The Magician's Vow: A Retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Part III - Chapter XXVI: Grey & Gold

Eugene could barely breathe. His heart beat faster than he thought possible. 

He took a glance out of the corner of his eye. The police man was still there. Charlie had only to shout and it would all be over. 

“Eugene?” Charlie stepped closer. 

“I do not know what you mean,” Eugene said, surprised at how calm and level his voice was.

Charlie closed the distance and stared straight up into Eugene’s forest green eyes. “You are no fool, Eugene. Do not pretend to be one. I know it was you. This entire time, it was you.”

Eugene stepped back. “You do not know what you speak of.”

“I’ve been watching you, Eugene,” Charlie said.

Eugene shook his head. “No, you haven’t.” He would have noticed if he had been followed or watched. No one could spy on a magician without them knowing it.

“Not physically, of course, but I’ve been tracing your steps. You are subtle and very careful. But just like everyone else, you are not perfect. There have been little crumbs of bread that have been left behind. You kill in ways that cannot be solved, but because of that, they have all been linked back to you. The one thing that has kept you safe until now was your undoing.”

Eugene did not reply. He had been such a fool. Such a fool. Why had he stayed so long with the Montgomery’s? Why had he let himself get close to Charlie? Why had he not dealt with the assistant and his irritating suspicions before?

Charlie grinned. “I admit it, I am consumed with the mystery of Eugene. Ever since the murder of Robert Quint. I’m thankful that I do not share a home with parents anymore or they would have sent me to an asylum long ago.”

Eugene did not know what to say. Why was Charlie so...calm?

“Each time a newspaper comes out,” Charlie continued, “I head straight for the obituaries. I have an entire wall in my study devoted to newspaper clippings and copies of police reports.”

He chuckled darkly. “If I wasn’t so bent on being a doctor, I’d probably make a decent detective.”

“Should I feel flattered?” Eugene asked, his voice breathless.

Charlie shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you feel. Nothing changes your actions or the consequences that will result from them.

Eugene could not keep his anger in any longer. How dare Charlie resort to threats... He grabbed Charlie around the collar and yanked him behind the cover of a line of trees. He shoved the man against a tree trunk and lift his arm against his neck.

“If you say anything about this, so help me, I will find you and I will kill you.

Charlie was silent for a few moments, his eyes steady and deadly. “No, you won’t kill me.”

Eugene pursed his lips and took a deep breath. He slowly lowered Charlie back to the ground. “And you won’t tell anyone.”

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Up to this point, he had kept most of his activities to the slumps of Whitechapel and the other run down districts. Only a handful of times had he struck a well-known citizen or a wealthy socialite. And he had always been extra careful, making sure that there were just enough people to make him inconspicuous but not enough that it would cause a mass panic. 

But this was the first time that he would strike within his victim’s own home.

It was a very nice house. Cream stone and oaken doors. Ivy climbed up the sides, surrounding windows and offering potential entry points.