The world traveling private eye

by slade017

What it says in the title basically, warning this story isn't for everyone and has an OC as one of the main characters. Will have some dark themes as well

2. Chapter 2

The world traveling private eye 2

E

Daniel drove in the rain again much to his displeasure 'all that time but I still haven't figured out the red seeds, and now other worldly forces are at work in these killings, what do they want, how is this all connected? Perhaps this town will give me a clue? Out in the country, it could be a nice change of pace if nothing else.'

Daniel then saw a man in a red coat right in the middle of the road, he swerved to avoid him and wound up driving through the woods and his car was now wrapped around a tree. 'Of course' he thought 'second hand from Mad Jack's junkyard but still I just got that car' he got out and gathered what relevant belongings he could and left the rest to pick up later.

He walked onto the forest trail and heard a dog yelping in the distance, when he got there he saw the thing had been mauled. Daniel then started to sense the dark aura all around him and called out his keyblade.

"Looks like I'm getting an Other Worldly welcome, I should say hi back." Daniel kept on walking with his keyblade ready at any moment. He saw someone or something that looked humanoid walk into a cabin just up ahead. Daniel went on but saw nothing in there, but he did see the controls for the power grid. He pressed the 'on' button and felt the presence behind him. He looked and saw a decayed female corpse with no eyes and a torn open mouth. Daniel swung his keyblade and decapitated the thing coming towards him.

Daniel went outside and saw the sky had changed into a foreboding orange color.

"YOU!"

There were two more corpses in the same state as the first and these two were carrying lead pipes. Daniel cut through them both and went through a gate that was on the right path. "Looks like another interesting case, maybe one with all the answers."

Daniel walked down the walkway and more corpses were there to greet him, he tried running and only knocking most of them down, they weren't that threatening but they had numbers on their side, it was like there was no end to them.

Daniel used the keyblade to get through a gate in his way and continued. Then his reflexes made him dodge roll to the side, a good call since the same guy that ran him off the road had come up behind him and attempted to split him in two with a large axe. He laughed in a distorted voice and disappeared.

"Either these people have an undead Spartan Welcoming Committee, or someone really doesn't want me here" said Daniel. He went through a gate covered with red Ivy and then red vines grew and blocked him from going back that way. The road was ahead of him though so he didn't mind. Daniel got to the main road and ran the rest of the way to bridge to see someone waiting for him.

A woman got out of a police car, she was blonde and around his height with a sheriffs badge. "You are late, almost thought you weren't coming."

"You have me at a disadvantage the one that called said nothing about being in law enforcement" said Daniel.

"Your client, Sallie Graham" she responded "she informed us you'd be coming and given your skill I recommended we cooperate in this case, it's the first murder that's ever happened here."

"Good it goes a lot smoother when I have police cooperation. Sorry where are my manners, I'm Daniel Ignis Renko, private investigator."

"Emily Wyatt, the deputy Sheriff of Greenvale" she responded "George is the Sherriff; he went looking for you not too long ago."

"I see."

"You didn't run all the way here carrying all that stuff by any chance did you?"

"No, some idiot got in the middle of the road, I swerved to avoid him and now my car is wrapped around a tree" said Daniel "luckily nothing was broken." The sun came up really illuminating Emily's features. 'Perhaps this won't be so bad, she is quiet a looker.'

"Welcome to Greenvale" said a man's voice, Daniel turned around to see a man in his early forties in classic Sherriff attire with a black leather jacket "I'm the Sherriff, George Woodman, call me George."

'Hopefully they're more competent than Blake or Perry' "Daniel Ignis Renko, private investigator" Daniel introduced himself. He could feel the dislike already.

"I'm curious, why is a famous detective like you so interested in a small town homicide?"

"Famous or not I'm a private detective" said Daniel "if a client calls and presents me with a case I will often take it no matter how trivial it might sound, although investigating a murder is never trivial. Rest assured I'm not here to takeover your work."

"No of course not I just wanted to set the record straight" said George "our town has its share of problems, I'm the one that fixes them one by one keeping law and order, you can do your investigation but I need you to remember that."

"Yes of course, well I think I'll go and check into the local hotel or motel if there is one; then I can assist in this investigation" said Daniel.

"Look I don't know how to say this but we don't really need your help, unlike your corrupt city cops I do things by the book, I hope to come to appreciate that."

"Yes but you have also never dealt with a murder before" said Daniel "experienced help will do the investigation a lot of good, that is why I was called right?"

"Perhaps but we can handle things, you can "assist" but your just a consultant, we can handle the investigation. Consider this a kind of vacation instead; you don't have to be a tree hugger to appreciate the wildlife here."

"Will do" 'police don't like having me around check, suspicious murder or threat attempt, check, being attacked by actual zombies, that's new.'

Daniel loaded his things into the car and was driven to the only hotel in the town. Daniel went to sleep after being put through a lot recently. He woke up in a forest of red trees, red leaves all over the floor and all kinds of furniture. Then there were twin angel boys talking to each other in arm chairs, they turned to him.

"No more lies."

"Here you will find out the truth.

"Here and the next place anyway."

Daniel woke up and he was back in his hotel room. 'Either I ate cheese right before bed or that was supposed to mean something. Ah well I need to be at the station either way, but first some breakfast.' He got dressed and headed for the dining room and saw Poly Oxford the one that owned the place.

"Good morning Mr. Renko, your breakfast is ready."

"Where's everyone else?" asked Daniel. The large room was deserted except for the two of them.

"You're the only other guest here dear, now go on and sit down and I'll get your breakfast out."

"A hotel with only one guest, even in the slow season there should be more than that" Daniel pondered as he sat down at a very long table. Breakfast was served and Poly sat at the other end of the long table.

"How is everything Mr. Renko?"

"Delicious Polly, thank you."

"I'm hoping it will bring back repeat guests, no-one seems to stay here too often."

"Back to that Polly I noticed we're the only ones here, why is that?"

"What, what was that? The salt is in the white shaker there."

"Yes thank you, I wondering why there aren't any other guests or employees here!"

"Just me no-one else, my husband and I used to run this place but he's in Heaven now."

"You've been maintaining this place by yourself since then?"

"Oh my, we're all out of pepper, I'm very sorry."

"It must be hard having to run this place by yourself!"

"Oh it is, I could just live on my pension but I have to admit…running this place is kind of like a hobby of mine."

"Alright, Polly it would help if you could sit a little closer" said Daniel.

"Oh my Mr. Renko, you're embarrassing me! So early in the day too, I think I'm a little old for you. And I still love my departed husband god rest his soul. I appreciate the invitation but I'm fine over here."

"Polly, I can hardly hear you from over here" said Daniel.

"You are exaggerating this is fine. It won't do to be all clumped together with such a large table and cafeteria. We have to make use of all this space."

"I think I see why her husband killed himself" Daniel muttered to himself.

"Now to me that cut on your face how did that happen?"

Daniel had that scar on his forehead so long he often forgot it was there "I've had it for as long as I can remember Polly, it's nothing big!"

"Oh my no need to be such a tough guy. I want you to be able to relax here; I've even prepared a special room for you, a famous rock star once stayed in that same room you know?"

"Why thank you, Polly what can you tell me about the town and its history?"

"Oh Greenvale is a very nice place surrounded by nature, but it does rain here a lot although that doesn't repel visitors that much. Not too long ago we used to have a thriving lumber industry."

"You used to?"

"Oh yes back then we had a population of around 6000 people but about 10% of that is left now. Back then this place saw plenty of guests, we had so many we didn't have enough rooms for all."

"So that's why this place is so big for such a small town" said Daniel. 'Note to self research that lumber mill later for any severe accidents involving the Graham family.'

"I suppose the clock tower at the community center is famous as well" said Polly.

"The clock?"

"Oh yes its quite lovely, it rings in the morning and night to let everyone know the time."

"I look forward to hearing it then."

"Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Yes, could you tell me about the kind of businesses there are in town?"

"The kind of businesses, well let's see, we have the Milk Barn Convenience Store, the A&G Diner that's a good place to eat you should definitely get a meal there while you're here, we have two bars but I don't think you're old enough for either of those yet, we also have a gas station, an art gallery, and even a gunsmith, you should have no problem finding what you need."

"Thank you for that Polly, do you sell any maps of the town?"

"I'll have one out for you in a moment along with your coffee."

"The best coffee you have please, the last stuff I had to live on was free for a good reason" said Daniel.

