Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 4 Key Clues
Why are you so insistent on going to the scene?

The female law enforcement officer held a map in her hand.

“Because you have already demonstrated the detective skills of law enforcement officers.” Milo shook the metal shackles on his wrists.

"What do you mean?" the other person asked, puzzled.

“I can’t expect you to clear my name,” Milo said bluntly.

……

The female law enforcement officer was somewhat displeased with Milo's doubts about the officers' criminal investigation capabilities, but after a moment's consideration, she still kept her promise.

She took out the key and unlocked the shackles on Milo's wrists.

However, just as Milo was about to pull his arm back and loosen his wrist, the female enforcer took a cylindrical metal lock from her waist and put it on Milo's left forearm.

"Crack!!"

A crisp sound of metal structures colliding rang out.

By the time Milo realized what was happening, the metal lock was already firmly secured to his left wrist.

After finishing all this, the female law enforcement officer stopped, satisfied, and began to organize the map:
"You haven't fully gained my trust yet, so don't even think about running away. This thing is called an execution lock. If you dare to escape in the chaos, you'll be executed after a certain time..."

“If it’s not unlocked within a certain time, the hidden blade inside the lock will cut the blood vessels in my wrist vertically, and then hold the wound open until I bleed to death,” Milo continued, picking up where the female enforcer left off.

He raised his arm, held the slightly heavy metal lock to his ear, listening to the ticking sound of its mechanical spring, and then said, "I've seen this thing in the alchemy workshop."

The female law enforcement officer rolled up the map, turned and left: "It's best to know, don't try anything funny."

……

The execution lock is beyond the scope of the standard weapons used by the law enforcement system. As far as Milo knows, it has reached the level of "devious weapons" in the alchemy workshop.

As the name suggests, this thing should belong to the category of torture instruments.

Therefore, it's not hard to see that the young law enforcement officer in front of him truly doesn't trust Milo.

Not only that, on the way to the actual crime scene, she didn't even let Milo ride a horse alone, but instead dragged Milo onto the same horse as her.

Milo did raise protests.

“I said, do you know that it’s a bit shameful for a grown man to sit in the back?”

However, the woman directly retorted to Milo with one sentence:

"You mean you want to sit in the front?"

After imagining himself nestled sweetly against the female law enforcement officer on horseback, Milo gladly accepted the choice of sitting on the horse's rear.

……

Currently, the search party for the carriages is scattered throughout the city and cannot be assembled anytime soon.

Moreover, the female law enforcement officer wasn't sure if Milo was lying, so she simply hurried along, carrying Milo by herself, towards the designated location on the map.

The city of Nanwei was shrouded in thick fog at night, with visibility limited to no more than ten meters. Once the horses galloped out of the city, there were hardly any lights to be seen in the cold, gloomy outskirts.

Until the two of them arrived at the designated location, the lights in the city behind the city were so dim that they resembled a kerosene lamp wrapped in countless layers of gauze.

"found it."

The female law enforcement officer pulled on the reins.

Milo wisely jumped off his horse in advance, because he had anticipated that the long legs of the woman in front of him, who was eager to dismount, would swing backward, and if he was even a step slower, he would be kicked over.

On the muddy path, the wreckage of the carriage reeked of blood.

The female law enforcement officer lit a torch, drew her sword from her waist, and approached the carriage step by step.

Milo, meanwhile, remained vigilant amidst the thick fog that enveloped them, knowing full well that the people inside the carriage were beyond saving.

The carriage was completely deformed, as if it had been cut in half by something. One wheel had rolled more than ten meters away, and the wooden carriage was broken into pieces. The bodies of two law enforcement officers were tangled in the pieces, as if they had been thrown into a meat grinder, their flesh and blood mangled.

This is exactly the same as what Milo saw in his dream.

After confirming that the officer at the scene had died, the female law enforcement officer sighed inwardly.

She suddenly realized that she seemed to have stepped on something hard. After moving her boots, she saw a silver tooth on the ground, still attached to the gums and flesh, in the torchlight.

Recalling what Milo had said to her at the law enforcement office not long ago, she frowned and looked at the mysterious man behind her.

"How did he know all this...?"

From the female law enforcement officer's perspective, Milo had already circled around to the front of the carriage, carefully following the marks on the ground, seemingly looking for something.

After noticing someone watching him, he turned around and said, "Why don't you get some people to help look for him? That poor kid has been taken away."

The female law enforcement officer, realizing what was happening, quickly pulled out a signal flare and set it off, clearing her mind of all her doubts.

A flame, more dazzling than fireworks, burst open high in the sky. Not long after, a large number of law enforcement officers from the city rushed towards the scene.

These people were all dressed in identical black trench coats, wearing tricorn hats, and equipped with both cold and hot weapons on their waists.

Among this large, dark crowd, Milo spotted a middle-aged man in a distinctive uniform.

