AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Maybe, but I'm stuck in here for another week," Bliss said. "Do you think you and Oliver could look into it?"
Later that week, Schuyler and Oliver dug up a few interest- ing facts about the new boy. The Repository had been restored to somewhat usable condition (the Velox factor came in handy). All the dust and plaster had been cleared, and nothing remained of the explosion except for a small, hairline crack in the middle of the marble floor. It was amazing what vampires could do when they set their minds to it.
Tracking Kingsley's whereabouts was easy with Oliver's network of connections in the private-school circuit, as well as some clever computer sleuthing.
Schuyler called Bliss at the clinic to let her know what they had found. "The Martins moved to New York the same night that you said Dylan was murdered," she said. "And we found out Kingsley spent summer school at Hotchkiss, where that girl was killed, and he'd spent a week at Choate visiting a friend, where a sophomore had been found dead right before school started. He was here in New York the night of Aggie's death at Block 122, and he was also at the party where Landon Schlessinger died."
"I knew it!" Bliss said.
"There's other stuff: Kingsley was the last person to visit Summer Amory. Oliver said the gossip was that he was dating her. So that places him at the scene of all the crimes. But I'm not sure, it could just be coincidence. Lots of other Blue Blood kids spent summer school at Hotchkiss, go to Choate, were at Block 122 that night, and knew Landon Schlessinger. And Summer Armory was dating a bunch of people. I'm sure if we wanted to, we could find several other people who fit the bill."
"No, it has to be him. I know it is," Bliss said emphatically.
"Are you going to tell your dad about this?"
"I'm not sure. He's kind of an adviser to Kingsley's family. I mean..."
"I'll tell Lawrence." Schuyler offered. "He'll know what to do."
When Schuyler presented their case to Lawrence at dinner, with all of Bliss's suspicions and the incriminating evidence, her grandfather hardly looked up from his rib-eye steak.
"Interesting," he said absentmindedly.
"Interesting, that's it?" Schuyler asked. "But don't you think we might have something here?"
Lawrence took a sip from his wineglass. "Perhaps." That was all he would say on the matter, and Schuyler could not get anything out of him for the rest of the evening.
The Committee's investigation on the incident at the Repository called for a public hearing, wherein all the witnesses to the attack were called to testify before The Committee. The hearing took place inside one of the massive courtrooms underneath the Repository. The members of the Conclave sat in a row on a high platform, facing the crowd, Charles Force in the middle. Lawrence Van Alen was seated to the far right, and was already puffing on his customary cigar. The new Chief Warden, Edmund Oelrich, a famous art historian and gallery owner in his public life, ran the proceedings from his seat up on the platform. There was a small podium to the side where witnesses were called, and the inquisitor, The Committee's official prosecutor, stood across from it.
The seats in the courtroom were filled with almost all the Blue Blood families, and tension ran high as Schuyler, Jack, Bliss, and Oliver described their version of the events one by one. They were seated next to each other in the front row. Mimi was seated next to Jack, and was still waiting for her turn. She was nervous about the investigation, but figured there had to be some way to bluff her way through it. After all, it wasn't like she had wanted Bliss to be hurt or Priscilla DuPont dead not in the least! She couldn't have cared less about the old bag. It was just an unfortunate accident. They had to understand that, right? If there was no motive, they couldn't find her guilty, could they? She reached over to grab her brother's hand, and Jack gave it a warm squeeze.
The inquisitor called Kingsley Martin to the stand. "State your name for the records."
"Kinsgley Drexel Martin."
"And your position."
Position? Mimi raised an eyebrow. What was this all about?
"I am a Truth Seeker. A Veritas Venator. I was commissioned by The Committee to investigate the deaths of several Blue Bloods: Aggie Carondolet, Dylan Ward, Summer Armory, Natalie Getty, Landon Schlessinger, and Grayson St. James."
A murmur ran through the crowd. Older Blue Bloods knew Venators as the highest order of The Committee's secret police, fearless warriors in the fight to keep the Blue Bloods safe from harm and discovery.
"And your mission?" The inquisitor prompted.
"I was sent to the Duchesne School to accumulate any evidence that might lead to the detection of the enemy," Kingsley said evenly.
Another murmur, this time more agitated. A Venator had been sent to one of their safest sanctuaries Duchesne! What was The Committee thinking, sending one of their powerful assassins to spy upon school children?
"Who were the suspects?"
"Madeleine Force. Bliss Llewellyn. Schuyler Van Alen."
This time there was an audible gasp from the crowd. Kingsley was an undercover agent! A latter day Johnny Depp on 21 Jump Street, an undercover vampire working the teen beat.
Schuyler gaped, Bliss couldn't help but laugh, and Mimi only gnashed her teeth. That little prick.
