Bitter memories surfaced in Tepo‘s mind. He had seen patterns like these before. They were used by outsiders.

During his time in the army Tepmodus had watched a few sacrificial rituals. As part of them the outsiders drew patterns with the blood of their victims.

Shuddering slightly the investigator was forced to rummage through his normally suppressed memories. Eerie pictures of captured humans, bloody festivals, and disgusting dinners came to his mind. Doing his best to suppress his rage, Tepo tried to remember if he had seen the pattern found in Diana’s belongings before.

Taking deep breaths, he focused on the fabric before him. Tepo’s eyes traced the outer circle before studying the evenly arranged symbols within. Since their forms didn’t make any sense to him, it was difficult to recall if he had seen them before.

Suddenly Tepo frowned slightly. His breathing grew erratic. The symbols before him turned blurry. His mind grew dizzy. His eyes heavy.

“Ahh!”

With a shout Tepo recovered. He felt a stinging pain in his chest. For a split-second he imagined similar symbols lighting up in his body.

Weirded out Tepo dropped the patterns. Lond looked over to the investigator. He was shocked. He had never seen the experienced man having such an afraid look.

A moment later Tepmodus had already forcefully stabilized himself, when Lond’s concerned voice sounded out:

“Tepo?! Everything ok?”

“I feel alright, yes. But something if off about these fabrics.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure. It might be some kind of poison. We should be careful.”

“If you think so, I will grab gloves and a mask.”

Tepo nodded slightly. As Lond left the room the investigators eyes lingered on the pattern for a few more seconds. A strange mix of uneasiness and curiosity stubbornly occupied his mind.

For some reason it was hard for Tepo to ignore these weird symbols. He shook his head before forcefully looking elsewhere. It was time to continue searching the safe.

Since they didn’t find it in the bedroom, the chances were high that Diana hid it in the study. Those were the two rooms Mary wasn’t allowed in.

Opening the thick wooden door, Tepo was immediately weirded out by the study’s layout. It was a lengthy room with bookshelves on both sides. A dark carpet adorned the floor, ending before a massive desk.

Surprisingly the wooden surface was completely empty. During the few sunny days, it might even reflect the light shining through the big window behind it.

Gazing outside a small building could be seen through the garden’s shrubbery. This was Mary and Rick’s home which they were granted by the Ridourans. Noticing the telescope standing in one corner, a picture formed in Tepo’s mind.

Disgusting pervert!

Shaking his body slightly, the investigator focused back on his work. This was better for his mental health.

Still searching for the hidden safe, Tepo began to turn the study upside down. One by one he took out all the books and knocked on the shelves.

Just as he was halfway done a few steps sounded outside. With cracking sounds the heavy door slowly opened. Tepo’s eyes turned towards it.

A strange figure was revealed. The investigator almost drew his gun out of instinct, but luckily, he recognized the whitening heir and the uniform worn by the chief of police.

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But those coupled with the black facemask with a long beak and thick, leather gloves made Lond resemble someone straight out of a horror movie.

“Looking like this, you wouldn’t be able to complain if I shot you, Lond.”, joked Tepo.

The chief opened the door fully while giving his muffled reply:

“If you are more scared of me than the poison, I can give the fabric back to you.”

Tepo only rolled his eyes. Who said anything about being scared? The investigator only shook his head as he continued his work.

Lond, however, was in an awkward position. With his get up it was hard to be of much use. Why was he behaving like an assistant whenever Tepo was around? On of his men should have secured these fabrics as evidence. Now he stood in the room, watching Tepo.

Inwardly the investigator was amused by Lond, but outwardly he continued searching through the bookshelves. To his surprise he hadn’t found anything after rummaging through all the books. There was no secret door or fake book.

Since the safe wasn’t hidden among the bookshelves, it had to be somewhere else. The investigator let his sharp eyes roam around the room. There were still two obvious hiding places left. The desk and the rug.

