Murders of the Past

Ring in The New Death

"New Year's Eve is always a fun time in Concordia! Wouldn't you agree, Isaac?" Maddie inquired as she and Isaac stood at the airship's balcony, gazing out the window at the city below them.

"The day is exciting, but the festivities leading up to it can be rather chaotic..." Isaac responds, "I swear, all the noise complaints and fighting triples during the week of New Year's Day!"

"Well, it's nice to see people so excited for the coming new year!" she grins, "especially after everything New Haven has been through, what with the fire and all the horrible murders!"

"Yes, the fire that continues to raise suspicion," he mused, "even more so now that we've discovered it conveniently destroyed the evidence of Father Donovan's criminal past! Could the two be connected as more than a coincidence?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have any evidence that supports that speculation. But we do have rumours about Father Donovan being involved in the exploitation of Irish immigrants," she sighs, "however, we'll need to find some evidence not destroyed by the fire to prove if he is involved or not!"

"That will have to wait; a more pressing case has come up!" Arthur reports as he descends the staircase just outside the navigation room, "a man has been found dead at the Japanese Buddhist temple in the old Industrial Center."

"The one that was renovated from an old factory, correct?" Isaac recalled.

The Chief nods, "the very same. And with an influx of people out celebrating the coming new year, it's imperative you catch the killer before anyone else gets hurt!"

"Should we grab Argo?" Maddie asked.

"Argo will need to sit this one out; he wasn't feeling well earlier, so I think it best if he takes it easy for the day," Arthur explains, "but I'm sure if you need him for something, he'll be willing to lend a hand!"

"Alright then!" she replies, "let's go, Isaac!"

The detectives informed Dick of the murder on their way out of the airship, and the group drove to the old Industrial Center of New Haven. The place and its buildings were slowly being renovated by the immigrants to bring pieces of their culture to the city. One such building had been converted into a Japanese Buddhist temple. It still mostly resembled a small storage warehouse from the outside, but signage and paint had been added to identify its new service. Maddie stopped near the entrance of the building, and Dick parked beside her. As the coroner got a gurney and body bag from his vehicle, Maddie and Isaac entered the temple.

The inside of the warehouse had been renovated to resemble a Japanese Buddhist temple with decorative wooden beams, wooden panels added to the window with designs cut out, beautiful drapes fell around the room, and a large bell hung proudly at the head of the room on a raised platform. On the platform under the bell was the dead man, and they could see blood on the side of the bell.

The man looked to be in his late twenties with warm, tanned skin, short black hair and blue eyes. There was a nasty wound on the left side of his head, as if something had hit it over and over. His clothes were simple and clean (except for the bloodstains), with dark brown pants held up by black suspenders, a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows and black shoes. A brown pageboy cap had fallen on the floor beside his head, most likely knocked off during the attack.

As Dick approached the body, Maddie and Isaac searched the room for clues. Near the base of the bell platform, they found a torn photograph and a white pastry box. The logo on the box was faded, but a peek inside revealed that it contained half a dozen cannolis just waiting to be eaten.

"My word! It looks as if someone tried to bash this poor man's brains in!" Isaac exclaimed, disgusted by the gruesome wound.

"Given the brain matter oozing out the skull, I believe the killer succeeded!" Dick marvels at the injury, "they must have used the log for ringing the bell to smash his head against the bell!"