Amanda had left the house and Hohenheim still gazed out the window. He did not even notice his sons approaching him from behind.
"Dad?" Al asked pulling on his sleeve.
"Yes?" he turned around to face them.
"We found something pretty interesting. It's something like a rhyme." Ed explained holding up their research papers.
"10 Alchemists commited a crime, one came home a little too late, then they were only nine." Edward read out loudly.
"Interesting rhyme." Hohenheim twirled his beard between his fingers. His sons looked up to him in awe.
"Well." He smiled. "Let's go get some sleep. We can look further into this tomorrow. Maybe this is just to confuse us."
Al yawned and stretched. None of them had anything against some sleep.
It was about 6 am according to what Hohenheim could read with sleepy eyes on his alarm clock. Someone banged on the door.
"Colonel!" Hohenheim said in shock. "What is leading you here at this unholy hour?"
Roy entered but did not bother to put his coat off. "You asked me to find out where Mr. Schank is right?"
Hohenheim just nodded and offered Mustang a chair, Roy refused though. "What could you find out?"
"He deceased just about 5 hours ago. Stabbed in the back with a knife they could not find."
Hohenheim nodded absent-minded. "I see. Can I see the crime-scene?"
"Of course. I made arrangements that noone would investigate anything yet before we had a look and confiscated what is of use to us."
"And they took it?" Hohenheim raised an eyebrow.
"I managed to make them believe it's a case I investigate on my own." He chuckeled and turned round on his heels ready to leave.
"Come on." Roy ordered. "We'd better get there as soon as we can. I don't know how long I can still push time for."
Mist hung in the valley and the earth was muddy. "It doesn't not seem as if the murderer broke into the house by force. That led me to the assumption that the victim knew it's potential murderer."
Slowly they entered the house. It was a nice white house with a well-groomed garden and many windows to allow light to come into the rooms. Inside most furniture was made of dark wood and plated with gold. Many medals were exhibited.
Then, as they turned in into the office a ouddle of blood got visible close to the big, also dark brown wooded, office desk. The victim was carried away already. The desk's leg where thick and reminded Hohenheim of claws.
He ran his fingers over a few files and papers lying on the desk. Some had fallen to the floor. Carefully and with a handkerchief wrapped around his arm he picked them up and read through them. Some had bloodstains on them.
He imagined his old companion lying behind the desk soaked in blood where now only the puddle was visible.
"Found anything useful?" Roy asked taking a close look at the shelves with medals.
The image of his companion vanished.
"Do you really think he would hide any evidence about them inside here? Hah, no way. I did not expect to find anything helpful here anyway. The only one helpful to us, is dead now."
Roy sighed. "We'd better head home them and try to get our hands on some other helpful material. So far, the letter is our only hope. Could it be that he was killed because he was linked to the incident and they would assume you would ask him for hints?"
"I'm almost sure of that. There is no other reason for him being killed other as for the sake of something big. He was a wise man and helpful. But apparently, great knowledge does kill. Hohenheim dropped the papers back onto the floor watching them float to the ground.
A picture on the left close to the office desk caught Hohenheim's attention. It's frame was light wood instead of the dark wood that was found throughout the whole room.
"This picture doesn't really fit here." He pointed out taking a few steps closer.
"Yes that was the first thing I noticed. Nothing in this house is made from light wood, yet this picture is. We assume the murderer migh thave hung it here after the murder." Roy explained putting his handkerchief away.
"Those people. Looks as if it's a couple meeting or something. In the picture that is. Doesn't really seem like a picture Mr. Schank would have in any of his rooms." The blonde sighed. "But yeah, people change. Solving this murder and their puzzle is top priority."
"What about his body?" Hohenheim asked raising his coat's neck so it would give him some wind protection. They got back into the car. As the door had slam shut Roy began "We will examine the body. I will let you know the results as soon as I can."
"Thanks, my friend."
The raven haired man smiled and pulled up close to his companion's house.
"See you later."
The entrance door slam shut and he threw his wetted coat over the chair's arm. He thudded into the next best chair he could grab. Footsteps sounded next to him. "Dad? Where were you? What did you find out?" his sons asked curiously.
Al, the good boy he was, picked up his father's coat and hung it onto the coat stand.
Hohenheim repeated the recent event.
"The rhyme. Maybe the murder has to do with the rhyme." Ed ha djumped up from his chair and brought his father to read the rhyme once again.
"10 Alchemists": he mumbeled. "10….If I'm not mistaken, there was a group of ten once, they did not stay together for long though. They had some othe project next to the ones everyone had to carry out in the big group. Might those…" his eyes widened. "might those be the ones this rhyme refers to?"
"But if so." Al interrupted "where are the other parts. We only received this single letter and there was only this line on it. The rest was apparently just random, non existant symbols."
"There is nothing like non existant symbols." His father explained absent minded and pathed back and forth in the kitchen. "I believe though, that the hint we are looking for will be found close to the victim."
"So what about investigating his place once more?" Al asked grabbing a bottle of juice and a few glasses.
"Thanks my boy." He said. He brushed some lose hairstrands behind his ear and began talking once again. "We'd better wait for Mustang's report on the examination. Maybe that will help us. After all, those people working in the organization, were not only skilled alchemists, they were skilled doctors too."
"Was there anything else suspicious there maybe?" Ed asked pouring some juice in each of the glasses.
"No." Hohenheim lied. He did not believe this picture to be of any importance, merely coincidence.
"Today we should all go to bed early. Especially since you two have school again. It would seem too suspicious if you are missing from school. You must not interwine into this too deep. After all, it's me who it is about. I'd rather not get you two involved too much. You are a great help analysing the letters as it is." He had faced the wall sternly while talking. Realizing his sons looked a little left out of this obviously interesting case, he smiled at them and drank up his glass.
"Hey you two figured the first hint. Your old man would have never figured out. You have all reason to be proud of yourself." He smiled even more.
Now even a smile formed on his son's lips. They were determined to search the best they could.
A couple of hours later already the door knocked once again. Who else could it have been other than the Colonel himself.
"Come inside." Hohenheim smiled warmly and offered the Colonel a seat once again. This time he sat down.
"Got news for me?" the blonde asked while serving some tea.
Roy reached into the inside of his uniform and pulled a plastic bag with a piece of paper inside out.
"We found this." He started explaining. "In Mr. Schank's gullet."
Hohenheim reached for the plastic bag and eyed it.
"No doubt." Hohenheim began. "The next part of the rhyme."
"Rhyme you say?" Roy asked raising an eyebrow at the elder man.
"There are going to be 10 deaths." He explained and explained the first part of the rhyme to Roy.
"But what is the crime it is referring to?" Roy asked.
"I suppose, the crime is the grave-robbery. If it was even robbery, that is. And about coming home a little too late, maybe something kept him off from coming home earlier to lock everything thouroughly not letting the murder come inside. That's my theroy so far." Hohenheim had rested his chin in his palms while talking.
"Seems to fit. It might be better for us then to translate this new part as soon as we can. We do not know when the next murder might occur. If it is murder of course." Roy stood up and saluted. "I will come over to your place tomorrow again. This time in civil clothes. It's a little suspicious if I keep visiting you in my uniform." He smiled.
"In that case, you will need to give me a hug too instead of your salutations." Hohenheim smirked.
Mustang slowly dropped his salutating hand and chuckeled. "If that's the case." He took a step forward and hugged his old friend. "I shall say good bye this way then."
The door slam shut. Hohenheim sank back into his chair again.
"In a human's gullet. Those people are serious about this…" he whispered takinga nother close look at the plastic bag.