CLOVER

Step 1: Find a wealthy man.

The past few days quietly passed by without any strange event happening in between. You can say the place fell all dead silent, including them. No sudden walks towards any kind of direction. No sudden discoveries. No sudden riddles hidden in the most unimaginable places to exist. There was simply nothing out of the ordinary. What we must consider odd is the fact that nothing happened. Simply, just nothing. Nothing at all. If you think about it, maybe none of this would have happened if the file was signed and closed and, lastly, placed into the depths of the archive of the station. Must we consider this nothingness to be good or bad? By the end of this month, they would most definitely turn that hotel room in an attraction for the visitors of London. I must mention that the plain painted walls are not so boring now. In the eyes of an artist, they have turned into an abstract masterpiece. In the eyes of the hotel owner, they have turned into a disaster. What's important is that in the eyes of William and Scarlett, they have turned into a huge board built with everything they needed to know. Still, nothing is helpful in any corner of the wall. They knew everything, but deep down, they knew absolutely nothing. The days spent laying down on the bed, drinking tea, and scraping the colors off the front wall were not much of a big change to their comeback plan. There was no comeback strong enough to end Clover's plan, though! They would have to attend the ball either way but, with the hope of them catching her before William fell on her trap.  Their plan was well thought of, but there was something missing. At first, they needed to pick up the costumes from Apsley's by noon, which William decided to take care of. After that, they needed to find a way to attend the ball without the need of having an invitation. After entering the ceremony ball, they wouldn't have the need to introduce themselves to anyone in particular since everyone would be hidden under a mask. Since Clover had made herself clear with everything by using her riddles, William knew where she would stand in case they wouldn't be able to recognize her by her mask. While Clover would be distracted with William, it would be Scarlett's perfect opportunity to get her. After getting her, which was the main step of the plan, they would get her to confess where she hid all the bodies. Easy enough! Well, not so. Clover had her own special way of working with her missions. She always followed her 3 main steps, which is why they started wondering how she was going to execute all of them. To begin with, her first step seemed like the easiest one to accomplish.

STEP 1: Find a wealthy man.

If William was going to be her next and probably last man to murder, he must have the first criteria. To be wealthy.
"Do you have any kind of riches in your position, Trenor?" -Scarlett asked him, looking at him questionably. "Well, I do not know what she considers good enough to take away from me." He tried to think of whatever he had, but nothing seemed important enough for Clover to take. Gold, gemstones, money, and family heirlooms, she had taken them all. What could William have that was so special and unique, different from the others. It was already May 30. Exactly one day away from the 50th anniversary  ceremony ball. The time for William to get the costumes was slowly approaching. He excused himself to Scarlett and took his jacket to leave. It was rare for William to feel this defeated. Maybe it was the fault of the sudden changes happening around him, after all. He always blamed them. Working without Jennifer, for him, it was like writing without a pen. While walking through the alleys, all he could see was how peaceful everyone looked. Not a single person seemed to have something to worry about. That is what he always wanted, but his job could not offer that. He was only on his twenties, and what he had to worry about was if he would die by the kiss of a woman he never wished to kiss before. Apsley's Tailors. Now, it would probably be the last time he sees that sign and even those tall glass windows and, most of all, the little friend they made on the way. The bells rang again as he opened the door. He got himself in and walked towards the waiting table where Chiswik was standing with the costumes folded next to his arm. "Here you go, young man."- Chiswik passed the wrapped costumes to him. William picked them up without saying a word. Chiswik wasn't able to look at him in the eyes. Maybe they were not on the same side, but he felt terribly sorry for whatever was about to happen to William. And just like that, without even exchanging a glimpse with each other, William took his leave. Moments before William opened the door, he felt a little pull on his long jacket. "If the midnight bells ring and the sky is still clear, I will know that you are okay."-Chsiwik smiled at him. Not any kind of smile. A smile hiding tears somewhere. The bells rang again. William left. It was already noon. Time flew by quicker than expected. Time was not a good friend of William but the favorite thing for Clover. Her way of always acting at midnight was something she had mastered. She was not called Clover for nothing, though! She had the luck of a thousand men. The reason why Clover was after him was still a mystery. No riches that William carried would be worthy of a murder. Unless, Clover wasn't after anything of a great value. Maybe what she wanted was something out of his expectations. Something only he could afford. The bags felt heavy, not heavier than his gut feeling, though. The straps left red bruised marks on his wrists, but nothing could hurt him more than the feeling of betrayal. He soon reached the hotel again. As he got in, he asked the register lady for a card and a pen. He wrote down a little note and placed it inside the bag that had Scarlett's dress in. "Send it on room 777 by the time I leave."-he asked the lady for a favor. "But sir. There is not a room with that number here." William looked at her confused, and then he realized the words that came out of his mouth. "I apologize, I meant to say room 7." He handed her the bag and left with his from the hotel. The lady slowly climbed the stairs to reach the room that she was asked to deliver the package. She knocked two times enough for Scarlett to hear and come open the door. "Trenor--."-she stuttered. "Good evening, mademoiselle! This package is for you." Scarlett's gaze dropped to the bag as she took it slowly from the lady's hands.  "Who gave this to you?"-she asked her. "The handsome sir that booked the room." The lady smiled as she headed downstairs. Scarlett closed the door, turning back to the living room. She got worried, not seeing William turn back to the room. She placed the bag carefully on the side of the couch, reaching in for the dress. While doing so, her hands caught on a card, and she pulled it out. She sighed as soon as she saw it. "What were you thinking now, Trenor?" She placed her palm on her forehead, worried of what he might have written for her. 

