Where to begin?

  Detective Fraulein kept asking herself that very question, since the moment she stepped into the manor to the hours dipping past midnight. Even as the coroner and her group have removed the body to bring back to the morgue, the detective found herself more or less stranded on an island with no way out, metaphorically.

  Usually she gets an inspiration of where to take the first step but...something about this very case made her feel overwhelmed.

  "...God damn it. How much rooms does a man need? There's enough for a party of 20 to sleep off their drinking session. And that's just the first floor!"

  Simply put, the manor was big enough for the owner to make a killing out of his own Air BnB services. Maybe if he lived and played on the fact it was a scene of a ‘murder’, might even sell a couple of tickets for particular folks for a private tour. Real life crime story locales or haunted mansions so to speak. The benefits of its size were immense, but given the circumstances the scale was only a major detriment for the investigators.

  Hence why Detective Fraulein didn't know where to start with her investigation. That moment when people become paralyzed when presented with too many choices.

  She had 1/4 of the police station at her disposal and felt it wasn’t enough. Even if she called in more to make it 2/4, she felt the minimum time frame of completing initial sweeps would be early morning next day.

  It's not like she was in a rush to go home and sleep just...all this blank stalling in her head was giving her a migraine. So she relieved some of the tension with some therapeutic shouting (very effective).

  "Officer Roland!...Officer Roland!...Where are you! I need a sitrep!"

  “Ma’am! Yes Ma’am! Coming down right now!” Officer Roland could be found racing down the stair well. He had to, because it was too damn long for a slow jog.

  As he descended he gave a makeshift report. “Second floor is completely trashed. No room spared. We found the owner’s private study – just as big of a mess. Can’t tell if the suspects were having a Black Friday sales or what, almost anything that wasn’t bolted was swiped clean.”

  Detective Fraulein was afraid of this, then she thought, “What about safes? Surely a man living in such a fancy place would have a vault full of gold coins like something out of a cartoon. Big enough to swim in it if I were to imagine.”

  “That’s just the thing, Ma’am. There are safes, but they’re all totalled.”

  “Explain.”

  “They—Jesus, how many steps does this stair have!?—They found a couple of safes large and small, all bashed up and cracked open like clams in a buffet table. Everything that was supposed to be locked inside, all gone. Not even a single money bill was spared—UWOOP!?”

  “For the love of—Watch your step you clumsy fool!”

  Officer Roland always believed himself to be a careful man. ‘Believed’. So whenever an accident ever fell on his shoulder, or in this case his feet, he would always blame it on the elements – or act of God.

  So he wasn’t at all prepared to slip up at the finishing line of the long stairs. Flop, bang, boom!

  “AAaaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAaaaaaah...My back.”

  “Officer Roland. I know it’s snowing outside and all, but I specifically told EVERYONE to wipe their damn feet dry before stepping into my crime scene. So don’t you be billing this incident for work safe compensation.”

  “B-but Ma’am! I swear! I wiped my boots properly AND I have foot covers on! I...Oh crap. I broke something.”

  “I’m not calling the ambulance for you.”

  “N-no it’s not a bone! I-it’s this tablet!”

  Officer Roland gasped from the sin he just committed. Murdering a human being was one thing, but smashing apart a perfectly good computer tablet was a felony in itself. What was supposed to be a beautiful 11 inch screen device – that could play games, listen to music, watch online videos, and use computer programs on the go – was what classy chefs called ‘deconstructed’.

  If this tablet was a patient rolled into the hospital: they have a cracked black eye and its spine was snapped in two – perfect 90 degree fold. Hardware organs sticking out like a war wound.

  Computer lovers, you may scream.

  “Officer Roland, what is with you and your luck?”

  "M-Ma'am! I-I swear, I didn’t break it on purpose! A-and where did this come from!?"

  "Probably one of Stone's team or something... Hey, Forensics! any of you dropped an office tablet on the floor? Well we found it, Roland crushed it under his boot!"

  "De-Detective! Accident or not, d-don't just throw me under the bus like that! I won’t be buried with a flag over my coffin if they up and strangle me for this! I didn’t mean to break it!"

  Officer Roland half expected for even modern scientists to go full medieval to tar and feather him for what he has done. And he clenched his body up to brace against a slap on the shoulder or even a 'damn you' shove.

  ...Nothing.

  In fact, the forensic team don’t recognize it. And they don’t need to double check, because the model they were using was sleeker, more advanced, higher processing power, and well protected with military grade casings and anti-cracking screen covers.

  "...Ma'am. If this doesn't belong to forensics...could it be one of ours?"

  "Officer Roland, I'll be real with you. If I ever caught you whipping out your 11 inch computer from your pockets, while on duty, I would shoot you.”

  "...Fair point."

  "Even if this was police equipment, only a detective like me would have it out. And that's definitely not mine... Where did you find it exactly?"

