Marius sat in the truck hansom and surveyed the house. Beatrice was next to him and Professor Julius and the others sat in the back of the car. The darkness of the night created a quaint rural scene with the red barn and adjoining house with the backdrop of the trees and a white picket fence.

Marius said, "Are you sure nobody is home?"

"Yes, my parents is not here," Beatrice said.

Marius stared around the scene. "Is there anybody else who might come out here?"

"No."

He was not sure about that. "Ok. Wait here Professor."

Marius and Beatrice walked out of the front and started moving to the back. He heard the locusts in the grass. The moon cast a pale light over the landscape. Marius was reminded of his father's old run-down farm. He remembered the scent of deep earth and livestock. He always hated going into the smelly chicken coup to get eggs or feeding the pigs. He placed his hand on the back of the door handle and stopped. Something was wrong.

"Marius," Beatrice said.

"What do we have here?"

Marius took out his gun and pointed it at the interlocutor.

"Wait." Two figures came closer. One person was short the other was tall. It was the WAP balloon cops, who took him to the Arcane University.

Marius said, "You startled me. What are you doing out here?"

He placed his gun in his holster and realized he left his hat back at Beatrice's house.

The short cop said, "There was another murder. HQ could not contact you. So, they sent us to find you. We knew you drove a large hansom tonight. And we found you, when we were flying patrol."

Marius said, "What is your name?"

"Derrick, sir, and my partner's name is Andrew. Do you need help?"

Marius face was flushed. He did not want them to find the Professor and the magical creatures.

"No," he said. "You can take me to the murder scene, now. Beatrice, I will be back to pick up the truck."

Derrick said, "Are you sure you do not need help? You look like you were about to unload something. I can take the truck back."

"No, no. I was taking Beatrice to her home. Lead the way Derrick."

The short cop looked at him as if he did not believe him. Marius nodded to Beatrice and walked toward Derrick. He was surprised he did not hear the balloon plane, but knew from his instructional films, he had to endure, that some balloon planes coasted on currents and did not need to use propellers all the time. He was suspicious of these two WAP cops. They walked up to the hull and the taller man, Andrew, slid up the small door. He made a show with opening it. "We do not want you to break your legs, boss. After you."

Marius walked up the small ladder. Marius grinned at him and stepped up on the short ladder. He moved inside and took a seat near the rear. The plane started floated upwards. The wind's current sent them moving to the city. A booming noise caused him to jerk. The engine roared and the propellers started to rotate. Marius looked toward Beatrice and the truck. He saw her standing next to the vehicle staring up at him. He hoped they would be fine out there alone. The moon looked bigger up in the sky and he almost thought they were flying up toward the stars.

Marius said, "Did HQ contact detective Elsa?"

"What?"

The droning of the engine was loud.

He yelled, "Detective Elsa."

Andrew said, "Yes, she is there!"

Marius sat back not bothering to place the goggles on. The plane swayed side to side and moved lower than higher and dipped lower. He closed his eyes trying to think of something else. The vehicle's engine stopped and they started to lower to the ground.

Marius saw the high stately buildings of the Arcane University. He grabbed his small detective kit attached to his belt and rummaged inside the bag. His hand touched the gryo glasses and placed it into his pocket. He straightened his tie. Marius wanted to be presentable for the police captain if he was on the murder scene.

As soon as the plane landed, Marius jumped out through the door. His boots stepped on wet grass. The two cops both followed.

Derrick said, "You need directions?"

"That would help."

"Go to the Professor's house." He pointed his small thick hand to his right. "Follow the path. You should see the uniform cops."

Derrick took out a cigarette and lit it with a match. The cop blew smoke at him.

Marius said, "Isn't that dangerous smoking next to the balloon?"

"Nah," Derrick said.

Marius rush up the path. Those two WAP cops should be reported. Smoking was prohibited near any balloon planes. He decided not to waste his time. Those two will end up killing themselves or even worse killing others. The path moved up a short hill and onto a plateau. The teacher's town home was on his left. He came from a different direction than the other times he came. He was a little disoriented at first. Two uniform officers stood in front of the house next to Professor Julius.

It was the abode of Professor Laurie. He shook his head. He questioned her just a few hours ago. He walked up to the two cops.

One cop said, "Hello Detective Marius. The murder scene is not here. Follow us."

He walked behind them toward the tall classroom buildings. They took a turn and walked to a smaller group of offices. He smelled burnt wood and blood.

"Is the captain here?" he asked.

"No."

"Marius!"

He saw Detective Elsa standing outside an office.

She said, "I sent two uniform cops to Laurie's house. She is hysterical."

"What happened?"

She pointed into the office. "Several students saw smoke coming from this area. They found a night duty cop."

Marius started to walk inside but a pungent smell hit him. "What is that?"

"I'm not sure. But you need some smelling paste before you try to enter. Brace yourself. This is worse than the other murder."

He took out his detective kit and found the paste. He rubbed it under his nose. He said, "Do I need my gyro glasses?"

"No, but you can use it if you want."

The door was hanging off its hinges, swaying to the side. He scanned to his side and saw a small group of students being questioned by a uniform officer. He ducked through the opening. The smelling paste helped defused the scent, but it was still pungent. His eyes watered. Several lamps were in the corners. The coroner was scanning an object on the floor with a magnifying glass.

"Hello Dr. Perry," he said softly.

The coroner looked up at him. He still held the magnifying glass in his hand, which made his one gray eye looked large.

"Oh, hello, Detective Marius. This is a curiosity."

"What is that?" He asked.

Dr. Perry scratched his head. "I think this is a body."

"Whose body?"

"Well, I don't know until I analyze this."

Elsa came from behind him. "Marius, this is Professor's Laurie's office. She thinks it was her teacher's aide." She was looking at her notepad. "Her name was Joy Webster. She was a senior, who was completing her studies on alchemy. Joy was going to be a teacher and Professor Laurie was mentoring her."

"Let's step out of here. Dr. Perry do you know what could have done this? Something magical, maybe."

"I am not sure. Only a powerful high mage could produce enough heat to destroy a body in this manner."

Marius said, "How about something technological? A fire gun. I smell dylithic crystals."

"Interesting theory," Perry said. "I will check on that."