"Did she tell anything?" John asked a police inspector.
"No, sir. She is too shocked to tell us anything. She is just uttering a name," The police inspector answered.
"A name? What name?"
"Professor Ryan… Professor Ryan… She is continuously taking this one name only."
Detective John was prepared to go to Claire's house as he had many questions to ask her. But the police received a call reporting that a murder had taken place and the victim was a well-known professor.
The neighbors had heard the scream of the victim's daughter and arrived at the scene. One of them reported it to the police.
The police arrived along with detective John as they had a suspicion that he might be a victim of the masked serial killer as well.
John and the police inspector were standing outside the house after sealing the crime scene.
"Let her be for a while. Her father has been murdered," John said. "We have to know who did this. The death is done by stabbing on the neck which is similar to that taxi driver whose body was found earlier."
"Yes, sir. It can't just be a coincidence if both the wounds match and the murder weapon turned out to be the same."
"Yes," John said with a quizzical expression. "But why this professor if it matches?"
While they were talking, they could see media personnel arriving one by one. John saw them and uttered, "How did they come to know about it so soon?" He looked at the police officer and said, "These media people won't let us do our work peacefully." The police officer nodded after hearing it.
The people around the neighborhood were already crowding the area, now the media crew arrived.
"Sir, is it true that another murder has taken place in Kanugo city?" One of the female reporters asked John.
John knew that they would question the police and their work now. They were still not able to catch one serial killer and murders per murders were happening.
There were already four dead bodies in the last twenty-four hours. It was getting difficult for them as the trust of the common people in them was shaking.
"Yes, unfortunately," John replied in a low tone.
"Is it done by the masked serial killer too?"
"No, we don't know yet."
"Why aren't you able to catch him until now? What is the reason for this incompetence?"
This question somehow triggered John, he replied, "Do you think this is a lost and found case? Do you think our job is this easy?" He had a frown when he said it.
"Isn't your job to protect us? If you are not doing it properly, don't you think you have failed as a detective?"
The reporter was asking tough questions but it wasn't like he didn't guess it.
"We are trying our best with whatever limited resources we have. We are doing whatever we can. Don't blame us," John replied, thinking that he was doing right.
"Why shouldn't we blame you? It's your job to protect us. If you are not willing to do your job properly, then you should leave the job!" Someone from the crowd shouted and all the other people started speaking together.
"Shame on you!"
The police officers at the scene were barely able to control the rage of the people. The police inspector standing beside John whispered into his ears.
"What are you doing, sir? You shouldn't say these kinds of stuff on camera."
John realized that he got too emotional and said something he shouldn't have.
"As you can see, the police still couldn't find a clue to catching the serial killer. The question is - how many more people have to die before they catch him? Are police not doing their job properly? Who should we blame now?" The lady reporter said in front of the camera. As she was speaking, John snatched the microphone from her hand.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"One week… Give me just one week. I will catch that killer and bring him to you. If I won't keep my promise, do whatever you want to do with me," John announced in the microphone while looking into the camera.
All the police officers were stunned after hearing this statement. It was so irresponsible. It seemed like John didn't know the consequences he would face if he couldn't keep his word.
"Until then, stay in your homes and go out only if you have some important work. Don't loiter around at night and stay away from suspicious people." He glared into the camera and pointed his index finger at it. "If you are watching this, know that you won't be able to run from me for long." He said and gave the microphone back to the lady reporter.
"As you just heard, the in-charge of the serial killer case has just said to catch the serial killer in one week's time. He even challenged the masked killer openly. What would be the consequences of this?" The lady reporter reported.
"Sir, what did you do? How would you catch him in a week's time?" The police officer asked John in a concerned tone.
"I don't know but we will find something," John replied. The police officer didn't know whether to feel good or bad.
Meanwhile, Claire and Sam were having ice-cream at a local stall.
"When I was young, I used to pester my father to buy me cone ice-cream. My most favorite used to be the chocolate one," Sam mentioned while licking the cone ice-cream in his hand.
"I used to pester my father too, and he always brought me ice-cream when my mood used to be off a bit. He knew that my weakness is ice-cream," Claire said. She remembered the moment when she and Alex shared their ice-creams.
When Alex finished licking his own, he noticed that some of the ice-cream was stuck on her lips.
"What happened? You finished already?" She said, noticing that his hands were empty.
"No, there's still some left," He mentioned.
"Where?"
He smiled and went ahead to taste…
Ice-cream, of course.
"Claire?" Sam said when he noticed her lost in thoughts. She snapped out of it.
"Ah, yes," She said, awkwardly.
As they were talking, the stall owner was watching the news on his cell phone. They could hear the sound coming from the cell phone clearly.
"One week… Give me just one week. I will catch that killer and bring him to you. If I won't keep my promise, do whatever you want to do with me."
"Until then, stay in your homes and go out only if you have some important work. Don't loiter around at night and stay away from suspicious people."
"If you are watching this, know that you won't be able to run from me for long."
"As you just heard, the in-charge of the serial killer case has just said to catch the serial killer in one week's time. He even challenged the masked killer openly. What would be the consequences of this?"
Sam turned as soon as he heard it. His eyes expanded in shock and disbelief. "What?" He uttered.
***
Note: Get me 50 votes by next Sunday, I will do a three-chapter mass release.