Fairytale Detective - The Curse of Briar Rose

Chapter 2 - 'What did we get ourselves into?'

King Cross Station, London

10th September, 07:30

'Did you have to pack your whole wardrobe?' asked Leah, while eyeing the two large suitcases that Chester was pulling behind him.

'Well, boss. You can never be too prepared. I have got my winter clothes, my summer clothes, at least 2-weeks of underwear, a laptop, snacks...'

'Chester, we are not moving to Edinburgh. We are going to solve a case, which will take a week max.'

'Hmm, don't come crying to me, when you run out of clean underpants' mumbled the assistant under his nose.

Leah took advantage of the 4 hours to Edinburgh to go over the case files that were given to her by a colleague from the local police department. Just like Ms. Fayir had explained, the vines had appeared in July and quickly engulfed the manor. Actually, manor was an understatement, the whole place looked like a miniature version of a fairytale castle, but Leah was getting distracted. So, according to the report, the plant was pretty difficult to eradicate. If a vine was cut, two new ones immediately took its place and according to lab analysis chemicals also did not work well. What is more, the briars were spreading so quickly that they were, indeed, going to enter neighboring properties as well.

Aas for witness statements, most of the policemen and gardeners that were interviewed reported one and the same story. After coming in contact with the thorny vines, they all had hallucinations of a girl that was begging them to help her. Three men had gone missing, including Ms. Fayir's grandson, but apart from him, the other two did not have close relatives that could confirm whether the men had really disappeared or just decided to leave the town for a couple of days. Still, all three men shared similar features - tall, blonde and around the age of 26.

'Strange, pretty strange' whispered Leah.

'Whatcha thinkin', boss?' asked Chester.

'Well, you see. All three men disappeared one-two days after entering the manor. I am missing Peter's medical history, but the other two...they both have had the same kind of hallucinations and I am wondering that maybe there were some kind of chemicals under the manor. A lot of toxins were developed during WWII and maybe the old lord had let the army store some in the basement. What if they had leaked and caused this phenomenon?'

'Not to doubt you, but don't you think that the Abercrombies would have noticed barrels of toxins in their own basement.'

'Not if they were under the boards, but you are right. They would be pretty difficult to miss. Still, it is a viable option...the missing people might just be under the influence of the toxin and are wandering somewhere...'

'You will figure it out, boss. I am sure of it. But before that we have a more pressing issue to worry about?'

'And that is?'

'Well, if Ms. Fayir's cottage has wi-fi, because I am not missing my TV series!'

Edinburgh, Scotland

10th September, 15:00

Ms. Fayir's cottage did not have wi-fi. In fact, Ms. Fayir was like something taken out of the Medieval ages. The lavatory was out in the yard and a hen had made its nest inside it. Some of the corners were covered in spiderwebs and much to Catterly's horror, there was no washing machine for his underwear.

'Boss?'

''What is it, Catterly?'

'Is it too late to book a hotel room?'

Ms. Fayir, on the other hand, took pride in her cottage and beamed with joy at the sight of her guests. 'Now, dearies, get settled. I will put a kettle on the stove and after a nice cuppa tea, I will take you to the manor.'