Immediately after leaving the college building, Levi whipped out his cellphone and called Erwin, demanding for an autopsy of the victim that still lay cold inside his classroom. However, the analyzing of the soil that was contained inside Levi's found envelope proved to be the top priority in Erwin's eyes, though the shorter detective still had no idea why. Even more so, the dirt had to be surveyed first before the body, much to Levi's distress.
Calling it a day, Levi drove Aria back to her apartment, exhausted and spent from the long day full of emotional dips and peaks. The girl exited the car solemnly, waving a timid wave to the detective before tiptoeing back into her apartment. She shuffled passed a white Civic, a dark blue Silverrod, and a white Ram, which were he only three vehicles in the parking lot besides Levi’s own dark green Mazda.
Aria started climbing up the stairs, her damp caramel hair flowing behind her. As she scaled the steps, Levi took notice that her cream skirt and blazer was now a more off color, and her black flats were smeared in dirt from the muddy rain.
"That's what you get for wearing that kind of get-up on your first day of the job," Levi muttered grimly. "Or any day of this job, really..."
Without another glance back, Levi sped off once more, driving towards his own sector, which really only stood on the other side of the division.
His dark green car rumbled into the parking space, the man getting out of his car after killing the engine and slamming the door with a massive thump. The sun was just beginning to set, and the usually gray skies were painted vivid hues of bright pink, soft oranges, and subtle periwinkles. The colors spread out across the clouds, defining every bump and curve with the streams of intimate light.
Despite the beauty, Levi shuffled into his apartment, fumbling with his keys before rattling the doorknob to open the damn thing. He quickly hurried into the home and loosened his cravat, tugging at it with such force it seemed it would have ripped if he didn't buy a piece of such quality material. He clobbered off his shoes, which were once a shiny black but now a disgustingly matte, muddy shade, and headed straight for the showers.
He pulled off all of his clothes, his muscular arms tossing the pieces of clothing onto his bed and hopping into the bath stall. Much to his relief, hot water sprayed onto his chiseled figure, dousing his face in hot spray and enveloping his body in a warm mist. He stood there under the hose for a few minutes, his back being pounded by the needles of scorching water that shot out from the shower head. The muscles rippled as he shifted in place, letting out grunts of ease as he felt his stiff body loosen from the heat.
He stretched, bringing an arm over his head and pushing it down against his broad back, dipping his jet-black hair back into the water. He did the same with the other arm before sighing, reaching down for the dark green bottle of shampoo, squirting the light lilac product into his palm. He lathered and rinsed, the air hinting in the scent of lavender and mint as he continued to scrub himself from the layer of skin that had endured such filth today, ready for the next layer to crawl over his body to shield him from the next few hours of grossness.
He finally finished his shower, drying and dressing himself in a pair of light gray joggers and a black undershirt that clung tightly against his narrow body. He cleaned up his mess and tossed his dirty clothes into the hamper, sitting down for another half-hour on his couch to clean and polish his shoes.
He glanced at the clock.
9:53 pm
He cursed under his breath, finishing up his polishing and setting his pair of shoes onto the shiny steel shoe rack that sat next to his door. He clambered around for his phone, finding it tossed onto the bathroom counter with seven missed calls.
"Shit," the man spat, hurrying through his screen to the contacts. He slid the "call" icon and heard the phone ring for not even twice when the other man picked up.
"Levi," Erwin's deep voice penetrated his ears.
"What is it, Erwin?" the man snarled. "Why did you call me seven times?"
"Just to update you on the progress of your case," the chief murmured. "The head scientist is analyzing the dirt from the envelope now, and they'll perform the autopsy by the time you'll get here tomorrow."
"Sounds good," the detective muttered. "Is that all then?"
"Yeah," Erwin said bleakly. "That's it. Goodnight, Ackerman."
"You too, sir."
The phone call ended just like that, and Levi lifted his head up towards the ceiling and released the tension in his shoulders, sighing as he closed his eyes to indulge himself in the serene silence. Nothing, not even the wind, interrupted that quiet; the stillness in the air made him shiver.
He let out a big sigh, placing his phone on his nightstand and connecting it to a wire to charge before walking back out into the kitchen, grabbing a cold bottle of water from the fridge. He chugged the entire thing, tossing the empty bottle in the sink before sulking back into his bedroom where he collapsed onto his face, the sheets of his mattress rubbing softly against the smooth skin of his face. He crawled up to the head of the bed, sinking under the blankets and turning off the lights before closing his eyes one final time, drifting off into a dreamless black slumber that swallowed up his tormented conscience.
