Shadow's Hand-Chapter 7: Crime Scene

As Lucas plays the waiting game for his failure of a colleague to arrive at the scene, his eyes subtly gaze at his other colleague.

'You're so lucky, Jasmine.' He clicked his tongue in a disgruntled manner. Had it not been for Damien's calm composure, then Lucas would have suspected the former of having nefarious intent toward Jasmine.

Naturally, it would have still been far-fetched, considering Damien's status as a Seventh Order.

What kind of women can't he get as a Seventh Order?

"Ugh, whatever. At least I'm still on the run and not eliminated." Lucas shook his head and walked toward the carriage where Coachman Karl was idling.

"You, make a signboard with the writing TI Kyle. I'll be waiting inside the carriage." He ordered. There was no way he would be willing to stand outside and be stared at like some sort of mascot. Damien only ordered him to wait, but never stated where and how.

Therefore, sitting inside the carriage was still considered waiting as long as he intercepted Kyle. With his ability, Kyle would be dreaming if he could escape his perception.

Meanwhile, Karl, who had been assigned another duty, raised numerous curses in his mind.

'You got ordered by your superior but dared not argue so you ordered me to vent. Serves you right.' Karl dared not be rude at all to Damien, but the same could not be said for the Ninth Order.

Indeed, they were feared, but definitely not that terrifying as opposed to a Seventh Order. At best, a Ninth Order could be considered a recent graduate versus a Seventh Order who was a veteran.

...

"The foul stench is quite strong," Damien commented. His nose had been sniffing an unpleasant smell ever since approaching the crime scene.

The carriage stopped just two streets prior to the crime scene, and the more they advanced, the more police officers in fancy uniforms were patrolling around.

Their eyes were vigilant, and their body postures indicated that they were ready to attack and detain any non-personnel in the vicinity.

Despite their seemingly cool and detached demeanor, they still bowed their heads slightly whenever they noticed Damien.

As for Jasmine, they didn't do much and almost brushed over her in the process.

From that small gesture of theirs, Damien concluded that the insignia number was significant— even in the police force.

'A Ninth Order is feared by regular pedestrians, but not at all in the police force. Interesting.' There was so much new information Damien needed to keep up with it. He couldn't afford any possible slip-up.

Sometime later, Jasmine brought Damien to the house of the crime scene. To be more precise, the house appeared to be a mansion-kind.

"Quite a big mansion." Damien glanced at the exterior and continued, "Yet only 3 victims found?"

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"Yes, the report said that only 3 victims were found and are registered members of the residency," Jasmine reported.

"And based on the follow-up reports, it was said that the culprit was not spotted by any surveillance—"

Just before Jasmine could continue her report, Damien halted her.

"Enough. The first rule of investigation. Never blindly trust in the report." Damien calmly said.

"Throw out the reports that we received and start from scratch. Remember, you do not want any bias or judgment made prior." He added, warning her that it was a big taboo in a crime investigation.

However, the truth was that he didn't have a single clue of what the case was about. To ensure nothing was suspicious, he decided to throw her off by adding random nonsense.

Naturally, Jasmine furrowed her brows. It was clear that she didn't understand what he meant by throwing out the report. Each of the reports was meticulous and done by professionals.

'I supposed the Seventh is trying to train me from ground zero.' She concluded.

She refused to believe Damien would behave in such a manner if it wasn't to guide her on the first case. This wasn't Damien's first case after all— at least that was what she thought.

"Understood, I shall open a new note," Jasmine responded. She retrieved her tablet and opened up a new page to record data from scratch.

"The first clue is the foul stench," Damien said. "Since we have been delayed by a day already, and the crime was said to have happened two days ago. Then it makes sense that the putrefaction stage has already begun."

The putrefaction stage only starts after the first couple of days when the body begins to smell really bad. The stage itself could last from four to ten days.

However, the foul stench seemed excessive, which made Damien suspicious of the possible factors involved.

Meanwhile, Jasmine recorded the statement on her tablet. As she jotted her notes, she suddenly recalled a detail.

"Um, Investigator Damien, there is something else that is suspicious." She opened her mouth and wished to speak of the details, but was unsure whether she was allowed to.

After all, Damien did instruct her to throw away any details of the report received from the past days.

"What is suspicious?" Damien gestured for her to speak.

"Corpses smell bad during decomposition, but the victims inside had yet to decompose according to the report. Till now, it is reported that the victims still appeared fine before their death." When Jasmine said her finding, she was worried about a scolding.

What she did was no different than stating Damien's words were wrong.

Yet contrary to her expectation, Damien made no comment and simply nodded.

He then took the lead to enter the mansion and was quickly greeted by a luxurious sight. The interior of the mansion was more intricate and decorative than what the exterior showed.

The nearby police officers who were assigned to the scene quickly spotted Damien and the insignia on his clothes.

"Greetings, Seventh Order TI. We are from the division branch code name Skyler, assigned to assist the TI in charge of this case." One of the higher-ranking police officers stepped forward and greeted Damien.

Despite the greeting though, they were ignored by Damien. It wasn't that Damien wanted to act cool and nonchalant either, but he was truly distracted by something else.

'Why is there a Diamond 3 poker card hovering in the lighting?' Secretly alarmed, Damien thought he was hallucinating.