Katherine Sanders glanced at her pocket Watch. 8:13, only a few minutes til the clients should arrive. She was not used to having appointments so early in the morning, but she had gotten a wonderful sleep so she was well equipped to take them on. And it certainly was no surprise that she was getting more clients so soon, given recent events. She must ensure that she is a proper replacement for them. Not that that would be difficult, really... Awfully hard to be worse...

She heard her maid inviting in her clients, and made a last cursory check to ensure everything was as it should be. All of the paperwork was in order, the room was nice and spotless thanks to her maids, and all the furniture was in its proper place, all arranged around the floor-to-ceiling bookcase at the back of the room. Perfect. Footsteps sounded from the stairs, and she graciously opened the door for her clients. 

Katherine smiled widely. "Welcome, welcome! Please, take a seat over there! My name is Katherine Sanders, and I eagerly look forward to assisting you!" The smaller of the two, a slender blonde woman with a purple dress, nodded politely. "Thanks. I'm Hannah, and he," she indicated her companion, a hulking foreign man, "Is Argyris." Argyris raised a hand in greeting. "We're... Amateur detectives, and we wanted to ask you a few questions." Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Questions? What about?" Hannah took a seat. "We're looking into Lord Nathaniel Monthall's murder."

Katherine stepped behind her desk and smiled politely. "Oh, yes, I heard of that! Dreadful event, really. But, I thought I heard they caught who did it, yes? His maid, wasn't it?" Hannah shook her head. "We've, uh... Found evidence that proves she's innocent, so we're looking into some more leads." Katherine nodded politely. "Ah, I see. Why would you wish to speak with me though? I hardly knew the man!" Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Well, you work in the same building he did, I thought you may have heard something." Katherine blinked, then laughed lightly. "Ah, right, yes! I do tend to forget our buildings are connected quite often. I would hardly call it the same building myself, with how thick the separating walls are, but I suppose they are still connected!" Hannah nodded. "All the same, I figured it was worth speaking to you." Katherine nodded politely. "Of course, yes." She easily kept her composure. There was nothing to worry about, after all. 

Katherine smiled, her posture straight and proper. "So, what is it you wish to ask me?" Hannah smiled back. "First... What can you tell me about this building?" Katherine pondered for a second. "Well... I know it used to belong to an established family many, many years ago. The... Longmeadow family, if I recall." Hannah nodded. "Right, Elizabeth Longmeadow." Katherine raised an eyebrow. "I- No, I don't believe that was the owner... I'm not familiar with that name, sorry, who is she?" Hannah stared blankly, her eyes wide. "...I... I'm not sure..." She stared silently into space, hardly even blinking. After a few moments, Argyris cleared his throat. "Urhm, anyway Katherine, continue." Katherine awkwardly nodded and continued describing what she knew of the house. Well, most of it...

Katherine gave the basic information she knew. After the Longmeadow family left, their home was sectioned off into several smaller apartments for the use of the rising class of businesspeople during the industrial revolution. As of her moving in a couple months ago, the only other tenants were Nathaniel Monthall, who had been there significantly longer than her, and another woman who had since left due to her business going under. Argyris nodded. "Alright, and what professions did you and Lord Monthall work as?" Katherine gave him an icy glare. "We both worked as accountants, yes, if that is what you are suggesting. But I would never ruin a man just for profit, let alone murder him!" Argyris raised an eyebrow, and Katherine sat back, smiling calmly. "I apologize for the outburst, sir. It has been... a stressful day." Argyris nodded in understanding. 

Hannah, finally seeming to have come out of her strange trance, looked up at Katherine. "So... Have you been hearing rats in the walls?" Katherine stared at her, confused at the nonsensical question. "...Rats in the walls?" Perhaps Hannah was having a hysterical episode... Or an epileptic fit... But the detective nodded in confirmation, seemingly lucid. "Yeah, rats in the walls. You know, skittering around and stuff... Making loud noises... Especially at night..." Katherine nervously looked at her. What... What did she mean by that? There were certainly no rats in the walls, but... Would she know that...? "Ahem, well, uh... I believe I may have heard the occasional skittering of rodents within the walls of the house, yes. A nest may well have taken up residence in one of the empty apartments. Why do you ask?" Hannah and Argyris glanced at each other for a bit, before Argyris offered, "...Lord Monthall's maid reported hearing rats in the walls in the nights leading up to his murder. She claimed it was preventing her from falling asleep." Lady Katherine gave a wide, polite smile. "Ah. Well, I suppose the nest must be closer to their apartment then, for I have been sleeping just fine, perfectly fine! No rat sounds, not enough to wake me at least!" The detectives nodded. They seemed to believe her, good. She wasn't lying about rats not keeping her awake after all.

Hannah glanced around the room and was about to say something when she seemed to slip into a trance again, staring blankly at the back of the room while humming softly. Katherine leaned over to Argyris. "...Is your partner alright? Should I call the doctor?" Argyris looked at Hannah for a bit before shaking his head. "...No, I believe she's fine. She just... Has a lot in her mind..." He cleared his throat again. "Urhm, anyway, about the case... Would you happen to know anyone with a motive to kill Lord Monthall?" Katherine glanced around. "...Well, as I said I did not know the man personally, but I did... gather a few things... I have heard that he was a particularly cruel businessman, and I'm certain he must have ruined many a life through his actions. Forcing predatory loans upon customers, driving competitors out of business, tricking desperate men into investing all their savings into a faulty venture he himself had a stake in so he got all the money when it inevitably failed and left them poor and broken... Er, that sort of thing. I believe he may have many enemies through dealings such as those..." Argyris nodded. "...I see."

