RMV Mysteries #1

by Reyskaw Marcosius Velorus

Winter 2014 Edition

Hello, everyone. Detective Stolas of Viper Investigations here. I’m writing this note to welcome you to the world of Creswood, the setting of my next case, and to give you some helpful tips for solving the mystery.

This mystery isn’t like one that you would find in a typical mystery novel. The burden of solving the case lies on us, the investigators, and there won’t be a clear answer at the end. But don’t panic! If you pay attention and think, we’ll solve this case together and the answer should be obvious. This is a simple case involving three murders so I don’t expect the difficulty will end up being that high no matter how confusing things are in the beginning.

Believe in yourself and follow me through the story and you should have no trouble at all. Just make sure that you’re thinking and trying to work out who the culprit is, how they committed the murders, and for what purpose. If you pay attention then you’ll be rewarded. Even if you don’t reach the answer on your first read-through, you can always try again and the clues you’ve gathered from your previous attempts will certainly help you.

Now, I bet you’re wondering how I’m self-aware of the fact that I’m in a mystery novel. Well, the truth is this is just part of my visualization technique. At Viper Investigations, we use some advanced techniques to discover the truth of the crimes in our cases. I like to introduce the readers to the story at the outset even though you guys don’t really exist and are just in my head. So don’t worry if you see me imagining things. It’s just a technique to extract extra hints from my subconscious.

Once more, I’d like to say that this is a mystery novel in the truest sense. You and I will work together to solve this strange logic puzzle and, like I said, the difficulty probably won’t be that high by the time everything ends.

So, let’s dive right into the case. I’m about to drive into the town of Creswood and meet with the local Police Chief to get the details of the incident…

“Thank you for coming in,” the Police Chief said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Stolas. Strange name, I know.”

“Like the demon?” an officer asked from somewhere in the background.

“No, not like the demon. Or maybe. I don’t know much about that. I’m here because I’ve been called in for your latest case.”

“Yes, of course,” the Police Chief responded. “Right this way, detective. I’ve prepared some files with the basic details. Nothing extensive, just something to glance over quickly.”

Stolas walked into the Police Chief’s office where he was handed a folder filled with documents detailing the case that he had been called in for. The detective sat down and began reviewing the files immediately, beginning with a written summary of the incident:

The first victim, Victoria Night, was found on the morning of October 16th in Creston Manor after having been killed at 9 PM the previous night. At 1 AM on the same night, a man named Joseph Pin was killed whose body was found prior to Miss Night’s. Then, on the night of the 16th a woman known as Lily Doe was killed around 7 PM.

All three victims were killed in different ways. Victoria’s throat was cut and it is believed that she likely died instantly. Joseph Pin’s skull was fractured and it is believed that his head was repeatedly slammed into his desk. Lily Doe was found with marks on her neck indicating that she had been strangled.

A few weeks have passed since the incident and the most recent aim of the investigation is to determine whether or not these three murders were linked in any way. However, the case is being handed over to an independent investigator by the will of an outside agency (Viper Investigations) and so this report is being prepared to introduce the detective to the case and to establish for the record that the investigation is no longer being handled exclusively by the Creswood Police Department.

The initial investigation has failed so far to reveal any connection between the victims. However, another incident is suspected of being related to this one. Recently, the wealthiest of the aristocrats in Creswood passed away. This man, Isaac Creston, was known for funding the majority of the town’s efforts and industries and this made him a key player in local politics. Isaac’s heir was his adopted son, Jacob Creston. However, Jacob is a young man with no family or heir of his own and this is where a possible connection to the current case may exist.

There are rumors that the aristocrats, the key local political players and wealthy families of Creswood, are attempting to display their power. These murders may have been an attempt by one of these wealthy families to scare Jacob into selecting one of their own as his heir. Whomever succeeds the Creston estate will receive a large fortune as well as a great deal of local power that could be considered worth killing for.

Victoria Night was one of the aristocrats and would have been a likely target if this conspiracy proves to be true as her fortune seems to be tied to the Creston estate and would be inherited by whomever Jacob selects as an heir. Joseph Pin was a local reporter and that makes him another likely target as a possible enemy of those keeping secrets in Creswood. Lily Doe was a prostitute and may have had a wealthy client that could have endangered her. However, these are merely possibilities at the moment and other motives should be investigated.

“So this conspiracy involving the aristocrats is your best lead?” Detective Stolas asked.

“It’s up to you to determine that. The case has been turned over to you and we’re here to offer you support. I acknowledged as much in my report.”

“Would it be possible to start by questioning Jacob Creston? If there is a link between his father’s death and this case I should find that out right away.”

