Case: Grimshank’s Meats Poisoning
Case Reference: GM–FIR–002
Report by: Insp. Tomas Reed
Interrogating Officer: Inspector Roger Huckelbee
Status: Preliminary, pre-charge
Locations: Foundry Ward Holding, Grimshank’s Meats, Iron Loom Complex
Role: Proprietor, Grimshank’s Meats
Location: Foundry Ward Holding Room
Huckelbee: State your name for the record.
Grimshank: Garron Grimshank.
H: You understand why you’re here.
Grimshank: People got sick.
H: Three are dead.
Grimshank: I heard.
H: Doctors confirm the meat contained human remains.
Grimshank: …
H: Did you hear me?
Grimshank: I sell what arrives.
H: You butchered it.
Grimshank: I cut what I’m given.
H: From where?
Grimshank: Where it’s always from.
H: You noticed nothing wrong?
Grimshank: Meat’s been worse.
H: Human flesh isn’t “worse.”
Grimshank: It cooks the same.
H: Did you know?
Grimshank: Knowing doesn’t change delivery days.
H: Who brought it in?
Grimshank: On time.
H: Names.
Grimshank: Schedules don’t have names.
(Subject ceased responding. Maintained eye contact. No emotional variance observed.)
Role: Wife / Bookkeeper
Location: Grimshank’s Meats – Back Room
H: You manage the accounts.
Marla: I keep numbers straight.
H: Deliveries were irregular.
Marla: They always are when bells misalign.
H: Did you question the source?
Marla: Questioning costs customers.
H: You saw the meat.
Marla: I saw weights match invoices.
H: Did you smell anything unusual?
Marla: Everything here smells wrong.
H: Your husband knew.
Marla: My husband doesn’t ask questions that starve children.
H: Including your own?
Marla: Especially my own.
(Subject defensive but coherent. Financial pressure evident.)
Role: Daughter
Location: Grimshank’s Meats – Storage Annex
H: You helped with waste disposal.
Elsha: Yes.
H: Did the meat smell different?
Elsha: Not at first.
H: When did it change?
Elsha: After it sat.
H: Sat where?
Elsha: Where the cold didn’t hold.
H: Did you tell anyone?
Elsha: I told Da.
H: What did he say?
Elsha: “Sell it fast.”
H: Why fast?
Elsha: Because the clock forgives spoilage.
(Subject visibly shaken. Phrase repeated verbatim.)
Role: Daughter (Minor)
Location: Foundry Ward Family Holding
H: Do you know why people got sick?
Perrin: From the meat.
H: Did your brother talk about it?
Perrin: Kerrick said the meat came from the wrong end of the city.
H: What does that mean?
Perrin: He said, “That’s not food rail.”
H: Where did Kerrick go?
Perrin: Down. Where trains don’t stop.
(Statement taken in presence of guardian. Minor dismissed.)
Role: Helper
Location: Saint Brigid’s Hospital (Records)
(Interview reconstructed from prior intake notes.)
Recorded complaint: “Burns inside. Not like bad meat. Like smoke.”
Nurse note: Non-bacterial reaction. Unusual tissue breakdown.
(No further statements. Deceased within twelve hours.)
Role: Survivor
Location: Boiler Rows
H: You bought meat from Grimshank.
Coaldrift: Everyone does.
H: When did you fall ill?
Coaldrift: After second meal.
H: Did you report it?
Coaldrift: Forms came first.
H: Forms for what?
Coaldrift: Compensation.
H: Before the Watch arrived?
Coaldrift: Yes.
(Subject confused but consistent. Documentation verified.)
Role: Iron Loom Security Officer
Location: Iron Loom Complex Security Shed
H: You authorized waste access near Grimshank’s Garbage Zone.
Pike: Temporary overflow measure.
H: During a delivery delay.
Pike: According to protocol.
H: Waste included animal remains?
Pike: Waste classifications were consolidated.
H: Did that include bodies?
Pike: That’s not my category.
H: Whose is it?
Pike: Whatever department schedules disposal.
(Subject relies exclusively on procedural language.)
Role: Scrap Runner
Location: Foundry Yard
H: You knew Kerrick Grimshank.
Fenner: Knew of him.
H: He moved food.
Fenner: He moved crates.
H: From where?
Fenner: Somewhere people don’t ask questions.
H: Did you know it was human remains?
Fenner: I knew it wasn’t livestock.
H: Why didn’t you report it?
Fenner: Who’d I report it to that eats different?
(Withholding specifics. Motivated by leverage.)
No testimony establishes intent.
All testimonies establish transfer.
The meat moved from disposal to distribution without changing classification.
Every step was authorized.
Every signature was valid.
The poison was not introduced by malice.
It was introduced by routing.
Grimshank sold death because death arrived labeled as food.
End of Initial Interrogations.