Thompson pressed the play button as soon as everyone had seated themselves.
"Is this the police? I have a crime to report."
Heavy breathing could be heard for two seconds, and the unknown man spoke again.
"Come to the mausoleum at the back of the academy. A person has dropped a body inside; I think they are dead."
Thompson stopped the recording as it started playing from the start.
"I have sent units there from the Smith team. They were the nearest officers to respond."
Bridget handed Ethan a file.
"We have not heard from them, and it has been an hour already. The second patrol also has not responded since entering the academy."
"Smith also left to investigate, and we have not heard from him since."
Astrid closed the door and pulled a white screen from the ceiling. A projector appeared from the ceiling, casting an image on the screen.
"As you can see, they enter the mausoleum and never come out."
"Hail, look at the man opening the gate with keys hanging from the massive ring."
Bridget took the file from Ethan, paging through the papers inside.
"It says here that he is the gardener, Jeremy. He keeps the gardens around the academy. He has all the keys to open any door or gate to tend the plants inside the academy."
Thompson turns to Astrid.
"He has a habit of trying to get into young, beautiful women's beds regularly."
Bridget's eyebrows rose. She had a sceptical look on her face.
"The young female students say he has succeeded many times. They say he is a bit creepy the morning after, almost like a stalker."
Thompson takes the keys out of his desk, handing them to Astrid.
"Ethan, we have heard from campus security that a suspicious person dragged a rug through the portal. Witnesses say he dragged it to a vehicle that drove toward the old part of the city."
"You and the girls investigate the mausoleum and see if you can find our missing officers."
Ethan followed Thompson out of the office, and his officers holstered their wands, ready for any threat. Wendy and Lucy held hands as they walked down the stairs.
"Alas, be careful and let me know if anything is out of place."
The two girls nodded as they entered the portal. The academy grounds were bathed in silence as they appeared in the portal. George the orc looked at them in surprise as he squatted on the grass near the main administration building. A massive pile of dung steamed on the grass.
"Squee, Earl will lose it when he sees that tower on the grass."
"Hail, not our problem. You must be blind with no sense of smell to step into that dung heap."
Ethan pulled out the campus map supplied by Bridget. They followed the pathways to the back of the academy. The place was enormous; he understood why you needed a map. He noticed that the academy grounds were devoid of fairies and pixies. Wendy had noticed as well, commenting on the anomaly.
"Hail, something feels strange. Where are the fairies and the pixies? We haven't seen one staff member since we arrived."
Lucy pulled on Ethan's hand.
"Squee, we should leave this place. I have a bad feeling."
"Alas, stick together, and we will get to the bottom of this. Lucy, you are the strongest one here. We are counting on you."
"Squee, I am the strongest."
Lucy showed her bicep. Ethan gently pushed down on it, nodding his head and looking very impressed.
"Squee, that means I can protect everyone."
Lucy took the lead, her ears like radars, listening to any sound out of the ordinary. Ethan hugged her, holding her. The sound of her knees knocking together made him feel guilty, giving her comfort in a dangerous situation. Ethan knew this would be a complex investigation. He should have asked the girls to go back to the inn.
Wendy had walked bravely at the front as they went deeper into the academy grounds. She moved to his side, taking his hand. He could feel her trembling slightly. Lucy's hand could have been holding a jackhammer, her trembling severe, her knees knocking the only sound they could hear.
"You must be the adventurers they sent to find the missing officers."
Lucy screamed, jumping into Ethan's arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, her face pressed into his neck. Wendy shouted with profanities that would make a sailor blush. Ethan balanced himself with the added weight suddenly attached to him. Wendy had leapt onto his back, almost choking him as she held him. He could feel her heartbeat against his back. Ethan turned around. It was the gardener, Jeremy.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you."
He said with a smile.
Ethan let the girls down.
"Alas, please show us where the officers were seen last."
Jeremy leads the way in silence. Ethan inspected the man. He did not look threatening at all. His slight frame and thin, sinewy arms did not say strength. The man carried no wand he could see unless it was hidden in his clothes, which he doubted. Jeremy would be invisible. He did not give off a presence, which Ethan thought was strange.
Jeremy stopped in front of an iron gate, where intricate metal work was done in the coat of arms of the academy, a shield with a wand, and a sword crossed atop the shield. The lock kicked open as Jeremy turned the key, the sound echoing. In the distance, through a beautiful garden, stood the mausoleum looming big and large. Jeremy cut two roses with a garden scissor that hung from his belt. He handed Wendy a white rose, and for Lucy, he gave a red rose.
"Hope you do not mind. Two beauties deserve beautiful flowers."
Ethan nodded. The man flirted with the two girls without hesitation, not fearing Ethan's pummelling. Ethan decided he had given it in good faith when he saw how happy it made the two as they smelled the rose's fragrance.
Two massive stone doors stood closed, and a chain threaded through the door's bar handles, secured by a big iron lock. Ethan could see a giant keyhole in the door and wondered why they did not use the key to lock the doors and the chain.
"They were seen entering the mausoleum," Jeremy said.
He unlocked the chain, letting it fall to the ground. The sound echoed loudly. Jeremy pushed open the door with ease. Ethan stared in amazement. He must be stronger than he looked. A faint sound could be heard in the back of the mausoleum.
"There at the back, sounds like something or someone is talking," Jeremy said.
He took two steps back, with fear and sweat on his forehead.
"Squee, someone is calling for help."
Lucy's ears could pick up the softest sounds when she was scared. Wendy cupped her ear with her hand. The mausoleum was covered in darkness inside, and they would need a light source if they wanted to investigate. Ethan wanted to take Lily from his robe when suddenly Wendy yelled excitedly.
"Hail, I hear something too. It must be the officers. They might need our help."
Wendy darts inside her speed, incredibly fast. Lucy ran close on her heels. Ethan jogs after them, his senses on high alert for danger.