Accusations

Most of the other scavengers backed up what Anabelle had told Tom and Brian. They hadn't been as close as Tom and his team were, but they had liked Jared for the most part. Tom had been hoping to hear that Jared had been an asshole or something to make the murder more justified. So far, the evidence didn't support that. There were still plenty of people to speak with, though, so they had to continue.

"One of the scavengers mentioned that Jared spent some time on another team. Is there any way we can talk to some of them as well?" Tom asked Brian as they walked back into the guild building.

"Sure. We can do that, but we might want to go see Rebecca again to see if she found anything else. I had TJ take the items we found in the trash to her for more diagnostics. Figured she was the best bet for finding more evidence." Brian replied.

"Okay, let's go see her," Tom agreed.

Walking to the infirmary, Tom and Brian entered into a mostly empty room.

"Glad to see this place isn't full," Tom commented as they entered.

"Me too. This new magic healing is a godsend. Things that took weeks or months to heal can be done instantly. We might have more of an issue if sanitation was low like it was in medieval times, but with the water working on the magical system, as well as electricity and the procedures in place for removing garbage and other normally discarded items, it's much easier to keep clean," Rebecca said, coming out of an office in the back of the infirmary.

"Good to see you again, Rebecca," Tom said to her.

"I got the items you all sent over from the trash. Follow me." She said as she turned and motioned for them to come with her.

She led the pair back into her office and then through an additional door that led to what looked like an actual morgue.

"Was this always in the building?" Tom asked in amazement at the room.

"No, it was a purchase with guild points. It's helpful to have for when we are preparing bodies and, in this case, autopsies," Brian replied.

"You foresaw us needing a morgue?" Tom asked.

"I did. Bodies decompose and grow all kinds of bacteria. Just one more sanitation precaution to keep us from spreading illnesses. Plus, no group of people this close together can live in peace forever. I did a stint in the county morgue before becoming a primary care physician, so I know my way around." Rebecca interjected.

"Well, I don't care what it costs us. Keep Rebecca happy." Tom said to Brian.

"I'm glad to hear that," Rebecca said, smiling at him. "Now, I went through all that crap you sent and looked closer at the body...well, body parts, and tried to find anything that might match up. TJ was right about the flower. It was laid on the body at some point. There is pollen on the victim's chest consistent with that of the flower."

"Okay, but that only proves that it was in with him. It doesn't tell us anything about who might have done this." Tom replied.

"True. But I also looked at everything else you provided. Look at this wrist here." Rebecca said, holding up one of the arms. "See the ligature marks around the wrist right above where the hand was cut off? That means he was bound when he was still alive. Bruises only form like this when the blood is still flowing."

"I thought bodies could produce bruises postmortem?" Brian asked.

"They can, but not like this. These were formed because of pressure, not just a broken blood vessel. If it had been after he died, it would have been more of a pool or would have poured out when his hands were cut off." Rebecca replied.

"So, our guy was bound before he was killed?" Tom asked.

"Yes. And for hours. These kinds of bruises wouldn't have happened unless he struggled for a while. See the wearing on the skin? He fought to get out of the restraints." Rebecca replied.

"Any idea what he was bound with?" Brian asked.

"The edges of the bruises are rough, and there's skin burn marks from the material it was made of. I'd say likely a small, corded rope of some kind. It would have to be strong but pretty thin." Rebecca said as she held the arm under a lamp with a magnifying glass in it.

Tom and Brian both moved over to look at the arm under the light.

"Not a lot of people have access to this kind of rope, would they?" Tom asked.

"No, most of the rope we use is much larger than this," Brian replied.

"So, who might have access to the rope and to Jared?" Tom asked.

"I'm not sure, but we can find out. We just need to keep asking questions." Brain said.

"Anything else we should know about?" Tom asked.

"The victim also sustained a head injury before he was killed. Probably before he was bound. Whoever did this likely hit him over the head, tied him up, then killed him." Rebecca replied.

"So, they knew what they were doing. This just gets better and better." Tom sighed heavily as he thought about what this meant. "Alright. Let us know if you find anything else."

Leaving the infirmary, Brian and Tom went back to the Security office to find most of the others involved in the investigation present and looking over what they had found.

"I hope you have something for us," Derek said as they entered.

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"We did some digging into the scavengers. Most of them say Jared was a nice guy, maybe a couple of problems, but not with anyone that others had a problem with. Doesn't rule them out but makes it harder to pinpoint who might be the perp." Tom said.

