Alex got lucky – or half so, judging by what he got. There was a camera at the end of the road leading to the cursed lands but it was an old type camera. So the image was grainy and cutting, but better that than nothing, right?
The video showed the blurry silhouette of a man wearing a black coat with a hood, dragging one of the victims towards the forest surrounding the cursed lands. He had a hand on her mouth and was holding the battling woman as if she weighed nothing at all. Then they disappeared in the forest.
The couple spent the rest of the day at the forensic trying to enhance it better, so they could see the man's face or anything. At the end of the day, the only thing they got was the blurry little form of a sign that was on the man's coat. It was blurry bu still better than nothing. Alyssa tried to draw it,though, but she wasn't sure what it gave.
When the day was ending, Alyssa's phone buzzed with a new message. It was from the coroner, Dr. Harris.
[Something weird happened,] the message read. [You have to see this.]
"Alex, Dr Harris got something" Alex nodded understanding that they had to go. He quickly picked his coat abandoned what he was working on, and together, they made their way back to the morgue.
Dr. Harris greeted them at the door, his expression grave. "something weird happened after you left this morning," he said with a slightly disturbed expression, leading them to the autopsy table where the bodies laid.
Alyssa felt a chill run down her spine as Dr. Harris pulled back the sheets to reveal something unexpected. The bodies were covered in strange purple markings, intricate patterns that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light of the morgue.
"What are these?" Alyssa asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "they weren't there this morning"
Dr. Harris shook his head. "I'm not sure. They indeed weren't there when I performed the autopsies. It's as if they appeared afterwards; after you came. I ran some test but there are just nothing indicating it could be some after effect of a possible poisoning. So this is very strange."
Alyssa's mind raced. The strange markings, the precise wounds, the mysterious figure in the surveillance footage... It was all connected somehow, but how? And what did that mean?
Alyssa sat at her desk, reading through over the latest reports from the forensic team. The night had fallen but she was far from being tired. There had to be something they were missing. Why did this case feel so out of reach? Like the clues were skillfully hidden. But Alyssa knew that the perfect crime didn't exist and she was too stubborn to let go.
As she sifted through the reports of the interrogations, Alex approached, with his own stack of papers in his hand. "Any luck?" he asked, nodding towards the papers spread out in front of her.
Alyssa shook her head. "Not yet. But I'm not giving up. There has to be a clue somewhere."
Alex nodded in understanding. "We'll find it, Aly. We always do."
Just then, Alyssa's phone buzzed with a new message. It was from the forensic team, with an update on the surveillance footage. They had managed to enhance further the little image on the man's coat, it seemed like a symbol now that it was a bit clearer.
Alyssa's eyes squinted and her heart raced as she studied the symbol. She had seen this before – or something awfully alike. But it was not possible.
"What do you think this is?," Alex said, placing himself behind her to see the image better.
"That symbol... I've seen it before." Alyssa turned to him, a bit hesitant.
His curiosity piqued. "Where?"
"I have a book" She hesitated. "let's go to my apartment, I'll show you" she stood up, picked the file containing the details of their investigation and her vest. Alex did the same and together they exited the station. The cool night air hit their faces as soon as they set foot outside but Alyssa barely felt it. Many question were running her mind.
Alex drove Alyssa's car over to her apartment. A place he knew all to well, since he spent nights here.
"so what's this thing you have to show me?" he asked, closing the door behind him.
Alyssa went to her room, then reached into a drawer in her wardrobe and pulled out an old book. "My Grads gave me this long ago. He said it was a book of legends and myths, but I never paid much attention to it."
Alex frowned but allowed her to develop. They both sat on her bed as she flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "Here, I was sure I had seen it before, it's very alike." she said, pointing to a faded illustration of the symbol. "It's said here that it's an ancient vampire sigil, used by clans to mark their territory."
Alex squinted "Vampires? Don't be silly, baby"
But Alyssa shook her head. "Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that vampires exist. I am just saying that it's possible that whoever is doing this, might be trying to reproduce some kind of weird fantasy. It could help for the profile."
Alex's found that it made a little bit of sense. "so we have to focus on finding some deranged guy who likes to play vampire?"
"it might have a link"
"I think, we are not even sure that this symbols are the same. So we should rather focus on the concrete. On finding out more information about that man. It might just be a coincidence that it looks alike" he said, his voice gentle. "the cursed people might have some answers to give too." seeing that she wasn't answering and that her gaze had closed off he sighed. "You should take a shower and rest. Tomorrow we will think clearer, okay?"
Alyssa pressed her lips tight, putting back her book in her drawer. She did as he said, removed her clothes and went into the bathroom. Alex decided to join her later.
Alyssa was a woman of reason. She acted on facts and evidence and not on feelings and rumors. When she had an idea in mind it was hard to get it out. It's no problem if Alex didn't believe her because the story did sound mythical but it was also a possibility. They might be going after a deranged person and maybe that person was hiding at the cursed lands, in the end, they're still on the same path. At least, one thing was sure, she wouldn't give up on their investigation, whoever it was, she'll find them and stop them.