This chapter's short, but there's some information for you to analyze. So, get those brains working, people! Also, it dawned on me that the code in the last chapter was a little harsh.
Or, was it?
Nah, I'm kidding. It totally was.
Or, was it?
I'll stop doing that. You guys can read now.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Investigation
I have done a thorough examination of Echo's body - or, at least, as thorough as I can with absolutely no useful tools - and here's what I've found:
Nothing. Diddly-squat. And, other phrases of that nature.
Whoever killed her either knew what they were doing or used magic. Possibly both. All I know for certain is that amber, a snark's most deadly weakness, was used and that it wasn't an accident. Echo never mentioned having any enemies, but I have a gut-feeling that this wasn't just some random attack.
"Still analyzing, I see."
Ford started at the voice, almost dropping his seventh journal. (Starclops claimed to have transported the completed journals to a "safe location," and Ford wasn't sure he wanted to know what that meant. Years from now, Ford would find them all in his private study. He would also discover that dream demons could safely transport inanimate objects between dimensions...just not living things.) Tad gazed at the sight before him. Ford had on six-fingered gloves - some dimensions were rather frigid in temperature - because he had been examining Echo's small body for...well, he wasn't quite sure. There was no blood, but the snark's scuffed fur and crushed tail told him that there had been a struggle.
Sighing in hopelessness and heartache, Ford sat his pen and journal beside him and rubbed his temples. "Tad, if you could conjure up, like, five pots of coffee right now, that'd be great." Liquor would have been preferable, but he was trying to avoid a relapse.
Tad floated closer to Echo's body. "How about instead I do a scan of her? That'll tell me if there's anything unusual that we haven't noticed yet."
"You can do that?" Ford asked in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I did, but you were kinda focused on being a homicide detective. I'm honestly not sure if you were listening to anything at the time."
Ford gave an embarrassed shrug. "Heh. What can I say?"
Tad rolled his eyes. "I'll do it anyway."
"Thanks. That would be a big help."
"Gimme a sec." Ford watched in amazement as Tad's eyes merged into one, and a spotlight-looking ray shone from it and on to Echo. When the light vanished, and Tad's eyes separated, the square demon scratched one of his top-points in confusion. "That's odd."
"Did you find anything unusual?" Ford asked, picking up his journal and pen and opening the former to the page he had been working on.
Tad crossed his arms, looking like he didn't quite know the answer. After a moment, he responded, "It's definitely unusual, but I'm not sure what to make of it. She's kinda…" Tad groped for a description. "I don't know what to call it. It's like…"
"Like…?" Ford clicked his pen impatiently.
"Like...she's empty. For lack of a better word."
"Empty?" Ford thoughtfully gnawed on his pen.
Tad shrugged. "Well...you see, I've scanned corpses before - let's just say, this isn't my first murder mystery - and they were different. Uh, think of a scan as- Hm…" Ford heard a small crack and stopped chewing, lest he break open another pen. "Look, I'm gonna explain the best I can, but I apologize ahead of time if I don't make any sense. Okay. Now, everything in the multiverse is made of energy. In some beings, like dream demons, it's just more prevalent than in others. But, beings with souls, they have more energy than something like that pen you, uh, won't stop clicking."
Ford hadn't even realized he'd been doing it. "Sorry. Nervous habit."
Tad shrugged. "Hey, we've all got 'em. Now, here's the weird part. Echo's body radiated physical energy, but I didn't detect anything else. Am-Am I making any sense right now?"
God, did Ford ever wish he wasn't. "So, you're saying that something happened to her soul?"
"Maybe. But, maybe snarks just don't have souls. I don't know. This is the first time I've scanned a snark."
Ford subconsciously chewed his pen some more. Yes, it was possible that snarks, as a species, were void of souls, but Ford didn't think someone as spirited as Echo would be lacking. Something wasn't right. Something really wasn't right. He'd studied a multitude of soul-draining creatures (which, for obvious reasons, had been rather challenging). Did one of those take Echo's soul? But, why the amber? Why would they kill Echo to do it? Unless she had been killed by one thing and drained by another? Or, maybe there was no amber involved, and the burn was just a by-product of her being drained?
His thoughts were unceremoniously interrupted when the pen snapped in half, and Ford choked on a mouthful of ink. At least Tad had the decency to try not to laugh.
ZUGVI WVZGS, GSV HLFO NLEVH LM GL SVZEVM. YFG, DSZG RU GSV HLFO RH HGLOVM?
And, that's my chapter. There's more fascinating news coming up in the next one. I should have it done before I go on vacation, but if not...
REALITY'S AN ILLUSION; THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM; REVIEW; BYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEE!
What he said.
