Artificial Tears

Chapter 31

It's been a while since my phone rang during the early evening, oh well not that much of course, but it happened again today.

Before touching the cold object, I could feel the dread that I had already known, the killer must have had a new victim.

"Good evening North!" Says Grey on the other side with the sound of something important going on, but not like the times a body had been found.

"Good evening Grey, what happened?"

"It's one of the suspects, Ian, the stalker, he has been spotted at the Flower art Museum. Will I see you there?"

"Yes, I'm on my way!"

I hang up, put my clothes on and leave my warm meal on the table without looking back, this is more important after all.

This time, I drive my car myself, I need to be there as fast as possible after all and around this time, I better not go to the most usual roads either.

It takes me about fifteen minutes to get there and as I get out of the car I can already see Xanders and Grey enter the building. I quickly run after them up the stairs.

There are more officers going inside around me, talking to the staff to close the door so that no one can leave the building.

I feel bad for the normal visitors that are here and might end up scared because of a sudden group of police officers entering the building.

"He is at the Japanese part!" Grey calls out to me, I honestly have no idea where that is. I almost never visit any museum after all and it's my first time here.

"Alright!" I answer without really thinking, planning to just follow the others.

Neatly sorted ancient artifacts flash by one by one as we run past them, paying them no mind.

Xanders has started running faster than Grey and suddenly stops: "He's here." She whispers.

Both Grey and I slow down a bit, so to not bump into her and go in close behind each other. Armed and ready.

As we enter we can see a big old-Japanese style house standing in the room. Just in front of it stands a woman in period clothing who just sheathes a weapon. At the same time she does, something that we quickly recognize as our suspect bursts into pieces.

The woman looks in our direction, smiles and then walks off.

All three of us quickly follow behind her, but as she turns the corner she has already disappeared into thin air.

"What the hell?" Asks Grey in full disbelief touching the wall to look for a hidden passage way.

"What just happened? I couldn't hear her walk." I ask confused.

It doesn't matter how hard we look, we can't find the woman nor a hidden door in that wall.

The rest of the team has meanwhile been called and are on their way here, to the scene of the crime.

The stalker lies in pieces scattered all over the floor, it's an awful sight, really.

My colleagues and I immediately recognize the way he has been cut, it's the way all our serial killer's victims are done. Though this time not as clean or as neatly done.

Blood is everywhere and not all of the intestines have been found yet.

Xanders, Grey and I still stand around together, investigating the crime scene.

"Have you two ever heard about Pepers ghost?" Xanders suddenly asks us out of the blue.

"How do you know of something so old?" Grey and I ask her almost at the same time with the same tone.

She laughs: "I think that woman was a hologram or something alike. For the reason why I know about it..." She hesitates and looks down: "As a teenager I was a really big fan of this hologram who gave concerts."

"So they had those concerts before the 2010's?" I ask wondering.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I continue: "Nowadays, it seems like every concert or theater piece has holograms in it, it's rather unfortunate."

"So you two think that she might have been a hologram?" Grey asks.

"Yes, she didn't speak, didn't make any noise and just disappeared like that. I think she might have been even a bit transparent, but I can't say for sure." Xanders answers: "Even if she isn't one, it could be possible that she had been somewhere else entirely.

"How would such a thing be created?" I ask.

Xanders points at the camera behind us: "Isn't that one of those special ones? I've seen, back when I was still a teen, how to make one of those holo's and with some a certain type of camera was used."

"You mean a camera that can project images as well?" Grey asks.

"Yes, some museums have those, but I'm not that well studied in camera's. So maybe if we let Pierce have a look at it... I think some of our holo's use that tech as well."

I know what she's trying to say and also have a nagging feeling that it was not a human that we encountered. yes the woman with the sword looked very realistic, but you never know nowadays.

Only the question remains: How did the killer time this? Not the hologram, but the murder itself.

I walk up to the house and go up the two steps, blood stains are high up on the pole Ian had been leaning against. So he must have already been cut into pieces before falling.

How did he keep all the pieces together?

"Young North, can you get over here?" Grey asks while looking at the screen of one of the scanners.

I walk up to him immediately. "I think... that some kind of special glue might have been used." He says hesitantly.

"I think that it might explain a small part at least." I add.

Grey looks up at me rather confused: "What do you mean?"

I tell him about my discovery and I can see the disgust in his face.

"We might really be investigating the worst person ever, huh?"

I nod: "Yeah and he is probably one of the most difficult people we have had to deal with. It feels like we always come too late."

"We should really find him and take him down soon." Grey seems to be afraid of something, but I can understand he has two or three kids around the ages of some of the victims and those kids have kids of their own now. As long as this killer is on the loose, his family might be in danger.

These thoughts make me feel rather alone, I have been keeping everyone at a distance since... well you already know that.

Honestly I don't really care if this killer might get to me, before I get to him.

I shake my head to get the dark thought out. No thinking like that!