I am unable to think.
In the mirror, Jane Osmond is staring back at me. She is a stranger. Suddenly, I want to ask her:
“…why did you…”
Why did you make me think of Jonathan as my real brother?
My parents were incredibly kind. Even if your father was a terrible man, pushing you to earn money, trying to marry off his daughter like a piece of property, my parents weren’t like that.
Why am I mimicking your every move? Why are even my smallest habits not my own, but yours? Why does no one, not a single person around me, find anything odd about me?
Should I shout that this is just a game?
I heard laughter. A dark shadow appeared behind me in the mirror. A king with horns, the eyes of a goat, and a black tongue. I felt fingers silently wrap around my neck.
The dark shadow whispered to me.
My clearing mind was probably due to it forcibly waking me up. Yet at the same time, my body grew incredibly heavy. I sank down, further and further into an abyss.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Gasp!”
I barely caught my breath and managed to sit up. It’s warm. The liquid wetting my hands rippled with my movement. A hazy light, and faint whispers.
「Jane.」
“How… how did I…”
This place is strange. It drives away madness. My temporary fits vanished as soon as I came here, leaving only my clear consciousness behind. Here, I could wholly be myself.
“How is this possible?”
I asked.
「I pulled you out of its grip.」
A voice replied, explaining that it had to sever my consciousness forcefully to get me out of its control.
「Human reason has its limits.」
I was just sitting there, staring blankly at the floor. El’s voice continued to speak to me.
El. What does El stand for?
「Knowing more would be dangerous.」
El warned. He still believed I didn’t know much. I agreed. However,
“Are you worried I might go mad and shoot myself in the head?”
「You actually did, didn’t you?」
Yes, I did. But that was to save Liam Moore.
「As you said, it’s a game. Why did you try to save Liam Moore?」
“…Indeed.”
I murmured. Why did I go so far to save him?
But, thinking about it, Liam was the strangest. Why is he so blindly devoted to me?
“I don’t know. Let me go. Send me back.”
「It will be difficult. It’s better to endure here.」
What was that supposed to mean? I heard footsteps approaching as El stood nearby. With a wave of his hand, a landscape appeared on the black surface.
“What happened while I was unconscious?”
Tap, tap. His white fingers tapped the black water, and a scene began to form on its surface.
I fainted at the appearance of the Black King. In the place where the Black King vanished, a man appeared with a hat pulled low and a scarf covering his neck and face. To make sure my consciousness was thoroughly severed, a handkerchief soaked in anesthetic was pressed against my nose and mouth. The scene changed. The man who took me left Bailonz Street.
Honestly, I had seen photos of all the key figures in this case, so I wasn’t confident I could recognize Philip Peterson. But I knew for sure. It was Philip Peterson taking me away.
With decaying hands, skin like rubber or orange peel, a moldy smell, and a bubbling breath. Is that what a “ghoul” looks like?
「Some look more beastly. This one seems to have a stronger human identity.」
He took me through various tunnels. Emerging somewhere, the destination was shocking.
A cemetery.
Philip Peterson laid me down. A rectangular, wait,
“…Is that bastard putting me in a coffin?”
He placed me in a coffin and closed the lid gently. He pumped air a few times and provided a tube leading above ground to prevent suffocation. However,
‘Buried alive!’
Buried alive….
Philip Peterson laughed with a bubbling sound as he covered the coffin with soil, creating a new grave.
“No personal grudges. I just thought that detective would definitely come to rescue you.”
Of course. He’ll come running with his eyes turned upside down. Owen Cassfire might help, and the moment I think of him, he’ll find my location. Either way, there’s no retreat. With all choices blocked, I swallowed hard.
The scene blurred once, then showed me inside the coffin. Eyes closed as if dead, breathing faintly.
「Do you have claustrophobia?」
El asked.
“Even if I didn’t, I’d get it now.”
I replied curtly, and he laughed for a while. The water rippled gently.
「You need to inform your detective of your location. He can’t find you, but he can come running to where you are.」
“Yeah. He did it once before. He took me somewhere instantly.”
「You called him ‘Glass’.」
I laughed.
“How long will it take for Liam to come?”
「At least an hour. He just realized you’re missing.」
＊ ＊ ＊
Liam Moore woke up to piercing sunlight.
His body moved sluggishly. His head was still clouded by the effects of alcohol. His body felt heavy. What time is it? He dug through his folded clothes to find his pocket watch, squinting to see clearly. His blurred vision finally focused to show the time.
“11 o’clock…”
He remembered everything from yesterday. Recalling himself acting coy made him punch his pillow repeatedly.
Has Jane woken up? But how could he face her?
He rolled out of bed. His head still spun. After drinking a glass of water that had cooled overnight, he walked out of the room.
“Jane?”
Clearing his hoarse voice, he called out again.
“Jane?”
Jane Osmond should have been there, reading the newspaper. It wasn’t the usual Monday morning scene.
Often, while he slept late, Jane Osmond would eat breakfast and leisurely read the paper. That was their normal routine. When Liam Moore emerged in his disheveled state, Jane Osmond would shriek and hide her face behind the paper. It was almost like a promise.
Just then, Jefferson opened the flat door and exclaimed, “Oh my.”
“Looks like you spent Christmas drinking. Just woke up? Where’s Miss Jane?”
“She must still be sleeping…”
Liam Moore stopped a few steps from the sofa. Jefferson caught him.
“Did you overdrink? You didn’t cause trouble, did you?”
Liam Moore snapped.
“I didn’t. Who do you take me for?”
After catching his breath, he put on his dressing gown. Still, there was no response from Jane’s room.
That’s when he sensed something was wrong. His eyes started scanning the surroundings.
Sometimes, you see what shouldn’t be seen. It had been nearly 20 years since he started reading traces in the air. Herschel, who also noticed ‘what others couldn’t see,’ understood the trouble Liam Moore’s eyes brought.
Why from Jane’s room…
He moved without hesitation. Maybe he ran madly. Jefferson was astonished.
“Are you crazy? You can’t just barge into a lady’s room like that…,”
“Shut up, Jefferson!”
And he saw the scene he least wanted to see.
An empty room. An open window. Muddy footprints, a trampled hat.
Jane Osmond was gone.
Though his mind registered it, his body didn’t comply. He couldn’t breathe. It felt like a sharp awl was piercing his heart. Liam Moore clung to the doorknob, collapsing. He realized he couldn’t speak.
Did you feel like this too? Before, when I disappeared, did you…
“William!”
William. Hearing the name, Liam Moore’s eyes barely moved to Jefferson. His eyes were empty, as if they had lost their light. Tobias Jefferson urgently shook his shoulders.
“You need to pull yourself together!”
I must pull myself together. That phrase cleared his mind. It’s just that she disappeared, I can find her, he repeated to himself while slapping his cheeks.
He couldn’t tell Mary about Jane’s disappearance. He couldn’t let that poor, kind girl know that Jane was missing after him.
He spoke slowly.
“…It’s Philip Peterson. He did this.”
Of course. It’s harder to target me, so he targeted Jane. I suspected it.
“He probably took her through the tunnels. Shard Thames’ warehouse and…”
“Yes, we’ll do that. I’ll only bring trusted police officers. If anything happens, send a telegram immediately.”
Liam Moore muttered with a weary smile. Anything that happens will be to Jane. Jefferson looked at him sympathetically before stepping away.