While, in the other part of the city. It was 8 AM in the morning, where the sun just arises with its intense light.
Far from the ground, above the unfinished construction area.
The camera shutter dominated the scene.
Sam approached Emma, who had arrived earlier, as usual. A charred body was discovered by the construction foreman that morning as he started his shift, hanging from the end of a crane, still with a bit of smoke wafting from its blackened form.
Several police officers had to use special safety equipment to retrieve the body. Even after managing to get close, they still struggled because the chains binding the body were still hot from the remnants of the fire.
Sam shook his head.
"Wow, they’re really innovative, aren’t they? Committing murder in such a spectacular way, incredible. Is this some kind of competition?"
Emma took a deep breath; she had been wearing her latex gloves for a while, but the poor body was still hanging there. Everybody still struggles to get her down.
"You think this is some kind of competition, Boss?"
"Well, if not, then what? Every week there’s some bizarre and brutal murder, as if the killer is trying to up the ante on their inhumanity." said Sam.
The area was cordoned off with police tape, and Police officers were stationed on various floors below the roof to prevent construction workers from getting too close; everything there would become evidence for that brutal murder case. Sam was just about to leave when his phone vibrated in his pocket.He picked it out, eyes widened to see the caller id.
"Wow," he thought, checking who was calling him. It was hard to believe what he had done that morning to deserve such an honor. Clearing his throat with a shout before answering the call, he said, "Ahem! Testing, testing!!"
Sam moved closer to the freight elevator in the corner to take the call. "Hello?"
It was Dakota on the line. "Yeah, I think I can be there in a bit, um..." Sam glanced at his watch. "I can get there in no more than twenty minutes. Okay, seeyou there."
Emma frowned as she saw Sam approaching with a beaming smile.
"What's up, Boss? You look so happy. Did you just win a lottery?"
Sam smile so wide from ear to ear. That was too obvious.
"I'll leave you here then. Let me know if the body is taken down and checked." Without waiting for Emma to reply, he moved his feet from there.
"But, Boss.."
Emma was too late to stop him as the young man entered the freight elevator with a few officers heading down. "Hey, come on! The others haven't arrived yet; I'm all alone here!" Emma shouted, but Sam waved goodbye without looking back.
"Just a minute, Em."
****
Back at Carlson.
A group of students was gathered in front of Dakota's office. The police had marked off the area with yellow tape. His assistant, Dina, and several students from his fans club were searching every corner for anything suspicious.
Dakota sat on the corner of the sofa, a bit away from the table where several police officers had already begun their work. Dina approached him.
"Professor, since there are no more classes today, we suggest it might be safer for you to head home."
Dakota lifted his head.
Not long after, a few students approached—Daniel, Ray, Susan, Emmet, Dina, and Laura, among others who were joining his fan club. He never actually suggested anyone create a club in his name, but Dakota's rising popularity had gotten so out of hand that he could no longer control the influx of admirers, even from outside the university. They even set up social media accounts dedicated to him.
"Thanks, guys."
The forensic officer had secured some evidence and documentation.
Soon, Sam appeared from the door. Some of the students left to continue with their business.
"Dax," he called out to Dakota, can't wait to get closer.
The young professor looked up as Sam approached him and then turned toward the table where the cardboard box with the package was. A forensic officer slowly began to take out its contents.
It was a severed hand belonging to a woman, with slender fingers painted in bright red nail polish and a silver ring with a purple stone on her ring finger.In a swift sight, looks like a mannequin. Pale and clean.
The officer placed it on a plastic sheet next to the box and took a photo.
Sam stood there, taking a deep breath.
After days of searching for that hand, it had turned up in an unexpected place, belonging to the victim that immediately came to his mind.
Aris, one of his team members, handed over a letter in an envelope that had been placed in a plastic bag, left open.
"Boss"
The handwriting was neat, with a lipstick mark at the end of the note, which read just a few lines: "To my dearest Dakota, my hand will always watch over you. Kiss, Love."
Sam moved closer to Dakota again.
"Is there anyone you might suspect? That package was deliberately sent to your office, so the sender is likely someone close to you or someone who usually keeps an eye on you here, especially since you still have an office at headquarters."
Dakota furrowed his brow in thought and shook his head.
"No one."
Soon, Thomas appeared from the door. The man widened his eyes to see what was on Dakota's desk.
"Woo Dakota, is this going on your monthly online shopping list? Halloween is still a while away, right?" The man's eyes were directly focused on the hand at the table.
Sam tossed his plastic bag to Thomas's shoulder.
"Shh, this is important. What case are you guys working on that has someone threatening Dakota like this? Shouldn't you be thinking?" said Sam with sharp eyes on the man.
Thomas frowned.
"Hmm, aside from researching the 'Copycat Erick' serial killer, there's nothing else, I think your team knows what we're working on too." said the man.
"Yeah, I heard you even went to a super high-security prison to visit him. Isn't that a bit dangerous? You might be fine, but what about Dakota?" said Sam again, with a rising tones.
"Well it's all under control, nothing was happened there"
"Next time don't take him there, you know how every eye looks at him as if he was a delicious bunny"
"You are just too much, He's not a kid anymore"
"Well, he is!" Sam again rise his voices.
