APH : England x Reader - The Dollmaker - Part 2

Morning came after a relatively good night's sleep, which was surprising considering what happened the day before. The gloomy weather ruined your good mood, however and Kiku was sleeping on the end of the bed again but you felt too lazy to shoo him off just yet. You gave a small sigh as you took a quick peek out of the window, just to see if the Police car was still outside. Much to your surprise, the street looked very empty indeed. Your neighbours were most likely at work or taking their kids to school and the policeman that had been keeping an eye on your apartment all night was now long gone. For a moment you wondered why he had gone without notifying you, but you had not long woken up and you were still a little drowsy
"I'm just scaring myself for no reason" You mumbled, stretching a little
You wondered over to the armchair and let yourself just fall into it, giving a small tired sigh. You hated getting up this early ... especially when you had a terrible case of writer's block, which you had been a victim of since you got The Dollmaker published. You'd been trying to write a new book, but you couldn't think of a good motive for the bad guy, or where you wanted the plot to go. You were taken by surprise as there was a loud knock at the door.
"I bet it's my editor ... ugh, I hate that slave driver" You said, walking over to the door
You opened it and you found that the dashing Arthur Kirkland was standing there, bold as brass
"Oh, Detective Inspector ... We meet again" You said, fiddling with your hair
"As nice as it is to see you again, Miss [Name], I wish it was under better circumstances" He said
"Wh-what do you mean?" You asked
"We found a girl posed in a nearby store ... dead. Just like the way the killer left his victims in your book" He said with a stern look, meaning he was absolutely serious
"Wh-what?! Who ... who would do such a thing?" You asked, horrified
"I'm afraid we'll have to bring you in for questioning regarding the murder" He said with a stern look
"B-but I didn't do anything!" You wailed, horrified
"We just want to ask you some questions, it's protocol ... and we're hoping you can help us" He said, scratching the back of his neck
"H-help?" You squeaked
"Yes ... you know this story better than anyone. And uh ... I want to catch this guy fast. The media's already all over it like a rash" He said with an agitated sigh
"Oh, great ... just what I need" You groaned
"Come on, I'll give you a ride to the station" He said

-1 Hour Later, at the Police Station-

After a long questioning session by the dashing Arthur Kirkland and his loud companion Alfred, they soon found out that you couldn't have been the murderer they were looking for ... and you signed copies of the book for half the station which was flattering, but embarrassing at the same time.
"Alright, lads. Settle down ... I know it's exciting that this lovely young woman is helping us with the case, but we must keep our heads" Arthur said, looking like he could barely contain his excitement too
You gave a small smile and looked at the rest of the C.I.D, which consisted of a total of 5 people including Arthur. And he had the rather tedious job of making sure they were all introduced to you individually ... apart from Alfred, whom you had already met and had surmised that he was incredibly annoying and somewhat naive which was to be expected of someone so young
"This is DC Alfred, whom you've met ..." he said, gesturing to Alfred "and this is DS Berwald Oxenstierna. He came to us from Sweden about six years ago"
You looked at him and he was a BIG guy with blonde hair and blue eyes with a frightening aura about him. But you could tell just by the photo of his very happy looking family on his desk, that he was in fact a gentle giant. And the way he kept his desk gave the impression that he was a practical, tidy person who got things done
"This is DC Matthew Williams, Alfred's younger brother"
You noticed the quiet young lad in the corner, giving you a shy smile and a wave. You didn't need your deductive reasoning to know that he was the calmer, kinder brother and he wouldn't harm a fly
"And, last but not least, our lovely boss ... DCI Elizabeta Héderváry!" Arthur said with a smile
You noticed that a tall, confident brown haired and green eyed woman had entered the room. You felt relieved that you weren't going to be the only girl helping out on the case
"I hope you can help with this case, Miss [Name]. I'd hate to be putting a citizen at risk for no reason" Elizabeta said, hands on her hips
"I'll help as much as I possibly can! I want to help" You said, very eager
"That's good, because I have a feeling we'll need it" Alfred said with a chuckle
The others looked at him with a somewhat annoyed glare, obviously thinking that he was implying that the team weren't ready for the case
"All the same, I want to help. My book could have caused this and I want to help you stop the person responsible" You said, trying to hide how nervous you truly were
"That's the spirit!" Elizabeta cheered "Can't let the men have all the fun, right?"
You let out a laugh and nodded, unaware of what was about to happen next
"[Name], would it be alright if we called in your Editor and Publisher?" Arthur asked
"Wh-why would you do that?" You asked, slightly worried
"It's just protocol. You know, standard procedure " Alfred said
Reluctantly, you agreed. You didn't know what your Editor or Publisher could know about this whole thing, but understandably, that was the only lead they had apart from the note the murderer left on the scene and the package that the murderer had sent you. You still felt that it was a little unnecessary considering that you had known your Editor and Publisher for many years
"Do you know their addresses?, Miss [ Name]?" Arthur asked
"Yes, I do" You said, a little uneasy
"Good. We'll need to bring them in to question them" Alfred said in a chipper manner
Once again, everyone looked at him and he just grinned absent-mindedly
"Do you mind telling us their names?" Elizabeta asked in a nice tone
"Sure ... my Editor is Roderich Edelstein and my Publisher is Yao Wang" You said, slightly uneasy
"Mr Wang? I knew him. We went to school together" Arthur said with a smile
Alfred let out a little snicker
"Right, Alfred. You've just volunteered to pick up Mr Edelstein and Mr Wang with Berwald!" Arthur said, highly irritated by the youth's behaviour at this point
"Aww, but Berwald is scary and won't let me drive!" Alfred whined
"I don't care. Just do it, for Christ's sake!" Arthur growled
Angered by Arthur's words, Alfred left, slamming the door behind him. Berwald let out a small, quiet sigh
"Wish me luck" He said, leaving the room
An awkward silence fell as a look of guilt formed on Arthur's face. It was then you realised that the case could not only effect you in a bad way ... but also the police trying to solve it