The Curse of Eden Square
by J. H. Zech
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Table of Contents parts 1, 2, 3 4 |
part 2
The next morning, Dahlia awoke to the sound of her phone ringing, and not for her alarm. Half-awake, she fumbled for her phone and took the call. “Hello?” she groaned.
“Dahlia, get up!” Richard’s voice buzzed from the speaker and through her head.
“Ugh... What is it?”
“There’s been a murder.”
Dahlia sprang upright in bed. But, after the initial jolt, she came to her senses. “That is concerning, but aren’t you a police inspector? Why are you calling me first thing in the morning? I’m already working on coming up with a lie for the chief. Do your job.”
“I am formally requesting that you switch to a new case. We’ve got bigger problems now. It’s the curse of Eden Square.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Come to Eden Square. I’ll explain everything at the scene.”
Had her premonition from the other day come true? She could only think of one possibility when Richard mentioned the curse of Eden Square. Dahlia jumped out of bed to get changed into jeans and her black leather jacket. After washing her face, she bolted down the stairs of her apartment.
* * *
When she arrived, the entrances to the square had been cordoned off with yellow tape and police officers in dark blue uniform standing guard.
“Good to see you, Detective Williams,” a guard saluted. “Unfortunately, we’ve sealed off the area and can’t let civilians in.”
“She has my permission.” Richard ducked under the tape and came out.
“Inspector.” The guard removed the yellow tape.
“Come with me.” Richard gestured Dahlia into the passageway. They walked past the entrance and between the buildings until they arrived at the square.
In the center, a man with tan complexion wearing overalls lay by the tree as forensics took photos of him. A noose was wrapped around his neck, and Dahlia could surmise he had been cut down from the tree shortly before she arrived. The man was the landscaper she had bumped into yesterday. A gruesome murder. The curse of Eden Square.
Richard flipped through his notes. “The victim’s name is José Petro. He worked here as a landscaper. Cause of death is asphyxiation. Time of death is about a day to a day and a half ago.”
“Wait a minute. That time of death doesn’t make sense. He was found here this morning, right?”
“Yes, by a Ms. Ruby Auburn. She’s one of the usual protesters here.”
She found the body before the janitor? Ruby must have been there very early. “But this body wasn’t here yesterday, so wouldn’t you normally think he was murdered last night and put up here during that same night?”
“Yes, you would think so. This case has a lot of puzzling elements to it, so I’m hoping you can help. The time of death was based on rigor mortis starting to disappear as forensics inspected the body. Typically, that means 24-36 hours have passed since death. We think he was actually killed the night before yesterday and then moved here last night.”
“Now, why would the killer do something like that?” Dahlia asked.
Richard shook his head. “It’s some sicko that publicly displayed the corpse. There’s no understanding them.”
“Even a psychopath killer has some internal logic they operate on. Understanding it is the key to catching them. But while we’re on the subject, you mentioned this was the curse of Eden Square. Why did you say that? Just the similarity in the setup?”
“The serial killer behind the curse has a specific M.O., and it’s not just about lynching someone here. They always put a brand on the tongue of the victim, and this one had it, too.”
“And you don’t think it’s a copycat crime because...?”
“It was disclosed to the public that there was a brand on the tongue, but the design of that brand is a closely guarded secret. There are a lot of intricate details on it too, so the exact design would be hard to leak from someone who only had a quick glance, like I did, or the first discoverer.”
Dahlia looked at Richard seriously. “But this creates a problem. The first murder of this pattern was in 1920. It’s been a century since then, with murders roughly every twenty years. It is impossible for that serial killer to still be alive.”
“Well, that’s why it’s turned into this occult rumor that the spirit of the killer is still wandering the square.”
“What about the surveillance cameras? There’s one right in front of the tree. If a ghost really did it, then the body would have floated to the branch by itself in the footage.”
“No such thing happened, of course. A figure in a white robe covering their face with a mask was caught on camera hoisting the body up.” Richard pulled out his phone and showed Dahlia the footage, and though it was a bit grainy and dark, it was as he had described. The hooded figure came from the corner of the view dragging a body in a sleeping bag. The figure unzipped it, tied the noose around the body’s neck, then threw the rope over the branch and pulled.”
Dahlia said, “This video does support the time of death. The victim isn’t struggling. They were either dead or knocked out at this point, and dead seems likely. This also means the noose itself wasn’t what choked the victim. It could have been the noose used in a different location or some other kind of cloth. Which entrance did the culprit come from?”
“None of them.”
“What?” Dahlia asked incredulously.