The night flew by in an instant, and before he knew it, Levi's phone blared out loudly with an alarm, sounding as though a nuclear warhead was headed his way. He cut off the annoying sound with a slam of his hand, which somehow seemed to work, turning off the blasted alarm.
The bags under his eyes greatly contrasted with the smooth but stoic look on his face yesterday, the deep purple rings around his eyes a reminder that he didn't sleep very well during the night; he kicked constantly, and because of his restless slumber, his limbs ached.
Stretching while still laying in his warm bed, Levi grunted as he reached out his arms, twisting his neck to hear and feel rugged pops erupt from his spine. He let out a few grunts as he rubbed the back of his neck, sighing deeply as he sat up. He threw his legs off of the bed and stood up, sulking slowly towards the bathroom to get ready.
He finished his morning routine and slipped on a pair of black slacks, along with a white button-up shirt and tying yet another fresh white cravat around his slender but muscular neck. He walked out into the kitchen and grabbed a scarlet apple, shoving his phone into his back pocket and snatching the car keys from the table.
Levi drove down the freeway and to the agency, where Erwin waited for him patiently. He stood in front of the glass doors of the facility with his arms behind his back and standing up tall. Next to him, a young lady with dark caramel hair and copper skin stood with her hands in front of her, clutching a few binders and occasionally bringing a hand up poke her rounded spectacles.
Aria seemed to have learned her lesson from the first day on the job as an intern, because instead of her fancy-formal-skirt-and-blazer get-up, this time she wore a dark sage-green hoodie, faded blue jeans that flared over her beaten tennis shoes, and had a white-lavender colored scarf wrapped multiple times around her own slender neck.
Levi strode over to the two, swinging his keys on his finger and straightening his cravat with his other hand. His normal bleak look plagued his tired face that saw nothing but a restless sleep last night. Nevertheless, the two didn’t question his appearance; rather, they just glanced at him and brushed aside the fact.
“We need to talk, Ackerman,” Erwin grunted, piercing his icy blue eyes into the shorter man’s soul.
The sudden firmness took the detective aback.
“Couldn’t you have done this last night?” Levi grumbled. “You only called me seven times.”
“I thought it would be better if I told this to you in person.” Erwin stared at him with the same firm gaze. “I should have told you and Miss Stefani sooner, but you stormed out of the agency so fast I barely had any time to tell you anything about the case.”
Levi ground his teeth together, clenching his hands into hard fists as he glared back at the chief with an even harder gaze.
“Let’s just cut to the chase already,” the enraged detective spat. “What’s this thing you’re going to tell me?”
“We have to be in the forensic lab before I elaborate on anything,” Erwin stated, taking a step forward and brushing past Levi. “It’s easier to have the evidence in front of you before we explain.”
Without another word or looking back, the chief strode calmly to his dark gray Pathfinder. He stood next to the driver’s door as he turned back around to see Levi and Aria still in their places. The detective snarled and looked back at the chief only to see him beckoning him to his own dark green vehicle.
Levi sighed in exasperation, swinging his keys on his finger once more and following in the chief’s actions and went back to his car. Aria, blinking a few times before sniffling, trotted back to her own white Civic with the binders clutched firmly to her rather small chest.
The three investigators travelled a few miles further from the city to a small facility bordering industrialization from simplicity. It was a plain white rectangular building with an unusually high ceiling with very little windows to offer it light; the parking lot was nothing but a dirt patch to the side, overgrown with weeds and grasses. Overall, the facility seemed abandoned and useless, save for the birds' nests nestled in the nooks and crannies of the plaster building.
They all slammed their car doors shut and entered the lab, Aria lagging behind, doubting that such an unkempt building could actually be a forensic lab. She had a point after all; the white walls were actually stained a dark beige, long vines growing in all sorts of directions and climbing up the filthy surface with grappling leafy fingers. Levi cringed at the thought of roaches roaming around the perimeter of the facility; it was so disgusting, he actually wondered why the Survey didn't just collect a few bucks to remodel the damn pigsty.
Erwin opened the rusty iron door that led into the lab, letting his two subordinates inside the dark room.
It was black inside, no light emitting from anywhere save for the few blinking colors from various machines. The air felt dry and cold, sucking the warmth out of his very fingertips as Levi scanned his glinting blue-gray eyes around the darkened room. His eyes saw nothing, but his ears told him otherwise.
"Erwin!" a voice called from the depths of the darkness. "I presume you're here for the results?"
