Crux & Eridanus: part 1

Interior of John's office

On his desk are hand drawn sketches of Manifestos and a chess board

John puts down his pen and looks at Lacerta's image

John

(James Spectre, he is the biggest obstacle to my mission…)

(With that said he's not the only one I should be wary of, he's been surrounding himself with powerful Manifesto users.)

Camera shot of the white king surrounded by the queen and a rook

(I believe I'm strong enough to defeat him in a one-on-one fight, however no matter how confident I am in my own abilities, I'm not so delusional I'd rush into my death…)

John removes one of his pawns from the board and places it on a sketch of Ophiuchus, leaving the king exposed

John takes a deep breath

John

Patience, John.

There's no need to rush your plans…

You've planted the seeds for everything for the last 30 years, I won't let some nobody come and derail my decades of planning.

John plucks a hair from his head

John

Ugh, though it seems I'm running out of time.

My followers won't be able to follow a deity who is six feet under…

If only there were some way to preserve my body, to prevent further ageing…

John ruffles through the pages on his desk before picking up one of them with a drawing of Lyra on it

John

Hmm, the doctor's Manifesto…

I wasn't early enough to see it in combat, however for it to be used by a doctor, there must be some medical applications to the powers.

Perhaps with some "persuasion," I could have her use that power to help me.

But in that case, first I'll need to divide and conquer.

I'm running out of pawns and fast, so I must be careful with my next choices…

A knock at the door

John hurriedly brushes the drawings into the drawer

John

Come in

Queen

Uh…hi sir, I was just wondering if maybe you could possibly read over my report?

If you don't want to, I completely understand, it's not like anything I write would even be worth reading over in the first place…

John

C'mon Queen! What have I said about that confidence of yours?

Queen

T-that I'm talented and shouldn't get in my own head…

John

That's right!

You have so much talent and potential just bubbling below the surface, the only one getting in your way is yourself!

I'd love to promote you, but no one will believe in someone who doesn't even believe in themself!

Queen

Aw, thank you sir!

You're being so nice to me!

Not like i deserve it or anything…

John

(Ugh, what's with this kid?)

(I remember during the Great War, his father was such a useful fellow.)

(Strong, capable, loyal, but most importantly: easy to control)

(Unfortunately his son only seemed to have inherited that last trait…)

(Though, not all hope was lost. His father did provide me with that Manifesto after all.)

(And his son's taken after his father in that regard as well.)

!

(I may be out of important pieces now, but all it takes is one promoted pawn to change the pace of the match!)

Queen

I won't waste anymore of your time sir, I'll be seeing myself out now.

I wouldn't want the stench of failure to linger in your office…

John

Queen, before you leave…

Queen

?

John

I have a very special job for you.

Queen

What kind of job?

John smiles as it transitions to a blanket being thrown over a body in an alley

James is standing there in shock with a police officer

Police officer

Sorry James, I know it's a tough way to start your day.

Murder is never a good case to be put on, especially not when its a child.

Let's start by trying to get in contact with family or a guar–

James

Don't waste your time.

Police officer

That doesn't sound very like you.

Why the harsh treatment of the kid?

James

I'm not being harsh, I'm being honest.

His name's Gregory.

No home, no relatives, only a few friends…

Police officer

You wouldn't happen to be one of those friends, would you?

James

…

The officer lets out a sigh

Police officer

James, I'm sorry for your loss, but you know how it works.

We can't let someone related to the victim work the case.

No matter how good your track record is, you're an emotional person at the end of the day.

And those emotions make you a good friend, but they can dull your senses.

It was a mistake asking for you to join this case.

I'll get a hold of another detective to help with this.

Go home, grieve properly.

I'll let you work out the funeral service.

James

Who could take the life of a child?

What would they have to gain?

Police officer

Look, James, as your friend, I'm really sorry that you had to find out like this, but also as your friend, do not get involved.

Whether or not you find out who's guilty, you won't be happy.

Don't let revenge blind you.

Make sure you grieve properly.

Okay?

James

…

Police officer

Tell me you understand.

James

…

I understand.

I won't be a part of this investigation.

Police officer

Thanks for understanding.

I'll take you to my favourite speakeasy later.

