"How could we have missed such an important point in this investigation?" Bruce looked frustrated as he got out of the car.
"Some sort of oversight by the police, it's normal." Jason consoled and leaned on the car which was parked outside a small house.
"Or, that's exactly what the killer wants you to think!" Bruce ruffled his hair in an odd manner.
"Your superstitious self is resurfacing, huh?" Jason mocked.
"I'm a family Guy, so some times I have to tell fantasy stories to the kids." Bruce shrugged. He felt goose bumps rise all over his body as he thought of the twins; they were getting increasingly unbearable!
"Let's go in." Jason pointed at the house.
The house of one of the victims, Gabriel Andrew.
Over the past two days they'd been going about asking the victims' family some questions. It was necessary to reopen the cases not just because Bryan insisted, but also because Bruce realised that while handling these cases, the Special Crimes Investigation Unit had committed some huge error of oversight.
Jason knocked on the door and an elderly man opened up. He looked listlessly at the two men before inviting them in.
There was a little girl there as well. That should be Gabriel's little sister, Samantha, Bruce could easily remember the scene of her crying when the police arrived to ask some few questions.
"So what can I help you with, officer, Denise?" The elderly man asked when they had taken their seats.
"We're here to ask you a few more questions about your grandson's murder case." Bruce put on a stoic face.
The elderly man frowned. He felt it was a waste of his time.
How could they come back here for such things? To make fun of me?
"Why are you asking? It's been months?" The elderly man didn't answer directly.
"We are opening up the cases again." Jason tersely remarked.
It's not like they had really closed the case, but what they closed was the question and answer session between them and the family.
"We need to know if, before your grandson's murder, you noticed anything strange about him." Bruce said with little change to his emotions.
"Something strange? I can't remember since it has been so long." The man's eyes glazed over as he seemed to be lost in thought; obviously he was thinking of his grandson.
"Are you sure? Please think carefully, this might be key." Jason urged the elderly man.
"That's exactly what you keep saying! It could be key! How many 'key' details have you received yet you can't figure out who killed Gabriel?" The man was clearly pissed off.
Bruce and Jason fell silent.
"Something strange...." The little girl, Samantha, who had been quiet all along repeated softly in a daze.
"T-there's something..." She said feebly.
"What do you remember?" Bruce asked expectantly.
"Before he was killed....two days before that... H-he had mentioned that he felt strange, a-and said that it felt like someone was keeping an eye on him...he said he found it overpowering but reassured me that he would take care of it." The girl muttered slowly.
Followed....watched... overpowering....
The key words surfaced in Bruce's mind as he ruffled his brown hair. He leaned back into his chair and exhaled.
This was the key they were looking for. The piece that might as well solve this puzzle!
....
After they left, Jason offered to drive since it seemed like Bruce wasn't in a state of mind to handle the wheels.
"It's confirmed." Jason tried to strike a conversation as he drove back to the station.
"How could we overlook something like this?" Bruce sounded like he was a total failure.
"I have no idea." Jason casually said the words.
"Am I a bad leader?" Bruce suddenly popped the question. Since he took over this case as the head of this unit of police dedicated to investigating this serial case, he had never felt this insecure.
"Of course not. You are an amazing person. Working with you has always been a pleasure. We all made this mistake." Jason consoled.
The entire police force and this Special Unit had made a grave mistake.
Every family they asked that question said the same thing;
All the victims felt a strange entity following them and watching them.
Why had the police not thought of this question before?
Jason shook his head and dismissed the raging thought he had.
He felt that this killer had some kind of supernatural powers....