Dragon's Den🐉(DDen)

|A New Lead|

Ross inspected the five corpses, recognizing them as the thugs he took out the night before. Taking out his notepad and pen from his pocket, he jotted down details of the corpses.

15th June 1876

Victims: Three men, twin women, and an elderly lady.

Scene of the crime: A gutter near an alleyway in London.

Objects obtained: A basket of goodies, a pocket knife, an identity card, a passport, and a white handbag.

Witnesses: None

Yuuka walked up to him as he finished writing. "Hello there, detective!"

"Miss Yuuka! How are you-" A yell from a detective interrupted them. "Mr. Ross! Come over! I found something!" They looked at each other, and then they walked towards the detective. Ross noticed a red bead in his hand. "What have you got there?" The man looked confused. "I just saw this lying around. Do you think we can use this?" Ross yelled as he recognized the pattern on the bead. "I've seen this bead before! I know the owner of this bead!"

Everyone in the room, including Yuuka, turned to him. Some were confused, others sneered at him, and the rest looked on in shock. Chief Officer Peters momentarily doubted Ross. How could he be sure of its owner, and its origin? Ross cleared his throat and faced the crowd. "Yesterday I encountered a Chinese man, who had a bracelet made of beads like that one! Later that night, five thugs were about to attack some policemen. I came right in time to stop them, wounding one of their members and forcing them to retreat." The crowd drew closer.

"A Chinese man hid in the darkest corner of the alley, taunting me with his dragon-like teeth. The red beads on his bangle shone dully in the moonlight. All the beads looked like this!" He picked up the bead and waved it in the air for everyone to see. "Blimey, we've got a lead!" "How are we sure this is legitimate?" "Are we cursed?" "Is this the end of the world?" "Who in God's name is the Chinese man?" The crowd broke into murmurs. Some whispered to themselves, the others held their heads and sighed. What was going on?

"Silence! This isn't some hocus-pocus, it's a paranormal mystery. Mind you, I am very familiar with those things." A masculine voice boomed across the hall. "I am Ronald Kirkland. I am a paranormal detective. God blessed me with special powers, powers that allow me to communicate with the spirits. I can also see into the past and the future!" The crowd burst into loud cheers. His appearance dazzled the single ladies, with his fair-skin, short wavy brown hair, and bright blue eyes. He wore his favorite brown suit with a sky blue dress shirt to match. The crowd parted for Ronald as he made his way to Ross. Ronald clutched the bead in his palm and closed his eyes.

"It's quite faint, but I sense a spirit from the ancient times. Its origins are strongly rooted in Ancient China. Its a predominantly male spirit. It will come in handy later on, I can assure you about that." "Mr. Ross, Miss Yuuka. I hope you remember the case in Toronto we solved a few years ago." Ross and Yuuka glanced into each other's eyes. Their eyes shone with joy, happy to reunite with another friend. Chief Officer Peters decided to send everyone home, as there was nothing else to discover.

"Go home and rest! We will gather here tomorrow, and make sure you bring the best equipment you've got!" Peters rounded up his men to safely lead the crowd outside. The former gloomy mood was lifted, and everyone went home with a sparkle in their eyes. Today's events gave them hope. "Ross, Kirkland, Peters, I would like to talk to the three of you." Chief Officer Peters pulled them to a quiet corner. The remaining policemen left the hall, leaving the four alone. "Today's events have been promising so far. I'm glad to have you three in this case. Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to go this far with just my men."

The three nodded, urging him to continue. "We need to be more careful and less flashy form now on. We can only work together to solve this case, so any disagreements will not be tolerated!" "We will work together, and we will put the culprit behind bars. You are my best men for now." Peters nodded, satisfied with Ross's reply. Yuuka and Ronald nodded as well. They didn't feel the need to speak. "I'll call you three tomorrow. Make sure you're prepared." The four left the hall, feeling a slight dread. No matter how they tried to shake it off, there was a strange feeling in their stomachs.

After the meeting with the detectives, Peters drove to his office in the London Police department. While driving, a shadow zoomed across his rearview mirror. He hurried into the building. With a small key, he opened the grey door to his office. He rubbed his shoulders, slightly disturbed by the unusual cold. Three crucifixes hung in the room; a large silver one on the door, and two small ones on both windows. His shoes squeaked on the white tiled floor. He opened a binder containing witness reports. Thirty minutes passed, and he was unable to find any leads. He tried connecting the witness reports to corpses, then he tried recollecting the evidence they found. Nothing added up; it was like all the evidence led to a different crime. While resting, he saw an old diary on the edge of the desk. One of the men found it behind a bush in the museum's dinosaur exhibit.

The book was old and ripped apart, and the back cover was missing. It was navy blue in color, and the front cover spelled 'Writer's Choice' in white. The white paint was faded and yellowed. When he opened the first page, an old picture fell out from one of the pages. A smiling Japanese woman in a blue kimono with a pink rose design stood behind a tree in a park. To Peters's horror, a Chinese man with a devilish grin stood behind her. The Chinese man was similar to the one in Ross's description. When he saw the red bangle on his wrist, he almost bashed his head on the wall from fright.

'I saw a Chinese man in his thirties in the background smiling at me, and he had dragon-like teeth, a tattoo of a crescent moon on his neck and a bangle with red beads.'

The temperature in the room dropped at an alarming rate.