Chapter 158: Creating Fear Among People (2/2)

”Yes, is there anything wrong?” I asked.

”We have been tracing their IP address, but it keeps shifting,” he admitted. ”It's not a regular VPN these people are using. I think the website is rerouting the IP addresses for the privacy of the users.” He huffed.

”It's a website where violent sexual content is posted. DO we need to subpoena them to get a hit?” I asked casually.

He sucked in a breath. ”Not possible. This is one of those shady sites. They'll never concede. But okay, I'll try something,” he promised finally.

In the following hours, a team of officers had congregated in the conference room with a map spread out and all the witness testimonies. We had received a hit from the cybercrime department. They had the general vicinity where the live-stream was coming from.

”Okay, we are looking for an exposed brick building with an overgrown lawn in this vicinity,” I motioned to the pictures. I had managed to blur out the graphic scene for the benefit of the others.

”The locality is old and has a lot of these. Is there anything, in particular, we are looking for?” an officer asked.

”It could be a house where no one lives. The owner is probably old and has a younger female partner with them. Girlfriend or fiancé or wide,” I mentioned.

The officers blinked.

”It is this general locality, so I am all ears about your ideas,” I prompted.

”Because we don't have an exact location, we might need to ask local residents about such a pair,” someone commented.

Sounded good. ”Let's regroup and head out in a while.” I looked at the clock.

I dialed Nash's number and he picked up immediately.

”You located them?” was the first thing he said.

”We have the general location where these people are located. Nothing else,” I admitted. ”We've made a group of five other officers and me and we will head there to talk to a few people,” I informed him.

”Great,” Nash breathed. ”Listen…” he interrupted suddenly before falling silent.

”What is it?” I felt anxiety.

”I can't come right now because I need to help Sebastian. But be careful, okay? Don't approach the suspects if you come across them. If you find the house, do not go inside yourself, understood?” he said firmly.

”Is this an order from Sebastian and you?” I asked.

Nash sighed. ”You have been obsessively looking at that computer screen since morning. You only just got better, there is no need to go back to that kind of hellish place. After they catch the suspects and bring the victims out of the room, help them and talk to them… but do not go inside. Understood?” he barked.

I remained silent for a second before realizing that Sebastian was worrying about me despite the huge workload on him.

”Okay, I promise,” I said slowly.

And I kept the promise. We asked around the neighborhood for a couple with a big age gap but were disappointed.

”But there is a father-daughter pair who live here,” an elderly lady told us. She looked like the gossipy kind.

”Why would you mention them?” an officer asked.

”Oh, they are a strange pair. The girl is a nurse but she is stuck to her father in a weird way…” she said.

I frowned. ”Where do they live?” I asked casually.

The woman pointed us towards the direction.

Lo and Behold. I knew this was the place just looking at the exterior. So did the others.

”Are you coming in?” a younger officer asked. I shook my head.

”I was asked to stay out,” I shrugged. They nodded and left.

It was about a few minutes and I heard little to no noise from inside the house. They were probably going through the rooms, trying to find this dungeon.

I don't know what came over me but I pulled out my phone from my pocket and tuned into the live-stream. The place was in harmony. The torture still continued… but it was the younger female who was doing it.

Surprising.

I heard footsteps approaching me and turned the stream off. I looked up and saw a dilapidated-looking man a few feet away from me. He approached me, hunched down and I frowned.

”Miss, is something happening here?” he asked.

His voice was different… very different. But I had heard hours of him speaking. I recognized it in real-life.

I shook my head. ”I don't know. I'm just standing around waiting to find out myself.” I chuckled.

I looked down at the phone and typed a text.

[Come out.]

The women were definitely not inside.