The list of sinners

...Donovan...

The television NBC had managed to capture the images from the security cameras. Together with Cameron, we had reviewed those images but nothing, in that ray where the camera was functioning, had been captured enough to shed light on the matter. Diana, that day, went out as usual, unperturbed by the person who described her as a threat to her newly settled family. She headed towards the exit of the building's courtyard and disappeared from the camera's view.

However, on those pages of the diary, I managed to find more than I thought. After asking Mr. Cardiff for the name of the person mentioned by Diana, we contacted the high school where she had studied to confirm the year of those years. The year we obtained seemed to call out with photos and his faded and colored names. It was the key that would unlock the secrets hidden in Diana's past. Every frozen face in time was a possible witness, a possible suspect. It was a labyrinth of secrets and memories given to us to explore with patience.

A heavy silence hung in the air, influenced only by the low noises of footsteps walking and running through the corridors. I was alone with the open diary when Officer Burke entered the room, which had a natural and gentle illumination caused by the half-lowered blinds.

"Hey, colleague," she says lightly, leaning on one of the tables there.

"Officer Burke?" I say, surprised as I examine her face. "From your expression, it seems you don't have good news to give me."

She takes a deep breath and addresses me.

"In fact, it's not bad news, just strange," she says. "I searched the system for Jonathan Thompson, the main suspect in all these murders but..."

"Did you find something?"

"In fact, there is nothing to find about this person, detective," she says. "This person has been dead for a while."

"What?" I say, not believing what I'm hearing.

In Diana's diary, I had managed to find the answers I was looking for, the evidence that led me to the killer. But now, a disturbing revelation shakes the very foundation of my beliefs. Mr. Thompson had died. The data, like elusive ghosts, seemed to mock me from the depths of the diary's pages. Reality seemed to blur, and the truth remained hidden in the depths of that diary.

"Could it be someone else trying to mimic him?" the officer asks. "Maybe it's not about revenge for sins, the motive behind these murders."

"The diary was very clear... the evidence is very clear," I say, rubbing my forehead. "Everything is so tangled."

I lean with open hands on the width of my shoulders, on the table behind me. Diana's diary pages flicker rapidly in my mind. Now I couldn't help but ask myself which of the portraits in the diary held the answers I sought. The lies were endless, buried under layers of nostalgia and faded smiles.

"What do you suggest I do, Detective Mayfire?"

As I was trying to think of a solution, Secretary Collins enters after knocking, with a pair of eyes that seem to have been looking for someone for a long time.

"Detective Mayfire?" she says.

"Yes?"

"Someone is looking for you," she explains. "He's on the first floor."

"Someone is looking for you." No other information, no explanation. Just those few words left me with a million questions. It was a part of me driven by curiosity, but it was also a part of me that was afraid: afraid of what might happen if I took that leap of faith.

"Alright, I'll go down now," I say as neutrally as possible. "As for this matter, Burke will handle it, she will solve it."

I descend with a mix of confusion and contemplation. Despite the few steps I had taken, I had gone through a mental list of possibilities, taking into account everyone I knew. But the only person dominating my mind was Selia. It had been a while since I had seen her, compared to those months where I couldn't go a day without meeting her. Even if it wasn't her, I really wanted it to be her.