She shook her head smiling as she pulled the dress from the bag. Chiswik had done a really amazing job with the sewing since her face was glowing, looking at the beautifully sewed details and fabrics. She hugged the dress tightly and breathed heavily as she danced around the living room. He saw her joy filling the whole hotel, standing outside looking up to her window. "Will see you tomorrow, Ginger."-he whispered and walked away. The streets fell more quiet now, and only the cheerful songs of the tipsy old men were heard from the tavern on the next street. William decided to walk towards the noises and join the drunk strangers for a drink. That seemed like the only way for him to get his mind off the case just for a moment. Step by step, he managed to reach the tavern in a short time. One of the men was flung outside the oval wooden windows of the tavern. "Bollocks!"-the drunk man yelled. William looked at him in disgust and got himself inside the tavern. The place was almost dark with only the light beam of 5 candles shining the tiny room where almost 30 men were gathered, drinking and laughing with each other. William pushed past them, reaching the front bar. "May I get a  shot of whiskey, please?"-he asked the bartender. Reaching for the bottle on the top of the shelf, he asked him. "You are not from here, aren't you?"-"I have been hearing that a lot since the day I came here."
"What brings you to London?"-the man continued asking. "Business."-he answered firmly. The man slid the glass of whiskey through the table until it reached William's hand. "If you are done with investigating my friend here, I would like to order a glass too."-a man interrupted them. William turned to his left to see someone unexpected. "Tyler? What brings you here?" -"If I ask you the same, will you answer Sir Detective? William closed his eyes in disagreement. The bartender prepared the drink for Tyler and handed it to him. "Tomorrow is the big night, yeah?"- Tyler continued the conversation. He noticed the silence that had hugged William's body when he decided not to answer immediately. William was swinging around his drink in circular motions, hesitating to drink it. "What seems to bother you?"- Tyler asked as he patted his shoulder. "Scar told me that you two have everything figured out. Is there something that you feel unsure about?" William finally picked up his drink, and the cold whiskey touched his lips, leaving a burning feeling on their surface after he drank it. "Clover is so powerful, yet she wants to take something from me even though I have nothing to offer." "What does that mean?" William took his glass again, drinking the whiskey with a single breath. "All her life, she has been after wealthy man. I am everything but rich! What can I offer her in exchange for my life?" Tyler took some time to answer, and that made William give up on finding the so long awaited answer. "Another one!"-he shouted to the bartender reaching out his empty glass. "Detective. Clover knows you well. She knows you do not have anything on your will. What she must want is something that means more than money to you. William picked up his glass again, ready to drink it as fast as he could, but Tyler took his wrist and stopped him shortly. "What?"-he asked, annoyed. Tyler raised his eyebrows, making him remember what they were talking about. "Oh, come on! I, myself, don't know what is important to me." Tyler sighed, frustrated by his drunk behavior. "Your position in society, William! You are a detective for God's sake. You are what Jennifer always wanted to be!" William spilled his drink on the other side of the table where they were sitting. Wiping his lips with the sleeves of his jacket, he excused himself, leaving some golden coins in the table. He got up to leave the tavern with the whiskey burning his throat. Tyler rolled his eyes in exhaustion, trying to stop him. "You will not hand her your title, will you?"-he shouted at him but no answer. There finally seems to be something with more value than just money for him, and that title made him wealthier than any man alive.