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[color=skyblue]Location[/color]: Château de La Lune: Solarium
[color=skyblue]Skills[/color]: N/A
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Entering the mezzanine above the ballroom, Tony sees that Elenore is down there, sorting through decorations and placing them at bar tables around the room. She’s engrossed in the work and doesn’t give Tony more than a passing glance as he passes through the room. Getting ready for the ball tonight, if he had to guess. He makes his way down the stairs, then passes through the large doors that lead to the solarium. Inside, he sees a young woman pacing back and forth, seeming upset. She stops and looks up at him with a hopeful expression, which dies as soon as she recognizes him. She’s one of the younger La Lunes; Jeanne, if memory serves him correctly. He was hoping that nobody would be in here, but oh well. [color=skyblue]”Oh, I didn’t think anyone would be here… are you okay?”[/color]

Jeanne shifts from one foot to the other. “I’m alright. I just was hoping you’d be Miguel. Have you seen him?” The young woman chews on her lip, the hope building back up.

Miguel? That was the nominee that left dinner early. Now that she mentions it, Tony realizes that he hasn’t seen him since then. How had he not noticed this? A troubled look forms on his face. [color=skyblue]”No, I haven’t… I didn’t realize until now, with everything that’s been going on, but I haven’t seen him since dinner… not in the foyer, not at breakfast. Have you looked anywhere for him?”[/color]

“I checked his room, and the basement, which he said he was going to check out. I’ve also checked all the other public areas like the library and the bar. I even went to the pool.” The hope died in her eyes again. “Do you think he left the island? I don’t even know how he’d do that.” She spoke quickly and irritated, not necessarily at Tony, but at the situation.

First Renee being dead, now Miguel being missing… things just seemed to keep getting worse. [color=skyblue]”Unless I’m misinformed, there’s only one boat and it’s being used to get help from the mainland. He’d have to be insane to try swimming that distance, [i]especially[/i] in that storm, so I don’t see how he could’ve left…”[/color] Tony tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, but he was falling short. [color=skyblue]”Surely he [i]must[/i] be here somewhere. But why on earth would he be missing for this long? I don’t understand… Have you told anyone else about this?”[/color] he asked. He was trying not to jump straight to the grim possibilities, but he couldn’t see any alternative.

“No, I haven’t. I mean I was popping into rooms and stuff and I asked a few family members if they had seen him. No one has seen him since dinner though. We were supposed to meet up. We were going to go ghost hunting but he never showed up. Last night I figured it was because his stomach was bothering him, then this morning he still didn’t show up.” Her exasperation was becoming panic.

This latest situation was yet another puzzle for Tony. Everyone is apparently claiming to have not seen Miguel since dinner. Either that’s true, or someone’s lying. If it’s true, what reason would he possibly have for disappearing? The only possibilities that seemed plausible to him were grim. But if someone [i]is[/i] lying… those possibilities were even grimmer. The one positive aspect of this news is that Jeanne seems genuinely scared for his wellbeing. It’s not [i]impossible[/i] that she’s lying, but if she is then she’s one of the best actors he’s ever seen. Besides, that would just be way too needlessly elaborate of a scheme, and for what purpose? No, surely not. Which means that whatever is going on around here, Jeanne is [i]not[/i] involved, and [i]might[/i] even be able to help with unraveling these mysteries. That warranted further consideration.

Tony blinked, then realized that he should probably stop silently contemplating. [color=skyblue]”I’ll ask the others if any of them have seen him, and if I find anything out I’ll let you know. If you find anything else, let me know; I’m sure we’d all like to help make sure he’s safe. One tragedy this weekend is already too many.”[/color]

Jeanne nodded. “Yeah, I will. Thank you.” She shifted, “Renee...” she trailed off. “Renee seemed nice. Whatever happened to her is messed up. It’s like grandpa.”

Tony started to nod in agreement, then paused in realization of what she just said. [color=skyblue]”...What do you mean, ‘like grandpa’?”[/color]

“Vorace. Technically he is like my great grandfather. But he died by falling down the stairs.”

Tony wasn’t sure what to make of this latest development. He wouldn’t exactly be the first old man to have a bad fall down a flight of stairs, and two is not enough for a pattern… but what if? Jeanne has given him a lot to think about. [color=skyblue]”Some dangerous stairs,”[/color] he commented dryly. [color=skyblue]”In any case, I’ll go ask around. Let me know,”[/color] he reminded, then turned to leave. Realizing he had been too distracted to do the one thing he came here for, he glanced outside. Better than last night, but still not great for an outdoors meeting. Great. At the door, he paused. After a moment, he looked back over his shoulder at Jeanne. [color=skyblue]”Be careful,”[/color] he warned quietly.

“You too.” Jeanne went back to her pacing.

Tony nodded, then left. Heading back upstairs, Tony tried to figure out what the hell to do now with everything he’d just learned.