The Interrogation

“Inspectors?” Lawrence repeated, as he and Corinne exchanged glances.

“Yes, sir, they’re waiting in the living room.” The butler revealed, stepping to the side as Lawrence and his maid descended the curved stairs.

Entering the living room, where the shadows of the fireplace danced across the walls, two men sat respectfully on the couch before standing up when Lawrence entered.

They both wore black custodian hats with the silver badge of the Exugian Municipal Investigations Office. Their dark gray long-sleeved jackets had long rows of black buttons. On the side of their sleeves, there were two white diamonds indicating they were indeed inspectors.

One was young, in his mid-twenties. He had a slight brown stubble, and his dark blue eyes were full of energy. The other inspector, in his early forties, was the complete opposite. His black eyes were weary. Lawrence could see he had decades of experience. He had a small handlebar mustache that bent downwards slightly.

“Good evening, Mr.Lawrence Blackwood. I hope this is a good time.” The older inspector greeted, reaching for something in his jacket.

He pulled out a leather wallet, folding open the sides that overlapped each other, revealing an ID card that verified his identity. His partner did the same as they began to introduce themselves.

“I am Inspector Brennet Walsh, and this is my partner, Hunter Doyle. We were hoping you would answer a few questions within hours.” Inspector Walsh spoke calmly, but his voice was gruff like sandpaper.

They returned their identification to their inner jacket pockets as they stared inquisitively at Lawrence, who felt like he would be under scrutiny if he were to say no.

After a few seconds of mentally determining his options, Lawrence put on a brave face as he gestured for the inspectors to sit, then took a seat in the red leather and wooden chair adjacent to the couch, noticing a tan folder on the brown coffee table.

“What would you like to ask?” Lawrence asked calmly, but inside, he was panicking.

Are they here to ask about how I survived? Would they think I was responsible? Would they twist my words to get me arrested and thrown into a dark and cold cell and throw away the key?!

He pushed the thoughts away, requiring everything in him to focus on the inspectors so that he would not reveal anything that could be incorrect.

“First, we just want to say it’s good that you’re still alive, but our questions pertain to the night in question—what do you remember?” Inspector Doyle joined in, his tone commanding, but gentle simultaneously.

Lawrence tried to recall what he knew, but he had no actual memories of the fire. If he mentioned to them about how he felt hot flames burning his skin within a black void while a shadow spoke to him, he assumed they would call him insane.

I wonder if they would believe me if I continued to pull the amnesia card here…?

He unconsciously tightened his fists as they lay in his lap, staring at the two municipal officers, pondering his answer. The crackles of the flames from the fireplace persisted.

Lawrence could feel the silent and peculiar stares emanating from the inspectors, as well as from Corinne, who implicitly wanted to know.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve been suffering from amnesia since I returned. I don’t remember much of anything.”

The younger inspector nodded, leaning back against the couch and crossing one leg over the other, allowing his partner to speak.

“Indeed, we’re aware of that. But if you could provide any details, anything at all that could add to the case, it would be greatly appreciated.” Inspector Walsh expressed, interlacing his fingers in his lap as he quietly observed Lawrence’s body language, hoping to catch something that would’ve otherwise gone unnoticed.

I doubt they would believe me if I said a shadowy figure I never saw was the cause of it. Hell, I don’t even know for sure what happened…

Lawrence scrunched his eyebrows slightly, attempting to come up with an answer. However, the two inspectors gave the impression that his silence was quickly arousing suspicion.

“Why is the case being reopened? Wasn’t it closed and labeled by the Police Commissioner as an open and shut case?” Corinne intruded, her face filled with concern that the inspectors had ulterior motives.

“We were allowed to look into it by the Commissioner after the discovery of Mr. Blackwood’s survival. This is simply routine follow-up questioning.” Inspector Doyle delineated, his eyes wary of both the maid and the head of the household.

Aside from the fire continuing to crackle, there was nothing but silence in the gloomy living room.

Lawrence exhaled, opening his mouth to speak, recounting the burning sensation that felt like his skin was being pulled apart and burned away by the flames he felt while in the black void.

“It felt like I was choking…unable to breathe as it felt like my very being was being burnt to a crisp and reduced to ashes.”

He exhaled once more, his breath extremely shaky. His supposed act intrigued the inspectors more. However, they were thinking of something completely different from what Lawrence had in mind. The thought of the formless creature being able to talk to him through memories and harm him scared Lawrence more than anything he’d ever experienced.

