17:50 - RYAN BRANDEIS-WHITE - THE ENGINE ROOM

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

I am
DELICATE

seemed to have nothing in it, before you made out the scraps of

butterfly wings, and one twitching insect impaled by a chunk of wood.

Your hammer struck

I am
FRAGILE

And a wild squirt of hot blood hit you across the face. Whatever was

inside shuddered and moaned. If you'd pulled the box apart, you would

find an indecipherable mush of broken bones and meat. A key was dislodged

as well, floating away on a river of thin blood.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

I was pretty good with bones and the like. I picked up the key and slid the remains around to see if I could identify anything.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Bizarre-- something like a small featherless bird, you'd guess, but with 

a hominid style jawbone. Most of it has been pulverized so thoroughly

they are just shards and splinters.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Must have been some sort of obscure species of prosimian. Zoology wasn't exactly my thing. I picked up the key and ring and dropped them into my pocket. What now?

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The room is quiet, other than that distant humming and the drip-drip of blood falling from the table. You see the edge of a door from behind the green screen, a very suburban white door with a gold handle.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

How elaborate. Whatever. Guess I will see what they put behind the door. I wonder how long it took them to build this set in the bowels of this derelict ship. I really hope they had a plan to monetize this. Maybe I could take the headshrinker's lead and write a book.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The key fit, no surprise. With a click of cheap metal, the door swung open

and warm air was released. A faint smell of cooking meat, dirty carpet.

You saw a suburban house on the other side of the door. The Bedford house--

but different. The wallpaper was painted over white, and there were no

decorations on the walls. Only a spare white sofa and bare coffee table faced

an empty 70s entertainment center. A woman with dyed black hair pulled

into a ponytail was sitting on the sofa. She wore a  grey sweatshirt,

faded mom-jeans and grey socks. She looked at you disinterestedly and

took a sip from a plain white coffee mug.

??-
"Come, sit down. I'm Lisa."

There was the other side of the sofa, and a stiff looking beige recliner.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

I took a seat in the beige recliner.

Ryan--
"I guess that means you're supposed to be Tim's mother?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Lisa-
"Yes, I was. I'm dead now, of course."

She set the mug down on the table. No surprising contents,

just black coffee.

"You're representing him? That's nice."

She looked to be in her late forties/early fifties, no obvious deathly signs.

Grey light came through closed blinds, seemed to be a cloudy afternoon.

Somewhere a washing machine was chugging and you guessed there was

food in the oven by the smell.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Ryan--
"Well, yes, obviously you are dead. Yes, I am representing your son. Everyone deserves a strenuous defense. So, tell me about his grandmother. Is that your mom or his father's?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Lisa-
"Oh, he's surely referring to our goddess. Alternative theology
is a little beyond his mental capacity, I'm sure you know.
I shouldn't assume, perhaps, but are you not the religious type?"

She had a flat affect, but was capable of modulating her voice to sound

pleasant enough. Maybe developed for professional usage. She didn't

quite look at you, more paying attention to her mug of coffee.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Ryan--
"So, is this all improv or did Tim give you scripted answers?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

She laughed, face crinkling up enough to show her age a little more.

Lisa-
"You think he could come up with anything like this?
He didn't even come up with that big spectacle himself.
He's not a clever boy. Good at doing what he's told,
at least I taught him one thing."

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Ryan--
"So this was all your doing? Very dramatic. Do we get to see the boy? Will Detective Butcher get to see the boy?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Lisa-
"Interesting questions. But no, it wasn't me either, exactly.
I prefer keeping this kind of thing in the home, it's just kind of
vulgar to air your dirty laundry in public. Tim thought he would
try to be clever and get out of a family obligation. Thought he
was too good for it, I suppose. So we're just trying to set
everything right.

Are you actually interested in saving this boy? Or do you have
some other interest?"