The cop seems DESPERATE for more salacious gossip, but decides that he should probably go "do" his actual "job."

He is sorry for having tact and not immediately spilling gossip. --Maybe later over a few drinks, if it comes up.

A few minutes later, Detective Inspector Taylor returns. "Mr. Jing?"

"Detective Taylor, I presume?"

"Yes. You wanted to talk to me about the Roby case?"

"Yes. There's some things in the report that are a bit strange-- but I know how things can get flattened when they get put in writing."

"I assure you, the case was even more strange." He has a gentle Scottish accent. "What do you want to know?"

"Did Roby seem to be covering for anyone? The glass broken from the outside, and his claim that he never left and there was no one else-- it does make one think."

"I don't think so? We ended up thinking the motive must have been the inheritance."

"Happens often enough in families like that. Raises questions about why he broke into his own family's home-- but well, it's not like cases like that don't raise many questions."

"The entire murder is incredibly confusing. Mr. Herbert Roby was a widower-- his wife died in the influenza epidemic. The fortune was split 45% to Grahame, 20% to Georgina, and 20% to Alexander, with a further 15% in trust should he marry. Alexander was an invert, so of course he wouldn't marry, and if he turned forty still unmarried Grahame would inherit the money in trust." Detective Inspector Taylor spread his hands. "All we could figure was that Alexander intended to murder his entire family and inherit all of the money."

"Assuming no one would notice the blood on his hands or the motive. --Did you ever find the weapon?"

Taylor shakes his head. "No, sir. We did find a whistle."

Huh. "I'm assuming no one recognised it? --Or claimed to recognise it."

"It was Roby's. One of us blew it, and the servants identified the sound as the sound of the whistle which blew a few minutes before the murders. Why did he blow a whistle? We don't know."

"If he was sane, he wouldn't have wanted to draw attention like that, but, well-- There is a reason Dr. Aarons is treating him."

"Would you like to see it?"

"If it wouldn't be a bother." He is now curious. And also trying to turn the information into something that makes sense and can be used to work out whether he should continue helping Alexander Roby or not.

Taylor leaves and returns a few minutes later with a whistle.

The whistle is jet-black and reflects absolutely no light at all. It is light, much lighter than Jing Yi would expect from its size. Jing Yi is thinking about this because he doesn't want to think about the shape in which it's carved.

It is-- recognizably-- the shape of the winged creature from his dreams. 

.. he is very much not thinking about that. Because it makes no sense and it would be very unproductive to think about those nightmares while he's having a conversation with Detective Taylor. He turns it around in his hands, trying to work out if is wood or some strange new kind of plastic."It's not every day you run into a murder accessory--" not the right word, but he can't think of what the right word would be "--that you can't even tell what it's made of."

"We have no idea. We sent it down to the lab, they said it was probably extraterrene. Came from a meteor or something."

"...there are probably worse uses for a meteor. I guess. I see what you mean by it being a strange case."

"You know what gives me the creeps?" Detective Inspector Taylor says.

"I'm listening."

"There's a small town. Clare Melford, in Suffolk. Roby went there in late December 1924, a few months before the murder. While he was there, five people were discovered dead in their beds. No sign of a struggle, no obvious cause of death. They just... died."