Full Circle Book 1

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Namine207 FullCircle

FullCircle: The Case of Morgan Stone

Chapter One: Regarding the Letter and the Flight

I woke up on a hot, sunny day. Considering that no one bothered to wakeme up, I figured it was a saturday. I got out of bed and noticed that sun wasshining through the shades over the windows. “Yep. It’s Saturday!” I said tomyself with a cheer. I ran downstairs and into the kitchen where,undoubtedly, my mom was cooking breakfast. My little sister Alice sat by thetable, devouring her pancake.

“Nice to see that you’re up” My Mom said with a grin. She then handed mea plateful of pancakes.“Morgan, Mommy said that if I finish my chores, We can go to the parktoday!” Said Alice. She was always my little sunshine. Every time I would

have a bad day, she would be there to cheer me up.“Okay. I think I’ll come along” I said with a smile. Suddenly, I rememberedsomething.“Mom, did you get the mail already?” I asked, suddenly excited.“No, but I’m not so sure that It’ll come this early.” Was her reply.“Well, Do you think that I could check for it real quick?”“As soon as you’re done your chores.”

And so, I rushed through making my bed, sorting my clothes, vacuumingmy room, etc. All the while, I kept thinking about what might be in themailbox. You see, A few months ago, I had entered a contest. The winners of this contest could win a revolutionary new virtual reality testing experience.Although I probably wouldn’t win, I could still keep my hopes up.

Once I was finished, I headed for the door. Right before leaving, I called“Mom, I’m going out to check the mail!” and I was out. Our mailbox wasacross the street, so it’s a pain trying to get the mail. Especially when carsare driving this way and that. However, I made it across the street just fine.When I got to the mailbox, I was overwrought with joy. I pulled the handleand reached my hand inside. Just as I had hoped for, there was a letter formy mom from FullCircle Corporation. According to the entry form, they werethe company who was to supply the VR experience.

I ran across the street, not caring if someone ran me over or not. This was ahappy moment, and I didn’t want to ruin it by being careful of cars. After Imade it across the street, I ran inside shouting “Mom! The letter came!”“That’s great honey! I’ll be right down to read it with you!”




Once all three of us were gathered in the living room, we opened the letter.I observed the very fine print as soon as the letter was unsealed. It read:

Dear Alice Stone,

This document is to certify your Acceptance into the VR program, as statedin the “Play to Win!” VR contest. You will be expected to arrive at our LosAngeles building at exactly 3:00 Sharp on July 5th with the other fourwinners. All airfare will be provided.

Sincerely,William WintersCEO and Founder of FullCircle Corp.

Wait. Alice? As in my little sister? All of a sudden, I remembered. In order toincrease our chances of winning, we had also entered Alice into the contest! That may sound rather unfair, but don’t tell me that you haven’t done it

before.

“Oh, I’m sorry, honey” My mom said, seeing Alice’s name on the slip insteadof mine.At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another FullCircleenvelope.

“Wait a minute. Why are there two?” I asked. At that moment, my Motherseemed to spot it too. We stared at both envelopes for a long time, until mymother finally decided to open it. Inside was another paper, with the exactsame wording on it. Except instead of Alice’s name there was my name! I

jumped with excitement as Alice danced around shouting “Yay!!!”

We were all so excited that we didn’t really say anything. The emotions onour faces completely said how we felt. In the next hour, I would find myself looking at the paper again at least five times, just to make sure that it wasreal. One of those times, I noticed the date. July 5th. Today was July 1st, sowe still had a few days to go.

My mom had already started making trip plans. Since she got to go, too,she planned trips to the beach (she couldn’t interfere with the VR sessions).She started packing sun tan lotion, toothbrushes, sleeping bags, and

anything else you could possibly ever need.

The day before the trip, everybody was running around. Mom would makesure that everything was packed, and then check again about 7 minuteslater. Alice was making sure that all of her stuffed animals were in the bags.As for me, I was just imagining what would happen when we got there. Justthinking about it was exciting.




Then, it was time to go to bed. Of course, neither Alice nor I could sleep. Wewere kept awake with visions of what could possibly happen as soon as wearrived. Since we share a bedroom, she would keep talking to me about it.

“Morgan? Are you awake?”

“Yeah. The trip is keeping me up.”“Me too. Do you think that the other kids will be my age?”“Maybe some of them. I don’t really know.”“But what happens if they don’t like us?”“Alice, no one could ever be mean to you. And if they do, then I’ll beat ‘emup for you.”“I love you, Morgan.”“I love you too, Alice.”

And we kept talking until our mom came in and told us to go to bed.

•••

It was the day of the trip. I couldn’t believe that it had come so fast. BeforeI knew it, we had got into the car, boarded the airplane, and were off! Theplane trip took several long, boring hours, but I won’t bore you by describingthem in full detail.

When we arrived, we were all tired. Alice had fallen asleep playing ‘Barbieand the Magical Dragon’ on her Gameboy, I was listening to Music on theheadphones, and my Mom was worrying over whether we turned the lightsoff or not.

When we got off of the plane, we saw a man in a Black business coat with asign that said “FullCircle Contestants”. There were two boys standing next tohim. One was wearing a Yellow Abercrombie and Fitch T-Shirt and khakishorts with flip flops. The other was in a black ACDC hoodie with matchingshorts. How he could stand the hot LA weather in a hoodie, I will never know.

We walked over to the businessman. As soon as he saw us, he asked “TheStone family, I presume?” My Mom nodded in agreement and he introducedus to the two people next to him.“This is Austin Davis and Mike Colfer. They also were accepted into the VR

program.”We shook hands with each other and the Businessman led us into alimousine. So far, this was a very cool trip.

Along the way, I noticed that there were only four contestants in the car,rather than five.“Wait. What happened to the Fifth Contestant?”It was the kid in black (I believe his name was Austin) that answered.




“The Fifth Contestant is William Winter’s son, Simon Winter. He got chosenfor the VR Experience because he’s the CEO’s son.”It was obvious from Austin’s voice that he loathed the Winter Family. It mademe wonder why he had entered the contest in the first place, but I didn’t ask.

The limousine stopped at a large skyscraper with the FullCircle logo at thetop of the building. The globe in the icon spun as the wind blew past it. Thebusinessman opened the doors, went to the back of the Limousine, and tookour bags out. We followed him into the building. Inside, a friendly receptionistgreeted us with a smile. The nameplate on her desk read “Mrs. JenniferKnox”. She seemed to be extremely friendly, and told us where all of ourrooms were. I took a look at other employee name tags along the way,including Megen Brovero, James Mosely, and Connie Nowosacki. We steppedinto an elevator and got off at each of our separate floors. The businessman,who revealed his name to be Jack Ennis, informed us that the VR Projectwould begin tomorrow. We were all sent into our quarters, where we

showered and went to bed.

