Chapter 2 The Mark of the Grim Reaper

The morning sun streamed through the blinds, casting stripes of light and shadow across the office floor.

With dark circles under my eyes, I barely managed a few bites of breakfast before diving headfirst into the records room.

The air was thick with the musty smell of old paper as I sifted through stacks of thick files, my fingers brushing over black-and-white photos, searching for any clue related to the case from three years ago.

Finally, I found it in a corner.

The file's cover was yellowed with age, labeled "Drowning Case."

I opened the file and carefully read through its contents. The photos showed a young woman, her face pale, eyes closed, with a faint ligature mark around her neck.

My gaze fell on her arm, where a tattoo of an eye was clearly visible—the same tattoo found on the victim in the resin-encased body case!

A chill ran down my spine, and my heart began to race.

Could it be the same killer, or was someone orchestrating all of this?

Clutching the file, I rushed into Brian's office.

"Brian, look at this!" I placed the file onto his desk, pointing at the tattoo in the photo.

Brian squinted, examining it closely. "An eye tattoo? What does that prove?"

"The drowning case from three years ago—the victim had the same tattoo!" I said gravely.

"Coincidence?" Brian shrugged. "Young people get tattoos all the time. It doesn't mean anything."

I raised my voice. "How many coincidences can there be? Two victims—both young women, both murdered, both with the same tattoo! I don't buy it."

Zoey walked in, giving me a cold look. "Leonard, calm down. Your theory is purely speculative. There's no objective evidence to support it."

"Evidence?" I pointed at the file. "Isn't this enough? Two similar cases, the same tattoo—isn't that evidence?"

"That's just your assumption," Zoey said, her face expressionless. "Tattoos are too common to be direct evidence."

"You!" I was at a loss for words, frustrated by her constant rebuttals.

"Enough," Brian said, tapping his desk. "Let's investigate further before jumping to conclusions."

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

Zoey was right. I needed more evidence.

I tracked down David Miller, the officer who handled the drowning case three years ago.

David was retired now, his hair gray and face lined with wrinkles.

"David, do you remember the drowning case from three years ago?" I asked.

A spark of recognition lit up David's cloudy eyes. "Of course I remember. That case was strange."

"Strange?" I pressed.

"Yes," David sighed. "We investigated for a long time but found no leads. The victim's identity was unknown, her social connections were minimal, and we couldn't find the killer. In the end, it was ruled an accidental drowning."

"What about the tattoo on the victim?" I asked.

"Tattoo?" David frowned. "Yes, there was an eye tattoo. We looked into it but found nothing useful."

"And then?" I continued.

David's expression darkened. "Then I was reassigned. Not long after, I heard that several officers involved in the investigation had incidents."

I felt a sinking feeling. "What kind of incidents?"

David shook his head, his eyes evasive. "I really don't know."

His evasiveness made me even more uneasy.

Why would a simple case lead to trouble for the investigating officers? What was the real reason?

A voice in my head warned me to stop digging, but my years as a detective wouldn't let me give up easily.

I decided to start with the resin, which had to be a breakthrough.

Using information from the construction site manager, I traced the special resin to a supplier in Silvermoon State. After some effort, I discovered that the resin wasn't produced locally but came from a remote area in another state, used only for special projects.

Following the trail, I found the intermediary in Twilight City who had the sales rights from the Silvermoon State supplier.

The intermediary was a shrewd, overweight man who insisted he didn't know the buyer, only that the person used the alias "Wayne."

"Wayne?" I narrowed my eyes.

I pulled surveillance footage from around the intermediary's company and, sure enough, spotted Wayne.

He wore a hat and sunglasses, his face obscured, but his gait caught my attention.

He walked with a limp, perfectly matching the description of the limping man caught on the construction site surveillance!.

I immediately pulled up the limping man's file and found his name, Tanner Dobbins, with a history of theft and robbery. Recently, he had been active in Twilight City.

I took Alan Johnson and headed straight to Tanner's place.

It was a rundown rental, the door lock broken, the place a mess.

Clearly, Tanner had fled.

I searched the room thoroughly, finding some strange tools, including a cutting machine, ropes, tape, and fragments of women's clothing.

I picked up a piece of clothing, bringing it close to my nose. A nauseating smell hit me, a mix of blood and rot.

I bagged the clothing fragment as evidence and handed it to Zoey, who had arrived.

She put on gloves and carefully collected the residue with tweezers.

"Let's compare the DNA back at the lab," Zoey said, her voice as cold as ever.

I clenched my fists. Tanner was a prime suspect.

But my intuition told me it wasn't that simple.

I pulled out my phone and called Sophia Brown. "Sophia, it's Leonard."

An alluring voice answered, "Mr. Williams, what a surprise! Need help with another tough case from your favorite sexy profiler?"

"Cut the crap," I snapped. "I need a psychological profile of the killer as soon as possible."

"No problem," Sophia laughed. "But you owe me dinner."

"Fine, once the case is solved, I'll treat you to a feast."

"That's more like it," Sophia said, her tone turning serious. "Tell me everything you know, and I'll get you a profile as soon as possible."

I relayed the case details and current leads to Sophia.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Based on what you've told me, I preliminarily assess the killer as a male, aged 30 to 40, with a solitary personality and violent tendencies, possibly with childhood trauma and a strong hatred for women."

"I know that already," I said. "Anything specific?"

"I have a bold hypothesis," Sophia's voice carried a hint of mischief.

"Spit it out," I said impatiently. Sophia loved to tease.

"I think there might be more than one killer," Sophia paused. "The crime scene setup and methods suggest meticulous planning and strong counter-surveillance skills, not something one person could easily manage."

I frowned. "You mean a group?"

"Exactly," Sophia confirmed. "And I suspect they're an organized crime group operating on The Dark Web."

"The Dark Web?" My heart sank. That was a whole new level of trouble.

The Dark Web, a hidden part of the internet filled with illegal activities and transactions, was notoriously hard to track.

"Yes," Sophia said. "Many criminal groups use The Dark Web for anonymity and secrecy, conducting illegal trades, including drugs, weapons, human trafficking, and even contract killings. Recently, CISA has been cracking down on it."

I hung up and immediately contacted John Wilson in the tech department.

"John, I need you to check The Dark Web for someone named Wayne."

John hesitated. "The Dark Web isn't easy to navigate. It's risky."

"I know," I said. "But this Wayne is likely connected to our case. We have to try."

"Alright," John sighed. "But it'll take time. The Dark Web is vast, and it isn't easy for me."

"Do it as fast as you can," I urged.

Hanging up, I still felt uneasy.

The Dark Web was a dangerous, unknown territory. I couldn't guarantee we'd find anything.

But it was essential for the resolution of the case.

I wasn't giving up. I searched the room again, meticulously.

Suddenly, my hand touched something hard under the mattress.

I pulled it out—a picture frame was old, the glass covered in dust..

I wiped the dust away, and the photo inside made my heart skip a beat.

In the photo, Tanner stood next to a tall man with a prominent scar running from his left eye to his mouth, looking menacing.

Who was this man?

What was his connection to Tanner?

And how did they relate to this case?