Darling Belle

Four

PRESENT

        Headmaster Duval looked at a distorted version of Maisie through crystal. Swirling and sloshing the red liquid dangerously close to the rim. "Any progress, Miss Graham?" he inquired, flatness shrouding with his tone. Maisie found his lack of interest concerning. What if he'd been behind it all? Or if he was covering up for someone else? What if there was no evidence at all for her to find? What if she was just a scapegoat in something beyond her brains capacity?

Maisie clenched her jaw. "I'm not sure if you heard, but I was assaulted. I think someone tried to kill me."

His eyes shot to hers. "How so?" he pressed, setting his glass down.

"I was pushed into a lake. The deep end of it. And coincidentally enough, I can't swim. So, unless they were just uninformed that my ability to swim was nonexistent, then it was attempted murder."

"May've been a harmless prank."

"Sure," she said, unconvinced.

The moment Maisie was plunged under the surface of the water, they could've been watching her struggle. But instead of helping her, they ran off.

Out of fear, perhaps? But fear of what? Being expelled? Unless they were a scholarship student, they wouldn't have anything to worry about. Mommy and Daddy have money to pay off the school. Or was it with malicious intent, with murder? Two possibilities. One more tame than the next.

"I'm not sure how this relates to our case."

"Our case? Is that what we're calling it now. A case? For all we know, someone dropped a cigarette in a panic."

He evened out their eye levels, lacing his fingers in front of his chin. "No. There was gasoline. Everywhere."

Maisie shrugged. Biting down on the inside of her cheek.

"I need you to do something for me."

"Hm?"

"I'm going to give you a list of potential suspects. And I need you to talk to them all. See what you can get out of them."

"There's a list now?"

"Yes, there is a list. Here."

He fished his hand into his desk, then handed her it.

Maisie took the slip of paper from him.

Bram Lowell
Jude Winters
Efa Sivorn
Elio Cassidy
Saffron Agnelli
Maisie Graham

Maisie's mouth quirked. "I try not to talk to myself. My therapist advised against it."

He ignored her.

She looked back down. Saffron Agnelli... Maisie glanced up to ask a question but before the words could go past her lips. A knock rapped against the door.

The headmaster smiled, cutting Maisie a look before speaking, "who is it?"

Maisie fidgeted with her fingers.