Chapter eight: George

Trigger warnings for those who need them

No trigger warnings.

It’s a peaceful morning.
Hamala is sitting across me at the dinner table in the parlour. Xuiyo is in the kitchen and Dana’s once again off to the post office to check in on the shop.
The sun is low and hot as it casts down on the window but it’d be a mistake to leave the ship without a coat just yet.
It’s still far too chilly for that.
There’s the soft rustle of paper as Hamala shifts some forms around.
I pull myself away from the distractions outside and read back on my notes.
Otto Zelious said the role of snake usually goes to a man named Valentine Garcia but if so he wasn’t on the posters, I checked on the way home.
So it makes more sense he didn’t get the role right?
I like to figure out where he is, just to verify.
“Alice?”
“Yes?”
“I have a question.”
I get up to look over her shoulder “What is it?”
“This is the form to create the restaurant ‘on paper’ and there’s a section I’d like you to read, because I think I understand what it means but. Uhh.” she pushes the paper towards me and taps with her pencil on the start of the paragraph.

Section 7.2 Financing
To prevent the rapid opening and shutting of establishments all new businesses have to be in possession one or several of the following
a.) a stable second income e.g. a second business, job or other source of income that is separate from the business being opened and which can be used to supplement a sudden drop in revenue for a month or more.
b.) a treasury of a value high enough to cover the business expenses for two months.
c.) an agreement with a bank or other lending service that a deficit of funds needed to run the business can be borrowed to a fair rate (table 7.2.1) for the size of the establishment.

