The address we were sent to is somewhere more crowded than the last place.
Central City, Red light District.
"You good now?"
"Yeah. Shit. Let's get this over with."
I parked the car somewhere nearby and followed Darren in front of the door of a small house.
Darren looked at me once before heading up a short flight of stairs to knock.
"Come in."
Said a feminine voice inside."
Regardless of the odd sensation I was feeling, I still went ahead and opened the door.
When we got inside, what we saw was a tall man with skin as white as snow, sitting on the living room. Not in the sofa, but on a normal dining room chair.
"Take a seat."
"You're not gonna ask who we are?"
Darren asked. Still looking around the house.
Probably at the multiple, large and small, refrigerators around the house.
"No need. I've been watching you two since you came from the 'boogieman'."
I know and I can feel that he's looking straight at me without blinking, but I kept my eyes down.
"Sit boys. I'm not gonna ask again."
There was no seat other than the large sofa, but it's from where the man's chair was positioned.
But I kindly obliged to what the man said.
I sat down at one the sofa and was later followed by a visibly confused Darren.
Now we're sitting, with our backs facing the man.
"Good. Now. My given name is Jack, but my community folks refer to me as 'the ripper'."
Jack paused for a second to sip something, probably tea based on what I'm smelling.
Jack continued. "Now I don't normally appear around cops but if it's for my dear old buddy, boogie, then I'll gladly help you both."
I heard him got up and held Darren's nape as he almost looked back at Jack.
He looked at me and I only replied by shaking my head.
We cannot risk losing a potential lead just because we looked at him in the eyes.
Jack took out something from a shelf and placed it in front of us.
"You see gentlemen. Mine and boogie's little community will have a small gathering three days from now. And I don't know who the host will be but I'm pretty sure this guy does."
I saw his long fingers beside my head, pointing at the photo in front of us.
I asked.
"Could you tell us more about this guy? This gathering of you guys would be a big step in finding a lead for us."
"This right here is known as 'The Artificer'. And thats everything we know of him. Now if you wanna enter this little gathering of ours, then you're gonna need the approval of the host. Though I doubt that."
Darren couldn't keep it in anymore and started talking.
"We don't plan on meddling with your community, we just wanna find who killed the girl at our school."
"What you're doing, boy, is the anti thesis of 'not meddling with our community'."
"Yeah but-"
"You two got what you want."
Jack opened the door leading outside.
"Now scram."
-------------------------
"Guess we have to find this guy first."
"Yeah. Show me the map. And tell me the trends in each area."
Darren said "sure" and started pointing at parts of the central city map, while explaining each trend of serial killings that are happening in each part of the large city.
I couldn't help but comment.
"They're treating the city as some sort of hunting ground."
After a few more explanations we started going back on the road to find our next lead.
'The Artificer'
It's 3 hours til sun rise.