Chapter Two: The Beginning

I awoke to find Alice already awake. She was clutching her teddy bear(named Mrs. DeJesus) and talking to it. She seemed to have tried to feed itcookies, because there were cookie crumbs on the floor, leading up to it’smouth. Weird.

After eating a Hearty breakfast (Hastily prepared by our Mother), we headedfor the main office. By the time we got there, they had already started the

meeting. Luckily, the kid named Mike filled us in on the information. AnotherFullCircle worker was explaining the scientific properties behind theVirtuCircle, the VR device that we would be using.

“The VirtuCircle is a new generation of sophisticated technology in theVirtual Reality Business. The Technology behind it enables you to feel as if the events of the game are completely real. The VirtuCircle taps into yourbrain waves and sends signals that can make you feel hurt, tired, happy, orpretty much anything else. You will each be put into a separate video gameof a different genre, in order to test how each works. The list showing whichgame you will be put into is going to be passed out by Mr. Winters.”

A man in casual clothes with papers in his hands came to our tables andhanded out the list. It read:

Simon Winters - COD4 (Call of Duty 4) - First Person ShooterAlice Stone - Pokémon Ruby - Role-Playing GameMorgan Stone - Professor Layton: The Curious Village - PuzzlesMike Colfer - Assassin’s Creed - AdventureAustin Davis - Trauma Center - Medical Simulation




After seeing my name next to a puzzle-solving game, I almost screamed. Iam not good at solving puzzles whatsoever. The employee continued:

“In order to help prevent any bugs from occurring during the VR experience,

we will hand out these special cell phones, which will stay with you, evenwhen your consciousness is connected to the VirtuCircle. You may only callpeople who are connected to the VirtuCircle, however, so once you areconnected, you are on your own. The VR Session will begin in approximatelyone hour. Please, don’t be late.”

Chapter Three: The “VR Experience”

After an hour, Alice couldn’t wait to get to her testing room. I walked herover and let her into the hands of one of the employees. They put her onto

the VitruCircle platform. After seeing that she was completely safe, I headedfor my testing room. Inside, Jack Ennis greeted me.

“Hello! Nice to see you arrived on time!” He said, ushering me into the room.

I stared in wonder at the VirtuCircle. It was a large platform with one chairin it. There was a machine which seemed to be radiating some sort of heat. The employees asked me to sit in the chair and focus on one spot in theroom. Once the Employees got the word that everyone else was safely intheir testing rooms, they turned on the VirtuCircle. They asked me to closemy eyes and let my mind go blank. I felt a few minutes of nothing, but after a

while I felt myself drifting away from reality. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door bursting open in the testing room. Someone was screaming, but Icouldn’t make out the words. I heard a few phrases such as “All Vitals areexceedingly low!” and “Call the Medics!”, but by now, I was too far gone.

I drifted into a black hole of nothingness...

Chapter Four: The Hills are Alive

It was a long time before my eyes opened again. I was laying in an openfield of grass with a long dirt road that seemed to stretch out for miles.“What the...?” I started to say, my last memories being of the FullCirclebuilding. But then, I realized where I was. “The Virtual Reality Simulation!”

Since I would probably be asked questions about the experience later, Isavored the details. The wind was blowing faintly in the distance, and the sky




was a beautiful shade of blue that I had barely seen in any other days of mylife. I noticed that there weren’t many cars on the road, so I figured that itwould be safe to follow it. That was the only way to go, anyway.

Slowly, as if I had just woken up from a long nap, I stepped up and began

my journey on the long dirt road. After about twenty minutes, I heard thenoise of a car in the distance. I called to the driver, in need of help. To myluck, he stopped.

As the car slowly edged to a halt, I got a good look at the driver. He was ayoung man, probably in his thirties, with a top hat and a brown coat thatextended to just below his waist. Even though I had never seen him in my lifebefore, I had the nagging suspicion that I knew him in the past. Then Iremembered. He was Professor Layton, the game’s protagonist!

“Excuse me, sir.” I said, uncertain as to what the response would be, “I

seem to be lost. I was wondering if you could give me a ride.”“We’re in the middle of an investigation! Of course you can’t come!” Said avoice from the passenger seat of the car. It was someone who I hadn’tnoticed before. He was wearing a blue sweater with a white undershirt. Ontop of his dirty blonde hair was a Blue Hat. He had Tan Khaki pants and a redbackpack slung over his shoulder.

“Now,now, Luke. First, we must resolve this young woman’s predicament.What seems to be the matter?” Said the Professor.

“Well, I’m not completely sure.”, I said, ”One minute, I was in a largebuilding, and the next, I was here. I’m not sure how to get back to where Icame from.”

“Hmm... that does seem to be quite a problem...” Layton said, thinkingabout the whole situation.

“Professor! We have more important things to do!” Said Luke. I wasn’texactly learning to like him very much.

“Luke, a true gentleman puts the needs of a lady before his own. What isyour name, Miss?”

“Morgan.” I answered.“Well then, why don’t you come with us, Morgan?” Asked Layton,” There’s

no dignity in leaving you out here!”“Alright. I guess you can come along.” Said a reluctant Luke.“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do otherwise.” I said, happy that

someone had helped me.

And that started a very, very long and unforgettable adventure.

Chapter Five: The Golden Apple




After a few minutes, I was riding in the back of Layton’s car. I felt relieved,since I didn’t have to walk all of the way down the road. However, somethingmade me wonder...

“Professor, where are we going, anyway?”

“Ah! That’s just the thing that I was about to explain to Luke! You see, this isan altogether unique and exciting situation, and it has piqued my intellectual

curiosity. But I might as well explain the case before we arrive at our

destination. Two months ago, Baron Augustus Reinhold passed away. Shortly

after his death, his will was disclosed. The contents of it were fascinating, to

say the least. It Read ‘The Reinhold family treasure, the Golden Apple, is

hidden somewhere within St. Mystere. To whomever successfully locates this

treasure, I offer the whole of my estate.’ Naturally, those who attended the

reading of the will immediately set out in search of the Golden Apple. But, in

the end, everyone came back empty-handed. It turns out that no one hadeven heard of such a treasure existing until it’s mention in the will.”

“Wow! Baron Reinhold sounds like he was an enigmatic man!” I answered,

clearly mystified.