"I understand" said Polly; she brought him back a map of the town and a fresh cup of coffee.

"Ah finally, someone who understands coffee is not meant to taste like a pile of-"

"M-Mr. Renko…"

"Hmm…" there was a nervous looking policeman near the table.

"Thomas, Thomas MacLaine, the Sherriff sent me to pick you up."

"I see, that was unexpected, okay just give me a couple of minutes to finish my coffee" said Daniel.

"Y-yes of course sir."

Daniel finished up and went with Thomas to his car. "I have to say it's an honor to be working with you Mr. Renko."

"Really, most people in law enforcement take a very different view."

"I'm a big a fan of yours sir, I've followed a lot of your cases" said Thomas as he started the car "with you here the murderer should be caught soon, I mean you caught the Origami Killer in three days."

"So I did but with everyone in this town knowing each other, the case might be more difficult, people could start covering for their friends who will cover for there's."

"This town has more values than that, I assure you."

"I hope so the sooner the killer is caught the better."

They arrived at the police station, pretty small one story building but decent for a small town.

"Mr. Renko I was told to lead you to the conference room."

"Good and before I go can I get a look at Anna's file?" asked Daniel.

"Yes, but I've lost the key to the filing cabinet."

"That's not a problem; just show me to the filing room."

"Right this way then" Thomas led him right there "it should be in this draw but again there's no-wah, hey who turned out the lights!?"

Daniel cast a blind spell on him and activated his keyblade and used it to unlock the lock on the filing cabinet. He deactivated the keyblade and lifted the spell "oh good it's open, can I have the file now?"

"Uhh okay" Thomas got it for him "maybe I should see an Ophthalmologist later" he muttered.

"Now to the conference room, would you gather the others?"

"Of course right away" Thomas went off and Daniel set up in the conference room. Emily and Thomas soon entered with more files.

"The victim was Anna Graham, the daughter of your client Sallie Graham" said Emily "age 18, she just recently graduated from high school this year, her dream was to move out to the big city to become a model. But for the time being she was working at the A&G Diner here in town."

"What about her father?" asked Daniel.

"He died in a lumber mill accident when Anna was a child" said Emily. Daniel wrote that down and knew to visit that pace when he had the chance; it was a slim lead but still a lead. "Her mother is currently unemployed, and lives on the insurance money from her late husband's accident. After all it's a small town with a low cost of living; financially they were pretty well off and lived average lives."

"Exactly what a teenager doesn't want" said Daniel.

"Speaking from experience?" asked Emily.

"In a sense" said Daniel; he tried the biscuit that was put in front of him "whoa, now this is a good biscuit, where do you get these things?"

"Well actually I…baked those myself" said Thomas.

"Then what are you doing in law enforcement, these are amazing" said Daniel "then again law enforcement agencies need better cooks."

"Everyone" George came in "the autopsy is ready, Mr. Renko you are welcome to come along to provide any insight on the body you can."

"Gladly" said Daniel.

"You might think this is just a small town police investigation, but our investigation is thorough and solid, I hope you won't slow us down."

"Actually the fact its small is good for me, less bureaucracy to get in the way" said Daniel.

"Right, Thomas you stay here and clean up these files, Emily you come with us."

They got outside and around the back to Emily's patrol car "the Greenvale hospital is too far to walk from here, get in the car."

"Very well, since I don't know my way around for the moment this will be quicker" said Daniel.

"By the way Mr. Renko your involvement in this case is limited that means you don't have to learn your way around town."

"If I'm hunting a killer George than learning my way around is a must."

"Only one person has been killed, that's not a serial killer."

"But it's still a kill" said Daniel "and I take all murder cases very seriously."

"You two we need to get moving" said Emily.

"Coming!" Daniel got in the back seat while George got in the driver's seat a real symbol for who was in charge. They started off to the hospital and Daniel went over the files he got looking for anything else that might be a good lead.

"Mr. Renko, I can't help but notice you prefer to work alone" said George.

"Most of the time."

"Don't you ever got lonely; you're only what, 20?"

"19" Daniel corrected.

"And you drive all over the country alone and the only company you keep are serial killers, doesn't your family have anything to say about that?"

"They're mostly law enforcers so we don't talk much" said Daniel.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked George.

"George I've been doing this long enough to see that most everyone in law enforcement has a low opinion of me and my profession" said Daniel "even with my track record most police are reluctant to have me in their town, I don't take it personally though it's something you get used to pretty quickly."

"So why keep at it?" asked Emily.

"Because I'm good at it."

"You can't have time for relationships then" said Emily.

"I try to stay away from those actually the last one didn't go that well" said Daniel.

"How did that go wrong?" asked George.

"It turned out she was the serial killer I was looking for" said Daniel "and once I figured that out she stabbed me and stole my car."

"Are you being serious?" asked Emily.

"I wish I wasn't" said Daniel "is that it?" he asked at seeing a large building.

"Yep here we are" said George.

"Rather large building for such a small town" Daniel noted as he got out of the car.

"It's left over from the town's lumber mill days" said Emily "hard to imagine now."

"My mother always used to talk about how energetic this town used to be, almost like a gold rush she said."

"Yet the brightest flame dies out quicker" said Daniel.

"Yep there's almost no-one left to use the place now" said Emily.

"It pains me to watch my home town lose so many citizens" said George "beyond your understanding I'm sure."

"Indeed it is" said Daniel "but that's not my concern, my concern is catching the killer before he claims too many lives."

"As we said there really isn't any need for you to become too involved, leave it to people that have a real care about keeping this town safe" said George.

"No can do, I was hired to catch a killer and unless given a good reason I will not break my contract" said Daniel "so whether you two like it or not I'm staying till the killer is identified" he walked on ahead.

"I got to hand it to him he is determined" said Emily.

"That can be a problem" said George.

"George, he has a good record at catching killers, this is our first one we need all the help we can get" said Emily.

"Not from someone like him" said George. He followed with Emily sighing behind him.

They made it to the front desk and receptionist greeted them "hello Sheriff."

"Hi there Fiona, we're here to see Ushah. Do you know where he is?"

"I think Dr. Johnson is in the computer room" said Fiona.

"You have a computer room in a hospital?" asked Daniel.

"You?! Wow so the rumors about you being here are true Mr. Renko" said Fiona.

"Rumors, the only thing that travels faster than light" said Daniel.

"Especially in a small town like this, would you mind autographing my notebook?" asked Fiona.

"Of course" Daniel quickly gave his signature "now where in the hospital is this computer room, timing is important when observing a body after all."

"Of course it's through that door behind you and then to the right, it will be marked."

"Thank you Fiona, we'd best be finding Ushah then" said George. He clearly wanted this done as soon as possible and prove that Daniel wasn't needed. Daniel followed George and Emily to the computer room and saw no-one there. "Fiona needs to check her information" said George.

"Maybe not" said Daniel "it seems the good doctor is playing a game with us."

"A game?" asked Emily.

"Yes it's all set up here on the computer, King passes Rook and meets Bishop, King takes a Pawn to the Queen."

"What does that mean?" asked Emily.

"It's a simple puzzle" said Daniel, "there done, and now there are four riddles to solve."

"I was once red but scratch my head and now I'm black instead?" asked Emily.

"Match" said Daniel "it's only red till you strike it."

"What do you call the life story of a car?" asked George.

"Auto-biography" said Daniel.

"I spin a tail but never charge a fee, I can entertain you for an entire eve but alas you won't remember me."

"A dream" said Daniel.

"You should like this one then, it tests detective skills" said Emily.

"Fire away" said Daniel.

"Three men go to lunch at a restaurant. The total comes to $30, so each man pays $10. The manager realizes the bill should only be $25, so he asks the waiter to return $5 to the men. Each man takes back $1, and they tell the waiter to keep the remaining $2 as a tip. Each man now has $1 back in his pocket, meaning they each paid $9 for the meal. That comes to a total of $27. The waiter has $2 as a tip. If the men originally handing over $30, what happened to the missing dollar?"

"That's it, a bit insulting he'd make it so easy" said Daniel.

"Well then Mr. Private Eye why don't you enlighten us?" asked Emily.

"The solution is there is no missing dollar" said Daniel "type it in and see." Emily typed it in and found he was right.

"How?"

"It's just a misdirection using math, the bill was thirty dollars, the manager realized it was actually 25 so each man got back a dollar and the waiter kept two dollars for a tip making five dollars, no dollar was misplaced its only the part at the end that throws people off and makes people think one went missing."

