Redstone: Sanctuaries
Chapter 5: Intro

At first Edwin knocked on Mary's bedroom door once and waited, but there was no answer. Not even the second knock was responded to. On the third polite tap, Jose exclaimed from within, telling him to come in.

Jose and Maria were still sitting side by side behind their tiny dining table on a fur carpet. The two smiled amiably, even so their faces were a bit irritated.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, sir, Madam." Edwin bowed deeply and only dared to raise his face after being welcomed. "There are guests who want to see the Master."

If the one who came was an ordinary person, Edwin could not possibly interfere with his time with Maria. Jose guessed his guest this morning must have been interesting. "Not Mr. Decker, right? He shouldn't have reached Redstone."

"No sir, the one who came was Mr. Krucher."

Jose and Maria exchanged glances in the same astonishment. If Devon is coming, Jose can understand him.

"You mean Blake Krucher from Abysmal?" Maria sure.

"Yes, Madam. Mr. Blake Krucher insisted on seeing Mr. Jose. She came with Miss Lucy. He said there was something very important they wanted to ask. Would you like to meet them?"

Jose nodded. "Yes, I want to hear what the problem is. Get me a suit and get my coat ready, Ed."

Edwin agreed and immediately left the room. Jose turned to Maria with a curious face. "Why do you think they came?"

"Maybe he's upset that he almost got bullied by you, so he wants to interrupt our time." Maria raises her shoulders, tidying the furrow of her skirt. "Or they get into trouble and need your help. They might want to hurt you."

Jose smiled a little. "I tend to believe in the third possibility."

"Call Boris" said Maria seriously. His eyes looked at Jose. "Blake is not like you who care about human life. He could kill people just because he was upset."

"He's just an eighteen-year-old boy."

"The eighteen-year-old boy was the Abysmal leader" Maria reminded. "He kills as easily as winks."

"Not new." Jose ruffled the brown hair beside him fondly. "I was raised by people like that. Take it easy, Mary, I think she just wants to talk to me. Trying to hurt me in my own home is stupid. He can't be stupid to make a big gang at eighteen, can he?"

***

Despite guessing that Devon's footman must have been the marquis himself, Blake envisioned Marquis Redstone as an older, creepy, more authoritative and perlente man.

But the one who came down to see him was a completely different person. Jose looks simple. The suit is plain without dazzling jewelry. The ring on his finger was two. One is her title ring while the other is her wedding ring. The man was also very young. Blake estimated their age gap to be no more than five years.

Jose met Blake for the first time. As news circulated, the young man was wearing a black-and-black official suit as if he had just returned home from a funeral. Even the tie is as black as charcoal. The color of their eyes and hair were both black, but Blake looked even shabby, the color was like faded black. The young man's face was as cold as his smile, but his handshakes were full of confidence. Beyond a doubt, Blake Krucher was very polite.

"I'm sorry for coming without prior notice, My Lord," Blake said. His voice was cold and soft, as if whispered directly by an ice crust. "I'm forced to bother you because it has to do with someone's life."

"No problem. Sit Mr. Krucher, Miss Lucy." Jose. He himself sat in front of them. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. Tea or coffee?"

"No, thank you. Rather than tea or coffee, we'd rather meet Devon."

"You know Devon, right?" Blake didn't blink. His black eyes stared straight, demanding an answer. "Hair is chocolatier. You met him at the horse race. He misheard your name and called you Sphere."

"I'm sorry, but I've only heard that name for the first time." Jose gave a sorry smile. "So you're looking for a guy named Devon?"

"Did you catch Devon?"

Jose turned his head to hear the sharp-pitched question. "I don't know who you mean, Mr. Krucher. If you want to make a report of loss, I suggest to the police station. I can help get you a certificate to speed up the process. When did he disappear?"

"So you didn't catch Devon?"

Jose laughed inwardly at the question just now. Blake was expert enough to change the question to get the answer he wanted. Such tricks were often used by his uncle so Jose was used to them. He decided to follow the young man's pattern and answered the question, "No, Mr. Krucher. I didn't catch him."

Blake's expression did not change, but the woman by his side was at first glance astonished. Now Jose's attention moves to Lucy. The girl's face was heart-shaped, with straight brown hair tied tightly to the back of the head. From the beginning Lucy just sat quietly by Blake's side, but her hands sometimes moved in a natural gesture, like she was agitated.

These two people are quite experts, Jose thought.

"Do you know where he is now?" Blake asked again.

Jose turned back to the young man. "First," he said softly. "That's not the way to talk to an Argent."

Both Blake and Lucy suddenly goosebumps. Jose was still sitting casually before them, but his facial expression turned cold and the look in his eyes darkened. Along with that, the fear gripped Lucy as strongly as she and Blake were being targeted by danger. As if someone was going to kill them.

Lucy rolled her eyes around in a frenzy, but she did not see anyone else in the room.

"Second," continued Jose calmly as if unaware of the change in expression of his two guests. "How do you do it, Miss Lucy?"

Both Blake and Lucy looked at each other questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Lucy finally spoke up. His voice is low alto.

Jose pointed at Lucy's fingers piled up on the girl's lap. "You read my mind, right?" tanyakanya. "Ah, no. To be more precise, you can guess whether what I said was honest or a lie. You made your gesture imperceptible, but I saw you sign Mr. Krucher every time I finish answering. That's why he's just asking the kind of question whose answer is 'yes' or 'no', right? It's easier to figure out the truth from a simple question with two choices of answers."

Lucy felt her back as if it was being electrocuted by cold. He gulped, desperately trying to keep his expression calm.

"What are you talking about, sir?" Blake nodded with a laugh. Even so, his face was completely flat. "Where can people read minds?"

"I can." Jose's eyes flashed sharply. "Your friend Devon is missing. You concluded that I kidnapped her, but you have no evidence. Since Miss Lucy can read whether someone is lying or not, then Mr. Krucher took him along this morning to see if I really kidnapped Devon or not. The next step will be considered according to the results of our meeting this morning whether or not I hold him."

Lucy gaped in shock while Blake squinted with skepticism. "It's not mind reading, it's guessing."

"I'd rather call it guessing, guessing sounds more careless. My next guess is that right now you're involved in something dangerous" Jose grimaced. "Does it have anything to do with the Ghost Relic?"

***