“At no point was the culprit caught on camera dragging that body into the square. We only see them in the center camera. An impossible crime. As if a ghost did it.”
“Knock it off. A ghost didn’t do it. But this... This is a locked room mystery.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a type of impossible crime where either the culprit could not have entered the scene of the crime or could not leave, at least not without being detected. There is a camera at every entrance and one in the center. It was impossible for the culprit to show up in the center of the square without being seen on one of these cameras, but it happened anyway. And we must figure out how they did it and why.”
Richard clapped. “It’s mostly going to be you figuring out how they did it and why. But I’ll help.”
“How reassuring.” Dahlia walked around the tree and body. “There are many ways to create a locked room trick. John Dickson Carr, a pioneer of locked rooms, once categorized tricks:
- 1. Killing from afar.
- 2. It was a suicide or accident that looked like murder.
- 3. Subterfuge about when exactly the victim was killed.
“In this case, we know the victim was dead before the locked room, and we can see the victim being brought in, so none of these apply.”
“If it were only so easy that the answer is in a famous book,” Richard quipped.
“Perhaps it is, and we just haven’t seen the right evidence yet. So, the first question is, how did they get in and out?”
“A ladder?”
Dahlia looked around. “These buildings are two stories tall with sloped, shingled roofs. It would need a very tall ladder, the strength to carry a body up the ladder and up the sloped roof, then to pull the ladder up and down the other side. And there’s no way it could be done without leaving some trace on the roof in that far-fetched scenario. Was there any evidence like that?”
“Nope. The roof was dusty and undisturbed. We police did investigate that theory.”
“We can cross that one out, then. However, we can think of a corollary to the locked room rules. Why did the culprit make the crime a locked room?”
He shrugged. “Because the author wanted to make it interesting.”
Dahlia gave Richard a disappointed look. “Har har. The author’s motives aside, a good mystery will have some compelling reason why the scenario is a locked room. I would broadly categorize the reasons as such:
- 1. It was a coincidence or accident of circumstances that made the scene look like a locked room.
- 2. The scene was closely guarded, and a locked room trick was the only way to perform the murder without being caught.
- 3. The culprit just wanted to challenge the police.
- 4. The culprit has no alibi, and they would be the obvious suspect unless they make it seem impossible for them to have committed the crime.
Richard said, “Under those scenarios, I would say number 2 is the closest because of the security cameras here, but not quite. The culprit had no reason to murder here in the first place, and the actual murder took place somewhere else. Maybe number 3, but that’s pure speculation.”
“You’re starting to think, Richard. It’s good. Now, we need to move beyond speculation and into evidence. What physical evidence, witnesses, or suspects do you have?”
“Aside from the footage you saw, there was nothing in the footage from the entrances. There are no manholes or other entrances the culprit could have used. There were no witnesses to the actual murder, and none for the act of hanging, either. There are some persons of interest, but we don’t have enough evidence to say they’re suspects yet.”
“Oh? Let’s hear about the persons of interest.”
Richard called an officer and gave some instructions. “The officer will bring them over shortly. Let’s go outside the square. We can’t let them enter the crime scene itself.”
A little while later, four people were brought over to the entrance. Dahlia recognized all of them, though she didn’t know all their names.
“Everyone, state your name and occupation,” Richard instructed.
The purple-haired protester from the other day said, “I’m Ruby Auburn. I work at the post office.” So, she was the one who discovered the body?
Jeff Pioneer wasn’t wearing his military uniform today but instead had a ridiculous gangster setup with a tank top, gold chains, and a baseball cap. “I’m Jeff Pioneer, a local celebrity.” That was a very generous way of putting it.
“Um... I’m Shelly Baker,” the young café waitress who had taken her order before said. “I’m a waitress at Tea World.”
The scammer in the red dress said, “Numa Argonic, freelancer.” Freelancer was certainly a creative interpretation.
“Why don’t each of you tell us what your relationship with the victim was?” Richard asked.
“You’re accusing me of being involved? Show me the proof or that’s police brutality!” Jeff yelled.
Richard sighed. “I’m not accusing you nor would that be police brutality. Since you’re so eager, please tell us about the last time you saw José Petro.”
“I only interviewed him for content. Didn’t do a thing to him. This has nothing to do with me.”
“We’ll be the judge of that,” Dahlia said. “Now, answer carefully. When did you last see him? Describe what you said to him and how he responded.”
“That was two days ago. This body turned up today, right? I’m innocent!”
“You know, the more defensive you act, the more suspicious it looks. Why don’t you start with just the facts? Otherwise, Richard here will be more than happy to question you down at the station.”