Just as Tepo wanted to continue inspecting the former, Lond felt that he had stood long enough. He sauntered towards the wooden desk, put down the pieces of fabric and sat on the tabletop’s edge. Letting out a deep, relieved breath the older man continued watching Tepo.

However, the chief was confused as Tepo looked at him strangely.

“You are really a genius, Lond. Now I know why they made you the chief!”

“What?”, asked Lond, his incredulous face hidden behind the mask.

“I have been searching for so long, but you found the safe in an instant.”, explained Tepo with an amused voice.

“I did?”

“Of course. Look below you.”

In confusion Lond tilted his head towards the floor. After a moment he understood what Tepo was hinting at. There, behind his feet a tiny gap had opened up between the desk and the floor. Although it was too small and dark to see anything, what else should be hidden there?

It seemed the Ridourans had built a secret compartment, which revealed itself under Lond’s weight. Tepo didn’t know if it was a sloppy construction or simply too old to be found this easily, but frankly he didn’t care.

As the investigator stepped forward, Lond’s eyes lit up from his findings. With some excitement he spoke up:

“Ha! I’ve heard of something like this before. Those rich folk before the war loved to build hidden mechanisms and secret trap doors into their villas. They even hid all kinds of riddles everywhere as amusement for their guests.

Although they were said to be really difficult, we have two of the sharpest minds here. Together we will solve this in no time!”

Tepo looked strangely at his colleague. His eyes blinked quickly as he thought he had discovered something new about Lond.

“What? What’s that look?”, asked the chief.

“Nothing. But I have already solved the riddle here.”

“What?!”, exclaimed the astounded Lond.

“How can you be so fast? You didn’t even know there was a riddle here before!”

“Step aside and I will show you.”

Skeptically, Lond made way for the investigator. He thought Tepo was only bragging or joking around. Even the clever veteran would need some time so solve these old riddles.

Suddenly the chief of police flinched. His body seemingly deflated as a loud bang reached his ears. Wood cracked and the desk shook. The gap widened slightly.

To Lond’s disappointment Tepo had chosen the fastest way. Why would he waste time solving riddles, if there was an easier method. He was intelligent, yes, but he was also strong. This was evident by the desk’s suffering as Tepo’s heavy kick landed on its solid back.

A few more kicks followed. As the wood began to splinter, the desk stopped moving. Now a significant gap could already be made out. A hole appeared under the desk.

“Come on, Lond. Didn’t you want to solve the riddle together?”

Not in the mood to reply, the chief of police stood next to Tepo.

“One, two, three!”

The two men kicked out at the same time. Dust rose. Some form of security seemed to shatter. The expensive desk split in multiple places as it slid towards the back. Loud rumbling sound shocked everyone in the manor. Two police officers bashed into the room. Wide-eyed, they stared at their superiors.

With dusty legs and a frightening mask Tepo and Lond certainly made for a strange image right now. But why would they care?

Their focus was on the scene which suddenly revealed itself before them. Framed by well-hidden rails a hole had appeared in the floor. It was usually covered by the desk, but it was finally out in the open.

Everyone could now observe the contents of this ‘safe’ now, which were… nothing?

Tepo and Lond were slightly disappointed, but this wasn’t really surprising. They had already guessed that the murderer had emptied the safe after knowing that he even went to the bedroom.

Still, as experienced investigators they naturally wouldn’t dismiss such a discovery too easily. Tepo waited for a few seconds for the dust to settle before going down on one knee. With a sharp gaze he scanned the wooden compartment, searching for any clues he could find.

Suddenly the investigator noticed something peculiar. On a few spots a lot of dust had gathered. With a frown he focused on one of them. Was he mistaken or was this place a bit darker? It was hard to tell against the dark wooden flooring.

Carefully Tepo reached out to scratch the dust off. Immediately he noticed something strange. The wood here was covered by something.

His eyes lighting up, the investigator held his finger beneath his nose.

With a solemn face he confidently proclaimed:

“It’s blood!”