Of Murder and other Dark Deeds

A Dark Presence

This was the part she hated most.

The lower streets of the city were cast into darkness by the shadows of the skyscrapers. From down here, one had to squint to see the sky above. Pauli shivered. She hated the dark, yet down here, the shadows might be the only place she felt safe. She stuck to them, moving through the darkness, avoiding anyone and anything that moved. It was another world down here, in the dark. The buildings seemed abandoned and in various states of disrepair: Streetside stores were left open, and the glass of the skyscrapers was cracked or even shattered. Graffiti was painted on others, depicting obscene images of nobles, soldiers and, most damning, the Emperor himself.

Pauli had no love for the nobles, even less love for the Emperor, but she hated that someone drew such things. Even she had enough sense to respect them, faults and all. Today, she was lucky. She made her way to the Commission building without encountering anyone on the streets. Yet, she could not shake the feeling. Someone is watching me. As she stepped into the brightly lit allies and streets surrounding the Detective Commission building, she felt eyes on her, and not the eyes of the men and women clad in black armour or shady pedestrians. No. It was something else. Something stalking her in the very shadows she used moments ago. She turned to face it, squinting into the darkness. Nothing. She wished it was her imagination. But how could it be?

Last night, her apartment door stood wide open. Someone was inside her house. Whomever it was ruffled through her closet, stealing her undergarments and other odd personal items. Even thinking about it sent shivers down her spine. She hurried past the black-clad soldiers who stood guard in front of the entrance to the Detective Commission. One was human, the other, a hulkish brute of a Shain who scoffed at her as she entered the building.

The lobby was a large chamber with white and black tiled floors and walls painted similarly. Only four receptionists manned the lobby, keeping an unending mob of people at bay, each with their own grievances and problems. She did not wait in one of the mob's neatly organised lines. She hurried past them towards an elevator. She nodded to an elven receptionist, the only receptionist who was alive, so to speak. The others were robots, Shackled Sentinels, indentured to the Commission for all eternity.

"He might be busy today." The elf called out.

"When is he not?" Pauli answered with a shaky smile.

She entered the elevator. It was decorated with the same black and white tile pattern as the lobby, but here, each black tile was a mirror. Pauli studied herself in the small mirror as the elevator ascended to the 8th floor. Although the building itself had 100 floors, the Commission only owned ten. Pauli was tired, and her face showed it. Dark rings showed under her brown eyes, and her long blonde hair was a mess. The elevator opened behind her. The ride up was fast, but somehow, it felt slower than before.

She hurried into a bland grey hallway. This entire floor seemed almost degraded, with its chipped paint and stained carpets. Above, one of the lights was flickering. The hallway led into an office space with several cubicles. Some were empty, while others had assistant detectives working on smaller cases the more famous detectives had no interest in solving.

Pauli walked to the opposite end of the space, where doors to individual offices stood closed. From behind some, she noted hushed voices. She knocked on one. "Come in." A voice came. Pauli entered. The office was as odd as its owner. Closed wooden blinds hid the outside world, and neatly organised stacks of paper files stood on an old wooden desk.

Behind the desk, Detective Michael Sax sat, greeting Pauli with a charismatic smile. He was a handsome man. His face was clean-shaven, and his hair was short and combed neatly. His brown eyes studied her intently until she took the seat opposite him.