We then cut to the next day and see a carriage slowing down in front of a quaint two-story cottage guarded by two leprechauns. Colim's old house. Jack and Donovan quickly exit the carriage and thank the driver, with Jack offering a small tip to him, before walking toward the house. The guards ask for identification, which Jack provides, before handing them the key to the house and letting them pass. The two walk through the front yard, in which is not much except a cobblestone pathway and a half-finished garden. They reach the front door, quite short for humans and half-giants, and Jack unlocks the door, letting Donovan in first before walking in himself. As they enter, Donovan bumps his head against the ceiling and emits a small yelp. He waves off a concerned Jack and insists he's fine, even as he slowly rubs his head.
After that, Jack takes a look around and tells Donovan to search for clues on the first floor while he checks the second floor. Donovan nods and the two separate, with Jack being careful not to slip on the small stairs.
We then cut to Jack opening and walking into Colim's bedroom. In the room is a half-full bookshelf, two oak drawers, a small bed with a golden frame, a little table next to it, and a window complete with rather drab curtains. It seems both richer and poorer than the room of a clan spare should be. He turns toward the bookshelf, on which are some trinkets, books, and picture frames. His eyes turn toward one particular picture, which is of Colim in his bedroom. Gingerly taking it in his hand, he looks around the room once again. Looking back at the picture, however, he notices that the big, red carpet that's supposed to be in the center of the room is missing. Placing the photo back down, he then writes his observation down in his notebook. He then starts to rifle through the drawers, finding little of note. As he closes one drawer in frustration, however, he spots a nick in the window frame. Walking to the window and looking out from it, he mutters aloud that a ladder could easily reach the second floor. Checking to see if the window is openable from the outside, which it is, he jots it down in his notebook.
Suddenly, from downstairs, a loud "Eureka!" is heard, followed quickly by a miffed "Ouch!" and the thump of something heavy falling onto the floor. Rushing downstairs, Jack finds Donovan on the floor rubbing his head in pain and clutching some burned paper in his hand. Next to him is a tipped-over trash can and its contents, which include more paper, candy wrappers, and some food waste. Jack sighs longsufferingly and asks Donovan what the bloody hell he did, to which Jack quickly staggers up, grins, and quips, "A breakthrough!"
He then proudly hands the burnt paper to Jack, who quickly looks it over. Most of the words are ineligible due to the burns, but an untouched name immediately stands out: Liam Deugall. Jack's eyes widen with excitement and pride as he claps Donovan's shoulder in congratulations before exclaiming, "They were here." Donovan grins and nods back before saying that the question now is whether it's a frame job or what it really seems to be. Jack carefully stuffs the paper inside his bag before pulling out his notebook and telling Donovan to follow him, writing as he walks.
We then cut to the two quickly walking out of the house, with Jack briefly pausing to hand the house key back to the guards, and Jack slamming his notebook close with a satisfying thump as they leave the front yard. He turns to Donovan and whispers that now that they know whoever murdered Colim was at his house in the past few days, the testimonies of the neighbors are now a priority to obtain. Donovan nods before asking which part of the neighborhood they're starting from, to which Jack says they'll go from the right first before slowly making their way to the left.
We then cut to a short montage of the two going from door to door and questioning the few neighbors that Colim had, since his house is on the outskirts of the city premises. Some houses are empty or the occupants don't want to answer, with one even slamming the door in their faces. The ones that do talk, though, Jack makes sure to ask if they noticed any odd behavior from Colim shortly before his murder. Most mention his newfangled interest in gardening and his not going out as much as he used to, but other than that, they don't have much to contribute. One witness, though, has something more substantial. An elderly giant with wiry glasses and a seemingly-permanent smile on her face, she talks to Jack while watering her flower garden. She explains that a few nights ago, as she was getting ready for bed, she overheard Colim bitterly arguing with someone whose voice was unrecognizable, but she unfortunately wasn't able to understand what they were arguing about. Jack jots that down as Donovan asks her to elaborate on the voice. The old lady taps her finger on her chin and states that it was an odd voice, very deep from what she can recollect. When Jack asks if anything else happened, she kindly shakes her head and says that she went to bed almost immediately afterward, as she felt it wasn't right for her to eavesdrop on her neighbors.
She sighs and says it's a great shame what happened to Colim; he'd been so interested in growing some petunias and pansies of his own. Jack finishes writing and thanks the old lady for her time, to which the old lady kindly replies that it was no trouble. Donovan asks Jack where they're going now, but before Jack can respond, the old lady suggests that they head to Callan's, a pub and eatery in the middle of Auldport, saying that Colim mentioned the place once or twice as a favorite of his. Jack and Donovan's faces brighten at that and sincerely thank the old lady for the advice, before quickly leaving to hail a carriage. The old lady simply chuckles to herself and shakes her head lightly as she continues to water her plants.
We then cut to Jack and Donovan as they approach Callan's, a well-kept establishment reminiscent of the Wild West. Drunken cheering and raucous yelling can be heard from inside the establishment, when two very drunk clurichauns are suddenly thrown out through the flap doors and onto the streets, yelping as they tumble. A very disgruntled bouncer walks out and yells at the "Cluri-clods" to leave and never return, or he'll stuff them inside the beer barrels himself. As the clurichauns scurry away, the bouncer mutters about the "little bastards" under his breath before turning to Jack and a very amused Donovan. He simply asks if they'll be any trouble, to which Jack simply nods while Donovan grins and says they'll be no trouble at all. The bouncer nods back and he waves them in, Donovan tipping his hat at the man as they walk in.
We then cut to inside Callan's, which is brimming and buzzing with activity. All around the building are patrons in cheerful merrymaking and feasting, clurichauns downing tankard after tankard of beer, finely-dressed golems serving trays of food and drinks to the customers, and much more. And in the center of the room are Graudy and some of his leprechaun buddies having a good time, with Graudy proudly boasting that drinks are on him as they clink their pints together. Graudy then notices Jack and Donovan and excitedly waves them over, asking if he can get them anything. Jack shakes his head lightly and is going to say no, but Graudy quickly snaps his fingers at one of the golems and says he knows just the thing. As the golem arrives, Graudy tells him to get two tankards of Callan's creamiest, chocolatiest eggnog delights with chocolate shavings and cinnamon sticks. Donovan pipes up and asks for no alcohol and double the cream in one of them. The leprechauns pause their merrymaking as they turn to stare at Donovan in incredulous disbelief, some other patrons turning to look as well, with Jack and the golem as the only ones unperturbed. Donovan quickly looks around the eatery before pointing at Jack and quipping, "It's for him."
The patrons nod and "Ohhh..." in understanding and return to their own business as the golem leaves and Donovan grabs some chairs from an empty table so that he and Jack have somewhere to sit. As the two sit down, Graudy asks how the investigation is going. Donovan waves his hand in a "so-and-so" gesture and states noncommittally that though they have some good leads, they still have work to do. Jack adds that they'll need to ask Graudy and his friends some questions, to which Graudy says he and his friends would be more than happy to give them some answers, with his mates replying affirmatively.
