Throughout the journey back to Temuril, Raorka was uncharacteristically silent. Lucerne looked at him several times in concern, but he appeared deep in thought so she didn't disturb him.
When they reached closer to the town gates, Raorka looked up and asked Lucerne in a low voice, "Can we visit Fiona's house once?"
Lucerne looked at him in surprise. "The third victim? Why her?"
"Because she is your friend, they might allow us to ask them some questions."
"The Mayor as well as his soldiers have already asked them everything, why don't you go to them and see if they have the answers you want?"
Raorka shook his head. "No that won't work. They wouldn't have asked this question, I'm sure of that."
Lucerne was about to ask why he was so sure about that, but she stopped when she saw the look on Raorka's face. It was something terrible, a mix between despair and rage.
"Okay," she said quietly.
As soon as they had entered through the gate, Raorka and Lucerne made their way towards Fiona's house. It was quite a distance away from the gate, situated close to the Mayor's castle on the edge of Temuril.
Raorka spoke not a word during the journey, ruminating internally. Lucerne looked at him a couple of times but didn't interrupt his thinking. It was clear to her that he was considering something truly horrific.
When they came upto Fiona's house, Lucerne stepped up and knocked on the door. After a moment, her mother opened the door. There was a spark of hope in her face as she opened the door, which quickly vanished.
"Oh it's you Lucerne." She said with a kindly smile.
"Aunt Helen, have you received any word from the Mayor?"
She shook her head sadly and then looked at Lucerne with an intensity that caused her to almost step back.
"I heard you have joined the Investigation Society? Please find my daughter Lucerne. Please, our home is too silent, too empty, it makes me sick to even stay here when we have no idea as to her whereabouts." Helen clasped Lucerne's hand, and she gently put her other hand on top of it.
"Don't worry Aunt Helen. We will find her for certain." She flashed a reassuring smile. She wondered how much she believed her own words.
Helen didn't believe her words too much either it seemed. She looked up for a moment, her eyes glistening with tears and then she stepped back.
"I'm sorry," she said wiping her eye. "I don't know what came over me. Of course you and the Mayor are all doing what you can. Now tell me how can I help you?"
At this Lucerne turned to Raorka, still uncertain about his intentions. Raorka was listening to the previous conversation in absolute silence, and looked up now.
"Only two questions Mrs Helen. And then we will get out of your hair.
The first is quite a simple one. You previously mentioned to the police that no one broke into your house, that you would be able to hear something if someone broke in, correct?"
Helen nodded affirmatively. There was a slight look of confusion in her face, a feeling shared by Lucerne. She didn't see where this line of questioning was leading.
"Well my question is would the same hold true if someone left the house?"
"Left the house? You mean after breaking in?"
"No, I mean someone already in the house. If someone already in the house leaves, would you have known?"
"No, I guess not. We have magik alarm systems in place to detect intruders, like I suppose most residents in Temuril do. But that doesn't trigger if someone goes out of the house, otherwise it would go off every time we leave!"
There was a hint of irritation in Helen's voice as she said the last bit.
Raorka didn't let it affect him, and just smiled at her.
"Sorry for the trouble Mrs Helen. Just one final question. Are you aware whether your daughter received any letter on the day she disappeared?"
"Yes I think so. She received one on the morning."
"Do you have the letter still?"
"It should be somewhere in Fiona's room. She didn't allow any of us to read it."
Raorka visibly tensed in excitement. "Can you please check if you have the letter still?"
Helen paused, then excused herself for a moment. When she returned about ten minutes later, there was a look of disappoinment in her face.
"Didn't find it did you?" Raorka was far from disappointed though. In fact it seemed this was what he was expecting.
"Do you remember if it had any special seal on it?"
Helen frowned as she tried to remember and then nodded slowly.
"Yes, yes I think it had the seal of the King on it."
.XX.
"Is that what you wanted to know?" Lucerne was bursting with curiousity and immediately confronted Raorka once they had left Fiona's home.
