Lond and Tepo spent the whole day questioning all the victims. In the end they didn’t get much. The thieves only left behind little traces. Some destroyed locks, broken doors, or shattered glass was all the police could find.

This left the investigator in a bad mood as he sunk into his bed at night. Turning on some quiet music, Tepo played out today’s happenings in his head. Aided by his impeccable memory he tried to inspect every little detail once again. In the end he had to admit that this case stumped him.

In was unbelievable that someone managed to intrude in hundreds of homes over multiple weeks silently and only took away some blood. Everything else was left untouched. Although the victims weren’t particularly wealthy, they still had a few force crystals for their daily lives.

From this perspective the perpetrator being outsiders seemed more likely again. Humans would have surely taken some valuables.

With those thoughts in his mind Tepo had naturally asked Lond if any places storing valuable goods had also been robbed, but the chief denied it. The police already questioned some possible victims, but only got negative responses.

After mulling over it for a while, the investigator finally fell asleep without any conclusion.

The next morning the clouds finally didn’t have any rain left. Looking up from the city of Lost Harbor the fluffy, grey ceiling almost felt pouty, refusing to move away.

Unfortunately, this didn’t improve Lond’s heavy mood, though. The chief had been awoken early by one of his men. Work once again interrupted his beauty sleep. No wonder he looked too old for his age.

At least he could share his troubles with someone else today. Just like yesterday he stood in front of Tepmodus’ door, knocking heavily. With a voice still exhausted from yesterday’s interrogations he yelled:

“Tepo! Wake up! We got work to do!”

A few seconds later a disgruntled face appeared in the opened door:

“Lond? What’s going on? Did you miss me already?”

“Why? Are you lacking company today? I don’t see a woman in your bed.”

“Believe it or not, I’m getting too old. I can only endure those nightly visits every second day nowadays. I’m losing my youthful vigor!”

The two men stared at each other while bantering. Suddenly they laughed lightly, before Lond remembered what he was here for:

“Oh, right. Diana de Ridouran died.”

Tepo incredulously looked at the chief after the sudden change of topic. He massaged his temples.

“You!”, sighed the investigator. “Are really the biggest mood killer.”

“Comes with the job. Get ready, I’m waiting outside.”

A few minutes later the two men were once again sitting in Lond’s coach. The chief was studying a few documents as he addressed the investigator:

“Ok, let me get you up to speed.

Sometime last night, definitely after curfew, Diana de Ridouran died. She was found this morning by her maid. Although the woman was found with a rope around her neck, my men have discovered obvious signs of struggle on her body.”

“Hmm? Then why did the murderer even bother with hanging her? A good old knife would have done the job.”

Lond rolled his eyes, looking at his nonchalant colleague.

“Can you take this a bit more serious?”

“Me?”, asked Tepo with a raised brow. “Does this even have anything to do with the case I’m here for? You are only making me work for free right now.”

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“That’s where you are wrong. Lady de Ridouran is one of our prime suspects. We already had her under surveillance before you came. Furthermore, you have met her before.”

“I have met her? When?”

“The day you arrived. My men reported that you were there when her purse was stolen.”

“Ohh, that wealthy lady is the victim? First, she gets the content of her purse taken away, then her life, all on the same day? How tragic!”

Ignoring Tepo’s sense for drama, Lond frowned at his words:

“What do you mean by getting the content of her purse taken?”

“Didn’t the officer tell you? Someone obviously emptied de Ridouran’s purse after it was stolen. I didn’t put much importance on it until now.”

Lond was surprised that something like this happened. Even though Tepo never had the purse in his hands, the chief didn’t doubt him. Making a note to scold the officer later, Lond gazed out the window.

“Ok, we have arrived.”

Following the chief out of the coach, Tepo whistled loudly. They had arrived in front of an impressive manor. Although the imposing building had some obvious blemishes, it still radiated a wealth unbefitting of the harsh times humanity went through.

Shaking his head, the investigator inspected the garden, which was well groomed around the main path, and the façade which was richly adorned despite some obvious cracks and crumbling paint.

While following dusty hallways Lond introduced the victim to Tepo:

“Diana de Ridouran arrived in the city about five years ago together with her husband Ferdinand. Those two more or less came out of nowhere. Although they were known in the Blue Rivers City, they weren’t spending money like water.

But when they arrived in this city, they bought the manor here and lived amongst high society. Naturally we found them suspicious, but we didn’t have any reason to look into it too deeply.

Until Ferdinand died about a year ago. A few things revolving around his death were strange, with some documents differing from the doctor’s statement. We put Diana under surveillance for a while but didn’t find anything.

A few months later, though, the blood thefts began. During this time Diana began to behave suspiciously. We always found her in the vicinity of the crime scene. So, once again, I put her under surveillance.

And ultimately this brought us here!”

Lond stressed the last word as he pushed open the big double doors before them.

Tepo’s eyes immediately fell on the lifeless body hanging from the ceiling. With long brown hair and a healthy figure, this was really the woman he encountered the day before yesterday.

Now, her face was pale, and traces of blood were on her arms.

Taking in the scenery, Tepo immediately noticed some more blood on the old rug. Some furniture seemed to have been moved, but none showed obvious damages.

While the policemen were securing evidence, Tepmodus swiftly concluded that Diana had struggled against her attacker.

The grey clouds didn’t allow much light to fall through the opposite glass wall. The whole room was tinged into a murky color.

How befitting of a crime scene, though Tepo as his eyes fell on the woman smoking a cigarette outside while being questioned by two policemen. Judging from her shaking hands and distressed face this should be the one who discovered the corpse, the manor’s maid.

Next to her stood a bearded man in dirty working clothes, who quietly put his hand on the maid’s shoulder.

Having gotten an overview, Tepo calmly approached the dead Diana. Lond followed behind him, trying to get make his own judgment.

Concentrating on his work, Tepo didn’t joke around anymore. With a serious face he inspected the dangling corpse. No one had dared to touch it yet, waiting for the special investigator. They hoped that Tepo’s sharp eyes would spot some clues.

And the veteran didn’t disappoint them. After a few seconds a frown appeared on his face. Lond looked strangely at his colleague as Tepo pulled on the woman’s clothes.

“What are you doing?”

“Something is missing here.”, answered Tepo calmly.

The chief raised a brow, turning his eyes towards the spot Tepo discovered. There, inlaid in the woman’s clothes something seemed to have been ripped out. A small square of fabric was missing.

“Something was hidden here?”, guessed Lond.

“It looks like there was some additional fabric. A pocket maybe?”

“Yeah. We should keep this in mind. The probability is high that the perpetrator took it away.”

Tepo nodded lightly as Lond ordered the surrounding policemen to keep their eyes open for pieces of fabric.

Judging that he wouldn’t find more from the corpse, Tepo stepped outside the room. Noticing that the investigator turned towards them, the two present policemen respectfully stepped aside.

The maid’s shaky gaze focused on the newcomer. Seeing the treatment the police were giving him, the young woman knew that the man in his black coat was an important figure. She straightened her back, supported by the bearded man caressing her shoulder.

“Good morning. My name is Tepmodus. I’m sorry we are meeting under such circumstances. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

“Good morning.”, greeted the maid nervously.

Sighing lightly, the bearded man also replied:

“Ask away.”

Tepo rose his brow. He noticed some obvious hostility form the man, but he chose to ignore it.

“Thank you. Let’s start with your names and your relationship with the deceased.”

“I’m Mary. I have been Lady de Ridouran’s maid for three years now.”

“Rick. Gardener.”

Tepo already felt a headache incoming. This man wouldn’t be pleasant to talk to.