Chapter 169: A Rough Patch (2/2)

”After the marriage and financial problems resolved, I got a higher position at the police force and I was mostly working from behind the desk. So, I had no contact with people I came across during my rough patch.”

At least we could solidify our hypothesis on why he started to kill again.

”Were there other people you were particularly close to from that time period?” I asked.

Billy looked at me strangely but nodded. He gave some names that Nash nodded to. We wouldn't catch up with these people, but who knows, if one of them was also a victim, that would be a sad addition to the plethora of people who had died at the Director-General's hand.

”What's this about?” he asked again. This was the second time he was challenging us. Once again, the question was avoided.

Nash didn't afford him reassurance any longer. The plan was to ramp up the pressure on him slowly. And to reassure the Director-General at this point would be to make all our efforts fall flat.

”How would you define your relationship with her?” Nash asked.

It was a subtle but impressive question to put pressure on him.

”Well… we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend but when she showered me with affection, I felt nice about it. It was a rough patch in my life and having someone like that was a pleasurable change,” he commented, his eyes roving over us, looking for acceptance of the almost adulterous relationship he had been in.

I doubted the victim had anything to do with this man, though. She was possibly talking to him for help with her neighbors but the delusional guy thought she liked him or something. It was unlike his usual pattern, so we had to wonder.

Actually, the timeline between the two murders in his second spree had grown interesting. The first kill was a mother with her children in the house, but he didn't kill the children, locking them away while he hacked away at the mother. But in reality, he had met the next victim before the first kill.

He had probably not seen her as a potential victim and liked her as a single woman. Almost all of his other victims had been married women or those with long-term partners. There were even some recently divorced or broken-up women in the mix. But this girl was special. She had been an anomaly.

As the story revealed itself in front of me, I knew that this was the strand I needed to grab to get a possible confession out of this guy.

”So, after you guys split… were you on friendly terms or nah?” Nash had a way of colloquially putting things in perspective. I didn't understand the source of his terminology, but thankfully, I knew what he was asking.

”I wouldn't say we were close… but we were friendly…” Bill nodded. ”I saw her a couple of times on the street.”

And the change in his tone showed that he had indeed seen her on the street. He was not lying. But I had a nagging feeling that when he saw her on the street, he was spying on her and preparing for the right moment to kill her.

”Did you ever meet anyone else in her house? Her mother perhaps? DO you remember what she did for a living?” For the first two questions, I could see the deceptive reflection on his face. He was pretending to remember if he had done those things, but for the third question, you could see him genuinely trying to remember what the victim did for a living.

”I think she was preparing for the civil service exam?” it was more of a question than an answer. ”I can't even remember having a conversation about her life goals. I mean… I really wasn't that into her.” He shrugged. ”I mean… it was so long ago.”

He had come into this room trying to fish for information about the BTS Killer case and its progress, but we had got him curious about this one victim he knew personally and he couldn't get out of our web. I had to pat myself on the back for the decision.

”Did you go to any of her brunches?” Yes, the victim invited people to brunch.

”No,” he responded strongly. ”I didn't go to any such things. I was on duty and I didn't like meeting people on a personal basis at the time.” He paused. ”But I don't understand why we are talking about a woman I almost dated a million years ago.”

”Do you know what happened to her?” I asked, keeping my voice level.

”Yeah!” he exclaimed. I noted a hint of exasperation and enthusiasm at that. ”I know she got killed!”

I hummed. ”What did you hear about that?”

He waved his hand in the air. ”I saw a poster at work…”

”Oh. How did you first learn about that?” I pressed.

”I probably heard it at work.”