TheMaster99

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Foyer
Skills: N/A

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Almost as soon as Tony arrived, Constance greeted him with a smile and walked over to stand next to him. A small gesture, all things considered, but he appreciated it nonetheless. Perhaps the rest of this group could be trusted, eventually - more than any staff, at least, and far more than any La Lunes - but they were a matter of necessity, a means to an end. Constance was the only one he was truly prepared to trust. He offered her a small smile in return, and took her raised arm with his own.

Tony started to walk towards the door, then stopped and turned as Felix showed up. He suppressed a sigh; now anyone that might care would almost certainly know that all the nominees were gathering outside, in the middle of a storm that few would consider normal for a casual stroll. But realistically, it was never likely to stay a secret. At least he wasn't stopping them. Before any further complications could show up, Tony grabbed an umbrella for them to share and followed the others in heading outside. Once they were through the door, he opened the umbrella and held it between them, making sure Constance was more protected from the rain than he was.

Now that they were outside, he started dropping some of the pretense. "Let's find somewhere that no one can creep up on us, or hear us without us knowing. Then we can talk." Sam seemed to start leading in a direction, so Tony shrugged and followed. Where didn't matter, as long as it was private.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Upstairs -> Foyer
Skills: N/A

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After a few moments of waiting, the door opened. It was Millicent, wearing a perfectly neutral expression on her face. Based on their previous interactions, he doubted that was a good thing. Oh well. Since he was already much later than he wanted to be, he didn't mind making this brief.

"We're all going out for some fresh air, maybe exploring the grounds a bit," he explained without preamble, expecting that she would understand the implication well enough. "We're late, but I wanted to make sure you knew. Everyone else is probably already outside, or about to be. Your choice, but like I said we're already late."

Without further ado, Tony walked away towards the foyer, not waiting to see if she was coming or not. He was already much later than he would've ever wanted to be, and he wasn't going to be any later on her account.

As he came downstairs, he could see that everyone else seemed to be present, getting ready to leave. Apparently they'd found some umbrellas; he wasn't sure how well they'd hold up in the weather, but they certainly wouldn't hurt. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I didn't think any of us had been able to talk to Millicent, and I wanted to make sure she knew. Is everyone else ready?"

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Upstairs
Skills: N/A

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Walking back to his room, Tony checked his watch again. 12:00. Lovely, he grumbled internally. This whole meeting was my idea, and now I’m late. Oh well, it couldn’t be helped, and at least the things he had learned from Jeanne were probably worth the delay. From the brief bit he had seen while in the solarium, the weather outside still wasn’t amazing. It wasn’t quite terrible either, though, and although he wasn’t sure how the others felt, he would be willing to deal with it. It would hardly be the worst setting for a secretive meeting he’s had.

Returning to his room, he went to his luggage and quickly scanned through what he’d brought on this trip. Most of it was formal wear, but as it turned out he had managed to squeeze one navy sweatshirt in. It would have to do for this excursion. He double checked his appearance in a mirror briefly, then left his room.

He started walking down the hall - hopefully everyone was already outside or about to be - when he remembered. He still hadn’t run into Millicent, and he didn’t know if anyone had, so she still didn’t know about the meeting that they were now late for. Maybe she’s in her room? But then he realized another thing: he had absolutely no idea which room was hers. Fuck. Well, he did know which room belonged to Constance, and that her bathroom-mate had been Renee. That narrowed it down at least a little bit. So, feeling a bit stupid for not paying more attention to the room assignments before, he started knocking on each unknown door, waiting a few moments to see if anyone responded, then moving on to the next, and so on.

Three doors later, and no luck yet. As he turned to head to the next door, he saw the person he believed was Ivanna walking away at the end of the hall, seemingly heading towards the foyer. Somehow, he hadn’t even noticed which room they’d come from. Stupid, he chastised himself. Paying that little attention, anyone could sneak up on you and do whatever they wanted. He should’ve been much better than that. He had to be. Shaking his head at his own carelessness, he moved on to the next door - the Turkish Rose room, it said - and knocked.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Solarium
Skills: 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. ”Oh, I didn’t think anyone would be here… are you okay?”

