The Curious Case of Morgrim City

Wotan

Although Laguna relished the discomfort of Wotan before her, she doubted that he would be able to answer many of the questions she had for him to a satisfactory level. There was no sniff of a lie on him when had had been surprised at the woman's demise, and her nose did not lead her wrong very often. She leaned forward in her chair and placed her hands on her knees. "Where were you three nights ago?" she asked.

"I was here," Wotan said without missing a beat. "I often work late these days, it stops me having to employ more zombies, who are better at standing around than working anyway. I wasn't here alone either, Drak can tell you, he was here too."

"Who is Drak?" Terry asked.

"The foreman."

Laguna nodded and made a note of the name. It sounded tribal, likely that Drak's adventure of life began from one of the western tribes, though she could be wrong. "Is he around?"

"He'll be around somewhere." Wotan said with a curt nod.

"What can you tell us about Mary Sadler?"

Wotan pressed his hands together and shook his head, "I never met her," he said. "She wrote to me about a month ago asking about the requisition of unusual ales and beers for a festival she was planning in Karana. I wrote back inviting her here so she could see what we had on offer. She wrote back saying she would be here and I sent her details of where we could meet. When she didn't show up I assumed that something had happened and I'd get another letter. I got you instead."

Laguna watched the leprechaun carefully as he spoke. There did not appear to be any lie in his words, though she knew his kind were fickle creatures at best. Likely he was being truthful to cover his own back rather than for any real concern about what had happened to the outsider. She pressed her lips together and made a note of what he had said in a notebook, which she took out of her pocket.

"Do you have the letters?" she asked.

Wotan glanced at the unruly stack of paper that was clinging to his desk by some means that had to be magical. There were other bits of paper that had spilled onto the floor; they were now covered with grime and dust. Laguna wondered how Wotan was able to keep track of anything in this pile of junk. Miraculously, the stout leprechaun managed to produce exactly what he had been looking for within seconds, convincing Laguna that it was indeed maintained by magical means. Laguna took the letters and tucked them into one of her pockets. "I will return them when we have solved this mystery," she said.

"Keep them. I have no use for letters from a dead woman," Wotan said.

"You say you never met her in person," Terry said, finally speaking up from the gloomy corner. Wotan looked at him as though he had never seen a vampire behave in this manner before. Laguna suppressed a smile. Terry seemed to evoke that reaction in nearly everyone he met.

"No," Wotan confirmed.

"But you invited her here?"

"Because she wanted to know more about the brew, as I said." Wotan drummed his fingers on the desk in front of him.

"Who else knew she was coming?" Terry asked. Laguna looked askance at her colleague, wondering what line of thought he was picking at here. There list of leads was thin; maybe this would turn up something new for them to follow. Wotan frowned and ran a hand over his face. A small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Laguna thought she smelled fear. What did he have to be afraid of?

"Drak the Foreman," he said, "And Misty, one of the senior brewers here."

"No one else?"

"Not that I know," he said. "She would have told her people she was making the trip though." The idea that she should be checking with them rather than him was implied. Laguna raised an eyebrow. It was definitely fear.

"Is Drak or Misty around?" Terry asked.

Wotan shook his head, "Both are off today, but I can tell you where they live."

"Good," Laguna said. She scribbled a note of both addresses in her notepad and flipped it shut. She then got to her feet. "If you think of anything else, get in touch," she said. Wotan nodded and his shoulders sagged. Terry was the first to leave the shack, Laguna followed and shut the door carefully behind them. In silence, they headed back to where the carriage was waiting for them. Only when they were inside, did Laguna break the silence. "Well?" she asked.

"The stench of fear was overly strong for someone who had nothing to do with the death we are looking at," Terry said. Laguna nodded.

"He didn't do it though," she added.

"No, I don't think he had anything to do with it at all," Terry said. He brushed a lock of black hair out his face and glanced out the window. "He has his fingers in other pies, but not this particular one."

Laguna nodded, inclined to agree. "Who first? Drak or Misty?"

"Let's start with Drak."

Laguna gave the address to the carriage driver and they pulled away from the brewery. Laguna had not been to this part of the city often, and never down half of the streets she was taken down. This area was mostly occupied by zombies and revenants. It was not tidy, nor well looked after. A lot of the tenement buildings were close to falling down. Some were derelict. All of them were occupied. It was a shame that it had to be so, however no amount of poking or cajoling from the city's high ups made the undead keep it clean. Laguna suspected that they liked the detritus, though for what reason she couldn't fathom.

The carriage pulled up outside a particularly grubby building. Laguna sighed and opened the door. "Let's get this over with." The stink of the place irritated her nose and she wanted nothing more than to be away as soon as possible!