“Martial Kim.” Inspector Lee wondered, “What exactly is this Deadwood worm?”
It was well into the night, beyond midnight even.
At this hour, they could hear the city’s night watchman banging away at his cymbals and bamboo log, in a rhythmic pattern as a means to tell what time it was during the night, all the while warning of any fires or dangers in the night.
The whole thing was rushed, but Inspector Lee had to run to an apothecary store to grab various ingredients before bringing them back to Martial Kim in the Imperial Constabulary. Whatever happened while he was out and about, the young master from Moon Tavern solved one of the many mystery of this case.
Painfully so.
Martial Kim could be found pacing around outside in the courtyard of the station, relying on the cool air to ease his aches and reflect on his life choices. His hands were slathered in this greasy ointment, thick layers that glistened under the half moon light. All the while he kept striding in circles, trying to walk the pain off as he used breathing exercises to keep his mind off the agony.
Inspector Lee waited for a response. At the very lest, he noticed the swelling on Martial Kim’s hands weren’t as bad as before. Still, it must have hurt like a witch.
“Aaah. Ooooh.” Martial Kim moaned, “I-it’s a natural land invertebrate that are commonly f-found in Gr-Green Lion Valley. I-it’s recognizable for th-their incredible small size, even smaller than a grain of rice, if not their aaaaah, excruciating toxin.”
Inspector Lee bolted to his feet, “Holy sh—Toxin!? You’ve been poisoned!? Wh-why didn’t you tell me to buy an antidote before I ran out!?”
“It’s no-not exactly lethal.” Martial Kim answered with clenched teeth, enduring the burning sensation, “It functions li-like a jellyfish poison, hurts beyond recognition. Deadwood worms usually feed off rotting wood and they pass out toxins that promote plant cycle, like gardening fertilizer.”
The young master had to stop when he was hit with a lightning bolt of pain. After heaving until it subsided, he continued his pacing, “However in contact with animals and humans the tiny excrement they leave behind would cause a build of of toxins that would trigger a violent allergic reaction. Why I-I recognize it, because the symptoms usually show up three days later after they cling onto their host. Aaaagh.”
“Well that solves one riddle,” Inspector Lee would scratch his beard, “but that doesn’t explain how you and Fae Fae got it. I doubt she is the type to play with worms.”
“The hairpin.,” Martial Kim barely uttered, “The hairpin was covered in Deadwood worms. I touched it when trying to pull it out of Fae Fae the first time. Both of her hands had the same problem. Perhaps she was trying to pull the hairpin out of herself after she was stabbed, before she passed out from the attack.”
“...OOOOOOOOH!” Something dawned upon the Inspector as he slapped his knee “This means the killer would also touch these deadrock ass worm things and their hands would be swollen! Why, we can have the Judge put out an order, arrest anyone with hands the size of pig knuckles!”
Martial Kim shook his head, “Wh-what if the murderer wore gloves?”
“Damn! I was about to feel so proud of myself!” Inspector Lee sat back down, but bolted up, “Wait. How the hell would tiny bugs land on a hairpin? I mean, those types of things are always at least 10 ft off the ground.”
“Some, oof, some logical explanation was: something happened and caused the hairpin to drop on the ground, perhaps in mud or some rotting wood full of the worms. That, or how they got there could be related as to why the hairpin is bent.”
After listening, Inspector Lee did what any good detective would do – simulate the murder in his head. He would physically act it out, to better envision the possibility of what Martial Kim just said. It was similar to rehearsing a play or blocking a choreography of a dance.
Action spoke louder than words, it also helped to pain a cleaner picture.
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After trying out one scenario after another, there were some factors made clear.
If the murderer had gloves to protect their hands, this suggested premeditated murder. But what was the motive? What would push someone to be this devilish to plan a mysterious death with such violence?
If it was planned, what is the meaning behind the hairpin? The first of serial murders, to send a message? Inspector Lee was positive no other murder or strange death cases like that came his way whenever his other detectives reported to him.
