Valentina

(Earlier)
Thomas Brownsly had arrived home late after going out with his friends. It had been a long night of partying and drinking the night away. It had no sooner started than it ended. He threw his coat aside onto a nearby arm chair as he headed towards the kitchen. Although he had he had been partying, he hadn’t eaten anything because he thought he would not be hungry. Brownsly, a young man went to the kitchen table and grabbed a piece of leftover cake that one of his friends had bought the day before. He decided that he wouldn’t make a fuss of cooking dinner, but rather he would go straight to bed.

As he was walking out of the kitchen, he thought he heard some object, or something crash in the living room. Thomas thought that it was just his imagination and brushed his thoughts aside. As he went into the living room, he immediately stopped in his tracks. The living room had been neat and tidy earlier, now it somehow looked like as if something big had decided to go in and wreck the place. “What the heck happened?” he thought as he tried to tidy up the living room. That was when he heard a vase in another room crash. ”Who’s there?” he spoke out aloud, but no response came, just the wind blowing in the cool night. As he took a few steps forward, he stopped. Thomas could hear more footsteps, but they were not his. He slowly and quietly moved his hand to grab a nearby object; his father’s walking cane to use it as a makeshift weapon. He gripped the cane strongly as he slowly raised it up high. “I’m warning you… WHO’S THERE!?! He yelled as he quickly spun around. As he spun around, Thomas’s blue eyes grew wide, his heart started racing and he immediately froze. Right in front of him was a figure clad in black cloak, a silver revolver in his left hand, pointing directly at Thomas’s head. Thomas had noticed that there was a small scar on the figure’s hand. “W-what the heck?” the young man’s face paled as he stuttered.
BANG!!!

(Present)
“So…what was the name of this man again?” Daniel Carter asked one of the policemen as he looked at the dead body. “His name is Thomas Brownsly, Mr Carter…” The policeman answered. Daniel started to inspect the body and its clothes, bending down and checking in the shirt pockets and for other things that might show how this man had died. He finally found a bleeding wound on the head. As he looked further, he started to sum things up “Well… it looks like he got shot...” he started to get up and continued to speak. “Through the head that is…”.”Did you find anything on the clothing?” Daniel asked. The policeman started to speak “No, we didn’t…” he answered.

