The next morning, news of the murder was heard again.
Aleyah sat limply on the sofa and stared for a long time at the television which was still broadcasting the unfortunate incident that happened to a rising actor.
There has been a murder on Haruman Street. The victim had the same motive as the previous murder victim, namely a cut off little finger. The public is starting to doubt the credibility of police because of these recurring incidents. Apart from that, many people call this killer a hero because the murder victims were mostly people from high society who abused their power.
Lucy took the remote from Aleyah's hand and turned down the sound on the television. "Make me some food, please, the eggs and bread in the refrigerator have run out, papa already went to work a few hours ago." She said but Aleyah was still sitting helplessly without looking away.
Aleyah was actually staring at the black shadows. Speaking telepathically with them, the black shadows said that they were not lying or fooling her about that evidence. They actually recorded and witnessed the murder. They also witnessed the man being chased by the police last night.
"Then what is this?" Aleyah muttered quietly.
"Aleyah, why are you ignoring me?" complained Lucy while standing right in front of her sister.
Aleyah broke her thoughts and looked into Lucy's eyes. "Oh, I'm too lazy to cook, should we just order food?" she asked. Lucy showed her cell phone, "I've already ordered it while you were staring at the television." Said a little curtly.
Aleyah adjusted her sitting position and let Lucy sit beside her. Aleyah rubbed the lenses of her glasses with the corner of her shirt, while Lucy turned up the sound on the television. "I don't know who did all that disgusting thing but I think I agree with his actions," said Lucy suddenly, referring to news they watched.
Hearing that made Aleyah turn her head. "What did you say?"
"I think that guy did the right thing. Everyone he killed deserved to be killed. A religious leader abuses many women and child, a con artist who harms society, a corrupt mayor, a father who kills his own wife and run with her money, an artist who rapes children, honestly they did not deserve to life."
"Lucy." Call Aleyah louder. "How can you say that? That's a murderer. That person murder people without any guilt and he is still wandering around out there. Do you even hear yourself?" She let herself be overcome by emotions.
Aleyah's words made Lucy cover her mouth, "Oh my god, you are right, after all a murderer is still something wrong."
"Of course, it's wrong! We are civilized humans and have common sense. Only animals have such a killing instinct. They said all the victim's little finger was missing, how could someone be that cruel? If that trait existed in humans, then he would have become a complete monster. Whoever he kills, his sin remains the same."
Lucy grimaced when she heard that, "Calm down, you're being excessive. He killed people who greatly harmed the citizens. Calling it a monster and despicable is quite too much."
"I don't know about you but I think he should think of another way to solve the problem. Killing was never an answer to punish someone else's fault or sin. It's not his job to decide who has the right to live or die. Who is he? Playing the role of god by seeking justification for his bloodlust."
Lucy couldn't argue with her sister anymore because she knew Aleyah was one of the most stubborn humans ever. She knew Aleyah love peace and tranquility, well everyone loved it anyway. But she didn't expect Aleyah to hate violence to that extent.
The black shadows were still there, they were also arguing with each other. The teenage ghost clenched his palms tightly. Suddenly he was enveloped in a bluish black light. The teenage ghost floated out of Aleyah's house towards somewhere and he was immediately followed by his friends.
They went to the police station and immediately looked for Jeremy's whereabouts. The office was strangely quiet today, even quieter and seemed more eerie than usual. This place is also quite messy, as if it had just been the site of a bull fight. The chair, desk, windows were broken, the bars were open with a padlock lying on the ground, and there were several drops of wet blood on the floor.
"Jeremy is alive, but he is still unconscious." Justin reported after finishing the phone call with someone. The teenage ghost approaches them to eavesdrop, he needs to know what happened.
An hour after they took Michael to the police station, a strange man came roaring in like an angry bull and causing chaos in the police station. The mysterious man almost finished off Jeremy, who was the hardest to get to give up. They didn't expect that the man would have a partner. All this time he seemed to be moving alone so they never thought that his partner would come like last night.
The teenage ghost stared for a long time at Justin, one of the policemen who was acting strangely. Justin looked pale and very scared, not to mention the way he often looked around like he was hiding something from his co-worker. It make he decided to follow Justin's steps.
. . .
Michael took off his clothes which were full of the stench of blood. He rummaged through the drawers to look for a bandage for the wound on his stomach. He wrapped his stomach with white bandages several times while clenching his jaw. The bullet did not penetrate the flesh, it was just a scratch that would dry up after two days.
Lucas appeared from the door with a laptop and headset. "Lucky you, playing games while I was running all night from the police." Michael muttered irritably.
"You look messy Ash. I work hard, you know? You can wander around without being caught on camera because of me. I wake up every night to help you but you don't thank me at all."
Michael looked at Lucas without a friendly expression. This made Lucas quiet, and then he took off his headset. "Oh yeah, I wanted to show you something." Then Lucas showed his laptop to the man who was busy with his wound.
Lucas showed them one by one the victims they had killed so far. Michael grabbed a black singlet and put it on, "Yes, they're all famous people, so what?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Listen, our mysterious client wants us to kill famous people in a recurring pattern. It's always on Thursday at night every week, every victim must have their little finger cut off, this is very clear." Lucas snapped his fingers, "They created a serial killer. Then I suspect that our client is actually the government of this country."
"I know, I wonder how you missed that information all this time." Michael replied coldly then he reached for the mirror and removed the contact lenses in both eyes. He closed and opened his stinging eyes repeatedly. Wearing contact lenses was really torturous.
"What? So you know everything? Then why didn't you tell me?" Lucas protested.
Michael rubbed his right eye then looked at Lucas with his dark blue eyes. "What exactly did you follow me here for? Nick didn't tell you anything?" he asked and the question succeeded in making Lucas silent.
"I feel like this is all too easy. I waited for Nick to explain something about our client's identity but nothing. I'm worried that something big will happen later."
Lucas nodded in understanding. "Yes, I have clearly seen what you mean. You are in big trouble because you almost got caught. Did the police who messed you up like this?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Just admit it. I think you're no longer as shrewd as you used to be Ash. So how did you escape?"
Michael sighed. He looked at the door of the hotel room they were in, "Open the door Nick, he will answer all of your questions." Michael ordered.
Lucas reached for the gun on the table then walked towards the door. He opened the door an arm's length to peek at who was visiting them. It's a man, who dressed warmly and didn't stop shaking.
"What do you want?" Lucas asked curtly, he hid his gun behind his back but he was ready to fire it whenever he wanted.
"I'm on your side, my name is Justin, I came here because that person called me." Justin explained haltingly.
"Aren't you a police officer? So you betrayed your friends huh?" said Lucas with a mockery little cuckles.