It’s already bad enough that it gives me nightmares, but they're forcing me to relive the memories again…

Inspector Walsh cleared his throat, refocusing Lawrence’s attention, as the inspector gave a pitiful look.

“Apologies if it felt like we were forcing you to relive that. For now, we can skip it.”

Lawrence nodded in approval, noticing Corinne becoming silently more anxious as the inquisition continued. During this brief reprise, he began mentally gathering his thoughts and what he knew, hoping to satiate the inspectors’ questions.

“Since your return, we have been conducting surveillance on you, particularly your day-to-day life after returning.” Inspector Doyle revealed, his tone without inflection as he continued to observe Lawrence.

He was careful not to reveal anything prematurely in his words. Lawrence could only commend him for his cautious nature as an investigator.

They were watching me since I first arrived at the Capital? So that sense of unease was from them, not the shadow figure…I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on that earlier.

“Surveillance?! Is that legal?” Corinne exclaimed, seemingly standing in as Lawrence’s anger interpreter.

“We had permission from a Court Arbiter to sanction such activities.” Inspector Walsh pulled out a piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket, handing it to Lawrence.

Taking hold of it with both hands, Lawrence read the dozens of lines in the legal document. The top right of the paper was the Ministry of Justice’s insignia. It was a lion with a crown with a beam balance behind it, surrounded by the name of the Ministry and its motto in Aytash, ‘Tip The Scales of Justice.’

By order of Supreme Arbiter Ernst Powlett, the Municipal Investigations Office is authorized to reopen case #15231 and investigate the activities of all participating members of the incident, as well as those associated with it.

Lawrence mentally summarized the document, frowning intensely as he continued to read on. Corinne was discreetly leaning in closer, hoping to catch glimpses of what the paper said.

The rest of the document details that the entirety of the Investigations Office could search for anything related to the incident as long as there is probable cause. What the hell is this? This sounds corrupt as hell.

After reaching the end and noting the arbiter’s signature signing off on the investigation, Lawrence handed the paper back to Inspector Walsh, his countenance remaining as he watched the pair of inspectors warily.

“So, now that you’ve read it, we’re going to continue our inquiry into your activities until now.”

Inspector Doyle lifted the folder that had remained on the coffee table and opened it, revealing harrowing images that Lawrence hadn’t expected to see.

----

The Royal Palace was as dead as night. The low flames of lamps in the halls barely illuminated the way as Eva roamed the space by herself. The soft clomping of her slippers faintly echoed around her as she approached the library.

She paused, looking towards both ends of the hall, although she couldn’t see much as the darkness of the night had covered each side in a veil of shadows.

Assuming the coast was clear, Eva tucked her violin and bow under her arm, grasped the twin bronze knobs, pulled the doors open, and quickly retreated inside the library.

It was much brighter inside than the rest of the palace. Dozens of mana-powered lamps hung on each of the library’s three levels. Eva took in the scent of the hundreds of books, which smelled faintly of burnt coffee.

It’s the same as it always is…I should really come here more often.

Eva found a light wooden stool nearby, dragging it close as she sat in the middle of the library alone. Taking up her glossy, dark brown violin, she pressed the base of it gently against her neck and rested her chin on it. She held the instrument’s neck with her left hand and gracefully lifted the bow, resting it on the strings.

The princess drew the wooden bow across, letting out a low octave note that she dragged on. The violin was loud, but the bookshelves surrounding her absorbed much of the sound so as not to disturb her family while they slept.

After finishing her opening, Eva began playing ‘Tune of the Midnight by Franck LeBeau.’ She played it according to the piece’s original 45 BPM, letting out a somber melody.

As she played, she couldn’t help but close her eyes, becoming immersed in the song. She could feel the stress and anxiety she had felt during the day slowly dissipate from her consciousness as her muscles became more relaxed, allowing her to play the piece with less constraint. Each note felt like another problem washing away, as if she were in a vast ocean of musical notes.

Before she knew it, Eva had finished the piece, lowering the violin and taking in her surroundings once again, feeling a lot better than she had when she first entered the library.

“That’s much better.” She said to herself, setting her instrument aside at the long table nearby.

Reading the clock, indicating it was two hours before midnight, she let out a melancholic sigh as she looked around at the numerous books. Even her routine to help her unwind for the day couldn’t fully support her apprehensive broodings.

Lawrence…what are you doing…hurry up and come back to me already…