Mr. Seif sat before the investigators, his wet black umbrella leaving a small puddle around his chair. His hairline was receding, the hair at his temples thick and black, and his brown eyes gleamed with tension. His large features were strained with suppressed terror.
Arenwald spoke in a calm, neutral tone:
"So, you are saying you saw him with your own eyes, Mr. Seif?"
The man nodded slowly, his hand gripping the umbrella.
"Y... Yes, sir. It was roughly between nine and ten in the evening. I was closing my shop when I saw him jump over the house wall and run off quickly."
Arenwald said, jotting things down in his notepad:
"How was the lighting?"
He replied:
"Dim. There were only two lamps."
Ainliss asked:
"Do you think others saw him?"
He nodded, then said:
"Most likely..."
Ainliss asked again while Arenwald was writing in his notepad:
"Did you hear any screaming or gunfire?"
Seif's memory was jolted, and he answered:
"There was a scream, but it quickly faded, and as for the gunshot, it was clearly audible."
Arenwald asked:
"Why didn't you report it?"
The man replied steadily:
"The Mayor used to practice with his rifle often."
Arenwald muttered to himself: "This explains why he possessed weapons and a backyard training area."
Ainliss pulled out a map of the city, then pointed to the Mayor's house and said:
"Show us the direction he went..."
He said:
"He went north and vanished into the darkness..."
Ainliss said coldly:
"Good. Can you describe him accurately for us?"
Mr. Seif spoke with a trembling voice:
"He was tall and slender. He was wearing a long black cloak, pitch black with some faded golden embellishments. Most importantly, he was covering his face with a stark white mask that had three black eyes."
Ainliss asked with keen curiosity:
"Embellishments? Did you see their shape? And what were the eyes like?"
"There was an extra eye on the forehead, sir. And the mouth was inverted, like a diagonal line. As for the embellishments... I didn't notice them well; they were faded. He vanished into the darkness of the night with terrible speed."
Arenwald, his mind beginning to process new details, said:
"Ainliss, may I have a pen and paper?"
Ainliss nodded, and quietly went out to fetch them. Arenwald spoke again, his eyes fixed on the witness:
"By the way, thanks for helping."
Mr. Seif, starting to regain his composure because he was a valuable source of information, said:
"It is an honor to cooperate with you."
Ainliss re-entered, presenting the paper to Arenwald with a sly smile:
"Impress me with your drawing, my dear fellow... don't make it look like a sardine can this time."
Arenwald managed a faint smile, then began drawing with great skill and professionalism, using strong lines to define the strange features. After he finished, he pushed the paper toward the man and said:
"Was this his appearance?"
The man replied with clear terror after seeing the sketch, as it brought back the horrifying vision:
"Almost... yes, just like that."
Ainliss asked: "Was there a triangle on his third eye?"
"No, sir, there was no triangle."
Ainliss said:
"Good. Before you leave, fill out this form here."
Seif wrote down his personal information and details about the crime on the form.
Seif stood up and then said calmly:
"My name is Seif, and I have a vegetable shop."
Ainliss asked in surprise:
"Are you from the lands of Rawashin?"
"Only my family; I grew up here."
Arenwald and Ainliss exchanged a meaningful look. Arenwald stood up and said:
"Thank you for your valuable assistance, Mr. Seif. If you see anything else, report to us immediately."
Ainliss also said before he left: "Stay safe."
Arenwald began scrutinizing the sketch with both annoyance and curiosity. He walked out, followed by a bewildered Ainliss. They headed toward one of the Gendarmerie rookies.
Arenwald ordered decisively:
"Rookie, make this drawing the number one wanted picture immediately. Print it and distribute it to all Gendarmerie stations and precincts."
The captain approached eagerly rubbing his hands:
"Is this the killer?"
The two nodded. The Captain said:
"I will send a copy of it to the Royal Headquarters in Elgarh."
Arenwald said with an undeniable calmness:
"We are going back to the Mayor's house."
The Captain was astonished:
"All the Gendarmerie have evacuated and it's sealed! Why are you going?"
Arenwald said with a strange, chilling serenity:
"He will return."
The Captain said cautiously:
"Alright, be careful."
Arenwald patted Ainliss's shoulder, and the two left, leaving Ethan with Erail in the room, having given them strict instructions to decipher the chess code.
As soon as the two left the headquarters, they found utter chaos. The families of the victims were protesting and shouting outside the station, and the Gendarmerie forces were struggling to secure the area to make way for the investigators.
