblings, ” she hastily replied as she looked away.
“ Are you exactly sure? ” Arthur tried probing further. He doubted Bianca Nott’s words for a good reason. He had heard from several trusted and reliable sources that Bianca hated her sister to the core.
“ It will do you no good to enquire so much, you infuriating man! ” she snapped. Upon seeing that the guest had no reaction, Bianca Nott continued bitterly, “ You had better not expect me to tell you anything! If you’re so talented, go and solve the crime! But I don’t think that you will be able to outwit the murderer!’’
With anguish, she turned around and stomped off- much to the amusement of her guest.
Chuckling, Arthur called after her, “ Don’t worry. Your reaction has answered my question. ”
~~~~~
After Bianca Nott had sashayed off, Arthur almost breathed a sigh of relief. This was truly a bizarre family coupled with an unfortunate misadventure tale. So far, Bianca seemed like a the prime suspect. Her defensive stance was an instinctive psychological reaction and given his years’ of experience, Arthur would bet his entire reputation that the young woman was involved in the crime-one way or another.
As he turned his attention back to the scene of the crime, his eyes flicked across the tragic sight. Although the Ministry officials had removed the corpse and the necessary evidence, they had applied a Frozen-In-Time charm after he had requested for the scene to be preserved just the way it originally was so that he could inspect it. Although what Arthur saw wasn’t real, he was slightly shocked by how queer the crime was carried out.
For a start, the illusion of Portia Nott showed that she was lying in a contorted position right in the centre of the room. Her eyelids were closed and her pale face showed an oddly peaceful and calm expression. Her plump lips were curbed into a blissful smile- almost as if she was happy at that particular point in time.
Over his years’ as a detective, Arthur was accustomed to see the usual fleeting looks of fear and shock on the victims’ faces- but never, ever, happiness as in this case. It was strange to think that the victim seemed so serene on the brink of death. Her fingers were clasped tightly around an oak wand and when Arthur flipped open his notebook to read some of the Ministry’s reports. He found out that it had been verified that the wand was used to cast the forbidden spell which could certainly have ended the girl’s life.
But Arthur wasn’t any ordinary person. He wasn’t fooled by the official report which seemed to dismiss the cause of death as suicide so casually. Arthur had even speculated that Alexander Nott had used his powerful connections to prevent any of the Ministry officials to further involve themselves in the case. Arthur slowly made his way by Portia Nott’s illusion’s side. There was a small, button lying near her and by the looks of it, it didn’t match the design of Portia’s tunic and robes. It was a rusty brass button with a gold rim around it. The letter ‘Z’ was carved on it, fashioned in the old sort of way as you would expect to find on clothes worn by the older generation.
Furthermore, Arthur was slightly puzzled by the way Portia Nott held her wand. Most wizards and witches gripped it tightly by the handle using their fingers. Yet, she had a rare way of holding it- by wrapping her middle finger around the stick.
It almost reminded him of a student he once had. Shaking his head, he tried to dispel all thoughts but it kept occurring to him that Portia Nott’s strange manner of wielding her wand was similar to one particular boy in one of his classes during his brief stint as the Professor of the Defence of the Dark Arts in Hogwarts. It was indeed a pity he couldn’t recall who that boy was.
Slowly, Arthur then walked past the illusion of Portia Nott’s dead body- towards the empty jewellery box whose owner had long disappeared. As his eyes flicked over it, he froze. Was he imagining things?
There was a note left beside it. Cursive handwriting was etched on the front of the card and it bore the letter “ Z ”. Was it merely a coincidence that the same letter had appeared on both the button and this note? Whatever the case was, the note was definitely meant for him and it was certainly left after the murder- even after the Ministry officials had left the day before- as he was able to touch the tangible object even with the Frozen-in-time charm. He broke open the royal red seal and read.
Hello there most revered Detective Arthur Aesalon,
I bet you hadn’t been expecting me to be capable of committing this heinous crime. Fancy me, being able to murder Portia Nott and steal the precious Cordalis Jewels at the same time! I just wanted to tell you that I’m watching out for your every move. You’d better be careful. And as a warning, this will not be my last masterpiece.
Nor will it be my last murder.
Sincerely,
Mr. Z
Arthur’s face turned slightly rigid. He knew no one by the same of Mr. Z and he was quite sure that this was the murderer’s codename. His eyes scanned across the room. Though he spotted no one, he felt slightly queer- as if he was missing out on something. However, he could finally verify that the murderer was one of the members of this household. Who else had the ability to return back to the crime scene and leave this note without anyone spotting him or her?