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. ”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?”

“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. ”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, especially in that storm, so I don’t see how he could’ve left…” Tony tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, but he was falling short. ”Surely he must 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?” 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 is 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 impossible 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 not involved, and might even be able to help with unraveling these mysteries. That warranted further consideration.

Tony blinked, then realized that he should probably stop silently contemplating. ”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.”

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. ”...What do you mean, ‘like grandpa’?”

“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. ”Some dangerous stairs,” he commented dryly. ”In any case, I’ll go ask around. Let me know,” 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. ”Be careful,” 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.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lavender Room
Skills: N/A

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The next step in Tony's very loosely formed plan was a meeting with all of the nominees together at the same time. There was some risk of the La Lunes noticing and catching onto what was happening, but he believed it would be worth the risk, at least to do it once. A lot of the guests didn't seem likely to be as proficient at discussing secrets in such a way that wouldn't attract suspicion from any eavesdroppers. Not enough to plan out the things they needed to plan, anyway. Frankly, Tony wasn't certain if even he could be discreet enough for that. He's been around plenty of people that could effortlessly have entire conversations that sounded completely different to everyone else that didn't know all the codewords and such, but Tony never really had the need to be that good at it. Not until now. So despite the attention it might bring, one meeting where they could all speak openly would be worthwhile.

Sitting at the desk in his room, Tony checked his watch. It was just past 11 am; there was still an hour until the meeting. And there was still plenty to do in the meantime. He'd made clear that he thought the meeting should happen outside if possible - standing in an open area was the only way to be certain they were not overheard, even if it would also look the most suspicious - but he had to admit, begrudgingly, that if the weather was still as bad as it sounded, gathering in the middle of the pouring rain might well be too suspicious. Constance's proposed alternatives, while certainly far from ideal, were decent. The patio would be a perfectly normal place for them to be, and the museum would make sense too - it would be only natural for the nominees to want to explore and learn more about their hosts. The only issue was that there was every chance that any conversation in either place would be overheard. Or if too many of their guests were heading to the museum, the La Lunes may very well decide that the group should have a tour guide, which would effectively kill the meeting before it even started. But if there was to be anywhere safe enough, those were decent candidates.

Glancing at his watch again, Tony decided to go see for himself how the conditions outside were. If outside wasn't going to be an option, they would need to decide which alternative spot they were using, sooner rather than later. With that in mind, Tony headed out through the hallway, towards the ballroom stairs.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lounge -> Lavender Room
Skills: N/A

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After pouring his second cup of coffee, Tony looked around the room. He saw that besides Constance and himself, the other people still in the room were Sam, the pilot, and the other dancer. He was about to go tell them about the noon meeting they were planning, but as he was considering what to say he saw Constance head over to them, speak for a moment, then leave to her room. Well, I guess she beat me to it, then, he thought. Well, now what? Millicent and Ivanna had gone off somewhere, they would be the only ones left that didn't know about the meeting. They'd need to be told at some point, but Tony seriously doubted that Millicent would welcome him trying to track them down right after they left, considering she seemed to barely tolerate his presence when he talked to them earlier. They'll have to find out later, then.

But then Tony finally remembered that he was forgetting someone. There was another man at dinner last night, wasn't there? ...Yes, the guy that broke Lawrence's nose the first time, then disappeared for the rest of the night. Now that Tony thought of it, he realized he hadn't seen him ever since he left halfway through dinner. Strange. Surely he's not... no, that's crazy. Maybe he's just sick. For a brief moment he considered going to check on the man, before ruling it out. I'm a surgeon, not a general practitioner. If he's sick there's little I could tell him that he wouldn't already know. Besides, this was supposed to be a vacation. A vacation where a woman was killed, everyone is being blackmailed, and the hosts are probably spying on us...

In the short term, there was nothing Tony could do about those first two items, and currently there was no one he could inform about their planned meeting. So he decided to try to tackle the last item instead, picking up his coffee and heading to his room. If he could find any cameras or microphones or anything of the sort in his room, that would be significant. Not only would it prove he was right to be worried about it, but it would help him gain everyone else's trust, too; if he found anything in his room, surely they'd be able to find similar devices in the same places in their rooms. Furthermore, it would mean he could make at least his own room safe for discussing their plans... assuming he found everything, anyway.

