User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: Missing Linc (Chapter 19)

Chapter 19: Confrontation: Lord Tetherby
When we returned to the museum room, Lord Tetherby’s mood had not improved. He was in a mental fugue state, pacing around the room and grumbling to himself. Something tells me that this will be an uphill battle. Not that I’d expect anything else. No one said the life of a detective was easy or glamorous.

“Greetings, my good man,” I said.

Tetherby turned to us and scowled. “Humph. Took you long enough,” he growled.

“To be fair, you do possess a rather elaborate estate, Lord Tetherby, was it?” I said, adjusting my glasses. “Anyone could get lost roaming through these corridors.”

Tetherby scoffed. “That’s the problem with you common folk. No sense of scale or grandeur. Now, kindly remove yourselves from my home. You have no business here.”

“I want to decide that for myself, good sir,” I said. “With that in mind, I was hoping you’d indulge me in a few questions.”

Tetherby’s eyes went wide. “Why should I indulge you in anything? You’re trespassing on private property!”

“That was an accident, I assure you,” I said, giving Lily a look. Lily simply blew a raspberry at me in return.

“Young lady, what is all this about?” asked one of the policemen. “I thought we were just here to rescue your sister.”

“That is indeed why we came here initially,” I said. “But while we wandered through the halls, I managed to stumble across some anomalies. Anomalies that only Lord Tetherby here can explain.”

Tetherby raised an eyebrow at me. “Such as what?”

“My sister followed you here because she spotted you purchasing an Ace Savvy graphic novel, or comic book,” I said. “Tell me, are you an Ace Savvy fan, Lord Tetherby?”

Tetherby glowered at me. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“Just humor me, Lord Tetherby,” I said. “I promise, if I turn out to be mistaken, Lily and I shall leave without further delay.”

Tetherby snorted. “Very well. But keep in mind the police are standing right here, and I can see through your bluffs. If it turns out you’re just trying to cause mischief, I’ll make sure your parents are informed.”

“Duly noted,” I said. Alright, I can’t afford to make any mistakes. There has to be a way to firmly link Tetherby to the Full House Gang movie, and by extension, to Lincoln’s abduction. What exactly is he hiding?

Testimony: Tetherby and Ace Savvy

“I will confess that these children’s books have a certain charm to them,” said Tetherby. “I was merely curious when I picked that book up. It’s always quite quaint to see what the commoners are latching onto these days. There’s nothing more to it than that, and frankly, I don’t see how you could think otherwise.”

I have a lot of good reasons to think otherwise. In fact, if I still have my lie detecting glasses, they would be going off right now. The only problem is I’m not entirely sure how to call him out on it. I need to press him for more details.

“So that was all that drove your purchase? Mere curiosity?” I said.

“That and nothing more,” Tetherby insisted.

“Is that also why you went to Flip’s Food and Fuel in the first place?”

Tetherby shrugged and wrinkled his nose. “Where I go is my business, you little scalawag. You have no right to poke your nose into my private affairs.”

Nngh. I can’t say I disagree. This isn’t my official job. Nevertheless, we’ve come too far to back down now. But what can I use to justify my questions?

“[Lisa, lookie!]”

I turned to where Lily was pointing. It was a glass display case holding an Ace Savvy comic book. However, it was unlike any Ace Savvy book I’ve seen before. I’m not overly familiar with the series, but a cursory glance at the cover tells me that this isn’t Bill Buck’s traditional style. If anything, it appears to be geared towards a much more mature audience. Quite curious. What is this doing here?

…

Wait a tick. That’s it! Good eye, Lily!

“Lord Tetherby, do you stand by your claim that your interest in Ace Savvy was driven by mere curiosity?” I inquired.

“Of course I do,” said Tetherby brusquely.

“Then tell me. How do you explain this display case?” I asked, pointing to the comic book.

Tetherby’s mustache bristled. “Th-that’s none of your business!”

“If it isn’t my business, why did you just lie to me about it?”

“H-how dare you!”

Tetherby recoiled from my accusation, turning completely red in the face. Methinks I hit a nerve.

“Think about it, Lord Tetherby. If you wanted me to leave as soon as possible, you could’ve accomplished that simply by telling the truth,” I said. “In a sense, you are correct. What you do in your spare time is not really my prerogative. And if you were able to prove that to me honestly, I would’ve left without another word. Ergo, there’s only one reason you’d lie, and that is that the truth is inconvenient for you!”

“Th-that still doesn’t excuse what you’re doing!” Tetherby barked. “You act as though I committed some sort of crime, but you have nothing on me!”

“Well, you’re partially right,” I said. “I’m not accusing you of anything. Yet.”

“Yet?” parroted one of the officers. “Kid, what’re you talking about?”

