A MAZE OF GREED

"Yes, master. I am referring to Ruth."

"Ruth?" Edwin jumped out of his chair with wide eyes.

Rees looked troubled as he didn't understand why his master acted that way. 'Did I said something offensive?', he thought.

"Master, did I say something wrong?" Rees asked nervously.

Edwin's mind was like a stirred ocean at the mention of the name that he was thinking of for weeks. The fragrance that the brown piece of the cloth held made his heart beat a little faster than normal. It was kept safely in his chamber. He had spent days and nights while holding it near him.

It had become a cure to his every problem. It had become redemption of his crumbling world.

Ruth... he heard that name for the first time on the night of the celebration. He could never forget those hazel eyes which had bewitched his mind and heart. And every time he thinks of that name, he felt like those hazel eyes were haunting him all the time.

With suspicion, Rees opened his mouth to ask, "Master, do you... do you know Ruth?" Rees's voice brought Edwin back to his senses.

He realised how it would have looked to Rees when he jumped out of his chair. He inhaled deeply with a clenched jaw to control his heart from going haywire.

"Have you done what I have told you?" Edwin evaded answering Rees thinking that was the best option for the time being.

Rees also decided to leave the topic for now as he knew that even when his master was kind to him, he had his limitations as his servant.

"I have gathered some pieces of information. But I request you to give me some more time as there are some missing pieces that I need to find."

"Time is not we are having, Rees." Edwin said in frustration as he banged his hand on the surface of the table.

Rees asked the question that was in his mind since the morning. "Did something happened in the meeting?"

Rees knew how Edwin was stressed because of this meeting.

The council members were not easygoing people. They were strict and hellbent on adhering to the rules. Although Lord Augustus was the most respected man and had healthy relations with the royals and the council, he also avoided professional meetings with them.

And the chairman, Barrett Addington was a hard nut to crack. He had some kind of resentment against the O'Dells. And even though he masked it with a pretence of fraternity, he was always in a search of the right opportunity to show his true colours.

"We have convinced the Council to give us some time to investigate the matter. But if we fail then we will have to take all responsibility of those five deaths and our failure to protect out people in front of the Crown." Edwin told while rubbing his forehead with his fingers.

The news made Rees tensed as he knew what would happen if they fail to clean this mess. It was not only the status of the O'Dells at stake but it was something bigger and important than that.

"I don't trust Barrett Addington even a bit. He is not in favour of the O'Dell family since the beginning. He will not let it go that easily." He voiced out his concern.

This was one of the reasons why Edwin liked Rees. The man was straightforward and didn't hesitate to speak up his mind.

"I know. He will definitely try to sow the thorns in our way. We have to work more carefully now." Agreed Edwin.

"Master, I have studied the reports of all the five murders. Some things seem suspicious. I want your permission to interrogate their families for one more time. We may find something, any minor detail or a breakthrough."

Edwin's investigation of the matter was led by Rees. Since the time they had found the first dead body, Edwin and Rees worked rigorously to find the solution.

Augustus's men had already interrogated the family members of the deceased persons. But Rees had some questions on his mind and he needed their answers before coming to any conclusion.

"You have my permission but don't forget that we are running an independent investigation, Rees. No one should get to know about this, not even my uncle, Lord Augustus." Edwin warned.

"I will make sure of that. But..."

"But what?"

"Don't you want it to share with Lord Lester?" Rees knew that Lester was Edwin's best friend. But he couldn't understand why his master wanted to keep this secret from him too when he could be useful in the investigation.

Edwin gave it a thought for a minute. He had considered telling Lester about his independent investigation and the progress that they had made. But he held back for some reason. He didn't want to drag his friend into this mess. And he knew that if he needed another helping hand then Lester was always there for him.

"I will tell him myself when the time comes."

*

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*

Ruth returned to her room after spending the Sunday morning with Thea and Rees and then spending the rest of the day with Thea. She changed out of her dress and wore a simple white gown.

She prepared her dinner and ate it earlier than every day as she was tired and wanted to go to sleep because she needed to wake up early the next day.

Even after tossing and turning into her bed, the sleep didn't befall her. Her mind was replaying the events of the day again and again.

She thought about Rees. She found him the exact same as Thea had described him. He was sweet, gentle, caring and held so much love for his fiancee that for a minute Ruth felt a slight pang of jealousy while watching them together.

But those five minutes before he took his leave made Ruth uneasy. She was sure that she saw his eyes changing their colour for some seconds. His body went stiff as if someone had cast a spell of magic on him to turn him into a statue.

She had never seen anything like that before. In the beginning, she thought maybe it was her mind playing tricks with her but when she talked with Thea, her belief became firm.

But Ruth's heart also didn't want to think that Rees might be faking a facade of a gentleman in front of the world. Why would he do that? He didn't have any reason for it as he could get any woman, he wanted for himself.

He was handsome, had a well reputed and generously paying job, he belonged to a decent family. If he wanted to fake everything then he could have chosen some other woman but he didn't.

One thing that Ruth was sure of after meeting the man was he was not playing around with Thea, neither he did anything to hurt her. He was more excited to marry her than Thea herself.

'Ruth you are just paranoid and overthinking everything. Maybe it is because you never trusted anyone in your life or maybe no one gave you enough reason to trust people. But it doesn't mean that you have to be suspicious of everyone.

Thea proved your fears wrong. She is now your best friend and a good wisher. So don't worry! You have found a new friend now, Rees. Give him a chance and see how things go. It will be all alright. And even if Rees is hiding anything then how worse can it be? What could go wrong?'

Ruth went to sleep with these thoughts in her mind and a conviction that she would support her friend in everything if things turned out unwell.

*

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*

"Is this the same house?" Rees asked his teammate.

"yes. It is the same house. We are keeping watch on it for two days but have not seen anything suspicious." The man informed.

Rees gave a once over to the surroundings. They were hidden behind a wall disguised as common people. They had no uniforms on their bodies.

Rees's team had got a tip that there was a suspect who knew more about those five deaths in the woods. It was his house on the eastern side of Vincardine. But it was located a little away from the hustle and bustle of people.

Hence it was easy for his team to keep watch on the house.

"Does he have any family in there?"

"No. The man is a drunkard and a minor thief. We have arrested him a couple of times. He is a bastard who can do anything for the sake of money."

"Hmm... we can't take any action without proof. Keep watching him and inform me of every detail. We can't let him slip out of our hands."

Rees ordered then decided to go back to 'the great manor' to inform Edwin about the progress of the investigation. Thea's house was on his way and his heart craved to see a glance of hers. But his mind chided him.. He had his duty to be done.