“He was. And even in his death, he has one final puzzle.” Answered Layton.

“So, Professor, are we going to this St. Mystere?” Asked Luke.

“That’s right, my boy! And we’ll have Morgan here to help us!” The

Professor said with a smile. He then took out a rolled up piece of paper from

his leather bag and handed it to me.

“Morgan, would you like to read the map?” He asked me.“Sure.” I said, eagerly opening the map. However, the second I opened it, I

became confused. There were barely any directions! Just a couple pictures

with roads and some quickly scrawled words on parchment.




“Professor! There aren’t any directions!” I yelled, in a panic.

“Ah! It seems that Lady Dahlia is testing us. She wants to see if we’re ableto solve the mystery behind the Golden apple...” He said calmly

“Do you think that you can solve it, Morgan?” Asked Luke, concerned for

once.

“I’ll try, but I have never been good with puzzles...” I commented, rather

shyly.

“Just remember. Every puzzle has an

answer!” Lectured Layton.

Then, I stared at the letter. It read:

My village is on a road that leads to no other towns. I look forward to seeingyou there.

Lady Dahlia

Well, if it’s on a road that leads to no other, then all I have to do is check all of the roads! I thought,

surprised by my own intellect. Although I can guarantee that harder puzzles will come. After

all, this is a puzzle game. After a few minutes, I found St. Mystere. It was the town

on the upper right corner! Having figured out the puzzle, I directed The

Professor all the way down the right path. The ride was rather boring, andmost of the time, I just sat, staring out the window. How many hours had it

been since I first started the simulation? At least four. It made me wonder

why they hadn’t stopped the test run yet. Oh, well , I thought, I should probably enjoy

the VR simulation while it’s still available to me... I fell asleep, with the days worries and

hopes still lingering in my mind.

Recreation of map fromProfessor Layton Gameplay

Courtesy of FullCircle Corp.




Chapter Six: The Curious Village of St. Mystere

While I was sleeping, I remember having a dream of home, of when this

whole VR simulation would be over and I could be with Alice and my Mom

again. But it was only for a second, and within a few minutes, I was back inLayton’s car. Noticing that I was awake, Layton turned his head and said “We

should be arriving in St. Mystere any minute. Are you ready?”

“Yes. Thanks again for letting me come with you.” I said, shyly.

“Don’t mention it. It’s the least I could do for a beautiful young lady such as

yourself.” He replied, with a grin. I blushed, since I had never really been

called beautiful by anyone aside from my Mother and Alice. And then there

was my Father, but... I had to remind myself that he was gone and would

never come back. I was so young when it happened, and I don’t recall all the

details, but sometimes , when I was young, I would ask my mother, and she

would always say that he was sick and that now he was in a better place.

After a few years, I would learn not to ask anymore. She probably would give

me the same answer anyway.

“So,” I said, trying to stir up conversation, “You and Luke seem to be very

close. Are you father and son?”

“Well not exactly,” Layton answered,” He’s actually my-”

“Apprentice!” Luke interrupted, “I’m his apprentice!”

The way that he said that made me think there was something more than

that, but I didn’t say anything. Just then, I could see a town in the distance.

“So this is St. Mystere!” Luke said, amazed.

As we approached the town, I noticed a few things. Almost all of the houses

were small, like cottages, except for an extremely large tower in the center

of town. I figured that this must be a very important building, otherwise it

wouldn’t be so tall. To the left of the village, there was a huge amusement

park with a large ferris wheel. It seemed old and unused, but it was even

larger than the town it was next to. It made me wonder why it hadn’t been

used in so long.

We approached a drawbridge, which seemed to be the only way into the

village. This also meant that we’d have to leave the car behind. We all got




out of the car. Only then did we realize that the drawbridge wasn’t lowered,

so we didn’t have a way in.

“Oh, look!” Said Luke, staring at a small house right next to the drawbridge,

“There’s a man on the other side of the river! Maybe he can help us lowerthe drawbridge!”

Simultaneously, Layton and I noticed the small, muscular man standing on

a plank connected to the small house. He didn’t seem to notice us, so Layton

tried to grab his attention.

“Good day, sir! We’d very much like to gain access to the village. Could you

please drop the drawbridge for us?” He asked politely. It was then that the

man noticed us.

“Do I LOOK like the sort to go droppin’ the bridge for a bunch of fancy-looking

outsiders?” He yelled in rage. “Hmmph! You’ve got a lot of nerve!”

Without getting the least bit irritated, Layton answered “We received a letter

of invitation from Lady Dahlia. I

don’t suppose that changes

things, does it?”

“From Lady Dahila? Well then,

I’d sure like to lower the

bridge for you, Mr.

Fancypants... But the engine is

busted, and I can only move this blasted bridge with the hand crank.Hrrmph! There’s all these infernal slots I could put the crank in, but I got no

clue which one to use! So, smart guy, you got any idea which one is the right

one?”

He showed us a set of slots and one crank. Just by looking at it, you’d think

that any one of the slots could fit the crank, but Layton seemed to be sure

Recreation of Crank and Slots

from Professor Layton and theCurious Village Gameplay

Courtesy of FullCircle Corp.




that there was only one answer. Another puzzle. However, this time, Luke

volunteered to solve it.

He asked the man to rotate the crank every few seconds. Then he looked

up and said “It’s the first slot!”

I was completely sure that it wouldn’t work, but, before my eyes, the

drawbridge opened! We walked over the drawbridge and entered into the

Curious Village of St. Mystere.

As soon as we walked into the town, I took in the surroundings. There was a

dirt road with shops and houses in front of us. The citizens gave us hearty

greeting as we came in. Some even answered any questions we had. In front

of us was a slightly bigger house than the rest, with a sign that said “INN” in

bold letters. Layton explained that we would be staying in the inn. But first,

we headed toward Reinhold Manor. We turned to the right and kept walking

along the dirt road. Along the way, we passed a clock tower and several

other houses.

As we neared the manor, the road turned to cobblestones. It seemed that

his part of town was more elaborately decorated, but there were a lot less

citizens. The ones that we passed in this area didn’t bother to speak to us.

We stopped when we reached a large river. The water was strongly gushing

past, most likely the river flowed into any nearby towns. There was a man

with a boat who was ready to row us across the river. It took a while, and was

pretty boring, since the man who was rowing us didn’t even try to start up a

conversation. But eventually, we were across the river and heading straight

toward the manor.




