Case Closed

• Two •

SPOLIER WARNING!! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK

The next morning played out similarly to the last. Lucy's green coat and orange hat could be seen bobbing in and out of the London crowds as she rushed to work, once again late. As if she knew this, Hilda stopped her in the hall, but this time to ask whether Lucy would be attending the end-of-year office party the following weekend. Lucy answered that she would think about it.

She had secretly planned to ask Florence whether or not she would be going. The Prof, she knew, wouldn't dream of it. There was a 0.01% chance of him going to a 'pathetic office dance', as he had described the Summer party at Scotland Yard. She told herself that Florence would be a lot more cheerful. anyway. Some part of her just wanted to see her work-o-holic mentor have a bit of fun for once. It would make a change.

Ever since Forbodium Castle, Potty Prof had made much more regular appearances, and every time he was more and more violent. Lucy often caught herself wishing that he would go back to the Inspector Layton she had known before, the Placid Prof who had welcomed her into his office. Whenever she had these thoughts she felt guilty, because she knew it was not the real Prof.  'Curse Justin,' she thought. 'Curse 'im and 'is blasted kid's book!' Then again, would she have stayed on with the Prof from the start if he had acted like he did now? She didn't want to think about it...

Once past Hilda, she sprinted up the stairs, only to be stopped again by te Commissioner.

"Ah, Lucy, I do apologise for taking Alfendi from you yesterday. I do hope it didn't hinder your investigations?"

"No Sir, don't you worry! I done fine on my own."

"One other thing Lucy. Alfendi may be a little... temperamental today, just be careful around him."

Curious, Lucy asked, "If you don't mind me asking Sir, what happened yesterday?"

The Commissioner hesitated. "I'm afraid it's not my place to say. But I'm sure Alfendi will tell you sooner rather than later. After all, he will almost definitely need your help."

Confused, but not wanting to be any later for work, Lucy didn't question him any further, and headed off to the Mystery Room.

Just like nearly every morning, she found the Prof asleep in the office, but this time over a new case file on the desk. The red folder meant urgent. After pulling up the blinds, she went to take a look at the new file. It must have been difficult, if the Prof had been up all night and still not finished it.

Lucy let her curiosity get the better of her. It happened so quickly, she didn't even have time to defend herself. The second she moved the red folder from under the Prof's arm, his hand shot up to grab her wrist.  His face was almost the same colour as his crimson hair, and his eyes were blazing. "Get off it!" he yelled as he forced her back against the wall, pinning her there by her wrists. Terrified, Lucy screamed loudly and thrashed around as she fought to get free from Potty Prof's iron grip. In her panic she hit a cabinet full of files, which hit the floor with a bang. Papers flew into the air around before swirling like snow to the floor, covering everything.

Still yelling and fighting, Lucy became alarmingly aware of how close the Prof was to her. In fact, she didn't think he had so much as touched her before. Her cheeks flushed, but she didn't stop struggling.

Another crash sounded as Florence slammed open the office door. It took her a few seconds to take in what was happening in the room before she wheeled over to the pair, screeching, "Al! Alfendi! - Achoo! - Get off her! Get off!" Her words had no effect on the enraged Inspector. Lucy was shaking and tears had begun to run down her face. Unable to do anything from her wheelchair, Florence yelled down the corridor for help.

Hilda and Dustin rushed into the room. Like Florence, they froze for a moment, before launching themselves at Alfendi. It didn't take long for the two of them to pull him off Lucy, who was now sobbing hysterically. Florence feebly got up and put a arm around her shoulders to lead her from the room.

Meanwhile, Hilda and Dustin had managed to force Alfendi into his chair, where he sat with his head in his hands. The last thing Lucy saw as the door closed behind her and Florence, was Hilda removing Inspector Layton's Scotland Yard badge.