Hirundinidae
"Here he comes: The Italian Stallion." One of the servants of the mansion said in an almost low/soft tone.
The gargoyles of the mansion seemed to be bowing in the presence of the busy bee. His mother had been waiting all day for her son's arrival from one of his acclaimed business ventures. James was eager to provide much more support with the family business now that he was not involved with Fiona Hutherbly.
Mr. Wexlington stepped out of his Bugatti La Voiture Noire (or the BLVN like Mr. W liked to call it), the server nearly almost choked, and had to hold back tears of envy almost dripping from his tear-ducts.
As the young wealthy man stepped out of the BLVN, he reached into the front jacket pocket of his Brioni suit. He pulled out a silver pocket watch to hand it to his mother. Once again, the server felt tears beginning to form in his eyes, how he dreamed of someday wearing such a suit.
The gentleman was greeted by a welcoming party, that was mostly of servants. His mother smiled, and beamed with pride upon seeing her clever, and handsome son.
James felt the tight squeeze of unconditional loving arms around him. He smiled, and thought to himself, "There's no place like home."
During eventide, James had been spoiled with a full course Italian dinner, and later his mother decided that it was time for them to check in the family library to enjoy viewing some family photos. The pictures were full of events, and past memories from James' parents meeting at Eldio College for the exceptionally gifted, to the time his father bent down on one knee to propose to his future Italian wife, all the way to James' first day of attending the infants class for Einsteins.
James always enjoyed spending time at home, but his mother wanted him to explore the world, and hopefully eventually settle down. His mother wanted to be a Nonna while she was still in her youth...(this always made James laugh, he loved his mother, but he also did not want to rush into a marriage just for the sake of making her a grandmother while she was still full of vigor, and vitality).
The following day, a scream was heard from his mother's chambers. James rushed to Mrs. Wexlington's bedroom. Her body lay still, as if she was only taking an extra hour of rest. But James was concerned, his mother was an early bird. Why was she still fast asleep, and past nine o'clock?
His mother's eyes were shut. She looked so peaceful. Her servant was trembling, and only continued to stare with a blank expression at Mrs. Wexlington. James felt queasy. He shook his head and cried out, "Mamma!"
James had quickly dialed the polizia. It did not take long for them to arrive at the Wexlington mansion. The police department was always ready to provide help to well-known, and notable families in their policing district.
When the front door was opened, to James' surprise he came face-to-face with a rather petite monsieur who came quite dressed to the nines, and was holding a cane that he seemed ready to use to strike James with right away.
James cleared his throat, and gazed into the man's piercing marrone eyes. The stranger simply bowed in the young man's presence:
"My deepest condolences to you, young man, on the passing of...your loved one.."
James stepped back from the door, with a surprised look on his face, and shook his head. "Is she really gone? Please, come in if you can help me find out what happened to her."
"But of course, oh," he said with a gentle smile, "I am Grindor Lavie, at your service."
"Follow me...her room is on the second floor," his voice shook, as his heart felt heavy with sadness.
Grindor Lavie paid great attention to all details: from the gargoyles that greet you by the main door: to the angelic front ceiling paintings; the great library room filled with portrait paintings of the Wexlington bloodline all the way from the Wexlington that created the first ever portrait...to the one that irritated James..his young cousin who lived in Spain, from his father's side, and claimed that soon if James did not get married, his cousin would not mind becoming his bride (that was never going to happen, not in this lifetime, or the next).
Lavie stepped into the room. He turned around a full 360 degrees, and stopped.
James sighed. "Eh, M. Lavie," with his index finger he pointed at his mother's body.
"My condolences to you, again, young man. I will make sure to find out who ended up killing your mother." Lavie's facial expression changed from a warm one to a serious look now.
James felt some form of relief. "If there is anything you need, feel free to ask any of the servants here."
Lavie held out his index finger toward James' face, "I only ask for one thing. An answer to the most important question."
James raised his eyebrow, "What's that?"
M. Lavie clasped his hands together, "Who do you think killed your mother?"
"I...I have no clue, that is why you are here to help solve this case. Or do you mean do I know of anyone that could possibly have been planning to kill my mother? How would I know? I just arrived back home yesterday after three in the afternoon."