Arthur briefly scanned a mental list of some of the most notorious criminals but most of them had either been thrown into Azkaban or had escaped into hiding. None of them were ever closely acquainted or associated with the Notts.
Hurriedly stuffing down the note down his breast pocket, he strutted out of the vault, with a renewed interest in this case. Whoever the murderer or robber was, he was positively sure that he or she was one of the members of the household. Nobody would have been able to return to the crime scene and leave behind this note unless he or she was living within this very house. And by hook or by crook, he was going to get the person. He didn’t trust the murderer to be surely a man- after all, many criminals in the past had used fake names from the opposite gender to throw the detectives off the trail. Even with Arthur’s experience, he couldn’t be absolutely positive of Mr. Z’s real identity.
As he turned around the corner, consumed by his own thoughts, Arthur accidentally collided with a boy.
“ Ouch! You damn gaffer! ” the boy bellowed in a deep, mature voice. He rubbed his forehead tentatively and glared at the tranger who hadn’t paid attention to where he was walking. ‘’ How dare you slam into the great heir of the Notts! ‘’ he almost shouted as his complaints echoed down the hallway.
“ Pardon me, my child, ” Arthur apologised profusely as he straightened up before getting a good look at the person. He saw the lean, brooding face of a handsome young man.
Upon catching sight of Arthur’s face, the boy’s eyes widened considerably as he pointed a finger accusingly at him.
"You! '' he shouted.
“ Yes, it’s me. I suppose you’d already know my identity by now. ” Arthur gave a sincere smile as he bowed‘’ And you are? ‘’ he asked.
'' There’s no need for you to know. '' The cold, sharp edge of the boy’s tone puzzled Arthur a little but he soon recovered before asking, “ Have I ever seen you before? ” It hadn’t struck him before but it had occurred to him that the boy seemed vaguely familiar. And given Arthur’s good memory, there was a high chance that he had crossed paths with the boy- one way or another. The question was, how?
“ Why? ” The boy’s eyebrows puckered up in frustration as his lips pulled back into an ugly scowl. He wasn’t in the mood to entertain any useless questions from the detective.
“ Well, I might have met you before an- ” Arthur began but the boy cut him off.
“ Silent! I know my imbecile cousin Helena has persuaded my father to hire you but this does not mean that you will gain my respect, ” he growled angrily. “ I certainly don’t find it amusing to find a stranger, no less, poking his nose into our household’s affairs!’’
“ I’ve no intention of intruding onto your privacy. I just wanted to verify if you were indeed one of my past students. ”
“ Past students? What do you mean, you old codger? ”
“ I had a brief position as a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for the a few years back. I was wondering if you had been in one of my classes. ”
For a moment the boy’s face turned paler- far whiter than any sheet of paper- in comparison to his previous haughty, red face upon hearing Arthur’s words.
“ Wait… do you mean… do you mean you are… you are Professor Aesalon? ” he asked. The bitter expression was replaced by an incredulous and uncertain face.
“ That’s me.” Arthur was pleased that the boy had remembered him. Instead of looking interested or awed, the boy turned nervous and timid all of a sudden- as if he was a student waiting for a teacher’s punishment.
“ I must get going. ” He rudely pushed himself away from Arthur and stomped off.
Not daunted by the boy’s escape, Arthur had momentarily caught sight of the housekeeper, Mrs Cope, coming towards him. She was diligently rearranging the ornaments on the display tables and when she saw him, there was a forced smile on her face before she started walking rigidly towards the tall towering figure. She was clearly not relieved to bump into him.
“ Sir, I see that you’re still here!’’ She nodded. “Why, yes, my lady, ” Arthur answered as the housekeeper looked away in embarrassment, as if she was ashamed that she was talking to him.
“ Was that the young master? The mistress has been looking for him. ” The woman strained her neck- hoping to catch sight of the boy but he had disappeared without a trace.
“ Yes, it was him. We had a very interesting conversation just now. ”
“ Really? ” The woman raised her eyebrows. “ I must say, the boy isn’t always so accommodating. I never can understand what’s going on in his head even though I have watched him grow up. ”
“Indeed,” Arthur echoed her sentiments. Van Nott didn’t look like an amicable person though he intrigued him.
“ I must get going. I’ve a lot of household chores to do. ” The servant turned and hustled away.
“ Hang on! What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking? ” Arthur called out instinctively.
“ I'm Mrs Cope, the Notts’ dedicated housekeeper, ” she said hastily before vanishing into one of the rooms.
La Mystère D'Une Fille by Immunity
Chapter Notes: Thanks to Alice (theblacksister) and Alex (welshdevondragon) for their betaing!