"We're wasting our time here you two" George growled "does it say where he is?"

"The Doctor waits below with the deceased."

"More games, that does it, I'm going to have Fiona call Ushah up here right now!"

"No need George, he's in the morgue" said Daniel "the morgue is underground and it's full of dead people, so he's below with the deceased, simple."

"Then let's go and get those autopsy results" said George groaning. They made to the other side of the hospital and got to the basement to see a black man in a lab coat using the computer.

"Ushah was it?" asked Daniel.

"Ah you made it" he said getting up "let's get started shall we?"

"This is Daniel Ignis Renko, the Private Investigator "assisting" us" George said that part through clenched teeth.

"Nice to finally meet you" said Ushah "I'm Ushah Johnson the doctor of this hospital.

"Daniel Ignis Renko" said Daniel "just Daniel is fine though Mr. Renko is too formal."

"So I've heard, so young and you've already taken down so many killers" said Ushah shaking his hand.

"It's a gift and a bit of a curse as well;" said Daniel "are you the sole forensic scientist around here?"

"I've dealt with corpses before, let's leave it at that" said Ushah.

"Did you also create that puzzle back there?"

"Yep I just wanted to see how smart the great Daniel Renko really was."

"It was amusing, but I do ask in future you do that without obstructing an investigation" said Daniel.

"Of course my apologies, I'll get to it" they gathered around Anna's body "from the onset of Rigor Mortis, the stiffening of the muscles the time of death is estimated to be between 20:00 and 22: 00 hours. That's still quite early for such a crime to take place. Note that there are two exterior wounds, pressure marks around the neck, and a long cut running form the chest to the abdomen. Blood marks on her right hand tell us she was gripping something round in her right hand" Emily observed her own to see if that would work. "Her skull is also fractured but that is unrelated to the cause of death, it probably happened to her after she was killed. Now I first thought death by suffocation, due to the marks on her neck…but after further investigation I now have a different conclusion. The direct cause of death was from loss of blood from the wound."

"Which means?" asked George.

"It means the killer cut her open while she was still alive" said Daniel "A stab to the chest to stun and then the blade was quickly dragged down while one hand was tightly around the neck to keep the body upright, the blood loss and resulting shock probably killed her in minutes if not seconds."

"Can you be a little more sensitive about this?" asked Emily.

"That is correct" said Ushah "whether or not it was the shock or blood loss that killed her first is still unclear though. Now her nails are clean with no skin cells from the attacker, she also doesn't appear to have been bound or badly beaten; she was apparently killed without resistance. The most tragic thing however…was that she was unable to speak her story to anyone that might have been able to hear her cries."

"And why is that?" asked Daniel.

"The killer cut out her tongue" said Ushah. "I believe she was drugged first and then the killer did it and killed her. He probably has some deep traumatizing past concerning women. He probably cannot converse with them normally; cutting out the tongue suggests a very lonely individual, either that or a very hardcore sadist. He must get off on watching women suffer especially when they can't fight back. He watched the blood left her body as she gradually grew cold. A case in Seattle in 1985-"

"Ushah, please stop that" said Daniel "you're a doctor being a detective is my job and personally I find criminal profiling rarely works. Also you're wrong the one that did this is anything but a lonely individual, and see there, traces of evaporated tears, she was fully aware of what was happening to her, she wasn't drugged. Now first off what time did it stop raining the night Anna was killed?"

"Um just around the time I went to bed which was around 1 AM" said Emily.

"Alright" Daniel noted that down "now do you mind if I examine the body?"

"What more do you hope to find?" asked George.

"The killer is a human being George, all humans make mistakes, and finding that mistake and exploiting the hell out of it is what I do best" said Daniel. He examined the body more closely to confirm his earlier suspicions. "She was kept under a roof somewhere while she was being killed; the injuries happened quickly, she wasn't expecting them at all so it's likely the killer was someone she knew, the killer then waited two or three hours for the rain to stop before taking her to the woods for some reason."

"One question, you said my profile of him being a lonely individual was wrong, why do you say that?" asked Ushah.

"You haven't been able to identify the tool used to cut off Anna's tongue have you?" asked Daniel.

"N-no I haven't…"

"And you never will, because it wasn't a tool that cut it off it was human teeth" said Daniel.

"He bit off Anna's tongue?"

"Yes while they were kissing he did it, he caught Anna totally by surprise leaving her open to the follow up attacks" said Daniel, he opened Anna's mouth and shined a small flashlight in there "if you look carefully you can see how it looks like it was a bite mark and…hello what's this?"

"What's what?" asked George.

"One moment" Daniel got out a pair of tweezers "there's something else in her mouth" he carefully got it out and it was a red seed "damn."

"What, what is that thing?"

"It means we officially have a serial killer in town" said Daniel.

"What, what on earth can you possibly be basing this on!?" George demanded to know.

Daniel calmly got out a bag of red seeds from one state and then from the other six and showed they were the same as the red seed in Anna's mouth. "7 different states with serial killers but all victims had red seeds in them. Whether it's a large scale criminal conspiracy is unknown as of right now, but the fact remains the killer is going to kill again and the next victim will also have red seeds in their body I guarantee it. Therefore I shall stay to ensure the killer is caught preferably before he takes another victim."

"We understand" said Emily before George could say anything "we'll just sign the release papers you can go on ahead."

"Thank you Emily" said Daniel as he left "Oh and Ushah, the answer to that riddle on your computer there is black."

"Excuse me?"

"It says at the beginning you are the bus driver doesn't it?" asked Daniel before leaving.

Ushah went back to his computer and read it over again "dear god I can't believe I missed that."

"Gotta hand it to him he's good" said Emily. George merely grunted in response.

Daniel stepped outside and saw the hospital hallway was ruined and red vines were all over the place getting through cracks in the ceiling. Red vines then shot up and blocked the door across from him and there was a wall of red ivy blocking his progress.

"Looks like another other worldly greeting" said Daniel, he got out his keyblade and went back into the room to find it ruined as well with no-one in there and the clock going nuts. He walked to the only other door out and saw Anna running past while laughing in her red dress. Daniel went through the door to the main body room but didn't see her. He headed to the other way out and saw Anna again running by and laughing.

Daniel got through and heard a loud "YOU!" there was a corpse right behind him, Daniel blasted it with a fire spell "don't want to die!"

"That makes two of us" said Daniel, he started to hear some strange noises that sounded like creepy love making through the hall and followed it. Plenty more corpses emerged from the floor or from the walls and Daniel was forced to fight them all in such a tightly packed hallway that now had tons of debris lying around. The noise got louder and louder as he found himself in a surgery room with something moving under a blanket. Daniel took the blanket away but there was nothing there but a card key.

Daniel picked it up anyway and found himself surrounded by corpses "you!" they all yelled. Daniel teleported from one to the other and cut them all down. 'If I were anyone else I'd complain that this wasn't in the job description.' He left the room and used the card key to enter the next section of the hospital and was treated to a trail of blood. Daniel followed it and then Anna crossed his path and ran away and then turned to him and yelled "Here over here!" she ran behind a corner.

Daniel followed and entered the room he saw Anna run to while avoiding the corpses pointing him out. It was a room with an MRI scanner inside or something of that nature. Since Anna hadn't technically lead him wrong yet Daniel trusted her and activated the machine and found another card key. Daniel fought through some more corpses and used the card key and found himself back at the entrance lobby of the hospital, he reached for the doors but then red vines shot up and covered it.

"Found you" said a corpse, there were two more all dressed as security guards and holding shotguns.

"Enough of this, Flare!" there was a flash of light and all corpses were fried. There was blinding light. Daniel quickly got rid of the keyblade before anyone noticed once he saw he was in the real world again.

"Mr. Renko, were done here" said George.

"Glad to hear I've never liked hospitals that much" said Daniel.

"Bad experience as a kid?" asked Emily.

"Something like that." They made to go but Daniel paused as he saw an old man in a wheelchair being pushed towards them and he was wearing a skull like gas mask. George and Emily noticed who he was staring at. "Who is that old man?"

"That's Harry, Harry Stewart" said George with disdain "one of the bigger problems around here. His father started up the lumber trade and founded this town, but he's a weird one as I'm sure you can see. Always dressed like that, never speaking to the townsfolk, and just FYI he owns almost the entire town. Not that that makes any difference as long as I'm around" he quickly assured them.

