In the late night of Chicago there was a man, sitting in the diner—waiting for something to happen.
"Will that be everything sir?"
Said the waiter to the man
"Ah... Yes... The meals here are getting more enjoyable each night huh?"
Said the man after taking a sip of his coffee.
"Well thanks for your appreciation sir, we—"
Before the waiter could finish her sentence, the man suddenly got a call on his radio.
*Radio buzzing* "dispatch this is Officer Connor here, inspector do you copy?"
Without hesitation the man left the diner and responded to his call
"This is inspector Reyes do you copy?"
Said Reyes while walking to his car in the heavy rain
"Sir we've found another crime scene of the mass murder in Chicago" said officer Connor through Reyes's radio
"I'll be right there just watch everything that you think are valuable for proof" said Reyes as he started his car to go to the crime scene
3 hours after the murder and Reyes's arrival
Step 1: Observe the silence before the storm.
The scene was unnaturally quiet.
No sirens. No chaos. Just the yellow tape fluttering in the cold wind and the sour stench of blood soaked into the earth. The body was gone — taken by forensics — but the echo of violence remained.
Reyes lit a cigarette under his hood and exhaled slowly.
"You didn't kill out of impulse," he murmured, eyes sweeping the lawn. "You enjoyed this."
---
Step 2: Let the room speak first.
Inside, the furniture was untouched — but there were footprints in the kitchen, leading nowhere. The floor tiles had been wiped… mostly.
Reyes crouched down.
"A rookie would miss this. A streak of red between grout lines." He traced it with his gloved hand. "He's getting careful, but not perfect."
---
Step 3: The weapon is a message.
The victim's file lay open in his hand. Killed with an axe — same pattern as the last one.
"Same depth. Same angle," Reyes whispered. "Not rage. Rhythm."
He looked at the forensics officer nearby. "He enjoys the choreography. He's making art."
---
Step 4: The garbage tells the truth.
Outside, Reyes examined the trash bins. Empty. Too empty.
He looked to Officer Connor. "He dumped something. Maybe on the way here, maybe after. Get traffic cams from every route within a ten-mile radius. I want footage an hour before and after the estimated time of death."
Connor nodded. "You think he slipped up?"
Reyes gave a cold smirk. "They all do. Eventually."
---
Step 5: Return to where it started.
Before leaving, Reyes stood at the center of the crime scene — right where the victim had collapsed.
He closed his eyes.
"He stood here… looked at his victim… and said something. There's always something."
He looked back at the wall, then at the dried smear of blood shaped like a handprint.
"I'll find you, freak. One pattern at a time."
Step 6: Watch the witnesses — even the quiet ones.
A neighbor stood at the edge of the tape, arms folded, face pale.
Reyes approached slowly. "You saw something."
The man hesitated. "I… heard humming. Low. Like someone singing to himself. Then… nothing. Just the rain."
Reyes nodded. "People hum when they're calm. Or when they think they're alone."
He jotted it down. "Humming. Add that to the profile."
---
Step 7: The absence of mistakes is itself a mistake.
Inside the home again, Reyes noted how clean it was.
Too clean.
"No blood spatter on the ceiling. No drag marks. No broken furniture."
He looked around. "He brought tools. He brought time. This wasn't a crime of chaos. It was planned. Ritualistic."
---
Step 8: Find the ghost in the house.
Reyes opened the victim's laptop. Surprisingly untouched.
"Locked," he muttered. "But not wiped."
He handed it to the tech specialist. "Crack it. I want to know who this man was emailing, what he feared, what he knew."
Then he stared at a small family photo frame on the desk.
"Everyone leaves a ghost behind. I want to talk to his."
---
Step 9: Smell the contradiction.
In the corner of the kitchen, a faint scent — out of place. Not bleach. Not rot.
"Is that… rosemary?" Reyes muttered.
He leaned down near the stove. A small, still-warm pan.
"He cooked here," Reyes said slowly, eyes narrowing. "He stayed."
Connor blinked. "He ate?"
Reyes nodded. "He feasts where he kills. That's not just evil — that's control."
---
Step 10: Leave with a question, not an answer.
Reyes stepped out into the rain again, cigarette half-burned in his mouth. The sirens were fading. His shoes crushed gravel and ash.
He looked back one last time.
"If this was art," he whispered, "then what's the next masterpiece?"
He climbed into his car, started the engine, and dialed a number.
"Get me the files on the previous killings," he said coldly. "I want to build a map — not of where he's been, but where he's going."
Crime scene report:
Victim name: Tom Hamilton
Age:43
Status:divorced, single
Possible death cause:broken head by Axe
Crime report:pedophilia, kidnapping, sexual abused
Note:Possible vigilante movement further investigation required