Of the Twisted and the Lost

Chapter 40:

The room is awfully dim, the only source of light is the torches on both sides of the seat, where Mr. Ash sits. 

It's been about eight months since Junjie has seen Mr. Ash and the man has not changed one bit. 

His long white hair touches at his waist, as his sharp green eyes zero onto Junjie. 

"Junjie Williams," he says in a cool voice. "It's a pleasure to see you again." 

I'm afraid I can't say the same, Junjie thinks, though he forces a smile. 

"Yes," he agrees, as his brother sharply nudges him in the rib. "It is a pleasure to see you, as well. Though I must say, I certainly wasn't expecting anyone today." 

Junjie elbows his brother back, causing Zhiwei to gently grunt. 

"Ah, well, this was important," Mr. Ash says. "So I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." 

"Nothing of importance," Junjie shoots back smoothly. 

Just a whole crime scene I'm missing out, he sighs. Nothing too bad. 

"I presume you've already heard about the recent murders?" Mr. Ash questions, and Junjie nods. "You haven't found any leads, have you?" 

Again, Junjie shakes his head. "Except for the knife," he remembers. "It might have fingerprints. I've already sent it to forensics." 

"No fingerprints. This murder you're dealing with? He's a professional." 

Junjie narrows his eyes. 

"We've recently spotted a figure, nearby with the crime scenes," Mr. Ash says, as he pulls out a piece of paper. 

He hands it to Junjie, who gazes down at the paper. 

"Short-ish. Slim. Dark hair. Blue hood." Junjie studies the paper. "What did you say before? You called this person a 'he' but the body figure seems to suggest a woman." 

"The voice one of my men heard was clearly male," says Mr. Ash. 

"You're doing this based on what your men had said," Junjie snorts. "How unreliable." 

Zhiwei pinches his arm as a warning. 

"My men are very reliable," counters Mr. Ash. "They're almost right about everything." 

They're humans. I think that just proves that they're definitely unreliable. 

"So you're saying that this person is murdering everyone?" Junjie asks. 

"He's definitely a suspect," Mr. Ash says. "My mission for you is to have this person taken down." 

Junjie sighs. "What's it in for me?" he asks. 

A slight smile crosses on Mr. Ash's lips, causing weariness to flare up within Junjie. 

"You get. . ." Mr. Ash studies him, his green eyes darkening. "Your girl back." 

Junjie jerks back, inhaling sharply. His heart hammers, though there's a gauzy feel of suspicion surrounding the air. 

"What?" he whispers. "You know where Sera is?" 

A wry twist of his lips. "Something like that," Mr. Ash says. "So do we have a deal?" 

A ribbon of shock twirls through Junjie. 

Sera? 

"But I searched for the evidence!" he blisters. "And I found nothing!" 

"Do we have a deal?" Mr. Ash repeats, studying his nails. 

Junjie purses his lips. 

I don't trust him, Junjie thinks, narrowing his eyes. But at the same time, he knows where Sera is. 

Besides, it's not like Junjie has nothing to lose anymore. 

"Deal." Junjie extends his left hand. 

Mr. Ash takes it. 

* * * * 

"Where the hell have you been?" Sam roars, as soon as Junjie arrives at the murdered woman's house. "Here I was, waiting for two hours, staring at the body like a complete bloody idiot!" 

"Busy," Junjie says vaguely, before directing his gaze into the house. "Same killer?" 

"Yeah," grunts Sam, obviously still irritated that Junjie came two hours later than planned. "But she was killed a different way." 

Junjie glances up, intrigued. 

"A noose," Sam says, pointing at the ceiling. "Uma was hanging from the ceiling." 

"So no knife this time," Junjie says, glancing at the woman. "Interesting." 

How are those two cases related? Junjie thinks, squinting in concentration. Jared was male. . . Uma's a female. . . 

Jared has blond hair and blue eyes, while Uma has dark hair and brown eyes. Jared is a head officer for missing people, while Uma is a stay-home mother. 

"There is nothing that links these two," Junjie mutters. 

"Except for getting killed," pipes up Sam. 

Junjie shoots his partner a dark look. "No dip, Sherlock." 

He continues to study the woman, mouth tightening a notch as his eyes raise high enough to see the noose. 

It's blue— 

"Just like the knife," Junjie exhales, remembering the color of the handle. 

At first, he hadn't really paid much attention to the color, but like always, small details seem to play a huge part in murders. 

"What's like the knife?" Sam asks. 

"The noose," Junjie says slowly. 

Sam frowns, confused. "A knife is not like a noose at all," he says. "Unless you're saying they're both weapons." 

Junjie lets out an impatient sigh. "The blue, you idiot," Junjie growls. "The noose and the knife are the same color blue." 

Ocean-blue. . . 

Almost like— 

Oh, don't be stupid, Junjie thinks, banishing the thoughts of letters and murder away. There's no way they're related. 

"I guess so," Sam says, clearly not pleased by being called an idiot. "Plus, they both have the same gold lining." 

"You're learning fast," murmurs Junjie. "What else do they have in common? What ties them together?" 

"Nothing. Like, legit they don't work together or have the same boss, nor do they have the same gender or race. They aren't family and they also don't have any friends that connect them. There's nothing that ties them." 

There's nothing that ties them together. . . 

"Maybe it's not the same murder," Sam says. "Maybe they're both suicides?" 

Junjie immediately shakes his head. "The blue and the gold are a huge clue," he says. "And besides, I already know who the murderer is." 

Sam stares at him, stunned. 

"I mean, I don't know his complete identity," Junjie backtracks, before taking out the picture Mr. Ash had sent him. "But I do know his hair color, his clothes, approximately his height, and maybe even his shoe size." 

"Well." Sam raises his chin, fire emerging through his dark eyes. "I suppose we have a criminal to hunt, yeah?" 

"I suppose so."