  Officer Roland stuttered before he pointed where he found the device.

  The finish line of the stair race. Why, it happened to be the exact spot where the officer slipped and fell on his back. And now that they got a better look at it, the staircase itself was rather close to the foyer, practically pointing at it.

  If a kid was crazy enough, they could drive their toboggan down the stairs like a ramp, launch themselves right through the hall, and fly out front door and into the snow.

  Given with what the investigators have seen so far, looked like the foyer seen the most action.

  “Ma’am,” Officer Roland wondered, “You think this belongs to the victim?"

  “Seriously?” Detective Fraulein couldn't help a scoff, "You think the suspects brought their tablet to ‘work’. Come on.”

  “Then why is it still here? Almost anything that may have been valuable has been swiped clean from their shelves and places. Who knows how much of a haul the suspects brought with them. Why not steal this tablet along with their catch?”

  “Can’t you see the thing is broken, duh?”

  “Yeah, but I know a guy who knows a guy who also knows a guy who would KILL to get their hands on those kind of computer parts. Like the case is all busted up, but the chips and doohickeys are still in good condition, right?”

  Detective Fraulein didn’t voice it, but Officer Roland made a good point. She turned and rotated the broken tablet about in her hands, as if trying to figure out which is the proper orientation of the screen.

  “Well Officer, judging by the chaos left behind, I doubt these suspects were much of professionals. Even if they were, they must have panicked after killing the owner and grabbed whatever they could in the heat of the moment. If I were them, the last thing I would think about is picking up a piece of computer garbage – not worth the effort, you know?”

  “...True.” Officer Roland rubbed the back of his gloved hand across his chin to process that. “Ma’am, may I take a look at it?”

  What do you do when you find a tablet laying on the ground? You turn it on, right? Or at least hit the power button to open the lock screen and figure out who it belongs to, right?

  That’s exactly what Officer Roland did. However, given the state of the tablet’s body it was near impossible to—

  OH! IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE! IT’S...Oh yeah no, it’s definitely dead. Totally.

  Officer Roland’s shoulders sagged, “Worth a shot.”

  Detective Fraulein swiped the evidence back into her grip, “You’re lucky neither of you spontaneously combusted! Anyway, get this bagged up and sent straight to I.T. Surely with all their gadgets and Silicon Valley brains they could figure out a way to retrieve the data."

  "Yes, Ma'am." Officer Roland nodded and he gestured for someone to hand him an evidence bag. While waiting he couldn't help but ask, "Still. This is one hell of a collateral damage."

  "Agreed. Casing or not, these things are made to withstand a fall even from shoulder height. As if tablets and zPads these days would fold over like a beach towel on impact... Thoughts, Officer?"

  "Uh... Shield? Mace?"

  "Speak English, not L.A.R.P."

  Officer Roland took a moment to translate his ideas into modern English, "Assuming this belonged to the victim: let's say, the bad guys broke in; surprised the victim while he was, I don't know playing puzzle game or something, it would be instincts to hit an intruder with whatever you have your hands on, right?"

  Detective Fraulein toyed with the thought in her mind before responding, "Go on."

  "So what if, the victim – whoever he was – used his tablet to, you know, block a fist or a crowbar. Much like a shield. O-or maybe instead of going on the defensive, he strikes out to scare off the attacker!"

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  "...One – if the victim was doing something on his tablet during the moment his manor was broken into, don't you think the screen would be facing himself? Look: the screen is smashed in. I doubt any human being would flip the tablet around and use screen first to block a deadly blow."

  "Point...taken."

  "In saying that, Officer Roland, I do give you partial marks on the mace part. If not to block an attack, maybe the victim's tablet was used to club someone."

  To emphasize, Detective Fraulein stole the tablet out of the Officer's grip and tried to club him with it herself!

  HE HAS COURTED DEATH!

  "JESUS!" Only for Officer Roland to gasp when he realized it was all just a feint. "Yeah, that would definitely fold that sucker like a book."

  "Not just once," Detective Fraulein added, "But multiple times. Look how smashed up this thing is. If I didn't know better, it might have been one hell of a fight before the guy ended up like chewed Safari carcass."

  Finally an evidence bag was provided and the detective stowed it away before it became expose to any more elements...or used in a pseudo-murder.

  "By the way," Detective Fraulein asked once the piece of evidence was taken out of her grasp. "Who call it in? The one who reported the murder?"

  “Well Detective. Riddle me this: I come to your door but never stay, bringing words from far away. What am I?”

  “Someone who wants to carpool with the corpse.”

  “...S-sorry Ma’am.”

  Professor Stone was searching outside.

  Normally he would dedicate the hours into looking inside and around the house for clues before they go missing or overlooked. However, the weather forecast gave bad news and mentioned of an upcoming snow storm. Granted, they can be wrong but...why take the chance?