The second that we entered the courtyard, I gasped. It was almost like a

paradise! There was a water fountain with crystal clear water that made me

want to drink some, luscious green grass, and a slight breeze that made the

wind rustle through the trees. It reminded me of the garden we used to have

at home, before we moved to the city... But I couldn’t linger on thosethoughts.

As soon as we stepped up to the front door, Layton knocked. Instantly, the

door opened. Standing there, with a beautiful smile, was Lady Dahlia herself.

She was the most beautiful woman that I ever saw in my life. Her skin

seemed to emit a glow that could only be compared to the sun’s rays. She

wore a Pink dress with a red sash around her waist. Her hair was a sandy

blonde, and she had pearl earrings.

“Professor Layton, I presume?” She asked. Her expression was a mix of

happiness and shyness. I think she was hoping that Layton could find the

golden apple.

“Yes. And you must be Lady Dahlia.” He answered, while leaning down to

kiss her hand.

“Please, come inside.”, she said, ushering us in.

Along the way, we noticed two large portraits hanging in the hallway. One

was of Baron Augustus Reinhold, and the other....

“Who’s pictured in this portrait, Professor?” Asked Luke.

The second portrait had a picture of a Girl wearing a Red dress. She had

Brown hair that was in a ponytail. It was a while before I realized that I

envied her beauty.

“The two portraits are next to each other, so they’re likely to be family.

She’s probably the Baron’s daughter. She’s amazingly beautiful.” Answered

Layton.




“Don’t touch that!” Lady Dahlia said. She looked confused and afraid. She

quickly covered the painting with a tarp that was laying on a nearby table.

Confused, we all kept walking.

After walking a little farther, we were all gathered in the living room. LadyDahlia sat on a sofa with two other men, likely to be Reinhold family

members as well. She introduced them as Gordon and Simon. Gordon was a

heavy man, with a large waistcoat that extended to his knees. he had a

bowler hat over his thick, black hair. Simon was the exact opposite. He was

extremely skinny and was wearing a white tuxedo with a red bow tie. He

wore a set of glasses. The butler, Matthew, stood in the corner. He was an

older gentleman, but seemed to know his way around the house rather well,

and had appearently served the Reinhold Family for at least Seventy Years.

When we were all settled, Lady Dahlia started the conversation.

“Assuming that you read my letter, you should be well informed of the

situation at hand. My late husband has passed away, and the message in his

will was very cryptic. I had sent word to other great detectives, yet none of

them ever responded. It was then that I saw an article in the newspaper. It

talked of the great Professor Layton, and I knew that you could help us to get

out of this predicament.”

Just then, Simon commented, “The “Great Professor Layton”. I thought

you’d have much more presence.” The way that he insulted the professor

made me despise him, but I didn’t want to make matters out of hand, so I

said nothing. After Lady Dahlia finished explaining the situation, she made

sure that we were still completely intent on solving the mystery. When we

said yes, she was pleased and then exited the room for her teatime. We left

the mansion and headed for the inn.

Chapter Seven: More Mysteries and a Second Letter

When we arrived at the inn, a friendly old woman greeted us. She seemed

careworn, but she had a happy expression on her face, and it looked as if life

had been good to her. Unfortunately, when we asked for a room, she said

that the inn was closed for remodeling, but we could use the attic. Honestly, I




was just glad that I had a place to sleep, and so were Layton and Luke,

apparently. We took the room and headed upstairs to lay down.

The room in the attic was actually not that bad. It had two beds, so one of

us would have to sleep on the floor. Layton insisted that I sleep in a bed.Most likely because he is a gentleman...

We had just set up all of our belongings and were preparing to go to sleep

when we heard rapid knocking. We all gathered around the door. I think it

was Luke who opened it, but I’m not sure. Standing in the doorway was a

man in a Red vest with Jeans. He looked like he had been running all day. I

realized why when I saw the emblem on his hat. He was a postman.

Hesitantly, he said “A letter for a Mrs. Morgan Stone!”

At that instant, both Layton and Luke looked in my direction, and I clearly

understood why. The only people who knew of my arrival in St. Mystere were

Layton, Luke, and Lady Dahlia. Why would someone bother to send me a

letter? And how would they know I was here?

The Postman handed over a letter. I took it, said thank you, and closed the

door. All three of us sat on one of the beds while I turned over the envelope. I

gasped when I saw the Logo on the front:

I hesitated for just a moment. Then, I slowly ripped open the envelope.

Gently, I pulled out the paper. It read:




Dear Morgan Stone,

We regret to inform you that there has been a small error in the VirtuCircle

framework. It seems that you are completely unable to leave the game. Yourbody in the real world is currently in a coma, and we are working on ways to

fix the problem.

Let us make one more thing clear, if you die in this game, you will die in

real life. We have no way of making sure that you will come out alive and

unscathed. Our researchers believe that a major game occurrence, such as

beating the game, will create enough of an energy surge to bring your

consciousness back into the real world.

Since the moment that you were sent into the VirtuCircle, you were all

given one Developer Skill, or DevSkill. This is a special ability that you may

only use once. It could save you from the most dire of situations.

P.S. Don’t forget to use the phones we gave you.

Sincerely,

William Winters

CEO and Founder of FullCircle Corp.

I stared at the letter for a long time. Then, I slowly looked up. Layton and

Luke were sitting across from me, eyes wide with expectation. I figured that

if I told them the truth, it would worry them, so I simply said, “My mother

wrote me the letter. She says that she misses me and would like me to come

home whenever possible. I think that I want to stay and help you guys for a

while, and then I should go back home.”

Luke looked relieved that it wasn’t bad news. However, Layton seemed to

have that knowing glint in his eyes. Then he said, “If you would to stay with

us, then that’s okay with me. But you should probably write another letter to

your mother tomorrow informing her that you are with us.”

With everything settled, all three of us went to bed. Layton ended up being

the one to sleep on the floor, and I kind of felt sorry for him. Eventually, both

of them were asleep. I crept out of bed and opened the door into the Inn’s




hallway. I needed to review the letter one more time. Just before I got to the

end of the hallway, a voice stopped me.

“Where are you going?” It was the Innkeeper. She was wearing a nightgown

and holding a candle.

“I need to use the bathroom.” I said with a smile.

The Innkeeper seemed satisfied and slowly walked in the direction of her

room. As soon as she was out of sight, I continued down the hallway toward

the bathroom.

Once inside of the bathroom, I unfolded the letter. When I got to the part

about the error in the system, I started crying. The belief that they could pull

the plug and everything would be over was the only thing that kept me

going. Now, both Alice and I were in danger, and even if we made it out, our

lives would never be the same. Seeing the section about DevSkills, I

wondered what mine could possibly be. And then, I got to the small note at

the bottom: P.S. Don’t forget to use the phones we gave you.

