When It Snows

Chapter 8

After checking the crime location, Eden and Mark went to the hospital where the victim's body was taken for an autopsy. Mark was standing in front of the autopsy room and was talking to someone on the phone. Eden spoke with the autopsy team and received the autopsy report.

"As written in the report, the victim was recorded as a werewolf and from the autopsy of his body he also had the characteristics of a werewolf but after all the checking procedures were carried out, it was found that the victim before he died was no longer a werewolf but the victim had almost turned into a vampire. No vampire bite marks were found and a normal vampire is unlikely to be able to turn a werewolf into a vampire. The biggest possibility is that a pure vampire or elder of the vampire has given his blood to turn the victim into a vampire. But the victim who is not fully a vampire is likely to be depressed because of his body changes from a werewolf becoming a vampire and eventually committing suicide by tying himself in front of the window and hanging himself. But it is also possible that he was killed but there were no signs of violence or poison. His death was caused by the pain when his skin blistered hit by the sun and then bleeds out and has trouble breathing. The rope hanging around his neck wasn't deep, so it's possible that the victim was weak and dying when he hanged himself and then he died shortly after that," the long explanation from the autopsy team leader made the mystery of the victim's death even more solved but also wider.

Eden nodded and brought the report, "So the biggest possibility is suicide?".

"Yes, because there were no signs of violence that might have been committed by other people, nor were fingerprints found by other people," replied the head of the autopsy team.

"Okay, then I'll come back later. Oh yes, the victim's family has been contacted so you quickly finish what you want to do to the victim's body and then clean it before giving it to the victim's family," said Eden, glancing at the autopsy team leader before turning to leave.

"Okay, calm down. I will return this body to his family intact and in good condition", replied the autopsy team leader with a smile on his face.

Mark who was waiting at the door and overheard the two's conversation got goosebumps and muttered, "He is a psychopath".

"Let's go," Eden said to Mark.

Mark immediately followed Eden and reported, "I've called the victim's family and the eldest son who received the call. The son said that his mother was missing so they would come here to collect his father's body in maybe 2 to 3 days."

"His mother disappeared? The victim's wife disappeared along with the death of her husband?" Eden said quietly which made Mark glance at him.

"Let's go back to the office first," said Eden who immediately walked quickly.

Arriving at the office, Eden summoned everyone for a meeting regarding the case of yesterday's corpse discovery. Everyone was sitting in the meeting room and Eden was standing in front of the whiteboard with a marker in his hand which he was using to draw the schematic of the case.

"Identity of the victim?" said Eden, who wrote the victim's name on the blackboard then wrote werewolf under it and pointed at Ryan.

"The victim's name is John Lumley, age 43. A werewolf who has entered this city since 7 years ago and works at the X machine company. The victim has a wife and 3 children who live outside the city. During the 7 years he lived here, it was recorded that almost every month he will go back to his wife and child's residence at least twice a month. However, since 5 months ago, the victim has not gone back to his wife's residence," said Ryan who gave the report.

"Then what about the CCTV apartment, old man Tian?", said Eden, now pointing at Tian.

Tian turned his laptop so that Eden and everyone could see the video on his laptop, "As Ryan said that the victim has worked here for 7 years and from the CCTV footage from 7 years ago when he moved first move into that apartment, the victim came with his family. This is from CCTV there is nothing unusual for 7 years, the victim only goes in the morning to work and comes back around 6 pm every day with groceries for dinner after that he doesn't come out again until the next day. There are not many guests who come to his house either, which is probably just a co-worker but since 6 months ago there has been one person who often comes to the victim's apartment and even seems to live there too. That person is this man."

"Ryan, you looking for the identity of this person!", Eden said to Ryan then he wrote on the whiteboard.

"Mark, how about your interview with the residents in the same building?" Eden asked Mark.

Mark replied by reading his notebook, "The occupants on the other floor, almost all of them said they didn't know the victim and only occasionally saw him in the parking lot but there were 5 people who said they knew him because they worked in the same place but they weren't close enough just to know each other's name and sometimes just say hello. Residents on the same floor, also say they don't know him because almost all residents on the same floor are new residents who have only lived between 4-1 months. They said they just meet in the elevator or accidentally see when they just got out".

"But when I asked the occupants on his left and right and the occupants in front of him, they all replied that two men were living there, one was the victim and the other was a young man whose characteristics were the same as the person previously indicated by Uncle Tian", continued Mark.

"Okay, that means right now what we have to look for the most is that man", Eden said seriously.

"Jia, what about the victim's family?" Eden asked Jia.

