“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
Macmillan resisted the urge to shut his eyes as he drove, “Look, it’s this
simple. If Scotts doesn’t give it by the end of the week, sack the piece of
shit. He’s literally doing nothing to help work. God. I need a cigarette,” he
grumbled, driving to his own workplace. “…mm? The case? Oh – yeah, it’s okay.
Squad’s a little off edge. Can’t blame them. Asshole seems hard to catch–”
He rubbed his eyes and
slowed down, swearing softly at the sight of building traffic. “It’s a mess
down here. Did something happen? No? Damn it. Okay. I’ll just get there soon.”
Without another word, he ended the call and tossed his phone into the other
seat, leaning back and setting the gear to neutral as he waited for the cars to
move once more.
The past days had been
a blur. Aside from helping out Squad A with the case, he had handled others as
well. Piles of glass, paper and whatnot had been studied endlessly, folders
containing detailed files stacked on his desk, ready to be sent out. Mack had
nearly downed a pot of coffee on his third day without sleep, and crashed back
home with his eyes shut and without heating up the leftovers he had in the
fridge.
Peters had been
contacting him back and forth with endless theories, Mack trying to refute each
one that seemed impossible. He clearly went against his suggestion on letting
the next murder happen, but stopped to think when he finally brought the idea
about the crime being just like the one in the movie.
“That movie with Brad Pitt back in the nineties or
something. I watched it with my dad.”
He sort of remembered
watching that one, but it had been so long.
So Macmillan decided to
download the movie off torrent one free night, and spent the next three hours
watching and analyzing, cooped in his bedroom.
And he couldn’t believe
it, but Peters seemed right for once.
So he called the
American back, he answering on the third ring.
At the end of the call,
he agreed to tell the rest of Squad A about it the next morning.
He stepped on the gas
immediately when the flow of traffic stopped, opening the roads. Mack drove on,
tapping his finger to the beat of the song on the radio which played on that
cold morning. As he drove, he passed by the casino A had visited a few days back.
It was open once more,
but he noticed that the parking wasn’t as filled as it usually was. Granted, it
was only the mornings, but business might have gone weak ever since the murder
that occurred…
“–eh?”
He did a double take.
Right by the side of
the casino where dumpsters sat, a brick wall greeted him.
And on that brick wall,
he saw something flash blue.
“I honestly can’t believe
the case is taking this long,” Olsen said. “What the bloody hell is this guy?
He’s not leaving any kind of clue!”
“That’s what’s
frustrating us,” A replied. Her long black hair was in a bun once more that
morning. “There’s nothing else to investigate. We’ve got interviews, the
pictures, the glass shards…no other leads. We even have the CCTV footage of the
casino, but aside from that, the man is unidentifiable.”
Dee frowned, her
brunette curls bouncing as she moved her head. “How unidentifiable?”
“His face wasn’t seen.”
Peters said from the back, “And we can’t exactly zoom in without having the
footage look like utter shit. He was just wearing a long coat, a hat – fucking fedora – and there he was.”
“Then why don’t you
start with that?”
“It’s not that easy,
Dee.” Olsen took a sip from his tea, “He can’t find a stranger in a fedora and
coat then arrest him on the spot. This guy is smart. He’ll change his clothes
from area to area. I’m guessing that he won’t even risk wearing them ever
again.” while Olsen and Dee debated on this, A leaned back, feeling her head
pound and Touta’s glance wavering from the ongoing debate.
It was ten in the
morning, and she already wanted to go back home.
“We had something like
that in Jersey,” Dee finally said. “Unidentifiable. We were only able to catch
him when he committed an error that led us to apprehend him.” she sent the
other woman an apologetic glance, “Our last hope is to actually hope he goes
wrong with a detail or two.”
“We’re hoping for that,
Dee.” Touta glanced at his watch and then at the people in the office. Dee and
Olsen were sitting across each other on the chairs situated by A’s desk, and
Peters was gazing out the window while tapping his fingers on his hip. A merely
sat down. “How’s your own investigation going?”
Olsen shrugged. “Better
than you lot, to be honest.”
“We might finish it up
today,” the American added. “Don’t give up, you guys. There’s always a chance
for a marginal error on him.” she stood up and clutched the paper cup, “Thanks
for the coffee. Olsen and I have gotta run now, though – J might steam if she
finds out we’re slacking.”
“I’m not slacking,” the
Englishman defended, sending the three a concerned look before waltzing out
with the younger lady. Touta turned to his co-workers, hoping to find the words
that could at least give them the slightest bit of comfort…
“Where did we go wrong?”
“We’re not wrong.”
Peters’ voice was steely, “He’s just too damn sly. We’re getting somewhere but
he’s getting somewhere and that pisses me off.
God, I need another cup before I end up throwing this out the damn window,” he
ranted. A merely sighed.
“Please don’t. We might
ruin someone’s attire.”
The Japanese was about
to speak, but was interrupted by a peal of interrupted anger from outside.
Peters immediately moved to the door while A stood, Touta reaching into his coat
pocket and bracing as Peters opened the door –
And quickly, Mack swept
into the room, panting and tossing his phone at A, who caught it with a look of
shock on her face. “The pictures,” he panted, “Pictures. I have pictures.
Spotted by the casino, the next on a fucking dumpster, and the other on the
third victim’s door. Just…check them out.” The American sank onto a nearby chair
and fumbled for his pockets, A staring at the screen of the man’s smart phone.
“Touta.” The man
quickly walked behind her and she showed him the picture, the older man
squinting as he glanced at the picture quickly.
“This is katakana,” he
said slowly. “…glutton.”
The air around them
seemed to change as he shakily swiped to the next picture, eyes falling on the
red spray paint on the dumpster.
“Desire.”
And the last picture,
of a scrawled green on a dark door.
“Envy.”
Mack looked up at the
three members, who all had different expressions on their faces. He read
excitement in Peters’, the incredulity in Touta’s and the blankness in A’s…
She had her eyes on the
phone, lips set in a firm line.
What she said next
confirmed their beliefs.
“He left clues.” She took
a paper and pen, writing slowly. “Case number one: Taro was killed and our
suspect left graffiti on the wall. Case
number two: Minoru was found. The suspect left graffiti on the dumpster. Case
number three: Kazumi was murdered. The suspect left a hastily scribbled word on
her door in green…as if to emphasize what was next,” she managed.
“Do they look the same?”
Touta nodded tightly.
“The third looks like
it was done in a hurry.”
“Just as I thought. Now…”
she looked up at them, “Who envies the most?”
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