Serial killer on the loose!

Last Part
  • 02 Feb - 08 Feb, 2019
  • Nadeem Alam
  • Fiction

Her face had been smashed with acid burns. He watched her suffer. What kind of sick bastard was he? We had to wait for finger printing evidence before we knew who she was.

School attendance in the city was affected as many of the dead bodies had been found by school children on their way to school in the morning. Mothers were afraid of a monster lurking in the shadows about to take their child. Little did they know that this vigilante had done their kids’ a favour.

There was a gag order on all the evidence. But lower on the rung of the police department, the staff talked. And information began to leak. Investigative journalists had a heyday with the information they got, mostly by “buying” it from small time rattlers.

Hidden identities were revealed, hidden agendas disclosed. The public was shocked, families were crushed. Neighbors saw their respectable next-door neighbor’s true face exposed and people began to distrust each other. Social events like weddings got cancelled or took place in smaller groups with only immediate family invited. In retrospect this kind of helped curtail extravagance which was escalating uncontrollably however knowing the nature of our people I knew this change was temporary.

My team and I began working late night shifts trying to piece the puzzle together.

Most times the police was not even aware of real identities than how was this killer so informed? What was the common link? And if he was amongst “them” how come he was still in action. People of the underworld generally take care of issues at their own end. But he was still at large. Almost every third or fourth week day we would find another body.

The phone rang and I got up to see who it was.

It was a local pizza chain asking for the address.

“Who ordered pizza?” I called out.

The peon took care of it.

I became exceedingly impatient and irritated.

“You know we’re not having a party. This is an investigation. Besides, you’re calling a pizza guy in the middle of the night? Where’s your humanity?”

I thought this would do the job and they would rethink next time.

My staff worried and surprised me both at the same time. How could they be thinking of food at this terrible time and then again how did they manage to survive with all the ugliness that they saw each day on the job?

The pizza came soon enough. I felt bad for the young kid. I walked up to him acting like a big brother and wanted to tip him generously. He looked like a college student. In fact, I was surprised that he was working so late. He had such a baby face. He looked like he came from a good family. Tough way to make a living, I thought.

“Hey! Tough night?”

“No, sir! The usual.”

“Do you study?”

“Yes sir! I study during the day. I pay for my tuition through this job.”

“I’m impressed. What do you want to do when you grow up?” I asked the usual kind of questions one asks a kid. What an interested young man I thought to myself. I could give him a part time job here I thought. We always needed someone to help with clerical work. And this boy could go places.

“I want to become an investigator just like you sir!”

“Wow! This is a harsh job. Why does this interest you so much?”

“I like solving things, researching and getting answers.”

“Is that so? Come back during the day with your documents. I’ll help you get into the Police Academy.”

“Yes sir! Thank you!”

I gave him a generous tip and he smiled. Then he turned around and left.

I stood there perplexed. That look in his eyes, it was strange.

My gut instinct told me that this kid was unique. I shrugged off the feeling. He was probably just happy for the break that he got tonight. Who would like working late in the night delivering door to door to unfriendly, snobbish sometimes even dangerous people? The kid looked like a nymph. His poor mother must be lying awake at night waiting for him to come home.

Umer got onto his bike and as he rode away he laughed aloud. He couldn’t be happier. What great luck, he thought. No more days wasted on investigating on snobbish families and digging up dirt before picking my next victim. I’ll use the police files and get my job done faster.

You see Umer was the vigilante that was preying on the dark side of this beautiful city of ours. He did more than just deliver pizzas to your home. He used your address to dig up your life! He hacked into your computers and cell lines and if he found a skeleton in your closet then God help you.

A few nights later as Umer was dragging his recent victim into the basement, his mom came running after him in hysterics.

“Why do you do it Umer?” his mom wondered where she went wrong.

“Because mom he hurt you and now they have to pay.”

He then looked over the gagged man with an evil smile and said, “You’re going to get it now!”

He shut the door of the basement telling his mom to stay out of it. She stood helplessly listening to the man’s muffled cries of horror and pain.

RELATED POST

COMMENTS