Jeff’s volume meter shrank visibly. “Er, right. I saw him two days ago. In the parking lot here in the afternoon. I had a little chat with him, then we went our separate ways. Haven’t seen him since.”
“What did you talk about?” Dahlia asked.
“I just asked him a few questions about what he thought about the current political situation. It was a cordial conversation.”
“Does this look like a cordial conversation to you?” Dahlia held up her phone and showed the video he had uploaded yesterday.
“Hey, you!” Jeff said to José in the video. They were in the parking lot of the square.
“Me?” José asked.
“Yeah, you. Who else would I be talking to? Are you stupid?”
José frowned and backed away.
“What’s wrong? No hablo English? Bet you’re one of those low-IQ refugees.”
José lunged forward and pushed the camera away with his hand. The footage was dark and shaky.
“Whoa! He’s getting violent! The savage refugee is getting violent! Help! Help!”
The video snapped back to the view of the parking lot. José was running off across the bridge over the creek and into the park.
Jeff turned the camera towards him. “This is the kind of animal that’s invading us. They’re an invasive species. I know my audience is smart, but don’t ever make the mistake of thinking of them as normal people.”
Dahlia lowered her phone and stared at Jeff.
He was sweating. “Hey, um, you know. That’s just for content. Don’t take it so seriously. You’re no fun.”
“A man was murdered. I don’t care if you think it’s fun. What we know is that you had an aggressive altercation with him around the last time he was seen alive.”
“That doesn’t prove anything!”
“It proves you had motive to murder him. But I haven’t even accused you of anything yet.”
Richard cleared his throat. “Let’s get some testimony from the others. Ms. Auburn?”
“I found his body early this morning. I didn’t know him, but it was quite horrid what had been done to him, hanging him from a tree. Whoever did this hated him dearly.”
“What were you doing at the square so early, Ms. Auburn? You don’t work here, so it’s strange you’d be here before the staff,” Dahlia asked.
“I like to be ready early and wait for the group to arrive. You know, save our spot.”
“Yesterday, you were discussing something with the organization leader, Laura, were you not?”
Ruby’s face darkened. “Yes. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I looked into Laura Baumer. She’s an activist from the eastern provinces. Yesterday, you said that it would be done soon. What did you mean by that?”
“It’s my right to not say anything.” Ruby crossed her arms. One of her hands was bandaged.
“What happened to your hand?”
“I scraped it when I fell this morning. I tripped because I wasn’t expecting a dead body in the square. No more questions.”
Was that really the case? “I see. That’s how it’s going to be. I’ll respect that, but I have a tendency to make sure the truth comes out one way or another.” Dahlia smirked.
“Is that a threat?”
“Not a chance. I’m merely a detective.”
“The culprit’s definitely him.” Jeff wagged his finger at Ruby, who glared back at him.
“Why do you say that?”
“He’s one of those troublemakers, was here early suspiciously, and he was the first to find the body. They say the first discoverer is often the culprit!”
“You prick. I’ll sue for slander!”
Dahlia said, “Ignore him. He’s just a blowhard. Nothing he said is any substantive evidence that you’re the culprit. That being said, you’re not off the hook either, so sit tight.”
“Now, Shelly, tell me about your relationship with José.”
“There’s nothing between us.” She glanced away.
Richard chimed in. “The two used to be lovers.”
“We broke up over a year ago. We were practically just acquaintances now. I have nothing to do with this.”
“Last week he sent you a message saying he wanted to get back together, and you sent an angry message in response threatening to kill him if he showed up at your door.”
“Y-you went through our messages?” Shelly stammered and took a step back.
“We are the police. A man was murdered. It’s only natural to investigate who he had been in contact with before his death.”
“That’s... I was just upset. I wouldn’t actually kill anyone.”
“Do you have an alibi for two nights ago?” Dahlia asked.
“I went to my apartment and slept.”
“Can anyone vouch for that?”
“I was alone...”
“So, no, your alibi cannot be corroborated.”
“I should note the same applies to everyone gathered here,” Richard said. “Part of the reason I brought this group here was that they all had some connection to the victim and had alibis we couldn’t verify.” He pointed to Ruby. “She said she was printing materials at home alone.” He turned to Jeff. “He said he went for a walk in the canyon trail but didn’t film it.”
“I wanted to disconnect, alright? It’s not easy being an influencer.”
Richard ignored him and continued. “Numa said she went shopping at the Promenade Mall. But no one remembers seeing her.”
“This is very unfair.” Numa shook her head.
Copyright © 2026 by J. H. Zech