“Uhu?” I ask, not quite sure what the issue is “You’re gonna go for option B right? Or would you rather have me write you a note as in C?”
“I don’t think I could convince the city hall that that money would be available two years from now since it’s not getting replenished at the moment.” She answers and it takes me a bit to get at her meaning.
“But I have the money now, isn’t that enough?”
“No, no it’s not.
Alice, this isn’t just a red tape hurdle to jump. There’s a reason these rules are in place.” She rubs fatigue from her eyes and kicks back the chair for me to sit down with her.
“I don’t want to run a business month to month, not being sure if we’ll make it to the next and that we can pay rent.” her hand flops down on the table, her eyes looking at me “I loved working at Shiwaso I truly did. But it was also very hard at times. And while I miss the restaurant life, miss talking to customers and being part of a business. I don’t miss the anxiety of going to bed with a number in your head that you need to earn the day after or else your life might be in ruins.”
“I understand.”
“I’m truly grateful that you want to help, hell I’m grateful you flew us all the way from Choumuri to Venusia. I don’t think Xuiyo would have been able to escape the clutches of the kashuya without you.”
There’s a but coming, I can feel it.
“But I don’t want to keep depending on you. You should be free to follow your detective dreams and take the ship when you want and fly wherever your heart desires.” She chuckles “After you get your license of course.””I’m not that desperate to leave you and Xuiyo behind you know, I like it here.”
“Would you want to still be here five years from now?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“Because it’s going to take at least that long for me to even know whether this restaurant we’re making will be a success, and if we run into an asshole customer or have a leak or someone gets sick, I need to be able to fix that myself.”
“I understand.”
“And I don’t want to be offensive about it or-“
“I’m not offended, I just want to know what you’re trying to suggest?”
“I’d like a loan, a starting fund plus the amount of the treasury but that I could conceivably still pay back in two years.”
“How much would that be?”
“I…I’ll have to do some calculations for that, but the point is that we’ll do it properly, like I’ll pay rent and we’ll make a contract of it and if you fly off I’ll deposit the money on a bank account so you can still access it even if you’re not around. And if this whole restaurant crashes and burns I’ll just take a job somewhere else and pay you back that way, it would take longer but I’m committed to build my own life.”
“All right, if that’s what you want that’s fine but under two conditions.”
“Okay?”
“One, I refuse to take rent-“
“But-“
“Nuh, uh. It’s in my best interest that this restaurant succeeds, I’d only be shooting myself in the foot if I skimmed off the top.”
“But then what do you get in return?”
“Well…I need an address to put on my business cards that’s not on the parking lot. And I need a place I could talk to people. Now I’m not asking for free drinks, just a table if there’s one available, and maybe a sign in the window, but only if I’m around. It’d be a win, win really, I’d bring in customers and people are more likely to enter a place if there’s already someone inside.”
Her mouth pulls into a grin “I like it. I’ll have to discuss with Xuiyo of course but I think that’s an excellent compromise.” she sighs in relief, then pushes the papers away for a bit and asks “How’s your case going?”
“I made a profile, the murderer must be a dancer who knows the choreography so it makes sense for them to be part of the troupe, but the troupe isn’t a static thing and people come and go per play so it’s mainly my task to figure out who I’m supposed to be including in the list of suspects.”
“And it’s a guy.” Hamala comments.
“Not necessarily.” It might be a woman.
“A very flat chested one in that case.”
“You can do a lot of adjustments in that area with tape and know-how.”
She pulls up an eyebrow at me “And you know this because?”
“Unsupervised reading is a powerful thing…and it’s a plot point in ‘Killed at the country club’.”
“I hope that’s a book title?”
“Yup, it’s an Antoinette Delarouge detective novel. A man is killed in an all-male country club and then it turns out it was the man’s wife who did it dressed as a man. She had been operating under a pseudonym for some time to spy on her business rivals. Then learnt her husband used his time at the club to cheat on her with one of the waitresses. So she beat him to death in the bunker with a golf club.”
“Wow okay, and how old were you again when you started reading these?”
“I think I was twelve-ish when I read this one. I got my first one when I was ten.”
“Wow.”
I smile at her then jump up as I hear voices somewhere beyond the door.
I rush to the corridor where Dana is standing by the entrance.
“-if you’ll wait here I’ll ask-oh there you are. These people say they want to talk to you about the case?”