The young man pushing Harry's wheelchair stopped in front of them and got to Harry's side. He bent down as Harry started whispering something. He got up and faced them "Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko, haste won't lead you to what you seek, keep your eyes focused on your footing as we speak. So says Mr. Stewart."

"Nice to meet you as well, how did you know my name?"

Harry had his aide bend down for more information "Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko, the key to any information you possess that is why you came to this world in much duress, so says Mr. Stewart."

"Harry stop trying to get in our way, keep this up and even you'll have to answer to the law" said George.

Harry whispered more words to his Aide "Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko, with each rain this world goes mad, to our disdain unpreventable so sad, so says Mr. Stewart."

"Thanks for the warning then Harry" said Daniel.

"Then we shall depart Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko" Harry's aide bowed slightly and then pushed Harry away out the door.

"Interesting guy" said Daniel 'he mentioned keys and the world quite a bit though.'

"That's how he always is" said George "always going around spouting that nonsense. Don't give it any thought it's all gibberish."

Emily answered her radio "Thomas, okay thank you. We've contacted the first witness at the crime scene; we can question them where they found the body."

"Good I was about to ask if we could go there" said Daniel. They all headed outside "the body was found in a forest park right, what can you tell me about that?"

"It's the pride of the town, it has a viewing sight over by velvet falls" said Emily.

"Rather odd place to put a body then" said Daniel "alright let's go then" he got in the back of the car. The other two got in front.

"Mr. Renko, about what you said back in the morgue, are you absolutely certain we have a serial killer in town?" asked George.

"I never joke about these things George" said Daniel seriously "if I say there is a serial killer then there is a serial killer."

"You certainly have enough credibility in that area" said Emily. "Now come on we need to get going." George started the car and started driving.

"Anna's body was discovered by Jim Green and his two grandchildren Isaac and Isaiah Ingram what were they doing there exactly?" asked Daniel looking at the files again.

"Their daily routine" said Emily "Jim Green is the care taker for the park."

"You haven't talked to them yet?" asked Daniel.

"We haven't properly sat anyone down for questions yet but we have enough information to go on" said George.

"Then I'd best question them" said Daniel.

"What exactly do you hope to gain by doing that Mr. Renko?" asked George.

"The same thing I gained by examining Anna's body, a mistake the killer made that I can exploit to get closer to him" said Daniel.

"It's still off that the children had to witness a crime scene, you should question them carefully" said Emily.

"There's no need, young children view things differently than older people" said Daniel "they are more likely to describe it in vivid detail without really thinking about what they are saying."

"Just go easy on them, okay?"

"Okay" said Daniel.

They soon arrived at the park "quite a lot of land here" said Daniel.

"It all belongs to Harry" said Emily "quite a lot of the town is set up on his land."

"All this land a rich man's personal playground, interesting" said Daniel "he's certainly kept it maintained."

"Yes now we have to go and get out statements" said George. They followed him to the crime scene and met the three. The twins looked very similar to the angels Daniel saw in his dream.

"I am Daniel Ignis Renko, private investigator, and you are Jim Green correct?"

"That I am son; I'm the warden of this park."

"And a fine job your doing" said Daniel.

"Well I used to be a tree surgeon."

"And they discovered the body" said Daniel looking at the twins.

"My grandchildren Isaac and Isaiah, I'm sorry but can we talk away from the boys I don't want them to here this."

"Actually I came here to talk to those two specifically" said Daniel.

"What, they're just kids they have no idea what really happened."

"Exactly so they'll explain everything in vivid detail unaware of what they are actually describing" said Daniel.

"How heartless are you?" asked Emily.

"Let me check" Daniel felt his pulse "nope my heart still works."

"Unbelievable" said Emily.

"Are you serious about this?" asked Jim.

"That's cold even for an investigation" said George.

"I never joke when it comes to murder" said Daniel "I didn't get my track record by being soft."

"Still they're just kids" said Jim.

"So they should talk to someone and get it off their chests as soon as possible" said Daniel "I'll only ask a few questions, no need to worry too much."

"Maybe we should allow it" said Emily "he is the specialist on murder after all."

"I assure you I'll stick to what's important and ask nothing personal" said Daniel.

"Then make it quick" said Jim.

Daniel got in front of the twin boys.

"Hey are you a real private eye?" asked one of them.

"Yes I am, would you like to see my license?"

"Can we?" Daniel got it out for them.

"Cool, we only ever heard about guys like you in stories."

"I can't imagine why" said Daniel "now Isaac, Isaiah what exactly did you see here this morning?"

"Anna she was so pretty."

"She had a red dress on."

"Her hair was shining."

"Bright gold hair."

"Was she laughing as well?" asked Daniel.

"Yeah, and she was surrounded by all these animals."

"One of them was even a snake, a real snake!"

"She was running around and playing with all, she looked so happy."

"We didn't know till then."

"But we know now, she's a goddess."

"A fairy of the forest."

"She talked to us too!"

"Really, what did she say?" asked Daniel.

"She said the one with the key is coming."

"That he'll unlock the truth."

"And heal the world."

"I see, thank you for telling me that Isaac, Isaiah be sure to thank Anna for me" said Daniel.

"We will" they said together.

"Okay I'm done, Emily you can take them away now; I'm going to check out the crime scene."

"You want to check this place out, my men have checked the place it's clean" said George.

"Yes but again your men have never dealt with murders before" said Daniel "and since this is where the killer hung Anna's body he must have spent some time here hanging her up meaning he's a lot more likely to have made a mistake that I can find. I'm not saying your men are incompetent, I'm saying they don't have experience in these kinds of crimes, that's why I'm here."

"Fine" said George, he looked like he would rather tell Daniel to get lost but a glance at Emily changed his mind.

"Okay not the scene of the crime but it's the next best thing for right now, if the killer killed Anna elsewhere he might have left something that can be traced back to the actual scene of the crime" said Daniel.

"You really think that's possible?" asked George as Emily left with the twins.

"As I said George the killer is human, he has made mistakes and finding them is what I do best" said Daniel "and since he tied Anna up here there's almost a guarantee he's made some kind of mistake."

Daniel searched and found a picture of a vest with a hole showing a reverse peace sign as a tattoo. He pocketed that and looked for more things and found something good, a chip of wood and metal. 'The sort of thing you find at an industrial place not a forest.' Daniel then observed some of the footprints around the tree and found unusual ones, like the ones that would be made with high heeled shoes, only one was broken and low and behold he found a heel that had been broken off of one of the shoes.

"These holes on the ground all made by stiletto heels, and these depressions on the ground here" said George "I think I see what happened here."

"Explain your theory then George" said Daniel.

"He hung her from the tree and then put on her shoes; he was really enjoying it, the sicko. Then he knelt down and…oh god disgusting, I can't wait to get this sick bastard."

"An interesting theory George" said Daniel "and if it weren't for a couple of things I'd likely agree with it. First the footprints and this" he held up the broken heel he found "tell us the high heels used here were broken and both of Anna's shoes that we saw were intact. Also about what the killer did after he hung her up, while it seems plausible, I assure you there would be a lot more physical evidence for forensics to find and the depressions in the ground would be deeper if he was actually doing that considering it had been raining and all. If you want proof of that you can try it yourself the ground is still damp" George backed away from the tree nervously. "No he was doing something else on his knees, perhaps preying."

"Preying?"

"Yes" Daniel got out the picture from the file "look at how she's displayed almost religiously; it could very well be he was preying to her. Also whoever left those heel foot prints wasn't the killer, whoever was wearing them knew how to run in heels, if you look over there you notice the strides between the left and right feet get further apart. There would be no reason for him to run from his own crime scene in broken heeled shoes so whoever left this" he held up the broken heel "wasn't the killer, but was likely here to see it all the same."

"Then could she have been an accomplice?" asked George.

"It's quite possible, we won't know till she is found though" said Daniel. "When we do find her we can ask about this" Daniel held up the picture of the reversed peace mark. "Another question though would be how many women would wear shoes like this in the forest of all places?"

"There is perhaps one person that might do it" said Emily who just made it back.

"And who would that be?"

"Dianne Ames" said George "she owns the town Art Gallery, but she's currently out of town, I heard she'll be back in a few days."

"I'll be sure to pay her a visit then" said Daniel "and as for a mistake the killer made, I just might have found one, how many abandoned heavily industrialized places are there around here?"

"Besides the old lumber mill?" asked Emily.

"Then that's where this came from" said Daniel holding up the metal chip he found.

"You don't think…?"

