What Flora told Lucy, Alicia didn’t get a chance to hear. She was looking at her depleted wardrobe with an extreme self-pity. She had a single decent dress which she could wear at a formal event and she was wearing it almost everywhere. She made a face and got ready. Flora dropped her at Broadway Street on the given time.
The Mayor’s residence was a gigantic building of red stone and large windows. She showed her invitation card on the entrance and the guards let her in. It was just like the way she pictured it in her mind. Spacious, luxurious, and imposing its identity on the guests of the lower stature.
“Miss Stone.” An old man approached her in the Great Hall from the hoard of guests. The same pale white face and the same jet black hairs; he was the splitting image of Ken. She wondered if he was a blood relative of him. It was the first time, she realized how much Mayor Robinson was similar to her boss.
“I am happy that you accepted my dinner invitation, contrary to your habit of staying at home.” She looked at him in confusion, but the old man was smiling. After that, she stayed in a corner for the rest of the evening. Nobody approached her except a lady who was drinking faster than two to three people together in the hall. The lady talked about the weather, sports, then again weather and then she left. She didn’t see anyone she could recognize; neither Ken, nor Melanie. After the dinner, a servant told her that Mayor would like to see her in his study.
“Miss Stone.” A voice welcomed her as she entered the study which was as large as the whole Stone Manor. Mayor Clarke Robinson was seated on a chair in front of an old antique desk. “Be my guest.”
She noticed a large photo of Mayor Clarke, Melanie and Ken together. There were large canvases of Mayor and his daughter both all over the house, but it was the only photo of Ken she saw in the house.
She set in front of him getting confused as she still didn’t understand the purpose of this invitation. Mayor Clarke Robinson opened a file in front of him.
“Alicia Stone!” He started to read from a file. “Born to Steve Stone on August nineteen hundred and ninety. Got five A’s in GCSE, pursued LLB at the local law college and never pursued it after getting the degree. Dated Harry Davies during college who broke up stating the reason of pent-up anger. Consulted a psychiatrist at Harley Street, left it after five sessions like everything else. Staying at home before joining the local bookstore in September two thousand and sixteen.” He closed the file and put it back. “So tell me which of these qualifications made you eligible to catch killers?”
Alicia looked at him with open mouth emitting cold sweat from her body. She had never been so much humiliated in her life, not even by Harry. Mayor gave her a cold stare.
“Do you have any justification of what you have done?”
“I was trying to help … the police.” She mentioned both her intention and her loyalty.
“Oh, yes … the police. Did you do it to improve your image in Harry’s eyes? Because if that is the case, then I understand you.” He leaned back on his grandfather chair.
“I wanted to help the police and in fact, they approached me to get evidence against my employer. I was just doing my civic duty.” Alicia felt naked and lashed at without getting told her crime.
“Your civic duty entails you to break into a man’s house without his permission? Your civic duty entails you to contact a killer without telling about him to the police?” Mayor Robinson didn’t have a single emotion on his face, but anger had started boiling in Alicia’s mind.
“I did what I deemed right. You caught the killer because of me, so you are welcome.” Her tone was icy cold.
“Oh yes. We have got the killer because of you and how are we going to persecute him in absence of evidence? Will you tell me as you know everything about law and order?”
“He had already confessed his crimes in the vault and also to the police. What do you want evidence for?”
“Miss Stone! I am running a city and an organization here.” He looked at her with grim face. “I have no patience for idiots. Do you know that Kripke has not confessed to all of his crimes? And the worst, you showed him the Archive. Now anyone can meet him in prison and get to know its whereabouts. You want to help police, then do it in official capacity. You have only two courses of action available now. First, stay in London and work with Melanie, or second, STAY … AT … HOME … AND … NEVER … COME … OUT.” He emphasized every word of his last sentence. “You may go now.”
“Can I ask you something, Mr Mayor?” She asked standing back on her feet. “You adopted Ken, but you didn’t give him your name. You are a Robinsons, but he is still a Williams.”
Clarke Robinson pressed a button on the study. “Show her out.” He told the servant who answered his call.
“Thank you very much. I will go by myself, but you didn’t answer my question? Or perhaps you want me to find it on my own?”
She smiled curtly and left the room.
————
“Miss Stone.”
She was thinking about getting a cab on the street, when she heard his voice. Ken was standing behind her leaning on his Jaguar. He opened the side door for her. “I need to talk.”