The officer walks away as James stands staring at the blanket on the ground

James

I'm sorry Gregory…

I was so close, yet I couldn't protect you…

I'll make sure I find whoever did this to you and I'll make sure they never hurt anyone again.

James sits down in his office

James

(I said I wouldn't be a part of the investigation, but that doesn't mean I'll not look into it on my own!)

(All it means is that I won't have access to police leads…)

(But when you've built up the connections I have, it's child's play!)

Back at the crime scene

Jeremy

Oh, hi James!

How's it going?

James

Can't complain, how about you Jeremy?

You and that girl from the baseball match still together?

Jeremy

Actually, we got engaged recently!

James

What? Congratulations!

I never would have seen that coming!

Jeremy

Ha, I guess even one of the greatest detectives in the city isn't perfect!

James

Ha ha, guess not

(I found out weeks ago from one of your coworkers, but it's easier to lower someone's guard when they feel flattered)

Say, mind if I take a look at the crime scene?

I was curious about something

Jeremy

Hm?

Oh sure, you've always been such a help to us, I'm sure no one will mind!

James

Thanks, I wish you and your fiance the best!

Jeremy

Thank you!

James

(Ok, time to get the real work started.)

(First, the position of the body)

(It looks as though he just crumpled up on the ground, does that mean that the killer killed him somewhere else before moving him to this alley to dump the body?)

(No, there are two sets of footprints leading up to where the body should be, which means he lured Gregory in while he was alive and killed him in the alley.)

(For him to have been killed in the alley, that must mean the murder weapon is nearby.)

(I should do my best to look for a weapon, without tampering with the scene too much.)

(Before I start messing with anything, let's narrow down what kind of weapon it could be.)

(There's no blood anywhere in the alley, and I was next door in the restaurant, so that eliminates the idea of it being a gun)

Lacerta's arm lifts the blanket off of the body

James

(Sorry Gregory, but I need to check for both of our sakes.)

(Hm, no puncture wounds anywhere, so it wasn't a knife either…)

?

(Strangulation marks on his neck!)

(That's how the murder was so quiet without any signs of a weapon!)

James looks at the neck

James

(Huh, no fingerprints of any sort…)

(Given all the dirt on Gregory, there should be some faint trace that I could use…)

(I'll come back to that I suppose…)

(Now, I should try to establish a physical profile of the killer.)

(Given he strangled Gregory to death, he must be strong, and there's only 1 set of footprints from that door to this wall, meaning he also picked Gregory up. So he's likely fairly tall.)

(Let's look at the footprints themselves now, I can use the same calculation I used at the farm to get a rough estimate of their height.)

Numbers flash behind James head before he stops and looks confused

James

What?

177 centimetres…

That sounds familiar, this is almost too similar to back at that farm with the spider.

It can't be right, but it's my duty as a detective to consider every possibility, so let's make the argument that He is the one who…killed…Gregory, how and why?

Well, I know he strangled the victim…but left no fingerprints, and for him to have both the strength to do that and the height to drop him from, he could use his Manifesto…

It wouldn't leave a trace behind, and no regular person would even consider the possibility of supernatural powers being involved, so to them it would seem like he came out of nowhere and someone committed murder with superhuman strength and height which could lead to a false profiling.

Building off this idea, going back to the "why," I know he has the ability to give Manifestos to others, but what if he needs to get those Manifestos from somebody first?

That would explain how he would constantly have more Manifestos to give to people without running out.

So, I'm looking for a 177 centimetre tall man with a Manifesto that lets him steal the Manifesto of others. This man has a complete disregard for human life, he's even willing to kill a child for their power.

He must have seen Gregory using his Manifesto and thought that it could be useful later on…

I always intended to hunt him down, but it looks like there's no more time to waste.

Considering the amount of Manifestos that can be traced back to him as well, it's safe to say that he's been operating for a while. I'd say ten years at least.

I'm slowly starting to gain a better picture of you…

In John's office

John

(I made the right decision in choosing Queen for this job, his natural genius with his Manifesto and his grandmother's loyalty to me are unparalleled!)

(The pieces are all starting to fall into place…

The chessboard now has a knight and a queen protecting the king

John & James

I hope you're ready, because I will defeat you!