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Daley Vigil
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Daley Vigil was the former Chief Warder of Barclay Prison and a witness to the murder of a member of Scotland Yard.

Time as a warden[]

Main article: Professor Killings

Daley Vigil was the husband of Evie Vigil and father to two boys. He served as Chief Warder of the Barclay Prison in England and was most notably responsible for nailing shut the lids of the coffins of the recently executed and signing the corresponding paperwork to officiate their deaths, among other duties. His tenure as Chief Warder coincided with the infamous Professor Killings, where Chief Prosecutor Klint van Zieks and four other members of the British aristocracy were allegedly killed by a visiting Japanese student named Genshin Asogi. Following Asogi's arrest, the man was admitted to Barclay, and Vigil was charged with watching over him in the interim until his trial and during his last days. Though Asogi was soon deemed guilty of being the Professor in a secret trial and sentenced to death, Vigil gradually came to regard Asogi with a high degree of respect, noting that his prisoner possessed "noble character and incredible resilience" and expressing disbelief that such an individual could actually be a serial killer. Owing to this disbelief, Vigil would later ask Asogi if he was truly responsible for the Professor killings, to which the man cryptically replied that he was indeed "guilty of the unforgivable crime of ending another human's life".

While doing rounds the night after Asogi's trial, Vigil caught the prisoner with a piece of paper with writing in scarlet ink on it in his hand. This struck Vigil as particularly odd given that, despite the numerous items that Asogi was permitted to keep in his cell, a writing utensil and paper were not among them, and that writing materials had in fact been explicitly prohibited. Upon noticing Vigil, Asogi abruptly hid this paper, explaining that it was a last will and his "final weapon" and begging the warder to swear to tell no one of its existence. Though VIgil was fully aware that this omission constituted a violation of the prison's rules, he complied with this request out of sheer respect for Asogi's character. This incident would later be recalled in Vigil's mind after Asogi's execution, when Vigil's boss, Prison Governor Barry Caidin, expressed incredulity at the prison staff's inability to find what came to be referred to as "the Asogi Papers".

Come the date of Asogi's execution, a mere week after his trial, Vigil waited patiently in the room adjacent from the mortuary for the executioner and coroner to confirm the victim's death so that he could perform his usual duties. Curiously, while the death was confirmed and the victim's coffin promptly handed off to Vigil, Vigil noted that said coffin had already been nailed shut, a stark exception to the usual procedure. Unaware of the significance of this discrepancy—that Asogi had not been executed and was still in fact alive in his coffin—Vigil signed off as he normally would. Several days later, the revelation of Asogi's escape would come to light, and detectives from Scotland Yard arrived to investigate the incident. Vigil was eventually called to Barclay's watch tower by Governor Caidin, where Caidin would notify Vigil that he was being fired on suspicions of having helped the Professor escape. In despair, Vigil attempted suicide by jumping out the window of the tower; though he survived his fall, his memories surrounding the Profesor's escape leading up to his firing were subsequently lost and repressed, and he came to convince himself that he had both willingly and uneventfully resigned from his position at Barclay.

New beginnings and an unfortunate incident[]

Main article: Twisted Karma and His Last Bow

Boone and Gregson

Being found by detective Gregson

Vigil could never bring himself to inform his family that he lost his position at Barclay, instead telling them that he continued to work there as Chief Warder. In the subsequent years, his attempts to find a new job were unsuccessful, and out of desperation, he eventually tried his hand working as a street vendor on Fresno Street. To this end, he took on a disguise involving a comedically large lip and street attire and adopted the pseudonym "Hugh Boone". Using what little money he had left from his previous job, he rented a nearby room, where he could don his disguise in secret. By day, he would sell people local hearsay, for which he would quickly become known by the nickname of "Gossip"; by evening, he would change back into his normal attire and return home to his family as Daley Vigil. As Gossip, he became acquainted with two fellow vendors: a firecracker seller nicknamed "Venus" and an advice offerer nicknamed "Sandwich".