I realized that I had totally forgotten about the small phone in my pocket. I

pulled it out and examined it. It had the FullCircle logo on it with other

interesting designs. After looking over it, I found the Contacts button.

Amazing ,I thought, everyone’s on here! I looked through the list of names:

Alice Stone

Simon Winters

Austin Davis

Mike Colfer

Voicemail

Immediately, I highlighted Alice and pressed Call. I heard the dial tone andwaited a few minutes. Most likely, Alice didn’t know how to work the phone.But eventually, I got through. I could hear static in the background, butAlice’s voice was crystal clear.




“Hello?” She said, sounding innocent.

“Alice! I’ve missed you so much!” I almost screamed through the phone.

“Morgan?” Alice asked, overjoyed “Where are you?”

“I’m in the VircuCircle.” I answered.

“Why haven’t they woken us up yet?” Alice asked. She sounded confused.“I got a letter from Mr. Winters and it explained everything. The VirtuCircle is

having a problem and we’re all stuck here. To get out, we have to beat the

game.”

“Oh...” Morgan replied, “I got a letter, too, but I couldn’t read it.”

When she said that, we both started laughing. It may not have been that

funny, but we couldn’t help it. We’d both been through a lot.

“Alice, let’s both promise that we’ll make it through this together. Then, we

can both go back with mom.”

The conversation went on for a while longer. We both promised, and then

we said goodbye. It was relieving, being able to talk to Alice after so long. It

gave me hope for a brighter future. At that moment, I realized the value of

our promise. We both needed to work our hardest to get back home. Even

though I should probably have called the others, I didn’t want to worry the

Innkeeper, so I decided to walk back.

I started a slow walk toward the attic bedroom. When I opened the door,

everything was the same as it was when I left it. Layton and Luke were

sleeping soundly for the day ahead of them. I needed to sleep, too, so I got

into bed and let my worries go in what could have been an endless sleep...

•••

I woke up just as the sun started to come above the trees. I thought it mighthave been about 6 A.M. My eyes adjusted to the light as I looked across theroom. It had a dark feel to it that only comes during the early hours of themorning. Layton was still sleeping soundly on the floor, but I noticed thatLuke was not in bed. Intrigued, I got out of bed and started investigating thedark hallways of the Inn.

Eventually, I found myself in the lobby. The Innkeeper was standing behind adesk, and smiled when I walked over.“Oh. Hello, Dear. It’s a nice day out, isn’t it?” She said, still smiling.“Yes, it is. Um, did you see Luke come by here anytime soon?” I asked.“You mean the boy that was with you yesterday? He’s outside.” Sheanswered, pointing in the direction of the door.“Thank you.” I said, heading for the door.






“Did you hear a strange buzzing noise?” He asked. He was looking around,trying to spot the source of the noise.

“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lied. I figured that in Layton’s

time, cell phones hadn’t even been invented. I wasn’t even sure that housephones had been invented. Luke looked as if he thought he was going crazy.

Then, the Professor came through the door. He looked wide awake, as if hehadn’t just gotten out of bed. Thinking of that, I realized that I had bed-head.

“Good Morning!” Layton said, “You two might want to come inside. I madebreakfast.”

I never realized that such a delicious breakfast could be possible. TheProfessor had prepared eggs and pancakes, but he added exquisite

ingredients. All in all, it tasted almost like a gourmet meal! Note to self, Ask Laytonfor his Recipes.

After breakfast, Layton and Luke decided that they would go upstairs andchange their clothes. Since I had no belongings, I headed for the bathroom towash my hair. While I was walking to the bathroom, I recalled myconversation with Luke. It wasn’t much, but at least we’re not mortal enemies anymore, Ithought, happy that I had had a reasonable conversation with Luke.

Once I was in the bathroom, I checked my missed calls. The name on thescreen surprised me. Simon Winters. When we were in the FullCircle building,

we had little or no contact with each other. Why would he want to call menow?

In order to follow up on his call, I dialed his number. After a few rings, Iheard a voice on the phone.

“Hello. This is Simon Winters.”“Uh, Simon, this is Morgan Stone. I noticed that you called me earlier.”“Oh! You’re alright! I’ve been trying to contact everyone to make sure theywere okay!” He sounded relieved.“Yes. Thanks for trying to contact me. Have you talked to anyone else?”

“I’ve been able to reach Mike Colfer. He and I have talked several times.”“That’s good. I’ve called my sister, Alice. She’s okay.”“That just leaves Austin.” Simon said. There was a slight tone of apathy inhis voice.“I hope he’s alright. I’ll try to contact him later.” I said.“Alright. Well, I have to go. We’re launching an attack on Normandy.” Hesaid. It took me a while to realize that he was in Call of Duty 4. A war game.




“Okay. See ya.” I hesitated before I pressed the end button. By the way hisvoice sounded, he was prepared for an emergency. Maybe... No. It wasn’tgood to project doubt on anyone. I put the phone in my pocket and started torinse my hair in the sink. It felt really good, the rush of cold water on my hair.I felt relieved. At least four of us were definitely alright.

When I was finished, I met up with Layton and Luke in the Attic bedroom.Once everything was settled, we headed outside. The market was filled withthe hustling and bustling of the crowd. There was an old woman sweepingsteps, a baker selling fresh bread, and a butcher advertising for the day’smeat.

Today, we were going to Lady Dahlia’s for another meeting. During thismeeting, she would inform us of possible leads. And so begins Day One of

Investigation, I thought as we walked straight into the courtyard of the Reinholdmanor. As soon as we arrived, we realized something was wrong. The door

was wide open. Layton rushed through the door and into the main hallway.

“Hello?” Luke called. “Is anyone there?”

The Butler, Matthew, came down the stairs. He was frantically waving hisarms. He seemed to be terrified.

“Professor! Oh, it’s simply awful! Come quickly, please!” Said Matthew.

All three of us hurried upstairs, following Matthew. Along the way, Matthewwould yell things like, “Come on!” or “Hurry up!” Eventually, we were all

gathered in the Living room once more. There was an older man, maybe inhis Fifties, standing in the center of the room. He was wearing a tanwaistcoat with a blue tie. Spotting the Professor, he hurried over.

“So, you’re the famous Professor Layton, then?” He said gruffly, “Thename’s Chelmey, Inspector Chelmey. I’m the inspector on this case.”“Well, I’d hardly call it a case. If this is about the Golden Apple, then we’vegot it covered.” Replied Layton.

