The Murder of Marvellous Marv, Part 5


    Vicky Cameron, Jack Burns, and Don Graham gathered around the television in the Lair Mansion lounge, with Hatman and Yuki looking on from the background.  It was assumed that others in the mansion were watching also, but they were elsewhere.

    Baroness Elizabeth Von Zemo was on every television station, only it was a recording.  The original had already been shown live, exclusively on one channel.

    The crawl at the bottom of the screen summarized her long, drawn out monologue.  Apparently right after Marvin Zimmermann died, the Baroness attended a closed-door meeting of Paradopolis City Council.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Since our fair city has had such difficulty keeping a Mayor long-term, I have, to paraphrase, ‘applied for the job’.”  The Baroness explained to the public.  “City Council was...enthusiastic...to accept my proposal.”

    At that point, she held up a piece of paper, and sidestepped so the camera could see her lawyer behind her.  “This document effectively gives me the power of a Mayor in Paradopolis.  Of course, the City Council can veto any of my actions.  Unfortunately, they have all been given long vacations.  At the same time.  Until their return, rest assured, our fair city is in my capable hands.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What do you think?”  Don asked Jack.

    Jack sighed and shook his head.  Vicky stood with her arms firmly folded, and said nothing.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She has a motive.”  Don pointed out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“She’s an opportunist.”  Yuki interrupted.  “Either she didn’t kill him, or she didn’t kill him directly.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well--”  Vicky said, “I have one more interview here.  You two can go talk to Beth and I’ll finish up here?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Sounds like a good idea.”  Jack replied.  He looked at Don, who nodded.  The two of them headed out.

    Vicky was just about to talk to Liu Xi when her phone rang.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You’ll want to see this.”  the female voice at the other end said.


---


    Vicky Cameron hated going to the morgue, especially alone.  It was getting toward evening, and the night shift was even creepier than the day shift.

    She walked into City Hall, it was closed except for the nearly silent velvet roped lobby, a few locked doors, and two elevators.  A security guard asked her to sign in, but instead she offered her Paradopolis Police I.D.  He waved her through, and told her to take the left elevator down to the ground floor.

    Vicky did as she asked, and arrived at a dimly lit, creepy concrete hallway.  It ended at a bulletproof glass window, through which she could see a very odd woman sitting at a desk, reading a comic book.  Next to the window was a metal door with a sign that said ‘press button and wait to be buzzed in’.  Instead, Vicky tapped loudly on the window and displayed her badge.

    The woman jumped, and then reached behind her to press the button to open the security door.  It buzzed, and then Vicky pushed her way in.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Hi, I’m Catherine.”  the woman said.  She stood and extended her hand.  Vicky reached out slowly to shake it - she wasn’t sure how often morgue workers washed their hands after working with corpses.  “You’re Vicky, right?  You’ve got to see this.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oookayyy...”  Vicky said quietly as she followed Catherine to another steel door.  This one was unlocked with a code typed into a keypad.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, we got some security here.”  Catherine said with a laugh.  “You’d be surprised how often we used to have corpse thefts.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Corpse thefts?”  Vicky repeated.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Mmmhmm.  You’re a cop, check the files.  Anyway--”  During all that chatting, Catherine reached one of the big refrigerated metal file cabinets used to store bodies.  She put on a plastic glove, grabbed one of the drawer handles, and pulled.

    A cloud of dust came out.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s weird.”  Vicky noted.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You have no idea!”  Catherine agreed.  She very slowly pulled aside part of the sheet covering the body.  It was a pile of ash, still in the shape of a human being, but gradually crumbling.

    Vicky became wide-eyed.  “What the hell--?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“That’s what I said.”  Catherine agreed again.  She pulled the tag off of the front of the drawer and held it up to show Vicky.  The tag said ‘Mayor Marvin Zimmermann, 2499C’.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What could have caused this?”  the blonde detective asked.

    Catherine shrugged.  “I dunno.  I paged my boss, maybe he’ll know when he gets here.  Your name was on the report, so I called you too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Okay.”  Vicky swallowed hard, and looked away from the disturbing ash pile.  “Um...I have another stop to make, so call me when you know.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’ll do that.”  Catherine said with a smile as she carefully closed the drawer.  “It was nice having a visitor!”


---


    Liu Xi Xian was thankfully still in the Lair Mansion when Vicky returned.  She was in a room that Vicky guessed would be small when she entered, but it was actually quite large inside.  She wasn’t sure how that was possible considering it was supposed to be inside one of the Mansion’s small towers.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nice pad.”  Vicky complimented her.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah, it is.”  Liu Xi replied.  She sat down in one of the two chairs at a small table in the room, and offered Vicky the other one.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I hear you have a friend who’s an occult expert.”  Vicky began, remembering what she saw at the morgue.  “I could use some help with...a body in weird condition, at the morgue.”

    Liu Xi nodded.  “I’ll call him for you.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Is there anything you can tell me about Marv’s murder?”  Vicky asked.

    The Chinese elementalist didn’t react much to Vicky’s question, despite all of the information she had swimming in her head.  She simply shrugged, and then shook her head.  “I don’t know what to tell you.  I was at home.”


---


Earlier The Same Day

    Liu Xi Xian stood next to the center counter in the Lair Mansion kitchen, making a deli sandwich.  She had sliced bologna and several vegetables, mayonnaise, and mustard spread out in front of her.

