01/03/2019
Faren Elle Testimony–
Professional Title: Acclaimed Spiritual Analysist
Officer Broker: “Please Ms., explain how you became involved in the case.”
Faren: “Oh. Well, thanks to the season of giving, I found myself with some spending money. The gift of cash is honest in its value and, to me, is justifiably supreme to any ‘thoughtful gift’ my friends or family can muster. I’m completely serious. There’s an ideal that fancies all of mankind: choice. Cash provides us with options that allow access to what our hearts, minds, or spirits truly desire. Now I figured I could get a game or two with this currency, and this is what caused me to find it: Viviette. ‘What strange and sullen creatures in the photo’ I thought. I am attracted to the dark and the sad, I can’t say I could’ve escaped its grasp; my procured interests were my own downfall in this tale. I only happened upon this case and have no connection with the accused.”
Officer Broker: “Look, I won’t be using any of your psychic testimony nor can I. Just state what you know so I can get on with my work.”
Faren: “Now that I think about it, perhaps it wasn’t simply the macabre nature of Viviette that pulled me in so manipulatively. No, it was its coy use of nostalgia. That tactic hooked me like a distracted fish. You see my siblings and I, in our pastime, would venture at games of the classic-horror genre. Let me tell you, nothing equals the courage and thrill of a dangerous quest alongside loved ones, even in the virtual. I can’t help but wonder if Viviette appeared in this garb of childhood memories with the intent to coax me and seduce me.”
Officer Broker: “Yes yes, you’re probably right Ms. Look, I need specific answers. What do you know about the accused?”
Faren: “The man depicted in the photo, one of the sullen creatures, goes by the name Jules. He didn’t register as a real person throughout our entire experience together. All I came to know of him is that he has a sister, nothing more personal than that. He was a walking, talking, blank-sheet but I soon overlooked his existence. He was merely the vessel for me to traverse this estranged island. It was never fully explained to me why Jules, his sister, and two acquaintances were at the island in the first place. I deduced from the spirit board in the abandoned mansion that they were perhaps seeking a connection with the dead, a connection proven successful and ultimately fatal.”
Officer Broker: “Huh, so you do have something to say that’s corroborated by our investigation not yet released to the public. That’s new. Alright then, let’s get into the details of the crimes. What happened?”
Faren: “Well Brok, I-”
Officer Broker: “Broker is fine.”
Faren: “Sorry. Just to be clear, I can’t defend Jules’ actions, nor can I condemn him for them. It all seemed as if everything he did was a miscalculation. Any harm done to others was brought down by a misunderstanding of environments, primarily through the hiding of bodies in unnatural places. It seems ridiculous that a man can slaughter his friends and sister by mere accident, but I witnessed it as such. It seems all too ridiculous and even I, as a witness, find myself suspecting Jules of evil intent. The law certainly saw him as a murderer and arrested him while he was in the hospital, in which he was recovering after the misfortunes took place. In the police interview with Jules, he didn’t seem to re-call entirely what had happened or why he was in the hospital. I am not comfortable with convictions based solely on witness accounts, and in this case, there was only one, so I find myself torn on the verdict.”
Officer Broker: “Ms., I promise you that the police don’t make arrests based on whims. The evidence points to this man and it screams that he is guilty. We’re all confident that we’ve convicted the right person.”
Faren: “May I go into my spiritual experience with the accused? I believe there is some relevance to it… Please. I want to do right by this situation and I can only do that by sharing all I know.”
Officer Broker: “Alright.”
Faren: “Imploring this man’s memories was uncomfortable to say the least and not because of the murders, those were not the worst of the horrors that I would experience. The true atrocity against me was that I was coerced into repeating this man’s past. No, not even coerced; it was more like I was placed into his timeline, and no matter what I did, I was doomed to repeat his mistakes. I am now burdened with the guilt of murder. This vexing creature Viviette, she placed me into a world of horrors as if I had wronged her somehow. She sought punishment. Jules’ sister screamed at me, ‘Why are you ashamed of me! Why are you treating me this way?’ Her skin had become green and her hair purple. I had no words, but Jules did. He cried back in protest, at a complete loss as to what she was upset about, then out came the knife…
“How I witnessed these events may seem foreign or a fallacy to you, but from where I stood, I would call Jules’ actions self-defense. His sister had become deranged; she seemed to take on another personality altogether. Jules stopped her attack just in time, and a tousle on the upper-floor has more unique opportunities for casualties. She was thrown awkwardly away from him, and well, there was no helping it… She fell from the third story. It was the third and final splash of blood that night in the Neuville Mansion… Do you ever get the feeling that you’re repeating history? I don’t know the entire nature of the Neuville Mansion, but it was a meek one at the very least. Jules’ sister looked shockingly like the deceased wife of the household at times.”
Officer Broker: “I see you’ve read Jules’ testimony. A lot of similar vocabulary. Added some fantasy and a unique twist on events and then you might’ve been taken seriously. Smart of you to tweak it just enough so it didn’t seem suspicious. That’d been too on-the-nose for a psychic, eh?”
Faren: “I’m not looking for attention, Officer! I’m in a state of distress over this case. Standing amid a situation doesn’t allow for total clarity of the mind. I feel dizzy and erased from the inside. I know society loves a good murder-mystery, but only if the solution is part of the package. We lust for answers even if they aren’t the right ones. We’ll re-write history to make it fall in-line with what we believe. Hopefully, the unanswered questions of the Neuville Mansion incident get answered soon. I’d hate to punish the living-innocent. What must it be like to go to jail for the death of your loved ones?”
–End of transcript
