The crime scene was very unusual, unlike anything the Detective has seen before. A corpse in a field, that was quite normal (though more frequently seen in the morning rather than late afternoon). A medieval castle next to the field was less frequent. But the thing that seemed the most off to the Detective was that the castle looked recently built, not yet worn down by the elements. It was as if the whole scene was taking place a thousand years ago, and the victim’s clothes matched.
“What do we have here?” the Detective asked an approaching colleague.
“The victim has been identified as duke Tomislav, a tenth century Croatian ruler,” replied detective Marta. For some reason, the phrase ‘duke Tomislav’ sounded wrong to the Detective, as if a different title should go there instead. Marta continued: “Time of death is currently estimated at 916.”
“PM or AM?”
“AD.”
AD? None of this made sense. Since when was it the Detective’s job to handle cold cases? And how could a thousand-year-old murder leave behind a fresh corpse?
“Any witnesses?”
“Just some fifth century Brittons. According to them, a wizard is at fault.”
“A wizard?”
“Yes.” Marta had trouble keeping her long red hair under control in the blowing wind. “Apparently, a man in a white cloak and with messy grey hair appeared out of nowhere and spooked the duke’s horse, causing the duke to fall and break his neck.”
“Is it possible that the Brittons themselves are responsible and that the whole wizard story is a lie?”
“If they did it, there is nothing we can do about it. They are outside our jurisdiction.”
“Yes, of course.” The Detective had always had trouble remembering where the police department’s jurisdiction began and ended. “I was just hoping we could find a way to dismiss the wizard story. Dealing with magic always complicates things.”
“So, what now?”
“Well, our shift is nearing its end. I plan to go home and sleep on it. Hopefully we’ll be smarter in the morning.” The Detective headed back to the car.
“Wait.” Marta said. “I’m going to see a movie with some of my friends tonight and I was hoping you could join us.”
Not this again, the Detective thought. Why do people always want to socialize?
“We haven’t decided what to watch yet. If you want you can choose. Anything you like.”
“Maybe some other time,” the Detective replied, thinking I’m not quite sure what I like.
***
The Detective’s apartment was an empty place. No books, no games, no TV. No photos or personal items of any sort. Just a bathroom, a bed, a fridge and a table.
I do not understand, the Detective thought while preparing a ham sandwich. Why does Marta want to see me outside of work? Why would she care about someone nameless and faceless, with no defined personality?
I guess there are mysteries even I can not solve. The best thing is to forget about it. I don’t want it interfering with the investigation.
***
“King Tomislav!” was the first thing the Detective said over the phone.
“Good morning to you too.” Marta put her coffee on the desk and then sat down. “What are you talking about?”
“Yesterday, the phrase ‘duke Tomislav’ sounded wrong, but I couldn’t quite place it. When I woke up I realized: Tomislav became the first king of Croatia in 925. Him dying in 916 as a duke makes no sense.”
“Are you sure it’s the same person?”
“For now, I will continue the investigation as if they are, but I want you to go to the library and see what the history books say,” the Detective said. “We can meet back at the station at noon to discuss.”
“And what will you be doing?”
“I have to speak to my old partner.”
***
Marko Heisenberg had changed a lot in the past two years. His once black hair was now mostly grey, and he still looked out-of-place in a prison uniform. Looking at him through the glass, the Detective spoke: “I need your help.”
“Do you, now?” Marko said. “And here I was, hoping you came here as a friend.”
“We are not friends. I do not befriend murderers.”
“Nor anyone else from what I hear. Poor Marta, always inviting you out, only to be met with one rejection after the other.”
“I am not here to discuss my private life,” the Detective said. “For some reason, I have found myself investigating an accidental death from a thousand years ago. A death which appears to contradict established history. According to eyewitnesses, a wizard is to blame.”
“And what do you expect me to do?”
“You’ve always been good with cases involving the supernatural. Like those murders in a haunted house.”
“Those murders were committed by a regular human. The fact that some ghosts happened to reside there is irrelevant.” Heisenberg paused for a moment. “However, I can tell you that your case probably does not involve a real wizard.”
“How do you know?”
“Just a deduction based on what you told me. But it seems unfair to spoil the game for you. I am sure you can work it out with the information you have.”
***
Marta was waiting in front of the station when the Detective arrived. It was a nice day, so they decided to sit on the bench outside. Marta started: “They are the same person. Tomislav became a duke in 910, and then a king in 925.”
“Except now, he died before becoming a king.”
“Yes.” Marta paused. “Did you have any luck?”
“Marko told me that there is no wizard involved in the case, but refused to say anything else.”
