2022-03-19 18:20:10While, 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."
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The Body
Dakota looked upward, the sound of the wind could be heard from small holes in each wall, there were not many holes, it was to keep the room warm so there were only one or two small holes on each floor. Arriving at the upper floor, Sam held the door handle, preparing to open it, he looked at Dakota behind him, ensuring they were ready for whatever was inside. Slowly, Sam turned the door knob.“Kreeek”But, there was nothing inside that room, not even objects, any furniture, visible from the dim light coming in from the air holes, dust particles flew in the air. Sam put his firearm back into his holster, waving away the dust in front of his eyes.“Look at this dust, it seems it really has not been opened for a long time” Sam said.Dakota inspected around the small room no larger than three by three, there was a pile of dry straw on the side of the room shielded from the sunlight from the air holes. Dakota approached.Slowly, they approached and saw
The Villa
Late afternoon. Sam drove for about an hour toward the border of Bayward city, along with two support units from the local district five police, at the city border, Sam and Dakota visited a quite large vila at the end of a quiet road near the lake. The area is used by residents as holiday houses, so if it is not holiday season, the area is quiet with few visitors. Several residents, who served as holiday villa caretakers, came out to greet the police and Sam. The middle-aged man and his wife looked confused, seeing the house suddenly visited by police without prior notice.The villa, or holiday house, consists of several simple, comfortable and beautiful buildings with trees around them. From its condition, it is quite well-maintained and clean. The main house is a single-story building in a village house model, with bamboo walls and a thatched roof. Although that is only a form of decoration since the main materials still use modern materials. Sam stopped in the middle of th
Secret Room
Back at the office.Sam sat back in the chair, forehead wrinkled while observing the whiteboard in front, which was getting so full that there was almost no space left.The murder case at the Mazen family home had become a long issue, evolving further and further from the starting point. All photos of suspects, the homeowners, to the photo of Rosana Bain they just obtained filled the board. Now all the red lines pointed to the photos of Amy Mazen and Rosana Bain, as well as Matt Mazen as murder suspects.However, some evidence they found in Matt's room showed that all this time, he was manipulated by Amy Mazen who frequently gave him drugs until he became increasingly aggressive. The evidence of Matt's hospital records inside Amy Mazen's room became a strong clue. But, everything was very strange, as if all the evidence was intentionally placed just like that at a time like this.Sam stroked his chin, currently, they only needed to find Amy Mazen and get
Oversized Clothes
After obtaining an arrest warrant for Amy Mazen, the Bayward police dispatched officers to search for the woman at all Mazen family residences in and around Bayward. To date, there is no data indicating that the woman left the city by plane; she might have used land routes. However, her whereabouts remain untraceable, even though Erw has conducted visual searches with surveillance cameras throughout the entire city.Sam and Dakota visited the Mazen family home in District 1. The servant said that Mrs. Mazen had not returned to that house for over a week. Meanwhile, John Mazen was at another large house on the outskirts of the city, and Douglas was on a business trip on the outskirts of Bayward. In addition to Sam's jeep, two police service vehicles arrived to collect evidence.Sam entered the large house, which was now only guarded by a few house servants. Since the murder case began in that large house, activities in the main Mazen family residence seemed to have ceased. Gradually, t
The Photo
Luk entered the four-by-four room with only a few pieces of furniture, a small bed on one side of the room, and a small table beside the bed. There was a cardboard box used to store clothes, all piled up haphazardly, with many other clothes on the floor and a chair near the small table on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, the floor was covered with several paper scraps and small plastic items. Rina approached the table at the foot of the small bed with an unpleasant-smelling blanket, Rina wore two layers of masks and could still smell the musty room."Ugh, how could someone live in a place like this? Don't you men ever clean your own living spaces? Luk, don't invite me to your apartment," Rina said, glancing at Luk out of the corner of her eye.Luk, a handsome young man with a dapper style, hair always neatly combed with pomade, and the scent of expensive perfume sprayed on the branded cloth
A Housewife
Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, at the end of the room. Rina and Luk sat in front of a beautiful woman who was no longer young, Amy Mazen, who was also accompanied by her lawyer that afternoon. The woman looked nervous. Her lawyer said that her client had been having trouble sleeping lately and had to make several visits to a psychiatrist, unable to sit too long in an enclosed room. She looked anxious and kept wringing her fingers.Rina presented a facial sketch of the suspected man who died in a burnt condition, so they couldn't get an accurate photo of his face. But it seemed the sketch closely resembled his real face, Amy Mazen's eyes widened slightly. She averted her gaze."Do you know this man? Strangely, we haven't found much information about this man, but from the phone number he used when he tried to escape, and finally, we found that he kept your phone number, and after furthe
Reader Comments
horrayyy sour kiwi in here. I like all of your story. yo make my imagine so colourfull. Lets to the next chapter and new story ;)