The Pumpkin Lady

VI: Dry Remains

The entrance to the farmhouse was lit up like a Christmas tree, the distant laughing and folk music echoing through the night from where the two detectives hid amongst the trees. The moon was engorged, and the stars were shrouded by the clouds. It almost seemed as if the moon had completely swallowed the night sky until it was nothing but a black void surrounding it. Dahlia peeked out from the foliage, A carriage rolling up the path and stopping at the entrance. A group of men and one woman, laughing and chatting amongst themselves as they carried what seemed like white sheets. They walked up the steps, sharing one last laugh with each other, and knocked on the door. It was a strange knock, a series of patterns arranged in a specific way. After a moment had passed, the door opened, and the group greeted their host with warm smiles before ushering inside.

"Seems like quite the party out there, sir..." Dahlia commented, sitting back down in the grass. Felix was currently cutting holes in a bedsheet, no doubt as part of their disguises for the infiltration. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, what if we get caught?"

"We?" Felix asked, snipping the last bit of fabric and handing it to her, "My dear, you're the one going in there!"

"W-What?!" Dahlia exclaimed, smacking her hand over her mouth and clearing her voice. "y-you mean I have to do this alone?"

"It's no dangerous work, all you have to do is go in there, pretend you're one of them, and get as much information as possible! As long as you can get the leader himself to confess to Margaret's murder, then that'll be perfect." He slipped on his overcoat again. "Besides, if what Mr. Cooke says is true, then we need you to stall the ceremony for as long as possible. Meanwhile, I'll rush back to Scotland Yard and grab O'Malley and his boys. We'll catch them in the act, and you'll tell us everything you learned, alright? There should be plenty of evidence pointing towards the murder there. If we're even luckier, we may even find more evidence of other murders..."

"But why me? why- why not you?!"

"Miss Berrycloth, my face is attached to one of the most influential detective agencies in London, they'll know I'm not one of them and then we'll get nowhere!"

Dahlia looked down at the sheet, clenching it in her fists. "S-Sir I-I can't do it-!" she looked up at him, any color left in her face completely drained. "What if they find out a-and they hurt me? What if they hurt you? Oh Mr. Fletcher-!"

"Whatever do you mean? You're great with people!" He scooted closer.

"That's not the point sir! I've never done things like this alone, I-I..." her breathing turned shallow as she thought about all the horrible, terrible things that could happen. She thought of burning up in a cloud of smoke, just as Tom had described. She thought about ending up just like poor Miss Astley, never getting any closure on her death.

"Dahlia." Felix said firmly, gently grabbing her by the shoulders and staring her directly in the eye. Gentle... Dahlia wasn't used to seeing him exhibit such a thing, much less addressing her by her name. "I trust you enough to put this in your hands. As God as my witness, I will make sure it will never get to that point. Nothing is going to hurt you, and I'll make sure of that."

Dahlia was speechless, their faces just inches away from each other. A shiver went down her spine as he brought a hand up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're going to do beautifully, dear. Just breathe."

Dahlia did as was suggested to her, taking a sharp breath and exhaling slowly. She couldn't help but smirk a little. "Hmph... how come you're never this nice to people?"

"I hadn't found anyone who could provoke it out of me." Felix said with a smile, before standing up, offering her his hand. "I'll get here with the police as soon as possible. Remember, stall for as long as you can and get as much information as possible." With one last tip of the hat, Felix slinked back to the carriage, Chauncey's head hanging out the window gleefully as Felix commanded the coachman to take him to O'Malley as fast as possible. Dahlia shook her head. The things Felix was capable of convincing people to do...