Walking through the door to his room, he closed and locked the door behind him, set his coffee on the desk, and got to work. He looked around for a good while, and at least in his own opinion he was pretty thorough. He'd seen people searching for wires before, and although he'd never done it himself he did have some idea as to what he was doing. However, those people had used an RF detector to help with the search, and Tony had nothing of the sort. If there was something hidden in his room - which Tony still suspected was likely - they were probably laughing at him as they watched his fruitless search unfold. Eventually he gave up, having found nothing. It wasn't proof that there wasn't something there, necessarily, but if there was they were probably very well hidden.

Tony could only hope that their investigation into who was blackmailing everyone - and why - would have more success.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lounge
Skills: N/A

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Tony’s conversation with Millicent and Ivanna had gone about as well as could be expected. Millicent still seemed very cagey with him, but Ivanna had provided all the information he needed. Ivanna was also being blackmailed, and if she and Constance both were in the same boat then surely everyone else must be, too. Millicent wouldn’t admit it, but she didn’t deny it when he suggested that they all were in the same position, either. Honestly, he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to tell him about it. He sure as hell didn’t want to tell anyone either, but the situation was quickly becoming too dangerous to value full privacy over securing allies. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, the fact that he has a secret is not too threatening to reveal. He sure as hell won’t tell anyone more than that, but they have no reason to need to know more, either.

Perhaps almost more significantly, there was no going back now. Tony told them his suspicions about Renee’s death, and there is no way to put that cat back in the bag. He’d defied the warning he was given, and if he was not extremely careful, that could have grave consequences. Now he had to pray that Millicent and Ivanna would take his warning about caution seriously. If either of them had loose lips, it could be his undoing even if he doesn’t step one foot out of line himself. …But, he realized, they don’t know that. Would they be as cautious as they need to be, not knowing he’d been contacted? That should probably be rectified… but it would have to be somewhere he’s certain no one else can possibly overhear.

Tony was jolted out of his thoughts by Constance sitting down next to him. He returned her smile. ”Of course I don’t mind,” he replied, then took a sip of his coffee, which was now starting to cool. ”We’re not alone,” he added, with a pointed look. It was both a straight-to-the-point report of what he’d learned, and a reminder that they shouldn’t speak openly; but to anyone else listening it might seem like no more than a statement of fact.

Constance nodded as Tony said they were not alone. She knew that the staff were probably not on their side, even if they were innocent in all this in the grand scheme of things. She sat up in her chair, not giving up the illusion for a moment. ”Mhm… but well, it seems that Sam also got a very informative welcome packet as well. Quite possibly all of us did.” Constance hoped that he would get the meaning, and that to any onlookers that weren’t in the know it would sound innocent.

Tony nodded at that. It confirmed their theory even more. He, Constance, Sam, and Ivanna had all definitely been blackmailed, and Millicent hadn’t denied it either. That left only a few people they weren’t sure of, but at this point it was a near certainty. The news that all of their peers could be trusted now, at least to a certain extent, was most welcome. But now what? They hadn’t planned this far yet. Somehow he - with their allies’ help - needed to confirm who exactly knew the details of the blackmail, and where those details might be secured. They’d probably need to figure out who killed Renee, too - assuming someone had - if for no other reason than to ensure they avoided a similar fate. Tony was confident that everyone would be on board with the latter goal, and they probably would be for the former as well, especially once they’re all convinced that the two issues are related. Of course, his end goal would have to be kept to himself, but he can figure that part out when the time comes.

Still, they needed a plan. Ideally everyone would be able to discuss it, but it would be incredibly difficult to find anywhere that many people could meet without the risk of them being caught by some recording device - a risk Tony was very hesitant to take. ”I don’t know about you, but I think some fresh air would be very refreshing for all of us, if the weather isn’t too bad. This place may be huge, but too much time cooped up inside can still be a bad thing,” he suggested. If everyone happened to go for a stroll of the grounds, and just ‘coincidentally’ stumbled into each other, they all might have a chance to talk without any eavesdroppers.

