Report by : Insp. Tomas Reed
Case: Death of Edric Hallowen
Location: Foundry Ward / Iron Loom Complex
Interrogating Officer: Inspector Roger Huckelbee
Status: Preliminary, pre-charge
Role: Senior Security Captain, Blackwake Foundry
Location: Blackwake Foundry Security Office
Huckelbee: State your name and position for the record.
Vell: Mara Vell. Senior Security Captain, Blackwake Foundry.
H: You reported the body.
V: I did. Routine sweep turned up the manager unresponsive.
H: You were on duty?
V: I oversee duty. I don’t patrol.
H: Logs show altered patrol timing.
V: Adjusted. Not altered. We had equipment testing.
H: At two in the morning?
V: That’s when systems are quiet.
H: A twelve-minute blind window resulted.
V: Coincidence.
H: Did Hallowen request an audit?
V: He asked questions outside his authority.
H: Did you stop him?
V: I advised him.
H: Forcefully?
V: Firmly.
H: Did you enter his quarters that night?
V: No.
H: Anyone under your command?
V: I don’t control what people do when off-shift.
(Subject remained calm throughout. No visible stress responses. Answers precise, rehearsed.)
Role: Melting Room Foreman
Location: Blackwake Foundry – Melting Room
H: You argued with the victim.
Bale: Everyone argued with him.
H: You threatened him.
Bale: I told him men were dying.
H: Did you go to his office that night?
Bale: I finished my shift and went home.
H: Witnesses place you near the Head Office.
Bale: I pass it every night. It’s between me and the gate.
H: You hated him.
Bale: I hated what he signed off on.
H: Did you kill him?
Bale: No. If I wanted him dead, it wouldn’t look like an accident.
H: Explain.
Bale: I’d want it loud.
(Subject agitated but consistent. Emotional hostility toward victim, but lacks concealment behavior.)
Role: Iron Loom Security Liaison
Location: Iron Loom Security Shed
H: Your insignia matches a fragment found on the body.
Reeve: Many carry that mark.
H: It’s not Blackwake issue.
Reeve: I liaise between sites.
H: Were you at Blackwake last night?
Reeve: Briefly.
H: When?
Reeve: Late. Before midnight.
H: Pressure logs show valve changes after that.
Reeve: I don’t handle valves.
H: You have a master key.
Reeve: For emergencies.
H: Was this an emergency?
Reeve: Apparently.
(Subject evasive. Avoids direct denial. Knows more than stated.)
Role: Foundry Accountant
Location: Blackwake Storage Room
H: You falsified requisitions.
Thorne: I corrected discrepancies.
H: Using the victim’s stamp?
Thorne: He authorized blanket use.
H: He was about to expose irregularities.
Thorne: He misunderstood the numbers.
H: Did you access his quarters?
Thorne: Yes. For files.
H: At night?
Thorne: That’s when records are free.
H: Did you see him alive?
Thorne: No.
(Subject visibly nervous. Financial motive plausible but fear seems external.)
Role: Boiler Technician
Location: Blackwake Coal Room
H: You noticed pressure fluctuations.
Korr: Aye. The machines whispered.
H: Machines don’t whisper.
Korr: They do if you listen long enough.
H: When did it change?
Korr: Just before the bell misrang.
H: Could that kill a man?
Korr: Not by itself.
H: Could it help?
Korr: If someone wanted quiet.
(Credible technical witness. No motive.)
Role: Scrap Runner
Location: Blackwake Foundry Yard
H: You saw someone leave the Head Office.
Fenner: Maybe.
H: Who?
Fenner: Hard to say. Coat was clean.
H: That’s unusual.
Fenner: Exactly.
H: Enforcer?
Fenner: Walked like one.
(Withholding details. Motivated by leverage, not loyalty.)
Role: Iron Loom Fabric Engineer
Location: Iron Loom Smelting Zone
H: Your belts failed.
Quince: They were altered after leaving my floor.
H: Intentionally?
Quince: Precisely.
H: Who ordered it?
Quince: Not me. And not on paper.
H: Did Hallowen know?
Quince: He asked the wrong questions.
(Highly credible. Fearful of repercussions.)
Role: Outhouse Attendant
Location: Blackwake Outhouse
H: You overheard an argument.
Garrick: Aye.
H: Describe the other voice.
Garrick: Calm. Measured. Like a man reading orders.
H: Worker or officer?
Garrick: Officer.
H: Name?
Garrick: Didn’t give one.
(Low-status witness, but consistent.)
Role: Burn Ward Orderly
Location: Iron Loom Water Well
H: You treated injuries after the murder.
Vox: Steam burns. Hands.
H: Who?
Vox: Can’t say.
H: You logged it.
Vox: I didn’t.
H: Why not?
Vox: Because I was told not to.
(Direct implication of authority interference.)
No single testimony establishes guilt.
All testimonies establish permission.
The victim was isolated.
The system created silence.
Someone acted—but only because nothing stopped them.
End of Initial Interrogations.