    As she was working, Kerry Shepherdson came running into the room.  She seemed shocked to see the Chinese girl there, and nearly turned and left.  But then she stopped in mid-stride, like she knew it was too late to escape unnoticed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Are you hungry?”  was all Liu Xi asked as she watched the spectacle of Sarah’s sister freaking out for no apparent reason.

    Kerry wrinkled her nose and sighed audibly as she dropped into one of the stools around the center counter.  She placed her arms on the surface and plunked her head down atop them.  “Just get it over with,”  she said.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Get what over with?”  Liu Xi had already taken out two more slices of bread and started making another sandwich.  She then noticed Kerry watching the knife as she worked quickly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“You know...cause of Vinnie.”  Kerry nearly whispered.  “Don’t you want to hurt me for...you know...with your boyfriend?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“He’s not my boyfriend.”  Liu Xi corrected plainly.

    Kerry then sat up and took the sandwich offered to her.  “Really?  I’m off the hook, then?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”  Liu Xi admitted.

    The red head sighed again.  She looked at the door to make sure it was still closed, as if it reassured her no one would listen or enter.  Quickly she said, “Every time I run into Vinnie...still...I just can’t help it.  And it’s worse when I’ve been alone for a few days because me and Danny broke up again because of a revenge date with Dark Thugos.”

    Liu Xi listened carefully, and then concluded, “You’re sounding like Dream.  Both in speed and content.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well nothing happened with Thuggy, of course.”  she laughed.  “But Vinnie...oh god, did you have to bring him back to the Mansion?”

    By this time, Liu Xi was thoroughly amused.  She simply laughed, and said, “Sorry.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“He has this nonstop energy, I don’t know where he gets it--”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I don’t want to hear that part.”  Liu Xi warned.

    Kerry nodded, and then narrowed her eyes as she thought of something.  “What did you and Danny do, anyway, during all that time locked away in paradise island?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Not what you think.”  Liu Xi replied calmly.  “It was far too dangerous.  The Void Scholar wanted him to get me pregnant.  He not only denied us birth control, but he could...manipulate my chances.  I had to make double sure there were no accidents.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh.”  Kerry replied, sounding a little disappointed.  She wanted some ammunition to use next time she fought with Danny.  “What about when you came back here?”

    Liu Xi paused just as she finished the second sandwich for herself.  “He rejected me,”  she said quietly.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Really?”  Kerry sounded surprised.  “The guy sees Britney Spears on TV and wants to nail her.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I know.”  Liu Xi agreed.  “It was heartbreaking.  I suppose...he got to know me too well.”  She laughed as she added, “It was like being divorced.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“So um--”  Kerry stared off into space as she took a bite of her food.  “I’ve been trying to make Danny jealous so he’ll do something to win me back.  I tried dating someone who worked for the Mayor.  This guy with some kind of mind powers.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“The Spin?”  the Chinese girl guessed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Yeah.”  Kerry acknowledged.  “Just in case, I um...borrowed...some of those little packets that Vinnie has.  In case something goes wrong.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Well--”  she continued.  “He snuck me into the Mayor’s quarters to give me a tour.  The Mayor caught us.  He found out what my name was, and made me empty my pockets.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Uh-oh.”  Liu Xi said, guessing where this was headed.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Anyway--”  Kerry looked at the door again.  Still no movement, but she lowered her voice anyway.  “He was taunting me about the little plastic packets.  He thought they were...festive condoms.  Said something about wanting to try one out.  Then he tore one open--”

    Liu Xi then guessed, “And fell over dead?”

    Kerry nodded once.  She dropped her head back on the counter, careful to avoid her sandwich.  And in a muffled voice, continued.  “I freaked, and grabbed all the packets.  I didn’t want Vinnie to go to jail because of me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Oh, wow.”  Liu Xi said.  She put down her sandwich.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m telling you cause...you’re the only one I know with something like this on your conscience.”  Kerry whispered.  “So maybe you can help me.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t tell anyone else.”  Liu Xi warned her.  “Except maybe Chiaki, because she always knows anyway.  She helped me, maybe she can help you too.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“What will I tell Danny?”  Kerry wondered out loud.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Nothing.”  Liu Xi advised.  “I know Vinnie, we’re friends.  If anyone finds out about the packets, I will say I took them.  You go and make up with Danny, and say nothing.”

    Kerry nodded.  She then asked sadly, “Why are you doing this for me?”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Because if Visionary hears any of this, he’ll die of a stroke, and I can’t live with that.”  Liu Xi said with a smile.

    The redhead teen laughed too, but only briefly as the weight of the situation prevented too much levity.  She left half her sandwich as she stood up to leave.  “I’ll go find Danny.”  she said plainly.  “At least I can drown my sorrows in makeup sex.”

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Don’t tell Visionary that either.”  Liu Xi called after Kerry as she left.


---


Present Time

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“No,”  Liu Xi told Vicky Cameron.  “I don’t have any information at all.”


TO BE CONTINUED


-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2009 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.  
-- Yuki Shiro designed by Jason Froikin, based on designs by Masamune Shirow
--  Liu Xi Xian and the Psychic Samurai are original design by Jason Froikin
--  Lara Night is an original creation by Jason Froikin