Winteriron: windmill, fox, and haunt
(This is a Jonathan Creek AU, but I realized that RDJ also has a windmill house after I’d already planned it out! Funny coincidence :D )
Bucky stopped and stared up at the building in front of him. Huh. It really was a windmill. If someone were to say, "he's a mad genius who lives in a windmill," your first thought would be that they were overreacting, but at least part of it seemed to be very true in this case. Bucky checked his notebook again. Stark was the name. Tony Stark.
He walked up the winding path that cut through overgrown grasses and hedges to the front door. The paint was faded, and the whole windmill had the distinct impression of it not having been touched in many years. Nevertheless, he needed help. He knocked on the door.
"What?" shouted a voice. "One minute. Come in, but wait a second." A violent crash sounded from somewhere above the door.
Bucky counted to sixty in his head, wondering if it was a literal minute or if he was actually supposed to wait for someone to open the door. At fifty-six seconds, the door wrenched open to reveal a man holding a taxidermied fox.
"Hello," he said. "I can't remember what I ordered."
"You didn't order me at all," Bucky replied. "You're Tony Stark, right? I'm an investigative reporter. Bucky Barnes."
"Oh! Even better. Come in."
Bucky stepped inside. The main floor was a small, round space with a kitchen and a dining table. There were papers and notebooks everywhere. Tony immediately made for the stairs and Bucky followed him. One floor up was something entirely different. A huge table in the middle of the room was covered with cardboard models, filled with tiny cardboard people and sets. Posters lined the walls, all famous magicians, and a shelf of binders, each with a year printed on it, stood by a small desk that was also covered in model sets, as well as dolls, some missing limbs or heads.
"Can you hold this?" Tony asked, and he handed Bucky the fox.
"And stand right here." Tony shuffled him into place. He eyed him up and down. "Yeah, you're about the right height." Tony took three steps back and snapped on a pair of lab goggles. "Okay, try not to breathe it in."
"Excuse m- ah!" A cloud of gas exploded from the fox and obscured everything in the room. It lined Bucky's throat and he coughed violently, waving his hand and trying to find clear air. There was a loud creak of a window and the gas started to float out of the room.
"Perfect," Tony said. "Couldn't see you at all. Now I just need solid numbers on dispersion time."
"Mr. Stark, I just -" Bucky eyed the fox, wondering if it was going to go off again. He set it down carefully on a table. Tony had started scribbling in a notebook. "I'm sorry, you are Mr. Stark, yes?"
"The man who designs all the tricks for Natasha Romanov's magic shows?"
"I was hoping I could get your help with something. I got your name from my publisher, Steve Rogers. He's friends with Natasha."
"Sure, sure," Tony said. He set his notebook down and peered in the fox’s mouth.
"Well, as I said, I'm an investigative reporter and I'm looking into a murder that happened five days ago. A man was shot and killed in his locked study with no witnesses except the gardener who was outside and saw a confrontation through the window. She swore up and down it was the man's son who killed him."
"Seems cut and dry." Tony picked up one of the cardboard sets and turned it upside down, sticking his head inside.
"Well, except that the man's son has been dead for fifteen years. The gardener swears the house has been haunted since the day he died, and he finally manifested and killed his father. There isn't a single other suspect and I've been working my ass off for the past four days, but I haven't been able to come up with a single thing. Steve said that Natasha said you had a knack for thinking outside the box and you might be able to give me another perspective. I’ll pay you."
Tony paused, his head still deeply inside the box, and hummed. "Haunted, you say?"
"That's what she claims."
"And the door was locked…"
"Maybe." Tony set the box down again and tapped a finger against his lips. "Maybe."
Bucky squared his shoulders. "So will you help me?" If Tony said no, he was running out of options.
Tony considered him for a moment. "Alright. I'll help you. But first, I need you to help me." He picked up a taxidermied raccoon from another table. "Hold this raccoon."