"A large abandoned building, perfect for a murder" said Daniel "and getting a curious teenage girl to go there for the excitement, easy."

"But the lumber mill is pretty far from here, if he killed her there why take the body all the way out here?" asked George.

"Only the killer can answer that question" said Daniel. "My job isn't finding out why he does what he does its finding out who he is."

"Is that why you told Ushah to stop being a profiler?" asked Emily.

"As I told him when I asked him to stop, criminal profiling doesn't work in real life like it does in TV, there's no real empirical evidence that it works. Some criminals know this and do things purposely to throw profilers in the wrong direction. I prefer actual evidence to psychological theories one makes after seeing events, that's just how I operate."

"And you've certainly done well from it" said Emily.

"Yes, now can you take me to this lumber mill?"

They drove over there and it started to rain and Harry's words went through Daniel's mind.

"I'll need to go in alone on this case" said Daniel.

"Now hold on there, we're investigating this case together" said Emily.

"I'm sorry but I cannot risk either of you compromising the potential crime scene."

"What are you saying, we're the professional law enforcement here not you, we know how to secure a crime scene" said George.

"Can you do it without bias in this case though?" asked Daniel.

"What do you mean without bias?" asked Emily.

"I'm an outsider here, so try to see this from my point of view, this is a small town everyone knows each other, you two or someone you know might be in on it for all I know and may attempt to cover evidence implicating such. I can't allow such risks to enter the crime scene."

"How can you say such a thing?!" asked Emily.

"Emily if you found out that George or Thomas were behind the murders during your time here how would you react, professionally, or irrationally?" asked Daniel. Emily opened and closed her mouth several times before giving up. "Exactly, it's nothing against you two or your skills as law enforcement, it's simply making sure that such things don't have a chance of happening."

"I've never been so insulted" said George.

"I'm sorry you feel that way George but this is the way it has to be" said Daniel

"George just let him do it" said Emily.

"Emily…"

"As insulted as I feel he does have a valid point in this, if I found out someone I cared about was involved…I don't know what I would do."

"Thank you Emily" Daniel went in. "At least one of them has some logical sense" Daniel then noticed the state and feel of the lumber mill "another Otherworldly greeting no doubt."

Daniel walked forward into the lumber mill a sound like someone was dragging something metal across the floor. Daniel got out his keyblade just in case. He then remembered the one that attacked him when he first arrived had a large axe and cast a safeguard spell on himself.

Daniel found himself in a room full of red barriers making it so he could only go forward, a small army of corpses emerged from no-where "YOU!" Daniel cut them all down and crossed into the main area of the lumber mill. There he saw a large kind of altar built up.

"As I thought she was killed here" Daniel got out his camera and took pictures of the crime scene. "Chairs around as well almost as if the killer had an audience with him while he was doing it, perhaps the killer has a group or cult following." He found a bit of red material there as well. "From a red rain coat the same as the one that attacked me when I arrived."

"Indeed" Daniel spun around and saw the masked boy he saw back in Philadelphia "you got here at least a day early, congratulations" he clapped "you truly are the detective they talk about."

"Normally I'd enjoy a compliment but getting them from criminals makes me uneasy. Especially inter world ones."

He laughed "you really thought you could stay here forever and just forget about the other worlds. We'll always be out there causing you trouble as long as you hold that weapon, surprising you still can considering you ran away after being rejected."

"Call it what you want, I chose to leave and pursue another career and part of it" Daniel summoned the keyblade "is taking down murders."

"Is that so" the masked kid summoned his own keyblade; "well as a coincidence getting you out of the way was in my job description."

He struck first and Daniel blocked and struck back. The masked one was a great swordsman but Daniel didn't slack off in that area during the year and overcame him and saw he stopped moving, he used his instincts to roll out of the way once the masked kid appeared above him and slashed down. He struck back to the unprotected chest in retaliation.

"Well, well seems you haven't slacked off" he said.

"And that's not the half of it either, you're better off surrendering before I get serious" said Daniel.

"Funny that sounded like my line" the masked kid went into the floor shadows and traveled through them like a shark would through the water. Daniel used reaction abilities to get out of the way when the kid jumped out of the floor to do a stab and then landed sending dark shockwaves out in every direction.

Daniel cast a strong fire spell and set his own keyblade ablaze "you're not the only one with fancy tricks."

The masked kid snapped his fingers and strange creatures appeared along with more corpses "and I didn't come here alone."

Daniel teleported around the arena avoiding the masked kid and taking out his minions and cast a strong thunder spell at the masked kid's direction that he took head on but quickly recovered from as he sent a dark fire spell of his own back. Daniel caught it with his keyblade and made the spell more powerful and teleported in front of the masked kid and gave a swing right through him and used a reaction ability to get behind the real one that tried slashing downwards and delivered a powerful fire enhanced blow throwing him across the room. The fire extinguished and Daniel cast a strong thunder spell on his keyblade next "keep fighting and I'll go for the kill."

The masked kid laughed and got up "I see why you're still a concern, you haven't lost your touch at all hell you've gotten better, and to think you weren't made a keyblade master."

"I'm not here to listen to history, tell me who the killer is."

"The killer, oh he's…" a corridor of darkness appeared behind him "very close by" he vanished into it.

"Damn" he got rid of his keyblade since the masked one had escaped. 'I have a feeling I'll be seeing him again though.' The world looked normal again and he headed back to George and Emily.

"What happened to you?" asked Emily seeing the state of him.

"That's where the murder happened" said Daniel "I was just attacked there in fact."

"The killer attacked you in there?!" asked George.

"No, one of his associates did, the killer is a member of some group; he's not working alone."

"Then we need to go in there after him" said Emily.

"Already gone, he escaped right afterwards, he'll be at least a mile away by now with how fast he can run" said Daniel "He also wore a mask so I wouldn't be able to identify him even if we did catch him. The important thing is, we have evidence" he showed them the pictures.

"Looks like he had an audience" said Emily.

"He did disturbingly enough" said Daniel "so the killer has followers of some kind in town. Also I was able to find this" he showed them the piece of red raincoat.

"That's unusual" said Emily.

"Unusual, in a town where it rains a lot, a rain coat is unusual?"

"Well the people here rarely go out in the rain" said Emily.

"I'm sensing a story coming up to explain that, so what is it?"

"There's an old folktale about a killer in a red raincoat that appears on rainy nights" said George "its total superstition and all but this is a traditional place, most of the shops close when it rains, so people don't wear raincoats since there's not much of a reason to go out."

"A killer in a red raincoat you say, does he carry a large axe with him per chance?" asked Daniel.

"I can't be sure it's an old folk tale" said George "I don't see why it even matters."

"It matters because that description fits the one that ran me off the road and tried to kill me when I first arrived here" said Daniel.

"What?" asked Emily.

"Indeed first he walked out in front of my car and then he tried to kill me with a large axe later while I was walking towards town, he was wearing a bright red raincoat the same one this fragment came from. Whether he is the real raincoat killer of legend or not is irrelevant someone is using that legend to their own advantage."

"Why didn't you report it?" asked Emily.

"Because he appeared and disappeared so quickly I wasn't sure it had actually happened till now" said Daniel "someone is out there using the raincoat killer myth and I assure you this is only the beginning, he will kill again."

"Then we should gather the townsfolk at for a town hall meeting and warn them" said Emily.

"Emily you can't really think-"

"Whether the raincoat killer is real or not George they deserve to be warned of the danger at the very least" said Emily.

"Thank you Emily, how soon can such a thing be arranged?" asked Daniel.

"As quick as tomorrow" said Emily "it isn't a problem."

Thomas arrived later to pick them up.

"Well its 21:00 I'm going to bed, I haven't been sleeping much since this all started" said George.

"A good plan George" said Daniel.

"I'll arrange for everyone to gather between 15:00 and 17:00 don't be late" said Emily.

"I'll be there" said Daniel.

"I've marked the Community Center on your map for you Mr. Renko" Thomas added.

"Thanks Thomas, if it's not too much trouble could you drop me off at my hotel as well?"

"Of course sir, it's not a problem" said Thomas.

Daniel was dropped off at his hotel and once back in his room he started reviewing the evidence on his computer. 'Happened at the Lumber Mill, the killer is male, has some kind of group following, has some kind of supernatural ability and he's aware of other worlds existing much like Harry possibly was. Well he didn't say it outright but he definitely dropped enough hints. Anna also seemed to know I was coming and informed the Ingram Twins who apparently are able to see the dead. The masked kid also said that the killer was close by. It could be deliberate misdirection but it could also mean that the killer is a law enforcer or is he just saying that so I'll suspect them and get into conflict? There are too many questions for absolutes right now, I'll sort all this out in the morning' Daniel went to bed.

