Deadly trafficking

Chapter 1

It had to be done, He was pondering to himself, Jacob Levi, a man in his thirties with a gaunt face and piercing black eyes, as he finished wrapping up the last order of the day. The air in his shop was filled with an unusual aroma, a mixture of fresh meat and the iron-like smell of blood that still lingered in the air. A subtle hint of stench intertwined with the scent of spices and aromatic herbs, creating a dense atmosphere of odors. He had lit the oil lamp an hour ago to better illuminate his butcher shop, and outside, the sky had turned dark, with the usual gray summer clouds stretching as far as the eye could see.

All around the now darkened neighborhood, faint lights had appeared from the almost dilapidated houses that were part of it. With a slow movement, he brought a damp cloth to his sweaty forehead to wipe it, when the sound of hurried footsteps and then the shrill noise of the doorbell caught his attention, bringing him back to reality from the tunnel of thoughts he had been wandering in for a while.

A young, slender boy with honey-colored hair stood at the doorstep, breathing heavily. His face was smeared with soot, and was wearing shabby clothes.

"Hello, Oliver. I just finished wrapping your mother's order. But what's the matter with you? Are you feeling alright? You look a bit pale," Jacob said.

After a few seconds that the boy had used to catch his breath, he started shouting, "Mr. Levi, Mr. Levi! It happened again. They found another one. This time not far from here, just a couple of blocks away."

Jacob placed a label on the package he had just prepared and scribbled something on it with utmost calmness. When he finished, he looked at the young boy with an inquisitive gaze and spoke to him wearily.

"Oliver, calm down, please, and tell me what happened. What was found?"

The young boy, whose breathing had become more regular, hesitated to speak and in a very low and almost inaudible voice, said, "Not what... who. They found another body a little while ago on Cutler Street, and not even a complete one. There was a terrible stench on the street, and people started removing garbage until they found poor Rupert Harris... or what was left of him."

A shiver ran down Jacob's spine, and hastily, he removed his apron from his waist and asked the young Oliver, with a trembling voice, to accompany him to the grim scene. At those words, the boy sprang up like a coil, flung the door open, and rushed out onto the street, making the doorbell ring once again. As if the tiredness of the day's work had abandoned him, Jacob set off and managed to keep up with Oliver's brisk pace.

After leaving Middlesex Street and turning a couple of corners, Jacob was led to Cutler Street. As soon as they reached their destination, they instinctively covered their noses. Not even a gust of wind was blowing, and the acrid smell permeating the street lingered stagnant. It was impossible to breathe deeply.

In front of them, there was a crowd of people gathered around a pile of garbage and rags, and on the side, a police officer, whose face was slightly illuminated by a dim streetlamp, was warning everyone to keep away. The officer's shouts alternated with the sharp, shrill sound of his whistle, and together with the frenetic murmuring of the people gathered around the body, chaos had ensued.

After making their way through the crowd, one thing was clear to Jacob and everyone else present: Rupert Harris was dead, and his killer had not only taken his life but had done something even worse—they desecrated his body and harvested his internal organs.

The scene was horrifying. The unfortunate man lay on his side, motionless like a ghastly statue, with a clean cut across his neck. His fixed, dilated, empty eyes stared into nothingness. They had a gaze that seemed to peer into the void itself, as if they had glimpsed something elusive in the depths of the afterlife. They drowned in an ocean of darkness, devoid of any trace of emotion or light, leaving only the mystery of what they had seen before death enveloped them.