She silently stepped in. Her mind was buzzing with the confrontation happened few minutes ago. After driving for few minutes silently, Ken started the conversation.
“How was it?”
“He hates me.” She snapped without intent.
“He is angry because you didn’t ask for help from us which means you don’t trust us.”
“I trust you, but I wanted to deliver the criminal to the police. I didn’t know what you people would do with him, and helping police is not a crime unless …” She left the sentence incomplete. “I don’t understand what’s happening? Sam got a scholarship and Flora got her shop featured in a travel guide, and I got insulted like never before. I really don’t want to mention this again and again, but it was me who caught the killer without any weapon.”
In her anger, she didn’t notice that the black Jaguar was crawling on the street. Ken was in no hurry to reach the destination.
“He must have given you some career advice.” He asked hopefully.
“To work with Melanie.” She said looking out at the night which was full of bright colors and people all thanks to Christmas.
“And isn’t it what you wanted all along?”
“I wanted to be like her, when I wanted to be a lawyer. Now, I don’t know. I am happy with my job right now. Why people expect you to know everything? You are supposed to know everything before experiencing it. You should know what type of work you want to do for the rest of your life, before doing it. You should know what type of man you want to live with the rest of your life, before living with him. And nobody gives you a margin of error. Isn’t it all a guess work? Some people make the right guess; others don’t. Some people learn to pretend that it was right.” Ken was listening to her in silence. “I don’t want to make any more guesses with my life. Right now, I don’t have a single desire to practice law, worse, in the Crown Office. Do you know how competitive it is? Not to mention that I hate paperwork. I might regret it in future, but doing it just to prove to others that I am a capable person is completely irrational.”
Ken stopped the car in front of the Stone Manor. “All Clarke wants you to do is to plan for your future. You know you are not supposed to know about us, about the Legacy, but you do, and that leaves us no choice except to initiate you.”
Alicia stared at him in disbelief. “You mean I can be a part of the Legacy?”
“It is usually transferred from parent to children, but there are certain exceptions like you where we have to initiate someone as there is no other choice.” Ken went on. “This is the reason Clarke wants you to work with a member of the Legacy so she can evaluate you and when the right time comes, you will be initiated.”
“Why didn’t he tell me all of this?”
“He must have told you … in different words.” Ken defended his father.
“Oh, you mean when he told me I am a quitter, he actually meant I am amazing.”
Ken chuckled.
“But, wait a minute. I am already working with a member of Legacy. Why doesn’t it account for?” She asked him.
“Because not every run-of-the-mill is accepted in Legacy. You have to earn your own place with hard work preferably in an area of science, or public service.”
“Hmm.” Alicia thought for a minute.
“There is one more thing I need to tell you.” Ken blushed red which was something new for Alicia. “I don’t know why you want to stay in Georgestown, but you deserve to know everything.” He looked out of the window looking helpless. “You remember that red maple bonsai in my room?”
“Yes.”
“It is a symbol of the guardian. Whoever holds the station of the guardian, he becomes responsible to protect every single member of Legacy. It is not just a position, it holds spiritual value, a bond between me with my brothers, but, unfortunately, it demands that I cannot make any other bond in my life. I cannot get into any long term relation. This is the law of Legacy.” Ken said without looking at her. “Whatever decision you take, take it for yourself.”
Alicia looked out of the window into the dark and silent alley.
“Can I ask you something?” It was her turn to ask.
“Sure.”
“Why did you give me that key?” Alicia asked.
Ken looked at her with annoyance. “You know I cannot tell you this.”
“I need to tell you something personal.” Alicia thought for a while before speaking. “You know why I took this job? Flora had promised me that if I get a boyfriend, she would convince my parents to allow me to go to London so I planned to take a job to find someone who might be able to act as my boyfriend for Flora.”
“That was your plan?” Ken chuckled.
“So I am going to ask you now. What do you think about Edgar? Can I trust him?” Alicia pressed her lips to stop herself from smiling.
He raised his hand and touched her cheek with the back of her fingers. “Yes, you can.”
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed The Killing Scripture Book One as much as I enjoyed writing it.
You can always ask me a question about the Alicia Stone Series on Instagram, Goodreads or Amazon.
If you like the story, I’d appreciate if you could take few minutes and write a review about this book.
Thank you so much for reading my book and spending time with me.