  Before the elements got out of hand, Prof. Stone thought it would be best to sweep the manor grounds for any evidence before it gets lost and buried in the snow. The house interior would be well protected, practically preserved, but anything outside was a different story.

  That was until he was asked an important question.

  “The answer to the riddle? Well, Detective, that would be a mailman.”

  “Oh god damn it!”

  Prof. Stone and Detective Fraulein were standing under a tree. No, they weren’t K-I-S-S-I-N-G, oh hell no. Neither was it a romance scene playing out in a classic school romance manga. It’s because it was the best shed to hide from the snow, like rain. Duh.

  Detective Fraulein blew steam into her bare fingers and kept rubbing them together. “The call came in earlier in the day around noon. The caller was doing his delivery when he found the door left open. Like any curious creature, he poked his nose where it didn’t belong and... Well by the time first responders arrive, they found the mailman blowing chunks.”

  “Well that explains that one flower pot. Guess we can remove that off the list of things to examine.”

  “Speaking of list, Stone. What’s your status?”

  Prof. Stone let out a sigh, a train of smoke rolling out of the tunnel of his mouth, “I can’t tell if I’m 50% done or 10% done. So much ground to cover and the weather isn’t giving us time to check everything. And we have to tread lightly as the snow is starting to hide everything.”

  “What have you found so far?”

  “Still can’t confirm how many people were involved in this crime, but my team did find at least one trail of foot prints. Came running out of the front door, through the grass, down the dirt hill, and onto the streets. As for any others, they all could have raced down the stone steps and leave very little prints for us.”

  Detective Fraulein pinched her nose bridge, “Any signs of a get away car?”

  Prof. Stone shook his head, “I found nothing like a vehicle parked in the drive way or speeding off from the sidewalk. Either their escape was parked somewhere else, or they drove away slowly to avoid leaving tread marks – which I doubt the latter... Any witnesses?”

  “Pffft. What witnesses?” A swarm of steam burst out from the detective’s nose when she snorted, “Manor on the left is gone on a cruise. Manor on the right has been empty and for sale for weeks! And across the street is nothing but hills, trees, and a lake! I doubt forest critters can tell me anything!”

  “What about neighbourhood cameras? Surely in a rich residence like this, there would be that kind of around the clock surveillance right?”

  “Yeah, but you know how fickle private security companies can be. It’s going to take at least half a month before they go ‘Okay here you go, officers, enjoy!’...Ffff.”

  Prof. Stone let his friend cuss under her breath. Meanwhile he eyed the night sky, at the snow that’s falling down from the heaven. He wondered, if this was some sort of challenge by fate, to test these investigators of their mettle. Or, did the heavens themselves witness something and are trying to hide it from them?

  ...Hah. Sounds like something Martial Kim would be thinking about? Right?

  Has it been that long? Taking the young master as his protege. Sure the forensic chemist shared a lot of his knowledge, but in return he learned even more than he could imagine from Martial Kim. It was like, they formed a symbiotic bond...as ridiculous as it sound.

  So it made sense the forensic chemist felt lonely, even when he was in company of his best friend the detective.

  “Stone. If you miss Kung Fu Boy so much, why don’t you just bring him...Oh right. Keekee.”

  “Honestly Fraulein. I’m not crippled, but I feel like I’m missing a limb without Kim. In saying that, I don’t want play the part of a villain and take him away from more important matters. Besides, Keekee doesn’t have much people she could call friends.”

  “Man...This is such a drag. First her accident, then this murder. All of this is giving me a new type of headache...And it’s so weird, I was just talking to Keekee about a day ago too. Just...man.”

  Prof. Stone didn’t know what else to say to soften the situation. Not to mention, they have a job to do, so they couldn’t exactly dilly dally. Especially when the snow was working against them.

  “By the way, Fraulein. What’s that in your hand?”

  “Huh? Oh this? Ah. Just a tablet we found in the manor. Thought Officer Roland broke it, but as you can see—”

  “Yeah, it’s seen better days... Where in the building did you find this?”

  The detective gave the forensic chemist the gist of the story. Yes, she included the whole thing about a certain officer falling on his ass. She expected to get a laugh from her friend, but instead she noticed brows furrowing.

  “H-hey, Stone. What’s the matter? Can’t take a joke? And it’s not like you were on the receiving end of that laugh.”

  “No no it’s just... You found a tablet near the foyer, right? Well I happened to stumble onto a bag. A hip pouch to be exact. It just so happened to have been swept under a drawer, in the foyer.”

  “Y-you found what!? Why didn’t you say anything before! Come on, where is it! I want to see this myself!”

  Prof. Stone didn’t waste any time showing the way for Detective Fraulein. He had to act as her guide, the snow practically covered up any obvious trails to wherever they parked their vehicles. Fortunately it wasn’t as bad as a blinding blizzard, or else the two of them could have gone in circles in a matter of minutes.

