An old man with a thick beard and unkempt black hair was looking out the window of his room. He sighed heavily after seeing the residents in front of his house who seemed to be doing their morning activities with thick fog that limited their vision. Even the man could only see a few people out of the many people who should have been visible to him at this time. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't his one-eyed glasses' fault, it was just that the fog was too thick for him to enjoy the morning scenery.
"This fog is covering up the beauty," he muttered to himself.
"Yes, you're right. This damn fog has also complicated the murder cases in this city," said a young man who was sitting at a table with a pile of papers containing case files that they were working on.
The old man smiled at the sound of it, then he turned to the young man and said, "You're really serious about this, aren't you? Even though you're just an assistant."
The young man furrowed his brow and shouted, "You're the weird one! Shouldn't you be the one who's more serious about handling these cases, Mr. Thomas Croft?"
"I'm just telling you to calm down."
"You're telling me to calm down? 34 people have died in the last 2 weeks, and you're telling me to calm down?"
"So you care about them all?"
The young man was silent for a moment before he replied, "Yes, what's wrong with me caring?"
"The problem is that you're lying. Don't you just want to find this killer?"
"It's our job, isn't it?"
"Yeah, you're using the excuse of work to find these killers so they get the treatment they deserve. But... Aren't you doing it because you want to find your sister's killer?"
The young man immediately looked at Thomas with a sharp gaze, then slowly stood up and quickly approached Thomas. Without hesitation, he stood in front of Thomas with his sharp gaze and said, "That's none of your business. It's not funny for you to bring it up. You'd better get out of here now. Or do you want this room to have red as its pattern?"
Thomas smiled broadly after hearing that and replied, "Are you going to kill me?"
"No, I'm going to beat you up until I'm satisfied."
"Wow, scary!" said Thomas in a mocking tone, then continued, "Are you sure that's none of your business? I'm not sure about that, Mr. Arthur Blackwood," after which he passed the young man with a smile on his face towards the exit.
Meanwhile, Arthur's gaze returned to normal and slowly weakened as he thought about something.
Not long after that, Thomas, who was in front of the door, said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go to the crime scene."
Arthur came back to his senses from his contemplation and immediately walked with a look that seemed very annoyed at Thomas, but he still followed Thomas' words. They left using a horse-drawn carriage to one of the places where the missing person case took place, which was allegedly a murder case by local residents.
The horse-drawn carriage creaked slowly on the cobblestone road. Thomas sat upright, his eyes observing every detail along the way, while Arthur seemed restless, his hands clenched tightly.
"So, you think this is just a normal missing person case, Mr. Croft?" Arthur frowned, his gaze sharp, then continued, "Thirty-four people have disappeared in the last two weeks. That's not a small number."
"The numbers are impressive, Arthur, but it doesn't necessarily mean it is a murder case." Thomas smiled thinly, calm and relaxed. "They could have left town, or... maybe they're just tired of the constant fog," Thomas grinned, slightly mocking.
"You can always find absurd reasons, Mr. Croft!" Arthur hit the carriage door hard, making Thomas and the driver a little surprised. "The evidence at the crime scene shows violence. There are signs of resistance, blood..."
"Signs of resistance?" Thomas raised an eyebrow, as if belittling. "Arthur, you know, people could get hurt while wrestling with a thief. Blood? It could be from a small wound. We need stronger evidence than that."
"Strong evidence?" Arthur stood up, his face flushed with anger. "Do you want to wait until all the people in this town disappear?"
"Be patient, Arthur." Thomas remained calm, his hands folded in front of his chest."We need to think logically, not emotionally. We have to check all the possibilities, including the simplest ones."
"Waiting?" Arthur growled, his voice full of anger."We can't just wait, Mr. Croft! My little sister..."
Arthur sat back in his own seat because of the jolt of the carriage. Then Thomas put his hand on Arthur's shoulder, calming Arthur whose emotions were exploding.
"I know, Arthur." Thomas looked into Mr. Arthur's eyes with a deep and understanding gaze. "But emotions won't solve this case. We need evidence. Real evidence. Society is not as gentle as you think, kid. Just because you think it's a murder case, doesn't mean others will understand. But I'm different, I understand, but this isn't how it works. You understand?"
