Lond’s eyes narrowed. Focusing on the floor, his thoughts churned quickly. He observed the glass splinters and understood what Tepo tried to say. The glass left behind by the thief looked different, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Trying not to sound too clueless, Lond nodded calmly as he spoke:
“I see what you mean.
Any idea what happened here?”
Unfortunately, Tepo and the old chief had worked together more than once. The keen-eyed investigator saw through Lond’s thoughts at a glance.
“Just ask if you don’t find it.”
That’s exactly what I did, but you continued talking in riddles, thought Lond. He rolled his eyes as Tepo explained seriously:
“Look at the glass I just punched in. It spread way more and the pieces are smaller.”
Finally, Lond noticed those differences. A few scenes came to his mind, but he knew it was better to confirm his suspicions with someone else.
“You’re right. But what does this tell us? Did the thief use some special weapon?”
“We don’t know anything yet.”, denied Tepo with a frown on his face.
“Those old pieces look almost arranged. It feels like they didn’t fall to the ground but were placed there deliberately.
Maybe it’s to confuse us, maybe a special method. It should have something to do with the reason why our thieves never make any noise, though. Somehow, they break the glass silently.”
Lond nodded in contemplation while Tepmodus entered the house. Stepping on cracking wooden flooring and listening to the rain running down the roof made from metal plates, the investigator heightened all of his senses.
His hands ran along the walls, searching for any clues. His eyes scanned the house, looking for any signs of the unwanted intruders.
As Tepo came to a standstill in front of the bedroom, his frown deepened gradually.
The total absence of anymore clues was just too strange. The investigator was too familiar with the outsiders’ smell. Those lunatics loved blood. They collected it, lived in it, and sacrificed it to their gods. Tepmodus had never met any outsider, who didn’t reek of its characteristic smell.
Even if sane outsiders existed, they would surely be part of the sacrificial rituals, maybe even presiding over them. Could they really rid themselves of any traces? Tepo wasn’t certain, but he began to doubt that those blood thefts were the work of outsiders.
Keeping this in mind, the investigator went through the opening before him, stepping into the bedroom. He immediately noticed the policeman, who appeared a few seconds ago.
The middle-aged officer was calmly questioning the older man and woman lying on a big mattress on the ground. From their pale faces and shaking eyes, Tepo judged that those were tonight’s victims. Right now, they were under surveillance of a doctor, who concocted some disgusting looking medicine on the side.
As soon as the male victim saw Tepo coming in form the outside, he grew agitated. With a surprisingly robust voice he demanded:
“You! Tell me what happened out there! Did you break something?”
Not wanting to deal with such small matters, Tepo pointed towards his back. When the unsuspecting Lond waked in the first he heard was:
“Don’t worry, this guy will pay.”
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The chief’s brow twitched, but he didn’t complain. All would be fine if Tepo could solve the case.
Fortunately, the victim felt his wife’s hand on his shoulder. With a sigh he sunk into the mattress, his eyes reddened.
After this small exchange, all attention was on Tepo. Since even the chief of police stood slightly behind him, the victims understood that this man had some special status. The male victim had a slight guess, suddenly regretting his actions.
Meanwhile the investigator didn’t take it to heart. His eyes still scanned the room, stopping on a few silver shimmering medals on the opposite wall. A smile formed on his face as he asked:
“You served in the army? 2nd regiment?”
Immediately the old man’s eyes lit up. His chest stuck out slightly.
“Of course! When I was young, I even made it to lieutenant. I killed a lot of outsiders, earning me some medals.
If they hadn’t thrown me out due to my age, I would still serve!”
Tepo didn’t hide his respect for the old man, as he seriously said:
“We need more people like you.”
The old man coughed in embarrassment as his wife looked at him sweetly. Feeling in a better mood, he answered:
“Thank you. It’s nice hearing this from someone like you. If I may ask, are you from the SIB?”
Nodding slightly, Tepo turned towards the two victims.
Lond was impressed by his younger colleague. With only a few words, he had dismissed all hostility and even fear the victims might have. Now they were perfectly compliant as Tepo began his questioning.
“Yes, I’m from the SIB and here to catch those thieves. But to do so, I need your help, please!”
“Of course, with you here we are relieved. Please ask away, investigator.”
The present police weren’t sure if the female victim’s words were an insult to them. It was best to pretend not having heard anything.
“Thank you. Can you give me a detailed description of your day yesterday? Let’s start in the morning.”
The two victims looked into each other’s eyes. Despite having already told the police officer everything, the older woman repeated herself without complaining:
“Ok, so I stood up at six o’clock. My man always sleeps longer than me, so I went and prepared some bread for breakfast.
About half an hour later Henry woke up and we ate. Pretty much the rest of the day we got together with the neighbors and talked.
Then we went to bed at around 19.”
Tepo waited a few seconds. He didn’t lose his patience when nothing more came from the woman.
“This wasn’t very detailed.”, spoke the investigator with a light smile.
“Can you tell me where you met?”
“Sorry, this is just our daily life. We always meet at the old lake.”, took the male victim over.
“Ok. Even in rain?”
“Yes, there is a nice pavilion there.”
“And is it always the same people?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“Was there someone new yesterday? Or did you see someone snooping around?”, continued Tepo his questions calmly.
“Not that I noticed it.”
“When you go out, do you lock the door? Did you maybe forget to do so yesterday? Or maybe was there anything off when you came home?”
“Of course we lock the door. And it was still locked when we came home. Nothing was different.”
At this point the old man stammered slightly.
“I… I’m sorry agent. We are not helpful at all.”
Noticing the victims’ agitation, Tepo did his best to keep them calm.
“Don’t say that. Every little thing can prove to be important later on.
Now I would need a list of all the people who gathered at the lake please.”
Taking a deep breath the old man did his best to remember all the names. Together with his wife he managed to produce a list of about 40 people. Most of them were neighbors of the old couple.
This might sound like a lot, but it really showed that there was nothing to do in the city. Especially for the elderly.
Tepo thanked the old man before addressing Lond:
“Any of these names among yesterday’s victims?”
Always known for his good memory, Lond was able to come to a conclusion soon. It was a good thing that he had studied the victims’ information earlier in the coach.
“A few, yes. About 15.”
“Can you give us their names?”
“Am I your assistant or what?”, asked the annoyed chief.
Maybe it would’ve been better if he hadn’t made that question, as the confident investigator only answered dryly:
“Yes.”
Letting out a heavy breath Lond wasn’t in the mood to argue. When the bureau messaged him that they would send Tepo, the old chief already knew what to expect. Telling himself that he had to be the bigger man here, Lond slowly listed out the 15 victims.
With a smug smile the old chief noticed the acknowledging look in Tepo’s eyes. He straightened his back confidently. But something felt wrong. Wait, why was he fishing for the investigator’s approval? When he, Lond, became chief of police Tepo hadn’t even been born yet.
Not caring for Lond’s thoughts, Tepo addressed the victims again:
“Now that you heard those 15 names, are there any similarities among them that you remember?”
The old man and his wife thought deeply about the agent’s question. After a few seconds the man said uncertainly:
“Nothing obvious, I think. Most of them are pretty old, like us. Some have children in the army. Some live alone. Other than our daily meetings I don’t think there are any connections. My apologies.”
Tepo nodded solemnly as he listened. So far, he hadn’t gotten much, but this in itself might turn out to be a clue in the future. However, his hope for an easy job seemed to slowly simmer down.