"Any new clues yet?"
Napabuntomg hininga si Mei nang marinig ang boses ni Noir. She's been staring at the whiteboard for hours now. She really felt like she missed something.
Kanina pa umalis ang mga katrabaho nya upang hanapin ang suspect base sa profile na ibinigay nya. Matatagalan nga lang silang isa-isahin ang bawat isang pasok sa criteria.
Mei really needed to solve this. She's a newly hired criminal psychologist, and despite the fact that she graduated abroad with the highest honors, her authority wasn't that big when she started working. Ito ay dahil hindi pa ganoong kakilala ang criminal psychology sa Pilipinas. But she was determined, she wants to solidify her position in this department. She wants to make investigation more effective by analyzing the suspects and their crimes by using criminal psychology as the basis.
Pero mukhaang nasa dead-end yata sya.
"I know I'm missing something, hindi ko lang mawari kung ano." Mei supported her chin with her fist, staring at the words on the whiteboard.
Noir also looked at it and said, "What if I read them to you? I heard it's easier to stimulate your brain by reading and hearing the same thing."
Hindi na hinintay ni Noir ang sagot nya at binasa na ang mga linyang nakasulat sa whiteboard.
"First victim: John Ramos, 25 years old, lives in A street, City B – 100 meters away from the Second victim's house. He lives alone.
He was found on Monday morning of May 9, 2022 at 7:12am when his friend, Paulo Santos. He said thy had an appointment to go to their desigated precinct together to vote. When John didn't answer his knocks, he decided to go in from his unlocked window. It was said that John always kept his window open for ventilation. He was not worried about burglars as he trusted his neighbors. That's when he found John, "peacefully" asleep on his bed. At first he thought John was sleeping, but when he touched him, he found that his body was already cold.
The police arrived at 7:30am, and initial onvestigation showed no signs of forceful breaking in. At the moment, no possession seems to be missing, and everything was neat and tidy.
Based on the autopsy report, John died at approximately 12:00am on May 9, 2022 due to inhalation of a large amount of patassium cyanide.
Note: John had a very good reputation. His neighbors said he was a role model to them. His colleagues praised him for always doing his job well. His friends admired him for his personality.
...
Second Victim: Katherine Gomez, 46 years old, owns an apartment complex and was temporarily living in one of the rooms when the crime happened. She lived there alone.
She was found at 8:15pm on Monday of May 16, 2022 when her family came to visit her. They found her on her bedroom, peacefully "sleeping". Her family didn't realize that she was dead until her son came to wake her up only to feel her cold temperature.
Initial investigation showed that none of the victim's possession were missing. The investigators also noticed that her apartment was clean and tidy.
Based on the autopsy report, she died due to inhalation of large amount of potassium cyanide. Her estimated death was at around 12:00am of May 16, 2022.
Note: Katherine was known as a lovely Mother and was treated by everyone who knew her as the "Mom friend" or the "Nice Auntie" by her friends, neighbors, and tennants."
Noir said these calmly. It was obviously a chilling crime but he read it as if they were a masterpiece. Hindi pinansin ni Mei iyon, sanay na sya sa katrabaho nyang ito. Paano namang hindi, eh isang forensic doctor si Noir. At halos araw-araw syang nagbu-butingting ng mga bangkay. She contributed his weirdness to his profession, and treated it as a weird quirk that geniuses were said to have.
Pero mukhang tama nga si Noir sa binanggit nya, dahil tila nabuhay ang mga larawan ng krimen sa harap ni Mei. May mga bagay syang napansin na hindi nya napansin noong una.
Tumingin sya sa mga clues na sinulat nya sa whiteboard noong una at sa criminal profile na binigay nya sa kriminal.
Clues:
Both victims died at 12:00am on monday. They were probably "poisoned" on sunday evening.
The victims lived near each other.
Both have good reputations.
They were alone when the crime happened.
Criminal Profile:
Male
25-30 years old
Has a calm and stable temperament
Has a little childishness
Just a little impulsive
Has depression and possible childhood trauma
Has a job that makes it easy for him to obtain potassium cyanide
Has a free time on sundays
Tumayo si Mei at nagsulat sa whiteboard:
The criminal went in John's house through the window wearing a filter mask. And made him sniff a towel with potassium cyanide. John's body was a little curled on his bed, despite the criminal's obvious effort on straightening his body. He must've died somewhere else.
The criminal first cleaned his traces and ventilated the house before dragging his body on his bed and making him appear sleeping.
The criminal also took a "souvenir" that is not normally noticeable. Perhaps one of the victim's clothes.
The same is true for Katherine. The criminal went in through the door after being voluntarily let in by the old woman. After doing the same thing to John, he also probably took one of her clothes.
Addition to his profile:
This is not the criminal's first time commiting a crime based on how careful and organized he was. Something must've happened recently that made him change his method of commiting crimes.
