Coded Murder

S E R A P H I N A : 

              It was winter. Crimes suddenly increased here in Oristalis. The cold weather up here in the North made it almost impossible for people to leave the warmth of their homes. This only made it easier for hellions to roam around and terrorize homes without many witnesses or usually none at all. Winter in Oristalis was supposed to be warm and cozy. This year, all the usually warm lights were turned off. The people were scared. They didn't want to attract any crime-makers to their homes. There had been recent reports of families and couples being murdered coming in non-stop.
 

I felt the car skid to a stop. I looked out the winter and realized I had arrived at my location. The crime scene. A family dead inside. I slowly stepped out of the car towards the building which had once housed a supposedly happy family and moved away the caution tape to enter.

Detective Laszlo was already inside. I was sent from Koneras to learn under his guidance. As I studied his demeanor and appearance, he seemed to have been notetaking. Then he suddenly raised his head up and smiled at me.

"Ah yes, Seraphina! The child prodigy the people of Koneras talk about!". I cringed at the compliment. All I did was solve a few more cases than my classmates at the school where we were given mock cases.
  

"Hello Detective Laszlo. I apologize, I'm quite late, the snow was blocking a good deal of roads".

"Ah don't worry about it Seraphina, it doesn't matter now that you're here." He looked quite cheerful. Too cheerful to be exact. He seemed kind of nervous. 

Suddenly a tall, slim, dark-haired woman in a red dress came in. She had a stiff posture and walked robotically. I noticed she had scratches on her skin like she was made of metal. Long white gray streaks on her skin. It was as if she had just been in a fight.
 

"Isabeu! You've returned! I'd like for you to meet Seraphina, she'll be studying under me for the next week and a half." Isabeu looked at me and gave me a robotic smile. She slowly lifted up her hand and waved slowly. Part of her dress was torn by the edge of the sleeve. 

 "Ah Seraphina, my apologies. Isabeu doesn't talk much. She looks quite lovely though, doesn't she?". I nodded. She was indeed perfect except for the damage on her dress and the scratch marks. Isabeu then turned and left. As she left I noticed a small knife strapped to her left leg with bits of blood on it.

"Yes, she is indeed beautiful. And the family, they died from stab marks, correct?". "Yes indeed, they were found with multiple stab markers. The mother suffered a good deal of stab markers in her arms. It is unsure whether the culprit had purposefully attacked this family specifically or had simply wanted to kill. All we can assume is that these criminals just have a spontaneous crave for murder".

I kneeled down and looked at the mother. She had been stabbed near her right lung once. Her arms had countless amounts of stabs inflicted upon them. I examined more and more until I got to her hands. Her nails had some gunk inside. It looked like crumpled paper. It was a peach-ish color. I wonder what it could've possibly been that she was scratching.

Suddenly, Detective Laszlo's voice broke my train of thoughts. "Seraphina, I'll be heading out now, I'll see you tomorrow at the office at six am. Have a good night".

"Alright, goodbye". I examined the bodies of the father, son, and daughter and noticed nothing peculiar such as a specific stabbing in a certain area as it had been with the mother. 

As I grabbed my messenger bag and was about to head out I stopped in my tracks. Detective Laszlo was still here. He was in his car. What surprised me more was that Isabeu was still here as well. She was in his car sitting next to them. Detective Laszlo seemed to be scolding her. I seemed to have stared for too long.