“So either the Brittons lied, or…”
“Or they saw somebody who looked like a wizard to them,” the Detective continued. “Somebody who seemingly appeared out of thin air. Somebody whose involvement would explain why we are investigating the case at all.”
“A time traveller!”
“Yes. I remembered that there was a news story a few days ago about a scientist who invented a time machine, so I looked it up. As it happens, the scientist, professor Bošković, looks a lot like the ‘wizard’ described by our witnesses.”
“So, are you going to see him now?” Marta asked.
“Actually, I was hoping you could join me.”
***
The room was large and messy, with papers and bits of machinery all over the floor. Sitting at his desk, professor Bošković looked at the two people who just walked in. He spoke: “I suppose you are here about the duke.”
“Yes,” said Marta.
“Well, you were bound to find me sooner or later.”
“So you admit to killing him?”
“No, I do not. It was an accident. There is nothing you can arrest me for, unless irresponsible time-travel is a crime.”
“Perhaps it should be,” said the Detective. “What you did could have unravelled the entire course of history.”
“But it didn’t! Don’t you get it? I killed a historical person and it did not matter. No new history, no parallel universe to separate contradictory events. Factually, Tomislav died in 916, but historically he died in 929. The experiment went exactly as expected.”
“The experiment?” Marta asked. “So it wasn’t an accident after all.”
“Oops, you got me.” Bošković laughed. “Not that it matters anyway. None of this is real. We are not real. Don’t you understand? We are just stories written by an author. Worse, we are first drafts. If the author bothered to do some editing, I could have been a nuanced character, but as it is I am stuck as a stereotypical mad scientist.” He started walking around the room. “Arrest me, or don’t, it doesn’t matter. None of this is real. None of this matt…” At this point, the professor slipped on a piece of paper carelessly discarded on the floor. His head hit the desk, knocking him out. After a moment of silence, Marta spoke: “What do we do now?”
“We arrest him. That is our job.” The Detective placed the handcuffs on the professor. “He appears to be unharmed, I expect him to wake up in a few minutes. We will put him in the car and drive him to the station after that.”
“What he said, about this not being real…”
“It’s true,” said the Detective. “I’ve known it for a long time.”
“So did I. I noticed the little inconsistencies, like the fact that I do not have a last name.”
“Yet you keep on going, living your life, having friends.”
“What is the alternative, to never do anything?” Marta looked the Detective in the eyes. “I know my life is not strictly speaking real, but it is real enough for me.”
“I wish I could say the same. But I am even less real than everyone else. Your story may be a first draft, but it is still a complete story. My story is just a vague idea jotted on a piece of paper. An idea that could never work as a complete story. ‘The reader did it’, that was meant to be my story, but it was never written. My personality has never been defined. You like movies, but you don’t know which one is your favourite. I don’t know if I like movies. You do not have a last name, I do not have any name. I am just ‘the Detective’. Think about it. Can you even tell me what I look like? What is the colour of my hair?”
“Have you ever tried watching a movie?”
“What do you mean?” asked the Detective.
“You say your personality is undefined, but that just means you get to discover it. You already know some things you like or dislike. You know that you don’t like cases involving magic, for example. Have you ever tried watching a few movies to see if you like them?”
“I’ve never thought of it like that,” the Detective said after a brief pause. “Maybe I should try watching a movie.”
“I am going to the cinema after work. I was hoping you could join me.”
The Detective looked at the floor, where professor Bošković was starting to wake up. Soon another case will be closed, and then I guess I will have some free time.
“I think I would like that very much.” The Detective smiled. “Who knows? It might turn out to be your favourite movie.”
Murder in the Box © 2026. Dominik Plejić
SFERA-award winner Dominik Plejić is occasionally contrary. That may or may not have influenced this story. This is his fourth published story overall.
The short story Murder in the Box was originally published in the Morina kutija, no. 10 (veljača, 2026). You can download the mag for free from morinakutija.com/mag or Smashwords.
Dobitnik nagrade SFERA Dominik Plejić povremeno voli udarati kontru. To možda jest, a možda i nije bilo povod ovoj priči. Ovo mu je ukupno četvrta objavljena priča.
Priča Murder in the Box objavljena je u online časopisu Morina kutija, br. 10 (veljača, 2026.). Časopis možete besplatno preuzeti s morinakutija.com/mag ili s platforme Smashwords.
Urednički komentar: tražili smo priče “izvan kutije”, a Dominik je odlučio prihvatiti izazov i okrenuti ga naglavačke te dodati njegov sad već karakteristični pomaknuti humor.
Image: Cottonbro Studio, Pexels
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