Cogs Of Fate

Reflection

1822

That evening, the team found themselves sitting in a private room of a hotel overlooking the main street of town. As they sat spread out in the cramped room, Rufus asked, "So, what are we doing here?" he glanced around the dimly lit and terribly decorated room, "We're not seriously planning on becoming super sleuths here, are we?"

Lucy chewed on her thumb as she thought over the details they knew. "Something isn't right - "

"You think?" Rufus retorted. "There's a murderer on the loose - "

"No, the details themselves don't add up," she corrected.

Rowan nodded. "Do ye know of anyone in history who did something such as this?"

"Not during this time..." Lucy started, pausing to think again. "I'm not sure..."

Rufus muttered, "It's not Jack the Ripper again, is it?"

"No," Lucy scoffed, brows drawing together. "Why would you - "

Gunfire outside on the street caused them to stop talking. Rowan carefully inched closer to the window, pushing the eyelet lace curtains to the side to peek out.

"What is it?" Lucy whispered.

Rowan kept his gaze focused outside. "There's a mob outside," he said softly. "Believe it or not, they're carrying pitchforks."

Rufus groaned, letting his head fall back so his gaze drifted to the ceiling. Flynn shifted in his place as he asked, "They're going on a manhunt?"

"Looks like," Rowan confirmed, dropping the curtain back over the window.

A sudden knock at their door startled all of them. Flynn motioned for the others to stay put as he approached the door. The knock landed again, this time, a voice called out to them, "I know you're in there! We need your help!'

Flynn opened the door and was face to face with the deputy. "What can we do for you, deputy?"

"Your murderer killed the sheriff," he said. "We need your help finding this son of a bitch."

Flynn nodded, glancing over his shoulder to the others. "Let's go."

"I think," the deputy began, "your lady friend should remain behind. It's not safe."

"You said earlier he was only attacking men," Flynn recalled. "Has he changed his motive?"

The deputy shook his head. "No, but - "

"She's coming with us," Rowan stated, pushing by the deputy. Lucy and Rufus followed behind with Flynn closing the door and bringing up the rear.

The group exited onto the street. Glancing around, they saw the locals up in arms as they sought this person out. The deputy stopped beside Rowan and said, "I'll do what I can to keep the locals calm but I'm not going to be able to keep them sated for long."

Rowan nodded. "I understand. Do what ye can." He turned to the others. "Come on. We must make haste." As they rushed down the street, Rowan stated, "We don't have much time to find whoever it is here."

"What exactly is the plan here?" Rufus asked, keeping close, "We don't even know who we're looking for!"

Rowan didn't stop. "We begin our search where the sheriff was killed."

Lucy asked, "Do we even know where this happened?"

They rounded the corner and spotted a group of people swarming the back streets of the shops. Rowan pointed across the street towards them. "Five will get you ten," he began, "that's a good place to start."