“Rubbish! You know-I don’t think you should be! And by the way-Cliff has no idea I have seen Mrs. Anonymous! Unless-” Lyric eyed him with sudden suspicion.
“I had to! He was bugging me so I had to-I am sorry!”
“It’s OK-if you don’t tell him anymore. I’ll tell him myself! It’s high time he should know!”
“Lyric-be extra careful! She might know that you have seen her and it might be a part of her plan to lure you!”
“I will be careful! Extra careful! But I still wanna be a part of the investigation!” she got off the car to the interrogation room with Enif. “Stay here!” she told the driver. Ms. Roche was already there with make-up painted on her face. She was looking into the mirror she had clenched in her palm and was brushing mascara.
“Sorry to keep you waiting Ms. Roche!” Enif apologised stiffly.
“It’s ok Mr. Fawaris since I just got here two minutes ago!” her voice was quite unlike the other people at the party.
“I want to inquire about how did your family overcome the debt it faced seven years ago?”
“By my beautiful paintings!”
“Just by your paintings?”
“How else do you think we could’ve?”
“By, thievery, I suppose!”
“Wh-!”
“Your family faced awful circumstances seven years ago! Seven years ago, Mrs. Anonymous was first sighted.”
“That makes no sense!”
“It does to me!”
“What proof do you have that I have committed all those thefts?”
“So, you admit you have?”
“You misunderstood my question!”
“Well, seeing that way, what proof do you have that you haven’t stolen the jewel?”
“I was talking with others when Lady Valarie noticed that the jewels were missing!”
“Repeat the ninth word that you said!” Lyric sighed.
“Witty, well since you don’t know the exact time when the jewel was stolen-”
“Not the point!”
“Well on what basis do you say that it’s me who has stolen the jewel and that I am Mrs. Anonymous? I can show you my air fare and pictures of myself being in France and signing papers! And if I am not wrong-there hasn’t been a thievery in France except this one!”
Their arguments went on for another half an hour while Lyric checked over the reports of the finger prints and other details around the mansion but finally spoke when Enif commanded to arrest Ms. Roche for further investigation. “She isn’t guilty!”
“And what makes you say that?”
“She wasn’t wearing those tight net gloves at the party. There would have been her fingerprints!”
“And you were still sitting and waiting for me to arrest her.”
“Well, she did reveal some useful information that she wouldn’t have revealed otherwise. Like, she was with Leigh all the time discussing the importance of architecture in the history. That cuts Leigh off our list of 16 more people!” she looked at her watch. It read-5.30.
“Fine then, you go back to the car I am dropping you off. Your security is very important right now. You get going, I am coming.” He gave some orders to his juniors while Lyric walked out. She checked her phone. There were a dozen messages from Cliff. The driver wasn’t there. She used the key to open the car and sat in the backseat with her nose inside her phone. She was typing with her left hand and brushed her hair with her right hand. Her hand landed on the comfortable seat and her fingers moves inactively searching for reply she looked around when her fingers caught the hold of a piece of paper. She looked down at the paper. Something was written on it.
Lyric Bouveir! We’ll meet again! Sooner than you think!
She panicked. It was written in blood. And she could feel the blood. It was fresh. She screamed. She tried to open the door but it was locked. She banged the window pane shouting for help. “Who are you?” she shouted at the top of her voice. “What do you want?”
Enif appeared after a few moments walking calmly until he had seen Lyric. He hurried to help her. “What’s wrong?” he asked apprehensively the moment he opened the door. She didn’t reply. Instead she pointed at the piece of paper. “Must’ve child locked the door by mistake.” He uttered withdrawing the paper. His eyes widened as he read it. He shook his head vigorously. “Where’s the driver?” he yelled looking around and noticed blood near the edge of the road. He took Lyric’s hand and pulled her towards the source of blood. It led to the dense bushes. “Stay close!” he whispered holding her hand tightly. The bushes cleared out at an open space surrounded by bushes. There they saw, the body of the driver who was apparently shot right in the chest. “Who is she?” Lyric collapsed at the sight of the body. The next thing she knew, she was inside her room on her bed. She looked at the clock. It was well past midnight. It was a dream. She thought happily until she noticed that Cliff wasn’t beside her.
“Cliff!” she cried softly, confused. He came into the room carrying a glass of water looking worried.
“You collapsed at the sight of the body. Enif brought you here. You have been like this for nine hours. We were damn worried. We even considered calling a doctor. We were just about to when we heard you stir.”
“We in the sense?”
“I and Enif! He is here too. He has immediately called protection for you.” He sat on her bed. “I think you should stay home for some days. Until this case is solved.”
“Then how I am gonna solve this case?”
“Don’t! She’s after you and she wants you.”
“She’ll get me either way. It’s better to fight rather than stay here. And if she really wanted me, she could’ve killed me back then. But she didn’t. she wants something from me I guess.”
“Like-?”
“I dunno! But I wonder who she is!”
“Yeah! Who is that girl who is world famous thief, goes by the name of Mrs. Anonymous! Never caught. No clue. Who is she?”
“Who?”
The sun rose high in the morning. Lyric was taking a bath. It was great to have a bath in hot water in that chilly weather. Her hair was ruined from collapsing in the mud. After washing them, she came out to get out from the bathroom rubbing towel over her hair and wearing a bathrobe. She paused to look at herself in the mirror near the sink. She noticed that due to the humidity inside the bathroom, there was fog on the mirror but right in the centre of the mirror, she saw a big WHO with water dewdrops falling from the letters.
