The revenge killer we wrote about last Sunday has been caught by the hard-working men and women of Golf Company.
Lieutenant Leopold Parker of Golf Company, aka, The King's Footmen left me a message at our office stating that "It is with absolute pleasure" that they had captured the aforementioned killer. A human man by the name of Drake Swanlake and that he was in their custody waiting trial.
Eager to hear more I used the first chance I had to go ask for more details.
Hardhy Lester:
"Was looking for some more details regarding the message you sent me"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Of course. Mister Swanlake, or as you called him "The Revenge Killer", has been captured and is currently in temporary holding inside the Stockades."
So he read the previous article, I have met guards in the past I wasn't sure could even read, but this one not only leaves me little notes about their work, he also reads the paper, and apparently is eager to talk about their successes. All good in my book.
Hardhy Lester:
"Got more than that? how was he captured?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Twice, actually. Once inside the city; during a transfer transport he managed to use his foul magic to break clear and escape. It did not take long and the day after we had found him in Duskwood, were we sent a detachment along with some operatives of another unit to capture and apprehend him. Today I received extra confirmation that we will infact move forward with a trial."
I have been pondering since he said that. Is it good that they are so efficient they caught him twice? or is it bad they lost him once? A bit of a philosophical question maybe. Is the coffee mug half full or half empty? - the answer to the last one is, its empty. I drank it all writing this.
Hardhy Lester:
"How did you identify he was the guilty part to begin with.. or allegedly guilty part.. I suppose he is not guilty yet"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Confession. He was quite proud of his work, still is. No remorse for his actions."
Hardhy Lester:
"So he turned himself in?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Oh no, the first time we caught him red handed, having captured a member of another organisation who he seemed to have taken quite a... liking to."
Hardhy Lester:
"Sounds creepy, can you elaborate on that?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"On the same night he had tried to kill me and one of my Sergeants, my Sergeant he attempted to kill in front of not only my Sergeant, but many others in Golf Company and the one who was kidnapped."
Hardhy Lester:
"Which sergeant was this? the Ducker guy?"
Full confession, the guy I refer to is called Tucker. But for reasons I cannot fully explain nor comprehend then I keep getting the name wrong. Ducker. Nucker. Lucker. Rucker...
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Though he quickly admitted defeat and gave himself up for surrender. No, Sergeant Chesterfield."
Hardhy Lester:
"Ah. You mentioned vile magic? what sort of magic did he use?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Confirmation from not only the body you saw hung no more than fifty metres away from us and what he tried to use to kill my Sergeant with was some form of shadow or void magic, by what I've been told. I am not very well-versed in everything that is out there, still learning, but with the help of a few Paladins and such, they confirmed it."
Hardhy Lester:
"I'm sure I won't be the only one wondering, shadow or void magic... was this a Ren´dorei?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"No, it was not. A regular, ordinary human man from this very city."
Hardhy Lester:
"That is good to hear, at least no one will use this to throw more hate their way."
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Indeed, they have suffered enough at the hands of foul rumours and ridiculously unfounded beliefs."
A guard showing empathy and understanding for a minority group often targeted for racist attacks? Another checkbox on the "good guard" list.
Article continues after the ad.
Hardhy Lester:
So he got caught red handed, then escaped during a transport and was caught again the next day in Duskwood?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Indeed, he did not get far at all. And he is currently in a secure, and warded, cell inside the Stockades awaiting his trial."
After this I prodded a bit about the possibilities of visiting the guy in his cell, get his story and all that. Not that I really like the idea of being in a cell with a killer - but I am a man who has questions, always, and sometimes it means doing unpleasant things to get the answers. (Un)fortunately it proved to not be possible. Due to the magic the man wields then it would simply be too much of a security risk to allow visitors, I was pleasantly surprised that it seemed like it would not be out of the question in other cases. Perhaps I can eventually do my review on prison food, and the research for my upcoming book about killers. Anyway, I did suggest the man maybe write me a letter. We will see if anything comes of that.
Hardhy Lester:
"What was his reasoning for all this?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"The guardsman he killed was not of Golf Company, though he had been accused of corruption by Mister Swanlake prior to what had happened. It appears as if the Guardsman had taken quite a liking to Swanlake's wife and tried to take her for his own, to begin with."
Hardhy Lester:
"Lovely with or without the wife's consent?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Of that I am uncertain, likely without. Either way, Mister Swanlake was accused of beating her, if that was correct or not I cannot say either, I am even unsure if she was ever even beaten. I do not have the details of such an old case. It was established that during the time Swanlake was kept for questioning of said crime, his wife was murdered. He blamed such on the Guardsman who he later hung."
A little different than the initial story Lieutenant Parker gave me last week. It was something about a sister and blaming guards for wrong priorities. But I guess it was early days and clearly they know more by now. I can't imagine having your wife murdered while locked up is easy to deal with, but then again, the guy may have been beating his wife. I don't know if I should feel bad for him, or not, but at least the wife did not deserve to die.
Hardhy Lester:
"Anything on who murdered his wife?"
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"None at all, as far as I am aware. No evidence to pin it on anyone was ever found. Though let me finish by saying one more thing before I continue onwards with my colleagues. Such accusations of corruption within our ranks, even the very idea that one of us could be corrupt to the extent of someone falling dead because of such things is serious and we take steps daily to make sure that we all act by the book and as loyal servants to the Crown. As much as there is no room for dissidents and criminal citizens in this city, there is no room for dissident and corrupt guardsmen either."
Hardhy Lester:
"You won't hear me disagree with that thank you for your time, Lieutenant, and thank you for letting me know you caught the guy."
Lieutenant Leopold Parker:
"Good to hear it. Even though we may disagree on some matters in regard to how we handle ourselves, I completely agree with the fact that what we do should never be to our own benefit. That is a sacrifice we made when we enlisted. Of course, Mister Lester. It is a pleasure from my end as well, it is good to be able to spread some good news from our side of things as well."
Lieutenant Parker was a little antsy towards the end of the interview, the fact four of his colleagues stopped by as we talked, all in civilian clothes on their way out to a bar may have had something to do with that. But they caught a killer, twice, why not celebrate?