Raorka nodded gravely. "This confirms my hypothesis."
"That being?"
Raorka didn't answer. His eyes were still unfocused, as if he were still thinking about something else. Suddenly they came into focus and he looked back at Lucerne.
"Lucerne we have got to leave now."
"Leave? Where?"
"Back to Artemis."
"What? Why?"
"I promise I will tell you...no tell all of you everything once we are there."
Lucerne pouted at him. "Why can't you tell me now?"
"Because I know who the culprit is, but I don't know what to do about it yet." Raorka said grimly, and he wouldn't explain further even through any amount of pressing.
"Let's go then." Lucerne said finally with a resigned sigh.
"We need to gather the rest of the Investigation Society members as well. Along with one more person."
"Raorka stop being so vague please."
For the first time that day Raorka cracked a smile. "I promise I will stop as soon as we get to Artemis' hut with everyone."
Lucerne sighed again. "Alright who you want to go to first?"
.XX.
It didn't take long to find Drisnen. As Raorka had surmised, he was at home and in fact he was the one who opened the door when they knocked. His expression was grim, but brightened up a little when he saw it was Raorka and Lucerne at his door.
"Well well well what a surprise." He said with a smile.
Raorka nodded in acknowledgement before immediately getting to the point.
"Drisnen we need your help."
"Anything brother."
"Wait till until you hear what we need you for."
Drisnen shrugged. "Does it matter? If your friends need your help, you don't turn them away."
Raorka was taken aback by this. He had thought of Drisnen as mischievous yes, as something of a pervert, as a curious person, but this was the first time he was seeing how dependable he was.
"Very well then, come to Artemis' hut. We'll talk there."
Drisnen nodded vigorously and then immediately left, going towards the forest.
"Well that was easy." Lucerne said, watching the receding figure of Drisnen.
"Drisnen is already familiar with Artemis, for even longer than I have. It's not going to be so easy to convince the others."
As he had expected, Jareth outright refused at first to go there. They found the burly man in the library, poring over books just like his grandmother had told them earlier in the day.
"I am quite busy searching for Rowena. I'm sorry Raorka, I won't go to the house of the one most likely to have taken her."
"I'm telling you Jareth, you are mistaken there. I will tell you everything once we are all gathered there."
Jareth looked at Raorka with distrustful eyes. "I have been part of the Investigation Society for a long time Raorka. Yes, Rowena was the brains of the Society and my job was mostly to be the muscle. But I have picked up a few tricks from her. Foremost among them being there is no smoke without fire."
Raorka sat down in front of Jareth, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I understand how you must be feeling. Or rather maybe I don't. You, Rowena, Maris and Drisnen have been friends at the Society for a much longer time than us. But you're letting that friendship cloud your judgement."
Jareth shook his head stubbornly. "Maybe, but I'd rather believe in that than go around stumbling in the darkness."
"What if I gave you a different culprit to believe in?"
Jareth looked at him disbelievingly. "You're really saying that you have identified the criminal?"
"100%"
"Why can't you say it to me right now then? Why do you have to do it at the Witch's hut?"
"Because it's not safe here."
"It's not safe here?! In my own home?!"
Raorka nodded grimly. Jareth stood up in indignation, but when he saw the look in Raorka's eyes he sat down.
"My god, you are serious aren't you?"
"Dead serious."
Jareth sighed, his eyes wandering over to the pile of books on his table.
"Okay, I will come. But if while there I received even a hint of proof that the Witch is the culprit, I won't hesitate to attack her."
"And we won't stop you. Make your way there now. Drisnen is already there."
Jareth nodded once towards each of them and then left the library, going in the same path that Raorka and Lucerne had themselves taken that morning.
"That's why you went to Drisnen first. Not only because he would be the easiest to convince but also because the other members of the Society would find it easier to go there if Drisnen were already there." Lucerne said wonderingly.
Raorka nodded, then turned his eyes the other way. Towards the main building of the Temuril Investigation Society.
"Now to convince their leader."