Lavie wagged his index finger. "You need to think back to years, or times before today. The person could be anyone, even someone that you think might benefit from your mother passing away."
James looked thoughtful, "No, ah...maybe. But, hmm, there is no way she could have done it...she never ever comes to visit anymore..ever since she was informed to stay out of the mansion because of her behavior."
"Who is this person that you speak of? Your step/half sibling from your father's other secret love affair? Or could it be your twin who is actually older than you and wants to inherit everything while they are still young?"
Mr. Wexlington chuckled, "You need to take it easy, and my father had no other wife, or lover. He was a devoted, and loving father. Also, he was a faithful man to my mother. Not once did he ever try to cheat on her."
M. Lavie rubbed his chin in deep thought. "I shall continue to dig further into this matter. Let us go down, and have brunch. I hope the meal that we are served with is to die for. I mean...sweet, or at least good." He let out a nervous laugh, this was no time for such jokes, especially after someone just died.
The servants had been in a panic. Each one was afraid of being questioned by the police. Some could not even speak well in front of M. Lavie. The only thing on their minds was being accused of killing Mrs. Wexlington.
James only took a few sips of his favorite drink: pink lemonade while M. Lavie, he was served a brunch fit for a King- with eggs served in egg cups; a pancake tower, that had some berries on the top; as well as a nice cup of hot Milo.
The hour of brunch ended on a quiet note. M. Lavie had thanked the kitchen staff for preparing such a hearty meal.
James had decided to return to his own room. He grabbed his bags, and headed toward the front door.
Someone had been keeping their eyes on him. The moment he opened the door, he heard:
"Leaving home already, James. Come on. You will have to stay for the afternoon family activities."
James gasped. He stumbled backward, "I...thou...I thought you...we..were dead."
M. Lavie slowly clapped his hands, and laughed. "He came like a swallow, appearing safe as a mallow, dressed all fine, ready to dine...come little birdie, do not try to leave the nest early."
Mrs. Wexlington walked over to his side. "Where is the real James? What did you do with my son?!"
M. Lavie moved closer to Mrs. Wexlington's side. "Come this way. Do not worry about a thing. Your son is over here."
From behind the side of the coat closet, M. Lavie placed his hand in one corner of that space, and found a small point which was a tiny activating mark. He pressed it, and a passageway appeared leading to another part of the mansion that had not been included in the mansion's blueprints from the time it was remodeled. Mrs. Wexlington stormed inside the entrance leading to that hidden room. She spotted James' real body lying on a leather couch. His body had been left in a sleeping position, with his hands placed along the sides of his body.
"Is he...dead?"
"No...he was only knocked out with a very powerful drug, by the James double who is currently being handed to the police as we speak. I am glad you had invited me to pay you, and your son a visit. I missed my train, and had to end up catching another one much later. Otherwise, I would have been here earlier. But I am glad to have given you lessons in: What to do when your child/son comes home, is not your actual/real son, and is a random person pretending to be your child/son."
Mrs. Wexlington chuckled, "My husband would have enjoyed your company. Unfortunately, he does spend a lot of time managing his businesses in various locations around the world, and he has such a peculiar vision of branching out to...dare I say the word..reach out to aliens...from the Milky Way, and beyond. Sometimes his ambition seems out of this world, or crazy."
James ended up being taken care of by the family doctor. He was told about everything that happened while he had been out of commission. His mother was just glad that he was home...safe, and sound.
Meanwhile back at the police station, M. Lavie was asked to interrogate the one who had been posing as James. When he got to the precinct, there was pandemonium. M. Lavie asked one of the police officers, "What's going on here?"
The police office replied, "Apparently the man we thought we had caught is a well-known International criminal known for stealing identities. Here we were thinking we had him tied up, and placed in a cell, but when the time came to take him into the interrogation room...he had vanished."
"That little birdie did not want to sing for supper, or be kept in a cage."
M. Lavie bid the police officer adieu. "O, where are you hiding Hirundinidae?"
#Hirundinidae (c) 03.22.2023