Murder On The Waterway: The Case Of The Kanaima Demon

Chapter Six

"So, what are your thoughts so far?" Breaking the silence, Dalton rested his head against the window, his eyes appearing distant. It was difficult to blame him. We had hit a dead end with that warehouse, and now we were en route to another location, half-expecting similar results. The recent gruesome discovery or the 'posted ear' still haunted Dalton's thoughts.

Dalton grumbled a dissatisfied and restless sound—the temporary traffic lights we were held up at felt interminable. The entire stretch of Grove Road had been gridlocked for the past ten minutes. According to my calculations and a trusty A-Z map, we were about five to seven minutes from reaching our destination on foot.

"My thoughts? I suspect Locke will keep us working through the night. It feels like we were called back in earlier than expected," I replied.

"Meaning?"

"We're in for a long haul, and I need a damn fine cup of coffee to shake off this rust. This perpetrator has already sent us chasing our tails, and two bodies have appeared in less than twenty-four hours."

"Yeah, but what's the endgame here?" Dalton inquired.

"Shits and giggles? Who the hell knows? Perhaps they're craving attention, looking for their fifteen minutes of infamy."

"If that's the case, why the extras? The pineal gland? Some freaky aphrodisiac? Not to mention the ability to penetrate the skull?"

"Yeah, it's a weird one. We were warned that life would get interesting, but I didn't expect it to be this bizarre."

That was the truth. We hadn't heard or seen the end of the chaos brought about by 'Conrad.' I could only hope it had been a bluff to make us feel off-kilter.

Finally, the traffic moved, and we slowly inched past the seemingly endless traffic lights. We took the next left onto Roman Road, spotting a café just past the location of the second crime scene. The old boy, referring to Dalton, seemed on the verge of calling it a day, and I needed him to be fully functional to keep me grounded in case things spiralled out of control.

"What are we doing here?" Dalton asked a tinge of curiosity in his voice.

"A pit stop before we embark on an unconventional route. These perpetrators will only expose themselves when they choose to. So, let's take a path they wouldn't expect us to take, a route we wouldn't typically choose."

Dalton arched his body back, giving me a nod of acknowledgement for thinking outside the box. Seeing the greenway to the left overrun with trees only occurred to me. A pathway that leads to the canal and in the warehouse's direction. Besides, I was gagging for something other than the cheap, watered-down coffee in the office.

We stood outside the yellow shop front, catching a lungful of diesel fumes from a passing bus. 'All Day Breakfast' was an unoriginal café name, but if butts were in the seats, who cared about the name? I glanced around, noticing two uniforms in Hi-Viz going door to door, situated only two hundred feet from the second crime scene. It felt like closing the barn door after the horse had bolted.

"So, what's the real reason for coming here, mate?" Dalton was trying to decipher if I had ulterior motives as we entered, taking the first table to the left. I sat facing the window, as always. It had become a habit since my unsettling coffee meeting with 'Conrad.' I kept a close watch on the window, making sure my surroundings stayed constant, a personal defence mechanism.

"I want to get a sense of what's nearby this scene. The first one taunted us, and the second had fewer barriers tucked away from prying eyes. The perpetrator must have gone somewhere to find their prey. We need to scope out routes that provide minimal exposure and become familiar with the terrain."