Linda Catz (28), the acclaimed mystery writer

The central staircase of the mansion was quite different from the one at the servant's quarters. That one was narrow, winding in a circle, and without ornament. The main staircase was wide and straight, leading up to a landing on the second floor, then another set of staircases left and right feeding out to the upper floor. You moved down quietly, but with some speed, hoping to avert any questions as to what you'd been doing up there. All of the other guests had also been invited at one point or another, but you had to imagine their visits with the lady of the manor were less eventful than your own.

The second floor was much more pristine and thoroughly decorated than the top floor, you noticed. This you immediately chocked up to the number of servants who could care for it, as opposed to the single maid charged with the top floor. You didn't have the prerogative to snoop around on your own just yet, but you could surmise the bedrooms were all located on this floor. Presumably, your bags had been dropped off in one of them, but whoever had been charged with doing so had already left. The hallway felt very silent, at least after the rattling of the upstairs study.

There would be time to inspect the second floor later. For now, joining the others and interviewing them directly would be the smartest move. You were still debating the right way to broach the topic when you turned for the main staircase down, only to find your time for planning cut off at its knees. In the main hall, you spotted the head butler speaking with his nose turned up in that hoity toity way of his to a blond woman, dressed in a long checkered scarf and heavy, gunsmoke gray coat. The woman was speaking in a much more animated way than the butler was.

You recognized her voice first... she'd changed so much from the old days, started wearing glasses and grown a little bit taller (though not nearly so much as you), but that degree of chatter about a mystery scenario could only be coming from your old friend, Linda Catz. She was now a celebrated author who held book signing tours and discussed movie and TV rights, but to you, she was still the same girl.

Waterbury saw you approach out of the corner of one eye, then turned his attention back to the lady. "There are no secret passages inside of the manor. I am quite certain. I've worked here all my life," he explained with a heavy sigh.

"Oh! Yes, yes, of course. But as a butler, if there are secret passages, you'd never tell me. Quite alright," she giggled. Her accent seemed just a bit different than you remembered... living in England seemed to have changed it, as she absorbed the patterns of those around her. "The mistress is quite a woman! I could feel it when I spoke to her: she definitely has a secret passage or two. That study of hers, with all those books? Brilliant, isn't it? Yes, a network of passages for sure!"

"Then she's doing a capital job hiding them from her head butler," the man grumbled. He turned to you and gave a short bow, then used your meeting with Linda as an excuse to escape the woman's mystery themed questions.

Linda finally turned her attention from the butler to you. Her eyes, still shockingly blue, widened behind her circle-framed glasses as you finished descending the stairs. "As I live and breathe! You came! I half-expected you'd find some reason to duck out at the last moment, ha ha! You were always doing that when we were kids, remember? It wasn't as discrete as you thought it was! Shy little fellow," she giggled, clasping her hands together with pleasure. You noticed that the tips of her fingers and also her nose were pinkish red.

Another mystery... if she'd arrived so much earlier than you, why had she just come in from outside, wearing that heavy coat and scarf?

Well, for now the gentlemanly thing to do was to take said scarf and coat for her. You offered.

"Are you one of the butlers?" she joked, her lips opening up into that teasing grin that made her look just like the child you remembered. Back then, you two hadn't been so different in size and she'd taken the lead on everything, not in a bad way-- her adventurous nature was a good foil to your own cautious one. Now, you were nearly a head taller. Also, despite being the same age, you somehow looked considerably older due to your occupation's natural inclination towards five-o-clock shadow.

Her jokes aside, she did hand over her coat. When it came off, you were finally treated to the sight of the rest of her attire, a minty green turtleneck with an ankle length, brownish pencil skirt and black heels. Around her neck, a long bead of pearls swung with her little movements over the healthy swell of her breasts. Her style of dress was a little frumpy, a little librarian, but she still had that classic girl-next-door appeal that had made your palms sweat when she hung out with you in the old days. Her hair, held in one long braid and tied at the end with a green bow, was a simple brownish blond that made you nostalgic.

