Cleaning up the aftermath of a crime scene was never a fun activity, particularly if you were personally involved in its creation. Mundane crimes were grim enough, but this? Seeing the mangled remains of what was once human always left me with a dark feeling in my stomach.
I kneeled at the edge of the scene, gloves covering my hands as the newly arrived forensics team bustled around us. My vision darkened slightly as a shadow covered me. I looked up and saw Anna. I gave my partner a quick glance, noting how her normally tall stature seemed even more imposing now as she stood watch. She still had the remnants of dried blood on her dark suit, and her bright red hair normally tied up in a pony tail was let loose. "Did you notice anything particular about the ghouls?" I asked her.
She tilted her head to signal she had heard my question, and she looked down to address me. "They were definitely typical humans. No supernatural abilities or anomalous effects beyond the standard capabilities of a ghoul." I saw the edges of her lips dropping downwards, and her emerald eyes turned a shade darker. She then continued, "Newly turned too. They offered little resistance to my sword."
I nodded in response, mouth tight in a grimace. "So, our friends on the calmer side will have to get involved then to close the missing person reports. The call got to us 24 hours after it was filed too... and they only filed it after they confirmed the victims were missing for 72 hours already."
Anna let out of scoff and groaned, her hand resting on the sheathed silver sword at her hip. "You mind doing all the paperwork this time? I hate dealing with those clowns..."
"No."
"I'll make it worth your while~"
"I enjoy your homemade alcohol very much, Anna, but no deal."
She swore and crossed her arms petulantly. "Fine. Whatever. So, what've you found so far?"
"The magic the perpetrator used was sloppy. There's remnants of energy all around us still waiting to be used. Whoever did this had a lot of power, but no finesse or no care to use it efficiently." I replied while waving my hand to light up the surrounding ambient energy.
This was a trick I had taught myself. When one resonates their own magic with the surrounding ambient energy at the proper frequency, the equivalent of small magical aurora could be created.
"So, not a proper necromancer then? Maybe an apprentice or someone who got a tome?" In the corner of my sight, I could see Anna's eyes moving to track one of the nearby light shows. "Motive?"
I passed the necklace, one that I had picked up from one of the victims, over to Anna. "See the entwined hearts? Should be familiar to all of us."
She put on her own set of gloves before taking the necklace from my hand. "Matches the logo of the strip club that called the initial report in."
I nodded and pushed myself up from the ground. "The Hidden Hearts Room, and the personal domain of Madam Rosaline."
"You think the old hag's involved then? Because this doesn't seem her style." Anna said while delicately dropping the necklace in her hand into an evidence bag. "I'm thinking someone's trying to move into her territory and is sending out a message."
I let out an ugly laugh. "Classic mafioso tactics? Possibly. It wouldn't be far-fetched at all."
Before we could continue our discussion though, a third voice interrupted us. "Enforcer Kelly." Anna immediately protested against that being a valid shortening of her last name. "Detective Senna," said a low timbre voice.
I turned and locked eyes with the incoming man. "Theodore," I greeted politely, "always a pleasure. Anything else come up from the forensics team? And have you decided to share with us your last name finally?"
He snorted and let out a growl from the back of his throat. "Names have power, wizard. I'll give you my last name if you give me your middle name." He gave me a wink, his eyes shifting gold for a second.
I simply laughed in response. It was a familiar routine at this point. Theodore was the leader of the forensics team attached to our department. So, whenever we called in a crime scene, he was a most common sight.
"And to answer your other question, inspector, yes, we smelt out a few things." The main said simply while pulling out a handwritten sheet of paper. "We confirmed the identities of all of the victims found here. Their dental records match those of the missing men in the report, but, we did note one particular thing. We found that they were turned at different times. Hours at the very least in between, and days at worst. Poor bastards might've actually seen each other transform into ghouls."
I bit my lip and shared a look with Anna. She shook her head, silently telling me not to dwell on it. "Right... Anna and I found a lot of leftover ambient energy around here, so whoever turned them was inefficient and potentially experimenting or learning as they went. Were you able to locate the actual ritual items?"
Theodore nodded and pointed at a nearby corner. "We found some tools and an expired tome hidden underneath some construction supplies around the corner. The team is bagging it up right now, but we didn't find any fingerprints or leftover personal items. We'll check with the lab techs at HQ to see if we can trace anything from them." He grunted and shook his head. "Doubt we'll find anything though. The tools seemed thoroughly cleaned already."
Anna passed over the bag containing the necklace from one of the ghouls over to Theodore. "So amateur necromancer, but seasoned criminal then? Seems like my theory might have some merit, Alex."
Theodore raised his eyebrow in response, and I explained Anna's theory. "She thinks it might the opening play of someone going after Madam Rosaline's territory. These were her customers after all. According to these necklaces at least."
"Possible. It seems that you do have a brain behind those ears, enforcer."
"I will skin you alive, you mangy mutt."
"Peace, you two. Anything else, Theodore?" I interrupted swiftly to get these two back on track.
"Yeah. These guys had no other injuries besides the ones you two inflicted. They came here willingly, or were magicked here, or at the very least, tricked here." Theodore handed us a pile of forms. "We're about to finish up here, but we need your signatures to sign off on everything we're collecting."
I screamed internally and took the forms with great apprehension. "Protocol?"
"Protocol, inspector. There's no rest for the wicked." He grinned and gave the two of us a lazy wave, returning to his team soon thereafter.
Silence descended between the two of us, neither wishing to take the first look at the paperwork. In the end, I bit the bullet and asked, "You take half?" I offered half of the pile to Anna with an unspoken plea.
Her eyes burned brighter momentarily before she finally let out a frustrated sigh, and she took the offered half out of my hands. With the pile in hand, she mirrored me and began to take a look through the pile sheet by sheet. "What's our next move then?"
"Well, it depends..." I conjured up a pair of pens and passed one over to her. "It's 4 AM now and the club should be closed, so unless we can corner the Madam outside her domain, I think we're out of luck..."
Anna took the offered pen with a grateful nod. "And you know the club's exact closing time and her habits, why? Have you been embezzling department funds for a nefarious reason, Alex?"
I quickly caught the sheet of paper that had dropped out of my hand. "What?! No! Of course not. She's a known entity in our city. Of course, I'm familiar with her."
"You sure?" Anna continued to prod, her eyes not even moving away from her pile of forms. "I won't judge if you enjoy a little time with the ladies of the night. I just recommend getting yourself checked out with the docs every once in a while."
"You're ridiculous..." I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Why? I'm just looking out for the health of my dear partner." She said in a crude imitation of sweetness. "After all, it would be tragic if I had to get myself another partner~"
"...To this day, I can never tell if you despise me or not."
Anna laughed, smacking her now finished pile of forms on my shoulder. "You would know if I despised you, Alex. You'd have way more visits to the infirmary if I did."
I took her pile of forms and combined it with mine. "You are a terrifying woman, Anna."
"Don't you forget it, wizard."