--- How long has it been? It feels like, it was only yesterday the tragedy happen? I wonder if the woman’s spirit is still lingering, alone? Waiting for justice to answer her plea?
Back to the mountains, where it all began.
Martial Kim need not worry about getting lost this time. The police investigator made sure he can never run away let alone go in the wrong direction. For safety, they bound him to a series of chains that coiled around his wrist, ankles, and waist. Essentially a leash.
Granted, these chains are nothing but paper ropes to him. It would be too easy to break out of them and fly away from their reaches if he was in the mood.
However, those strange yellow hand crossbows the officers kept gripping in their hand, those tasers, made the young master conscious of them.
Up ahead was Detective Fraulein, a wolf leading the pack deep into the forests of the mountain. Almost every five steps she would turn around to shoot Martial Kim a glare – only when she knew she was 20 paces out of his reach.
"Remember, no funny business," She snarled.
Martial Kim didn't answer. There was no need really.
Accompanying the group was Professor Stone, along with his forensic team. The forensic chemist spoke on the young master's behalf to ease the tension between both warring parties.
"Relax, Detective," he chuckled. "We held our end of the bargain. Surely an 'honourable' man like Kim would do the same."
Martial Kim couldn't help a smile, "Of course. You were good on your word, I will be good on mind."
Detective Fraulein rolled her eyes, "What are you two, twins? Cut the reverb and get serious. We're almost to the crime scene."
After the detective stumbled up ahead, the young master couldn't help whispering to the forensic chemist. "Miss Keekee. She has returned to her grandmother's cabin safely?"
"Yep. She's got an officer to keep her company, in case those guys you mentioned that tried to rape her do come back. And not to worry, I asked the detective to open a file on them. Another team is working to find the those guys, rest assured."
"Your words ease my heart. As promised, I will not resist nor attempt any means of escape. I will do everything in my power to support you in your investigation. It is the very least I can do to repay your good will.”
"Aaaw. How thoughtful of you, Kim!"
"HEY! LOVEBIRDS!" Detective Fraulein howled when she reached the top of a hill, "Get your asses over here right now!"
The unlikely duo couldn't help exchange whimsical grins as they were led up the hill.
Then Martial Kim subconsciously swallowed a lump in his throat when he recognizes the trash pit. A lot of officers were on the site, guarding it, and everything was surrounded by--
"Hmm? Kim? What's wrong?"
"...Uh..."
--- Am I about to enter a ritual? What are all these yellow ropes floating around the trash pit. They look like Taoist Seals to purge evil spirits or immobilize ghosts. Is this a means to release the victim's soul to pass on quietly into the nether?
Prof. Stone waited a bit. When nothing but confused silence answered him, he hoisted up the yellow police cordon above his head and waved a hand for the young master.
"Come on in. Not like Detective Fraulein is going to bite your guts out and spit it into a fire."
"..."
“Sarcasm. Not a fan I take it?”
After some hesitation, Martial Kim followed Prof. Stone and ducked under the yellow police cordon. Expecting some mystical force going haywire and unleashing all the wandering spirits in the woods...he opened one clenched eye to see nothing happened.
Rather, everyone was staring at him as if he did something incredibly stupid. Out of all the mistakes he's done since he came to this new world – he felt conscious about it now. Half of the officers couldn't help a snicker, the other half were still under PTSD so their hands were sitting on top of their weapons at their holster without so much as a peep.
Finally, they dragged the young master to the spot where the woman in the leopard clothing was found.
--- Oh? What did they use to trace the victim's body on the ground? Normally, the constables I work with use trails of powdered chalk, any disturbance in the line would tell us if anyone tampered with it. This material is...what is it?
Martial Kim couldn't help but squint at the strange white lines that outlined where the victim was found. Even in the breeze, the white line didn't move or scatter and stuck there. Convenient, yet odd.
"Alright. You, Kim, get over here and don’t step on the tape," Detective Fraulein lowered her tone, but didn't gave up glaring, "Now. Assuming what you said in your statement is true, you hauled the victim all the way here. She asked for water and you tried to help her drink some, but she died on the spot. Then what happened?"
Martial Kim felt like he was being made a fool. Chained up, frowned upon, and all he needed was a finger wagging and he would feel like he was treated like a lying child. Yet, the more he eyed the frame where the woman in leopard clothing died, the more he forgot the world’s judging stare.
"A disciple of the Beggar Sect came by," He answered with his head held high, "I called for his aid, but he fled from me. He believed I killed the woman, and I tried to convince him otherwise."