Arthur looked weak while listening, and afterwards he tried to calm himself down while saying, "Okay! Fine!... Fine..."
The carriage stopped suddenly. The carriage driver, a man with a rough face and sharp eyes, turned around, a knife hidden behind his back, said, "We've arrived, gentlemen." The driver smiled sinisterly, his eyes suggesting evil intent.
Thomas and Arthur looked at each other, confused. This place wasn't the crime scene they were headed to. It was an old warehouse, dark and silent. Before they could ask, the driver attacked.
"You are too dangerous. You can't live!" The driver lunged at Arthur, the knife stabbing towards him.
Arthur parried the attack quickly, but the driver was strong and aggressive. They grappled, the sound of bodies colliding and the hiss of the knife hitting Arthur's skin was clearly audible. But unfortunately, their location at this time was very quiet, perfect for attempted murder. Thomas just watched, calm and alert.
Suddenly, with a quick and precise movement, Thomas kicked the driver's leg to help Arthur who was already full of wounds, causing the driver to lose his balance. The driver fell over, the knife slipping from his grip. Before the driver could get up, Thomas had grabbed his neck, choking him easily.
"You're too weak." Thomas tightened his grip, the driver's face turned red from holding his breath. "I've dealt with people like you many times."
The driver struggled, but was helpless. His eyes began to bulge, his breath came in gasps. Finally, his body went limp and motionless. Thomas threw the driver's body to the warehouse gate and made the gate open, then he turned to look at Arthur who was still gasping.
"Are you okay, Arthur?) Thomas looked at Arthur with a calm expression, as if the incident just now was normal.
While gasping, Arthur replied, "I...yes, Mr. Croft. I didn't expect that..."
Thomas smiled thinly, "Sometimes, Arthur, the simplest things are the most effective."
After that, Thomas returned to the driver who had trapped them and put handcuffs on him so he would have difficulty moving.
While Thomas was busy handcuffing the driver, Arthur actually entered the warehouse whose gate was open because the driver was thrown to the gate earlier.
After seeing the contents of the warehouse, Arthur couldn't say anything to describe what he had seen. He could only keep staring at the warehouse ceiling with an uncomfortable feeling while saying, "Mr. Croft, you should see this..."
Thomas, who was still outside with the driver, replied, "Arthur, I'm busy interrogating this bastard."
"I think... This is more important than that bastard," replied Arthur in a low voice, still focused on looking at the ceiling.
Thomas, who was also curious because he saw Arthur's strange behavior, slowly entered. He was curious about what Arthur saw, so he tried to follow Arthur's line of sight after entering.
And sure enough, Thomas felt that this was more important than the driver after seeing what they were seeing at this time.
Dozens of people were hanging by ropes around their necks, whether it was men, women, or even children. The quiet atmosphere of the building and the fact that it was quite dark because of the few entrances of light made the atmosphere even more frightening.
"I'm not seeing things, am I, Mr. Croft?" said Arthur, who was starting to tremble.
"If what you see is the hanging corpses, yes."
After that, Arthur vomited because he felt sick after thinking about something excessive. While Thomas looked worried with a furrowed brow because he was confused and curious about what had happened in the warehouse.
Not long after that, a group of police officers arrived and pointed their guns at Thomas and Arthur.
"Put your hands up! Drop your weapons and kneel or die!"
"We didn't do anything!" said Arthur while raising his hands so he wouldn't be shot.
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Thomas just observed their situation and tried to understand. He also looked at the driver he had previously captured. The police were helping him get out of the handcuffs on his hands.
Arthur and Thomas were arrested and told to walk with handcuffs on their hands while being pointed at with guns right at their heads. Any strange movement they made would kill them, they knew the risks.
But Arthur, who was stubborn, kept trying to convince and even reveal his identity as a detective.
While Thomas was still focusing his gaze on the driver who was now casually talking with one of the police officers there.
There were a few moments when Thomas and the driver looked at each other, and the driver smiled mockingly at Thomas.
Seeing that made Thomas understand what was happening. They were in this position for a reason. Thomas already understood what was happening in general, even though he realized he still didn't understand everything. But it was precisely because of that, Thomas smiled at the last moment he was seen before the door of the prisoner carriage closed tightly.