The princess & the detective

1. The princess

"Ohm, we have a new body.", Boun said with an urgent tone as he entered the detective's office.

Ohm, who was about to take a sip of his coffee, stopped the action immediately. His stomach, which had refused solid food for a few meals, showed that not even the americano he had in his hands would be welcomed now.

His unit had been hunting for a few weeks for a serial killer who appeared to be attacking prostitutes. He didn't have a specific type in choosing victims, which made it difficult to draw a profile. Even so, the Police Station had already announced by the press that women of all ages should be careful with anyone remotely suspicious.

The situation worsened every time a new body appeared and, now, the criminal had already collected 5 victims in his history. It was even harder to find out anything about him because the bodies were disposed of in places other than the one used for the torture session they went through before passing away. None of the known victims had been spared the macabre ritual that included plucking off their eyelids, lips, their scalp and their fingers and toes.

In fact, even this made it difficult identifying the victims, who often had no dental records and were inclined to be labeled among the indigent bodies at the morgue until those who appeared in search of missing persons recognized one of them. The biggest problem was that, due to the victims' occupation, many had no intimate friends or family connection and were still registered by a sequential number according to their arrival.

Apparently, they had now identified the sixth victim. It was not a good start on duty and it made the young detective exasperate. Those who knew him felt his cold and distant facade crumbling over the weeks. No responsible professional in his position would be happy to see the citizens he promised to protect having their lives taken for no reason by some local psychopath.

"Anything new?" Ohm asked as he flipped through the new victim's forensics report. As the case had caused a stir among entities that protect needy and outcast people, the chief commissioner was pressing Ohm for results. The police station's front door now had a regular stream of reporters from substandard newspapers who fed on accounting for the daily misfortunes with an emphasis on this case above the others. In turn, the good citizens were divided in opinion: panic at seeing such brutal cases happening around them and a certain guilty relief at knowing that until then only prostitutes were the victims.

"Actually, yes. We have a witness, but she doesn't seem willing to talk to anyone.", Boun explained leaving his tiredness evident in his tone, which was confirmed in his face, that seemed to be getting thinner.

Ohm raised an eyebrow that indicated a request for further clarification and Boun relented, explaining: the witness was very nervous after spotting the body in that state and apparently refused to come to the Police Station, so the officers handcuffed her and almost charged her for disobedience and obstruction of justice. Boun sighed after his report.

"Alright, give me 5 minutes to read this and I'll talk to the witness.", Ohm assured in a firm tone pointing to the folder in his hands.

Boun and Ohm met at the academy during training and were happy to be assigned to work at the same Police Station. They had known each other for a long time and knew they could trust each other like brothers.

"Thanks, man! And... I must wish you good luck!", Boun said with a bitter smile.

Ohm was curious about Boun's reaction, but he was too worried with the case to think about this detail. Then, the man concentrated on absorbing the report that had been made available and entered the interrogation room that seemed to be filled with a sweet flower smell.

"Good morning, my name is Ohm. Ohm Thitiwat. And I'm the detective in charge of the case. What would you like me to call you?", Ohm said giving a brief and calculated smile to the person in front of him.