"And I'd walk through the shadows of death just to be with you."
"Damn, why am I so poetic?"
Sequel to Despite The Pain
Season 3
I own nothing except for my own character(s).
All rights go to Daniel Handler and the producers of the show.
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I always loved reading crime novels. To be completely honest, they were the only books I willingly read. Someday, I had hoped to help others. Not become a lawyer or judge - I could never argue with another person without bursting into tears - but help people back onto their feet. Provide them food and shelter and kindness and love. Offer them a second chance at the life they deserve.
So when Justice Strauss - in all her brilliance - strolled into the hotel lobby, I was amazed. I had read plenty of articles about the woman. She had helped so many people; believed in them when no one else did. She was the type of woman I had strived to become.
As she informed us of her plan - while also including how she followed the Baudelaires everywhere they went, but was always too late - my heart sparked with hope. Could this be it? Could we finally be done with Olaf once and for all? But I've been a part of this long enough to know not to fully believe something until you witness it happening.
It seemed the Baudelaires knew this, too. The siblings, Lilian, and myself draped ourselves across the strange circular cushion; the siblings awfully quiet. By this time, I knew they were all thinking deeply. But they've been silent for so long, I wonder if they might actually be asleep. Like Lilian, who's taken to propping her feet across my lap and snoring quietly.
Snorting at the way her head hangs off the sofa, I turn to Klaus; watching as he gazes up at the ceiling. "Everything alright?" He groans, lowering his eyes to meet with mine.
"There's a lot on my mind." Klaus confesses. His statement alerts Violet, who agrees with her younger brother. "We know who J.S. is. We know the sugar bowl is being delivered tonight. But we don't know why it's important, or which brother put the lock on the laundry room door."
Violet straightens in her seat. "That's the problem. You said you were with Frank or Ernest at three o'clock. You know that because you heard the clock strike three. Sunny was with the other brother at the same time. But I was with one of the brothers, too. The three of us were with Frank or Ernest at three o'clock exactly."
"But that's impossible." My head shakes. "Two brothers can be in two places at the same time. But two brothers can't be in three places at the same time." Violet nods.
Klaus sighs, leaning back against the couch. "I wish this place was a library, then we could use the library catalog system to find some answers."
"Is there a library catalog for mysteries?"
"135." Klaus answers, glancing back at the rows of buttons displayed across the wall. "But there is no 135."
In an attempt to clear her mind, Violet retrieves her string, tying it around her hair. She pauses for a moment to think. Her eyes widen, and she rises from her spot on the sofa. Before following after her, I gently remove Lilian's legs from my lap. "Do you remember when we went to that hotel with our parents, and we thought it'd be fun to press a bunch of buttons at the same time?" The four of us - me holding onto Sunny's hand - enter the elevator. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny - using her free hand - each press a number. 1, 3, and 5. The elevator goes down, way below the basement laundry room before halting. The doors open from behind, revealing what looks like a library card catalog.