In gratitude,
Afshan Jaffery
THE SINFUL SYMPHONY
(BOOK 2 OF ALICIA STONE SERIES)
In the outskirts of Vienna, Alicia and Garret searched for a missing scientist, researching on high-intensity ultrasonic sound waves. Garret thought the clue lies in the symphonies by Mozart. A suicide blast at the opera house of Vienna led them one step closer to the heart of the mystery. Alicia met an old nemesis and faced some uncomfortable truths.
AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER
EXCERPT FROM BOOK 2:
THE SINFUL SYMPHONY
“You have a visitor.” Flora told Alicia with bright eyes when she came back from the bookstore.
Alicia was surprised. Her social circle was limited to people she could count on fingers of a hand.
“Who is he?” She asked Flora entering the kitchen.
“The guy you have seen naked.” A cheerful voice echoed in the small kitchen of Stone Manor and a pair of green eyes flashed in front of her. Flora cleared her throat from behind.
“It’s not what it sounds like.” She tried to explain helplessly.
“You forgot your cellmate.” Garret complained in a mocking grave tone. He was sipping tea on the small dining table as comfortably as he used to do it since his childhood.
“What are you doing here?” She was surprised to see her, but also annoyed on his crude sense of humor.
“Alicia!” Flora’s warning tone annoyed her even more. Behave like a butterfly with every guy or you will never get married.
“Can I have something to eat?” This was the only way to keep Flora busy for a while.
“Would you take some toastie?”
“Sure.” Anything to keep you away from snooping.
Garret could have messaged her or dropped by the bookstore, but instead, he came to her house. It had to be something important. She remembered Clarke’s warning and shivered a little.
“I am going to Vienna.” Garret muttered in a low voice.
“That’s great.” She whispered back.
“I want you to come with me.”
“Why?”
Garret looked at Flora making the toast for Alicia. He started to talk about attractions in London and how they were different from the ones in Warsaw. When Flora put toast and tea in front of Alicia, Garret asked her to give them some alone time which she did happily. Closing the door behind him, he spoke.
“There is a case in Vienna. A scientist has gone missing and Clarke is sending me to assist the Austrian Division in their investigation.
“And where did I come into this?” Alicia was still puzzled.
“Look, I am a scientist and the people I deal with are mostly from administration. These people think scientists are monkeys who know nothing about practical life. They can only read books, but cannot differentiate apples from oranges. I have seen this in Warsaw and I don’t want to face this in Vienna. I want to spend time with someone who is as normal as me.”
Alicia shook her head.
“You can always go on dates and pick girls in bars which agrees more with your personality. Why tag along a fully grown human being in your baggage?”
“Now you are hurting my feelings.”
“And you are hurting my intelligence.” Alicia smiled looking in his eyes. “Now, tell me the real reason.”
Garret smiled. “Clarke sent me.”
“He thinks I should accompany you.” This was a shock for Alicia. What happened to his two options?
“You can ask him yourself.”
Alicia bit her lips, “but, my parents will never allow me to abroad alone.”
“Oh my god, in which era are you living? You still need permission from parents. You know the law.” Garret’s amazement was genuine.
“Every family has a different set of norms.” She struggled to explain her family situation to him. “Until I get my own place, I have to follow set of rules of this house.”
“I don’t think it will be a problem. I will tell Clarke; he would manage it somehow.”
“What if my boss refused to release me?”
“Oh.” Garret made a face. “Your nanny Kenny has to release you as we are going on a case of Legacy.”
“But, why is Clarke sending you?”
“The scientist was originally from Poland and he was my friend. He was transferred to the Austrian Division, because he was conducting the same research as some of their researchers.” Garret said thoughtfully.
“Do you think he is kidnapped?”
“Clarke thinks that Max got him …,” he slowly finished the sentence, “and his research.”
“By, does he think that?”
Garret showed her a news feature in his mobile about a blast in an opera theater in Vienna. According to the sources, thirty-three people had been killed in the attack. An international terrorist organization had claimed the responsibility of the attack.
“How is it linked with your friend?”
“John was researching on high-intensity ultrasonic sound waves which can cause physical damage. He was developing a device which can cause loud enough noise to kill people.” He explained.
Alicia looked at him terrified. “Why was he developing such device? Didn’t anyone try to stop him? There are already dozens of technologies to kill people.”
“Legacy doesn’t ask people nor stop them from researching what they want. It was his own choice.” Garret said gravely.
“It’s not ethical.”
“Sorry to break your heart, but the world out there has only one rule. Everything is ethical as far as you can control it.”
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