He woke up the next morning and grabbed something quick for breakfast and got outside, there was no car waiting so he improvised for a change. He activated his key glider and cast a spell on it so it would appear as a normal motorcycle to normal people. Since it had that kind of shape anyway it was no problem. He drove over to the police station and got rid of his glider and went inside, there could be some more files to look at while he was there.

"Ah Mr. Renko" Thomas spotted him as Daniel was getting clearance.

"Morning Thomas, can I still get access to the files on Anna Graham?"

"Of course, but before that would you like to join us for lunch your right on time?"

'Can't say no to a free meal' "if your cooking is as good as your baking I'd be happy to" said Daniel.

"Okay just go to the conference room and I'll have it ready in a jiffy" he almost skipped to the kitchen.

"A people pleaser in law enforcement, well now I've seen it all" said Daniel. He walked to the conference room and sat down with Emily and George as lunch as served.

"So just curious what are you going to tell everyone at the meeting?" asked Emily.

"The truth" said Daniel "well most of it at least, people have heard about the murder but they don't know how serious it really is yet. I want to warn them so they'll be vigilant but not cause a mass panic, so I'm trying to find a balance between those two at the moment. I just hope enough people show up."

"No problem there" said George "Emily has made all the arrangements."

"I've told everyone to gather between 15:00 and 17:00" said Emily.

"Perfect, but what about firearms?" asked Daniel.

"Not the kind of thing you usually bring to a town hall meeting" said Emily.

"You didn't instruct them to bring any?"

"Of course not! Why would I tell anyone to bring guns to a town hall meeting?!"

"Insurance in case the killer and his gang try something while everyone is gathered in one place" said Daniel.

"We can take of that easily if that happens" said George "plus killers tend to be cowards about that sort of thing."

"These people have made three attempts on my life so far George the last one occurred when you and Emily were right outside the building, don't underestimate their courage" said Daniel "anyway thank you Thomas, your cooking is as good as your baking."

"S-Sure no problem."

Lunch ended and Daniel still had plenty of time so he decided to do something he really should've done upon arrival, he went to see his client in person.

"Sallie Graham."

"Anna, have you found out who killed her?"

"I've determined it was a group not just one person that killed her so I'm following that lead, I believe there might be evidence on that lead in her room" said Daniel.

"You want to look in her room?" she looked rather broken.

"Yes Ms. Graham, your daughter might have gotten involved with this group without knowing how bad they really were and there's a good chance there's evidence in her room that will help me find this group."

"…fine, have your search."

"Thank you Ms. Graham" said Daniel.

"And don't come back till you've found the killer" she added.

"As you wish" said Daniel "you have my word he will be found" he headed to Anna's room and had a look around.

He searched the dresser and opened some things up and found a put out cigarette that had the faint scent of cannabis "a teenage girl is a teenage girl" then he found an interesting photo of Anna in lingerie next to another girl 'now who is the other one, I'll keep that and find out later' then he found Anna's diary, it spoke of her joining some group but it didn't give any true specific details about it but he took it anyway.

'My best lead is to find the other girl in the photo, I'll ask Emily if she knows anything about her at the town hall, speaking of which I'd better head on over there' he thought.

He activated his motorcycle and started the drive to the community center. 'So many things about this case, secret societies, other worldly forces, and those red seeds, is everything connected to this town? Then again that masked kid can travel to other worlds to spread chaos so it maybe that this town is just the center of chaos for this world. Maybe this is all just to keep me on this world so I don't go after that masked kid's boss?'

There were too many questions but not enough adequate answers like always. He saw Emily's car and followed it all the way to the community center with the large clock tower.

"Mr. Renko, where did you get the motorcycle?" asked Emily.

"No I don't" said Daniel.

"But it's right th-"

"Blind" said Daniel temporarily cutting off her vision, he got rid of his keyblade glider and then undid the spell "sorry Emily what were you saying?"

"I was talking about your-where did it go?"

"Where'd what go?"

"Your bike, you had a motorcycle there!"

"No I met you near the community center and you gave me a lift" said Daniel.

"That is not what happened, you just had a motorcycle!"

"Then where is it?" asked Daniel "and also why aren't there tire tracks on the ground from this motorcycle that I supposedly own?"

"I'm telling you it was right there and then everything went dark for about five seconds and-"

"Five seconds, a motorcycle disappeared without a trace in five seconds?" asked Daniel. "Unless the world's greatest motorcycle thief happens to reside in Greenvale, Emily which in itself is very unlikely due to the fact I haven't seen any motorcycles yet then I don't see how one could vanish in five seconds without anyone noticing."

"But I was so sure I-" the clock tower bell rang signifying it was 15:00.

"Time for the meeting" said Daniel.

"Maybe I haven't been getting enough sleep" said Emily as she followed him in.

They assembled on stage and waited for the seats to be filled with the townspeople.

"Thank you all for coming today" said George getting their attention "getting down to business you are all aware of the recent murder of Anna Graham, a tragic loss. Mr. Renko here has been assisting in the investigation and has uncovered facts that while disturbing need to be given to you all to help comprehend the situation and how to respond to it, Mr. Renko?"

"Everyone, I am Daniel Ignis Renko, the private investigator you have all likely heard about by now. I was hired by Sallie Graham to find her daughter's killer and to speed things up I am cooperating with the police as a consultant. As Sherriff Woodman just told you we have already uncovered some disturbing facts that you must all be aware of to get through this difficult time. First off the killer is using the legend of the Raincoat Killer in his killings, I would know since he attacked me as well upon my arrival but escaped before I could catch him. Also the killer in question isn't acting alone here; he has a group or cult following if you will. Evidence I found suggests that Anna was tricked into joining said cult before her death to be a kind of sacrifice" that got murmurs going throughout the audience. "Evidence found at the scene of the crime itself also confirms that it was a ritual killing and that the killer had an audience" Daniel continued "now before you start I am not trying to get you all into a panic or have anyone spy on their neighbors; I am asking you to remain vigilant in this case and cooperate with us and be careful of any groups that try to recruit your children or other loved ones, if any groups of that nature seem suspicious then contact the police with the information even a little of that can help. And when it rains don't answer the door unless you know for sure who it is. That is it for my advice my final words are those of reassurance, regardless of how frightening they might seem the killers you need to remember they are still human beings at the end of the day they make mistakes and finding them and using them to identify the killers is what I do best case in point its thanks to their mistakes that we have been able to make as much progress as we have to deliver you this information, thank you for listening."

A woman entered the hall at that time wearing stiletto heels.

"Who's the late arrival?" asked Daniel.

"Carol, Thomas's sister, she owns the Galaxy of Terror bar" said Emily.

Harry's aide Michael pushed Harry to the center of the room and stood beside him and listened to Harry whispering "when paying for our sins we must not frown. The loss of Anna was for that debt" Michael listened to more of Harry's whispering "when purple fog covers our world we'll all wander in hell I fret. So says Mr. Stewart." Michael pushed his employer back to his seat.

"Thank you for that Harry, now do we have any questions before we conclude this meeting?" asked Daniel.

"The zodiac killer was never caught, won't this be the same?"

"If the killers keep leaving evidence for me to find like they have been doing so far, there is very little chance of that" said Daniel "any other questions?"

"Do you have any suspects right now?" George, Emily and Thomas paid close attention as well since they were also curious about that.

"Due to the possibility of the killer hearing about that I cannot disclose that information at this time" said Daniel "I have found a good lead that will help me find some very likely suspects that I will work on after this meeting but that is all I can say right now, any other questions?"

"Will finding the killer be like the Origami Killer where you were forced to kill him?"

Daniel was briefly taken aback by that since few outside of Philadelphia knew that happened "it's still too early to say at this point, I'd rather it doesn't come to that though, and that's all the questions we have time for right now, if you wish to know more you can go directly to the Sheriff's office" he shut off the microphone. 'Now I can ask some questions to the townsfolk.'

"You killed the Origami Killer?" asked Emily.

"Not now Emily this is a chance to question the townsfolk, can't waste it" said Daniel. He got up to be away from that line of questioning. It was always uncomfortable being around law enforcers that knew of his…kill record. When you hunt down killers after all it's inevitable that some won't make it to court they are not exactly peaceful people.