Arenwald got into his car, and Ainliss sat beside him, then they moved again through the heavy rain.
Ainliss said:
"The footprints are gone, Arenwald. We won't find anything there."
Arenwald said, driving with focus, his eyes examining the roads:
"Certainly. But do you think someone kills a Mayor, his guard, and his servants merely to satisfy a personal urge?"
Ainliss remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice:
"You're right! Do you think he's looking for something?"
"Yes. Something very valuable."
Meanwhile, the Captain entered the room where Ethan was alone.
He shouted nervously:
"What are you doing here, tramp?!"
Ethan said with fear and hesitation:
"They... they left me here to watch their conversations."
The Captain shouted angrily at him:
"This fuckers! How can a witness monitor an investigation like this?"
Ethan said fearfully:
"I don't know..."
The Captain yelled furiously:
"Someone come and hold this tramp here!" The Commander approached to grab Ethan's arm, but Engainari suddenly entered.
Engainari said with cold respect:
"I was looking for him, sir. He is Arenwald's charge."
The Captain looked at him in surprise:
"Does that dog think he can do anything here without my knowledge?"
Engainari said in a tone that mixed respect and obvious fear of the Royal Investigators:
"Well, sir... the city is chaotic because of the crimes, you should listen to them."
The Captain said sharply, pointing to Ethan:
"If I see him roaming here again, I will jail him immediately!"
Engainari nodded calmly and took Ethan with him toward another room, leaving the Captain boiling with rage.
Minutes after the events inside the station, the focus returned to Arenwald and Ainliss in front of the massive Mayor's house under the rain...
The rain continued to fall coldly, the sound of it hitting the tiles resembled continuous weeping that enveloped the place.
Arenwald opened a huge black umbrella with faint gold engravings, shielding him from the watery wrath of the sky. He approached the gendarme who was guarding the palace entrance.
"Didn't you notice any movement here after we evacuated?" Arenwald asked.
The gendarme said, raising the collar of his wet coat:
"No, sir. Why are you here? Did you forget something?"
Arenwald said coldly:
"Yes. Open the door !."
The gendarme opened the heavy brass door for them. The two entered with quick steps onto the wet, muddy marble floor, which reflected the palace's faint lights. The palace was cold and desolate, as if groaning under the weight of the crime.
Ainliss cautiously opened the inner door, holding his long, drawn sword slowly, while Arenwald walked behind him, his hand gripping his pistol tightly.
Arenwald said in a very low voice, barely audible over the sound of the rain:
"You go up to the second floor. Check the bedrooms and the office. I will look for anything new here on the ground floor."
Ainliss nodded, then began ascending the wooden stairs. Arenwald remained alone, moving slowly, carefully observing the floor, searching for any sign of dryness or strange mud that might have clung to someone's shoes after the cleanup operation.
He walked through every room and corner of the house, finding nothing in the usual spots.
But he soon found a hidden wooden door leading downwards.
Arenwald began to step cautiously. Every step echoed clearly on the old pine wood, like drumming in the silence. His heart rate quickened, and fear began to consume him; the place was no longer just a crime scene but a potential ambush.
The strangest thing was that the wooden door leading to the basement was slightly ajar, and what added to his shock was that he found very fresh and clear footprints on the edge of the wooden stairs. The tracks were of mud only minutes old.
Arenwald took out his camera, which began flashing due to the crystals on it, and quickly took sequential photos of the tracks.
He muttered with muffled fear:
"Could it be... that I'll find him here? Did the killer return to complete his search?"
Arenwald gripped his weapon tightly and began moving. The lighting in the basement was pale yellow, and the atmosphere was heavy and frightening, smelling of dampness and fermented wine. The basement was filled with all types of old wine, lined up in long rows, like an army of silent bottles.
Between the rows of wine, Arenwald reached a dark corner. The pale lighting barely reached it, but he sensed something.
There, in the shadow, he found a small wooden box, placed on an old barrel. The box was not broken, but gently opened. It was completely empty.
Arenwald bent down. On the edge of the box, he saw a carefully carved drawing: it was not the inverted eye triangle, but a drawing of a snake wrapped around an apple.
Arenwald looked up at the dark ceiling and suddenly felt Ainliss's presence on the ground floor.
He knew now with certainty that the Mayor had not been killed in vain, and that the killer was searching for something important in the basement.
But, was the killer still in the basement? Arenwald raised his weapon and began moving between the rows of wine, anticipating any movement, knowing that his next step might be the final move in the deadly game of chess.