“Alright… you and your men take this body the morgue for further investigation…” The young man started walking away. “Where are you going Mr Carter?” The policeman called out to him. Daniel turned to the direction of the man and looked at him. “Searching for more clues around the house…” he replied simply as he started to walk up the stairs to the bedroom. Daniel found the bedroom and opened the door. The door creaked as he opened it, and he stepped inside. The room itself was rather plain looking, the wallpaper was beige and the bed cover was coloured white. It looked as if there was nothing here worth hiding, but Daniel knew better. Most people would always hide something in their room. Daniel started to walk around the room, looking for some objects which might give off a clue. He saw the window on the left side of the room. This was shattered completely and some pieces of glass had already made a pile beneath his feet. “It looks like the murderer came in through this window…” The young man thought to himself as his gaze fell on a piece of material that was still clinging to a piece of glass. Daniel picked up the material and took a good look at it; the fabric was the colour of jet black and quite soft to the touch. He put the fabric in his coat pocket and he started to inspect the room again. As he was walking around, he seemed to have stepped on something. He lifted his foot up, revealing a small diary underneath. Daniel picked up the diary and started flipping through the pages, reaching to the last few entries of the diary. “I am going out to a party with my friends tonight. They tried to convince me to bring Aelasia along with me but I told them that she didn’t like to go to parties much… even though that wasn’t the true reason why…” Daniel realized that that was the last diary entry that Thomas had written before he died. “Aelasia…” he repeated in his mind, he swore he had heard of that name somewhere. Daniel put the diary in his pocket as he continued to inspect the room again. He had passed a small writing desk with letters that Thomas had received; most of them were by this ‘Aelasia’. “Thomas… why are you not speaking to me anymore, aren’t we still friends?” one of the letters said as Daniel sifted through them, He could have sworn that he had heard the name Aelasia before. He was about to leave the room when an object on the desk caught his eye, a golden carved picture frame with a man and a woman together smiling at the camera. Daniel took a closer look at the picture, the man revealed to be Thomas Brownsly and the woman next to him was strangely familiar. That was when realization had hit him. The woman next to him was Aelasia Valentina, the daughter of a wealthy family and was quite well known and famous.  The family had owned many wealthy businesses and the family member who controlled it all was Aelasia’s father.
 Daniel heard footsteps in the room and turned around to see a policeman. “So, have you got anything Mr Carter?” the policeman asked. “ Yes, it appears to me that before Thomas died, he wrote an entry in his journal mentioning Aelasia Valentina and that he also received some letters from Aelasia. “Aelasia? Isn’t she the daughter of that wealthy man of the Valentina family?” The policeman asked, confused. “She is, and it seems like she would be our first suspect…”  The detective turned to walk out of the room, before stopping short. “Tell your men to keep searching this house… I’m going to find Miss Aelasia Valentina…” Daniel finished before leaving the house in his car.
It took no time for Daniel to find the Valentina’s house. He pulled up in the driveway of a big mansion on the outskirts of the city. Daniel stopped the car, stepped out of it, walked to the front door. As he walked, his mind was in full motion, like a small set of cogs and mechanisms in a clock. Was it a good idea to walk up to the Valentina’s residence with news like this? What if they saw him as a complete stranger who had just came out of the back alleys, going around knocking on peoples doors to see if they were home? What if he… “For God’s sakes Daniel… get yourself together!” He snapped back out of his thoughts. He slowly reached out for the doorbell and pressed it; he could hear the noise ring throughout the house. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a young looking maid wearing a black dress and a white apron.
“Um… excuse me Sir, but if you want to see Mr Valentina right now, he is not here at this time so maybe you should come back later…” Daniel tried to make a fake smile as he was talking to the maid. ”I was actually here to see Miss Valentina; there is something I need to discuss with her…”. “Oh, the girl… yes, come with me please Sir…” The maid let Daniel in and led him down the hallway. After passing a few rooms, they finally reached the living room. The room was elegantly furnished. “Um… Mrs Valentina… a young man here wants to speak with your daughter…” Daniel looked over to see two women sitting on a chaise lounge facing each other. The young woman with long brown hair tied up in a loose elegant bun had a few locks of silky brown hair falling out. Mrs Valentina looked up to Daniel and the maid.
“And who is this… young man may I ask?” she questioned. “I am Daniel Carter, a professional detective and I have come to speak to your daughter.” He responded. Mrs Valentina looked at her daughter “Well Aelasia… it looks like a young gentleman wants to speak with you… you can go…”. The young detective watched as Aelasia stood up, showing a knee length black dress that she was wearing. She turned around to face the young detective and to his surprise, revealed shining, sky blue eyes just like her mother. She walked up to Daniel and stood only a few feet away from him. “Whatever is the matter?” She questioned. Daniel started to speak “I am very sorry Miss Valentina, but it is about Mr Thomas Brownsly…”  Aelasia eyed him suspiciously “what about Thomas Brownsly?” She questioned. Daniel continued to speak “I am very sorry but… Thomas Brownsly is dead…” he finished, and watched her reaction. Aelasia’s eyes grew wide; her hands slowly covered her mouth. Her Mother quickly rushed to her side to comfort her as tears started to trickle down her face. She tried to push her mother away and told her that she needed to speak with the detective alone. Mrs Valentina nodded and left the room with the maid following behind her; Aelasia made her way to the lounge and offered Daniel a seat. “What happened to Thomas?” she asked. Daniel explained everything from the time when they first found Thomas dead, how the letters and diary show a connection to Aelasia and how Daniel found a mysterious black piece of fabric. Aelasia listened to the whole story with great seriousness, her eyes never leaving Daniel’s cool grey ones. “. When Daniel finished, he watched Aelasia’s reaction. She nodded and started to speak “I see… but… it is still very sad to hear about Daniels death…” Aelasia clenched her dress on her lap as she tried to control the tears that were about to flow. Daniel immediately rushed to her side to stop her from crying again. “Now, now Miss Valentine, don’t you worry… I will do everything I can to try and find your friend’s killer” He said reassuringly. Aelasia stopped crying and made a shaky smile “Oh, thank you ever so much Mr Carter…” she says. Daniel nodded and stood up “Where are you going Mr Carter?” she asked. “It has been a pleasure to be able to talk to you, but I have to be elsewhere…” he says. Aelasia understood “Oh… well, maid! Please lead Mr Carter out to the door please…” the maid nodded and lead Daniel out of the house. He was going to need some help; a visit of an old friend would do the trick.
(An hour later)
Daniel drove up to a small house. He walked up the door, pressed the doorbell and waited. He could hear someone from inside the house shouting out “Alright, Alright I’m coming!” and the sound of footsteps followed. The door opened to see a young man about his age, Michael Jones looking like he just woke up from sleep. “Daniel, is that you?” he asked, still half asleep. “Yes, it is Daniel Carter…wake up!” he raised his voice slightly. Michael Jones always got the police insider info. “Okay, okay! Fine, come in…” Michael waled back in as Daniel followed behind. As they walked into a small living room, Daniel inspected the room and looking for anything new that might be in this house. “Take a break and sit down Daniel, I’ve got nothing to hide here…” Michael sleepily reassured as the two men sat down on an old arm chair. Silence went between them for a few minutes, until Michael decided to speak first. “Alright Daniel Carter… so why are you here?” he asked.  “I am here because I need to get some police insider information from you…” he explained. “ Is this about the Valentina’s case thing right?” Michael questioned. “Yes, Aelasia’s friend Thomas Brownsly has been murdered for a mysterious unknown reason; do you perhaps have any information that might help me? Daniel asked. Michael thought for a moment, looked around the room then beckoned Daniel to come closer and whispered quietly. “I have heard this from old rumours, but some say that some family is delving into the Valentina’s accounts…” Michael started to say. Daniel was about to say something until Michael had cut him off. “And that’s not all! Some say that the Valentina’s were once involved in a huge event!” Michael’s voice went from quiet to loud, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. Daniel tried to quite Michael down, and then thought for a moment “This person must be really sneaky if they think that they could get away and access the Valentina’s accounts, let alone try and murder one of their close friends… you think the person who murdered Thomas Brownsly might be the same person delving into the Valentina’s accounts?” he asked. Michael just simply threw his hands in the air again “well maybe! But if you really want to find out more proper information then you better go check the local library…” He suggested. Daniel nodded and stood up from his chair “Thankyou Michael for telling me some of this, you have been quite helpful…” as he walked out the door, he heard Michael call out to him “Hey! Aren’t I’m always helpful?” He grumbled. “Oh shut up…” Daniel sighed as he walked out the door. “Oh, you might want to examine this…” he threw Michael the diary belonging to Thomas.  It was time for a visit to the local library.

