In the cold of the Night

Epilogue

The cold wind ruffled through the curtains as the night dawned in silence of the night. It had been raining for an hour and now the air is clean, mixed with the moist smell of the aftermath rain. It was an ideal setup for an evening stroll. But it wasn’t evening either. The clock just chimed one. It was not an usual night. There was a stint of morbid uncertainty that settled in the atmosphere. When he came it was raining heavily and he was completely drenched in rain. The carpeted floor stubbed with dampness as he hung his jacket over the chair. It was a few hours ago and everything has long dried, even the carpet though the atmosphere outside was kind of chilly and cold, contrary to the inside of the apartment room. The room resonated a certain amount of tension, an uncertain aura surrounded the room.

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Mike got a call when he was returning home after following up on a lead on his latest case. The case was getting on his nerves since he has been following various leads but they weren’t leading him anywhere. When it came to solving cases, he was very good at it. That’s why he chose the field work, even though he was offered a promotion. His colleagues feared he might have lost touch at his abilities as he wasn’t in active duty for a little over 5 months. He wanted to get back to work, because he knew it would take his mind off things, the past, the accident, but his supervisor advised against it as he didn’t want to jeopardize the people working with him.

The urgency and the magnitude of the case asked for his expertise. He had dealt with similar cases before. And so was the reason for calling him back for his assistance, firstly as a consultant and after the doctor clears him, he would be able to carry an firearm as well. In the first month, he solved the case which the detectives were trying to solve for the past year. He lost the interest of taking credit, which others believed it to be the trauma that was haunting him. And so the department was appreciated, obviously.

The humbleness of him compelled to make the best use of him. Six months had passed and he did great. He was back. Nearly an year ago, he was locked in his home drinking and smoking and sometimes even drugs, just to forget. He moved places, but the thoughts always haunted him. For a long time, he turned a blind eye to the bad things that happened, even when they happened in front of him. He just walked away. He was incapable. He was tired. He was lost. He was smitten with vengeance. But then again he was mentally incapacitated, perhaps it was too much drinking or the drugs. Now, he was back on track after getting his act together. He solved his first case in no time as if he was a natural. But…but this new case he has been moving around for a few weeks now with no solid.

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He turned the car back around. The smoke of the cigarette stubbed between his fingers made a trail as he sped on the driveway to meet up the folks at the crime scene. He arrived at the scene in time for all the detectives assigned to it arrived. He entered the flat. It was a big flat. The victim was a wealthy man. We could tell by the look of his apartment flat. It was a penthouse. And almost in it was antique. He also had a Mercedes which was parked in his parking spot as of he had just arrived. This case couldn’t wait till the next morning because this was the second in the last two months. Whoever was doing this was very careful and it was evident that it was the same person because the pattern was almost similar to their first victim. It was difficult to say whether it was a one man job or a group of people. A month ago, it was another officer of the state in a prominent position, like the latest victim. As the pressure kept building from the higher up, the police was head over heels to catch the perpetrator.

The forensics gave a preliminary report to Mike based on the visual observations and the more could only be found out after the body was taken back to the lab. Mike was a clever fellow. His visual perception was pretty good. He had a thing for these kinds of things and the killers’ thoughts. He could jump into the mind of the killer and visualize the scenes that might have taken place. The latest victim was a Lawyer and was a renowned person as he had more number of cases solved than anyone in the city. And that itself rose the suspicion. No one could be that perfect when it comes to being a lawyer. A note was left behind beside the body which read “For a better society” This was the second note left by the killer. They leave them behind claiming themselves to be doing good to the society and implicitly asking people not the judge on his morale.

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To be continued….

*Mike: Micheal William, Detective. 10+ years working in the Department. 22 Cases solved closed out of 25 + 1 ( new case). Ex-Husband, Ex-Father. 

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Disclaimer :

In the cold of the Night is a fictional (genre : Crime, Mystery, Thriller) story and has no resemblance to anyone or anything. Any such  resemblance is purely coincidental and is advised to be brought to notice.