“Before we were distracted by Lily’s little escapade, you two were investigating the disappearance of my older brother Lincoln, if I recall correctly,” I said.

The officer blinked. “Um, yeah. What about it?”

“Remember how Flip revealed the existence of a Full House Gang movie in production?” I said. “Well, this may just be a hunch, but I’m fairly confident that the movie is connected to Lincoln’s disappearance.”

“What makes you say that?”

I sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t have any firm evidence to confirm my hypothesis as of yet,” I confessed. “However, I do have proof of how Lord Tetherby here might be involved.”

Tetherby scoffed. “Ridiculous. You can’t expect these lawmen to take the ravings of a toddler seriously. I’ll say it again for good measure: you have nothing.”

“That is where you’re wrong,” I said, taking out the burnt letter. “Lily found this in your fireplace. It’s a letter from a certain correspondent that you blacklisted for unknown reasons.”

Tetherby gripped his cane tightly. “So that’s how you riffraff operate, is it? Rifle through my rubbish and cause me grief? What’s so special about that burnt letter?”

“Allow me to elucidate,” I said. “On the letter, I managed to spot the word ‘movie.’  Now, watch what happens when I put the words ‘Full House Gang’ before it.”

I took out HARV and had it recreate the letter. Indeed, the intact document showed that the title “Full House Gang” fit perfectly on the page. Tetherby blanched.

“Y-you think your fancy toys prove anything?” he sputtered. “You don’t know that’s what the letter said!”

“You’re right. I don’t,” I said. “But neither do you, because you had the butler toss it directly into the fireplace. Unless you have a habit of converting junk mail into kindling, this strikes me as highly suspicious.”

“This is an outrage!”

Tetherby slammed his cane into the ground and glared at me intensely. I simply smirked and adjusted my glasses.

“Lord Tetherby, if you’re truly innocent of all wrongdoing, you have no reason to lie about anything,” I stated plainly. “That being the case, I wish to learn more about this letter and the individual who wrote it.”

“Th-that is a private matter, you hooligan,” Tetherby snarled, turning to the police. “Why aren’t you two doing anything about this?!”

One of the officers gave me a pained look. “Miss, are you absolutely sure about this? Mr. Tetherby is right; these wild accusations might not mean anything.”

“If it means rescuing my elder male sibling, then it’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I said solemnly. “Of course, you may do to us what you will if it turns out I am mistaken.”

Tetherby huffed. “Such incompetence. Rest assured, I will be writing to your superiors about this,” he vowed. He then turned to me and groaned. “Fine. I’ll play your little game for now, but don’t try anything funny.”

I could say the same to him, but in all fairness, he has a point. I’m treading on proverbial eggshells here. My case needs to be airtight, or else our entire investigation may be compromised. And before you ask, no, I won’t lay the blame squarely at Lily’s feet for this. I know I’m pushing the limits of what I can get away with here. Nevertheless, this is a matter of high risk and high reward. I can’t give up now.

Testimony: The Blacklisted Correspondent

“The man who wrote that letter used to be an old family friend,” said Tetherby. “He would often come to me to seek financial backing for his projects. However, we had a falling out due to his more… questionable endeavors. I’ve instructed my staff to destroy all letters from him. It’s been months since we last spoke.”

Hmm. If I let that testimony stand, then my case holds no water. I might have a way to prove that Tetherby is speaking falsely, but for now, it would be most prudent to probe him for more information. The clearer the picture, the better our chances of locating Lincoln.

“You wouldn’t mind telling us the name of this old colleague of yours, would you?” I inquired.

Tetherby growled. “He was a movie director named Dirk O’Donnell. Quite a creative savant, if not a bit unhinged. We actually met during a limo surfing expedition in Hazeltucky.”

How… how would that even work? Nngh, focus, Lisa.

“Well, that right there serves as a connection, does it not?” I said. “This Dirk O’Donnell fellow is a movie director, and the note he sent you was clearly talking about a movie.”

“And what of it?” Tetherby scoffed. “You can’t prove that it was talking about this Full House Gang movie specifically. You admitted as much.”

Nngh. Dang it. He’s trying to derail the conversation to delegitimize my hypothesis. I can’t let him slip away.

“Why did Mr. O’Donnell come to you for financial aid?” I asked. “Furthermore, why did you give it to him?”

Tetherby chuckled. “A man of my standing is always willing to support the arts, especially the truly profitable pictures that O’Donnell produced. He always seemed to do well at the box office, so it was a safe investment.”

Hmm. Nothing too abnormal about that. Wealthy gentlemen like Lord Tetherby often support the arts to give off the illusion that there’s more to them than endless greed. Of course, most can see right through their facade, and it wasn’t as though Tetherby was attempting to keep his true motives hidden. At least, not in this case.

