The dense cloud cover, like a blanket, had swathed the sky all night and by morning it had still not dispersed. Instead, it began to drizzle, mist swirling, knitting a leaden gray dawn.
Criminal detective Augusta Mah of the Alfheim police sighed as he clambered out of his ink-black "National Car" — a 4-door enlarged version of the standard national car designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsch. The dense curtain of rain soaked his clothes and cheeks, and the moist air he breathed into his lungs gave him the illusion that he was not a policeman sent to investigate a case in the countryside but a young lad from years ago standing in a U-boat conning tower, peering through binoculars in search of enemy ships and occasionally getting kicked in the rear by the captain for making mistakes.
With a wry smile, Mah shook off the illusion that he had not managed to correct for several years after coming ashore. Glancing at his watch, it was 7:03 in the morning when Detective Mah arrived at the scene.
