"So," Borgia broke the long silence in the returning carriage, "are we going to investigate this Carpine next?"
"Yes," Al nodded, then quickly shook his head. "But even if we do, we probably won't find any clues."
Carpine was undoubtedly a scumbag. If the victims were trafficked, Carpine was the prime suspect. But this serial murder case clearly bore the marks of the Demon Worship Cult or the Rose School of Thought. Investigating was necessary, but finding clues seemed unlikely.
"Since we know he's a criminal, can't we just arrest him?" Ashes suddenly asked.
"As much as I'd like to bring that scum to justice, we can't," Al said, his face darkening. "Even as NightHawks, we have to follow the law. We can only arrest suspects with evidence. Unfortunately, even though everyone knows Carpine is a criminal, without proof, we can never apprehend him. And even if we did, he'd easily get off with a lawyer's help."
Carpine was a very clever criminal. No one had ever caught him because he was extremely cautious. Backlund had a population of five million, with 30% in the East District—the most chaotic and poorly policed area. Over 90% of Backlund's crimes occurred there, most unrelated to Beyonder powers. Such cases fell under the police's jurisdiction, and they rarely enforced the law in the East District. Sometimes, people committed murder in front of the police, who pretended not to see. For them, the chaos in the East District maintained order elsewhere.
Carpine was smart enough to commit his crimes solely in the East District. Thus, despite being widely known as a criminal, no one could touch him—no evidence, and the police didn't want to cross a wealthy man with connections.
"No need to guess," Simon's hoarse voice interrupted. "I think I know what they have in common."
"What?" El asked reflexively.
"Eve was like Casey in the past."
"Like what?" Al was momentarily confused but quickly understood. The investigation wasn't fruitless. They learned Casey had sold her body to survive, and Simon was hinting at a similar past for Eve.
"What exactly..." Al wanted to ask further but stopped when he saw Simon's grim face.
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize," Simon took a deep breath. "This isn't shameful. Before becoming a NightHawk, Eve's life was very hard. Her father abandoned them when she was young, leaving her mother to raise four children. When her mother died from overwork, their only income ceased. To feed herself and her siblings, Eve had to work."
"She became a maid in a baron's house, but the meager salary wasn't enough. Her sister starved to death first, then her youngest brother. Only one brother survived. To keep her job and prevent her last brother from starving, Eve endured everything."
"But that bastard claimed she seduced him! The blind baron fired her and complained to the servants' guild, making it impossible for her to find work. To survive, she had to sell her body."
"Eve even thought, had she gone straight to prostitution instead of being a maid, maybe her siblings wouldn't have died. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Simon's cold smile turned to anger. "She had a bright future, yet why, why now!" He punched the carriage wall, startling passersby. Inside, the atmosphere was heavy. Lorota clutched her chest, feeling an inexplicable pain. Eve was only 19. Lorota, close to Eve, knew her mother died when she was ten. What had she gone through in those five years?
"If that's the case, can we use this to identify future victims?" Ashes tried to shift the gloomy mood.
"Difficult," Al murmured, while Borgia added softly.
"Why?" Ashes asked, confused.
"Do you know Backlund's population?" Al asked. Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Five million. Half are women, that's 2.5 million. Of those, at least a sixth have been in such a profession. That's 400,000 potential targets!"
"This is…" Lorota was stunned by the revelation.
"Exaggerated?" Simon's bitter smile reflected his disdain for the world. "But that's reality. This is Ruen Kingdom's capital, Backlund. As a writer said, if a woman loses her job as a maid, she must choose between selling her body or starving."
Silence fell again. They knew the victims had once sold their bodies to survive but now held respectable jobs. This narrowed the suspects from 400,000 to 100,000. But identifying the victims from these 100,000 was nearly impossible.
Once again, the case reached a deadlock.
(End of Chapter)
50 Power stones = Extra Chapter
Other Works - The Boy's Perfect Hero