"As Ryan said that the victim's family all live outside the city. His wife is a nurse in a private hospital, his eldest son is studying at K University and lives with his grandmother and the other two children are still in elementary school. There is nothing strange about the victim's family and all of the victim's family is a werewolf except for his wife. His wife is a human but his children are listed as a werewolf," said Jia explaining her report.

"Mark, how was it when you called his family?" Eden asked Mark.

"Ah, yes. The phone number of his family recorded in the victim's records turned out to be the number of his eldest son. When he was called earlier to inform him about the death of the victim, his son was very surprised because he had not seen his father for almost 2 years since he entered college but his father just 4 days ago called him and even transferred money to his account. Not to mention, he also received news from his younger siblings that his mother hadn't been home for 3 days. When I asked how his mother was missing, he replied that his younger siblings said his mother left for work as usual then the next day when his mother was supposed to be home, his mother called his siblings' caregiver and said that his mother was going to work late because she had to replace another nurse but after that, there was no news. His siblings' caregiver called the hospital, the hospital said that his mother was on leave and did not go to the hospital. Therefore, the victim's eldest son will go home first to look for his mother in the village and maybe the day after tomorrow he will be able to retrieve his father's body," replied Mark, remembering the conversation on the phone earlier.

"Okay, so the period for his wife's disappearance and the death of the victim is quite fitting. Then the young man who lives with the victim, when was the last time he was in the victim's apartment?" Eden said.

Tian replied, "From CCTV, the man who lived with the victim was last seen a week ago with a large bag when the victim was not at home and after that, no one else came to the victim's apartment and return day as usual".

"Zee, did you record everything we talked about correctly?", said Eden who saw Zee just pensive.

Zee seemed to be focused on other things so he didn't hear Eden's words until Ryan threw the pencil in front of him until it hit his hand, "Ahh???".

Eden repeated his words, "Zee, did you record what we talked about? Why are you silent like that?".

"Ah sorry, chief. But seeing that person, I remember when I was attacked by someone until I became a vampire", said Zee who seemed to be remembering.

"You know this person?" Eden asked seriously.

Zee nodded, "I've seen him in the campus library, he caught my attention because of his very white skin and girl-like face. Erm, I saw him before I was attacked too... Yes!! I saw him with the person who attacked me!!".

"Vampire", Eden muttered.

"It's possible that he pretended to be a student at C University. The case of C University isn't over yet!!", said Ryan who immediately got up from his seat.

_

Eden came to C University with Zee, Zee was very happy because he could leave and return to his campus but because he was currently with Eden on duty, Zee held back his emotions and focused on following Eden.

Eden knew Zee's feelings and said, "I have taken care of your college leave, next semester you can go back to lectures and also meet your family but for now you have to be under the supervision and you must learn as well to divide your time between study and work".

"Thank you, Chief. I don't know anymore if I didn't meet you chief and other seniors I will surely die or go crazy after becoming a vampire", said Zee who was very grateful.

"If you feel grateful, then you have to keep trying to be better and work seriously. Becoming a vampire doesn't mean the end of your world but this is the beginning of your world", said Eden who patted Zee's shoulder.

Eden knocked on the door and the person in the room immediately answered and opened the door. Eden smiled and greeted "Hello, Aaron. We meet again".

Aaron was a little surprised but he just smiled and told Eden to come in, "Eden, come in".

Eden and Zee entered, Eden said "This time I came for non-personal work purposes. Here is the letter".

"Oh", Aaron took the letter from Eden's hand and accidentally his finger touched Eden's hand but Eden grabbed Aaron's finger instead.

"I wanted to meet the Chancellor of C University but he wasn't there so I just left a letter at the secretariat and came straight here to ask you and other lecturers," said Eden who stroked Aaron's palm for a moment before being released.

"Oh okay, what can I help you with?" said Aaron, signalling Eden and Zee to sit on the sofa.

Eden who was already sitting took out a photo and placed it on the table, "You know this kid?".

Aaron took the photo and shook his head after staring at the photo for a while "I don't know him but I've seen him a few times in public lectures".

"Do you have a list of those who attended the public lectures? Did everyone attend the public lectures, including people who were not C University students?" asked Eden.

Aaron glanced at Zee who was busy writing in his notebook then turned to Eden and replied, "For the list, I don't have it because I'm not the committee but maybe I can help you to get it from the committee. For public lectures, indeed everyone can follow it but mostly participating are C University students themselves".

"Okay, then I ask for your help", Eden said gratefully.

"Wait a minute," said Aaron, who stood up from his seat and walked to his desk and called someone using the cable phone on his desk.

_

To Be Continued