Who Killed Markiplier?

Chapter 5

After everything that had happened in the past hour or so (had it really only been that long?), you were feeling overwhelmed. You almost didn't notice that you had stepped into the kitchen. A loud noise snapped you out of your thoughts. It was the chef, slowly and violently chopping up meat of some kind. You tried to approach quietly, but that man seemed to have inhuman senses. He whipped around and pointed his knife at you.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my kitchen!"

"I only have a few questions," you said, raising your arms to defend yourself.

"Oh, you're helping that dick with his little "investigation," huh? Well I might look like a sweet and innocent man-" not at all, you thought to yourself. "-but some people with short lifespans might think otherwise. I can't imagine why, can you?" he asked threateningly. He took a step closer to you. You took a slow step back.

"Please put the knife down." You tried to sound brave and commanding, but mostly you just sounded scared. He didn't even blink. "Uh... where were you last night at 1:30am?"

"Last night? I cleaned up after the meal, retired to my room at 1am, and left my Little Buddy in charge like I always do." He gestured with the knife to a creepy chef statue on the counter. He patted it's head proudly and kissed its cheek. You were kinda freaked out, but you were also glad the knife wasn't pointed at you anymore. "He sees everything. Why don't you ask him what happened last night?"

"Um, what?"

The chef spun the statue around to reveal a screen. He turned it on and it showed pictures from multiple points in the house. Hidden cameras. You pointed at the device. "May I?" you asked. The chef grunted and stepped aside.

Camera One showed the living room at 1:08am. No movement.
Camera Two showed one of the hallways at 1:03am. No movement.
Camera Three showed another hallway at 1:36am. No movement.
Camera Four appeared to be hidden outside the house and was looking in through one of the windows. You saw the detective talking to someone out of frame. The time was 1:17am. It took you a moment to realize that the date was set to a few days before.

"Abe!" Mark walked into the picture. You made a mental note that the detective's name was Abe.

"Hey, Mark!" The two men shook hands.

"Good to see you! Look, I'll cut right to the chase. Chef, butler? Good?"

"The chef's an asshole, but he's clean. The butler is a new guy, but he's also clean."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Just as Mark said that, the screen went black and the audio cut out.

"What the hell was that about?" You turned to ask the chef, but he was nowhere to be seen. Nothing about this seemed right. Did Mark have the detective do a background check on his staff? If so, why?

Your head was starting to hurt, so you decided to take a breather. You walked through the dining room and out the back door. Beautiful stone columns stood proudly around the patio and a stone railing curved around the house. The view over the side was amazing. You could see the city down below, so far away. The birds sang their morning song and the wind rustled the leaves. You missed home. You were so lost in thought that you almost didn't hear Damien approaching behind you.

"Look-" he began. You spun around to face him.

"Damien, I am so sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to listen to your conversation, I just... couldn't help it. I know that's not a good excuse and I promise it won't happen again."

He sighed. "No, I'm sorry you even had to hear that argument with the Colonel. I lost my temper and it wasn't right. He must be in shock." He rubbed his face with one hand, the other holding his cane. "Will is an eccentric," he continued. "It's his best quality and his worst. But he's my friend and... so was Mark. They... they had a bit of a "falling out" a few years ago."

"I spoke to the Colonel after you left. He's upset about Mark's death. We all have different ways of coping, I guess. He wanted me to let you know that he does care and that he's sorry." You tried to sound comforting and reassuring, but it wasn't really your strong suit. In fact, it only appeared to make Damien more upset.

"I'm supposed to be a leader in this scenario, but I can't help but feel lost," he explained. "I've known Mark for years, since we were kids... and he's just gone." The poor man sounded near tears. You didn't really know what to do, you were so used to him being in charge and prepared in every situation. It's what made him a good mayor. Mark's death was clearly driving him crazy. You wrapped your friend up in a hug.

"Damien, none of this was your fault. There was nothing we could have done. The best we can do now is figure out what really happened to Mark. I need your help, okay? You're the only person here I trust."

He pulled away and fixed his eyes on the ground. "I... I don't have any answers right now. I just need to be alone. To process all of this. I'm sorry. I promise we'll talk soon."

"Wait! You said Will and Mark had a falling out? Can you tell me what happened?"

"I'm not really sure it's my place to say. I'm sorry, you'll have to talk to the Colonel. Now if you'll excuse me, I need time to think."

"Of course. Be safe, my friend." You watched as he walked away.

Suddenly, you heard a voice whisper from somewhere behind you. "Hey! Partner! Get over here, now! Hurry up!" It was the detective, hiding behind one of the columns. Of course, he had probably been listening in to your conversation. You felt a pang of guilt for doing the same to Damien earlier.

"What do you want?" You hadn't forgotten what you saw and heard on the hidden camera video. What little trust you had for the detective was gone.

"You're not going to believe this, I can barely believe this. It's gone. It's just completely fucking disappeared. Look," he said, leading you into the house. "I can't fucking believe it. I turn my back for a few minutes..."

"Wait, what's gone? What happened?" You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach. Nothing felt right.

"The body," said the detective. He stopped in the living room and pointed to the empty spot on the floor where your friend's body had last been seen. "Mark is missing."