As they went on, Toshiko saw even more maids rushing about to clean or simply look things over. How did the Daidouji family afford to pay so many of them?

"Tomoko-sama is through this door," said the trembling maid, one hand on the golden handle of a red door. She turned it... and within, there was a woman. She sat on a red velvet armchair facing the door, in a room with a great deal of bookshelves about. It was easy enough to guess that this was a library. Tomoko appeared to be about five years older then Toshiko, wearing a fine blue dress. Her hair was long and black, her eyes green, and her features slight and fair.

The book she was reading was black, with no apparent cover. Tomoko looked up from her book when she heard them entering.

"Th-the detectives, Tomoko-sama..." said the still-shaking maid.

"Ah, hello, Ando-san," said Tomoko, her voice pleasant, "You can go, now, Inokuma-san."

The shy maid, apparently Inokuma, hurried off. Tomoko's focus returned to Toshiko and the others. "So... is this your [i]apprentice[/i], Ando-san?"

Toshiko nodded. "This is Miura Ryuuko. We're going to need to ask you some questions before we can proceed with the investigation."

"Ask away," replied Tomoko with a sigh, "I'll tell you everything I can, though I still can't begin to understand what happened. Still, that's no reason to behave poorly."

While the woman's voice was pleasant, Toshiko could tell she was struggling to keep up her collected facade. Her hands were shaking ever so slightly. She clearly didn't want to show how panicked she was when attempting to explain what was going on.