Checkmate.

A step further.

Chapter 2 : A step further.

"Any leads on Chelsea Francis as to why anyone must want to kill her?" Knight asked his assistant, Mark, as he made his way into the police headquarters after the visit from Chelsea's apartment.

"None. We're at a dead end." Mark announced as he handed Knight their victim's financials.

"No red flag on her financials. And there is nothing suspicious in her apartment and even her neighbours only sing songs of praises for her." Knight informed, as he put down the file.

"I was thinking about the chess patterns our killer left-" Mark started but was cut off by the ring of the pager. Knight knew that it could not be good news, as he saw Mark answer the pager.

"There's been a murder, similar to our victim's." Mark announced and in a flash, both of them headed out.

~~

"He's just a kid." Detective Mark whispered as he and Knight examined the dead body, found on the 9th Blue Street.

"Look," Knight said to Mark, while holding up the wrist of the black-haired boy. "He has the same tied-up marks like our previous victim and plus our killer engraved a 'C3' on his wrist with a knife, this time."

"Why would a person kill a charted accountant, working at a normal bank and then a normal school-going teenager? What's the connection?" Mark wondered aloud.

"Guess we'll have to find out, Mark." Knight announced.

~~

"Mark!" Knight called for his assistant as he came back from the forensics.

"Yeah?" Mark asked as he came out of the break room with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Anything on how our victims are connected?" Knight asked while snatching the cup from Mark's hold.

"Hey! That's my coffee!" Mark scoffed while Knight just smirked. "And to answer your question, I couldn't find any connection between the two. Nick Manders, our second victim, used to go to NorthShore High School and after asking his parents and family and friends as to why anyone would want to kill the guy, everyone just told that he was loved by all and didn't even have any enemies. I even showed a picture of Chelsea Francis to all them but they say that they have never seen the woman. My guess is that they're not connected and or killer is probably a psycho who just kills for fun and is looking for a challenge." He concluded.

"That is a pretty absurd theory, Mark. But it is a possibility." Knight said, looking deep in thought.

"Anyway, what did Lanie say?" Mark asked while rolling around in his chair.

"She said that Nick was killed the same way as Chelsea and the weapon was the same one so the killer is one person. Nick died between 4 and 5 am this morning and she even found something clasped tightly in the hand of our victim. It was held on to so tightly that she couldn't remove it first but got it out eventually."

"What was it?" Mark asked, abruptly coming to a halt.

"A queen." Knight stated.

~~

"So, let me get this straight. Yesterday, we found a body of a victim named Chelsea Francis, who had marks on her wrists and ankles, indicating that she had been tied up before our killer stabbed her. Not only that, but our killer leaves a clue for us, which is a 'knight' used in chess, found on the murder scene, near the victim's body and the killer even engraved 'B2' on the victim's hand, which is also a move in chess. Then today, we get a call for a murder, which happened on the 9th Blue Street, block no 34, of a victim named a Nick Manders, a seventeen-year-old school going boy, with the same marks on his wrists and ankles with 'C3' engraved on his hand with a knife and this time the killer leaves a 'queen' in the victim's hand." Detective Knight analysed the case looking at the white board, which had all the important points related to the case, late at night.

"Yeah, I think that sums it up. But I don't get what the killer is trying to say. I mean, how are these two victims even connected!?" Detective Mark, Knight's Assistant, exclaims.

"I think our killer wants us to play a little game and in order to win his game we have to solve this riddle that he has designed for us." Knight stated.

"But how are we going to solve this riddle?" Mark said, sounding defeated. Knight ignored his whine and stared at the white board intently, trying to figure this killer out. The victims weren't connected, he was sure of that. So, the only explanation for these two people being killed would be that they were just probably at the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe Mark's theory is actually right.

Knight stared at the picture of the 'knight' and 'queen' stuck on the board while 'B2' and 'C3' was written beside them. Then suddenly, it struck him.

"Mark, which place did you say that Chelsea Francis was killed?" Knight asked Mark, who had stopped whining and was typing away at the computer. He looked up from the computer to answer the question.

"She was killed at 7th Elvia Street, block no 24."

"And Nick Manders was killed at 9th Blue Street, block no 34." Knight mumbled."Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Get me a chess board. Now!" He ordered and at once Mark went to get what his senior required.

Knight picked up the black marker and moved towards the board and wrote:

Chelsea: C-H-E

Nick Manders: C-K-M

C-H-E-C-K M-?

Knight had finally figured out this riddle and now it was time for the game to end.

-

A/N: Welllll! It's been a long time! But here we are with the second chapter! Yay! Let us know your views on this chapter! Let's just all hope that you peeps are liking the story :D

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