The next morning soothing rain was quietly knocking on the window. The quilt did its best to hide the two bodies on the bed, but it was too small. Just like the bed itself. Always a gentleman even in his sleep, Tepo let Lara face the wall while half of his own body hung down the bed.
A plate and a bottle were carelessly scattered on the ground, nothing of the investigator's dinner remaining.
Suddenly the quiet scene was interrupted by heavy knocking on the door. Tepo's even breathing stocked for a second, but it soon continued.
Louder knocks sounded out, followed by an annoyed voice:
"Tepo! Wake up! You have work to do!"
Finally, some movement came into the bodies on the bed. Lara lazily murmured:
"Come on Tepo. Don't let him wait."
"Why? How can he be in such a rush? As long as he isn't chasing someone, work won't run away."
Lara giggled quietly while the investigator finally started moving. He stretched himself with a loud yawn before his eyes stopped on Lara's face. Thinking about the comfortable night, he had to admit that the young woman knew what she was doing.
Feeling Tepo above her, Lara turned her face around. As she gazed at the athletic body she blinked flirtatiously.
Tepo took this as his sign. He didn't hold back as he roughly sealed Lara's lips with his. Of course he didn't have any feelings for Lara. This was simply after sale service.
Suddenly the door cracked heavily. A loud bang was followed by an angry voice.
"TEPO! I heard you whispering! Get your lazy ass out here or I will break the door."
"If you break my door, you will pay for it!", came Ben's annoyed yell from another room.
Hearing the commotion, Tepo finally stood up.
"What a mood killer.", he complained quietly, before loudly adding.
"Hold your horses, Lond! I'm with you in a second."
"Hmpf."
Not going to delay any longer Tepo took his clothes he had thrown in a corner. Under Lara's watchful eyes he put them on before the young woman buried herself under the quilt.
Tepo made sure he didn't forget the pistol attached to his belt. After everything was in place the investigator threw a single force crystal on the bed before opening the door.
As soon as a small slit was opened, Tepo could already hear angry breaths. A face immediately came to his mind. Imagining the hairs of a gray mustache moving with every breath, Tepo quietly laughed to himself.
Lond, however, wasn't in the mood to laugh at all. The chief of police had waited for Tepo for half an hour before personally coming to the hotel. And when he got here, he even heard the SIB agent whispering with a woman. The policeman was fuming when the door finally opened.
"At least one of us can still laugh!"
"Lond!", exclaimed Tepo with a friendly smile.
"If it isn't my favorite chief of police!"
"Cut it, Tepo. We have work to do."
"Why so hasty? You will only lose your last bit of hair, too."
"We had new victims tonight!", explained Lond in a deep voice.
Tepo let out a heavy sigh. His face turned serious as he murmured under his breath:
"Really a mood killer."
"Is it the blood thefts?", asked the investigator.
Lond raised his brow lightly.
"So you already know about it? Then you should also know the seriousness of this case. Let's not waste more time."
"Alright. Let me wash up real quick."
"Ok but hurry up. We don't have all day. I will wait outside."
Seeing the seriousness on Tepo's face, Lond was reassured. He knew that the investigator was mostly reliable despite his small flaws.
As Lond's heavy steps grew quieter, Tepo entered the only bathroom. While he hurriedly washed his face and teeth, a face stared at him form the mirror. Looking at the light stubble and skin branded by hardships, he sighed lightly. The valiant young man seemed to be gone for a long time, even though he wasn't this old yet.
Fortunately, Tepo wasn't struggling to accept his appearance. He knew who he was, and this was part of his pride. His face only reflected his determination to make this world a better place. One small step at a time.
With confidence stemming from this mindset Tepo grabbed his coat before stepping outside. He patted his lazy drago, who slept in front of the hotel, before entering Lond's coach. Since the chief of police was organizing some documents Tepo didn't disturb him.
He quietly drew back the vehicle's curtain a bit while observing the bleak city. Unfortunately, it didn't look any better than yesterday. The rain was still falling down, and the buildings were still falling apart.
Nothing much could be done about it as long as so many humans had to give their lives in the fight against the outsiders.
After a few minutes the coach arrived at a wealthier part of the city. Although the houses here couldn't compare to those real luxurious manors dating back to a time before the war, they were still the dream of every citizen. Despite crooked fences and leaky roofs, a family could still live here comfortably in two to three rooms.
Soon, Tepo noticed the commotion surrounding a few of these houses. Police was busily sealing off the area, neighbors were questioned, and reports were written.
Scanning the scenery from afar, the investigator didn't find anything out of place. He instinctively wanted to rule out any outsider activity. If those crazies would commit a crime here, they wouldn't be able to leave the place without any clues.
Still, Tepo reminded himself not to come to conclusions too early. There were rumors among the army that the outsiders they knew were only the lowest of them all, and that sane outsiders existed beyond the portal. The investigator couldn't rule out that some of them had arrived in their world and were planning something.
While Tepo was already analyzing the crime scene, the coach came to a stop before the first house. Lond stepped out of the vehicle, swiping some sweat from his forehead. The older man has never been a morning person, which was rather detrimental in his job.
A police officer was already waiting to take the documents off Lond's hands. As soon as he got rid of them, the chief turned left and right. Not far away he spotted Tepmodus, who seemed to be analyzing the grass.
"Tepo, let's go. I get you up to speed."
The investigator complained as he followed Lond.
"You really need to train your men better, old man. In this rain the floor can hold precious clues, but your men trampled all over it."
Lond rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, this was the first we checked, of course."
"Yeah, YOU checked it. But I didn't."
Despite his annoyance, the police officer wasn't able to talk back. The agent was indeed more observant. Otherwise, why would they need to request the SIB? Before getting embarrassed Lond quickly steered the topic elsewhere.
"Well, there is still enough left for you to check."
After a few meters the two men arrived before the door of a small house. Tepo immediately saw the broken glass panel, which used to be part of the door.
A glass door might sound luxurious but in reality, the houses here were built from all kinds of materials the inhabitants could find. Even two connected walls might be from metal and wood.
"This is the first evidence.", introduced Lond the obvious.
"The blood thief shattered the glass to turn the key from within."
Tepo solemnly nodded his head, his eyes not leaving the glass splinters. The image of the thief played in his head.
"Are all homes broken in through the front door?"
"Not really. There are cases where the thief came through the windows or in extreme cases through a weak wall."
Lond could see that Tepmodus was already in the zone. He was glad that the investigator was here. It took a lot of pressure from his shoulders.
Suddenly a loud clanging rang out. Lond's eyes shot wide open.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying something", answered Tepo dryly.
The investigator was calmly putting his pistol back into onto his belt. Just now he used it to destroy another glass panel.
"HEY! What's going on out there?!", came an angry shout form within the house.
A head stuck out from one of the only two rooms. It was a police officer, who had just questioned the owners of this house. When he saw the destroyed door, his eyebrow twitched before he returned to the room.
"Nothing, nothing. We are just cleaning up."
Ignoring the commotion, Tepo's eyes focused on the ground.
"Lond, look at this!"
The old chief complied in annoyance.
"What?"
"Look at the patterns?", said Tepo mysteriously.
"Can you not talk in riddles?"
Tepo rolled his eyes. What riddles? Wasn't he stating the obvious?
"The old shattered glass and the new don't match."