Argyris continued. "Would you happen to know anyone in particular?" Katherine wracked her brain to try and find another answer. "Well... There was the other tenant whose business failed, I suppose she may have had a part in that... Her name was... Mmm..." Before she could remember her name, however, Hannah seemed to snap out of her state. She looked back over at Katherine. "...That bookcase... Has it been here all this time? Since you started working here?" Katherine was taken aback by the completely unexpected question. "Well... Uh... Why..." She half-considered brushing off the answer as obvious nonsense, but Argyris and Hannah were looking at her intently. She took a small breath. "Uh, yes, it has. I doubt it would be easy for anyone to move. It's quite heavy, I assume from its size." Argyris looked at Hannah and quietly murmured something that Katherine couldn't make out, and her blood ran cold. The two detectives stood up, and Hannah looked at Katherine. "Do you mind if we check something out?" Katherine gave a tight smile and nodded. "Do whatever you wish, detectives. I have nothing to hide." The first outright lie she had said this entire morning...

As the two detectives investigated the bookcase, Katherine nervously checked her watch. 9:28... In just over an hour, everything had started to fall apart. But she shouldn't be too worried. They wouldn't be able to find anything. She had scoured the floor several times herself, they wouldn't- "...Hmm... Some small grooves in the floor here... I wonder..." Her blood ran cold again. "Ah, well, I suppose I must have dropped something there, I-" The detectives ignored her, and Hannah gestured for Argyris to move to the other side of the bookcase. Katherine stood up, her hands trembling. She certainly had time to act at least. She knew from experience that the bookcase was incredibly heavy and took nearly half an hour to- Argyris placed a hand on the side of the bookcase and pushed it out of the way as easily as moving a chair... Revealing a large hole leading directly into the walls. Hannah grinned. "Thought so."

As the detectives discussed the hole with each other, Katherine could feel herself coming apart. Everything was over for her now, they would never understand, her life had been ruined by that DISGUSTING man just like her father's had been... Her eyes landed on her letter opener, and she swallowed. The detectives were completely absorbed in speaking with each other... She had already killed one man, why not two more? Just stab them and stick them in the hole, yes... She could figure out what to do later... Picking up the letter opener, she crept towards them... Their backs were turned, they didn't suspect a-

In a flashing blur of speed, Argyris dashed behind Katherine and disarmed her before she even had a chance to blink. Hannah turned in surprise, seeing Katherine restrained by Argyris's muscular arms, the letter opener lying on the floor. She casually walked up to the struggling murder with a smile. "Are you sure you want to add two more murders to your list of crimes?" Katherine angrily spat. "HE DESERVED IT! HE RUINED MY FATHER'S LIFE WITH NO REMORSE, JUST FOR A BIT OF MONEY! I ONLY DID WHAT HAD TO B-" Hannah gently placed a gloved finger over Katherine's mouth. "Shhhh... I understand... What he did must have been terrible, but that doesn't mean murder is necessary... Murder only ever leads to more trouble, you know... It only ever leads to more trouble..." Hannah's smile dropped for a second as she said that, as if remembering something. "...And your attempt to bring justice ruined another person's life... Poor Millicent, his maid. Your messing about within the walls of the house kept her up all night, and now she's been blamed for your murder. Did she deserve that, Katherine?" Katherine was silent. She didn't have an answer for that.

Hannah smiled. "Now, don't you believe the right thing to do is to turn yourself in and get poor Millicent off the hook?" Katherine groveled. "No, I... I can't! I can't have my own life and reputation ruined!" Hannah raised an eyebrow. "But Millicent can?" Katherine averted her gaze. "She... She's just a maid! I can do so much more to help people than she can! I'm sorry she was arrested for my crime, but I can't go to prison!" Hannah nodded. "I see. Well, I suppose we'll have to do this the fun way... Hmm... Ah!" She gently grabbed Katherine's pocket watch. "HEY! GIVE THAT BACK! THAT WAS MY FATHER'S!" Hannah admired it. "Really? It's quite lovely.  I'm sure you agree." She held it just out of Katherine's reach. "GIVE IT BACK!" Hannah chuckled softly. "I will, don't worry. Just need to do something." She began rhythmically swinging the pocket watch back and forth. "Watch the watch, Katherine~"

Katherine began to yell, but she found her eyes oddly drawn to the motion. There was something about it that seemed to soothe her. She asked in confusion,  "What are you doing?" but Hannah just replied with a soft "Ssshhhhh... Watch~..." and continued swinging it. Katherine found herself slowly relaxing as she watched it swing back and forth. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the sleepless nights of preparation catching up to her... Perhaps it was the warm arms she was being held in... Perhaps it was just the simplicity of the rhythm that was calming her mind... Or perhaps it was the deep, powerful whispers in her ears and the strange, mesmerizing patter of the lovely woman holding the watch... She dimly realized that her eyes were starting to close... That she was getting sleepy... That there was a countdown, 5, her eyes starting to droop, 4, her body growing warm and fuzzy, 3, her mind beginning to sleep, 2, her eyelids becoming so heavy, 1, her eyes becoming impossible to keep open, **SNAP**, she was hypnotized now.