Three Murders Is A Scheme (Part I)

Library Keeper Infinity fell face-first off the shelf when she spotted the body.

Her Library caught her with one dangling tendril, righting her before gently lowering her to its side. She took a deep breath and put her hand to the woman’s wrist, checking for a pulse she already knew wouldn’t be there. “Visitor file,” she commanded, inspecting the cut down the woman’s side, which had already stopped bleeding after staining through the cover of a sixteenth century Original Earth bible. Wonderful. 

“Name: Wanda Remond Thurm. Titles: None. Planet of Origin: Earth, Magic Derivative Six Hundred. Current Planet of Inhabitation: See Planet of Origin. Age: Thirty two. Powers: None. Species: Human. Gender: Female. Length of Registration: One week,” Library’s voice rattled off, warm tone at odds to the gristly scene before them.

Infinity sat back, staring at the third guest dead in as many days. “Take her down with the others. Get this area cleaned up. Initiate protective custody.” 

She hauled herself up on top of the shelf as Library’s floor liquefied beneath the body, swallowing Wanda’s remains, bloody book and all. Infinity didn’t bother staying to watch the cleanup; she’d seen Library work often enough. Instead, she started into a gentle run across the tops of Library’s shelves. Warm oak wood stretched in all directions, forming a maze most barely had enough time to find their way through once. Infinity jumped between the shelves, angling toward the balcony entrance to the second floor. 

“Protective custody initiated,” Library said. “Why now, Keeper?”

Infinity eyed the next shelf as she scrambled onto it. “One murder is an accident. Two murders is a coincidence. Three murders is a scheme. And schemes in my Library are a no-no.” 

Infinity felt Library’s heartbeat changing beneath her feet, the constant thrum echoing through her soul taking on a beat of amusement, tinged with just a little bit of fear. Infinity wanted to stop and soothe it, place her hands flat on the shelf and promise her Library it would all be okay. But she didn’t, running through all her guests in her head one more time instead. There were only four left of the seven that had been present when she discovered the first murder. Or, well, six, seeing as one was dead. 

Evan – he was one of the humans, the flirty one she’d been avoiding like the plague. He was rather large, big enough she supposed he could theoretically pull off the murders, if you judged by size alone. But Infinity was well aware that size didn’t say anything about threat level. She wasn’t even five feet tall, and she was more than capable of defending herself. Evan’s reading choices seemed to suggest he wasn’t smart enough to pull off three murders, but that wasn’t much to rely on either. 

Adria was the other human. She was a writer, which made Infinity instinctively distrust her. Writers were wily types, and had a way of weaseling into heads that they weren’t meant to. She’d have some sort of information Infinity could use, if she was any good at her job. And she was definitely on the suspect list. Adria would know many ways to murder someone, but could she actually do it? Debatable.

Then, there was the were-vampire thing. His world didn’t give him a name, and he hadn’t picked one to go by, so that was what she called him. He was from some sick fiction universe someone had created, probably a fanfiction, by the looks of him, but he was nice enough. 

If one could get past the wings, fangs, tail, and lust for blood, that was. 

He was suspicious, but struck Infinity as cultured. The type to only murder who only killed he came for, and didn’t make a mess for someone else to clean up. 

Besides, the murderer had used a knife. The were-vampire would have no need for such a weapon; his claws would be more than enough.

Then, there was the last visitor, an elf-variation cloaked in shadows of mystery. Hemidillia. She had declined to give a title. From the little Infinity knew of her world, Ahorlam, that was unusual, but hardly suspicious on its own. Hemidillia was a bit stiff and formal, and looked as if she knew how to use the dagger she carried, but seemed gracious. Her possession of a knife was, however, suspicious, given how the victims had been killed. 

Everyone was a suspect, a possibility. Her guests seemed to have no connection to each other, no motive for murder. But Infinity knew little about her guests, almost nothing about most except those that were here most often.

~To Be Continued~