“The Golden Apple? What’s that? Please talk common sense while in acrime scene!” Yelled Chelmey in rage.

“We were out when this crime took place and don’t know what’s going on.

Could you please fill us in?” Said Layton. Luke and I exchanged glances,worried about what might have occurred. What Chelmey said next surprisedall of us.

“There’s been a murder, Professor. A man was killed here!”“What?! Who was murdered?” Asked Layton. He appeared Mystified.“The victim was a resident of this address, one Simon Reinhold.”“Simon was...” Layton sounded like he couldn’t believe any of it. It all

seemed so absurd.




Inspector Chelmey cleared his throat and then started to explain.

“Approximately two hours ago, I received a report that a man had collapsedat Reinhold Manor. Upon arrival at the scene, it was apparent to me that

Simon was already dead.”“I see,” Said Layton, “And the cause of death?”“I’m currently conducting an investigation to look into it.” Answered

Chelmey, “I’ll just let you know right now, Mr. Layton, I’m looking at you as apotential suspect as well. The rest of the details concerning this investigationare classified.”“Speaking of the details, who placed the call to the authorities?” askedLayton.“Are your ears clogged? You deaf? Didn’t I just tell you those details areclassified? Hmm?”prodded Chelmey. Then he announced, “All right,everyone. I’ll be taking statements from each one of you in the other room.

Come in one by one.”

Then, he pointed in my direction.“You two aren’t suspects, so I don’t need your statements. You may wait onthe couch.”I realized that by “You two”, he meant me and Luke.

I had a long day ahead of me...

Chapter Eight: More Mysteries

After about an hour, Chelmey seemed satisfied. He had gathered a lot of information from Gordon, Lady Dahlia, Matthew, and The Professor.

It was then that he asked “Is this everyone who was present at the site of the crime?”“I believe we are missing Ramon, sir.” Answered Matthew. Suddenly, Iremembered. Ramon was the man who rowed us across the river earlier. Itmade me wonder where he was...“Ramon! Where is he and what on earth is he doing? Matthew, fetch Ramonat once!” Yelled Lady Dahlia.“To be honest, Madam, thinking on it, I’ve not seen Ramon for a few hours

now.” Answered Matthew. He looked worried.“What!? Don’t tell me that he was taken as well!” Said Chelmey, “...No, hold

on a moment. He’s a suspect, too. Perhaps he fled the scene of his crime.”Lady Dahlia looked upset. She said, “Where could he be at a time like this?

What if the murderer got Ramon, too?” At this, she almost fainted, butMatthew caught her. He took Lady Dahlia to her bedroom to relax.






“I appreciate your help, Professor.” Said Lady Dahlia.And with that, Lady Dahlia left the room. This left me a chance to lookaround the room further. There was a writing desk in the left corner of theroom, a fancy and comfortable-looking bed in the right hand corner of theroom, and a desk right across from us. It was a rather ordinary looking desk,

probably one that I could have found at home, but sitting on it -

“Look at this picture.” Said Layton.

Sitting on the desk was a picture in a small frame. The picture showed aBlonde woman in a pink dress, most likely Lady Dahlia, holding a newbornchild. It bore semblance to the one portrayed in the Portrait next to thebaron’s. Looking excitedly at the mother and her baby was Matthew and anold woman that I’d never seen before.

“Oh! Isn’t that Lady Dahlia? She’s holding a baby.” Said Luke.

“That baby must be Baron Reinhold’s daughter, then.” I said.“Gosh. What a cute baby!”Exclaimed Luke. He started making weird noises,probably because he was thinking of how cute the baby was.“Lady Dahlia hasn’t changed much, has she?” I asked. She seemed to be thesame beautiful woman that she was today. However, in this picture, sheseemed a lot happier.“You know, Luke, they say true beauty never ages.” Said Layton. He wasadmiring the picture as well.

“I suppose so, Professor... But even so, it makes me wonder. Maybe we canask Lady Dahlia about it.” Said Luke.

And so, we started for the living room. Along the way, I realized that LadyDahlia was like my own mother. She was kind, caring, loving and supportivein her own way. It also made me wonder who this child was, and why she waskeeping her a secret.

We arrived in the living room a few moments later. Taking a quick glancearound the room, I noticed that Lady Dahlia was now on the couch. Shelooked relaxed and serene, as if nothing even remotely horrifying hadhappened. Inspector Chelmey was still in the room, although he looked morelike he was daydreaming than investigating.

Trying not to annoy Lady Dahlia, we kindly asked to speak to her oncemore.

“Pardon me, but we happened upon an adorable picture of you and yourdaughter a moment ago.” Said Layton.“I beg your pardon?” Asked Lady Dahlia. She looked confused.“The picture of you holding a baby. The one that sits in the next room.”




“I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. I’ve never had any children.” SaidLady Dahlia. I could tell from her eyes that she was telling the truth. It mademe wonder, though...“My apologies, madam, I must have been mistaken.” Said Professor Layton,rather courteously.

“At any rate, time is of the essence here. Go find Ramon and bring him back,would you?”

Once we were out of the earshot of Lady Dahlia, we started talking oncemore.

“If that’s not Lady Dahlia in the photograph, then who on earth could it be?”Asked Luke, confused.

“I think we’d do well to ask the butler a few questions. Maybe he can clearthis up for us.” Explained Layton.

And so, after a few minutes, we were on our way down the stairs, whereMatthew stood, still worried and shocked from the previous experiences.

“Excuse me, Matthew.” Said the Professor, “Do you have a moment?”“Certainly, sir. How can I help you?” Asked Matthew.“It’s about the picture of Lady Dahlia upstairs. The one of her holding asmall child.”“Ah, yes, about that old picture...”Said Matthew. He looked weary and upset.“That’s not Lady Dahlia, I’m afraid. It’s a picture of Baron Reinhold’s formerwife. But I certainly understand why you would mistake one for the other. They were virtuallly identical in their appearance, their gesture, and even in

the way they moved.”“So that photo isn’t of Lady Dahlia, but of an earlier wife of the Baron?”Asked Layton, astounded.“Wow. Imagine finding someone that looks exactly like you. What are theodds?” I asked.“Is there a chance the two were relatives of one another?” Asked Luke.“I’ve never heard anything to suggest as much, young sir.” AnsweredMatthew, “It just happened one day. The Baron arrived home, and at his sidewas Lady Dahlia. I’m sorry to say that’s all I really know about the matter.”“Not at all.” The Professor replied, “You’ve been most helpful. Thank you,Matthew.”