Jack pulls out his notebook and flips it open before starting the questioning. He asks them about their relations with Colim before he passed, which all say were mostly positive at the very least, and whether they know about any visitors Colim may have had in the leadup to his death. Most of them, even Graudy, don't really have any sure knowledge about any visitors Colim may have had, but one mentions that he'd overheard Big Red swearing that he'd give Colim a piece of his mind someday. Jack writes that down and thanks the leprechauns just as the golem returns with two tankards of steamy eggnog, two cinnamon sticks, a grater, and a bar of chocolate. He sets the tray down with a satisfying thud, the eggnog creamily sloshing back and forth. Then, he takes the chocolate bar and grater and grates the chocolate shavings onto the eggnog. Finally, he takes the two cinnamon sticks and inserts them into both of the tankards of eggnog, stirring each simultaneously as the eggnog lightly browns. The golem then places the tankards in front of Jack and Donovan before taking the tray and bowing politely to them.
Donovan, who can't help but smack his lips, and Jack thank the golem, who tells them to enjoy their drinks before walking away. The two then grab their drinks, with some minor trepidation o Jack's part, and clink them together. Donovan cheerfully grins and remarks, "Cheers," before taking a nice, big gulp. Jack looks down at his before taking a slow sip of the eggnog. His eyes slightly widen at his first taste of it, and he begins to drink faster. They both let out a satisfied "Aahhh" as they place their tankards down, Jack shaking his head in amazement. Graudy cheekily grins and says, "It's great, isn't it?" Donovan wipes his lips with his tongue, grins back at Graudy, and says that it isn't half-bad, which triggers laughter from Graudy and his friends. Graudy tells them to stay and get some more drinks, to which Jack responds that while they appreciate the gesture, they'll need to go soon. "Though," Jack adds as he takes a sip of eggnog, "we'll be sure to finish our drinks first."
We then cut to the outside of Liam's residence, a rather big house near the city harbor and wharf, where Liam can be heard yelling angrily at Jack and Donovan to get out or he'll throw them both out the window himself. We quickly cut to inside the house, where Liam is sitting in the living room with Jack and Donovan. Jack begs Liam to please reconsider his stance, almost falling on his knees doing so. Liam slams his hand against the table next to him and exclaims that he will not utter a word to them, and that is that. He starts pacing across the room, making wild gestures, and loudly complaining about how the parliament should never have allowed such dishonest, cruel, odious, and horrible scoundrels into their affairs. Donovan clenches his fists in anger at the insults, but Jack holds him back from doing anything rash. Liam then orders his guards to throw Jack and Donovan out. Cutting to the outside of the house, we see the door open as Jack and Donovan are forcibly escorted out of the house, both vigorously protesting being manhandled like this. As they're pushed down the front stairway, one of the guards says, "Good riddance," before slamming the door shut. Donovan helps Jack up and the two walk off, Jack glancing back at the house one last time.
We then cut to them attempting to question other Deugalls, only for them to be immediately rebuffed and pushed away by the stubborn leprechauns. Utterly frustrated, Jack makes a kicking motion and throws his arms in the air, exclaiming that no one gives a damn about helping solve a murder. A concerned Donovan asks if he's okay, to which Jack slowly sighs and replies that he's fine, it's just that he's vexed about this whole lead being a dead-end. Donovan exhales through his nose and pats Jack on the shoulder, telling him that they'll figure out a way to get around this dead-end whether they have to either find a different route or just smash their way through it. Jack lightly chuckles and says that of course Donovan would want to smash through a wall, with Donovan chuckling back that it's easy for him to accomplish before the two then fall silent.
As the two stew in silence, with Jack rubbing his forehead in thought and Donovan checking his watch, a Deugall maid walks up and asks if one of them is Dr. John Seward, which makes them a little confused. Jack affirms that he is who she's looking for, after which she quickly tells them that her mistress would like to see them as soon as possible. The two look at each other in confused curiosity, though more curious than confused, before looking back at the maid, Donovan replying that they'll go now. The maid politely nods and walks away, the two closely following her.
We then cut to the living room of the mistress's house, which is revealed to be the home of Millicent, where Jack and Donovan are seated on a satin couch opposite Millicent. Jack slowly taps his pen against his notebook before politely asking Millicent why she is going behind the back of her brother like this. Millicent, who is visibly nervous but trying her best to downplay it, takes in a deep breath before asking if the two believe Liam murdered Colim. Jack sighs and calmly states that they believe that Liam is a suspect among many others. Millicent, her eyes threatening to tear up, tells Jack that she knows that Liam threw them out of his house and threatened them. Looking down at her feet and breathing aloud, Millicent then says that she also knows that her brother is innocent of this matter, and she could not bear the thought of him being arrested because of his stubbornness and her silence. She slowly looks up, a single tear rolling down her cheek, and tells Jack that this is why she has brought them here.
Jack and Donovan are slightly stunned, but Donovan quickly recovers and flashes a small, reassuring grin at Millicent, telling her that this is very brave of her. Millicent slightly blushes as Jack nods and smiles at her as well. Flipping his notebook open, Jack then asks Millicent to state what she wanted to tell them. Millicent purses her lips before stating that Colim used to be very close to her brother, always having each others' backs during bar brawls, before something she didn't know about caused the two to break apart. Jack jots that all down before asking her to continue. She says that furthermore, expensive items and currency have been disappearing from the clan vault equally recently, and that no one knows who on earth is doing it. She states that her brother is as hostile towards the two as he is because he's convinced the person who murdered Colim is the same person who is stealing from the vault, and that two outsiders interfering in matters is just adding to his stress. Donovan, who has mostly remained quiet, politely interjects and theorizes that perhaps things from the other clan vaults are also going missing, and the thief is the one who killed Colim in a burglary gone wrong. Millicent adopts a more thoughtful position and says that that could be the case, given that one of her lady friends from a different clan had complained about the recent theft of her priceless earrings from the vault.
Jack finishes writing all this down, puts his notebook back in his bag, and thanks Millicent for telling them all of this. The three all stand up as Millicent quietly says it was only the right thing to do. She then gently takes Jack's hand and asks that he please help clear her brother's name. Jack kindly smiles and, bending down and placing his other hand on hers, states that if Liam is indeed innocent of this murder, they will do their utmost to prove so. The two look each other in the eye and non-verbally come to an agreement, Jack nodding softly as he lets go of her hand. Jack and Donovan then excuse themselves and leave, Millicent sagging down into her chair. A small, genuine smile appears on her face as she tells her maid to bring some tea.
We then cut to Jack and Donovan walking to the Riggleby Clan House, located at the town square along with the rest of the clan houses, with the two bantering about Donovan's family history. Though, it's more of Donovan gushing and awing over his ancestors and their great deeds while Jack smiles and makes some insightful comments about them here and there. As the two walk up to the entrance of the Riggleby Clan House, they come across Malocolm, who politely greets them and asks what they're doing here. Jack replies that they need to see the clan's balance books and ledgers. They're stopped by Malocolm, though, who tells them that he can't just let them look at the Riggleby clan records, since that is a privilege only given to leprechauns inside the clan. Donovan intercedes and pleads for Malocolm to throw them a bone here; if not for their sake then for Graudy's sake, whose brother's murder is why they're here to help in the first place. Malocolm's expression subtly shifts when Graudy is brought up. Looking left and right, he whispers that he'll let them in, but they'll need to make sure they aren't seen. Jack nods and says they'll be careful as the three enter the building. Donovan quietly remarks that that'll be a bit hard given their height, only to yelp off-screen when Jack presumably playfully punches him.
