Morix Origins: Journeys

The Tale of the Melting Construct, Part 2

May 24

Wax Museum

Exterior

11:00 AM

After the body was discovered inside of the wax sculpture, the museum was emptied out and the police were called. Everyone who had been in the building at the time of the fire being started had to stay there so they could be questioned. Most of them were dismissed because they hadn't seen it happen directly, but my group wasn't quite so lucky. We were kept around for the next hour, and we were left with little to do but sit around and wait until some news was shared with us. 

All I could really say for certain right now was that someone had tried to put a body in a wax sculpture, and clearly they thought they were going to get away with it. Some of the police were murmuring about there being a contraption of some kind to start the fire, but no one knew who could have set it up. The way I saw it, I couldn't help but think someone had meant to do all of this on purpose. If they put a body in a wax sculpture and then made sure it burned down at just the right moment, then they would have been able to reveal the crime to the public at the perfect moment while also having the chance to establish an alibi for themself. That was what I was thinking, at the very least. I had no idea if that guess was going to turn out to be correct, but I was really hoping it led us somewhere of note in the end. 

"So..." Sumire started, her shoulders sagged and a frown on her face. Right... This was her first official day in London, and it had been ruined before it could even truly begin. "I take it a murder in a wax museum is hardly normal around here, is it?"

"No, not at all," Evander replied immediately. "I can't say I know what happened, but I'm going to do everything I can to get to the bottom of it. I need to make sure we can help whoever is being suspected of this."

Sumire's eyes went wide. "You don't even know who the suspect is, but you already want to defend them?"

"Defending a person is a great way to learn more about the crime they are being accused of. If we can't get any information out of the police through other means, then this is the best way of going about it," Melia explained. "And I don't think I could leave this case alone even if I wanted to."

"A-Are we going to be able to go home soon?" Leo asked. He was sitting in between Evander and Melia, clinging to one of each of their arms. I couldn't blame him for being so rattled. If I had been a young child who had to see all of that... I didn't know if I would have ever been able to sleep again. Poor Leo had been through more than enough even before this, and now, he had to put up with all of this too. 

"We should be," Evander assured him. "When we know what is going on, then we can leave and go back home. We can even read a few of your favorite stories to help you feel better."

I nodded with a smile. "Some of us can look around and try to get to the bottom of what happened today, and others can go back to the office with you. We'll be fine." Secretly, I was hoping Evander would be the one to investigate the case with me while Melia and Sumire went back with Leo. I wanted to spend as much time with Evander as possible after what we had promised each other following the previous case. I wanted to be with him just as I had assured him I always would be... But I knew that wasn't going to happen. If anyone was going to end up going back to the office to look after Leo, I knew it was going to be Evander. 

"There you all are. Sorry about the wait."

Detective Marion appeared a moment later, a small and faltering smile on her face. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long," she went on. "I know this has been stressful for all of us, but we had a lot of work to do before we were able to arrest a suspect."