First he went to Harry.

"Next time you wish to give a performance I ask that you don't try to frighten the audience; that was the point of my reassurance talk."

Michael listened to Harry whisper for a while "Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko, the purple fog appears with the rain soiling our world, the evil does not drain. Find out why the world is soiled; remove the source from which it boiled. Then just as any sleuth you will find the key to the truth. The puzzle pieces shall all connect to form the picture once you recollect. Then once you understand this rhyme your duty to this world will end in proper time, so says Mr. Stewart."

"I made some sense out of that, but not all" said Daniel "though the fact you know about that makes me curious Harry, why can't you just tell me now?"

"Cut the poetic crap Harry and tell us what you know, we can force you to talk you know" said George.

Michael listened to Harry again "Mr. Daniel Ignis Renko, your usual speed will not solve the entire case, you must move slow and steady to win the whole race, so says Mr. Stewart."

"I'll be sure to follow that Harry" said Daniel, he left the theatre and talked to people outside.

"Are you getting closer to catching the killer?" asked Fiona as she caught him.

"I've made plenty of progress" said Daniel "at this rate the killer should be caught in about a week."

"That long?" asked Fiona.

"On average the normal time is two weeks" said Daniel "for me anyway, but I might be able to do it even faster."

"Pretty confident" said Fiona.

"With good reason to be" said Daniel.

"One of America's best detectives at age 20 of all things, that takes skill" said Ushah.

"19 actually, my birthday is next month" said Daniel.

"And you'll just be driving around the country on your 20th birthday, sounds rough" said Fiona.

"Eh, what's a birthday but another day of aging? Anyway do either of you know anything about groups like the ones I talked about?"

"Not really, but if any people like that do come to the hospital we'll let you know" said Ushah.

"Thank you for cooperation" said Daniel. Next he talked to a man leaning against the wall.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?"

"Are those guns in that case?"

"Yeah I'm Whesley, folks around here call me the Gunsmith."

"Do you make rifles by any chance?"

"Sure I sell them; you'll have to come to my shop directly though, it's called the Panda Bear."

"Noted" said Daniel 'he doesn't seem very enthusiastic about getting another customer.'

Next Daniel spoke to some rather eccentric people, one of them wore a leather jacket and pants and was snapping his fingers to a rock beat "hey there PI I'm Keith Ingram."

"So your Isaac and Isaiah's father?" asked Daniel.

"Yep that's me!"

"And the owner of the Milk Barn convenience store. Were you close to Anna in anyway?"

"Not really, we only knew her cause everyone in town did" said Keith.

"Becky might be able to tell you, but she's still in shock and she's taken time off of work" said the woman next to Keith.

"And you are?"

"Lily, I'm Isaac and Isaiah's mother" she said.

"Pleasure, now who is Becky?" asked Daniel.

"She's one of our employees, she was very good friends with Anna."

"Interesting" said Daniel 'could it be Becky that's in the picture, I'll ask Emily later' "thank you for informing me on that."

"Also, when I last took the twins to see her, she took them inside the house, something about a secret just between the three of them."

"I see" 'Anna was holding something and there was a third person at the crime scene that likely ran off with it' "were the twins carrying something small and round when they came out of the house?"

"No actually they were carrying something that looked like a shoe box; they refused to tell me what was inside it."

'A box big enough to hold a locket like what Anna was holding' thought Daniel. "Thank you Mrs. Ingram, you might have just given me a very important lead."

"Glad I could help" she said although confusion was evident on her face.

"Mr. Renko" Polly approached him "you're a very talented public speaker."

"Glad you think so, it means I'm doing my job right" said Daniel.

"You remind me of the plays I used to see here with my husband, god bless his soul."

"Fascinating now if you'll excuse me Polly-"

"There was always one that we enjoyed seeing, but I can't remember the name of it."

"Thank you for sharing that but I have to-"

"I do remember it had four main characters that all used a weapon called the keyblade."

"What?" asked Daniel.

"And they were all named after elements but the names were in Latin so I can't remember what they were."

"Ventus, Terra, Aqua, and Ignis" said Daniel.

"Oh yes that's it" said Polly "the four of them travel to other worlds but something happens that alienates Ignis from the rest of the group. He soon leaves and then it's a tale of the others attempting to find him to bring him back. It has a happy ending but the middle and the climax is very tense."

"I…see" 'this place gets creepier and creepier' "Polly do you know who wrote this play?"

"Oh I almost forgot Mr. Renko we're going to have another guest soon, I have to hurry back and get things ready! I'll see you back at the hotel" she ran off surprisingly quickly for an old woman.

Daniel saw some crazy old lady with a pot next and backed off slowly. Then he saw Jim Greene again.

"Quite a speech you gave" he said.

"So I've been told."

"Now my real question, are you going to be speaking to either of my grandsons again?"

"It's necessary to ensure a speedy investigation" said Daniel "I can see how my methods might seem cold to you but it's better than a killer on the loose."

"I understand that I just want you to finish this investigation as soon as you can and go home, I've been trying to protect my grandchildren from the material world, and you reek of it."

"We're surrounded by the material world, you're doing more harm than good by keeping them from something they'll likely reach anyway" said Daniel.

"What would you know about that?"

"I was born in a town very much like this" said Daniel "and I only got away when I was 18 and completely unprepared for the real world just outside the town's borders, I know what I'm talking about Mr. Greene. Thank you for your cooperation" Daniel walked off so he could ponder those words. There were still plenty more people he had to talk to. He found one that reminded him too much of Jackson Neville.

"I ain't got nothing to say to the cops!"

"In which case, you have something to say to the cops" said Daniel "which I am not so that's a moot point. Do you have anything to say a Private Investigator then?"

"I only talk to Ben Franklin, unless you got him then beat it!"

"Fine" 'violence would work better with him though' There was a lady near Jack but she was really just there for the looks and not having much for the investigation. He went to another couple that were sitting down.

"Daniel Ignis Renko and you two are?"

"I'm Olivia, Olivia Cormack and this is my husband Nick."

"You two run the A&G Diner right?"

"That's right" said Olivia.

"Anna worked at your diner then, was there any unusual behavior from her a few days before she was killed?"

"Well not just then but always, the diner closes when it rains, but the day after Anna would always come in late and seem unfocused, did that monster really get her?"

"It's a human being, not a monster, and he will be caught."

"Will it end like the Origami killer though?"

"It's still too early to say" said Daniel ending the conversation early. He walked to find more people and one got his attention.

"So you're the famous Private Investigator?"

"That's me" it was an old man in a sergeant's uniform.

"I own the scrap yard around here, people call me the General; I fought for my country in the Vietnam War."

"So what are you doing all the way out here in the country?"

"Soldier when a man comes home from war there's nowhere else to go but his hometown! Anyway during your speech you mentioned the Raincoat killer?"

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?"

"You idiot, it's no folklore, it's based on real events that happened in this town!"

"Really, well now I'm curious" said Daniel "what are these events you speak of?"

"You kids today, don't even know how to ask for something right, son if you want answers you come to my office" he got up and walked off.

'For a town with values most of the people here are very unhelpful' thought Daniel. 'This could very well take me all week.' He tried seeing if there was anyone else around that he needed to talk to and found Carol MacLaine.

"Anna was an airhead" she said without looking at him.

"She was killed for being an airhead?" asked Daniel.

"I bet she's still one even in heaven" Carol continued "she changed her hair every day; lose a pound she'd be ecstatic, gain one and she's almost be in tears. She broke many plates almost every day at the diner and she'd always have a smile on her face, always having fun. Everyone looked at her and knew she was a cute, adorable loving airhead. But they would be smiling right along with her. I wouldn't be surprised if the angels smiled alongside her too."

"Everyone knew she was an airhead, including the killer and his group, do you know anything about any groups like that?" asked Daniel.

"Nothing I know of" she turned to leave.

"Do you at least know who is with Anna in this picture?"

"Where did you get that?" she asked in mild shock.

"So you do know something" said Daniel.

"Nothing like what you're thinking" she left.

'So she's in on it, Thomas won't take that well.'

Daniel walked around some more to see if there was anyone he had forgotten to speak too and spoke to Brian who was the grave keeper and a rather jumpy one. Lastly there were a couple of guys in Cowboy hats.

"Daniel Ignis Renko, private investigator."

"So Sallie hired you to get things done?"

"That she did" Daniel replied "if things keep going like this I'll be done in a week."

"You know man this might just be another case to you but it means the death of a friend to me."