We then cut to a short montage of Jack and Donovan pouring over ledgers, balance books, and financial records in the Riggleby Clan House. Books and papers are stacked upon each other on top of a long table as the two meticulously inspect them. Jack taps Donovan on the shoulder and gestures at something in a ledger he's holding, telling Donovan that he was right; money and expensive items have been going missing from the other clan vaults as well. Donovan quirks his eyebrow in confusion before mentioning that the ledger is off. An equally confused Jack asks how Donovan knows that, to which Donovan flips a ledger he's holding around to show Jack, saying that Jack's ledger doesn't match up with his. Investigating further, the two find even more discrepancies in the records.
Placing down a ledger, Jack rubs his chin and mutters that this makes things more interesting. Donovan looks up from a book he's reading and asks if Malocolm could be the one who's stealing stuff, to which Jack shakes his head and says he highly doubts that the culprit, no matter who it is, would let them investigate the records at all if they could prevent it. He then pauses and asks Donovan if it's possible the items were stolen sometime before they were actually discovered. Donovan adopts a more thoughtful position and says that although highly unlikely, the balance books have been fudged here and there, so the theory has a good-enough foundation as of now. Jack, pacing somewhat, adds that if the ledgers are connected to the thefts, then the thief must either have connections within the bank, work at the bank himself, or a combination of the two. Donovan points out that only leprechauns from a particular clan can work in institutions owned by said clan, to which Jack responds that perhaps there's a group of thieves from each clan working together to steal. The two spitball a few more theories before Donovan says that whatever the case is, they'll need to set up a trap for the thief. Jack turns to Donovan, gives him a knowing look, and asks if he's thinking of a stakeout, to which Donovan grins and replies that he is indeed thinking of a stakeout. The two then start to clean up and put away the books and papers.
We then cut to later that night, where Donovan and Jack are hiding in wait and watching the clan houses. A light mist obscures the town square, with the ethereal glow of the street lamps serving as the only source of light whilst the only sound that can be heard is the gentle patter of streaming water from the central fountain. Jack, binoculars in hand, is patiently watching for the criminal to show himself, and Donovan is taking a drink as he leans against a nearby wall, a covered lantern next to his feet. Yawning a little, Donovan quietly asks Jack if he can propose a theory, to which Jack whisperingly replies that he should make it quick. Donovan exhales and says that he really doesn't want to think about it, since it seems like a bit of a betrayal to Millicent, but he just can't shake the feeling that Big Red is both the thief and murderer. He could be the one who's been stealing things from the other clans, he states, and when Colim found out about it, Liam killed him in order to silence him. Jack mutters that the thief's been stealing from the Deugalls as well, it wouldn't make sense for him to steal from his own clan. Donovan retorts that it could be part of his plan; nobody would expect him to steal from his own clan, which would make it seem like somebody else did it. Donovan then sighs as he takes another swig, and silence settles over once again.
The next few seconds are taut with nervous anticipation as the two lie in wait for the thief. Then, suddenly, a hooded figure clutching a small, golden statue is seen stealthily exiting the O'Riely clan house through a vent grate, making sure to close the vent before he makes his escape. Jack hurriedly nudges Donovan to follow him, and the two quietly, but quickly, follow after the culprit. They shadow him, making sure to keep a good distance away, until he steps into and stops in an abandoned alleyway, seemingly waiting for someone else to show. Peering around the corner, the two see the thief tapping his foot impatiently and skittishly looking to and fro, the statue held to his chest as if his life depended on it. Jack slowly raises his hand before giving the signal, and the two burst out of hiding, startling the crook into dropping the statue. Jack orders the crook to slowly raise their hands above their head and turn around to face them as Donovan uncovers the lantern he's holding. The crook hesitantly complies, and, as he turns around, the light shines directly into his face, revealing his true identity: Niall O'Riely.
Jack and Donovan are stunned by the reveal, Donovan visibly more so than Jack. After a second or two of surprised silence, Donovan blurts out, "By Finn MacCool's greasy beard, Niall was the thief?!?!" Niall stutters, trying to come up with an excuse for his action, while Jack's face grows thoughtful. Inspiration suddenly washes over his face, and he excitedly exclaims, "Of course it was him! He's the scion of the O'Rielys!" Donovan turns to Jack a little confused, who helpfully adds, "The builder clan!" Donovan's eyes widen in realization and he turns to face an increasingly nervous and babbling Niall. Jack explains that since the O'Riely clan are architects, they helped build and design the clan houses, to which Donovan adds that since Niall is their scion, he would have access to all the blueprints the O'Riely have, including the ones for the clan houses. Jack continues and reasons that by using the blueprints, Niall would have been able to infiltrate the clan houses and slip out unnoticed. Niall goes silent and can only lower his head in shame, knowing that he has been caught red-handed. Donovan's face then turns to one of minor confusion as he asks Niall, "But why'd you mess with the ledgers, then? You just made what you were doing more obvious, and I can't figure out why you'd need to fudge them in the first place."
Niall appears genuinely confused as he looks up and asks Donovan just what in the world he's talking about. As Donovan is about to speak, though, the figure Niall was waiting for appears around the corner, along with a whole lot of goons behind him: Spriggans, redcaps, bugbears, far darrigs, goblins, and other magical henchmen. Niall's eyes widen, and he shrinks back in fear as the lead goon, a haggard bugbear with an eyepatch over his left eye and unnatural gait, smirks cockily at him. The bugbear derisively asks Niall if he's already sold them out for a few extra coppers, before tsking mockingly and remarking that this is why you can't trust a leprechaun on matters of gold. Jack, who along with Donovan had assumed a defensive posture, bravely steps in front of Niall and states that they'd stumbled across Niall here, he hasn't sold them out. Donovan joins him, brandishing the bottle in his right hand and lantern in his left hand threateningly, as Niall takes this chance to grab the statue and run away.
The bugbear grunts in frustration seeing Niall run before turning to Jack and Donovan. He then regains his infuriating smirk, though, and mockingly says that it's so kind of them to take Niall's punishment for him as he snaps his fingers, signaling for the other goons to rush the two. As the henchmen rush the two, Jack turns to Donovan and asks for a battle plan. Donovan quickly responds that he'll take the big guys while Jack takes care of the little shites before clocking a spriggan in the head with the lantern.
The goons plan to overwhelm Jack and Donovan with sheer numbers, but the narrow alleyway they're in causes them to trip and bump into each other, with some of the smaller goons being unfortunately trampled by their comrades. Donovan rushes into the confused fray and begins to knock out and whale on any crook that's in his range. Donovan slams and breaks his bottle on the one-eyed leader of the goons, but when that barely fazes the leader, he slashes the bugbear in the other eye, blinding him, before slamming his foot into a far darrig. At the same time, Jack deals with the goons that make it to him, being more methodical in his fighting style than Donovan. Grabbing a club from a knocked-out goblin, he begins to beat back the goblins and redcaps that make it to him.
Donovan knocks out a spriggan and pauses to catch his breath, which allows one of the bugbears to grab him from behind and choke him. As Donovan struggles to free himself, Jack notices his friend is in danger. Looking around, he grabs a far darrig trying to run away and, with a mighty swing, throws him at the bugbear. The far darrig slams into the bugbear's head, knocking both unconscious. Donovan falls to the ground gasping for breath before turning to Jack and giving him an appreciative smile, which Jack reciprocates.
