The Interrogation

When Jenkins and I got back to the barrack with the thief in tow, the rest of the party was waiting in the lobby, crowded around a table along with Mia. Jenkins ran up to his captain, doing a quick salute.

“We got one of them captain! What are your orders?” he said.

“Good work. Put her in a cell for now, then ready the interrogation room,” Mia ordered. Jenkins saluted again before leading Niko off towards the cells. “How’d you manage to find the thieves so fast Flynn?”

“Just got lucky. They came by the fence right as we were leaving. The other two got away though,” I said. “How about you guys? What’d you find out?”

“Flora and I got the victim’s business records from his father. Apparently, the victim lent money from his family fortune to various businesses and individuals. He ended up losing most of the family fortune after a few of his deals went south,” said Lucille.

“We’ve been looking through the books, and a few of these who defaulted on their loan repayments are known players in the underworld,” said Mia. “Whether or not he knew, dealing with them must’ve put a target on his back.”

“The underworld?” I asked.

“Not hell or anything like that. The criminal underworld,” Mia clarified.

“Sofia, Alice? What did you guys find out?” I asked.

“The wounds on the victim are consistent with soul magic. While it’s illegal, powerful wizards can use souls instead of mana to power their spells. It makes spells more powerful, but taking a person’s soul gets rid of their mental faculties as well as decays their body, as well as preventing them from going to the afterlife,” said Alice.

“They can also take a part of a person’s soul, then use magic to control them, turning them into a mindless thrall,” said Sofia. “They’d also need a totem, an object to store extra souls inside.”

“A wizard practicing illegal dark magic, sounds like they’d have ties with the underworld,” said Mia. “What do you think Flynn? Did these thieves seem capable of advanced magic to you?”

“No, I doubt they could use magic at all, let alone advanced stuff. If they could, they’d have no reason to flee from a single adventurer,” I said. Jenkins came back from the back rooms.

“Captain! The interrogation room is ready,” Jenkins said.

“Good. Bring the prisoner in, I’ll be there in a moment,” said Mia. Jenkins saluted once more before leaving again. “Flynn, would you join me for this?”

“Uh, sure,” I said, turning to the party. “Keep looking through those records. See if you can’t find someone who’s also a mage.”

“You can count on us,” said Lucille. I followed Mia behind the counter into a mostly empty room, save for a table and a few chairs. Niko was sat at the table, properly clothed again, with a pair of handcuffs binding her to the table. Jenkins stood in the corner of the room, and handed my cloak back to me when I entered.

“Thank you Jenkins. Leave us,” said Mia, taking a seat across from the captive catgirl. The guard saluted, leaving the interrogation room. I sat down next to Mia. She pulled a rough sketch of a man out of her pocket. “Look familiar?”

“Never seen him,” Niko said bitterly.

“Oh really? Because he was murdered in cold blood last night, after being robbed by you and your little friends,” said Mia.

“Bullshit! We never killed anybody! We didn’t even mug anyone yesterday!” hissed Niko.

“Then who did?” I asked.

“The hell should I know!?” she asked angrily.

“Look, this can go one of two ways. Either you get charged for **** as this looks to be a failed robbery under your little gang’s MO, or, you can help us find the person who did kill them,” said Mia.

“What kinda bs is that?” demanded Niko.

“If you’re adamant it wasn’t you, then finding the killer will prove your innocence. As it stands, the simple solution is that your group had a robbery go sideways after so long mugging people. Of course, not all the evidence supports that, so I don’t wish to go with the simple solution,” I said. Niko seemed to calm down a little. “We have reason to believe the killer is a dark magic user connected with the underworld. With your help and connections, we can find the one responsible.”

“Suppose I do help you guys...what’s the guarantee you don’t just arrest me and my guys anyways? A-and making enemies with the underworld too? You guys are asking a lot without any assurances,” she said.

“If you help us find the true killer, we have no reason to arrest you for ****,” said Mia.

“Then what about the robberies!?” Niko demanded.

“You could arrange a pardon for them, right Mia?” I asked. She look surprised.

“Wha? I-I can’t just let a confessed criminal go free!” she stammered.

“You’re the guard captain, you can arrange a pardon, and besides, I think you and I would both rather have a thief go free than a murderous dark mage,” I said.

“But...” she sighed. “Fine. IF you help find the murderer and IF you stop stealing from people, then I’ll arrange a pardon.”

“Well? Sound good Niko?” I asked. She still looked angry and annoyed.

“I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?” she sighed. “Fine. I’ll help. So get these damn cuffs off me already.”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” I said, shaking her hand after Mia unlocked the cuffs.

“Here Flynn,” Mia said handing me the handcuffs and key. “You’re in charge of her. If she tries anything, cuff her.”

“I understand. I trust I won’t need to use these, will I Niko?” I asked. The catgirl glared at me before sighing.

“No...” she said, her voice filled with resignation. I shoved the handcuffs into the bag at my side. Mia opened the door to the interrogation room and led us back out to the lobby of the barrack.