Solomon Stone: Beyond

Chapter 4

A crucified man, upside down, with thorns in the head, and with the same wounds as Jesus Christ, was hanging on the wall of the basement. Underneath his head, was a bucket full of blood, that seemed came inside the man's body. Worms are crawling out from the inside. This man's guts are still intact and his eyes are not taken out, however, his mouth was stitched with a surgical thread.

Detective Stone slowly walked towards the body of the man hanging on the wall. He saw a rosary on the man's right hand and a necklace with a cross pendant hanging upside down his neck. "He is a priest" Detective Stone uttered. "The victim is a priest" he told them repeatedly.

Detective Stone noticed a bible on the ground, and beside it is another book. He kneeled down to check it out, and he was surprised of what he just discovered. The book was the one he wrote 3 years ago entitled "The life of a detective". He picked it up, and opened the book, to take a look inside.

Detective Stone saw some words and sentences in the book that were highlighted in pink. He was very puzzled on what does the highlighted words on the book means for the killer, that is why, he took it and secretly hid it on his pocket.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Detective Sarah asked, after seeing his partner took evidence from the crime scene.

"Well, I... Ah..., taking my book." Detective Stone replied.

"That could be substantial evidence; you know that we cannot take some evidence home without permission to the department." Detective Sarah told Detective Stone.

"I know! But this can help me catch the killer..." Detective Stone said whispering. He held Detective Sarah's arm and pull her a bit closer to him. "Do you want to solve the case or not?" Detective Stone asked.

"Ok! Fine..." Detective Sarah paused for a bit and breathes deep. "Be sure no one will know about this, except you and me." She said while staring at Detective Stone's eyes. Detective Stone nodded and quickly went back upstairs with Detective Sarah.

"What is so important about that book?" Detective Sarah asked Detective Stone, while they are walking towards outside the woods.

"First, this is the book that I wrote 3 years ago. Second, there are highlighted words and sentences in the book that bugs me. I was thinking, if the highlighted words were important to the killer, or might be related to his methods of killing, I can find a way to understand his ways and track him down for good." Detective Stone told his partner.

"So you mean... Our killer is reading your book?" She paused for a while and stopped walking. "That's the reason we can't catch him! He knows all your methods, and he was using it so that he can evade us, specifically you." Detective Sarah said, frustrated.

Detective Stone shrugged off his shoulders, and continued walking towards outside of the woods. He does not like the idea, that the killer is using his book to evade the police. Partly, he knows that he needs to be blamed why they can't still catch the criminal, but can't just admit it.

Detectives Stone and Sarah finally reached the road; both walked towards their car and started the engine.

While inside the car, Detective Sarah sent a text message to Detective Stone "Meet me at the police department's library."

"Yes, see you there..." Detective Stone quickly replied on the text message.

Both Detectives Stone and Sarah drove away from the crime scene, and went to the police department to meet each other. They need to help each other figure out the criminal's behavior.

Both detectives arrived at the police department with just 5 minutes gap from each other. They both parked their vehicle on the underground parking level, and meet each other at the police department's library.

While inside the small library, Detectives Stone and Sarah sat down in front of an elegant wooden table, and started the brainstorming. Detective Stone took the book from his pocket that he obtained from the crime scene, and put it on top of wooden table.

Detective Sarah gave Detective Stone a pen, and a blank piece of paper. "Thank you" Detective Stone said politely.

He opened the book and started deciphering everything. He wrote the highlighted words on the blank piece of paper that Detective Sarah gave him.

"Chapter 2 page 3, third line; the word Cannibalism was highlighted, chapter 5 page 9 23rd line; the word Rape was highlighted, chapter 6 page 12 5th line; the word Inquisition was highlighted, chapter 10 page 54 3rd line; the word Mutilation was highlighted, chapter 11 page 56 4th line; the word Intimidation was highlighted, chapter 19 page 134 6th line; the word Notorious was highlighted, chapter 22 page 138 35th line; the word Abomination was highlighted, chapter 24 page 145 22nd line; the word Lethal was highlighted and on chapter 29 page 173 25th line; the word perfect was encircled." Detective Stone was puzzled why the word perfect was not highlighted; instead it was encircled several times. He also noticed that the last chapter of the book was missing.

"Bull freaking shit!" Detective Stone uttered in a very worried tone. His heart suddenly pumped rapidly like he was having a tachycardia. He dropped the book and the pen, and his hands were shaking.

"What's the matter Detective Stone?" Detective Sarah asked confused and worried.

Detective Stone was speechless; he stood up and took a deep breath. After some few seconds, he sat down again and talked to Detective Sarah.

"Sarah please listen carefully and focus on the paper." Detective Stone asked Sarah.

"Ok, what is it that you found out?" Detective Sarah asked.

"If you will line all the words together, another word will come out." Detective Stone told Detective Sarah.

Detective Stone lined up the words vertically;

C-annibalism

R-ape

I-nquisition

M-utilation

I-ntimidation

N-otorious

A-bomination

L-ethal

Then the word "criminal" was formed, Detective Stone put the word perfect before the word criminal, and the words "perfect criminal" was formed. Detective Sarah's eyes suddenly turned wide open and she became worried.

"So, you mean?" Detective Sarah uttered.

"Shhh! don't make the others hear you." Detective Stone said, while he crumpled the paper and put the book back on his pocket. "The last chapter of the book was also missing. That chapter talks about the perfect criminal that the detective on the story is afraid of. A highly elusive criminal, that the detective on the story did not managed to capture." Detective Stone told Sarah.

"What!? Why the hell did you create such character!?" Detective Sarah asked, angry and shaking her hands like she wanted to choke the detective to death.

They are in for a very big trouble; the criminal that wasa figment of Detective Stone's very twisted mind just came to life.