While the two were busy making drama near his desk, Dakota was still frowning, deep in thought. That handwriting—it felt so familiar.He had a photographic memory that wouldn’t fail him, he might have got things too far from his expected.
"Heh."

Latest Chapter
That Man Is Crazy
Sam pursed his lips as he read Rina's report, he turned to Emma next. While Dakota sat beside Sam, looking quite serious, reading the reports of their current active cases.“Emma, what did you get from the autopsies on some of the bodies?” Sam asked.Emma stood up from her seat, showing her report on the big screen. Several photos of the location, photos of cold bodies that were previously found in the crematorium in a terrible condition. Some were even almost rotting and starting to be infested with maggots.“For now, the autopsy results do not show any particular oddities, Boss, we need to know what happened to the victims to conclude whether their deaths were natural or not. Three of the five bodies that came in were autopsied, some died from accidents, one from old age, another from childbirth. We sent DNA samples to the lab but some of these people are not included in the data bank. It is possible because they come from poor families or
Father And Son
Dakota pulled out a chair next to August, and sat down.August stuttered, Dakota wasn't much of a talker. So it wasn't going to be a heartfelt father-son conversation like it normally would be, because Dakota, wasn't normal.“I can't sleep, Sam snores loudly, it's very disturbing,” said Dakota.Hearing that, August smiled. He poured tea into another empty cup, handing it to Dakota.“Do you want to sleep in daddy’s room? I won’t snore loudly,” August said.Dakota turned to his father, slowly grabbing the tea cup from his father's hand.“It’s the same, you snore too”, said Dakota.August chuckled, he saw Dakota, whom he missed so much, talking beside him, what else could make him happier than that moment.“Hehe, yes that’s right, if I’m tired I will snore so loud, you better sleep in Kim’s room, let Robert sleep in the guest room.”Dakota d
Family Dinner.
Sam pursed his lips, he nodded.“That’s right, just like Kim said, the man has a first wife who is now in who knows where in the world. Kim said she wasn’t sure if they were divorced or not, it wasn’t public consumption, but what is clear is that soon after his first wife left the house, his younger wife, Amy Mazen took her place in the big house. This is like a melodrama on television, I’m curious too. What happened to his old wife?” Sam stroked his chin, thinking.Dakota leaned back in his chair. Sam might have thought that Dakota was thinking hard about their case, but no, that was not what was on Dakota's mind right now. For a long time, he looked at Sam, silent. Sam straightened his seat, not knowing what Dakota wanted to say, but Sam felt like he did want to say something.“What’s wrong Dax, what’s on your mind?” Sam asked. He was close enough to Dakota to know she had something to say, and that s
He Clearly Knows
“I read in the group that you found other bodies. Have you confirmed that Matt Mazen did it?” Dakota asked.Sam looked at Dakota's serious face, then pursed his lips. He nodded.“Um, all the evidence is clear. There are witnesses who confessed, and Amy Mazen, his mother, also said that her son did all that. Tomorrow John Mazen will arrive from abroad. We will see what he gonna say about his son. From his secretary, said that the man was shocked and could not believe that his son did that,” said Sam.Dakota looked straight ahead, his clear eyes watching the news on the television quite seriously. Sam looked at him, taking a deep breath before continuing his speech, he patted Dakota’s thigh.“I read Matt Mazen’s profile, He has suffered from schizophrenia since a young age. His behavior got worse when he entered high school and he had committed physical violence against some of his classmates. John Mazen was critici
The Son
The Mazen family residence. The house was very spacious, all the buildings and land as far as the eye could see from where Sam and Aris were standing now belonged to the family. They didn't even refuse at all when Sam and the others visited and wanted to look for the second son of the big family. The waiting room at the front of the three-story house with a classic modern building was very comfortable, not much furniture with only a long sofa for three people and a round table in the middle, on the front wall a large painting as high as the wall that was quite eye-catching. A painting of a large white tiger, with its prey several white rabbits around it and one that was stepped on under its feet. If only Dakota saw this, would he be upset? As far as Sam knew, Dakota liked rabbits. Well, as far as he knew Dakota who always took the time to play with pet rabbits in one of the cafes in the Cyan area when they visited there.
Another Bodies In The Ground
The rain was still falling. The sky was slowly getting darker outside, like any other rainy day in Bayward city. The flags of Bayward city and the central police at the top of the pole looked shabby and helpless, wet and crumpled, drooping just like that. While the clouds still looked fat with water that continued to spill covering the entire city. From a distance, there was a pile of vehicles outside the main road of the police headquarters complex. Although the sky looked sad and unenthusiastic, all activities continued as they should.Several officers in the headquarters passed by, lost in their daily activities. Two interrogation rooms on the first floor were seen busy with their witnesses. Meanwhile, Sam sat in the Monitoring room while preparing coffee to enjoy the donuts that had just been bought at their favorite shop across from the headquarters. It was so nice, the cold air like this, enjoying fragrant coffee and his favorite donuts. Moreover, the view was so pleasa
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