“So, what happened?” I asked. “Why did you find it necessary to break off all ties with Mr. O’Donnell?”

Tetherby scoffed. “That’s personal. What’s more, it was months ago. It’s hardly relevant to this Lincoln boy you keep talking about.”

He says that as if he’s never heard of Lincoln in his life. That, of course, is not true in the slightest. But while his first encounter with my elder male sibling is irrelevant to the matter at hand, I have it on good authority that this isn’t. It’s time to unravel this lie.

“Lord Tetherby, could you look at this for a moment?” I asked, pulling out the silver ring.

Tetherby eyed the ring carefully before shrugging. “That ring doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“Really? It should,” I said. “Notice the initials.”

“D.O.. So? There are probably dozens of people with those initials.”

“Ah, but one of them happens to be a movie director,” I said. “The same movie director we’ve been talking about for the past few minutes. A Mr. Dirk O’Donnell, if I recall correctly.”

“Y-you nosy little urchin!”

Tetherby swung his cane wildly, and his face flushed bright red. Sheesh, and I haven’t even explained why the ring is significant. Though judging by his reaction, I think he already knows the answer.

“Remember what I told you about lying, Lord Tetherby?” I scolded. “You said you severed ties with this individual months ago, yet my sister Lily found this ring in your house just today. There’s no way you or any of your staff could’ve overlooked this for that amount of time! Ergo, I believe it’s safe to hypothesize that your falling out was much more recent!”

“A-and so what if it was?!” Tetherby barked. “You don’t know that O’Donnell has anything to do with this Ace Savvy stuff!”

Nngh, he’s right. I don’t have any evidence to that effect. Unless…

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I said to the officers. “Would one of you be so kind as to give me a boost? I wish to observe the comic in that display case.”

The po-po looked at each other and shrugged. “Um, okay.”

One of the policemen lifted me up to the display case. I took out my magnifying glass and observed it carefully.

…

Eureka! There it is; right in the corner.

“The signature on this comic is the name O’Donnell,” I mused. “How… interesting.”

Tetherby was visibly shaken now. He took out his handkerchief and dabbed some sweat from his brow. “N-now look here, you peasant. Y-you’re going too far! I have nothing to do with O’Donnell, you hear me?! Nothing!”

“You have nothing to do with Mr. O’Donnell. Present tense,” I stated calmly. “That doesn’t erase the fact that you once had a connection with this individual. And it seems you know more than you say you do.”

“What makes you say that?” asked one of the policemen.

“Allow me to state my theory,” I said. “Judging by the comic and the letter, it’s safe to presume that Dirk O’Donnell is working on the Full House Gang movie. He went to Lord Tetherby for funding, but the two got into a debate. I can’t say for certain what that debate was about, but it was enough to prompt Tetherby to sever all ties with the individual. Now, this is just a hypothetical, but what if Mr. O’Donnell was planning to do something… illegal?”

All of the color drained from Tetherby’s face. “Th-that’s it! I-I refuse to be insinuated in this manner! Bates~!”

“Don’t bother. He’s busy cleaning up a mess Lily made,” I said with a shrug. “I apologize for that; you know how babies are.”

Lily giggled mischievously and winked at me. It’s fortunate that very few people know how smart she truly is.

“The fact remains that there is a possibility that Mr. O’Donnell had some sort of scheme involving his movie,” I continued. “It was a scheme that Lord Tetherby wanted no part of, thus the blacklisting.”  I pointed an accusatory finger at Tetherby. “You thought that by severing all ties with Mr. O’Donnell, you could save your own skin and protect your financial assets from the police! However, through your dishonesty and insistence on burying the truth, you’ve only served to dig your own proverbial grave!”

“Y-you…  you…  This outrage…  I…  Mmmmmrgh~!”

In a fit of frustration, Tetherby swung his cane at me. Surprisingly, the knob came loose. Even more surprisingly, it was connected to a chain, and it spun around and wrapped around his body. It reminded me of how Lincoln occasionally got tangled up while playing with his yo-yo. Lily giggled at the bizarre display, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as well. This is why you don’t incorporate your brand into every aspect of your life.

“Mr. Tetherby, we’re going to need to ask you a few questions,” said one of the officers.

“Th-this is preposterous!” Tetherby protested, squirming out of the chains. “How are you taking her seriously?! I have nothing to do with O’Donnell! She has no evidence!”

Well, that’s not entirely correct. I have circumstantial evidence, and while it isn’t exactly irrefutable, it’s at least something.

“This’ll be over a lot quicker if you just be transparent with us,” I said firmly. “What exactly caused you to break off your connection with Dirk O’Donnell?”

Tetherby grunted and growled, seething with rage and glowering intensely at me. Finally, he let out a defeated groan.