Matches the testimony of the crazy beggar, something about angel of vengeance, Detective Fraulein thought to herself. But can this man really fly? Seriously? Must have been an exaggeration.
She then mumbled, "Now, you mentioned to Stone she was murdered, somewhere else, right?"
"That is correct."
"But you can't remember where?"
"Not exactly. However, I recall we were coming down the mountain. I believe if we retrace some of my steps from here to the base of the mountain, we simply need to look up. Perhaps if you have your constables move on ahead we can—"
"Don’t act so high and mighty Kim. You’re still a suspect. So don’t think you’re in charge of this investigation!”
Martial Kim clenched his teeth at this point. Surely he had his fair share of butting heads with constables and inspectors who served the imperial courthouse – but this lady detective was on a whole new level.
Reading the atmosphere, Prof. Stone chirped, "Differences aside, we all want to catch the killer yes? We're all collaborating in order to find out who he is and where to find him, correct?"
Somehow, those words were enough to remove to defuse the bomb entirely. And he didn't need to decide which wire to cut too! Without further ado, the group moved on ahead, following the suspect’s direction to seek the truth.
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Martial Kim honestly couldn't remember the exact steps for the life of him.
Despite his experience in wandering the vast mountains and valleys of the great martial world, the mountains in this region are just too confusing. Sometimes, he felt he was still lingering in that drunken dream, floating between reality and fantasy, head throbbing every now and then.
...Maybe that was all he needed, to not pay attention to where he was going. It didn't take long, before he realized he was heading in the right direction. Soon, familiar trees and landmarks came into his vision, refining his path to be more precise.
"There." Martial Kim let out a gasp of relief as he pointed with the chains dangling from his wrist. "That is exactly where I saw the killer attacking the woman."
"You sure?" Detective Fraulein held back a hiss. After being given a curt nod, she waved a hand to her officers, "Cordon off the place and canvas the area! Come on let’s go people!"
--- Cordon off? Canvas? Strange terms...
Martial Kim patiently watched from the sidelines as officers coiled that same yellow rope around trees and rocks, creating a makeshift fence. He tilted his head seeing several officers stack side by side in a line, head down, and taking one odd step forward after another.
He wanted to ask a question...but seeing how everyone was hard at work searching for evidence, he kept his curiosity to himself.
"Detective!" Prof. Stone called over as he leaned over a tree, "Over here, quick!" When the investigators came over, along with the young master, the forensic chemist waved a hand across the ground, "The grass is completely disturbed, there is signs of kicking and clawing of fingers in the dirt. This is most likely the first scene of the crime but--"
"We completely missed it," Detective Fraulein slapped her forehead. "This is what, half a mile than where we originally looked and it's been left alone for a few days. Anything could have contaminated it the crime scene. Anything we find, could be unrelated."
"That's is a problem indeed and...Wait a moment." Prof. Stone adjusted his rubber gloves on his hands - a sight that made Martial Kim rather curious - and he crouched down. He dug his hand through a series of crushed bushes and grabbed about.
Then he yanked it out.
Detective Fraulein’s eyes widen, "S-Stone. I-is that the--"
"A belt.” Prof. Stone carefully held aloft the thin leather belt coated in dirt dust and some mud. There was also some old blood stain on it, and the faint lines of finger prints. There was also one more thing about the belt that surprised them. “Looks like the murder weapon... Oh. The belt is cut.”
“You sure it wasn’t torn apart by animal teeth?”
“No it’s a clean cut. A knife perhaps.”
“That is correct constables.” This time both the detective and forensic chemist snapped their attention onto Martial Kim, who simply returned a matter of fact nod, “After chasing off the killer, I tried to remove the belt. It had no visible knot, I could not properly untie it, so I had no choice but to destroy the evidence by cutting it with my surgical knife.”
Prof. Stone had a sour look, “So, you touched this? And tampered with it?”
Martial Kim nodded once more, “Again, I could not figure out how to untie it and the victim was suffocating. I do hope, there is still some value as evidence at this point.”
Prof. Stone held back a sigh, and whispered to the detective, “Whether or not he is the killer, his finger prints being all over the murder weapon will still make him look bad in front of a judge and jury.”
Detective Fraulein rolled her eyes with a hiss, “Come on, Stone. Are you siding with him now? All of this can only mean one thing, he IS the killer. Think about it, who would know of this place, this crime scene. If not the victim, it be the murderer himself!...But...”
