Wraith

Chapter 9 - Oversight

Chapter 9 - Oversight

Police tape was still placed around the entrances to the warehouse, with the footprints of several police officers leading in and out of the interior. Redcliffe pulled open the file as they walked, scanning through the pictures taken of the crime scene before it had been contaminated.

Chancer followed closely behind, none too happy that he'd rushed out of the restaurant before she'd been able to order her food. Redcliffe's walking speed increased as they drew closer to the scene of Asherton's death, his eyes scanning even faster over the reports and photographs of the crime scene.

"No footprints on scene except for Asherton's," he spoke aloud as they rounded the corner of the corridor, into the main room where the body had been found. "No evidence suggesting that the Wraith ever set foot in the room, except for the body."

"So how did he?'

"I don't think he did. The Wraith never walked into this room."

"You're saying he can fly?"

"No, I'm saying he's a hell of a climber."

Redcliffe gestured towards the roof of the warehouse, and the rafters.

"I think he used the roof to get access to those rafters, and then descended to make the kill. Asherton never saw him coming."

"That's thirty feet, easily," Chancer murmured, looking up, "He's a gymnast now?"

"Or someone with infiltration experience. SWAT, kill-squads, it's within their skillset."

"That's why he needed the climbing rope he stole from Duxton," Chancer nodded, seeing it coming together, "He avoided the security camera by avoiding the hallway."

"So he had intimate knowledge of Asherton's schedule. He knew where he'd be and when, and waited in the rafters, using some extra rope to make a noose around Asherton's neck and practically hang him."

"He lifted a fully-grown man into the air for long enough to hang him, while rappelling down himself? This guy's strong."

"Strong, and driven," Redcliffe nodded, tracing a line with his finger along the path he assumed the Wraith had taken, "He lifted Asherton into the air, and stabbed him several times in the chest, discarding the body on the pallets. When he was done, he could just ascend up the rope again and get away clean."

"That's not just military, that's spec-ops. This guy's more dangerous than we thought."

"He's good, but he's not infallible. He's taking some extreme measures to avoid detection, but there's always going to be something left behind."

"Well then we check the roof to see where he got in," Chancer replied, leading the way back out of the warehouse. "A warehouse this old, there's sure to be something."

They both walked through the police tape once again, circling around the side of the building and looking for some way up the side. The warehouse was one of several, all of which had been looked over by police. Access to the roofs didn't seem to be the architect's main concern, and a single ladder approximately ten metres from the entrance was the only access. The ladder itself was quite rusted, but a quick shake from Redcliffe assured him that it would hold his weight. Maybe.

He rolled up his sleeves, climbing slowly at first and signalling for Chancer to wait until he was up. With both of them, it would definitely collapse. When they were both safely up to the whitewashed brick roof, they moved for the window. The warehouses' security didn't cover this angle, it was the ideal way to access the interior undetected, if his hunch was right.