”Mmm I do hope that there will be enough umbrellas, but we could also try to see if they might be open to opening the museum up. I doubt they want the guests going too stir crazy, not in this situation.” Constance remembered on the map that the museum was marked as being closed, so maybe that meant that no one had done or left anything in there. She understood why Tony was suggesting outside, even in the weather. There was no way anyone could leave any kind of recording device outside, and with the weather the way it was, it would pick up mostly the rain and wind. However, she wasn’t sure that any of them wanted to risk their health. ”Though maybe also the patio might be a nice place to go.”

”Hmm…” he trailed off, considering it. If they really wanted to, there was no reason they couldn’t bug the museum, or the patio, or even the garden for that matter. But did he need to be that paranoid? I guess the better question is, are they that paranoid, he mused to himself. Maybe Tony was overthinking it too much, even if he’s had plenty of reasons to do so in the past. ”That will probably be good enough, if the weather won’t suit a walk,” he eventually agreed. ”At noon, maybe?”

Constance understood why he was being so hesitant. Everyone had a secret they didn’t want to get out, something worth being blackmailed over. Someone had already died because of that, or so was Constance’s theory. Maybe they were over thinking the idea of the whole house being bugged, but given the circumstances, who could blame them. ”Noon sounds perfect. A bit of time to let breakfast digest and maybe I can finally get my work out in. I will just have to find somewhere to do so.”

Tony nodded, and ate the last bite of his crepes. ”Noon it is, then. And if you insist, just… be careful,” he replied. He didn’t love the idea of her going off somewhere alone, after what happened to Renee, but hopefully he was just being overly paranoid.

Constance’s expression softened at that and she reached over and put her hand over his and squeezed softly. ”I’ll probably do something in my room, or somewhere where others are. Unless you want to join me.” She spoke softly, so that only he could hear her.

Tony smiled softly at her reassuring touch. ”As tempting as that is, I thought I would be no help for that kind of workout?” he teased. ”But no, I should probably spread the word about the benefits of fresh air. Doctor’s orders,” he added with exaggerated professionalism.

Constance blushed and giggled at that. ”Touche… I do need an actual work out. I’ll do my work out in my room then, and meet you outside at noon. Doctor’s orders after all.” She offered him a small smile as she pulled her hand back and then took another sip to finish off her coffee.

Tony returned her smile, then finished his own coffee. ”I’ll let you get on with your workout, then,” he said, standing up. But as he picked up his now-empty plate and cup, he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. ”Don’t tire yourself out too much, we have a long night of dancing and working out ahead of us.” Without lingering further, he went to the serving table for a refill of his coffee then began scanning the room, deciding who to tell about the meeting plans first.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lounge
Skills: N/A

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Finally exiting from his room into the lounge, Tony scanned the room. At one table he saw Constance talking to Sam, and at another he saw the interrogative magician - probably a consequence of his drinking last night, he did not recall her name; M-something? - talking to a man that didn't look familiar. He didn't seem to be family or staff, though. The drag queen, maybe. Besides those two pairings, the only other people that seemed to be present were the couple staff that attended to their breakfast. Where are the rest of the nominees? he wondered. There had certainly been more than this. Maybe they're all still getting ready after the unexpected start to the morning they'd all had?

Heading first to where the staff had laid out their breakfast, Tony poured himself a cup of coffee then requested some crepes from the chef. While he worked, Tony sipped some coffee and considered his next steps. He felt like he was back in school, navigating the politics of which table to sit at in the cafeteria. If he had no agenda, he certainly would have preferred to eat with Constance, for multiple reasons. Besides the obvious, there was the fact that his previous conversation with the magician had been more of a cagey standoff, and he didn't think he'd really spoken to the drag queen at all, yet. But he did have an agenda, so all of those reasons to choose one table were in fact reasons to choose the other. He already had Constance as an ally, and hopefully she was working on finding out if Sam was in the same predicament as them, and could be trusted. Joining their conversation would at best be unproductive, at worst could be counterproductive make him less likely to talk. It would be better to put out feelers with the other pair, and hopefully clear some of the tension between him and the magician. Furthermore, everyone else probably expected him to continue his pattern of focusing his attention on Constance, and that, too, was reason to do the opposite. There are people in this château that know far too much about him already; better to do the unexpected and keep them guessing, whenever possible.

