Paris, 1868
On a bright sunny day, Eric Diane, a young man, a vibrant man, sat with his fiance in a quaint downtown cafe in Paris, France. "One Earl Gray, s'il vous plait," he called out to the waiter. The waiter nodded, bringing him his drink. Scurrying to the kitchen, the drink was served.
"Drink fast, mon cher," his fiance told him, "Grandmere is expecting us." Nodding, Eric drank in his tea. Three minutes later, he fell to the ground, his fiance screaming, and chaos breaking loose. "Help me! Help me," she cried. Running, screaming, in the middle of this fearful hurricane, Eric Diane lay dead.
^^^
"Good afternoon" greeted a lanky middle-aged man in a brown plaid trench coat.
"Salutations, Inspector St Claire, how is your morning," The seventy-year-old female detective, Danielle Survius replied. She was well known for being the best in all of Europe, only rivaled by the fictional Hercule Pirot in terms of famous French detectives.
"Not the best, madame," he told her.
"Oh?" she asked.
The Inspector coughed. "You see, madame, there has been another murder. The press is calling it the Hollow Cup Killer."
"Correct me if I am wrong, inspector, but the one you are referring to, is not the premier decades?" she inquired.
"That is correct, madame. The l'ambassade française wishes for your expertise on the matter. The public is alarmé, they wish for results." The inspector said gruffly, shifting from foot to foot.
She nodded, considering his proposal. "Will you send me the case files, Monsieur?"
He looked up at her hopefully, "you are accepting the case, Madame?"
Shaking her head she said, "I will look over the case files, Inspector. I will make no promises, this case could potentially be beyond my pouvoirs de déduction."
"Mother!" A young woman with a similar complexion and an overly cheery disposition cried out, "you must take on the case! People are dying, they need you, Maman! France needs you."
Danielle sighed at her daughter, "Antoinette, mon cheri. This is a delicate situation, I cannot dive into this rashly."
"Wanting to prevent deaths is not rash, Maman." Antoinette insisted, "please, what if I fell victim to this monster, you would not rest till that murderer was behind bars?a How could you not do the same for them?"
"You have plenty to say on the subject, mon cheri." Danielle said softly, "though I will factor your opinion in my decision."
Antoinette clapped eagerly, "ah, thank you, Mamon."
Inspector St Clair added in, feeling neglected, "we thank you for consideration to our offer, Madame. However, I must agree with your daughter, Madame Survius, people's lives hang in the balance here."
Waving her hand at him, "yes, thank you, Inspector," Danielle said offhandedly, " I have decided already."
Both Antoinette and Inspector St Claire leaned forward, eagerly awaiting her response. "I will accept," she said simply before walking out of the parlor. Clapping, Antonette danced after her and the Inspector sank in relief.
The Next Day
"The latest victim was male, yes?" said Danielle said to the coroner.
He nodded, "there was traces of Arsenic poison in his system. The other victims, Anaice Ryle, Willimehre Natalia, and Cassavanna Rolo also had it as well. They each died within minutes of consumption."
Walking to the corpse of Eric Diane, the coroner said, "how can anyone do something this cowardice?"
"Someone who believes they cannot get caught," answered Danielle simply.
"But you will catch them won't you, Madame," said the coroner, turning his head toward her.
Humming softly, she said, "we shall see, Monsieur, only time will tell."
^^^
"Bonjour Madame," the inspector greeted at the cafe where Eric Diane died.
"Bonjour," greeted Danielle already preoccupied with the surroundings, rather than the frivolous inspector. "Do you have any suspects, Monsour?"
Nodding, the Inspector listed the names, Deavan Anatole, Aylen Vlad, Andrei Baudelaire, Jean-Jacques Ranaldi, and others she could not follow.
"Pardon," she said waking up from her daze, "can you repeat the last name, Monsour?"
Nodding once again, the Inspector said nervously, fearing her reaction, "Antonette Survius, your daughter."
Frowning for obvious reasons, she said curiously, "Antonette? How is she a suspect? She was the one to push me to take on the case."
"Yes, Madam, we have several witnesses claiming to have seen her at every single one of the crime scenes the days on the murders. She was also seen laying flowers, Anemones, I believe, at the graves of the victims. Though I can understand your disbelief, you are her mother after all."
Thinking about it further, "keep her in the suspect pool, Monsour. She could very well be the perpetrator."
Shocked, the inspector exclaimed, "Antonette is merely on the list as a precaution, I would have assumed you would wish to take her off it as soon as possible. She is your daughter."
"And as my daughter, I know full well what she is capable of," she answered with finality, "We must take every precaution, Inspector, I believe we can agree on that."
^^^
"Ah ha," exclaimed Danielle as the entire room looked in horror around in horror.
Antonette Survius stood in a laboratory surrounded by vials and vials of poison. The entire French police force and her mother looked at her with relative dread.
"Antonette! How could you," cried her fiance, Jasion Leonhearte, a newly promoted lieutenant of the police. She tilted her head in his direction, as if this was the first time she ever realized his existence. Then her face contorted; the fury of a corseted genius showed on her face as prominent as the sun on a warm spring day.
"How could I not, Jasion? How could I possibly compete with my mother's legacy? What did you expect me to do? Stand around as you and mother earn more medals and achieve greatness? To stand around and be happy for you (intro infinitive), be happy for her and her legacy? No, never! But I could also never be superior to what she has accomplished, so I have placed it on myself to taint it! You are ruiné mother, the Survius name is smeared," she proclaimed.
"Luckily not," said Inspector St Claire, "Antonette Survius, you are under arrest for the murders of Eric Diane, Casavana Rolo, and Anniace Ryle. Your mother will be credited for the capture of the Hollow Cup Killer. We will leave you unmentioned in the press, this will never get out to the publique."
She looked at them, eyes wide with fury and outrage, "No! How dare you, you can't erase my work! I refuse to go out like this! I refuse to go down non mentionné! You will pay for this, Maman, you all will pay for this!" Then suddenly a loud crash sounded through the laboratory, everyone looked to her, fearing what she was willing to do. Antonette merely smirked. Another crash sounded; then-Boom! Boom! Boom!
The vials broke, arsenic poison polluted the air. Screams and cried sounded, after the dust settled, Antoinette was gone and in her place was a single Anemone, a flower, meaning forsaken.
The End
Story Notes
Eric Diane
Died: June 4, 1868
Age:22
Cassavanna Rolo
Died: May 21, 1868
Age: 27
Willimehre Natalia
Died: April 30, 1868
Age: 20
Anniace Ryle
Died: April 14, 1868
Age: 25
