Malleable Disappearance [Case File Topic, Cadets]

A particular part of the Backlights streets were filled with the quickly alternating red-blue lights. Cruisers parked near the entrance and the back exits of a stylish home, with a number of police officers already occupying the premises and taking notes. Of course, the area around the abode was cordoned off with the yellow-black caution tape, warding off unnecessary civilian elements. Something happened here, that was for sure. Several officers were guarding the entrance, waiting for someone from the Cadets to enter the home to examine the crime scene.

But that was going to have to wait as one of the Prince's own was waiting outside for his seniors to arrive. He was just sitting near the steps while nervously twiddling his thumbs. That is, until one of them finally arrived.


Sera was pretty nervous since this was his first time on the job. The more Cadets to look after him, the better and the faster he could learn. But never mind that, they were here for a reason. The young recruit tried to remain composure as he began, "The cops said the owner of this house is called Jacob and his neighbor noticed a scuffle from the window. They think this could be the work of a Psyche-Terrorist, like the Demon Painter. Anyway we should go in and check."

He gestured his senior towards the door as the officers were waiting on them.

The post lights were reflected by the glistering red paint that covered the car while it made it's way the crime scene. Inside the driver firmly grasped the steering wheel as his eyes focused on the road, deep down he had a lot of concerns about the investigation he was about to take on. Would he be enough? Could he make up for his past failure and move one step closer to greatness? This thoughts would be cut short once he noticed he was getting closer to his destination.

The sleek red car would park not too far away from the crime scene and out of it a slender and blonde cadet wearing a suit would step out one feet at a time before closing the door carefully. He'd walk up to Sera with quick steps without saying a word until he was standing just a few meters away from the boy. GioGio had an air of confidence in his walk and body language, despite his previous doubts.


"...I'm Gionatan Giovanni by the way." He spoke in a calm voice while wearing a serene expression, the fabulous cadet would extend his hand for a handshake with the recruit. Should the other accept it or not was irrelevant as he'd quietly listen to what he had to say before opening his mouth again. "Filthy terrorists, always ruining the order of our society." He'd pause for a moment as he accompanied Sera inside the house. "Do we have anything relevant on the victim?"

Such a sweet ride came by in this evening and it made Sera envious of this Gionatan. But he seemed so reliable and really cool. How many other Cadets were like this? The other officers didn't seem to really mind much about the Cadet's arrival, but they did have the same envious eyes when their eyes landed on the red ferrari. Though the recruit would stammer out, "O-oh, okay. Um, this Jacob guy is actually a hotshot artist. It's why some of the cops here think it's probably the Demon Painter or something. I guess that's why we're here to check it out and see what's up. There isn't much about Jacob, but for some reason he's not around."

They were led around the interior of the home by the officers. Soon they'd find themselves in the master bedroom of the place. Sera examined his surroundings before nodding at Gio. "Time to get to work?"

Investigations:

GioGio would simply make a mental note of that quietly, although it didn't seem that important to the investigation at the moment.

"Let's do it." He said while nodding back at Sera. Gionatan's cristal blue eyes would travel all across the room, analyzing the place and making mental notes. Outside the bloody footprints, the thing that most caught his attention was the red envelope laying on the on top of the purple pillow.

Activating QAS > Quick Action Sequence:

>1. Examine the envelope thoroughly for more clues.

>2. Discard the clue and continue to investigate the scene. Choose another clue to examine.

"Ah, Europe..." The Giovanni said, the nostalgia in his voice was hard to miss while he examined the envelope, but those feelings would be short lived as he quickly focused on looking for clues.

When opened and read, the message came from some random fan conveying their respect and even adoration for him. This doesn't seem at all relevant to what happened to the artist. It is better to move on...

"Useless, useless. I should have expected this." Gionatan placed his hand over his forehead while shaking the whole head in disappointment.

The set of footprints probably have two specific sets. One seem to be of some colored paint and the other being dirt. The former's footprints had a pattern in its soles while the other was almost entirely blank, denoting casual and formal footwear respectively.

"Just paint, not actual blood." The cadet let out a sigh as his eyes moved to something else in the room, perhaps he should investigate more before looking at footprints for info.

The investigation team comes across a canvas. It seems to be a painted picture of the victim. A lot of red has been used and it seems to be of the same hue as those of the footprints. It seems to be wet and rather fresh. It has started to dry and begin to set in.

"Seems like his painting was cut short by his kidnapper" He quietly tapped his chin a few times, pondering on the matter.

Upon closer examination, there doesn't seem to be any signs of fingerprints or any notable marks to be seen with the human eye. It was almost as if the canvas and painting themselves were completely unblemished by any means. Even more bizarre was the extremely high detail of the painting, almost as if it were taking a photograph of the actual victim himself. It captured his likeness completely. It denoted a very long period of work that would make one hard pressed to finish within a day. There was something very unsettling about it, and it wasn't just about the uncanny valley.

Activating QAS > Quick Action Sequence:

Telling from the clues, it suggests:

1. The victim didn't make this work.

2. The Psyche-Terrorist wanted to coerce the victim to give him the painting.

3. Continue to investigate the rest of the crime scene before coming to an answer.

"This is very... bizarre." Gionatan stated, he was no expert in art but this amount of details was unnatural, definitely the result of the Psyche terrorists using their powers.

"I... I think so too!" Sera piped up in agreement, but then deflated a bit, "But, what happened to the victim?"