Insane - Who Are You To Judge? (Gripping Psychological Thriller)

Chapter 40 - Harry

"It looks like a match," James announces as he and Harry stare at the different Grimm Reaper cases.

"Yeah, it's got all the same features. We've got Pinocchio...Red Riding Hood...Rapunzel...Snow White...Little Mermaid and now Sleeping Beauty," Harry confirms. "They're all the same MO."

"Oh, don't forget Goldilocks." James points to the photo of the deceased couple. Harry nods and quickly glances down. "We can't forget the one that made him famous in the first place."

James paces his office with one hand placed on his belly and the other stroking the bristles on his chin. "So why has he left DNA now? After all these cases, why now?"

Harry shrugs his response. "Maybe he's getting cocky so he was sloppy. He thinks that he's too smart for us. Maybe he's bored of not being caught and wants to spice things up a little more. At the end of the day, we can never know why on this particular case he left fingerprints."

James groans in agreement, still deep in thought. "Or, maybe he's never actually been that careful but forensics have just missed the evidence."

Harry doesn't agree or disagree, he just lets James do his brainstorming.

James stares blankly at the board of GR victims for a few minutes. The cogs churning in his brain can be heard throughout the room. "I think we should get forensics to have another sweep of the Little Mermaid crime scene. It's still off limits and the only people who have been permitted to enter are her relatives, and we have prints and hair samples for all of them so we can rule them out. Maybe we'll turn up lucky."

"Yeah, good idea," Harry agrees. "I'll call down to them now and see when we can get that done."

Harry leaves James's office and goes to his cubicle. He dials down to forensics, "Hey, Jim, Flynn and I need another sweep on the GR case from March. When do you think that can be done?"

As he is answering, Harry gets distracted by his vibrating pocket. He pulls his phone out to quickly check what the alert is for. When he sees who it is, he clears the message from his lock screen and shoves the Samsung back in his trouser pocket.

Although his attention was diverted for only a few seconds, he misses the key information – a time period.

"Sorry, Jim, can you say that last bit again, how long until you guys can do that?"

Jim's tone is unamused by his need to repeat himself. "Three weeks."

"Any chance it can be done earlier?" Harry asks, hiding the desperation in his voice.

Harry hears Jim's sigh through the phone. "Look, rugrat, we're completely swamped at the moment and another sweep of a crime scene we ruled off months ago is not at the top of our list. I'm sorry, that's the earliest we can do." He then hangs up the phone.

Despite his manner when talking with Harry, Harry knows Jim is not a rude guy. He's just like all the others – he has no respect for Harry, since he's so young to be a detective and no one likes being told what to do by someone who has been in the job for half the time that they have.

When Harry arrives back at James's office he finds it empty. He doesn't think much of it – perhaps James just nipped to the john. So, he sits behind the desk and goes over the details of the case. There are only two Grimm phrases at the crime scene.

The one gave her virtue, the second one beauty, the third one wealth

These words are written above three of the women. And the last has written above her:

In the princess's fifteenth year she shall prick herself with a spindle and fall over dead

As Harry studies the last girl's face so full of youth, it is clear that every word of this rings true. Suddenly the image of a different woman, sprawled peacefully on the ground, shoots across his vision. He quickly shakes her from his head. He can't let those memories seep back in. Not now.

"Oh hey," James greets him as he comes back into the room. "How long have you been waiting for?"

"Only about ten minutes or so," Harry answers and raises an uncertain eyebrow. "Did you have a curry last night by any chance?"

James stares at him confused for a few moments, but he quickly catches on to what Harry is insinuating. He chuckles, "oh no, I just had to speak with Chief quickly that's all."

Harry nods and changes the subject. "Jim says they'll get another sweep done in three weeks. It's not ideal, but I suppose it gives us enough time to try and put the pieces together."

James agrees and snatches a glance at his watch. "What do you say we take the rest of the afternoon off and head to the pub?"

After Harry agrees, they grab their coats and head out of the station.

He can't quite put his finger on it, but something seems off with James. He was acting normal just this morning and when he came back from the Chief's office his voice became hollower and his whole body seemed to stiffen. It's been like that every time James comes out of a talk with Chief, recently. Slowly, it's been eating away at Harry's mind. What could they be talking about, to make James act so uneasy?