87 Another Distinguishing Factor (1/2)

When they reached, the police station was mostly empty. She looked around and saw people filtering into the conference room.

Detective Nash was already briefing members of the force on the progress. They were searching for builders of the torture devices at the moment.

”We found specialty makers, but there are only two in the country. Apart from that, we have been talking to customs and ports about incoming materials of this nature. These were made from scratch and the work is excellent, so they were not assembled after bringing it into the country or after buying. This means that the perpetrator bought it and transported the devices as they were.”

Considering that the devices were huge, it would be difficult to transport these inconspicuously. I leaned towards Sebastian, who was sitting beside me and spoke softly. ”Why aren't we considering the perpetrator to be the one who made those devices?”

”According to behavioral studies, people who make showmanship out of their performance usually don't like to put effort into it. They want to show off, but they don't have much to show people. Otherwise, they wouldn't be acting that way,” Sebastian explained.

”But you seem to forget. He is not just an exhibitionist. In this case, he is giving out punishment to people. The methods aren't original either. He is putting in the effort to make it look like he is doing a lot but instead he is just replicating what others have done before him. In that way, if he is indeed someone with an inferiority complex, he could make it himself.”

Sebastian thought about it himself. ”I didn't think of that, good job.” He raised his hand. Detective Nash raised his brow and motioned him to speak.

”Evie has to say something,” he said with a sly smile. Detective Nash rolled his eyes and asked me to speak. I told him exactly what I had reiterated to Sebastian.

”Good thinking. What do you think this man's occupation will be then?” he asked, testing me.

I had seen the pictures of the devices up close. It was someone with intimate knowledge of metalwork. ”It's heavy-duty metalwork, definitely so I would rule out people who make metal jewelry and other such objects. The tools will be very different as will the raw materials. However... someone who makes bigger pieces and knows how to wield and mold them would also have the equipment and materials...” But I didn't know what the profession could be.

Everyone drew up a blank.

”Right!” Detective Nash spoke out. ”Our last victim was suspected of raping and murdering an air hostess two years ago but got away due to lack of evidence. We are sure that he was the perpetrator.”

Therefore the modus operandi was established.

”According to this, we will be narrowing down the search. The third victim was constantly traveling, so tracing his footsteps and finding the people who were commonly seen would be good. Considering that all these people are originally from this city, there has to be a connection between all the victims.”

The meeting was concluded just like that, leaving me with more questions than I had come with.

Just like this, days passed and there were no real leads in the case. I was growing hopeless with each passing day. Calculating the time between the three crimes, the perpetrators might act within another week.

In the middle of the night, the phone rang. I was in the middle of falling asleep when the phone rang and left me sleepless.

”They had found a few suspects that fit the bill. But nothing conclusive can be drawn from any of this.” Sebastian told her.

”Did they bring him in for questioning?” I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

”No. They are going to his house to bring him in for questioning.” I checked the watch. It was six in the morning.

”Is this a good time to bring him in?” I asked.

”They'll wait outside his house and tail him for a couple of hours. He had closed his shop for the past two weeks and followed the third victim around at that time. They found hotel and plane booking records to prove it. They even had footage of someone following the victim.”

”Will they be able to pin it on him, though?” Sebastian shook his head.

”If we show similarities between his stature with the person following the victim, we could use it to make him feel endangered. It doesn't have to be conclusive evidence as long as we make it out to be to him.”

We changed and went to the car quickly without grabbing any breakfast.

”You're going into the interrogation today, you know that, right?” Sebastian spoke up suddenly.

”But Detective Nash will be interrogating the suspect, won't he?” I asked, confused. ”I would be a bother if I enter the interrogation room without any prior experience. I can trust you to hold the interaction up, but I have never worked with Detective Nash.”

Sebastian chuckled. ”He knows that you're my favorite pupil. He's an excellent detective and knows how to handle tense situations. I'll talk to him about the exercise.”