“Just head up to the mansion at the head of the town, that’s Creston Manor. He’s a good kid and he’s been very cooperative with us so far so I can’t imagine that he’d turn you away. Though if he does, just contact me and I’ll try to help you out.”

“Alright then, thanks for your assistance. I’ll try to solve the case as quickly as possible, but if it ends up taking a while I might not be checking in at every step.”

“That’s your call to make.”

Detective Stolas said goodbye to the Police Chief of Creswood after looking at the case documents a little more and asking some quick follow-up questions. Once he was satisfied with his understanding of the basic facts of the case, he left the police station and headed to the rental car he had been given and made his way north to the mansion of the Creston family.

It was clear to the detective that the Creston family was as rich as they had been described in the files he had just read. The mansion itself was gigantic and it was surrounded by a vast stretch of private land with a variety of smaller buildings scattered about the estate. The detective thought it strange that there weren’t any gates, but assumed the property was secure enough that gates might not matter at all. After ringing the door bell, an elderly servant answered promptly.

“Hi, I’m Detective Stolas and I’ll be investigating the incident that occurred here earlier this month,” he said while presenting his badge. “I was wondering if I could speak to Mr. Creston.”

“Please, come inside,” the servant said as he led Stolas in and gestured for him to take a seat in the drawing room. “You may wait here while I call the master.”

“Thank you very much, Mister…”

“The name is Tristan Radley, sir.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Radley,” Stolas said as he sat down on a comfy sofa while Tristan went to summon his master. Stolas looked around and admired the expensive decor lit by sunlight streaming through the large windows. The room primarily consisted of dark wood furniture which matched the historic-looking mansion that contained it. Even though he was investigating a case involving murders, Stolas liked it when he could be comfortable. Being comfortable helped him to think more clearly and meant that he would be able to solve the case more easily and quickly.

It didn’t take long before Jacob himself showed up, so Stolas turned his attention back towards the case before Jacob could notice that he was lazily lounging on the sofa.

“Welcome to Creswood, detective,” Jacob said before shaking Stolas’ hand. “I’m sorry all this is going on though.”

“Well, it is part of my job description to deal with crimes. Can you tell me a little bit about Miss Victoria Night? I know the details so you don’t need to describe the incident itself. Just tell me about her as a person.”

“Thank you for not making me talk about the murder, it’s been tough,” he said before sitting down opposite the detective. “She was a friend of mine and I’ve known her ever since I was little. Over the years she’s helped me through a lot so we were close. She’s the last member of one of the wealthy families here in Creswood so she’s one of the aristocrats. Well, that’s what they call themselves. I’m kind of the guy in charge of everything seeing as my family line started the town or… well, the original Creston family did.”

“So she likely had many enemies from a political perspective.”

“Not that I know of. She was the last of her family so she mainly stayed out of everything. We were friends so I invited her to the party last night even though she’s not involved in all of this anymore.”

“When you say ‘this’ you’re referring to the aristocrats and the politics of this town, right?”

“Yes. That night was my formal introduction to everyone. So there was no need for her to attend, but it was a party so I invited her and she came. It’s been a while since I inherited the Creston estate but this was my first good opportunity to meet everyone.”

“You look quite young to be inheriting all of this status and wealth. You seem to be my age, actually.”

“I’m 26 so I am young but my father, Isaac, passed away and he never had a family of his own. I’ve been his heir for a long time so when he died I gained a lot more than I know what to do with.”

“So Victoria had no enemies and no one was in the mansion after everyone left the party on the night of the 15th.”

“That’s correct as far as I know.”

“So she was killed by a phantom.”

“A phantom?”

“Sorry, that’s my own terminology. When there’s no explanation for someone’s death I imagine that the crime was committed by a phantom. It’s an uncommon way of thinking about things, but not unheard of. Of course, it’s my job to prove that a phantom wasn’t responsible for the three murders that have occurred but I need to visualize the culprit in some way in the meanwhile for my own sake. It helps me to work out the case more easily.”

“That’s interesting. Well, I really do want to help you figure all of this out so you’re free to talk to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but I have one more question to ask before I get going: what was the cause of death for your father?”

“I don’t know. It was handled very quickly and I wasn’t told any of the information. I found his body in his study a few months ago and called the police, but they never followed up with me and I was busy taking care of the inheritance and learning what being the Creston Family Head meant and my life became very hectic after that. I inherited all of this in May, right after his death, but it wasn’t until this month that I formally took over if that helps you to understand how busy I was.”

“I hope things settle down for you soon,” the detective said, genuinely. “Not that you have any information, but based upon your instinct alone, do you think there might be a connection between your father’s death and these three murders?”