As Donovan slowly stands up, though, even more henchmen begin to pour in from both sides of the alleyway, blocking their way of escape. Jack and Donovan quickly stand back-to-back, brandishing their makeshift weapons, ready to defend themselves. A few tense moments go by, the minions taunting and snapping at the two and the duo refusing to take the goons' bait. Then, an authoritative voice disdainfully ahem's, and the henchmen on Donovan's side hurriedly scramble to make way for their leader. As they part, their boss gracefully strides over to Jack and Donovan: Melodia, a human witch with a striking gaze and a seemingly permanent scowl plastered on her face, hands and wand holster on her hip. Donovan's grip on the bottle tightens when he sees her, and he nudges Jack in the shoulder so that he'll look. Melodia takes an unimpressed look around at the unconscious goons all around the two before looking back at the two and stating that they've caused her quite a lot of trouble. The now blinded bugbear goon staggers up from the ground, wipes some blood off of his face, and tells the witch that these bastards let Niall get away and besmirched the gang's honor. Melodia simply turns to the bugbear, who is revealed to be facing a nearby wall, with the most deadpan expression and snidely remarks, "You and your utter incompetence have dishonored me far more than these interlopers ever could."
As the bugbear stutters in embarrassment, Melodia ignores him and tells Jack and Donovan that while the morons needed to be taught a lesson, it was not their privilege to teach that lesson, and as such, they'll need to come with her. Donovan and Jack look at each other before Jack politely asks if the two can talk about it first, to which Melodia replies that they should make it quick. Jack then whispers to Donovan that they should take Melodia's offer. When Donovan protests, Jack says that they don't really have much of a choice right now, before quickly adding that this could be an opportunity to gain more information on the case. Donovan hesitantly relents, and Jack pats him on the shoulder and assures him that everything will be fine, flashing a brief smile at him. Jack then turns to Melodia and says that they'll come with her under two conditions, to which she quirks an eyebrow in curiosity and asks what those conditions are. Jack says that if she promises that they won't be harmed, as well as answers a few questions he has, then they'll go with her peacefully.
Melodia pauses in thought, rubbing her chin, before slowly nodding and saying that the terms are acceptable, which her henchmen begrudgingly accept, though some leer at the two with violence in mind while others stare uncomfortably at their broken friends. Melodia then quickly tells the two to drop their weapons, which they do, before blithely telling most of her goons to clean up this mess before the guards show up. She then strides off, with Jack, Donovan, and the rest of the goons following her.
We then cut to them walking to the local Goblin Market, the raucous hubbub of merchants selling and customers buying filling the air as they walk, until they reach a large warehouse. Melodia knocks on the door in a special way before waiting for a reply, her fingers subtly fidgeting in impatience. Donovan can't help but remark that this doesn't seem very hidden for a gang hideout, to which Melodia just points at the building next to the warehouse. "We're right next to the pookas," she states, "and only fools would try to mess with them." After she says that, the warehouse door slowly opens, and a troll pokes his head out. Seeing Melodia, his eyes widen and he quickly pushes the door open before nervously welcoming her in. She waves him off and the group walk inside, which is packed with crates of stolen goods and such guarded by a few goons. Once they reach the center of the room, Melodia twirls around to face the two and promptly ahem's into her fist, which prompts a nearby goon to hurriedly fetch her a comfortable-looking chair. Once she's properly seated, she leans over attentively, placing her chin over her palm, and tells them that they may start asking her questions now.
As the goons watch the two suspiciously, weapons at the ready, Jack pulls out his notebook and begins by asking why Niall had tried to meet with her henchmen. Melodia blithely tells him that Niall had previously come to them to sell some items he'd stolen from one of the clan vaults, and he'd continued to sell his stolen goods to them ever since under the threat of his thefts being exposed. Jack nods before asking Melodia if she knows of or has any connection to Colim Pernell. Melodia states that not only did she know of Colim, but he was also heavily indebted to her. Jack presses her on why Colim was indebted to her, to which she rolls her eyes a little but obligingly states that he'd gotten into a brawl with some of her more nasty rivals and had made them rather angry with him. As such, she had offered to swoop in and pay them off in exchange for Colim paying it all back over time. However, Colim's untimely death means that he can't pay what she is owed and Graudy is too clever for her or her minions to grab. "As such," Jack politely interjects, "you probably grabbed Donovan and I in hopes of making Graudy pay a ransom for us, settling Colim's debts with you as well." Melodia nods approvingly and tells him that he catches on quickly.
Suddenly, loud knocking interrupts the conversation, and all eyes turn to the warehouse door. After a goon checks who's outside, a courier is let into the warehouse, watched by some guards, and says that he needs to speak with Melodia. The guards turn to Melodia, who dismissively nods at them, before allowing the courier to approach. He respectfully genuflects before whispering something in her ear, which causes her to flatly remark, "Again?" After the courier nods hesitantly, she sighs exasperatedly and rubs her forehead, muttering about how she's going to kill those drunken morons. She stands up, stretches a little, and tells Jack and Donovan that the whole ransom deal will have to wait until after she needs to deal with the results of her lackeys' failings... again. She apologizes for the delay and promises that she will have it done as soon as possible, seemingly genuine about it as well. She then orders the thugs in the warehouse to tie the two up and keep an eye on them, pointing at them accusingly and solemnly swearing that if the two manage to escape, she will reenact the Jam Handy incident on all of them. All the henchmen in the warehouse shudder and shrink back in fear hearing those words, nodding furiously as Melodia leaves with a few guards and the courier to deal with the issue.
We then cut to the two seated in opposite chairs and being tied up together, the goons cackling and mocking them as they wind the rope around the two. The two don't react, though, with Jack not even blinking while Donovan subtly and curiously rubs his body against the rope. Once the two are tied up, the lead goon, a spriggan with crooked teeth and a lanky build, then enthusiastically tells them to not even try to escape or they're gonna get clobbered so hard their eyes will cross, the rest of the goons cheering after him.
Donovan rolls his eyes at the lead henchman's threat and softly exhales. He then turns to Jack and whispers that the idiots didn't even bother to double knot, tie their arms to the chair, or even check the quality of the rope. Jack snickers a little before asking what Donovan thinks about Melodia, to which Donovan responds that she seems like a pragmatic and reasonable, if somewhat condescending, sort of criminal. Jack nods a little, saying that if she did kill Colim, she probably wouldn't have done it without reason. The two discuss some more theories about the murder and Melodia's possible connections to it before Jack notices that one of the goons is peering out of the warehouse door and is seemingly talking to somebody. Realizing that this could be their chance, Jack hastily whispers to Donovan that he needs to goad a distraction out of the goons, to which Donovan then grins and whispers back that he'll get them a distraction alright.
Donovan then turns to the lanky spriggan and begins to insult him, calling him names and insulting his looks. The other goons begin to snicker and giggle at the spriggan, who is trying in vain to seem unaffected by Donovan's insults as his face grows redder and redder. All the while, Jack watches the warehouse door for the right opportunity. Once the door is wide open and goons start to bring in crates of goods, Jack subtly nudges Donovan, who takes the cue and begins to insult the spriggan on his teeth. It's the straw that breaks the camel's back as the spriggan snaps and stomps over to Donovan. He plants his dagger in the chair, right next to Donovan's head, and snarls that if one more insult flies out of Donovan's mouth, he'll lose his tongue. Despite spit flying onto his face, Donovan is deeply unfazed by the empty threat. He slowly turns to look up at the spriggan, very unimpressed, and states, "That was your first mistake."