She face palmed and suppressed a teeth-grinding groan, “Everything he's doing screams the opposite of a cold and calculating killer. Why risk himself and excavating his crime scene?"
"Clearly there are too many variables involved in this case, detective.” said Prof. Stone, “That is why I suggest you take a piece of advice from my motto."
"What would that be?"
"Follow the evidence. People can lie, evidence cannot."
"Why does it sound like something from a fortune cookie: you will have a happy and prosperous... Stone, there's something else over there."
Detective Fraulein pointed to the side and the forensic chemist got to work. He would brush aside several stray leaves and torn grass, rummaging across the dirt, and uncover several things.
"A key chain?" Prof. Stone wondered out loud as he turned it over in the open to get a better look under the afternoon light. “Looks like it was broken off, perhaps in the struggle. Question is, was it left there the day of the murder, or dropped by a random traveller?”
Detective Fraulein crouched down to get a look herself, but then gagged, "Wait a second. I recognize that. It’s one of those awards you get, for participating a race gun competition. Huh, Beagle Point Gun Club.”
“You know that place detective?”
“Duh, yeah. I’m a member. In fact, almost every policeman across town is a member.” The detective then rose up and hollered, “All units, listen up! Which of you has ever been to this exact location before? Anyone? On or off duty, speak up now!”
The officers all exchanged confused glances and murmurs. After spreading the question amongst themselves up and down the hill, they all returned the same response.
Nope.
“You guys ABSOLUTELY sure!? Better say something now or—D-damn it, Stone! S-stop pulling on my sleeve!”
“Save your breath. Even if any one of them is the real culprit, they’re not going to tell you. And if that’s not the case, without Kim’s help I don’t think anyone would have thought of this exact location.”
“For crying out...Wh...what makes you think the real killer, is a cop?”
“I didn’t,” Prof. Stone shrugged as he kept searching the bushes just in case, “Like you said, the key chain is from a local gun club full of officers. Like it or not, we shouldn’t remove the possibility—”
“That a fellow cop is the Belt Rapist we’ve been hunting? Bullshit!” Detective Fraulein snapped. “An officer of the law, breaking the law? How can you suggest such a thing stone!”
Martial Kim stepped into the conversation, “The man has a point. What better way to lower a woman’s guard, than to be a legitimate law enforcer.”
“Zip it, Bruce Lee!! No one asked you!” The detective barked back!
“My name is Martial Kim. Not Bruce Lee.” The young master frowned.
Prof. Stone wanted to end their world war 2.5 before it began, but his attention was divided elsewhere. One of his forensic technicians came over and passed him an evidence bag. With a small whisper, the forensic chemist smiled and spoke out loud, “Detective, I think we hit a gold mine.”
“Huh?” Detective Fraulein raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that Stone?"
"One of my teammates found a cigarette butt. Seems to be the only one in the area. If we’re lucky, the D.N.A. from the cigarette butt may belong to the killer.”
“I want to say ‘that’s good news’, but what are the odds this belongs to a random passerby. You and I both know, a lot of people walk up and down these mountains.”
“If you look around, this place seems rather secluded, desolate even. Definitely not welcoming to any hikers, regardless of experience. Might be off the hiker’s map.”
“So, wishful thinking huh?” Detective Fraulein wanted to grimace, but given the light shedding on new evidence she did feel some slither of hope. However, the odds of finding the real answer were stacked waaay to high to be optimistic. “Alright, bring them back to the lab. I’ll look into that gun club and—“
Officer Roland suddenly came running to everyone, as if he was late to a party, “Detective, Profess—WOOP!”
In his flight, he slipped on the mud and dirt and fell to his knees. He cursed at the mud stains that wiped itself all over his leggings and hobbled over on his twisted ankle. "Prints! Found prints!" Was all he could gasp out from his run.
"Where?" Detective Fraulein demanded, "Where did the foot prints lead to? You sure it's not left by a hiker or tourist? Or an officer of that matter?"
"N-not footprints sir--er ma'am." Officer Roland gasped. "Tire tracks. Not exactly fresh, but it's there. From the looks of it, it seemed to have drove to this place then left. No other tracks, could be made by the same car coming and going. And, I checked. This area doesn't allow cars – i-if people listen to the signs that is."
The detective, forensic chemist, and officer all exchanged glances with one another...
...Before seeing that sour look on Martial Kim’s face.
“The blue horse wagon,” he snorted, “Do I have your attention now?”
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