While acting as Gossip one day, Vigil would run into Inspector Tobias Gregson, an old acquaintance from Vigil's tenure at Barclay. Gregson instantly saw through Vigil's disguise and, in what Vigil believed to be an act of pity, volunteered to give Vigil additional pay if Vigil assisted Gregson with some of his investigations. Desperate for additional income given his poor wage as a street vendor, Vigil readily accepted. The duties that Gregson asked Vigil to perform remained fairly consistent: each time, Gregson would give Vigil his police ID and ask him to go to various locations throughout London while pretending to be Gregson. Gregson was particular about the fact that Vigil should be as loud as possible and to make his presence clearly known to everyone around as "Inspector Tobias Gregson" who was there to investigate. Gregson also gave him money to cover the rent for the room he had rented on Fresno Street, allowing him and Gregson to rendezvous there after Vigil's escapades, as well as for Gregson to use it as a private office. In-between his work for Gregson, Vigil would continue to play the role of Gossip on Fresno Street. The Inspector neglected to inform Vigil of the purpose of these ventures; unbeknownst to Vigil, all of this was part of an elaborate ruse to create an airtight alibi for the real Gregson during his covert activities as the strategic head of the Reaper of the Old Bailey.

In late October, Gregson sent Vigil to visit the "Red-Headed League," a small-time scam of noblemen Fabien de Rousseau and Peppino de Rossi in the park on Lime Street. As per his usual instructions, Vigil went up to the red-headed pair and made his presence known as "Inspector Tobias Gregson," showing them the police ID. However, this act backfired: suspicious that the man might not actually be a Scotland Yard detective but still fearing the possibility that he indeed was and was onto their plans, the pair kidnapped Vigil and locked him in an inn room that they had been renting out. That night, Vigil would attempt to escape through the window, but de Rousseau caught him and restrained him; the resulting tussle between the two would see Vigil left with a large bruise spanning his entire neck.

Vigil was released the next morning (though de Rousseau and de Rossi secretly retained Gregson's police ID) and returned to his role as Gossip on Fresno Street alongside Venus and Sandwich. In accordance with Gregson's instructions, Vigil was to rendezvous with in the Inspector in their secret house at precisely 5 pm. However, before Vigil could change out of his Gossip disguise and do so, he and his fellow vendors heard a loud bang coming from said house. The trio flocked to the scene of the noise, opening the door and knocking over Gregson's bulletin board of case information in the process. Immediately afterwards, they happened upon Gregson's dead body with a pool of blood emanating from it, as well as prosecutor Barok van Zieks, who stood looking at Gregson's body in shock. Recoiling in horror at this sight, Vigil tripped and fell on the ground, getting his hand in the pool of blood and accidentally leaving a bloody handprint on the back of the collapsed bulletin board. Due to both his dealings with the "Red-Headed League" and subsequent kidnapping, as well as his role as a witness to the discovery of Gregson's murder, Vigil was forced to stay in his guise as Gossip and was unable to contact his wife due to the risk of revealing his secret identity. His ensuing longer than normal absence from his home would lead a worried Evie to enquire detective Herlock Sholmes about her husband's disappearance.

Vigil, alongside Venus and Sandwich, was later subpoenaed as a witness for van Zieks' secret trial, where he initially maintained his Gossip persona. During the cross-examination of de Rousseau and de Rossi, defense attorney Ryunosuke Naruhodo would come to expose the truth that "Hugh Boone" was actually Daley Vigil, with the latter revealing his true identity and admitting to owning the house and impersonating Gregson. Further testimony would unearth the memories of Genshin Asogi's escape from Vigil's time at Barclay that he had repressed, though the shock of regaining these memories would cause the man to pass out on the witness stand, and he was promptly admitted to St. Synner's Hospital. Later that day, Kazuma Asogi, the prosecutor for van Zieks' trial, as well as Naruhodo and his assistant Susato Mikotoba, would visit Vigil on separate occasions and ask him about his involvement with the Professor's execution; in both cases, he assured them that he was certain that he did not help the Professor escape ten years ago. In hindsight, the hospitalized witness would posit that it was no mere coincidence that Gregson happened upon him as Gossip on Fresno Street, instead suspecting it was very plausible that Gregson knew of his unfortunate situation and had actively sought him out. For his impersonation of a Scotland Yard detective, a criminal offense, Vigil told Naruhodo and Mikotoba that he would be given prison time.