Donovan then kicks the spriggan hard in the groin, causing him to crumple to the floor, before easily breaking out of his binds. He then grabs the spriggan and uses him as a temporary human shield, just as Jack gets out of his chair. Jack quickly throws his chair at some oncoming goons before running for the exit and yelling at Donovan to follow him, which prompts Donovan to toss the spriggan at his companions before rushing after Jack. The two dodge crates, gunshots, and tackles before reaching the door. They continue running as they rush out the door and through the Goblin Market, Melodia's henchmen right on their tails, with the two bumping into stalls, crates, and traffic to slow down and take out the goons, Jack vigorously apologizing for all the trouble they're causing. Seeing the nearby beach, Jack grabs Donovan and pulls him there, telling him that they'll outrun their pursuers there.
The two now race across the beach as the sun begins to rise in the background, kicking up sand as their pursuers, now fewer in number, continue to give chase. After a few seconds, Donovan briefly turns to look back at the goons before yelping indignantly as he unceremoniously stumbles into a random wheelbarrow and falls to the ground. Jack stops to help Donovan up, but the goons catch up to them in those few wasted seconds. Donovan immediately leaps at the goons, fiercely punching and kicking at them as Jack slams the heads of two bugbears rushing him into each other. Grabbing two clubs from the now unconscious goons, he tells Donovan to catch before tossing one to him, which Donovan uses to great effect as Jack knocks out another minion. The fight is short as there are far fewer goons now, with Donovan and Jack showing excellent teamwork, and soon enough, the minions quickly flee for their lives as Donovan taunts and jeers at them. He throws his club like a javelin at them, knocking out a fleeing redcap. Grinning, Donovan grabs Jack's club, somewhat startling him, and tosses that one as well, hitting a bugbear in the leg and sending them sprawling to the ground.
Donovan whoops loudly at his impeccable aim, enthusiastically pumping his fist in the air as Jack chuckles at his friend's antics. Donovan turns to Jack and grins, remarking that that was a lot of fun. Jack good-naturedly rolls his eyes and says that of course it was good fun to Donovan, which earns him a friendly punch in the shoulder from Donovan and laughs from the both of them. Once they finish laughing, though, Jack can't help but ask Donovan how he tripped on a wheelbarrow right in front of him Donovan, blushing in little in embarrassment, dismissively replies that he was busy running for his life, not to mention the fact that he'd been looking back at their pursuers. Jack, somewhat confused, asks why Donovan why he would be wasting time looking back, to which Donovan retorts by asking why on earth would there be an abandoned wheelbarrow in the middle of a beach.
Jack is about to respond when he pauses, face shifting with curiosity as he turns to look back at the wheelbarrow. Jack approaches the wheelbarrow, Donovan following him with an expression of similar realization, and remarks, "You're right, Donovan, why on earth would there be a wheelbarrow in the middle of the beach?" Kneeling next to and inspecting the wheelbarrow, Jack finds that the wheelbarrow has significant water damage and some seaweed sticking to the side of it. Donovan also finds some drag lines in the direction of the water, telling Jack that someone must have dumped the wheelbarrow into the loch. Jack, standing up, remarks that he could tell. Looking around, he points to an area of the beach further off and states that they're just a short distance away from where Colim's body was found. Turning to where Jack is pointing, Donovan quietly asks if he thinks the two are connected, to which Jack responds that he's almost sure of it.
Turning back to the wheelbarrow, Jack and Donovan lift the wheelbarrow up before inspecting it for more clues. Searching carefully, Jack finds the golden initials "M.C." engraved on one of the handles. Calling Donovan over, Jack asks him what he makes of it. Thinking carefully, Donovan's eyes widen in realization and he says that it belongs to the Riggleby scion Malocolm. When asked by Jack if he's sure, Donovan replies, "It has to be. It's small enough that a leprechaun can use it, the golden initials reveal that it belongs to a very rich individual, and if those initials don't stand for Malocolm Crawkins, I'll eat my hat." Jack smiles and proudly pats Donovan on the shoulder as they stand up. Donovan smiles back before asking Jack what they should do next. Turning to the beautiful sunrise, which is halfway into seemingly rising from the loch, Jack replies that they'll head back to their hotel room, take a nice long rest, then head over to Mr. Crawkins' house to ask some very pointed questions.
We then cut to the next day on the front balcony of Malocolm's residence, a fancy three-story mansion made of shining marble. Malocolm greets Jack and Donovan with a wide and bright grin, asking if he can help them with anything. Jack says that they'll need to ask him a question or two, to which Malocolm says that they should have something to drink while they do so. Jack tries to politely decline, but Malocolm insists and ushers the two to a table on the balcony, letting them sit first before snapping his fingers to call for his butler. Malocolm seats himself as the butler arrives, before turning to the two and asking if they like any particular type of tea.
We then cut to the butler pouring some steaming tea into a teacup before handing it to Donovan, who thanks the butler before carefully blowing the tea, taking in a deep breath of the tea's fragrance. The butler simply nods before placing the teapot on the table and asking Malocolm if he still has need of his services. Malocolm, holding his own teacup, shakes his head and says that that's all they'll need for now, before politely dismissing the butler. He then turns back to Jack and Donovan and asks what they think of the tea. Jack finishes taking a sip, places the teacup down, and compliments the tea, stating that it has a strong, but not overpowering, fragrance and sweetness to it. Malocolm nods appreciatively and says that it's Da Hong Pao tea, perhaps the most expensive tea in existence, that was just recently imported from China. Malocolm states that though he usually just grows his own tea, he couldn't help himself when he discovered the greatness of Da Hong Pao. Taking another sip, he exhales in satisfaction before asking Jack what it was that they wanted to ask him.
Jack pulls out his notebook and pencil, flipping the notebook open, before turning back to Malocolm. He explains that yesterday, the two found an abandoned wheelbarrow washed up on the beach they think belongs to Malocolm. Malocolm, slowly placing the teacup down, leans his chin against his fist and politely asks Jack to please describe the wheelbarrow they found, which Jack does.
After Jack finishes describing the wheelbarrow, Malocolm is about to answer when his six-year-old son Ronan rushes out the front door and straight to him. He enthusiastically jumps and down, asking his father if they can please go play in the park together. Malocolm's eyes flitter back and forth before hesitantly asking Jack and Donovan to please wait a few seconds, he needs to talk to his son first. Jack and Donovan chuckle, Donovan more so, before Jack remarks that of course they'll wait. Malocolm nods a little in gratitude before turning back to Ronan, who is staring at him with wide, pleading eyes. Malocolm softly sighs and kindly tells Ronan that he'll go with him to the park later, but right now, he has to finish an important talk with their guests first. Ronan is initially disappointed, but he tells Malocolm that he understands. Malocolm smiles lovingly at Ronan and thanks him for understanding the situation. He then tells Ronan to go grab the toys he wants to bring to the park before they leave, which causes Ronan, now beaming with anticipation, to quickly run back into the house. In the background, Jack can be seen wistfully staring at Malocolm and Ronan, his eyes showing both lost thoughts and sorrow.
Malocolm chuckles quietly as he turns back to Jack and Donovan, the former quickly hiding the fact he was staring, and apologizes for his son's rambunctious attitude. Donovan waves it off good-naturedly, joking that Ronan isn't half as troublesome a kid as Donovan was. Jack rolls his eyes a little and remarks that he can see that, before asking Malocolm about the wheelbarrow. Malocolm adopts a subtly nervous look as he tells Jack that he, unfortunately, doesn't own, nor ever has owned, a wheelbarrow like that. Jack sighs deeply, seemingly in disappointment, and Malocolm looks at him apologetically, stating that he understands why they'd think it was his.