I recognise Tonya from the theater. And judging by the red curls her companion is sporting I can only assume that the young man she has with her is George, Donna’s brother.
“Yes, please come in, have you eaten yet? I could ask the cook to prepare more breakfast.” I ask her in Cygnian.
“Oh that’s kind of you but I’m afraid we don’t have much time. Rehearsals start at ten again.” The woman responds apologetically in Charan so I switch to that instead.
“I see, well in that case I’ll try to keep my matters quick.” I step aside to let the guests in.
“George this is Alice the detective, Alice this is George, Donna’s brother.”
I hold out my hands to him, he does the same. I look at his hand for a moment wondering if it’s some Charalian custom before Tonya grabs my hand and puts it to George’s “George is blind you see.” She explains kindly.
“Oh! Oh I’m sorry.” I shake his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, George.” while mentally ridiculing myself for not putting two and two together there.
“Likewise.” The man’s voice is soft but clear and pleasant to listen to.
“Well then, please follow me to the parlour.” I look behind me carefully to see if the guests are following.
I try to breathe easily.
I’ve never met a blind person before. I hope I didn’t make a terrible first impression. But I never expected a blind man to know how to play the piano, how does that even work?
I add the question to my mental list of questions wondering if I’m brave enough to ask.
As the walk into the parlour Hamala jumps up from her chair “Oh visitors, welcome.”
“This is Hamala, oh and the lady you met at the door is called Dana. These are Tonya and George, dancer and pianist respectively at the theater we visited last night.”
“Nice to meet you and sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Uh, Alice how do you say sorry for your loss in Charan?”
“Oh! That’s, my condolences, I think.“
“Thank you.” She turns back to George “Nice to meet you and my condolences, to both of you.” She smiles at Tonya.
Tonya nods in appreciation.
George’s mouth pulls into a wide smile as he asks Hamala “Charan is not your native language then?”
“No, I can understand some but…” She looks at me for help.
“She can understand you but speaking the language is still difficult at times.”
“I see. Then what’s that other language you speak?”
“Jigani.”
“It’s sounds beautiful. Very lyrical.”
“Thank you.”
“Now how about we sit down and you can answer the detective’s questions?” Tonya looks at me meaningfully.
“Right.”
Tonya pulls back a chair across from Hamala and takes George’s hand, showing him where the back rest is. He finds the seat from there and sits down resting his hands on the table.
“Before we start I think it’s polite of me to introduce myself as well. My name’s Alice Castella, I’m a detective and I’ve tasked myself with finding out who’s behind the murder of Mister Johnasson and Donna…” I leave the name hanging for a bit, just to give George the chance to fill it in but he just waits patiently for me to continue talking. “Anyway, I’m from Cygne, only recently moved here and I hope we can work together to find the one responsible for this heinous deed.”
“Likewise.” George responds solemnly. “Do I need to introduce myself as well?”
“If you’d like.”
“Oh uh, I’m George, I’m from here and I’m a pianist at the Magnolia theater, I play organ as well, but we don’t have one of those at the theater sadly.”
“Really? That’s impressive, how long have you been with the troupe?”
He touches each of his fingers on one hand with his thumb as he counts then concludes “About ten years.”
“Ten years, and how old are you?”
“Twenty six.”
“Wow. How did you end up there?”
“I played piano for as long as I can remember, it was Donna’s idea to join the theater and when she did she asked me to join her, so I did.”
“I see. Do you like working at the theater?”
He shrugs “I liked it more when Donna was here.”
“Yes, I can imagine.”
“Now it mostly reminds me she’s gone. But Barnaby has done so much for us and he already lost a singer and a dancer so I’d feel bad for quitting now.”
“You want to quit?” Tonya asks surprised.
“I don’t know, maybe. But I wouldn’t even know where to go on my own. I don’t think I’ll actually go through with it. It’s just…To me it feels painful walking those corridors now.”
“I guess, but I’d feel sad leaving everyone else behind.” Tonya says.
“I don’t.” The young man sounds bitter. I wish I could take away some of his pain. Maybe I can by finding out who did this.
Hamala pokes me in the side and tells me “You should thank him for his candor.”
“Huh? Oh!” I turn to George and tell him “Thank you for your candor. Now back during the performance, you were the first one who noticed Donna’s distress. How did you know something was wrong?”
“I could hear it, and I could feel it. Something was wrong and she was hurt but I can’t really explain it. It’s just this connection I’ve had with her my whole life.”
“I see.” I’m not sure if that’s a real thing but I don’t think I can dispute it either.
I just write it down for now.
“Does Donna have a last name? It feels a bit weird to keep referring to her first name.”