Daniel had arrived at the local library. All he needed from there were some old newspaper articles or books that might have a good clue in them. He started looking for the old newspapers and books in the history section, sifting through every book and newspaper that might give of a smudge of a clue. He had searched for a long time when he decided that he needed a break. A man across him at the reading table had finished with the books and newspapers that he was reading and left, Daniel saw something on one of the newspapers that caught his eyes. Written in big bold print, was a title on the first page of the newspaper ‘Greatest event of the whole town in 1890, The Valentina’s won!’ The young detective picked up the newspaper and started reading it, not once, skipping any details. ‘An ongoing feud between the Valentinas and the Thereses family had been on each other’s throats, fighting over property. The court had announced that the Valentina’s have won! Most of the Therese’s business will now belong to the Valentinas!’ Daniel stopped reading and started to think. “Well, I have found some information, But that still didn’t explain why Thomas was murdered!” he racked his brain for more thoughts, but couldn’t find any. Daniel was about to find a different book when a black and white photo that seemed interesting. It was a picture of the Valentina family and the Therese family together for a whole court photo, in the middle of the photo, he could see Thomas Brownsly. “Hold on, why would Thomas be in the photos with the Thereses…” his sentence was cut short. That was when realisation had hit him. “Hold on… Thomas wouldn’t be in the photos with the Thereses if he was only a friend of the Valentinas unless… unless he knew both of them!” It was all making sense for Daniel now. The murder of Thomas Brownsly was only just a warning… a warning to the Valentinas that the Thereses were desperate in getting revenge on them and would do anything to get their money back. “If the murder of Thomas Brownsly was just a warning… then…. Oh no…”Something occurred to Daniel that the murderer wasn’t just going to kill one person; he had a second true target.  The detective quickly borrowed the newspaper and rushed to his car. He had to warn the second target.

