Beastars: A Steep Fall From Light

Chapter 26: More Letters While The Floodgates Leak a Bit More

"You're sure this is everything?" Yahya asked.

"Yes," Sen answered. "Reports on the bodies are in alphabetical order. We have a map here. Blue dots are where they lived, red is where they were last seen before going missing. The letters are in the order they were received."

Yahya had removed his zebra wrappings in the building. The whole department knew he was working the case now. He still wore the disguise when out and about, as he was wary of Razor's eyes. No doubt he knew the Beastar's disguise, and Yahya wanted to make it as hard as possible for the criminal to track him by switching it up.

"I'll leave you to it," the bulldog said, leaving the old horse to look through all the evidence. Or lack thereof. There was, stuff, but there wasn't anything substantial. The horse didn't know where to start. He looked at a pile of files on the table and picked up the first one. The medical practitioner's report on a victim. Might as well start with those killed. All the bodies had been found in one location, in bags, in the shape of the word 'HORNS'. No discernible species preferred, and he killed both herbivore and carnivore. He even sold the meat of carnivores, possibly eating them himself, which sent an odd sensation up Yahya's spine. There was another pile of files, although much smaller. He looked at those and saw that these were victims of the gang hits. Not marked on the city map. He took a small container of green thumb tacks and marked where they were found. That didn't help. They were everywhere. No noticeable pattern. He heaved a deep sigh and sat in a chair. Nowhere closer than they were last night. The old horse just sat there thinking. What was he missing? All these victims and all this evidence and still nothing.

Not only that, but there were two different motives. One motive was money and food. He was most definitely selling the victims organs and body parts somewhere, eating them himself most likely. Then there were the mob hits. Not motivated by revenge and leaning more towards discipline. These kills had been brought about through breaking rules. But what rules? He needed more information and Razor had been very careful not to give anything. The phone rang, giving him a bit of a scare. He stood and walked over to the wall, picking up the handset.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I got something for you," Kira said. "I found some DNA on one of the bags not belonging to any of the victims."

"Come up and tell it to me," the horse said. "I don't trust the telephone wires."

"Agreed," the owl said, hanging up.

"Sir?" asked an officer dipping his head in. "Someone here to see you. He says it's important."

"How important?" he asked, going back to the letters.

"He thought your life was at stake," the jackal responded. "He got a letter from...you know..."

"Razor?" Yahya asked, raising an eyebrow. The killer had left quite a mark if the police were now scared of his name.

"Yes," they responded.

"Show him up," he said. It was Gosha, he knew it. Of all the individuals who he had worked with, the only one known to others was the lizard. So of course Razor would involve more people. He flipped through the letters, keeping them in order of when they were delivered. There was something he still didn't understand. Why the Horns Conglomerate? What was his infatuation with the company? Sen had miraculously arranged for a meeting to speak with the CEO on the matter later that day.

"Yahya," the old lizard said, entering the room. "I think you should see this."

"So that DNA I found," Kira said entering the room directly behind him. "Oh, um..."

"This will only be a second," the Beastar said to the medical practitioner. "Gosha what is it?"

"I got a letter this morning," his friend said. "I thought it was from you, considering it had your return address, and the same stamp and envelope you usually use. But when I opened it I saw-"