"Look at you... You stepped right off of the cover of a noir paperback! It's exactly what I expected," she applauded, clapping her hands in an overly giddy manor. "Maybe one of mine, even. It's a shame there's no mystery afoot, at least not yet. I'd love to see you work your magic."

You coughed into your fist and told her that she might get her chance yet. "Some foul play is already afoot. Wanda Croft, the mistress of the manor, has been... hypnotized, for lack of a scientific term. The maid is tending to her now, but she's been transformed into a sex-crazed lunatic. By that, I mean she pounces with... obvious intent." You didn't think it would be good to go too much into the specifics.

Her eyes widened again, then her smile turned up. She covered her mouth to hide a laugh. "You've still got a little mischief in you! That's a joke, right?"

You shook your head.

"Oh... Oh dear! The poor young thing. Well, ah ha... She was a bit loony already, wasn't she? Not in a bad way! When I met with her, we had the most lively chat about my books, her collection, those sorts of things, but she was so animated and... a bit of a flirt," she admitted, bashfully pushing a few strands of her mousy hair away from her eyes. "All of this to say, she's awfully eccentric. Are you certain she was different from normal?"

You cleared your throat, then told Linda quietly that Wanda had attempted to give you a blowjob seconds after meeting you. You left out how successful her attempt had been.

At this, Linda's face did redden, and she clapped her palms to her cheeks. "Good heavens! Did you let her?"

Why did it feel like she was the detective here instead of you? You told Linda that you'd prefer not to say.

"So she did suck you off!"

You desperately whispered for her to lower her voice. You weren't sure what Eric Waterbury and the servants were going to do to you if they learned.

"Well, that is fascinating. I feel she must have been hypnotized, then. I can't imagine she'd be so forward otherwise and this place is stuffed to the rafters with mind control mumbo jumbo," Linda mused, quickly regaining her composure and resting her fist beneath her chin. "So you're on the case, then? Trying to figure out who's behind it?"

You told her that you basically had **** in the matter. Given the timing and Wanda's actions, you'd be the primary suspect otherwise.

"Yes, right. Oh, I don't know whether to sympathize with you or congratulate you! You're not getting the vacation you deserve, but you're getting a heck of a mystery! I'm deeply intrigued."

You thought to yourself that she was really overestimating the degree to which you actually wanted to be placed at the center of a mystery or burdened with its solution. You also cautioned her that she herself was likely in some danger here. Anyone in the mansion could be another target.

"You're right, of course. Let's go through it and solve the case together. It'll be just like old times! You were always so good at helping me with my writing when I was younger. Let me help you," she offered, giving you a warm smile that made you feel like your libido was coming back after Wanda had spent it up.

It was good that Linda was still feeling so close to you after so long apart-- and just as friendly as ever-- but you had to put a bit of distance between the two of you. Interrogating others was going to be impossible with her watching over your shoulder. Apart from the obvious inability to use the powers of your ring with someone shadowing you, it'd be difficult to lean in on others during an interrogation while your childhood friend is assuring them that you're a cutie pie who's all bark and no bite.

Still, you thanked her for her offer and told her you'd be sure to rely on her wherever you could. She was one of the most acclaimed mystery writers in the world today-- she'd surely have some insight into the motivations of the criminal that would help.

"Splendid! It'll keep me busy while I can't use my cellphone."

She was still awfully glib considering the whole situation, almost worryingly so. On that note, you'd confirmed that she did have a phone-- your earlier guess about the letter had been off the mark. You'd also confirmed that what Wanda said was true, about not being able to call outside the island. You suspected that between the lady's eccentricities and Waterbury's snooty adherence to old-dog mannerisms, this place probably didn't have wi-fi either. It was enough to make you wonder what they did on the day to day, when they weren't entertaining guests.

For now, you turned your attention back to Linda. She was ready to help however she could, but right now, you needed answers from her. As unthinkable as it was, she could potentially be a suspect in all of this rather than just a potential victim. You tried not to think too hard about either possibility. Sweet Linda, crawling around on all fours on the study room's shag carpet, licking her lips with lust flashing in her eyes...

That'd be just awful, wouldn't it?