Chapter 2 - chapter 2 :the crime scene

We drove for about an hour until we finally arrived. Many people scattered around the blockage from the police to protect anyone from entering the crime scene. It was a little alley with two entrances, one that was more in the back, from which the old couple watched the scene, and one in the front, directly beside the Gänseblümchen. The alley was a long one, consisting of old bricks and directly beside a two-floor high wooden building in which it seemed that the entrance was on the ground floor while the family was living on the second, because in the second, there were two small windows, and in the first, there were two big ones, through which you could see bar chairs and people drinking. There was a colorful mix of people; some were reporters who tried nonstop to speak with someone in charge, then there were civilians who just wanted to kill their curiosity, and finally, there were crying persons, seemingly patrons of the bar, who tried desperately to get behind the blockage but were blocked by the police. My colleague and I forced ourselves through the crowd and got to one of the officers. He looked me up and down and said, "Sorry, sir, but no one is allowed to step beside the blockage." "Tom Jaeger, I was especially gathered for this case," I replied and held my ID badge up to his nose. He looked at it and then at me, like he was skeptical, and twirled his mustache. "Yes, good try, but I smell a reporter, and now scram." I was getting a bit annoyed and said, "Listen here, you little..." I was interrupted by the kid, who held up his ID and said, "Deputy Schroeder, and this here is indeed Tom Jaeger, so please let us two through." "Alright, but please dress more formally next time," he said grumpily as I stepped through the blockage and entered the long alley. It was weird; the air seemed to spark, and I got closer to the end. For a moment, I thought I heard the whisper again, but I'm not sure. And at the end of the alley, leaning against the dirty wall, lay the body of a man with a short, filthy black beard and long hair. He was wearing a normal but filthy-looking shirt with suspenders and a fly. It seemed he was some sort of bartender. On first look, his face was a bit rough and a bit saggy, as though he was working with a lot of steam. And then, to his face: his eyes were full of terror, and his tongue was hanging outside his mouth. Blood poured out of every orifice, but it was now dry. And at his eyes were claw marks, just as the deputy described. I wanted to conduct my first investigations when suddenly a man stepped forward. He was wearing a uniform of an inspector, but it wasn't filthy or something; it was clean, as if he had just bought it. Also, his long red beard was combed and waxed, also his hair, which was short but combed to the side, and on top, a fedora, which looked so expensive that I couldn't afford it in two years' salary. He reached out his hand, "You must be the second detective. My name is Detective Inspector Heinrich Peters, and I have already solved this case. So, as you see, blood is pouring out of his face and mouth, which must mean he was poisoned. Also, since he is clearly a bartender, someone could have easily spended him a drink, and after the poor guy was dead, wild animals must have tried to eat the carcass and then ran away, so case closed." I didn't like him. He looked like a fancy person who just wanted to solve the case fast to get his paycheck and then scram back to his house in the rich part of town. But I had other plans. I ignored the hand and said, "Not so fast. Firstly, it doesn't quite look like he was poisoned. If he was, there would be more indicators, like bloody vomit or bruises inside his mouth, around his eyes, or ears, but there are none. Also, if he was poisoned by a drink from a customer, why would he have walked all the way to this alley just to die here? Furthermore, yes, he might have worked as a bartender, but also in some sort of factory, since his face looks like he had a lot to do with machinery that releases steam. And lastly, to the scratches: those aren't bite marks, but scratches. They could be from an animal, but look under his fingernails: there is blood on them and big chunks of skin, so for some reason, he clawed at his own eyes, and when you do an autopsy, you will find that his brain isn't functional anymore." He looked at me with a mix of anger, confusion, and excitement and said, "Who are you, and how do you know this?" I took out my ID and said, "My name is Detective Inspector Tom Jaeger, special investigator for cults and the occult. Not pleased to meet you. There were multiple murders in exactly this fashion all over Germany, and this is the closest to my doorstep yet. So, can I now examine the body, please?" He had a weird baffled look on his face and silently stepped to the side. I slowly moved towards the body. He was crudely lumped against the brick wall and had a wound on the back of his head, which indicated that he had fallen. There were the obvious things I already mentioned to my idiot colleague, but there was more. On his shirt were faint blood stains. I opened it, and just as I expected, he had carvings in his upper body and abdomen: Nordic runes, like Uruz, or a sign that looked like a short hammer, most likely representing Mjolnir, but only those two. A small fight had taken place. I rubbed my chin and thought, why was someone of the Ragnarok guild murdered? I spun around and asked the boy, "Who was he?" The boy answered, "His name was Ludwig Hoffer. He was a bartender at the Gänseblümchen by night, but only on the weekend. The rest of the week, he worked in the factory called... " Let me guess, Wotan GmbH," I said, while he was thinking, "Ehm, yes, right." "I'm going to make you my assistant for this case. You and I are going to my house. I must explain a lot to you, and tomorrow, we are going to the Wotan GmbH. Alright? Oh, also, what exactly was your name again?" I said. "It's Heinrich, sir. I'm glad I can help you," he said and sunk his head. "Good, then let's go before this bearded idiot finds us and annoys me," I replied.