“On instinct alone… well, I can’t imagine that there is. But it’s hard to not think that there might be some connection.”

“That’s all I need to know. Thank you for your time, Mr. Creston. I’ll contact you if I need to know anything else. Would you mind if I visited the actual crime scene before I go?”

“Tristan, the servant that showed you in, will be able to take you there. I’d rather not go if that’s alright with you.”

“It’s no problem at all. Thanks once again for your cooperation.”

Tristan escorted Stolas out of the drawing room and up to the second floor. They turned to the right and walked down a hallway filled with guest rooms to the specific room that Victoria had been murdered in.

The room was even cozier than the drawing room and Stolas thought it was regrettable that a murder had occurred in such a nice place. In addition to the bathroom, dresser, and bed there wasn’t much else and the room was a little on the small side so there wouldn’t be any places for the culprit to hide. The window that led outside was actually just for show and couldn’t be opened at all which meant the only way inside the room was via the hallway.

The detective figured all of this out very quickly but looked around a little more just in case. Ultimately he found nothing and Tristan saw him out of the mansion and escorted him to his car. Along the way the detective asked for details about minor things and the elderly servant answered to the best of his knowledge. None of the questions were particularly important so Stolas didn’t write any information down and instead drove back to the police station.

On his drive back, a purple haze filled the seat next to him and when it cleared a beautiful woman in purple dress had appeared. Her chestnut-colored hair was medium length and her voice was pleasant. This was an image of Victoria Night conjured by the visualization technique that Stolas used to help him solve cases.

“What do you think of the phantom’s work this time?” she asked. As an illusion, she wasn’t actually Victoria and thus was only an echo of Stolas’ own thoughts.

“I think this might be a heavily political case.”

“Wrong. Politics has nothing to do with it,” she replied. “Or maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe politics has everything to do with it, depending upon your perspective.”

“That wasn’t very helpful, Miss Night.”

Stolas could sense that Victoria was smiling even though he wasn’t looking directly at her. “Creston Manor is very lovely, isn’t it? It’s a shame I didn’t spend more time there. I had every reason to and yet I chose to live by myself away from my good friend Jacob.”

“Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself,” Stolas said. He was looking for details that he might have learned but glossed over.

“I am Victoria Night, the first victim. Jacob is my friend and he invited me to the party on the 15th and I was killed afterwards in the guest bedroom. That room was practically mine as I stayed in it every time that I visited. I really did love that room, so I’m not so sad that I died there. I am the victim though, so why not just ask me who killed me?”

“I would if you could tell me. But I doubt that my visualization technique borders on magic.”

“You might be surprised. Ask and see if I can answer. I’m a resourceful woman.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me who killed you, but go ahead.”

“Isaac.”

“Jacob’s deceased father?”

“Correct.”

“That was as helpful as I expected. Why don’t you disappear and let me get back to my investigation?”

The illusion of Victoria reached out towards Stolas, but then hesitated and pulled her hand back. “I’ve given you the information that you need, whether you believe it or not. When have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Sorry Miss Night, but you’ve steered me wrong plenty of times. I imagine all sorts of possibilities while I search for the truth. Even if my subconscious thinks Isaac killed you that doesn’t change the fact that he’s dead. Although I suppose my mind is telling me that Isaac is definitely connected to this case. If he was responsible for your death in some way, that could be the same as killing you from your perspective.”

“My my, that could be it. I do wish you luck with this case. Any time that you need me, please just call. I’d like to be able to see Creswood again.”

Victoria disappeared in a purple haze that matched her beautiful dress. Stolas hadn’t recalled any important information, but he now felt that investigating Isaac’s death would reveal some important details relevant to the current case.

“Isaac is dead,” said a deep voice.

Stolas looked over to the passenger’s seat. A man in a dark suit wearing a white mask was now sitting there. This was the other side of Stolas’ visualization technique… the phantom.

“You’re the culprit, but who are you? That’s the question every time.”

“I think this case won’t go very well for you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. You’re the killer though so I don’t think I care what you say.”

“If you say so, but I do have something important to tell you. Something that Victoria and any other people that you imagine won’t be able to tell you.”

“And what’s that?”

“You and I have been speaking for a long time across many cases. You unmask me again and again, killing me each time. It’s only because there are new cases that I’m allowed to continue existing after death. But this case is something special.”

“What’s so special about it?”

“This time… the culprit really is a phantom. Which means, when you go to unmask me and kill me, you’ll get the answer wrong.”

“And then?”

“When I lose, I die. So when you lose… you die.”