An hour later, Daniel had arrived at the Valentina’s mansion; he quickly ran up to the door and rang the doorbell. The maid opened the door and asked “Oh! Can I help you again Sir? Are you here to see Mr Valentina this time?”. “Let me in! I have to tell something very important to Aelasia Valentina!” The maid immediately let Daniel in and he straightaway took off down the hallway to the living room. Aelasia was startled when Daniel came bursting in, her father was very displeased “What is the meaning of this!?!” he bellowed. “I’m Sorry Sir Valentina, but your daughter is in danger! The murder of Thomas Brownsly was just the start of it! You have to employ extra security guards because THE MURDERER’S TRUE TARGET IS AELASIA!!!” Daniel had almost yelled out those last words. Fear started to show on Aelasia’s expression. She stood up from her chair and started to walk towards Daniel but she started shaking. Suddenly, without warning, Aelasia’s legs gave way and she started to fall. Daniel quickly leaped forward to catch her. Aelasia was sobbing into his coat and was ranting “I don’t want to die! I’m scared! PLEAS HELP ME!!!” she started sobbing again. Daniel squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t worry Miss Valentina, I will go and stop this murderer!” he reassured and helped her up. “I wish I could stay Mr Valentina, but I have a murderer to catch…” and Daniel left. As he went into his car, he could hear Mr Valentina yelling out to find the security guards.
Daniel was at home. He had been trying to think who the murderer was. He was still thinking until his phone rang. He picked up the phone to be greeted by Michael’s voice. “Daniel! Daniel! I was doing tests on that diary you gave me, and I found who the fingerprints belong too! Apparently they belong to someone called Harry ‘Mean’ Cornish. I looked at his records and it revealed that he is a hit man!”. “ Alright… say Michael, how would you like to come with me to look for some gambling joints?”

“You know when you say to come with you for gambling, I thought you mean we’re actually going to gamble stuff…” Michael pointed out. “You know that was the only reason I could make you come with me…” Daniel replied. They had been searching in a lot of gambling places where the killer might be. “No really Daniel, lets continue this tomorrow…” Michael complained. “Fine, but we search here at the exact place tomorrow…” Daniel was about to finish his sentence when he saw the suspect, he covered Michaels mouth with his hand to quiet him down. “Hey! What the heck was that for!?!” Michael whispered angrily. “Shh! We are going to follow the killer! Don’t… make… a…sound…”  Daniel whispered back. They followed the Hit man down a dark alleyway and cursed. Daniel never liked back alleys, his parents were killed by a crazy murderer in a back alley when he as a little boy. The whole reason why he became a detective is that so he can stop murders and crime from happening to anyone. As if everything happed in one swift move, Daniel sneaked up to the hit man and pointed the pistol at the killers head. “Put your hands up…” his eyes showing the cold grey steeliness of his emotion, “NOW…” he said in a hoarse tone. Michael ran up and handcuffed the killer and stripped him from any weapons he was carrying. “It looks like it’s time to take you to the police…”  

‘Mean’ Harry Cornish was taken to the police station and the Therese family were arrested. The police would get the death penalty off the table if he told them everything. “Good work Mr Carter!” The policeman congratulated. “ I’m just glad I’m able to prevent the death of an innocent victim…” Daniel replied and walked away. He was about leave in his car when he saw Aelasia walking up to him. “Hello Miss Valentina, do you need any help?”. Aelasia seemed to be caught off guard “What! Um, no! I just came here to say… Thank you for trying to save my family, especially trying to save… me…” Aelasia’s voice trailed off and went quiet. “It’s not a problem…” Daniel gave Aelasia a rare, true smile. She was about to leave when Daniel called out to stop her “Miss Aelasia…”. “ Yes?” She turned to face Daniel. “How would you like to come with me for dinner this weekend?” he asked. Aelasia giggled slightly and started to walk away. Daniel could swear that she saw a slight smirk on her face.

“Maybe…”