Chapter 2: What Does the Doll Whisper?
Elias slipped the silver key into his pocket and walked deeper into the workshop. The blue "tears" at the crime scene had begun to dry, and as they did, the liquid released an extraordinary fragrance—an ethereal lavender scent that slowly filled the room. It was not the smell of death, but rather the scent of forgotten memories.
Suspect and Witness
The owner of the workshop, the old clockmaker Mr. Barnaby, was missing. Yet as Elias stepped out of the building, a woman was waiting for him outside the door. It was Lady Clara, an influential and wealthy woman of the city.
Lady Clara: She appeared deeply agitated, fear pooling in her eyes. "Is she dead? Alice... will she never sing again?"
Elias's question: "You're calling the doll 'she.' Is it truly more than just wood and porcelain?"
Her reply: "You don't understand, Detective. Mr. Barnaby gave her a 'heart.' Every night, Alice would sing the city's saddest melody. Someone wanted that melody silenced."
Mysterious Discovery
Elias returned to the crime scene and examined the underside of the table where Alice lay. There was a hidden drawer, and the silver key fit perfectly. Inside the drawer were several letters and an old photograph.
The photograph: It showed a young Mr. Barnaby standing beside a girl whose face was identical to that of the doll Alice.
The letter: One of the letters read, "She is awakening. But if she begins to remember who she truly was, this entire city will burn."
Confusion
Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed outside the workshop, and Elias drew his gun. Yet no one entered through the door. Instead, the gears scattered on the table where Alice lay began to move on their own, arranging themselves in the drying blue liquid on the floor to spell out a single name.
The name was "ELIAS."
The detective could not comprehend how the doll knew his name, nor why this case seemed to be intertwining with his own buried past. Deep in his chest, a forgotten memory began to echo like the grinding of gears.