Chapter Three
"Anything yet?" Mana asked Percival and Theseus the next day when she met them at the private detective agency that they used as a front for their mob.
"Nothing yet." Percival replied. "It's not like we really have anything to go on anyway. Besides that he's tall and a man. And Theseus and I already looked into the people new to town so we know that it's someone who has lived here for a while."
"That doesn't really help us very much." Mana sighed.
"Well I mean, I hate to say it, but the only thing that would really help us now is more bodies." Theseus pointed out.
"Or you know, if we had Newt help us. He is a particularly good finder." Mana suggested.
"No!" Percival and Theseus exclaimed immediately.
"My baby brother is too good and too pure to be involved with the mob!" Theseus continued dramatically.
"Theseus I don't know why you're acting like we routinely put hits on people and murder them." Mana rolled her eyes and sat down at her desk. "And Newt is already sort of involved or do you not remember that he is literally dating Percy, or that he is your brother?"
"That's different though." Theseus protested.
"Not really." Mana replied.
"Anakin and Padmé aren't a part of the mob but you guys have been dating for years now." He pointed out.
"I am aware." Mana said dryly. "But unlike Newt I don't actually tell them that mobs don't exist right before I go out to do some mob stuff. But that's not the point. Right now we have to figure out how to catch this serial killer and murder him."
"Didn't you just say that we're not the type of mob that kills people?" Percival reminded her.
"I said 'routinely' murder, not that we didn't do it at all. This guy is really pissing me off. Who does he think he is that he can just kill people in my town and not run it by me first?" Mana huffed.
"That would be what we call a serial killer." Percival snarked.
"Gee, thanks Percy. I wasn't quite sure." Mana snorted. "All I'm saying is that the sooner we hunt this guy down and take care of him, the better."
Percival opened his mouth to reply but there was a knock on the door. "We'll finish this later." Mana told them and opened the door to find Detective Madge Brooks on the other side. "Ahh Detective Brooks, what can I do for you?"
"Do you mind if I came inside and asked you some questions?" Madge asked, sounding somewhat professional for once.
"Can I ask what this is all about?" Percival asked and joined Mana at the door.
"There was a staged car accident last night. Not too far from here." Madge replied.
"A car accident?" Mana asked in confusion. "Why would we know anything about a car accident?"
"Oh, no. It wasn't a car accident. It looked like someone painted the town red. You know? Someone's swimming with the fishes now. They're pushing daisies. There's some real serious wet work that went down last night. You get what I'm laying down?" Madge babbled.
"You mean someone was murdered last night?" Mana asked. "Who was it?"
"That's the thing. There was no body. So we don't know." Madge shrugged as if it wasn't a huge deal that they didn't have a body.
"Well, in that case, you know what they say. No body, no crime." Percival shrugged and attempted to close the door but Madge lunged forward clumsily and ended up falling inside the threshold in a heap. Mana and Percival leapt back to avoid Madge taking them down with her.
"That might be." Madge popped up and brushed her clothes off as if nothing had happened. "But there was a lot of blood and it looked like a ritual sacrifice or something."
"So what? You thought that I had something to do with it?" Mana snorted and crossed her arms.
"That's what I'm here to find out." Madge nodded enthusiastically.
"So I, what? Took the body with me? Why would I do that?" Mana rolled her eyes.
"I have heard some things..." Madge trailed off.
"I'm sure you have." Mana scoffed. "But make no mistake, I don't make a habit of putting people in graves. And frankly you have no body, no evidence of a crime, so you have no reason to be asking all these questions. Come back when you get some actual evidence."
"But-" Madge protested.
"This interview is over." Percival stated.
"If you could even call it an interview." Theseus muttered.
"Have a good day detective." Percival added and pushed Madge out of the door and slammed it in her face.