Vigilante

00 : 03 / Forgiveness.

"Goddamit, this killer is very, very smart. And extremely careful, too."

Kei ran her trained eyes over the entire site, her expression that of one impressed.

"Arrogant as well. They left that strange symbol on the outside wall knowing darn well that it would be noticed. I'm assuming no prints or any other evidence was found, is that right Chief?"

Chief Inspector Emilia nodded solemnly. "That is true, but tell me, why paint the symbol of forgiveness on the outside wall? I am oddly convinced that may have a special significance to this case."

"Well, judging by the posture the victim was left in, the clasped hands, eyes staring skyward, my guess is it was a symbolic killing." Kei replied.

"The victim was arranged in that manner as a symbolic reference to asking for God's forgiveness, I assume."

"Then how do you explain the removal of all the vital organs? Our coroner is a stubborn and dedicated professional with 20 years of experience behind him, and he freaked out when he studied the corpse. Not only does it defy present science, the fact that there is not a single incision on the body is damn right impossible to believe!"

Kei shrugged and looked around again, hoping to spot something out of the ordinary. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the Chief tapping her heel in frustration.

"Chief, about the real reason you called me here, this isn't about the Barnum killer, is it?"

Emilia turned to the side wall, staring at it intently.

"The reason I called you here, is to determine if this killing was done by the Barnum Killer, or if there's a new player in town we should be really worried about."

Both of them stood in the center of the house's lounge area. The remnants of dust still clung to a wide variety of smooth surfaces around them, catching the failing light of the afternoon as twilight set in outside the house.

The majority of the furniture had been pushed to the outside walls of the room, in order to clear up as much space as possible. The sole existence of the crime was in the form of a large bloodstain on the carpet.

"Based on what you e-mailed me about the Barnum Killer last night, and taking into account the unique circumstances of this case, I will have to say no, this wasn't done by the Barnum Killer, Chief."

Emilia sighed heavily, her face lined with wrinkles of worry. "So you mean there's a new crazy killer in town that has a fetish for ritual murder and Japanese symbols?"

"I mean this murder is a very, very unique case," Kei corrected.

Turning her attention away from the analyst, Emilia peered through the window at her officers. "And we have no clue whatsoever regarding the who, why and what of this murder."

Mason shifted inside his tweed suit jacket. "I'll agree, this is not like most serial murders. This killing seems to be more, mysterious, if I may say so? Until the victim's criminal records and background checks are finished, we can say a normal Barnum resident was murdered, defiled and then left on display."

"Have you ever seen a crime like this before?" Emilia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Tell me Chief." Kei nodded pensively. "Have you ever heard of a group named Vigilante?"

"Vigilante? I know the word, but I have never seen or heard of any group by that very name."

"Well, I have a suspicion you will, soon enough."

"From what I have heard, you came to us very highly recommended, and I mean up to the damn Mayor's desk," Emilia said. "But what I can't understand still is what a decorated investigator-cum-criminal analyst like you from the WCA is doing in this small town."

Kei smiled. "The World Crimes Academy has no particular interest here, Chief, I assure you. It was my own decision to come over and personally look at the case site and evidences collected forthwith."

Emilia folded her arms and eyed Kei with piercing eyes. "I just lied to two of my best men outside that I got you here for a simple look-over and a professional opinion on this case. But we both know you requested to fly down here the moment I told you about that symbol."

"Well, you can say it's a special interest of mine, looking into unique cases like these."

"Unique case?" Emilia replied, contempt almost lining her voice. Almost.

"The Barnum Killer murdered two dozen since the last month to date, and we have no leads on him. Now we have this new freak killer here that makes our first perpetrator look like Jeff the Clown! I'd say it's about time you come clean on whatever information you are witholding."

"No, no..." Kei cut in politely, holding up her hands placatively. "I assure you that I am not withholding any-"

"The Barnum Killer's no longer our worry, chief." A new voice cut in abruptly.

Both of the women turned in surprise to see Sergeants Mori and Kai standing a few feet away. Their faces shone with a new gleam, almost as if all their worries had just vanished away.

"Sergeant? Care to explain in detail?" Emilia questioned, frustration ringing clear in her voice.

"The lab just id'ed a corpse and got a positive match on the Barnum killer." He paused to let the information sink in. "Well for one, he's dead."

Emilia started, then recomposed herself. Kei looked more curious than surprised, eagerly waiting for the name or any other details that were sure to come.

Mori coughed slightly, then continued. "You won't believe this one, Chief. The Barnum Killer was none other than the late resident of this place, Mr Marth Williamson. The body arrived 2 hours ago at Barnum Forensic Department, and we got a positive DNA match from it on ALL 12 murders. Can you believe that, Chief?"

"That's..." Emilia chewed the corner of her lip, formulating words to articulate her thoughts. "Interesting. But then, how the bloody heck did someone kill the Barnum Killer right under our noses, and we never even got a damn clue?"

"I'd say it is safe to assume then that this particular murder was not perpetrated by this Barnum Killer, owing to his own demise being the murder in question here." Kei said, being plainly articulative.

Kai shook his head. "No, of course it isn't the same killer. And I'd say that's both a blessing and a curse in disguise."

"A blessing and a curse?" Kei queried, curious about his assertion.

"I don't think this particular murder has been about killing an innocent, unlike the other. If anything, it seems like someone killed our serial killer and put him on display as a preventive gesture to others? That's an unwanted blessing." Mori replied. "But like the Chief said, we now have a killer killing other killers supposedly, and the are doing it outside the due process of the law. That's our curse. "

"So looks like we now have a killer focused on killing other killers," Emilia muttered, her voice tinged with stress, relief and sarcasm. "That's comforting."

"Not a killer. It's a group." Kei corrected, staring at the wall ahead with a smile on her face.

Before anyone could ask, Mori's phone beeped twice, signalling he had recieved a text message.

As he sifted through the contents, Mori's eyes widened, and he let out a shocked cry in response.

"What? What is it now?," Emilia asked, feeling a sense of dread creep into her body.

"Is it another murder? And just when we found a respite-" Kai muttered in disgust.

"It's not another murder," Mori said in a shaken voice. "That was from the coroner's office. He just found a flash drive embedded inside the Barnum Killer's head!"