He wasn't wearing a black cloth over his face or a hat; his black and white hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of his head, and his sideburns were slightly gray. Among the crowd of law enforcement officers, he appeared somewhat thin, and instead of carrying a weapon, he carried a black cane.

The custom of carrying a cane evolved from the swords worn by knights in the last century. Back then, knights would carry swords wherever they went. But now it's not the era of street duels anymore, so the swords that signified status have been replaced by the more convenient and elegant cane.

Nowadays, all those high-ranking officials and nobles, whether they are in their early twenties or eighty-year-old men, carry one of these thin sticks in their hands.

But it's clear that the long-haired middle-aged man in front of him really needs this cane.

Because he was lame.

……

Milo squinted at the two silver buckles on the man's collar and muttered to himself, "He's a big shot at the inspector level. Why would someone like that personally come to the front lines..."

Law enforcement officers quickly cordoned off the scene, making it completely impassable.

As the first person to arrive at the scene, the female law enforcement officer gave a brief report to her superiors.

After listening to the report while leaning on his cane, the middle-aged man looked at the two corpses of his employees in the wreckage of the carriage with a gloomy expression: "Get things done first. Gather all the clues before those weirdos come and cause trouble."

However, no sooner had the middle-aged man finished speaking than the sound of horses neighing and stopping abruptly came from directly ahead of the road.

Immediately afterwards, several church clergymen dressed in gray robes burst in.

The young man at the head of the group immediately pulled back his hood, revealing the golden tree totem on the inside of his forearm to the assembled law enforcement officers as a sign of his identity, and walked straight up to the middle-aged man:
“Inspector, we meet again. We agreed to send that poor child to the church for baptism, but I waited for a long time and you still didn’t bring him. Who would have thought this accident would happen?”

"Dilashaw, you're not thinking of burning down my crime scene again, are you? I'm warning you, nine people have died in this case already. No matter what consensus your church has with my superiors, I'm here this time, so don't even think about messing around." The middle-aged man raised his cane, blocking the young man's way.

The church man, known as Dillah, smiled and put his hands behind his back:

“My dear Mr. Nero, why do you have such a fierce expression? In the past few cases, we have clearly cooperated very well, haven’t we? Moreover, the Church and Your Excellency the Chief of Law Enforcement have reached a clear consensus: the living are under your jurisdiction, and the dead are under our jurisdiction.”

Dillah tilted his head and glanced at the corpses in the wreckage of the carriage: "I think the two in the back are beyond saving."

Inspector Nero snorted coldly: "This time, the dead weren't civilians, they were my men, so they're under my jurisdiction."

His tone was resolute.

The large group of law enforcement officers around them even took a step forward, as if they were ready to take action at any moment.

However, it's not hard to understand. After all, their colleague's body was barely cold when several clergymen came running over, using some incomprehensible nonsense as an excuse to burn their colleague's body. Who could agree to that?

It seems Nero is determined not to back down.

Dillah Shaw was quite sensible; he knew how bad-tempered those law enforcement officers were, so he had absolutely no intention of provoking them.
"Alright, I know we've both been under a lot of pressure from above. If this case isn't solved soon, I might have to call you Chief Enforcer next time we meet. Here's what we'll do: have your men collect evidence quickly, and then we'll handle the scene. Rest assured, your two enforcers will receive the highest honors from the church's funeral procession; they will rest in peace."

A few seconds of silence fell over the scene…

Then, Inspector Nero spoke:
"If those old, aging bishops in the church had half your insight, our relationship wouldn't have gotten so strained."

"Don't worry, it's only a matter of time."

Dillah Shaw smiled apologetically.

……

Therefore, with the law enforcement inspector personally appearing, the church and the law enforcement officers reached a rare consensus: this time, they would join forces to solve the case. If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will make the front page of the newspapers tomorrow or the day after.

But right now, the most important thing is to find the missing little girl Daisy.

……

According to the report from the law enforcement officers after the site cleanup:

The carriage was violently rammed;
Two law enforcement officers died in the line of duty;
The groom has disappeared;

Daisy, the girl, has gone missing;

……

Besides these obvious clues, the law enforcement officers also found the dead horses several dozen meters away.

The horses were gutted, and most of their internal organs were broken apart.

According to the officers' deductions, the murderer did not leave the scene immediately, but instead found the frightened horse and killed it. The purpose was probably to use the smell of the horse's organs and blood to attract nearby coyotes to devour the officers' bodies as well.

It seems that only this explanation makes sense.

In just one night, coyotes can devour the corpses at a crime scene, destroying most of the usable clues and evidence.

The murderer probably didn't expect the law enforcement officers to find the crime scene so quickly.

……

"The prime suspect is the missing groom."

The next step is quite simple: since the murderer went to such lengths to gut the horse, the smell of blood and filth on his body won't be washed off anytime soon.

