《What Happened to the Mouse?》Side-Case: A Problem of Motive
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Three corpses hung from the balcony, ankles tied to the horizontal base of the tall ornamental railing. Rick approached them from below with trepidation, keeping his camera in front of his face like a shield. The ropes were just long enough to leave their heads dangling at his eye level.
Father, mother, and son stared him down. Their eyes were terrified and bulging, and their jaws were clenched tight. Gravity had pooled the blood in their heads, turning their skin bruise-purple.
"Christ. Who would do this?" muttered Rick, blanching a little as he photographed the scene. A few quick inquiries with friends and relatives had revealed little of note. Nobody had a reason to kill any of these people -- definitely not like this. The mother was a school nurse, the father worked at some sort of biotech firm, and the son was just a teenager.
"I'm wondering why the neighbors didn't hear anything." Detective Charity Singh seemed more pensive than shocked. She'd been warned of what to expect, so maybe she'd steeled herself. Or maybe staring down at the floor was a good way to avoid looking into those eyes. "No sign of a break-in, either."
"You're saying maybe they knew the guy?"
"Maybe." Detective Singh didn't find that particularly plausible either, though. Even if the killer had been the dearest, most trusted friend, the victims wouldn't have just let themselves all be tied to a railing. Their arms were completely free. No wounds, either. A paralytic drug, perhaps?
Hold on. Each rope was just long enough to let the victims dangle, but not much longer.
"Rick, I'm going to head upstairs and look at this from above."
As she walked through the living room to the stairs, she spotted a leather briefcase sitting on the floor. It lay on its side, spilled open, and there were traces of fine, rust-brown powder on tile floor. The father had taken home a sample vial from the lab, and it had shattered, raising a cloud of dust which must have taken some time to settle.
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Well, forensics would work out what to make of it. Best not to disturb or inhale it, whatever it was.
Reaching the balcony confirmed Singh's suspicions. The measurements just didn't work. If the killer had tied their feet to that bar, he couldn't possibly have gotten their bodies over the railing. But there they were, all the same. What, did he just use longer ropes, and then pull them back and trim the excess? But that would be pointless.
One more possibility to check. Gingerly, Singh climbed up and over the rail. The ledge was roomy enough to sit on, so she did. Then she put an ankle against the bar and leaned over.
"Rick, I think they tied themselves."
"Why the hell would they do that?"
"I don't know. But that's what makes physical sense."
The van arrived, and the bodies were cut down, bagged, and sent away. It was time to put forensics on this.
***
Later, the lab called back. Given their backlog, it seemed impossible that they could have analyzed the blood samples so quickly.
"No toxicology yet. But listen," said Sam. "This jumped out at me as soon as I took a look at the white blood cells. All three of them have massive eosinophilia. Off the charts."
"What's that mean?"
"Eosinophils fight parasites, fungi, you know, the big stuff. So either the whole family had hookworm, or... um, I have no idea."
"Oh."
Detective Singh thought of that purple skin, those dangling heads pooled full of nutrient-rich blood. Hadn't she seen something like this in a nature documentary once? She began to search the Internet.
Next, she phoned that biotech lab, the one the father worked for. At first, they were unwilling to divulge much, but when it became clear that she'd happened onto the truth, they were seized with an eminently justifiable panic. Finally, she tipped off the Bureau of High-Risk Research. Soon, she'd be recruited as a field agent, but for now, there was something far more pressing to deal with.
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What happens when you successfully force a fungal parasite to host-jump? A mushroom that in nature, drugs ants, tinkers with their brains, makes them crawl up a plant and bite down on a leaf, and then...
Meanwhile at the morgue, three pairs of eyes began to hatch.