As the three stand up from their seats, he tells Jack and Donovan that though he couldn't be of assistance, he does wish them the best of luck in their efforts. Jack thanks Malocolm for his time and shakes his hand, just as Ronan rushes out the door with a ball in hand. Ronan then asks Malocolm if he's finished talking with their guests, and when Malocolm says he is done, Ronan asks if they can please bring the bike to the park as well.
Malocolm sighs and mutters under his breath that it's all the way down in the basement. Right after, though, he flashes his son a smile and says that of course they can bring it. Telling Ronan to wait in the front yard while he gets the bicycle, Malocolm tips his hat to Jack and Donovan and wishes them a good day before walking inside the house.
As Jack and Donovan slowly walk down the balcony stairs and through the front yard, Donovan quietly asks Jack if he wants to bet that Malocolm is hiding something from there. Jack shakes his head and remarks that that'd be a sucker's bet. Donovan clicks his tongue in frustration and complains that they certainly won't be getting anything out of that man's lips. Jack is about to respond when he stops suddenly, a calculating expression on his face. He turns around and sees Ronan happily playing with his ball before inspiration hits him. He tells Donovan to wait for a second as he walks over to little Ronan.
Greeting the young boy, who enthusiastically greets him back, Jack gets down on one knee, smiles softly, and tells Ronan that he needs to ask him a quick question. "Only if you want to, of course." Jack quickly assures Ronan, who is a little hesitant to talk to a stranger. Ronan eventually nods his head and says that it's okay. Jack, smiling, asks Ronan if his family owns a wheelbarrow with the letters "M.C." engraved in them. Ronan quickly answers that they did indeed have one, a special wheelbarrow that his father used for his special garden that Ronan isn't allowed to go in. "It's missing now," Ronan adds, "and Daddy complained that some of his special plants were missing as well."
Smiling widely, Jack pats Ronan on the shoulder and thanks him for his honesty. He then quickly stands up and walks over to Donovan, who's been leaning on the front yard fence, and tells him that he got what they needed. As the two then walk off, Donovan asks Jack what he found out, to which Jack responds that he'll talk about it on the way to Graudy's house.
We then cut to Jack and Donovan as they walk towards Graudy's residence, a small but rich-looking cottage in a rural area of Auldport. Donovan asks why they're heading to Graudy's place, to which Jack answers that since Graudy is well-liked and knows a lot of people, he should be able to help answer some questions Jack has. As the two approach Graudy's residence, angry yelling and arguing between two people coming from the house begin to grow louder and louder. Concerned, Jack tells Donovan to be quiet as the two reach the front door. As the arguing continues, the two realize that the voices belong to Graudy and Liam.
They overhear Liam vitriolically accuse both Graudy and the deceased Colim of being dishonest charlatans who would consort with outsiders, no, enemies of the leprechauns if it meant that they could profit from the corpses of those who trusted them. Graudy angrily retorts that that's a rather high and mighty sermon for the Big Red Hypocrite to preach, especially when one considers what dastardly deeds Liam has hired pookas to carry out.
The yelling dies down as Donovan and Jack lean against the wall trying their best to overhear what else is being said. Suddenly, the front door slams open, causing Jack and Donovan to stumble back in surprise as Liam stomps out of the house enraged. Noticing the two, who are trying and failing to seem natural, he angrily stalks over and accusingly points his finger at them. He swears that he will be rid of them and all outsiders soon enough, one way or any other, before stalking off. Donovan and Jack silently stare at Liam as he leaves, before turning to each other with a knowing look.
After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Jack softly knocks on the door and asks if he and Donovan can come in, to which Graudy calls out, with some frustration leaking into his tone, that they can indeed come in. The two then enter and walk to the kitchen, where Graudy is seated at the kitchen table, a plate of chocolate biscuits in front of him, rubbing his forehead and sighing in angry frustration. Turning to the two detectives, his anger subsides, and he asks the two what he can do for them.
Jack says they just need to ask him a few questions. He then gestures to the other chairs at the table, and when Graudy nods, the two sit in them. Pulling out his notebook, Jack asks Graudy if he can tell them what he knows about Pooka, to which Graudy responds with an expression of utter disgust. Shaking his head, Graudy briefly apologizes before stating that pookas are the worst of the worst shapeshifting monsters, whose services only the vilest offender would even think of hiring. Beyond that and the fact that they're terrible to deal with, he doesn't know anything else about them. Graudy then quirks an eyebrow, popping a biscuit into his mouth before asking why the two are so curious about pookas, to which Jack replies that they saw some around the Goblin's Market and were curious as to why they were so despised by the locals. Graudy nods and asks what they were doing there, eating another cookie as he does so, to which Donovan nonchalantly shrugs and remarks that they were kidnapped by a crime boss. Jack facepalms, and Graudy briefly chokes on his cookie, pounding his chest with his fist until he stops choking. Coughing a bit, he then turns to Donovan with wide, bewildered eyes and exclaims, "You were kidnapped?!"
Jack sighs and shoots Donovan a miffed look before turning back to Graudy. He states that it's a little more complicated than that, but it is essentially what Donovan said. He then tells Graudy that Colim had racked up a rather big debt with the crime boss that had captured them and subsequently planned to settle said debt by making Graudy pay their ransom. Graudy blankly stares at the two, and, after a few seconds of awkward silence, covers his face with both of his hands. He slowly rubs his hands against his face and lets out a deep, longsuffering sigh, muttering quietly, "Even after death, Colim, you vex me so..."
Letting out another big sigh, Graudy looks back at the two and thanks them for notifying him of this, saying he'll get to settling that debt as he grabs another cookie. Taking a bite, he asks Jack if has any more questions for him. Jack says that he does have one more question concerning the case, flipping his notebook to the next page. He asks Graudy if he knows of any possible correlation between gardening and criminality, which makes Graudy pause in thought. Thinking about it for a few seconds, Graudy slowly answers that now that Jack mentioned it, he can think of one thing. He explains that just last month, the mayor of Auldport had passed a ban on some types of mandrake plants due to their use in creating very illegal potions. When Jack asks him what kind of mandrakes they were, though, Graudy shakes his head and apologetically says that he sadly can't remember the specific mandrakes as he had been too busy not paying attention.
Sensing their disappointment, he then suggests the two go check out the archives over in the Leprechaun Parliament Hall; records of all the laws that parliament and the mayor have passed are kept in the archives, so they should be able to find what they're looking for there. Jack politely smiles and thanks Graudy for his time as he and Donovan stand up. Graudy wishes them both a good day as they leave and asks that they close the door on their way out, which Donovan does. We cut to the two are they walk outside before Jack suddenly slaps Donovan's shoulder, startling him. Donovan yelps in protest, rubbing his shoulder as Jack admonishes him for so nonchalantly telling Graudy that they were kidnapped. The two bicker about it as they walk, though there's no real heat in their words.
We then cut to the two as they walk through the hallways of the Parliament Hall and into its archives, a splendorous, two-story tall room similar to a labyrinth made almost solely of bookshelves. Looking around, Jack and Donovan marvel at the beauty of the room. Jack then hails a worker, who is storing some books on a bookshelf, and politely asks if he can point them to where they could potentially find a record of the ban on certain mandrakes. The worker, looking down from a raised platform, tells him to head to the end of the left side of the room, then look around for a bookshelf with a sign that says "Gardening and Botany". The worker adds that the records are kept chronologically from left to right, and Jack thanks him for his help as the two walk there.