With that decision made, once the chef was done Tony thanked him for the crepes, then approached the pair of nominees. "Hopefully I'm not intruding on your conversation?" he asked as he sat down with his breakfast.

“You can sit,” Said the man, gesturing, both his voice and his mannerisms very Ivanna.

Millicent stared at the new arrival. The good doctor had decided to join them. She wanted to speak to him anyway, but she didn’t necessarily want to do so with Brendan here. She still didn’t trust him. So she nodded her agreement and returned to her breakfast. The sooner they were done, the sooner they could talk to Felix.

Tony ate a bite of his crepes before speaking again. ”So, this morning certainly hasn’t gone how any of us expected. How are you two holding up?”

“It’s a lot to think about,” Ivanna said after a moment, looking sad. “I didn’t really know her but…it’s awful.”

”You don’t expect to wake up to someone dead. Or rather, most people don’t.” She looked at Tony now, uncertainty in her gaze. What did he want?

Tony nodded in agreement. ”Most people indeed. Come to think of it, there have been quite a few things now that most people wouldn’t expect. It makes you wonder,” he added as he took another bite, hoping he had managed the casual nonchalance he intended. How the hell do I bring this up without making it obvious?

Ivanna looked lightly confused. “You mean…this chatitino place itself or…” Ivanna looked like he knew something was being implied, just not what, glancing over to Millicent uncertainly.

Millicent glared at Tony now. He was scurrying around whatever point he was trying to make here. ”I don’t know about that so much. The family is odd, to be sure. Full of homophobes and one-percenters who likely don’t know a day’s work, but otherwise a fairly peaceful vacation. Apart from Renee, of course. Hey, you looked at her body, right? Poor thing probably fell.”

Tony sighed. Ivanna seemed confused - he had no idea what a ‘chatitino’ was - and Millicent’s glare said she was getting annoyed. Subtlety was not working well. They warned me not to talk about it at all. Do I dare to be direct with these people? He glanced around and decided no one else would hear, as long as he wasn’t too loud. He resisted the temptation to shoot a pointed look towards Ivanna, hoping this wouldn’t cause a scene. ”Maybe she did, all of her injuries would fit. But the wound on her head… it could be an accident, but I’m not convinced.”

“You--” Ivanna lowered his voice, “You mean you think like…someone pushed her?” Ivanna said, barely audible, “What wound on her head?”

”A wound to the head suggests foul play, doctor. Is that the route you’re leaning towards?” Millicent figured there was more to it, but she hadn’t expected Tony to share that information. If he was telling the truth, of course. ”That’s interesting. Who would want to hurt a preschool teacher?”

Tony nodded, continuing quietly. ”To be clear, it could be that she just hit her head on the way down. It’s possible. But… whatever it was that hit her head, it did quite a bit of damage. As for who, I don’t know, but like I said there have been a few weird things going on. People saying terrible things to guests, people acting strangely, things that don’t belong at an award ceremony. It can’t all be coincidences,” he finished before taking a sip of coffee, eyeing them warily. We’ll see if they have any idea what I mean.

Ivanna nodded slowly. “Some of the family are…not acting…good…ly, but some people are just like that, I think. What do you mean by things that don’t belong at an award ceremony? Do you mean like…” Ivanna shifted uncomfortably, looking very uncertain, “Things like…actual things, like objects? Did someone leave something in your room?” Ivanna looked hesitant.

Millicent bit her tongue. She wanted to see Tony’s reaction to what Ivanna said. She didn’t know if he was looking for information or seeing if they knew more about what’s going on. Millicent figured there had to be someone here with ill intent. She trusted Sam, Ralph, and Ivanna, but that was about as far as she wanted to put her trust.

