Murder Mansion: Skulduggery Pleasant OC

Chapter 2 Unsure

He waited until the early hours of the morning before moving in. The crisp summer morning sun began to break out, only slightly warming the chilling breeze that swept through his surroundings. However, he didn't feel it. The wind had not flown through his suit. The suit in question was a dark brown pinstripe, complete with a spruce brown hat that wouldn't budge from his head regardless of any velocity of wind. Well, wouldn't budge his skull. 

He had made a mental note about who entered into the house. With Erskine counted it was eleven in total. Faith had been right. Although she hadn't asked him to come down. If he remembered correctly, and he always did, she had expressed a want for him not to come here. Something about shooting him on sight. He chuckled. He wouldn't shoot him on sight, he would ask him what he as up to. Then shoot him. 

He walked up to the back door and picked the lock, it was glistening gold and must have been installed recently. It didn't take long, Erskine was definitely out of practise, he would be an embarrassment to the Dead Men if he was one anymore. Ever since he brought it on himself to try and change the world, killing two of his closest friends in the process, he had been exiled out. He held no respect for him, he doubted anyone did. Besides, he hadn't been invited to his sympathy feast, he was only here in case Erskine decided to become sinister. And whilst no sinister signs had presented themselves, he'd thought he ought to have a closer look anyway. He silently opened the door, stalking quickly through what seemed to be a back sitting room. Of course he had more then one sitting room, he had always loved having much more than he needed. He crept out of the room and slunk along the wall of the hallway, ducking down occasionally when there was a picture on the wall. He stopped short of a doorway he was about to pass when he heard the sound. It was slightly ajar but there was nothing but pitch black inside. The sound he had heard was a dripping sound, as if someone had left the tap on or a pipe is leaking. It was Ireland after all, not all pipes could cope with the rain that lashed almost everyday. He edged his way in, pushing the door open wider and summoned a ball of fire. He used it to find the switch, turned it out and snuffed out the flame. 

The sight before him made him glad Valkyrie wasn't there, she would have bolted out of the room to throw up. On the back wall read the words 'No Remorse', written in dark red blood. The bloods source, Erskine Ravel. Laid out on the table, the once brown waxy finish was now covered and dripping with blood. His eyes were open and unseeing, a passive pale look frozen onto his face. His chest had been ripped open, each broken rib jarred and out of place, fragments all over the floor. Joining the fragments on the floor were each of the organs once in his chest and abdomen. All carved out, the only organ remaining in his body was his brain. He looked around the room for anything out of place. All the knives seemed to be accounted for, all the carving and tenderising tools were still in there metal holder near the oven. As impossible as it may have sounded, and looking at how his chest was opened, this must have been done by hand. 

No-one aside from the guests had come or gone that he had noticed, from in here he could see the anti teleportation sigils on the walls. He gave the floor a once over and could see no cracks. This meant that someone in this very house committed this atrocious crime, couldn't have happened to a nicer person. He stepped carefully into the room, looking for more clues or hints as to who could have done this. He lent over the body and inspected the ribs, seeing if they had left any significant marks that could lead to a possible weapon.

"Oh my...Skulduggery?"

The voice had come from the doorway, he stood up straight and peered over his shoulder. "I didn't shoot him"

"Clearly" Faith Matthews was stood by the door, dressed in dark blue trousers and a black short sleeve t-shirt. She had brown leather jacket tied around her waist. "What the hell happened here?"