We then cut to Jack and Donovan as they look through a bookshelf for the right record, Donovan checking up high while Jack searches down low. After a few seconds of this, Jack grins as he pulls out and holds up high a record titled "Forbidden Flora Statute of 1905". Jack calls Donovan over as he walks over to a nearby table. Dropping it onto the table, Jack starts to leaf through its contents, with Donovan looking over his shoulder to see as well. Jack mumbles a little as he flips through the pages until landing on the page about mandrakes. Sitting down, he quickly reads through it before slowing down as he reaches the list of the banned mandrakes. He quickly reads through their descriptions, none of them truly standing out until he reaches the Sicilian Mandrake, which causes Donovan to snatch the record from Jack in worry. Reading it over, he mutters under his breath and, after handing it back to a slightly miffed Jack, says he knows how Colim died.
Jack looks back at Donovan, surprised, and asks him what he means. Taking a deep breath, Donovan explains that the roots of the Sicilian Mandrake are used to make Alcaria, a deadly poison that is nigh untraceable save for the fact that it makes the corpse seem like it died earlier than it actually did. Realizing what this implies, Jack pauses in thought before slowly shaking his head, saying that they don't have much evidence supporting that. Donovan retorts that Malocolm's kid mentioned that Malocolm had complained about some flowers had gone missing along with the wheelbarrow, exclaiming that those flowers must be Sicilian Mandrakes. Jack exhales deeply before running his hand over his face in tired frustration, stating that if Donovan is right about this, it'd mean after all the work and investigating they've done, they're now on the brink of returning right back to square one. Donovan, looking at Jack, quickly scoots over and pats him on the shoulder, assuring him that they'll find a way through this; they usually do, anyways. Jack chuckles as he turns to Donovan and says that he needs to work on his motivational speeches, to which Donovan grips his chest in faux offense and retorts that Jack didn't mind his pep talks before. They chuckle at Donovan's antics a little, most of their frustration and stress having washed away.
The two then begin to throw out theories and ideas on who murdered Colim and how they did it. Donovan suggests that Malocolm did it, both because he had a solid motive to do it and because many of the clues point to him being the culprit, while Jack theorizes that Big Red did it instead, given how much he seemingly loathes the Pernell brothers and his both very aggressive and suspicious behavior towards them investigating Colim's murder. Niall is then brought up by Jack, with Donovan about to speak up only to falter and trail off in awkward silence. After a few more seconds of this awkward silence, Donovan remarks, "Besides knowing he's a thief, we don't really have all that much on Niall, do we?" Jack nods slightly and, fidgeting a little, states that they should probably remedy this, Donovan quietly replying that they probably should. The two then get up out of their seats, with Jack returning the record back in its place before leaving with Donovan.
We then cut to the two as they're being forcibly removed by several guards from the premises of some O'Riely clan grounds, a small ranch on the outskirts of Auldport, the scene reminiscent of them being escorted out of Liam's house. Donovan vehemently protests being manhandled like this, and Jack tries to reason with them but to no avail, as the two are tossed out the front gate. An enraged, old female leprechaun, Niall's mother, follows shortly after and furiously yells at them to never again show their faces in O'Riely lands so long as they live. Jack, dusting himself off, tells her that they just need to ask Niall some questions, to which Niall's mother subsequently stomps on Jack's foot hard. As Jack tries his best to wave off the pain, Niall's mother tells him that she will not have her son slandered as a coward, thief, or murderer. She then stomps off, along with the O'Riely guards.
Donovan, punching the inside of his hat before putting it back on, sighs and remarks that that could have gone better. The two walk off as Jack replies in a deadpan matter that that was rather obvious. He then says that now that Niall is in hiding due to being spooked by Melodia's men trying to murder him, as well as the fact that they've made enemies of the O'Rielys for even insinuating that Niall could be a criminal, they don't have many more options at this point. Donovan nods before turning suddenly, having caught something in the corner of his eye. Tapping Jack's arm, he points at a lanky spriggan crouched behind a low stone wall and asks, "Is it just me, or does that Spriggan look mighty familiar?" As Jack turns to look as well, the spriggan notices them and quickly ducks under the wall, crawling away with his hunched back visible above the wall.
Jack and Donovan stare incredulously at the fleeing spriggan for a few seconds before Jack slowly turns to Donovan and says, "...He does bear a resemblance to the one whose groin you smashed inward, yes." Donovan chuckles at that before asking if Jack thinks that the spriggan's here to keep an eye on Niall and see if the poor bastard slips up somewhere. Jack says that this likely is the case as the two continue to walk, before Donovan pauses suddenly, the gears in his head turning. Jack turns back to Donovan, whose face has lit up with inspiration, and asks if he has thought of something. Donovan, grinning widely, responds that he knows exactly where they can find a new lead: Melodia.
"Niall sold his stolen goods to Melodia and Melodia alone," Donovan eagerly explains, "so she's bound to have some information on the guy. And that's not to mention that she's also one of our best suspects at the moment. She's the only one of our suspects who doesn't have an alibi whether or not Colim died from mandrake poison, she had a solid enough motive to murder him, and she's the only one who didn't bother denying if she killed him! Granted, we never did ask if she killed him, but she's still the best suspect to question first. If we find out she murdered him, we found our killer. If she's not, we're at least one suspect closer to solving the case."
The gears begin to turn in Jack's head as well as he nods and says that it's a good plan, before mentioning it might be a bit hard to get her to talk with them after they made her gang look like idiots, though. Donovan waves off Jack's concern and quips that they already looked like idiots, even to Melodia. In a more serious tone, though, Donovan adds that Melodia seems reasonable enough that if they offer her some payment, she'll probably hear them out. Jack thinks about it for a few seconds before nodding and giving Jack a grin, saying that it's worth a shot, causing Donovan to grin back. Jack then rushes to an approaching carriage and hails it, Donovan right behind him. They quickly get in, and the driver signals the horses forward.
We then cut to the side of the carriage as it's stopped near, with some talking and a jingle of coins heard off screen. The carriage then pulls away to reveal Jack and Donovan behind it, Donovan gesticulating as he tries to recite what they will potentially say and ask during the meeting with Melodia. As the two then walk to the warehouse they were held captive in, Jack politely tells Donovan to calm down, assuring him that everything's going to be fine so long as they remain cool and calm. Donovan, inhaling deeply before exhaling, briefly nods as they reach the door of the warehouse.
Jack then knocks on the door the same way Melodia did before stepping back and waiting patiently, Donovan standing beside him. After a few seconds, the door slowly opens as a tall, bearded troll with scars on his face peeks his head out the door. The troll's eyes widen when he sees the two, but before he can close the door or do anything rash, Donovan rushes forward and drops a coin into the troll's hand. Having caught the attention of the troll, Donovan flashes a disarming grin and tells the troll that he and Jack just want to arrange a talk with Melodia. The troll is initially skeptical, but when Donovan nonchalantly drops two more into his hand, he grins back, nods, and opens the door for them. The troll then calls out to one of his fellow goons to go grab the boss as Jack and Donovan enter the warehouse.