So, Ivanna is being blackmailed, too. It must be everyone then, like we thought. Millicent was suddenly being quiet, though. Interesting. ”Something like that,” Tony agreed. ”I suspect we all probably have that in common. And what happened to Renee is probably related, so be careful who you talk to. We should all talk more later, somewhere we’re less likely to be overheard.” Tony had already said more than he would’ve liked, he would need to find somewhere safe before he would talk in more detail. Somewhere he could be sure no staff - and no recording devices - could listen. Outside, maybe, if the weather improves.

Ivanna nodded, still looking uncertain. He looked like he wanted to ask more, but stayed quiet.

Millicent still didn’t trust him, but she nodded her understanding. It seemed they all did have something in common. ”Let’s talk later then.” She left it there, clear she wanted Tony to go elsewhere for now.

Tony nodded. ”Later, then,” he echoed, then he picked up his breakfast and moved to another table by himself. Continuing his meal, he reflects on the conversation he just had.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lavender Room
Skills: N/A

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Walking out of the bathroom, Tony walks over to his luggage to decide what he'd be wearing for the day. He settles on a blue polo shirt which he matches with navy dress pants; much more casual than a suit, but still well-dressed. The pants don't seem too wrinkled, so he doesn't bother steaming them - although in truth, after the morning he's had he probably wouldn't have cared enough to do it anyways. Besides, he wanted to get started on finding allies.

Now dressed, he grabs his discarded pants from last night and takes his wallet and phone out of the pockets. Glancing at his phone, he notices that he has one unread message. Who the hell is texting me? he wonders. If he was being called into work they would have, well, called - and besides, they know he's taking a few days off, just not why. But it's not work; he has no idea who sent it. Curious, he opens it.

Text Message

Shocked, Tony reads the message again.

What the fuck?!

He reads it a third time. Swallowing, his eyes dart around the room, suddenly suspicious of being monitored. After a moment, he stares at the text again.

You know what happened. Keep quiet.

Tony had been skeptical of Renee's death being an accident, but he hadn't been certain it was murder, either. It was just a hunch, because of the blackmail and all the other strange events he'd seen. But this text proves it. Someone knows that he knows, and wants him to keep it to himself. The implied threat seems obvious: if they catch him saying the wrong thing, either he'll be dead, or at best maybe they'll reveal his secrets... in which case he might as well be dead anyway. There is no doubt that this text is related to the blackmail; it must have been one of the La Lunes that sent it, although he has no idea who.

He has no idea how they know of his suspicion, either. There are only three possibilities he can think of: Constance is involved, his conversation with Constance was overheard somehow, or they don't truly know, they only suspect he might and are covering their bases. The first option he feels comfortable immediately ruling out; not only does all his previous logic stand regarding why the blackmailer must be one of the La Lunes, but also her reaction to Renee's death seemed far too genuine to be faked. The latter would be very convenient, but of the other two options he had no way of knowing which was true. Microphones or cameras could very easily be hidden pretty much anywhere nowadays, he could look around every inch of the building and still not be guaranteed to find them.

Angry at this whole situation, Tony pulls his arm back to throw the phone at the wall in frustration, but he stops himself. He knows it wouldn't solve anything. Sighing, he sets the phone down on the bed next to him and holds his head in his hands.

What the fuck do I do now?

He considers responding to the text, but he can't come up with anything that might improve his situation. There's no chance they would give away any information, and he's in no position to negotiate. There's no way they would agree to keep his secrets to themselves in exchange for him keeping theirs - there's no way they uncovered his darkest secrets just for him to cover up a murder that hadn't even happened yet. Even if they did make such a promise, how could he ever trust it?

Tony is still determined to eliminate the threat of his blackmail, but this makes what was already an extremely difficult situation damn near impossible. If they catch him snooping around, he could be dead. If they catch him conspiring with anyone, or maybe even just think he might be, he could be dead. Yet if he complies and does nothing, the threat of his secrets being exposed remains. All roads seem to lead to the same outcome. But Tony stubbornly refuses to accept that. His mantra in life, for a long time now, has been that failure just means you haven't tried hard enough. If he tries hard enough, he will find a solution. He has to.