  Evidence Truck Number 3, that is the one they’re looking for.

  Prof. Stone and Detective Fraulein had a couple of guards to help open up the back and allowed them to sort through the many clear totes and bins. Dragging one out, they dug through the collection of evidence they’ve picked up from inside of the manor, each of them individually sealed in specialized Ziploc style bags.

  “Should be somewhere in this bin,” Prof. Stone mumbles as he grabbed one item out of the tote after another. “I placed it inside personally.”

  “What the hell!” Detective Fraulein suddenly snapped.

  “Please, don’t rush me. I guess the hip pouch is at the very bottom, buried under everything else. Just need to—”

  “Who’s the idiot who left this in evidence!?”

  “...What was that, Detective?”

  Prof. Stone snapped out from his searching when he realized Detective Fraulein had her eyes on something else. Why, she was glaring at one of the other evidence bags he had removed so he could free up space and dig at the bottom of the barrel. Before he could say a word, the detective snatched it up and started to wave it around in the air.

  “Alright!” She barked out loud, “Which one of you knuckle heads left this lying around? Speak up? Officer Roland? Officer Tanner? Who? Who the hell left their crap all over my crime scene!?”

  “Wh-whoa, whoa, whoa.” Prof. Stone waved, “Detective Fraulein. Wh-what is the matter?”

  “This, Stone! This! Can you believe the idiot who left this thing lying around. If I hadn’t spotted it, it would have been mistaken as actual evidence!”

  No one wanted to admit it, but Prof. Stone pretty much knew Detective like an open book. He worked with her long enough to memorize not only every letter on the pages of her mind, but even the way the pages turn whenever she sighed or frown. This allowed him to know what buttons to press, or what landmines to side step with ease.

  So seeing Detective Fraulein blow up like this without warning, made him question her sanity.

  “...Fraulein. Relax. It’s just an umbrella. What’s got you so worked up?”

  “This isn’t just any umbrella, Stone. It’s a police umbrella!”

  “...H-how can you tell, at a glance even?”

  “Because this has our station’s emblem on it! See, on the cover!? This is a limited edition fold up umbrella that were given out as prizes from games and events during our station’s anniversary function. Only cops would have this. This shouldn’t be in an evidence bag in the first place!”

  “...So what? You think one of your officers just left it about, like it was a phone or clipboard?”

  “No duh! Probably left it on a table or, or on a couch. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hung it in the manor’s umbrella rack to get the snow and water off it! Idiots!”

  Prof. Stone absorbed the information into his gut, digested it, and then he turned the evidence bag around to show it’s label, “One of my techs stated, it was found on the ground. Near the pool of blood. Close to the victim.”

  Detective Fraulein had dumbstruck look on her face, a rare one, “Wait. There is no way any right minded officer would put their umbrella down next to the body like that and do something else like tie their boot lace!”

  “And if you haven’t noticed yet, it’s quite broken. See? One of the umbrella frame is disconnected.”

  “..............................................”

  “...D-Detective Fraulein? Did you hear me? Are you alright?”

  “Stone...This is my umbrella.”

  Now it was Prof. Stones turn to give a double take, a rare one. Some how those simple words struck him harder than a bullet from a handgun, fired point blank. Where it struck? He had no clue, because he felt the internal damages all over.

  “Impossible,” Detective Fraulein hissed as she turned the evidence bag in her hands. “This is really my umbrella! How would I know – it’s because I won this in a bingo game! Just when I pulled it out of it’s plastic wrap, I found one of the frames already broken – a gimp arm! I asked for a new one, but they told me I got the last one! They only made 30 of them... So-so how did my umbrella landed in MY crime scene!?”

  “Detective. Let’s take a deep breath. I don’t think you’re in any trouble just, breathe. In...Out...In...Out...Now think carefully: are you sure you didn’t bring it with you into the manor and left it somewhere?”

  “Of course I’m sure, Stone! In fact, it’s impossible for this to show up now of all times!”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I lent it to someone!”

  “Who?”

  “..........................................................................”

  “Detective. Who borrowed your umbrella? Surely you have a name right? It’s not like you would loan your limited edition prize to a random strange right? Who was it?”

  “..............................Stone. Find the hip pouch.”

  “F-Fraulein? Why the panic?”

  “Shut UP and find the hip pouch! Quick! Do it! Do it!”

  Prof. Stone didn’t expect this surprise page to appear out of no where, this twist ending in the book call Detective Fraulein. Forced into a corner he quickly dug through everything inside the tote bin like a dog searching desperately for its bone!

  Bingo! Found.......ooooooooooh.

  “Stone. What’s inside the hip pouch? I said: what’s inside the pouch!...Answer me!”