Who Is Killing the Brandybucks? by Kathryn Ramage

Sam was already at Brandy Hall ahead of Frodo and Pippin, waiting at the nearest front door. He looked relieved when he first caught sight of the pair coming around the side of the hill.

"Are we late for dinner?" Pippin asked as they came in.

"Not as yet," Sam told him. "Her ladyship's waiting on Master Merry and your uncle, Mr. Merimac. She's been hoping you'd come afore they all sat down."

"Good," said Frodo. "I want a word with Merry." He didn't notice that Sam regarded him more coolly as he went down the hall toward the Master's study.

Merry was not in the study, but Uncle Merimac was seated at the desk, writing something in an account book.

"I beg your pardon--I didn't meant to interrupt your work, Uncle," Frodo apologized as Merimac stopped writing to look up at him. "I was looking for Merry. I thought he'd like to hear of my inquiries in town today." In light of their conversation this morning, he thought that Merry would be pleased to hear that he had turned up nothing of interest.

"Your investigation hasn't been going very well, has it?" said Merimac. "Two young Brandybucks dead or injured in less than a week, and you don't have any idea who might be doing these awful things, do you?"

"No, not yet." Frodo admitted.

The elder hobbit shook his head. "Perhaps this will teach Merry not to push his... favorites forward to interfere in the shirriffs' business."

"I doubt Chief Muggeredge would be any more successful at this point," Frodo responded. "I've 'interfered' in several murder investigations before, and solved every one. The shirriffs are frequently glad to have my interference." The criticism stung, but Frodo realized that it was directed at Merry as much as himself. He also observed that, as Merimac spoke of Merry, that same expression of dislike he'd spied this morning reappeared. "You still don't like him, do you, Uncle?"

"Like who?"

"Merry. You never approved of him when we were boys. You thought he was wayward and irresponsible, and you think so still."

"My private opinion of my namesake is unimportant," the elder hobbit answered rather stiffly. "Whether I am fond of him or not, Saradoc would want me to ensure that his son made a proper Master of the Hall, and I've done my best."

"Merry is very grateful for your assistance. He's told me so, many times." While it was all the more admirable that Uncle Merry would do this duty while disliking Merry so, it was also rather chilling. Frodo wondered if Merry guessed how his uncle truly felt. "I'm know he hopes you think better of him now that he's grown up and become more responsible."

"There hasn't been another public scandal," Merimac conceded, "not from Merry at any rate, but I don't believe he's changed his ways from when he was a reckless boy with no thought for his anything but his own pleasures. He's only become more discreet. It was always one boy or another. Now I understand that it's you, Frodo." He regarded Frodo with distaste. "Who next, I wonder? Peregrin Took is back again. My Berry never behaved half as disgracefully with the house-maids, nor even Melilot or Mentha or that flirtatious boy-mad chit of Hilda's, but he's dishonored in memory, while Merry got away with far worse... and still does." Merimac resumed writing, but he was angry and pressed too hard on the quill, causing the ink to spatter on the page. He quickly reached for a blotter. "To see him and all you silly young clods going about laughing, while Berry lies in the vault seems to me to be a great injustice. He was worth the lot of you together. At least, if Berry misbehaved, he did so according to nature."

While he wished to be sensitive to his uncle's grief, this was more than Frodo was willing to put up with. "Merry never forced his attentions on anyone who wasn't willing, or at least a little curious," he replied. "Berry included."

Merimac stared at him, expression darkening.

"You knew about that, didn't you, Uncle Merry? Merry was sure that Berry told you."

"He told me," Merimac confirmed tersely after a moment. "And if I doubted that Merry was a corrupting influence before then, I never doubted it afterwards. If you don't mind, I'd like to finish this work before dinner." He dipped his quill and began to write again, indicating that he didn't wish to discuss this any more.

As Frodo went out, a new and horrible theory began to form in his mind. When he'd first wondered who could bear a grudge against the Brandybucks, he'd been thinking of cadet members of the family or someone who had only come peripherally into his investigation thus far, like Darco Underhaye--but now he wondered if he ought to look closer to home.
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