Morix: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Masquerade, Part 8

November 21

Prosecutor's Office

12:35 PM

Deirdre Brigit

As soon as I was sure that Mr. Morix wasn't going to be leaving, I nodded to myself and began to speak. "We were curious about the candle that was found at the scene of the crime. You picked it up and found something underneath it, and we were wondering if perhaps you would be willing to tell us what that thing was," I said. "It appeared to be an identification card of some sort. Would it happen to be involved with the case? Could it lead to more details being revealed regarding either the culprit or the victim?"

Mr. Morix was silent for a long time before he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't answer that... Not yet," he told us carefully. "I want to tell you, but I just can't do it quite yet. I need a bit more time to flatten out the details regarding everything that's happened. Please forgive me for needing more time, but I'll tell you as soon as I'm able to explain what took place."

I saw Yuri's expression pinch out of the corner of my eye, and I could tell that she was on the verge of getting snappish with him. Before she had the chance to do so, I continued. "If you truly can't explain that to us, then I must ask you... Is there anything that you know of that connects you to the victim of this case? We believe that she had a key to enter the agency, and the witness even said as much. If there's something that you two have in common, we need to hear about it as soon as possible," I continued. 

Mr. Morix hesitated before nodding. "Eileen Liyle does have her own key to the agency, yes," he eventually replied. He gave a brief glance to Prosecutor Cruz through his peripheral vision before he trained his gaze on me once again. I couldn't help but wonder why he had chosen to phrase it like that. It seemed like a strange way of answering the question, but at the same time, it wasn't as if Mr. Morix was known for being completely straight when it came to answers of this nature. In fact, he was the exact opposite a majority of the time. 

"Then you do know her!" Yuri cried out, and I was grateful to see that her previous animosity seemed to have disappeared along the way. "In that case, could you please tell us about who the man with the white hair was? You know, assuming that you know him. How are you connected to the victim in the first place? We really don't know all that much about her, so any details that you can offer would be much appreciated."

"I don't know who the man with white hair was," Mr. Morix responded immediately. I could tell that he was being honest based on how effortless it was for him to make eye contact with me as he said it. "As for the victim herself... I suppose you could say that we're acquainted. She's a young defense attorney who's just been starting to break into the field. She's visited me roughly three times before to come and ask for tips about being an attorney, and I've answered her questions. There really isn't that much more to it." Once again, his gaze flickered to Prosecutor Cruz for a few crucial seconds before he could correct himself. 

I couldn't help but frown at his words, and I resisted the urge to speak about my questions openly. If there really wasn't much of a connection between Ms. Liyle and Mr. Morix, then why did she have a key to the agency? It was an honor that was reserved exclusively for the people who worked at the agency along with a select few figures who Mr. Morix had come to trust deeply over many years of working together. There weren't many people who had keys to the building in the grand scheme of things, and I had to say that I found it strange that the victim of all people would have something like that even though none of us knew her. For the most part, all of the people who had keys already knew each other, and that connection had allowed us to narrow down the potential suspects regarding the keys significantly.