After gathering more information, we left the Manor. As we were walkingdown the courtyard, I thought of how it seemed to never change. There wasalways this bright, sunny, happy feel to it.

Just as we were walking down the pathway to the river crossing, myFullCircle phone went off again. Man, I really had to learn to put that thing onvibrate. In the calm, serene courtyard of the manor, that ringtone could be




heard for miles. I quickly tried to reach for the phone, but the Professorstopped me by saying, “Morgan, it’s alright. Please, answer it.”

My face flushed pale. How had he known? Luke was standing therecompletely shocked and confused by what had taken place. Layton must

have known all along, or must have figured it out along the way, but hedefinitely knew now.

I flipped open the cell phone and held it close to my ear.

“Hello?” I asked, trying not to sound as angry as I felt.“Morgan! Alright, It finally got through!” I knew that voice. Austin.“Oh. Hi, Austin!” I was overcome with happiness. We were all alive! All fiveof us.“Hey! I just got that letter from Mr. Winters, so I tried to contact someone.

You were my first choice.” He sounded embarrassed when he got to the last

part.“I’m glad that I know you’re alright. I heard from Simon Winters that Mike isalright, and I called my sister last night, so I guess we’re all still alive!”

“Morgan, I’m glad that everyone’s alive and everything, but there’ssomething I need to tell you right now. The problem with the VirtuCirclewasn’t just an accident. Someone intended for it to act the way it is, and nowwe’re all in danger.”

His words turned my blood to ice. Did I just hear what I thought I heard?“Wait. Are you meaning to suggest that FullCircle did this on purpose?” Iasked.“No, it wasn’t FullCircle. To them, it’s still an accident. I’m not exactly sure

who caused the problem, but it’s definitely someone from outside FullCircle.”“How do you know?” I asked. I wasn’t completely sure that I trusted him.“I just do. I can’t explain it, but I know it’s right. Now, I need to knowsomething. What part of Professor Layton are you in? I’ve played through thewhole game and can tell you where to go next.”

“A man named Ramon has disappeared. We’re searching for him right now.”“Let’s see.... Oh, I remember! Try checking near the large tower in the

center of town. You’ll have to go north past the clock tower.”“Alright. And thank you. I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about Trauma

Center, so I can’t help you where you are. Maybe someone else knows aboutit.”

“Okay. I’ll try calling Mike Colfer. See ya, Morgan.” He said.“See you, Austin.”

I clicked the end button on the phone.

After gently placing the phone in my pocket, I reflected upon the strangecall. Why would someone want to harm any of us? What reasons would theyhave? How did Layton figure out my secret?




It was too much. I started crying right there. The soothing, rushingsensations of the tears calmed me and helped me organize my thoughts. I’mnot sure how long I stood there, sobbing, but it felt like a long time. Once Ifelt satisfied again, I slowly trudged back to where Layton and a very

confused Luke were standing. Layton acknowledged my tears the moment hetook a look at my face.

“Would someone like to explain to me what’s going on?” Asked Luke. Hisface was red, as if he had been trying to get The Professor’s attention for along time.

“I believe that Morgan can answer that better than I can” Answered Layton.His eyes had a look of concern.

Then, I came clean. I explained FullCircle, Alice, Austin’s call, everything.Both Luke and the Professor were paying complete attention, and onlybothered to ask the occasional question. Once I was finished, Luke was still

as shocked as when my phone went off. “Well, we’d better be going. Lady Dahlia has requested that we find Ramon,

and she won’t be too happy if we find nothing. Since Morgan’s friend, Austin,has asked us to check the tower, that would be our most probable lead. We’dbest make our way to the clock tower.”

And we were off again. We headed toward the riverbank and, since Ramonwasn’t here, Layton had to row. He didn’t have much rowing experience (Healmost flipped the boat), but within a few minutes, we were on the other sideand heading into the East side of St. Mystere.

By this time of day, the crowds on the streets had thinned. There were afew street merchants, but aside from that, there weren’t too many people.We turned the corner on the street and headed to our right. We were back inthe town square again. To my left, that same old lady from this morning wassweeping her porch. To my right was the ornately decorated clock tower. Itook a quick glance at the time. 12:45. It had amazed me that only a shortwhile ago, it was 6:00 AM.

We headed to the right and under the clock tower. There was a large path,which seemed almost invisible when viewing it from the entrance to town.

Lots more shops lined the streets, and there were slightly more crowds. Thismust’ve been the town’s market. Although it didn’t seem as lively as otherstreets, a lot of higher quality items were sold here, so it was a good place tokeep in mind.

We kept an even pace towards to the tower. Every five minutes, I wouldswitch from admiring the beauty of the village to being deep in thoughtabout the recent events. By the time we reached the tower, it was 7:00 PM.




I stared at the gargantuan building in front of me. It was at least a milehigh! Some parts near the bottom looked old, but it seemed that the partsnear the top looked brand new. I ran up to the tower entrance, hoping to finda way inside, but instead, I found a large, metal gate. It was impossible to

climb, so I simply gave up. All three of us looked for anything that might leadus further in the investigation.

After a few minutes of nothing, I decided that Austin must have beenmistaken. There was no way that anything was going to happen here, wasthere? Luke let out a yawn.

“Is something the matter, Luke?” Asked the Professor.“Oh, sorry, professor. It’s not that the investigation is boring me or anything.I’m just really tired. Do you think that maybe we can head back?” ExplainedLuke. Now that I noticed it, all of us were extremely tired. We had barely had

any sleep the whole day.“It’s gotten late,” Said Layton, “ Let’s report our findings to everyone at themansion and wrap things up for the day.”

All of us in agreement, we started to head back toward the ReinholdMansion. Right before we got to the exit of the tower walkway, I paused. Outof the corner of my eye, I saw the slightest movement. I turned around, andwhat I saw made me want to scream.

“Oh, my -” I yelled. Luke and Layton turned around in surprise and noticedthe figure that was now in front of us.

“Is that Ramon?” Asked Luke.

We were watching as Ramon was being stuffed into a large, white bag.Although there was barely any light, I could see the kidnapper’s face. It wasan old man, maybe in his late seventies, but he still looked very healthy forhis age. Just as he finished closing up the bag, he spotted us. In surprise, hestarted a quick sprint. I have to say, I was impressed that such an oldergentleman could run so fast, but all three of us started running our fastesttowards him.