“Oh that’s okay, everyone knows her as Donna she wouldn’t have minded.”
“Then what’s your last name?”
“I…I rather not say.”
“Why no-?”
Hamala’s hand appears on my arm, looking over she gestures me to drop it. I look back at George and only then notice how he has drawn inward, arms hugged close against his body..
“I apologise, I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” I write down ‘last name unknown and hidden’, then change the subject. “Did Donna have any rivals or enemies in the cast? Anyone who might want to harm her?”
“No, no I don’t think so. I think the people in the theater treat us really well.”
“You live inside the theater, don’t you?” I ask carefully.
His head turns up at me, surprise lacing his voice as if to ask ‘how do you know?’ “Yes.”
“But you and Donna were the only ones, correct?”
“Yes.”
“How did that happen?”
“I don’t know. Donna arranged for that.”
“Do you pay for the lodgings?”
“I don’t think so, although Barnaby might come to me later to tell me otherwise.”
“And Barnaby is the one who owns the theater right?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” I write everything down, then turn to Tonya “How long have you been with the troupe?”
“Oh I’ve been here for two years, I used to work in Tripsie but then the actor manager got handsy and I quit. Say what you will about Barnaby but he’d never lay a hand on his people.”
“Do you know who else might know the snake’s routine? I went to Otto yesterday but he was at Barlymoore when the murder happened.”
“Valentine would know. He played the snake about a lot of times.”
“Any idea where he’d be?”
“Not really to be honest, he kind of vanished after he got fired.”
“He got fired?”
“Yeah, I don’t know what over, although I have a suspicion.”
“Donna and Valentine were friends though. She always spoke kindly of him.” George adds quickly.
“Could you elaborate on that?”
“When we went to the Steampowered Envelope the two of them would talk a lot.”
“What about?”
“Work, music, clothes, that sort of thing.” Valentine is a vain person and Donna told me he’s quite handsome.
“Did the two of them meet up outside of work without you?”
“Not as far as I remember.”
I wonder if there was more happening between those two than George is aware of. I turn to Tonya “Do you have anything to add to than in terms of Valentine and Donna’s relationship?”
She shakes her head “Not really.”
“Then what about Valentine and Darren, were they friends?”
“No, not at all. He’d always downplay Darren’s achievements and tell him he’s a bad dancer.”
“But then he took over his part and he might get very angry over that?” I muse to myself.
“It’s possible.”
“Do you think the murderers main target was Darren?” George asks cautiously.
“I think it makes the most sense because Donna sounds to me like she was pretty universally loved. Unless you think otherwise of course.”
“She was loved for sure…” there’s a hesitance in his voice that I find suspicious.
“But?”
“I uh, it’s nothing.”
“If you think it can help the case then it’s probably best to speak up now.” I try.
“No, it’s as you said, it makes more sense for the murderer to be after Darren first.”
“Since Donna and mister Garcia were friends, do you know where to find him?”
George shakes his head “They wouldn’t spend much time together outdoors.”
“That’s a shame…maybe mister Craig would know. Is there anyone else who’d know the snake’s choreography?”
“Only Harald that I know of…”
“Who’s Harald?”
“Harald Kiepel, he’s the ballet instructor. He’s also the de facto understudy although I haven’t seen him in any actual performances.”
“I have a question.” George pipes up all of a sudden as he gets up from his chair “I need to use the restroom, where is it?”
“Oh, I can show you.” I get up then look at the door
“Actually if it’s all the same to you, Hamala could you show me?” George asks, his gaze settled on where Hama’s still working silently.
Hamala looks up from her paperwork with question marks floating above her head “Yeah sure.” She puts down the forms and pushes her chair back to get up “How can I guide you?”
“You can hold my arm.” He holds out his arm to her.
“Okay.” she takes it carefully. “It’s this way. there’s a door, yes, good and careful, steps going down here-”
As the door closes behind us I feel annoyed.
I don’t want to feel annoyed.
“Right, uhm- so Harald-”
“You shouldn’t take it personally.”
“Huh?”
“In the time that I’ve been with the theater he’s bonded with only a handful of people. He’s very particular about which people he likes and which he doesn’t but that’s more to do with him than, you trust me.”
“Oh, I see. Thank you.” I tuck a fugitive lock of hair behind my ear “Do you know Donna’s last name?”
“Nope.”
“Do you mind?”
“Not really, most people at the theater are on a first name basis anyway so it doesn’t feel out of place.”
“I see.” maybe I’m overthinking it? But if so why would George try to hide something not worth hiding?
My eyes run back up the conversation, looking for other avenues, “I’d like to talk to Harald if possible.”
“As a suspect?”
“As a source of information.”
She sucks her teeth for a moment “He’s very busy with the class on most days, but I’ll see what I can do, you’ll have to come to him though, as he wouldn’t even have the time for a quick visit like this.”
“That would be wonderful, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, if Melanie or I can help with anything to speed this investigation along you let me know all right. I really wanna see whoever did this behind bars but I doubt the dogs at the pound would be able to figure this on out if their lives depended on it.”
“You really don’t like the police do you?”
“I do not, they’re incompetent and they don’t care for guilt, only that someone who fits the description gets caught as soon as possible.”
“That’s horrible.”
Can I have your book for a bit?” She asks.
“What for?”
“I want to give you my address in case you need me in my off hours. But it’s a hassle to transcribe.” She explains.
“That’d be grand.”
She pulls my notebook towards her and writes down an address that takes up half the page. “There you go.”
“Thank you”
She shrugs “I just hope you can find the real killer so he doesn’t get away with it.”
“I’ll try.”
“So how did you become a detective?”
“Me? Oh.” I chuckle awkwardly “I guess I just sorta got started.”
“Just like that?”
“Yup.”
“Did you solve many cases already?”
“A couple, but I think this one is the most challenging by far.” please don’t ask for details, please don’t ask for-
“Does the police bother you sometimes?”
Pfew. “Not really? Although I haven’t gotten much experience with this department yet. Since I just moved.” I quickly add.
“Good.”
I flip through my notes and find my eyes falls on the gardener “Oh, I was wondering who plays the gardener.”
“Why?”
“Since he’s the one who had the most interaction with the snake on stage and well…lived.”
“His name is Tashi Sashou, but I don’t think he’d wanna talk to you.”
“Why not?”
“The police interrogated him for two hours and ever since he hasn’t wanted to talk about the subject to anyone.”
“But I take it he’d want the murderer caught just as well?”
She shrugs “I can ask but I can’t promise anything.”
“That would be more than sufficient.”
“Do you have other questions?”
“Just the one, you said Valentine Garcia got fired, and you had a suspicion as to why…”
“Oh uh, Valentine liked to smoke these laced cigarettes at work. Barnaby told him to stop it several times but he didn’t stop. He never justified Valentine’s firing to us though so it’s just a hypothesis.”
I nod briefly “Thank you.”
She looks behind her “That said I hope George didn’t fall through your toilet, what’s taking so long?”
“Well Hamala is with him, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
And just like that, as if on cue, Hamala opens the parlour door with George in tow.

“We should head back to the theater.” Tonya tells him.
“Okay.”
I stand up and shake both their hands again “Thank you for your time and input, both of you.”
“You’re welcome.” Tonya says, George just nods politely.
“I’ll walk you out.” Hamala offers.
“Thank you.”
I just walk back to my spot and sit down, looking over notes I took and checking whether they’re complete.
This was-
a lot.
Hamala enters the room.
I expect her to sit down, go back to her paperwork, but instead she halts next to my chair and says, “Alice we need to talk.”