Chapter 148: A Story Untold (2/2)

Collins refused to cooperate or meet Nash or me for questioning. Instead, the prosecution filed to look through his security footage.

I sighed with relief when I entered the government office and found my way.

”Here you go,” said the prosecutor from the trial.

”You got assigned this case, too?” I asked.

”Yeah, because I already knew about the McCain case, they thought I would be their best bet to get a conviction.” He shrugged.

”Have you looked through the tape? Did you find anyone suspicious?” I asked curiously.

He shook his head. ”There was nothing of note. The people he met were all clients and nobody acted suspiciously. How about you look through the footage? You should have a better idea of this matter, right?”

I nodded. ”This person is suspected of association with multiple cases, so we want to find him. I can't tell you more, of course.” I gave him a polite smile.

”I know all about secrecy within law enforcement. Lord knows a lot gets missed out because of it. Cleaning up mistakes is a recurring theme, you see…” he trailed off.

Didn't I know about it…

”Thank you. I'll let you know if I find the person I am looking for in these videos.” I was about to leave when I paused. ”Wait, does it have footage of his apartment, too?” I asked.

”His apartment does have a system, but the memory was corrupted. We couldn't get any information from it. We do have forensics trying to restore footage, though. Why?” he asked.

”You never know. Maybe the person who tipped us off was a personal connection,” I said.

”I'll give you a call if I find something of substance, okay?”

I bid goodbye and came back to the station.

By the time I was done with the footage, it was close to midnight. I had wheeled in a blackboard and got some chalk. The relationship chart had already been made and I was staring at it like a fool.

It just didn't fit in.

I heard the door creak behind me and turned to see Sebastian peering through.

”Still working?” he asked.

”Come in. Help me solve this, will you?” I pleaded. ”I just can't make a full profile. It's all jumbled in my head and I don't think it is because of my emotional connection to this man.”

He sighed and came in. He looked over the writing on the board and shook his head. ”You have all the information you need on the board, don't you? You just can't put it together in a story,” he claimed.

”Can you see it? Can you tell me?” I asked.

He sat down beside me on the floor. He pulled my hand into his and then caressed it with his thumb.

”Male. Age between twenty-five to thirty-five years. Doesn't hold a permanent nine-to-five job but has enough money to live a comfortable life. His family life should be complicated with lingering feelings for an older male family member with whom he had a close connection but something happened and they had a falling out. That is why he cherishes the football merchandise and uses it as a shield to hide his identity. He is confident in himself and thinks of himself as the muse who helps people realize their dreams of committing crimes, but he also has an acute knowledge of criminal procedure. It is possible that someone from his family was involved in multiple crimes or they work in the justice system. That is how this person gets the confidence to evade the police so well. But his family is also in a position of power.”

I looked at him with utter fascination. ”You're really something else, aren't you?” I said in wonder.

”Okay, you add in what you think,” he proposed, not letting me out.

”If it's a position of power and something to do with crime: it could be organized crime syndicates that run in their family… or maybe someone is a politician? High government official,” I analyzed. ”Ah, did I mention what Nash deduced?”

Sebastian blinked. ”What?”

”This man… he has a similar style to the accomplice in the Elegant Butcher case. What if… what if they are the same person and that is why he thinks we have an underlying connection?”

Sebastian stiffened. ”Why didn't I think of that?” he whispered. ”It does fit,” he said after a while. ”But that just adds more question that it solves.”

”It does. But now I know we are not looking for two people but one person,” I stated.

”But don't be so quick to cancel out the possibility that it is two different people,” he advised calmly. ”I would be happier if it were one person. Though, also terrified because then he has been watching you for far longer than we anticipated and everything you feared was not just a figment of your imagination and your gut screaming at you to sense the danger around you.”