We turned down almost every passageway we could, turning right, then

left, and then going straight, but eventually, the old man was out of sight.We were standing in the market plaza again, and even though most of thevillagers had gone to bed, there were still some faint lights glowing in thewindows. Then, we saw the brightest lights of all. They were coming from thetower. Although most of the villagers didn’t seem to notice, the lights keptturning on, until they reached a blinding shade of white.

“We’ve lost him!” Exclaimed Luke. He didn’t seem to happy about it.




“Luke, you saw that, too, didn’t you? There’s no doubt about it that that wasRamon.” Said the Professor. He was as surprised as we were.

“Does that mean that the kidnapper killed Ramon, too?” I asked. I wasn’tcompletely sure that this game was safe anymore. With a murderer on theloose, I was in as much danger as any of the other four VR winners.

“We’d best search the crime scene for clues, Luke” Said the Professor.

And so, we were off towards the tower again. Once we reached the towerentrance, We started looking for any clues. After a few minutes, I found ashiny, gold object. A gear.

“Hey! Look what I found!” I called, and both Layton and Luke hurried to myside.“This appears to be identical to the item recovered from the crime scene atReinhold Manor.” Explained The Professor.

“Do you think it might help us find who is responsible for both crimes?” Iasked. I wasn’t too fond on being murdered next.“Perhaps.” Said Layton, “At any rate, our first priority is to report our findingsto Lady Dahlia.”

And so, we trudged back to the manor, with the day’s failures and successstill in our minds. Before we reached the road that led up to the Manor, Iheard a now familiar ring in my pocket. My phone. I reached for it, knowingthat Layton and Luke wouldn’t mind, and received the call.

“Hello?” I asked.At that second, I heard the most dreadful scream, something that you wouldonly hear in horror movies. Something that would keep you up at night.The scream on the other line was from Alice. I immediately started to panic.I screamed, “Alice! Do you hear me?!?!? Speak to me!”

I was on the verge of tears, ready to let myself go and forget ever being ableto leave this dreadful “VR simulation”. This was too much. I waited a fewminutes. On the other line, I heard the occasional noise. Someone wasyelling, and I could hear something, possibly an animal, making strangegrunts and groans on the other end. There was no trace of Alice’s voice.

At that minute, the other line was immersed in static and the call suddenlyended.

Chapter Nine: Mixed Feelings

As soon as the call ended, I stuck the phone back into my pocket. Myfeelings were being meddled with. One minute, Alice was alive, and I was




promising to make it through everything with her. Now, she could be dead,and I still had no idea how to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. I sat onthe emerald grass of Lady Dahlia’s courtyard, and I let the waterworks flow.

After was seemed like an hour, I rejoined Layton and Luke. When I arrived,

Layton immediately recognized the red marks on my face that only camefrom crying. He rushed over to me and embraced me. Luke, stunned, tried tofigure out what had happened.

Layton and I continued our tight bear hug, and all the while, he waswhispering in my ear, “It’s going to be alright...”. Even though he had no ideawhat it was, he was still comforting me in my time of need, and I thankedhim desperately for that. How could it be that these two-dimensional videogame characters were conversing and loving me as if they were real people?It both amazed and confused me, but I felt a deep compassion toward thewise Professor.

This whole series of events made me realize that I wasn’t hiding anythingfrom Layton or Luke anymore. Even though it would probably have beenbetter to keep the whole thing a secret, how could I leave these twoconcerned, loving individuals in the dark?

Upon that realization, I began to explain what had just happened. I startedcrying at some parts, but I persevered. This was something that they neededto know. Once I was finished, both of them looked astounded. Luke lookedlike he wanted to help comfort me, but didn’t know what to say.

“Even though I know it’s been hard on you,” The Professor explained, “Theonly way that we can get you home, safe and alive, is by solving the mysteryof the Golden Apple. The next logical step in doing that would be returning toLady Dahlia’s”

I completely agreed with the Professor, and we continued down thecourtyard all the way down to the door. Even though no one was there togreet us, we walked through the doorway and up the stairs to the living roomwhere, undoubtedly, Lady Dahlia and the inspector would be waiting. As Ipassed through the fancy, aristocratic milieu of the manor’s hallways, Istarted thinking of Alice. Was she alive? No, I couldn’t think about that now.

I tried to focus on something else, something happier. Then, I realized with ashock that I hadn’t told my friend Kati about my winning the VR contest. KatiBarrett and her sister, Laren, had inspired me to enter the contest in the firstplace.

I could still picture our school’s lunch room, the various health posters linedup against the walls, the uniformed cafeteria ladies, and the noisy chatter of




students as they happily ate their brought lunches. As for the ones thatbought lunch... Well, I shouldn’t get into that.

Kati, Laren, and I would always sit together during lunch. We didn’t reallyknow why, since there were tons of other kids we could always have sat with,

but all three of us just stuck together. It was one of these types of days,maybe during late December, that I brought to school the contest flyer. Kati,being my closest friend, decided to read the flyer first. After a few seconds,her eyes lit up.

She said to me, “Morgan! You should totally enter that contest! It’sdefinitely up your alley!”

It was kind of strange, since Kati had always been the technology person.She could code her own computer if she wanted to, but she was verypersuasive, and in the end, I submitted both Alice and my forms. I guess

that I had been in such a rush to leave for L.A. that I didn’t even think of theperson that inspired me to go there! It made me wonder if Kati was doingalright.

We approached the door. Even though the manor was quiet, there weresigns of obvious distress. Some of the rugs were slightly out of place, somefurniture was scattered. It seemed that nobody had bothered to clean upafter Inspector Chelmey.

When we arrived that the door, I noticed that Layton hesitated. He musthave been uncertain as to what Lady Dahlia’s response would be. Then, he

pulled the door open. On the sofa sat Lady Dahlia, in the same pose as thelast time we had seen her. She looked dignified and proper, yet you couldstill tell that she had been missing out on beauty sleep. Inspector Chelmeystood in the corner of the room, investigating a mantlepiece. He had hisaverage, stern expression. However, this was no time for investigation.

“We have Urgent News!” Informed Layton, “Ramon has been abducted!”Even though most of us had seen something like this coming, all people inthe room were shocked. All of us were at a standstill until Lady Dahlia spoke.

“So are you saying that Ramon has also been involved in some kind of... foul

play?”“No, we can’t be sure of that. However, time is of the essence.” AnsweredLayton. “We must organize a search party to locate him posthaste.”

“Mister Layton, what is the meaning of all this? Why do you insist onwhipping the town up into a frenzy?” Snapped Inspector Chelmey. Heseemed annoyed.



Documents

Full Circle Book 1