"Somewhat familiar," Klein admitted, frowning as he tapped his brow twice to close his spirit vision. The conflicting sensations of strangeness and recognition made him feel displaced, like when he'd first arrived in this world.
"I understand."
"Captain, this is a local patrol officer." Kenley escorted an officer into the room. The man fought down his nausea, taking three seconds to study the deceased's features.
"Sorry, I don't recognize her. If you don't object, I need to question the neighboring tenants with my colleague." The officer rushed through his words and bolted from the room, joining Klein at the stairway window to vomit.
"Suicide or homicide?" Dunn asked Frye.
"Dead at least five days. No external injuries, no obvious supernatural influence. Can't determine cause without proper autopsy." Frye's expression remained clinical. "I can't gather more information here."
Dunn nodded as police reinforcements arrived outside, beginning door-to-door inquiries in pairs.
"Katie Stephana Bieber, fifty-five to sixty years old, widow. She and her son Riel Bieber rented here for over ten years."
"Her late husband was a jeweler. Her son is about thirty, unmarried, inherited the business. Weekly salary around one pound fifteen soli. According to neighbors, neither has been seen for over a week." The officer reported his findings to Captain Dunn.
"So the damned Antigonus notebook is with Riel Bieber now?" Kenley stuffed tissue paper in his nostrils, his voice muffled.
Breathing through his mouth helped avoid the nauseating smell.
"Do you have his photograph?" Dunn asked the officer.
"I can check, but without a criminal record, it's unlikely." The officer struggled against his churning stomach before rushing back to the window he'd never forget.
"Old Neil, scan the environment. Try to divine Riel Bieber's appearance," Captain Dunn said, stepping from the room. "Otherwise we'll have to rely on witness descriptions, which I don't trust."
Old Neil nodded, producing bottles of powder from his robe and sprinkling them around Katie's body. He then arranged several potions in a circle around himself.
Everyone retreated beyond the doorway, watching Old Neil prepare his complex ritual.
He closed his eyes, lips moving as he recited in ancient Hermes:
"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos
and more eternal than eternity.
The Mother of Concealment,
The Empress of Misfortune and Horror,
Mistress of Repose and Silence...
"I pray for the Goddess's power.
I pray for Night's favor.
I pray that You reveal to me the appearance of this poor woman Katie Stephana Bieber's son.
"Night vanilla, herb of the red moon, lend power to my incantation!
Moon flower, herb of the red moon, lend power to my incantation!"
His eyes turned pitch black. Drawing an ink pen and paper, he began sketching rapidly. Minutes later, he exhaled and swayed, seemingly drained by the ritual's demands.
"Praise the Goddess."
"Praise the Goddess." The entire team drew the four-pointed symbol of the red moon across their chests.
"Black hair, blue eyes, full porcelain dental work on the left side," Old Neil reported.
"That should suffice." Dunn nodded. "Frye, arrange forensic transport. We'll continue the autopsy at headquarters and search for additional clues."
"The rest return with me."
"Captain, may I remain to observe?" Kenley asked. "I find myself... interested in corpses."
He immediately wanted to slap himself for those words.
"I'll respect your interests," Captain Dunn replied, his mouth twitching slightly. "Everyone else, follow me."
"Interests, eh?" Frye instructed officers to prepare body bags and the morgue carriage, then draped an arm around Kenley's shoulder. "I didn't expect such progressive thinking from you. Fancy spending an evening with a fresh female corpse? I could arrange a very clean room."
"Damn it, you just touched the corpse without washing your hands!" Kenley pushed away Frye's hand with his index finger.
Frye blinked. "Ah, forgot. 'Corpse Collectors' don't contract diseases from putrid fluids, so..."
Despite this, he turned on the tap, washing his hands and arms thoroughly before drying them with a nearby curtain, which he then discarded with disgust.
A white carriage arrived below. Two medical examiners in white coats and crow-beak protective masks climbed up, greeting Frye professionally before bagging Katie's corpse and carrying it away.
Kenley opened the windows, creating cross-ventilation that gradually freshened the stale air.
"What are you looking for?" Frye asked curiously as Kenley peered outside, scanning left and right.
"I'm thinking," Kenley mused aloud. "Klein had the notebook for only two or three days and suffered memory problems. Katie's been dead five days, and neighbors haven't seen Bieber for a week."
"You mean Bieber's had the Antigonus notebook for over three days—he may be severely affected by now," Frye nodded. "Sound reasoning."
"Klein received the notebook, but it made him give it to Riel Bieber. This suggests the notebook has its own intelligence—not unusual in the extraordinary world."
"Why Riel Bieber specifically? Could he have some connection to the Antigonus family?"
"Blood relation?" Frye speculated.
"Possibly." Kenley felt the breeze, his thoughts expanding. Suddenly alert, he stepped onto the windowsill and leaped out, gripping the frame with his right hand while his left carefully collected several pale yellow strands from the nearby water pipe joint.
This was not human hair.