Resolution[]

Main article: The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo

Eventually, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Seishiro Jigoku was revealed to be Gregson's killer. In his confession, Jigoku revealed that "Hugh Boone" was his intended scapegoat; van Zieks took the fall by chance, merely because he happened to be investigating Gregson's activity and went to Vigil's secret house before Vigil could at the designated time.

Vigil was soon summoned back to the witness stand along with his former boss Barry Caidin to discuss the Professor's jailbreak plan from ten years ago. During this time, Caidin would admit to helping orchestrate Genshin Asogi's fake execution and the resultant coverup per the orders he received from the Prosecutor's Office, also confirming that Vigil played no role whatsoever in the aforementioned plan. Caidin would also admit to and apologize profusely for using Vigil as an unwitting fall guy, much to Vigil's chagrin, with Vigil repeatedly telling off his former boss during the proceedings. Despite his frustrations, Vigil would prove instrumental in uncovering the truth of the Professor: his observations regarding the jailbreak would lead to scrutiny over several contradictions surrounding the so-called "Asogi papers," and his insistence about a paper with scarlet-colored ink would ultimately help Naruhodo to discover that what Vigil had actually seen Genshin Asogi holding a decade ago was in fact Klint van Zieks' last will and testament.

Subsequent to Barok van Zieks' trial, Vigil was incarcerated for his prior impersonation of Tobias Gregson, and was put in the same cell as Fabien de Rousseau and Peppino de Rossi. During a prison visit by his wife, Vigil (in his normal attire) assumed his Gossip persona once more and claimed that he and his cellmates planned to make a fortune with a new scheme once they were released.

Personality[]

Daley Vigil was a very somber individual, usually showing little outward expression beyond the almost constant frown that he wore during most of his interactions as a witness. His musings about his situation were almost always deeply pessimistic and suggested immense regret at what befell him following the Professor's escape. It is unclear how much of his personality at the time that Ryunuosuke Naruhodo and company first encountered him was a result of the fallout from his dismissal from Barclay. Nonetheless, he had a compassionate side: he loved his wife and children dearly, keeping a photograph of his wife, Evie, prominently displayed in his secret house and was willing to keep up his façade as Gossip and the fake Inspector Gregson in order to take care of his family. Evie, in her discussions with Herlock Sholmes, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, and Susato Mikotoba, reciprocated the idea that she and Daley had a good and loving relationship. Another rare exception to Vigil's stoicism included a defiant streak that he displayed towards his former boss, Barry Caidin, after the latter revealed that he had used Vigil as a scapegoat.

Vigil also displayed a commendable degree of personal honor. He held true to his promise to Genshin Asogi that he wouldn't tell anyone at Barclay of the paper that he saw him with despite the fact that Asogi was a notorious convicted serial killer and that doing so constituted a violation of Barclay's rules, solely on the basis of the immense respect that he had for the man's character. After being fired from his job as Chief Warder, Vigil kept the fact that he no longer worked there hidden from his family for a decade out of immense fear of the shame that would come from his unfortunate circumstances being revealed.

In his persona as Gossip, Vigil acted in a very silly and outgoing manner, gesticulating wildly and making frequent quips to his fellow street vendors. After being revealed to be Gossip, Vigil occasionally slipped back into this persona accidentally, touting the same wild gestures that he did while in disguise.

Name[]

  • His Japanese given name comes from the English word "everyday."
  • His Japanese surname comes from Miteiru mono (見ている者), "person who watches", as a reference to his former occupation as Chief Warder.
  • His full English name is a play on "daily vigil," also referencing his former occupation.
  • Hugh Boone is a pseudonym of a character from the Sherlock Holmes short story, "The Man With The Twisted Lip". He also pretended to be a lower-class individual, was thought to be missing by his wife, and was almost convicted of murder.
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