Planned, yet not planned? Why Green Lion Valley? Obviously it was a remote location with no witnesses, the question is why would Fae Fae be lured to such empty place? It’s not even a major tourist hot spot of any kind!
And even if it wasn’t planned, without gloves – Inspector Lee has not come across anyone else with similar signs and symptoms as Fae Fae and Martial Kim.
“Baaaaaaaah! I’m stumped! Completely!” He roared, only to cover his mouth to quiet down from ‘startling’ the comatose victim, “I reckon it’s the Palanquin Bearers! They did it! They were the last ones to possibly see Fae Fae alive, and they didn’t show up for work since she vanished!”
Martial Kim nod, but not wholeheartedly, “I understand your reasoning, Inspector Lee. Still we don’t have any evidence to point the finger exactly at the Palanquin Bearers. There could be 1000 reasons why their late arrival could be coincidental.”
“Well I’m at my limit with this case! The Brothel didn’t give us anything and the brother was trash for help! We don’t have a lead! Even if Fae Fae is declared dead to the public, the fact this incident left her fighting for her life riles up my blood pressure!”
Martial Kim tried to calm his companion down by trying to pat him on the back – accidentally getting some ointment on the uniform. Oops.
After a quick bow of apology, he started to ease up. The redness was slowly going away, and his hands didn’t felt as thick or stiff. Granted, it was a long road to recovery, but it didn’t hurt – as much. At least this showed the formula was working. So he was confident to reproduce the medicine for Fae Fae to help her hands to recover.
He still hissed every now and then from occasional sharp stings, “Oooof. For now, let us assume this murder was not at all lucky and would have swollen hands like us. Aaah. Aaah. Not any anti-allergen medication would work, since Deadwood Worm toxin is very unique. Only a few would know the recipe, let alone come across it in their line of work. Oooof.”
“Honestly Martial Kim,” Inspector Lee whipped off his hat to comb a hand through his hair to calm down, “Catching someone pig handed is 10 times better than digging my hands in a haystack to find a damn needle. I’ll take the easy way out for this....Actually, the Brother. His hands look rather swollen.”
“Ah. I think you are mistaken. His hand isn’t swollen due to allergies. The rings he bought are just too small for him. They just block his circulation. No doubt he bought them at random without sizing them properly. I keep seeing him adjusting or itching at his rings. I don’t think he would have killed Fae Fae, not directly.”
“I still bet he is involved in all this! One way or another, mark my word Martial Kim...So now what?”
Martial Kim could only shrug at this point, not like his pained hands could do much.
Before they called it a night, it seemed they received a visitor.
A Messenger arrived in front of the Imperial Constabulary, on horseback in the late night. Without stopping, he would leap off his steed, receive access to enter the station, before racing up to meet Inspector Lee directly.
The Messenger was also a Constable, albeit with a different colour uniform. After handing over an official document with a blue and gold felt cover to Inspector Lee, the Messenger would bow and dash off, already galloping from the station and out of the city.
Martial Kim could not help but ask, “A calling from a friend of yours?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, a Court Runner from another city.” Inspector Lee opened the felt covers, expending a long and folded paper scroll. To others beyond the borders of the Jade Empire, the documents scroll resemble to a unique instrument called an accordion. “Mentioned it was urgent and I had to read it now.”
“Sounds very important.”
“Bah! Knowing them, they feel self entitled to believe every document they send over is priority number one. They think they’re the top cats in the Empire, if you get what I mean... Oh...”
Inspector Lee made a sound as he read through the columns of calligraphy written in expert ink brush strokes. When he reached the end of the document, to where a bright red ink stamp was made, he closed the document without properly folding it up like a map. Face just...white as a porcelain dish.
Martial Kim raised an eyebrow, “Bad news?”
“N-no, actually. It's good news but...” Inspector Lee pursed his lip, just taking it all in, before saying. “It’s from one of the Constable Stations, in North Cloud City. They said they caught Fae Fae’s Killers. This is an official request, for us to bring them back to the Capital... Huh...”