The criminal is living near the scenes of the crimes. A tenant in Katherine's apartment complex, so she let him in unsuspectingly.
"You're quite good at this." Puri ni Noir nang makita ang mga sinulat ni Mei. "I didn't know you can also do some logical reasoning."
"Naunang interes ko ang logical reasoning bago ang criminal psychology. I didn't really study it, though." Napakamot si Mei sa kanyang ulo.
"It's 10:48pm already. I'll take you home. Kukunin ko na rin pala yung files na hiniram mo a few days ago."
Napatingin si Mei sa kanyang relo. She didn't realize that it's late already. No wonder it's so quiet out there, umuwi na pala ang iba nang hindi nya namamalayan.
"Sure, ayusin ko lang yung gamit ko."
Sanay na si Mei na hinahatid ni Nox. They've been friends ever since they cooperated on their first case when Mei was just new to the job.
Naunang bumaba si Nox sa garahe, and about 10 minutes later, Mei followed.
...
"Do you know what day it is today?" Tanong ni Nox habang binabasa ang isa sa mga file na himiram ni Mei. They arrived a few minutes ago and Mei offered to give him a drink before he left.
"Ah? Wait, tingnan ko sa phone ko... May 22... Sunday ngayon."
"Sunday... That criminal must be on his way to do something again." Nox said it as if he's talking about the weather, his eyes still on the file. But Mei's heart chilled.
The dots finally connected. And a ridiculous idea popped in her mind. She wanted to deny it, but when she though of the profile, everything matched his. And... it was sunday today, his day off, yet he came to work. Did he... plan this?
"By any chance, is there a possibility na maging psychopath ka?"
Napahinto si Noir at unti-unting inangat ang ulo mula sa binabasa. "For a person as smart as you, you figured it out so slow." His face was cold with apathy and cruelness hid in his smile.
Mei felt her heart beat faster, her blood rushed, and her vision darkened for a moment before she heard a bang in her head. She staggered, but Nox caught her the next moment. It seemed that the revelation was too much for her. The next second, her vision returned and she found herself on the couch. And Noir was standing in front of her.
Noir was actually having a hard time controlling his emotions. His blood was burning – whether it was due to the nervousness of being discovered or the thrill of it, he didn't know. He felt adrenaline rushing in his blood. His mouth twitched and he finally smiled.
"I've actually killed 10 people already. Oh, the joy of slowly cutting their skin and digging their eyes while they're still alive, screaming and begging to let them go. Hmph, did they, for once, think of letting me go when I begged them back then?" Noir already gave up on concealing his true self.
He revealed his crimes, even the earlier ones. He was not afraid. Anyway, Mei's gonna die today. He revealed how he killed those first 8 people. His father, his elementary teacher, his three childhood bullies, a witness that chose to remain silent, and two of his colleagues who fought with him.
"They probably never expected that the person they looked down on would one day be controlling their life and death." Noir had a dazed expression as he recalled once again how they looked, with blood on their unrecognizable body parts.
For Noir, it was revenge that was long overdue. He felt deep hatred for them. It was like he was practicing for that moment, his whole life.
At first he would vent his anger on small animals by torturing and killing them. But as he grew older, he found it harder to control himself.
Especially when no one ever believed him when he said his father and his elementary teacher abused him. Why? They were very good people, at least that's what he thought, too. So when his mother died, and his father started drinking and abusing him, he felt despair.
Everyone seemed to be nice and kind until they started to hurt him.
When he first encountered his last two victims, they were really kind to him, just like Mei.
Some time ago, the family next door became chaotic. After the husband–who used to be gentle–lost his job, he started beating his wife and kids. Just like what happened to his father.
But he didn't want John and Katherine to be like him. So he thought of something. Yes. Why not just make them stay the way they are now, forever? Well, he also planned to do the same with Mei.
He was really satisfied with how his work turned out. And he got to admire his work right after, too, because he's a forensic doctor! Oh, how he wish he could do this forever.
When he's done with Mei, he would go home and rewatch how he tortured his first victims. He felt excited just thinking about it. He took out his mask from his pocket and put it on.
...
"Serial Killer Makes Victims Look Like in Eternal Sleep; Real Life Sleeping Beauty?"
"Three Dead, Serial Killer Still on the Loose"
"People Panic Over Their Safety, Serial Killer Remains Uncaught"
Nilapag ni Nox ang mga dyaryo, "That's 11 for you. Hmm, you know what? Let's make it 12."
Kinuha nya ang kutsilyo sa lamesa at lumapit sa lalaking nakagapos sa silya. Tinaas ni Nox ang kamay nya at tinutok ang kutsilyo sa dibdib ng lalaki bago dahan dahang hiniwa ang balat nito.
"AAAAAAAAAA"