"And that means what to me?" asked Daniel.

"I don't want you taking this lightly like it's just another case!"

"I never take murder cases lightly" said Daniel "if it seems like I am then you're misreading me. After a while of doing this you tend to stop showing much emotion on cases. Kind of like a person who edits horror movies, he just gets used to it and stops showing any signs of fright when he does it. Nonetheless I take my work seriously and the one that killed Anna will be caught."

"Yeah because law enforcement can't shine their own boots right?!"

"They have never dealt with a murder case before" said Daniel "that's why I'm helping them out. I could catch the killer myself but it goes a lot faster if police cooperate with me, Quint."

"How did you know my name?"

"I memorized the name of every citizen before I came here" said Daniel "makes the investigation go faster, I also know about her."

"Becky?"

"Don't underestimate a private investigator we have our own intelligence networks you know, its' how I find cases and how they find me so easily. I may not be an official law enforcer but I don't catch criminals by being lax about my work."

"I-I'm sorry if I was a little harsh" said Quint "it's just I want to help out in any way I can, Anna…she was such a good friend to me."

"If you know anything then tell the police and you'll have helped us get closer" said Daniel.

"Even if it doesn't feel important?"

"The most important clues often feel unimportant till you examine them properly, take it from me" said Daniel.

"Okay I will" said Quint.

"Then thank you Quint" said Daniel.

"Are you enjoying the town so far?" asked the man next to Quint.

"Apart from the murder and the attempts on my life it has been quite pleasant" said Daniel.

"Yeah, murder doesn't fit with a small town like ours; I'm Richard Dunn by the way, owner of Swery 65."

"I have to disagree on that Richard, crime is a universal issue, it happens everywhere regardless of size" said Daniel.

"I guess you're right."

"So how did you know Anna?"

"She was best friends with my son, the same age as him and all, I'm also friends with her mother" said Richard.

"You should probably go and see her afterwards, she's still rather depressed" said Daniel.

"You visited her?"

"She is my client and the mother of the victim, I visited just before coming here, a familiar face for a while might help."

"Yeah I'll be sure to drop by after this meeting ends" said Richard.

The clock tower bell rung signaling an hour had gone by. George met up with him "Mr. Renko everyone should be going home now, let's go outside."

"Very well, we've taken up enough of their time" said Daniel. It was already dark outside by the time everything was finished.

"So Mr. Renko do you have any plans for this evening?" asked Emily.

"Go back to my hotel, go over my notes and try to make a coherent picture out of them" said Daniel "same thing I do every night basically."

"Okay then let's call it a night" said George "Dianne Ames, the Art Gallery owner will be back tomorrow, I'll send Thomas to pick you up."

"Alright then, goodnight" Daniel turned to leave.

"Wait" said Emily called back "we're all having dinner at A&G Diner, would you care to join us?"

"A&G Diner, it was recommended to me now that I think about it" said Daniel.

"Thomas is a great cook but Nick is the real deal" said Emily "no visit to Greenvale is complete without a visit to A&G."

'Free or partially free meal, can't say no to that' "I'd be happy to, thanks for that invite."

They went straight there and ordered the best on the menu "I've been Sherriff here for a long time" said George "and this is the worst and first murder case I've seen."

"Our town is a bit odd in some ways but it's very peaceful" said Emily.

"We had our fair share of cases, but just the regular stuff" said George "a high school kid shoplifting from the Milk Barn, maybe. Some hot headed kids fighting over liquor, nothing more than that."

"Mr. Renko, what kinds of cases have you usually dealt with?" asked Emily "well we know what kind, but any interesting ones you can think of?"

"Interesting cases…hmm…well there was one three months ago, a black widow serial killer and the same one that stabbed me by the way. She was interesting, she knew how to get all kinds of men into her web if you'll pardon the pun in fact I would've been her twentieth victim had I not figured out her true nature in time. After she was caught her house was searched and we found out what she did with her victim's remains."

"Their remains?" asked Emily.

"All her victims were found with their penis cut off" said Daniel causing Thomas to choke. "We found them in the basement; she had preserved them all in jars like trophies. Then there was another serial killer that killed his victims and then took out their organs."

"L-like Organ theft?" asked Thomas.

"No that implies he was selling them, he was actually eating them" said Daniel. George stared nervously at his burger. "At his court case he confessed to always eating the brain first he would eat that raw for some reason and then he would cook the rest of the organs with normal food and eat them for dinner. Although I believe he spread the eye jelly on his toast."

"Mr. Renko some of us are trying eat here" said Emily.

"Yes I know I'm one of them" said Daniel "he would never eat the stomach though, he filled that with red seeds and left it alone, same with the black widow."

"Red seeds, like the ones found in Anna's body?" asked George.

"The exact same ones" said Daniel "and what else…oh yes the mix and matcher, now that was an interesting case."

"Do we even want to know why he was called that?" asked Emily.

"Oh the killer would get his victims and cut then up into pieces and then play mix and match with the body parts by sowing them to together with different people, we found people with different colored arms, different heads, two left feet, different eye balls, hands, even different genitals in one case."

"Thank you Mr. Renko" said Emily "we can discuss different things now."

"Now, and I was just getting to the interesting one too" said Daniel.

"I just don't get how you deal with it, how you can talk about something so awful so calmly, like it's just another day at the office for you."

"In a sense it is" said Daniel "when you deal with killers long enough Emily not feeling anything when you see a dead body becomes essential, if I freaked out every time I saw a horribly mangled corpse I'd never be able to do my job right. If I seem non-caring it isn't because I don't take my work seriously."

"Yeah it's like you're in a completely different world, an elite Private Investigator who can solve any crime and a prodigy at it to boot. In your eyes I guess we all look incompetent and slow, playing cops and robbers, I give up I can't compete with you."

"It's not about competition Emily, you may not tackle the kind of cases I deal with on a monthly bases but you still deal with crimes, under your watch this town is safe and everything is in order, the fact that this is the first murder you've had to deal with is something you should be proud of, many other towns and cities aren't able to boast about such a good record."

"Well said Mr. Renko" said George "we work day and night to preserve order and safety in this town and we've done a good job up till now, you understand that right?"

"Of course, but still…I don't view shoplifting and Anna's murder as the same level of crime."

"Nor should you" said Daniel "again the fact you've been able to stop this kind of crime till now is something you should all be proud of, but now that it's here the criminal should be caught as soon as possible. Speaking of that I forgot to ask you, can you identify the person next to Anna in this picture?"

"Becky Ames?" asked Emily.

"As I thought" said Daniel "something was taken from Anna at the crime scene, and there was a third person there, and Becky gave the Ingram twins something after Anna was murdered, something in a shoebox, she could very well have been the third person present at the crime scene, it's a theory worth checking out."

"You work quickly" said Emily.

"I should hope so, after seeing Dianne, I'll have a look at visiting this Becky. I could be completely wrong but every now and then an educated stab in the dark will hit something."

"Was that you how you caught the Origami Killer?" asked Thomas.

"I had an incompetent police force to work with and I was pressed for time, I narrowed it down to the most likely suspect and drove there and found proof it was him" said Daniel "sometimes that's just how an investigation goes."

"And you killed him at the end?" asked Emily.

"I don't know how they found that out but yes I did" said Daniel "that's inevitable when dealing with killers, they tend to be rather violent and uncooperative, no matter how good you are, some not making it to court is unavoidable. Even so my kill record isn't something I like being blurted out in the middle of a crowded room, especially not in front of law enforcement for obvious reasons."

Daniel finished and paid his part of the bill and left for his room and opened his computer to link more facts together.

"Anna was found dead hanging from the tree in the Greenvale National park; she was killed as part of some kind of cult killing, one that this Becky could very well have been involved in. Evidence also suggests that she was the third person at the crime scene while Anna was placed there the one that took the locket from her hand. This was speculated after she gave the Ingram twins a shoebox large enough to carry it."

"Becky was also seen in the photo found in Anna's room next to her; Carole obviously knows something based on the way she reacted to the picture. Right now she is the most suspicious person on this case. And now Diane Ames is coming back to town, Becky's sister, she may very well know a lot that could help this investigation."

"Then there is the killer himself, what do I know about him so far? He's male for sure, he has a lot of upper body strength to be able to use such a large weapon, and also he's very likely a citizen of Greenvale. Who have I met today that could meet that criteria? There are a few but I'll need more evidence before I start making any accusations" he shut his laptop and went to bed.