If he defied them, would they dare to confront him publicly? Surely their plan did not involve immediately killing everyone, or unceremoniously revealing everyone's secrets. If that was the case, they would've just done it as soon as they arrived. So maybe they wouldn't immediately stop him from defying them. If he keeps other nominees around him, maybe he would be safe, at least long enough for a better plan to be devised. But was he willing to gamble his life on that assumption?

After a few minutes of reflection, Tony makes his decision. Fuck them. I'll call their bluff. But very, VERY carefully. As soon as he'd discovered the blackmail yesterday he had known he was in grave danger, even if he spent the night trying to put it out of mind. He knew he would have to eliminate the problem, and he knew how risky that would inevitably be. He just hadn't expected the danger to come so soon. But he can handle this. He's used to deception, hiding secrets in plain sight. Playing things off as being normal. I can do this.

Tony gets up, pockets his phone, and heads to the door leading to the lounge, where breakfast awaits.

God, please don't let my poker face fail me now.

Château de La Lune

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Location: Château de La Lune: Lavender Room
Skills: N/A

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With his mind still spinning from the conversation he just had with Constance, Tony heads back to his way-too-much-lavender room. His morning up to this point has been utter chaos, but finally he has a moment of peace to try to figure out how the hell he can regain some semblance of control over this situation. Stripping out of the few clothes he was wearing, he heads into the bathroom, locks both doors, and steps into the shower. As the warm water rains down on him, Tony reviews everything he knows about the situation.

When he'd arrived at the château, there was an envelope on his desk containing receipts identifying the source of the funds used to pay for all of his education. Over the course of the evening, it had become rather clear - in Tony's opinion, at least - that all of the nominees had surprisingly little in common, considering they'd all been nominated for the same award. The first evening was, overall, far more chaotic than these sort of events had ever been in Tony's experience. Then, in the morning, one of the nominees was found dead with injuries that could be a result of drunken clumsiness, but... considering everything else that was happening, that really would be too much of a coincidence. And now he knows that Constance is being blackmailed too. For all they know, all the nominees are.

The fact that they know who had invested so much into his future certainly isn't great, but wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world; it's the why that would mean he's truly fucked. But them pointing it out in the first place certainly implies that they do know why. And if so... Tony doesn't really want to think about it much, but the reality of the situation is that there probably isn't much he wouldn't do to keep that information secret. Tony may not see an issue with the why, but most people would vehemently disagree - so every single person that knows the truth is a major liability. There's no getting around the fact that he needs to figure out who is in on this, what they know, how they found out if possible, then the problem needs to be fully - and permanently - solved. It's not a comfortable thought.

The fact that a nominee is dead seriously complicates the situation. If her death was not an accident - and Tony has a gut feeling that it wasn't - then someone here at the château - or maybe multiple people - is willing to kill. But once again, the "why" matters significantly. Was it a fit of rage? The image of Lawrence flashes in his mind. Or was it a cold, calculated decision? If the theory he'd discussed with Constance was true, she may have been blackmailed too; did the blackmail factor into her death? Did she ask too many questions, or uncover the truth of what's going on here? One reason would have a wildly different impact on how the problem could be safely investigated compared to another. For now, Tony concluded that he'd have to assume any and all of those reasons are true. So for now, the killer has an explosive temper, and/or is willing to kill to keep their secrets safe, and/or has vendettas against the people they've invited into their home.

Well, that is completely unhelpful for trying to narrow the list down. Ugh.

In the end, what he'd discussed with Constance was undoubtedly the best course of action to start with. They had to find out if for some reason they were being targeted specifically, or if all of the nominees were being blackmailed. If they were all in the same boat, the possibility of working together would be one of the only advantages he had in confronting this dangerous problem. He definitely couldn't afford to trust them too much, though - they can't find out what his true intentions are. None of them would understand. I mean, how bad of a secret could someone like Constance, a ballerina, possibly have? At the thought, Tony felt a vague sense of déjà vu, a memory somewhere on the periphery of his subconscious... but he couldn't place it.

Dismissing the thought, he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He was as clean as he was going to get; now it's time to quit stalling and start finding allies. Well... after getting dressed, anyway.