We then cut to the two as they wait for Melodia to arrive, with Donovan leisurely leaning against a wall and Jack carefully looking over his notes. The goons in the warehouse in turn stare at and gossip about the two detectives, some in curiosity and others in contempt. The troll who opened the door, though, is curious enough to ask Donovan if it's true that he blinded McGuffrey with a broken beer bottle. Initially confused, Donovan's eyes slightly widen with realization, and he asks the troll if he means that bugbear with an eyepatch. "Because if so," Donovan says, "he honestly had it coming." Instead of reacting negatively, though, the troll guffaws and remarks that Donovan has the right of it. He then turns to the other goons, some of which are incredulously glaring at him, shrugs nonchalantly, and asks them if he's wrong. "McGuffrey was an arrogant arse with an insufferable smirk," he states in a deadpan manner, "so you can't tell me he didn't deserve the embarrassment he got." Receiving some reluctant so-and-so looks and gestures from the other henchmen, he simply rolls his eyes and turns back to Donovan, telling him not to worry about the others. Donovan snorts good-naturedly and remarks that he already had that part covered, before offering his hand to the troll and introducing himself. The troll takes Donovan's hand and heartily shakes it before introducing himself as Eric.
After they shake hands, knocking can be heard from the warehouse door. Eric sighs and approaches the door, opening it a smidge to see who's outside. He immediately pushes it wide open before stepping back and genuflecting as Melodia walks in with a small entourage of guards. Every goon hastens to make themself look respectable as Melodia scours the room before looking directly at Jack and Donovan, who are now standing up straight and facing her. Placing her hands on her hips and frowning, she tells the two that they're either very foolish or very courageous showing up here after what they did. Donovan nods at that before remarking that they could perhaps be both. Melodia smirks at him and says that she feels the same way. She then ahem's into her fist, prompting her goons to quickly set up a table and three chairs in the middle of the room.
Confidently striding over to a chair before sitting down, Melodia gestures for Jack and Donovan to sit down as well, which they promptly do. Leaning on the table and setting her chin on her hands, she coyly smiles and asks them what she can do for them. Jack simply reaches into his coat and pulls out a pouch of coins, emptying the coins onto the table. Melodia stares at the coins, greed subtly glinting in her eyes, before looking back up at Jack and quirking an eyebrow in unhidden interest. Jack states that they are willing to pay a good sum in exchange for her answering some questions they have. Jack then pushes the coins over to Melodia, who eagerly starts to count them one by one. Once she finishes, counting twenty-four coins in total, she looks up and states that this will purchase them six questions in total. Jack and Donovan grimace slightly, but they nod in reluctant agreement as Melodia eagerly gathers the coins together and hands them over to one of her guards, who places them in a large pouch of coins.
Jack pulls out his notebook and pencil and asks his first question: "Do you have any information on Niall O'Riely?" Melodia snorts and remarks that they should be glad that she isn't a fae; she'd chew them up for dinner otherwise. She then drags her finger over the table in a circle before stating that besides basic information and facts on Niall, she doesn't know all that much about the coward. Jack presses her on the matter and says that she surely would have looked into Niall. Melodia playfully shrugs and says that she didn't need to; the knowledge that Niall was a thief was already more than enough blackmail on him.
Jack sighs but writes it down as he moves on to his second question: "How exactly did Niall O'Riely first come to sell his goods to you?" Melodia hums playfully and says it's a very good question. She explains that one of her associates had introduced Niall to her after he'd caught the scion as he was sneaking away with his pilfered properties. Jack stops writing suddenly and looks up, the gears in his head turning. He then asks Melodia if she would be able to name this associate, to which she tsk's and glibly asks in reply if Jack is sure that he wants that to be his third question. After a few seconds of tense silence, Jack nods his head in confirmation, and Melodia, smirking, reveals that the associate was Colim Pernell, who'd been the one Niall usually met to exchange his stolen goods before his untimely death.
Jack exchanges a look with Donovan, nodding as he writes down what Melodia said. He then pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before turning back to Melodia and asking his fourth question: "Were you the one who killed or ordered the killing of Colim Pernell?" Melodia pauses and stares at Jack and Donovan with interest as the guards are put on edge by the question, staring suspiciously at the two. Melodia waves them off, though, as she slowly begins to grin like a cheshire cat. Tilting her head faux-innocently, Melodia states that she understands why they would think she murdered poor, old Colim, and she also understands that intelligent men like them wouldn't truly accept a simple "no" as a valid answer. As such, if they were willing to pay the small price of using two more questions, Melodia is confident they'd be able to find her alibi. "Provided you're smart enough to ask the right questions." She smugly adds. Jack pauses before stating that he and Donovan need a moment to privately discuss this, to which Melodia purses her lips before slowly responding that they can. Jack and Donovan huddle together and whisper inaudibly, Donovan's muttering a little louder than Jack's. After a few tense seconds, the two reach a consensus and Jack slowly turns back to Melodia. Looking her in the eye, he subtly nods and says that they are willing to pay that price.
Clapping her hands once in subdued glee, Melodia states that she will start with the fact that she has no reasonable motive to murder. A confused Donovan interjects that she does indeed have a motive in the form of Colim owing her a hefty debt. Melodia quickly holds up a hand and cheekily replies, "Precisely the opposite, MacCool. My supposed motive for murdering Colim was actually a motive to not murder him." Melodia then explains that if she killed a man for simply owing her a debt, she would have both a dead body to deal with and an unpaid debt that she would have to find payment for somewhere else. "Were I a lesser criminal," Melodia smugly remarks, "your assessment of me would be correct. I am much more than that, though." She then continues by explaining that while she is one of the major crime lords in Auldport, if she had the ability to just murder the spare heir of a major clan, then she could've just threatened Graudy for money a long time ago.
Jack and Donovan turn to each other briefly, and Jack nods as he finishes writing that down. Smugly smiling, Melodia playfully mentions that the two only have one more question left, so they'll need to think much harder on this one. Jack and Donovan pause in thought, with Jack running his hand over his face ad Donovan leaning back and staring at the ceiling. A few tense seconds, which seemingly stretch for hours, pass by until Jack leans over and asks his sixth question: "When and where did you last see Colim alive?"
Pursing her lips, Melodia asks Jack if he's sure that's the last question he wants to ask, to which Jack says it is. We cut to a close-up of Melodia's face, who leans over and coyly tells Jack that he can't take this back. We then cut to a close-up of Jack's face, who also leans forward and confidently says that he is absolutely certain of his decision. Cutting back to Melodia's face, she stays silent for a few seconds before smiling playfully. She then states, enunciating every word for dramatic effect, that she last saw Colim on the evening of the first of March, just a few hours before his untimely demise. Jack and Donovan lean closer, their attention solely focused on Melodia, with Jack's eyes slowly widening with excitement. Melodia then pauses, tapping her finger on her cheek as she verbally tries to remember what she saw Colim doing. After a brief moment of silence, she then aha's, daintily pointing her finger up at the air, and states that she remembers seeing him walking over to the pookas' house next door.
The pieces begin to connect in Jack's head as his face begin to fill with a look of inspired realization. Turning to Jack with a coy expression, she asks if her information is satisfactory to what Jack needs, to which Jack says that it is that and more. Jack and Donovan then stand up, with Jack stretching his hand toward Melodia and saying that it's been an experience doing business with her. Melodia clasps Jack's hand into her own and remarks that it's been a pleasure for her. "If only the city guards were more like you two," she states, seemingly genuine, "Then perhaps I wouldn't mind them spoiling my fun so much." Jack and Donovan respectuflly genuflect to Melodia before walking to the door, where Eric is waiting. Once Melodia nods at him, Eric opens the door for the two and wishes them a good day, Donovan wishing him one as well as they leave. As the two then walk to the pookas' house, Donovan asks Jack if he thinks the pookas did Colim in, to which Jack remarks that while he's not so sure about that part, he does know that they had a key part to play in this conspiracy.
