1 Time Is Running, Dear Jer

"Did you find any other clues?"

Detective Jeremy Grayson inquired from the officer who had been looking at him with annoyance. 

"No, detective. As usual the killer did not leave any clues just this raven symbol on the floor. His skills are appreciable."

The cop fished out a round device about the size of his palm and a blue light emerged from it.

Soon the light accompanied a raven symbol carved from wood which rotated in the middle of the blue screen.

"Mm, are you sure it's the same killer?"

Detective Jeremy keenly looked at it and didn't try to grab the symbol, because he did not want to put his fingerprints on it accidentally. 

"Why don't you step in and look for yourself, Jeremy? The pattern is exactly same. I'm certain."

The cop rolled his eyes while his stiffened expressions faced Jeremy, who had been standing in the door by covering his mouth and nose with a mask.

"You know blood and smell of a rotten body disgusts me, Connor."

Jeremy touched his digital see through mask which had been covering his nose and mouth and had been serving as a purifier. 

"Sure, sure, that's why you always drag me with you for inspection."

Officer Conner clicked his tongue and turned around to get back into the flat.

"Okay boys, pick the body and send it to the lab."

All the boys wearing police uniforms followed the command of their chief. 

One of them aimed his space ring in the index finger at the dead body and a body bag emerged and engulfed the body.

"Should we get going, chief?"

An officer tried to inquire and nodded after getting the signal from the chief. 

Jeremy got out of the way and the cops walked out of the apartment heading towards the staircase. While the dead body was still engulfed and shrunken within the energy bubble of body bag, which the cops carried with them.

"Now, Jer will you proceed with your inquiry now that the source of your disturbance is gone?"

Connor mocked him and gestured Jeremy to walk inside the murder scene. 

No doubt he had known Jeremy since their college years and was aware of his reluctance in the regard. 

Jeremy rattled the pocket of his jeans and took out a glass bottle then puffed the whole room to freshen up the air. 

Jeremy inspected the whole front hall which had no clue, no broken things and nothing else which could lead them to the killer. 

"I suppose this killer is some psychopath or,"

Detective halted in front of the shelf and glanced at the photographs, in which he could see the middle aged police officer. 

"Or perhaps a mind hunter, who knows how to play with our minds."

He moved towards the other rooms and as expected everything was clean.

"I believe so your premise is accurate, detective. The way he had killed more than ten people in the past two months and still hadn't been caught is...amazing!"

Connor was roaming around the apartment too when his words stunned Jeremy and he paused his search to praise the killer. 

"Indeed. No doubt he is amazing and leaves no clue other than animals or birds carved symbols."

He nodded thoughtfully and then walked towards the big window in the lounge. It was unusual for a detective to puke at the sight of dead bodies and feel disgusted at the stench of blood. 

But detective Jeremy Grayson was an exception because of his exceptional grey cells and skills in putting the things into right order. 

In a nutshell he achieved the rank of chief detective worth his insightful abilities and became the youngest member in the agency.

"But we are still unable to decode those symbols. There's nothing in them apparently, just some figurines on wood."

Connor explained the recent realization and filled in his pal. Meanwhile he opened the digital system on his wrist and scrolled through the weapons.

Jeremy was all ears to his words but his brain was also running somewhere else. He pulled the blinders and the slashing sunlight peeked into the apartment. 

Right in front of him stood a tall building with numerous flats which had a highway above the roof which had no support.

"That's what I've been thinking, Connor. What exactly does this killer want from us?"

Jeremy cast a look outside and saw the neighbourhood of the victim. 

There was nothing much to add to the clue list which was nearly just one thing, symbols. A meaningful smirk appeared on his lips without any cause, as if he had been hiding something intentionally. 

An exceptional detective like him could not catch the killer yet, impossible! 

"It is still not clear what exactly he is trying to imply and the way he has no pattern of choosing his next target, makes him more dangerous." 

Jeremy skimmed his eyes through the skybridge and calculated that if the killer had approached the old man, then there was only one way to barge into the building.

Of course, no locks were broken nor security cameras but they were disabled for sure which proved the hacking skills.

"So, what should we do?"

Connor mentioned his concern just like other people in the neighbourhood who had been peeking from their luxurious quarters. 

"Precautions! We need to be careful of every unusual thing or movement by anyone."

Jeremy turned around and headed towards the door while Connor followed him.

But behind the cop's back the  digitally summoned gun was screaming of betrayal and jealousy, which soon dissipated in the air like it never existed. 

The cop locked the door by putting a chip in the middle of the automatic steel door. The chip beeped and a few spider legs emerged from it clawing the door.

It seemed a big spider resting there which had hacked into the lock system of the apartment. Considering the device only belonged to cops thus no one could trespass now.

Whereas in the interminable moment Jeremy felt a sharp pain in his left wrist. The detective put off his glove a little and saw the wrist burning and forming a carving.

'No, not again.'

Jeremy immediately saw Connor who was busy with ensuring that the things were done correctly.

He wanted to wince but bit his lips to control when the 'saying' on his wrist completed. 

[Time is running, dear Jer.]