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RakhtaBhushan (Blood Ornament)
[This book has been contracted elsewhere, which is why I am not updating any more. Please contact me if you want to continue reading the story.] God King Arya defeats Agni Asura Yaman. Two hundred years later, Asura Yaman reincarnates as golden prince, Suryadev, of RakhtaPrastha. Once he comes of age, a darkness begins to lurk in his dreams. Flashbacks from his past life erode his mind, his fate "unforeseen by the gods." As he seeks to heal, his path entwines with Vidyut, his long time rival. Hardened by the cruelties of life, Vidyut embraces the dark art of Tantra, for which he is both rejected and coveted by the people of the five kingdoms. Meanwhile, the kingdom of RakhtaPrastha is facing political turmoil and rival kingdoms, while the animosity between God King Arya and Yaman/Surya's supporter, Goddess Dimuka, is spilling into the human world. Princes, Spells, Gods, Spirits, Heaven, Mythical creatures, Wars, and Reincarnation, and so much more. It is based on Indian mythology, specifically Hindu mythology. But it is an original fantasy and focus is character arcs. It has BL/Gay content. Most Surya-Vidyut interactions are in the chapters marked Surya or Vidyut. The romance in this story is slowburn. **Daily Chapter Release** Cover Art Disclaimer: The cover art is using an image from Pinterest. The art has been kindly created by Ben Arisson. You can find the artist's profile here: https://www.royalroad.com/profile/181989 07/02/2021 Announcement: To stay updated on future chapters, please contact me at my discord server: https://discord.gg/eq2cmxHu My discord ID: FantasyBliss30#4993
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Savo is an accomplished man in the business world and seeks to build his urban empire. At age twenty-four, he has succeeded in creating one of the most prominent brands in the country. Wearied by his daily work and responsibilities, Savo finds asylum in tinkering. His leisure trips and vacations had led him to discover an object which would proceed to redirect his life plans. Transported to another world, left to witness its wonders and horrors, and staying true to his ambition of returning home, Savo traverses the world of Mythron in hopes of returning home. Yet, how is he to do this? It seems that the world is somewhat set on sabotaging his plans yet again.
8 196SYNCH : the contract formation
In a near but distant future, an era of superpower and magic. Five young people, Iris, Anck, Alice, Brian and Steve were born different, without powers, but one day they inadvertently form contract with the gods and receive immense powers. In a world where only the strongest are recognized, follow their adventure as they try to finalize the contract and discover the secrets behind their existence. I will post everyday even during weekends either at 8:30 am GMT or 5:30 pm GMT. At least until we make it to chapter 50. Each chapter will be between 500 and 1000 words. Thank you for your read and don’t forget to give me a feedback it will help me better myself?
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NOTICE: This story is under rewrite. New novel has been published. Search **RE: Tyranny** in Royalroad for the new novel.Link- Re: Tyranny Thank You! ------------------------ "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." What a brilliant line, isn't it? James was a boy who had nothing to worry about. A happy family, a nice childhood. What's more to ask? But one day, everything changed. He lost everything in the blink of an eye. The only thing left for him were the memories and dreams of the past. Trying to cope up with the loss, he cut all ties with the outside world and became a shut-in, having no one left to call his own or to rely upon. There was nothing left for him in this world, but still he lived and soon found a purpose in his life, which lead him to create something that could change the world.And on the very day when his dream project was about to come to the light, he lost his life, trying to save a little girl from an unfortunate accident. "Will I ever be remembered...? I wish... someone would." These were the last word James mumbled before his conscious faded into darkness. But his life didn't end there, as he is transmigrated into the body of an arrogant, worthless Duke's son in some unknown land with no memories about who is or any idea about where he is. In an era of political turmoil and civil strife, the Duke's son is forced to prove his worth for inheriting the title. Will he be able to accept the new reality and prove himself by leading this country into a prosperous future? Or will he cease to the pressure of his past and lose everything once more? Disclaimer: This is not a power-fantasy or a 'feel-good' story. If you feel a protagonist should never lack agency (especially in early story) or make compromises because of difficult circumstances, then this fiction is probably not for you. It is a story that delves deep into real world sociological/psychological subjects and explores many topics of gray morality. I wrote it because I like stories that make me think more about the world around us, not to detach myself from reality. Some aspects you can expect based on the tags include:- [Kingdom Building]: political drama, geopolitical/geoeconomic strategy- [Army Building]: massive battles featuring in-depth planning, combined arms, and operational logistics- [Identity Crisis]: someone translated into a whole different world having to rebuild their identity and life aims The story starts off slowly, more like a slice of life than action-adventure, but I guarantee you it will get there. For those who want to skip the slow part, start from Chapter - 35 (Beginning of The End) (The whole Disclaimer section is copied from Aorii as I am too busy writing the complete story.) And yes, just for General Knowledge, James will become OP throughout the story. He is not some legendary guy who will pull out Excalibur & conquer the entire world. Update Schedule - One chapter a day. This novel is also available on Scribble Hub. And again, I humbly thank you for reading it. I hope you stick throughout the journey.
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