“H-he wanted more money to fund a special promotion for the movie,” he said. “At first, I was skeptical. The last time I helped him with a project like this, I ended up losing money.”

“A project like this?” I parroted. “Could you elaborate?”

“That comic in the display case,” said Tetherby. “I funded its promotion. Apparently it was for some contest that O’Donnell ended up losing. I have it as a reminder of one of my biggest blunders.”

An Ace Savvy contest. That wouldn’t happen to be the same contest Lincoln and Clyde won, would it? It’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility.

“And something about this new promotion caused you to end your financial relationship with Mr. O’Donnell,” I mused. “Tell me, did it involve my brother Lincoln?”

Tetherby winced. “P-perhaps. I don’t know; I wasn’t really paying attention. I was just… appalled by the lengths O’Donnell was going to just to promote some action movie. I mean, even for him, it was a rather dangerous gamble. That’s actually why I tracked down a copy of that comic. I wanted to know what about that story inspired such madness.”

“I’m afraid we’re a bit out of the proverbial loop, Lord Tetherby,” I said. “What were the specifics of Mr. O’Donnell’s mad scheme?”

Tetherby grunted and turned up his nose. “I have nothing more to say to you on the matter. O’Donnell’s business is not my own. Not anymore.”

That’s not going to hold up in court, and the po-po know that.

“Sir, if this Dirk O’Donnell did do something illegal and you’re aware of it, it’s your civic duty to tell us what you know,” said one of the officers firmly.

“I don’t have to answer to you incompetent clods!” Tetherby blurted out. “Look at you! You let a child take over your investigation!”

…

And I thought Flip was tempting fate when he refused to cooperate with the police. I suppose men of great wealth are more susceptible to their own hubris.

“Sir, don’t tell us how to do our jobs,” said the officer. “Now, we just want to ask you a few questions to confirm this young lady’s story. Answer us honestly, and we’ll leave you alone.”

Tetherby huffed and folded his arms. “I exercise my right to remain silent.”

That’s… not how the Miranda warning works. That would only apply if the police are arresting you, though if you keep acting belligerent, they might end up doing just that. Either way, I feel that’s all I’ll be able to get out of him.

Still, this is rather unsatisfying. All I have are theories and suppositions; nothing that I can definitively prove. Not only that, but Lincoln’s whereabouts still remain a mystery. How exactly do we proceed from…?

Oh. I’m getting a phone call. I took out my phone and checked the caller ID. It’s from Leni. Curious.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I have to take this,” I said, answering the phone. “Greetings, second eldest sibling.”

“Oh, hey, Lisa,” said Leni. “Listen, Lori and I are just wrapping up our thing. How are things on your end?”

Hmm. While I would like to ask Tetherby more questions, I think the po-po can handle things from here. Hopefully, I haven’t inadvertently distracted them with inaccurate presumptions.

“We’ve just completed our investigation as well,” I said.

“Great! We’ll pick you up at Flip’s in about…”

“Actually, do you happen to know where Tetherby Manor is?”

There was a pause. “Tetherby Manor? You mean the home of that rich limo-riding jerk?”

I’m surprised she actually remembered that. Then again, sometimes I feel as though I don’t give Leni enough credit.

“The very same. I can text you the coordinates,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because that’s where we are right now,” I said sheepishly. “I’ll… explain during the debrief.”

Another pause. “Why are you taking off your briefs? Did you get them dirty?”

Good grief. It’s fascinating how Leni can be so astute for one second and then so obtuse the next. I feel as though the machinations of her mind will forever remain an enigma to me.

“No, Leni. I mean I’ll tell you about the results of our investigation when we’ve regrouped,” I clarified.

“Oh~. Got it,” said Leni. “Just send me the text and I’ll tell Lori where to go.”

“Understood,” I said. I hung up and did as I promised. Once I concluded, I saw Lily giving me a look. “What?”

“[You were lucky the po-po were busy talking to Lord Tetherby,]” Lily scolded. “[What if they overheard you?]”

…

I’ll admit, that was a highly grievous oversight on my part. I can only assume that Lily had some plan to distract the police if she felt she had to. Even at her young age, I can’t deny her contributions to the investigation.

“Right. Thank you, sibling,” I said. I then turned to the police. “Gentlemen, that was my elder sister calling. She’s coming to pick us up.”

“You sure about that, kid?” asked the officer. “We can still give you a ride home.”

“Thank you, but there’s no need to trouble yourselves,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ve interfered with your duties enough for one day. Come along, Lily.”

With that, we ventured to the manor’s entrance to wait for Lori and Leni. I’ll confess, I don’t feel a hundred percent confident with leaving things here. There’s still a chance that my hypothesis is false. Then again, my investigation was merely one piece of the puzzle. Hopefully, the others have something more substantial. Only with all of our findings combined can we ascertain the truth…

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