The police officers arrived at the hotel and joined Sam who was asking a few questions from the staff. They came to know that someone called Harvey Scooter was staying in Room 402 and he was the one who left the envelope for Claire.
They got his ID from the hotel and sent it to all the other police stations nearby.
Sam and John were talking to each other on phone regarding this matter.
"What should we do? It seems Claire is involved in this," Sam said, walking slowly out of the hotel.
"I just don't want anyone else to die. Listen to me carefully, Sam. We have to make the identity of the masked serial killer go public," John mentioned.
It was a big decision but an important one. The killer might hide if he came to know that his identity had been publicized.
"What are you saying, John? What if the killer goes underground and hides?" Sam asked with his eyebrows lifted up.
"He won't." John seemed assured when he said this.
"How do you know?"
"That bastard killed four people in just one day which shows that he is desperate for some reason. I think he doesn't have much time for some reason," John answered in a calm tone.
"You are just speaking hypothetically."
"It's not hypothetical. I am speaking from my experience. I am asking you to believe me once."
Sam sighed and replied, "Alright, but the risk is on you. I won't take any responsibility if something happens."
"You are forgetting that we only have a week to catch him. We have no choice but to move ahead with this."
Sam stayed silent for a bit and said, "You are right, but don't do it right away. Let me first talk to the boss and know what he has to say on this."
"Okay."
John disconnected the call and sat on his chair in the police station. "If the snake doesn't get its prey, it is bound to get out of its burrow," He smiled and clasped his fingers.
Meanwhile, the police officers had got some valuable information on Harvey Scooter. The person had stayed in the hotel for two nights.
They even got the footage of him getting in and out of the hotel. While the police officers were checking on the footage, Sam had been dialing his boss.
"Sir!" He said as soon as his boss received the call.
"What happened, Sam? Have you created some other fuss now? Saying irresponsible stuff in front of the media wasn't enough?" The boss remarked.
"Sir, I didn't know that he would do something like this."
"He is your partner, who do you think would know? Anyway, you guys had only a week, to begin with. It made my work easier."
"Sir, I have called you to give some valuable information to you, and ask for your permission for a task," Sam mentioned.
"Permission? What permission? And what do you want to share?"
"Sir, we have confirmed the identity of the masked serial killer…"
"What?" The boss couldn't believe it. This incompetent pair confirmed the identity of the masked serial killer? It sounded unreal. "Then why aren't you catching him?"
"He is still out of our reach, sir. I want to ask for permission in this regard."
"What is it?"
"Sir, John wants to publicize the identity of the serial killer, so that he would commit a mistake and we would catch him by taking the advantage of the situation."
"Are you two idiots?" The boss remarked in a pinning tone. "Don't you know that the killer might get alert and never come out from his hiding?"
"I know, sir. But John thinks that the killer is desperate. He killed four people in just twenty-four hours, which indicates that he doesn't have much time," Sam tried to explain but the boss interrupted him.
"No, I wouldn't suggest this ridiculous idea," The boss said, paused for a moment, and asked, "By the way, do you have a picture of him?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Send it to me along with the details."
"Sure, sir."
"And tell John not to act with foolishness again or it would be bad for him. He had already been suspended and demoted in the past. It might harm both of your careers now as you are partners. What he does reflects on your duty as well."
Sam stayed silent until his boss disconnected the call. Sam put the cell phone back into his pocket after sharing what the boss asked for and headed inside the hotel where the police were doing their job.
"Take the footage, we have to go."
On the other hand, a police officer arrived at the police station when John was lost in thoughts.
"Sir, the survivor old man has also confirmed his identity. The masked killer is none other than Alexander Stone," The police officer said, standing in front of John.
John nodded and stared at the ground.
"Good. Now, the question is – why did he target these specific people. It doesn't look like he chose his victims randomly. There must be some connection between them."
"But sir, it's difficult to establish a connection between all these people considering the fact that the evidence collected from the first three murders were destroyed," The police inspector said, and these wordings made John realize something again.
He stood up from his chair and uttered, "This is deeper than we think. There is some external force which doesn't want us to get to the truth, but rather want us to get to the killer only."
"Sir, what does this indicate to?"
"It only indicates to one thing. There is someone big involved in all this," John answered and noticed some hesitation in the police officer's eyes. Of course, no one would want to mess with someone powerful and he knew it.
Meanwhile, John and Sam's head official whom they denoted as 'boss' received the information about the masked serial killer. He looked at the picture with a smile and dialed a number from his phone.
[The dialogue is from one side only, from the head official. Every set of dialogue has been spoken after the unknown person on the other side of the phone call had spoken.]
"I have got the fish."
"Heh, those good-for-nothing pimps actually did a great job..."
"Wait, I will send it to you. Don't forget about my share."
"Of course, they would be eradicated as well just like the ones before them. Your secret will remain a secret."
"Deal with the problem on your side. The media is making a fuss on your matter as well."
"Yes, got it."
He disconnected the call and sent the information to the mysterious person he was talking to. He smirked after it was sent.
***
Note:
Who did the head official call? Is the game way bigger than it seems?
A thrilling adventure is going to happen in the upcoming chapters. Make sure to read them.
This week's power stone target is 50 for a three-chapter mass release on Sunday. If you want me to do a mass release, vote with power stones. We are not far from achieving the target.