August Whodunit : Where Loyalty Lies

Phase Three : The Beginning

As Gary let out a huge yawn, he turned to the list of names he carefully placed on the table before taking his nap. Now after some decent rest, he could actually try and make theories on who could be Mr Black's murderer. What else was there to do? He had been under lock down for the past few days, might as well use his time to investigate.

"Dammit Mason, how did you get me to play detective," he cursed to himself.

Gary then began to read through the list of names before he heard a knock on the door. He wavered for a moment before tossing the list to the bedside table and walking towards the door. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, it was none other than Mason Herend. He gave Gary a curt nod before uttering a greeting.

"Gary Woods. Remember me?" he asked.

"Mr Herend, what is it? Did the detective forget to ask me something? Something that would actually be relevant to the case?" Gary asked and would had been annoyed if that were the case.

"No, no he did not. That's not what I came here for, anyway," Mason cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly, like he'd prefer being anywhere else. "As Delilah's guard, you probably have a bit of experience dealing with suspicious happenings around the house, don't you?" Mason pauses. "Any ideas on who could have murdered my Godfather?" He added.

"I'm surprise Mr Herend, would you not rather ask Miss Gena? She is... was Master Black's bodyguard," Gary said, clearly not used to Mr Black being gone and somewhere in that dialogue made Mason snort.

"Ah, well. The last time I saw her she didn't look like she was very devoted to her job," Mason adjusted his tie, a smug smile on his face. "What, with her passing out on me completely drunk? Not a chance."

"You're really keen on playing detective aren't you?" Gary asked for this was the second time he had talked to him about solving the crime.

"Not - not exactly. I'm doing this more out of curiosity," Mason hesitated. "And maybe avenging him as well."

"I'm not a detective. And what are you going to do if we do figure out who the killer is?" Gary asked earning a long pause from Mason followed by a frown.

"I'm sure Detective Santiago would be interested, and so would the police. And I'm sure everyone here would love to get this over and done with," he claimed.

"Ain't that the truth," Gary muttered before letting out an exhausted sigh. "I understand Master Black was important to you, he was to me me too. What do you need?"

"Uh..." Mason's gaze shifts to the inside of Gary's room. "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure," Gary said stepping aside.

Mason positioned himself at the corner table, crossing his arms. "Do you know everyone's alibis?"

"No," Gary simply said, he saw no reason to beat around the bush with Mason.

"Alright, I may be prejudiced, but Arren is someone I don't trust right now," Mason stated.

"I see you have started your investigation. Mind enlightening me?" Gary curiously asked.

"One thing a couple of guests had noticed was that: to shove a knife multiple times in someone's chest --" Mason shrugged. "That requires a lot of strength and could potentially strain a muscle, don't you think?"

Not waiting for Gary's answer, Mason continued. "Arren also left the kitchen and headed to the second living room - where no-one saw him or heard him playing the piano."

He rubbed his chin with one hand. "The kitchen is quite close to the dining room, making it quite easy for him to kill Delilah and be done with it."