"Ackerman needs to see the evidence for himself before I explain everything to him," Erwin answered the emptiness. "He's the one leading the investigation; he should at least know everything that has been going on for this specific case."
"Of course!" the voice giggled deeply. "Levi must know the darker things hidden inside this case, mustn't he?"
"Wait..." Levi murmured, his voice hinting with a sense of realization. "That voice..."
"Have you been to the bar lately, Levi?" the voice continued on; the sound of footsteps started as the voice approached closer to the three investigators. "It's been pretty lonely there without you."
The blinding white lights suddenly switched on, revealing a woman dressed in a dark lab coat, as well as rectangular spectacles resting upon her nose.
"Hanji?!" Levi choked out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?'" Hanji scoffed, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. "This is my main job."
The man sputtered, clearly in shock to see his local bartender in a forensic lab, not only working on an active case, but an X File as well.
"Since when were you a forensic scientist?" the dark-haired man snapped at her.
"Since I graduated with my master's degree six years ago," Hanji retorted, her dark eyes glimmering with a sense of amusement as her bespeckled eyes fell upon the jumbled shrewdness and confusion in Levi's face. She only pursed her lips to keep back a laugh and shrugged. "The Survey has only hired me recently, anyways; I was looking for a job for the longest time before Erwin here offered me a place in the forensic science department."
Levi's swarthy eyes flickered over to Erwin; the larger blond man shrugged.
"Her skills proved to be quite interesting, and her determination and enthusiasm is needed in these types of cases," was his only reply on the matter.
Levi simply scoffed.
"Just show me what you need to show me already. I don't have any more time to waste."
"Certainly," Erwin smiled at the detective warmly. He turned to Hanji. "How's the testing going?"
"When you get right down to it, it's just an envelope with dirt inside," Hanji said plainly, walking over to the wall to turn on the surprisingly blinding white lights.
Levi blinked his eyes multiple times before he regained his full sight; to either sides of him, he could see Erwin and Aria recovering from the same shock. Only Hanji remained normal, as she continued to talk as if nothing had happened. She ambled calmly over to a table with various materials and a microscope on it, inserting one of the slides left to the side of it into the slot. She leaned into the machine and examined the slide, turning the black knob to the side as she continued to speak to the three detectives.
"However, what's significant about this sample of dirt is that unlike the other samples my team has collected from all over Trost, this dirt is rather fine; more like sand, really, like it's been worn down by years of erosion."
Levi blinked his eyes once more, rubbing them with the back of his hand before he replied to the investigation report.
"So all that's special about this is dirt is that it's been heavily eroded?" Levi growled. "This is such a waste of time..."
Aria swallowed.
"May we see some samples of this dirt then, Miss Hanji?" she asked timidly.
"Of course," the woman piped. She beamed at the girl, extracting a vial of fine sand from a rack of glass tubes from the table top. Aria stepped forward and grabbed the vial anxiously, holding the tube up to her eyes, readjusted her glasses in the same motion, and studied the dried earth within the glass.
"Where did you conclude this sample was from?" Aria asked after a little while.
Hanji smiled.
"The city wash," she said. "Where all of the water is drained from Trost during rainy seasons, just like the one we're having now."
Levi raised a thin eyebrow at her.
"The wash?" Levi inquired. "That's where Mike lost Lucifer's tracks, and that's how decided to close the case...Why would Lucifer stuff an envelope filled with dirt from the wash inside the clothes of a victim?"
"That's odd..." Aria whispered, still studying the vial of earth.
Levi turned his attention to her.
"What's odd?"
"The dirt...has been given time to dry," the girl murmured. "So the coarseness of the grains can be seen now, and...it kind reminds me of the sand in an hourglass I used to use in the TPrep library."
The connection made Levi's ears prick up.
"And?" he prompted her. "What about it?"
She was silent for a while, pondering as her large eyes scanned the vial of sand from all angles.
"It's a clue about the murders," Aria murmured to herself, bringing the vial down from her face. "Getting dirt from the city wash, where he had disposed of victims before, and where Mr. Zacharius lost his scent trail...only to be picked back up six years later..."
He furrowed his brows, chewing on the inside of his lip.
"Who does he think he is?" Levi huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the side of an examining table. "Leaving stuff like this for us to figure out..."
"It's something about the time!" Aria interjected, her shimmering hazel eyes suddenly wide. "The sand...the hourglass...the wash...
"Lucifer...he's is trying to hint us about his next murder!"