Nero waved his hand:
"Using these organs as a starting point, mobilize all the hunting dogs in the city to search. The man must be found before dawn."

Dillah Shaw stood obediently in place, waiting without any objection to the decision.

The law enforcement officers on site quickly got to work and sprang into action.

Church personnel, meanwhile, began processing the remains of the two law enforcement officers at the scene.

They placed candles around the wreckage of the carriage, clasped their hands in prayer, and silently recited eulogies.

……

Over here, the female law enforcement officer tugged at Milo's arm:

"What are you daydreaming about? If you don't want to die, follow me. We're going back to get a hunting dog to go find people."

However, Milo's feet seemed rooted to the ground, and he couldn't be pulled away at all.

He frowned, recalling the scenes he had seen in his dream over and over again, muttering to himself:

"No, no, the murderer wouldn't be that stupid as to leave themselves covered in blood for you to investigate..."

"What are you doing? Don't forget you're still wearing the lock." The female officer grabbed Milo by the collar.

Milo pushed her hand away. At that moment, fragmented images kept flashing through his mind. He was certain that he had captured some important information in his dream.

But like everyone else, after waking up from a dream, you will always forget part of the dream the next day, or even all of it.

At this moment, Milo is trying very hard to find the part of the footage he missed.

—In the dim light, as a tall figure dressed in black abducted Daisy from the wreckage of the carriage, Milo saw a triangular pattern made up of three overlapping arcs on his back.

His eyes lit up instantly.

"Damn, so that's what it is... How could it be this?"

He was all too familiar with that triangular pattern printed on the black fabric.

To be precise, no resident of Nanwei City will forget that pattern.

That's something that only appeared during the pandemic that swept across half the country five years ago.

At that time, this pattern was drawn on all the houses, wells, and clothes of the dead that were infected with the disease. It was a mark that was once called the totem of death.

Milo hadn't seen this pattern for five years since the pandemic ended.

The last time I saw it was on the day when the bodies of the sick were burned in Nanwei City. All the people who died from the plague were wrapped in black cloth, and each body's shroud had such a pattern printed on it.

……

"The shroud... wait for me."

Milo pushed away the female enforcer's hand and walked straight to the wreckage of the carriage, muttering to himself:

"If I remember correctly, something must have been left behind."

Meanwhile, the church members surrounding the body of the enforcer were muttering something that Milo couldn't understand at all:
"We are born of the blood of the Old Gods...we are made by the blood of the Old Gods...we die by the blood of the Old Gods..."

Milo ignored the bunch of guys who were always talking nonsense and started searching through the wreckage of the carriage.

His actions immediately attracted the attention of those around him.

An officer immediately reprimanded him:

"Hey! What are you doing?! Stop it!!"

"who are you!?"

……

At this moment, Inspector Nero and the Church's Dirac, who were standing at a distance, finally noticed the city guard mixed in with the crowd.

Logically speaking, the city guards, who are at the lowest level of the law enforcement system, should not be qualified to be present at such an important crime scene. However, since everyone's attention had been focused on the crime scene, no one paid much attention to Milo.

However, his sudden approach to the wreckage of the carriage immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Dirac watched with interest as Milo rummaged through the carriage. After recognizing Milo's guard uniform, he spoke to Inspector Nero in a teasing tone:

"If the law enforcement office is short-staffed, it can apply to the church for some manpower to help. Why send those guards who know nothing to join in?"

Nero couldn't stand the way church members spoke to him in a sarcastic or mocking tone, and his blood pressure instantly spiked. Seeing the female enforcer standing behind Milo, he immediately yelled at her from a distance:

"Rebecca, why are you bringing just anyone here! Throw that kid out of here!!"

"Yes!"

The female law enforcement officer dared not delay, and rushed forward in three steps, grabbed Milo, and dragged him outside.

Even a strong young man like Milo couldn't overcome the woman's brute strength and was dragged away by her.

……

...

"If you insist on courting death, I can grant your wish right now, without waiting for the execution lock to be triggered!"

The female law enforcement officer grabbed Milo by the arm and led him to the outer perimeter, then turned around and gave him a solid over-the-shoulder throw.

Milo was thrown around and felt completely disoriented.

He remained lying on the ground, but his hand was tightly gripping a piece of black cloth:

"It's okay, it's okay, I've already found it. I knew there would be something left behind. I clearly heard the sound of the fabric being torn, hehe."

These two sentences left the female law enforcement officer completely bewildered:

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Milo stood up on his own, brushed the mud off his clothes, and then waved a small piece of black cloth in his hand:

"I told you I couldn't expect you law enforcement officers to clear my name. You're all idiots. The smell of blood from the horse was clearly a distraction."

"??" The other person still looked completely confused.

Milo grinned:
"I'll let bygones be bygones regarding the over-the-shoulder throw. Now hurry back and find a hunting dog with a good nose to track this thing by its scent, Chief Rebecca."

(End of this chapter)