"Rebecca mentioned he was hit over the head, probably knocked unconscious, bound with a thin rope, and then killed. And TJ was right about the flower." Brian added.

"Also, he might have been seeing someone. Not sure who it is yet. And whoever did the deed would have to have access to some kind of thin rope. We don't hand that out to just anyone." Tom said.

"We asked around about Jared as well, but not a lot of people seemed to know him. He mostly kept to himself and did his job." Derek said.

Just then, James burst into the room, wearing a deerstalker hat, a trench coat, and a pipe in his hand.

"Never fear—the great detective James is on the case! I will solve this murder in short order."

"Sweet mother of unholy Jezebelle. Is he serious?" Maria said in Tom's head.

"Where did you get that ridiculous getup?" Tom asked.

"The vending machine. Remember, Bob said we can get anything out of there." James winked at Tom.

"Sometimes it's just too bad someone didn't kill you," Jay said.

"Oh, come on. You'd miss me too much. Now, we have clues pointing to the killer; all we have to do is put them together," James said as he looked at the items on a whiteboard that TJ had been writing on.

"We don't have enough evidence. We need to talk to more people." Tom said, crossing his arms at James' antics.

"I think, if you put this together, we can clearly see that it was the baker who did it!" James declared.

"No, there is no indication a baker from Charlene's staff did this," Tom said, now putting his hand over his face.

"Didn't you have a disagreement with one of the bakers when she wouldn't let you have another piece of cake after a meal?" Brian asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn't get cake the first time. I needed a piece." James said, his eyes shifting around the room.

"Seriously..." Chris said from behind Brian.

"Look, it's either her or the kitchen girl. She's super suspicious." James said.

"Alright, anyone with any actual info have any thoughts?" Tom asked.

"When we interviewed people who took the items from the scavengers, we heard that Jared might have been sweet on someone. There was a woman seen with him on several occasions when he returned." Derek said.

"Any idea who she is?" Tom asked.

"Not yet, but we will find out. In the meantime, we can figure out where he hung out and if anyone saw them together in the cafeteria. There aren't many hangout spots in the guild building." Derek replied.

"Great. I'll hit up the cafeteria with Derek. You all keep doing what you need to, and Brian, let me know if Rebecca finds anything else." Tom said.

"You got it," Brian replied.

Derek and Tom left and headed to the cafeteria. When they arrived, Charlene greeted them warmly.

"Hello! Coming in for a meal?" Charlene asked.

"Not right now, but we do have a few questions if we can," Tom said.

"I'm happy to help. What can I do for you?"

"We are looking into something and needed to know if you ever had any run-ins with a man named Jared Hawthorn," Tom said.

"I can't say that the name rings a bell, but I can gather the staff and see if any of them remember him," Charlene offered.

"If you could, that would be really helpful. And is there somewhere less public we could talk to them?" Derek asked.

"Sure, we can do it in the kitchen,"

Once inside the kitchen, Charlene called all of her staff over, "Alright, everyone, Tom has some questions for us. And since he's been so diligent in helping to keep us safe, I think we owe him the courtesy of some answers."

"Thanks, Charlene. Look, we need to know if any of you had any contact with a man named Jared Hawthorn. He was on one of the scavenger teams." Tom said to the group of chefs.

The workers looked at each other for a moment, most of them shaking their heads no and seeming confused. Derek noticed one of the women was staring with wide-eyed shock.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked her.

"What has he done?" The woman asked.

"Maybe we should go talk somewhere else," Derek offered. "Thanks again, Charlene."

"Sure thing, but can I ask what this is about?" Charlene asked.

"Um...I'm not quite ready to tell everyone what this was about. It's a little sensitive if you know what I mean. But I promise you that I will be telling everyone soon. I just need to get a little more information first. You know I always have everyone's best interest at heart." Tom said.

"Yeah, I know. Okay, I trust you. Just remember that people don't like being left in the dark." Charlene replied.

"It'll all make sense later," Tom said.

Leaving the cafeteria, Tom and Derek walked with the woman back to the security office.

"Would you like to take a seat?" Derek asked.

"Sure, thanks. What is this about Jared?" The woman asked.

"First, how about who you are and how you know Jared," Tom said.

"My name is Terri. I'm Jared's girlfriend."