Chapter 3
The following morning was quite a dull one. The sky was grey, the rain drizzled slowly, and no birds flew across the sky. Jerome awoke at his usual hour, and prepared for work as usual. He realised that the chief's words were probably right. He couldn't simply link two events together purely because of coincidence. Although, it still seemed quite odd to him. After all, it wasn't everyday that he saw a faceless man.
After going to the door to collect the daily newspaper, Jerome sat down and began to read. Naturally, the news on the troops returning to Jarney was still circulating, as was James Stoker's disappearance. Ashbridge Co had recently launched yet another division, the science division, in association with Zephyr Inc. Some singer he'd never heard of had announced early retirement, and there were various sports articles, but that was about it. So he put the newspaper down and set off to work.
Approaching the Stoker residence, Jerome hoped to himself that something would be found today. The sooner the case was cracked, the sooner he could wash his hands at this whole affair. However, he solemnly doubted that anything would be found. Anyway, even if it was, it wouldn't really help much.
Looking out into the woods, Jerome realised that he had not seen many woodland animals at all lately, ever since Alan Stoker was found dead. Maybe the animals had simply been off put by the commotion of the incident. All the same, perhaps the woods would be worth searching more thoroughly for evidence. He would have to discuss it with the chief.
At the Stoker residence, Jerome was silent for most of the day. Around noon, he conversed with the chief about searching the woods in more depth. The chief seemed to agree, and at around 1:30, Jerome himself was chosen as one of the three people to go into the woods and investigate. Reluctantly, he did so, and now here he was, in the woods. Even at this time of the day, the woods were incredibly dark, and all three of the policemen were carrying torches. Jerome insisted that they all stayed together, in case of an attack. After all, the killer might still be out here.
About an hour later, Jerome was contemplating the idea that it really was something, rather than someone that killed Alan Stoker. Maybe the darkness was just beginning to creep him out, but this train of thought was not new to him, and it kept repeating itself in the corner of his mind every now and then. The other two policemen scarcely spoke, and so the three men walked along in silence. This made the deep shade of the trees even more spine-chilling, and hardly helped the matter at all.
For several drudging hours, the three men walked on, and at last they gave up. There was no evidence at all to be found in these woods. They turned slowly to head back to the Stoker household and proceeded once more in complete silence. It was here that Jerome noticed the first odd thing, a small scrap of red patterned cloth on the ground beneath his feet. He lifted it up high, and realized suddenly that it was not red at all, but green. It was the bloodstains that made it appear red.
Jerome knew at once that this was an important piece of evidence, and ran to catch up with the other police officers. It was then that he noticed the second odd thing, which was that he was no longer in the woods at all. He was at the bank of a river, which he eventually recognised as the River Malder. He had been here before, although quite some time ago. But how had he got here? Was it even possible? As he puzzled things out in his head, Jerome noticed the third and final odd thing, and that was the hand on his shoulder.