Beneath S02E01: The Rose Girl
The investigators were called to investigate a body found in the Rose Garden, a famous part of the Ringwall Botanical Gardens. This body belonged to Zala Crestgrave, whose body was found killed in a manner that resembled the MO of the Scribe serial killer, who had started his reign of terror two years earlier. Each of his victim’s bodies were found with elaborate premortem and postmortem tattoos.
Except , while that had caught the public’s imagination, the victims had been normal, working class people. This one was different , as Zala was the daughter of the influential Crestgrave family, one of Ringwall's remaining noble families with a complex and storied history. However, forensics at the scene suggested that Zala had been killed three months prior, stored in a refrigerated environment and then dumped here with elaborate postmortem tattoos. Yet she’d been seen last night at a charity ball.
Zala was an influencer who did simple but popular videos on VidHub about the city’s historical sites. A few weeks ago, she’d been excited by a recent archaeological dig where the dig team had allegedly found the ‘prelapsarian’ layer of the city, or the bit that had existed before the previous age, the Age of Magic , had ended.
Tom Stonebridge, a dwarrow and the chief detective, was desperate for answers and turned the crime scene over to the DEA investigators. The investigators learned:
- The body has been dropped/ placed there, like "It has appeared out of nowhere"
- In weasel form, Rufus noted a smell of dry, metallic soil around the body, which is inconsistent with the smell of the rose gardens
Alix theorized the body had been abducted and taken back in time three months. But did this mean that Zala had been replaced three months ago?
The body was taken away for forensic examination. The coroner thought she had died of suffocation, but there were no clear ligature markings. Possible carbon monoxide poisoning was considered. Ink scrapings of the tattoos would determine more about them. The complex tattoo patterns were consistent with the Scribe’s work. This design showed elaborate tree roots twisted into serpents. Angus thought it was familiar but wasn't sure about it.
The investigators visited the Crestgrave family, who were certain the body in the morgue wasn't Zala. They also weren't clear about her last movements, and told the investigators that Zala had a bodyguard about her.
The investigators resolved to visit Zala's downtown apartment and learn what she had been doing prior to her murder.