Steven was complaining like a child would to his friends.
I took a deep breath and instinctively comforted him. âIgnore Michael. Heâs crazy.â
At that, Steven seemed to lighten up and tightly hugged me.
âLetâs go,â Zion said to us after examining the crime scene and making sure there were no suspicious people lingering around.
âWeâve already checked the surveillance footage, Zion. All we saw was a figure who carried Yasmin in while she was unconscious. The figure was broad and tall, and they wore a raincoat and a cap.
But we could see that he was pretty muscular.â
Phil had looked through all the local surveillance footage and could only recover this piece of useful footage.
The killer mustâve neglected this aspect of his plan because the footage was from a camera installed by a local family on the second floor of their home.
Those who didnât know about this camera wouldnât have noticed it either.
I peeked at the footage and sure enough, there was only a figure on the screen. But strangely⦠I felt like this man was different from the one with the burn injuries on his face.
âI feel like⦠â I couldnât really pinpoint what was off.
The man who had spoken to me in my home had been like a ghost. Though he was tall, he was still skinny and slightly hunchedâover. He wouldnât appear so muscular even if he was wearing a raincoat.
I didnât think that he wouldâve even had the strength to lift Yasmin up.
âAre you able to identify him?â Zion turned to me.
I shook my head. âThe camera footage only captured the back, so itâs not very clear.â
After that, Phil and some other officers stayed behind to further investigate while we left for the hospital with Zion.
By the time we got there, Rachel had already woken up, though she was still feeling the aftereffects of shock.
Good thing she was usually pretty bold.
âHow did you end up getting abducted there?â Zion asked, giving her some fruit that heâd brought over.
âI missed Stephie last night after leaving, so I went to her place to look around andâ¦â Rachel instinctively glanced at me before looking away.
Rachel probably believed me and wanted to see if the killer was truly residing in my home.
âI was just trying my luck. I didnât expect to actually meet the guy. I was knocked unconscious the moment I stepped through the door,â Rachel said, getting somewhat agitated.
Zion consoled her, saying, âDonât be afraid. Youâre alright now. Donât take any actions on your own from now on.â
Rachel nodded. âThe man⦠was pretty strong. He should be around six feet in height and pretty muscular. I tried grabbing his arm while struggling against him, but his bicep was so big that I couldnât even hold on to it.â
I shook my head, stunned. âNo. Theyâre not the same person⦠This isnât right.â
The man I saw at home had a face marred with burn scars. And though he was tall, he was â¦
gaunt. Not at all muscular or strong.
âCould it be possible that⦠thereâs more than one killer?â I nervously looked at Zion.â Possibly two or more?â
Both Zion and Rachel grew silent.
We hadnât discovered anything so far even though the killer had already killed so many people.
âTheyâre definitely not the same person,â Zion said after a long period of silence. âWhen we were investigating Mildred Silvaâs cause of death, we found another piece of footage âIt was of a smallerâlooking figure in a raincoat on the street where Mildred went missing. The figure seemed to be either a woman or a scrawny man.â
I instinctively looked at Steven. He was simply standing there, staying silent without reacting much to anything.
There was more than one killer all acting together in an organized manner. So, there must be someone at the lead giving them instructionsâ¦
âYasmin is now free from danger, which means that the killer has failed. And based on their personality, theyâll likely find another opportunity to kill her.â Zion looked at his phone. âI hope the killer doesnât hurt anyone else before killing her. That way, weâll have time to investigate.â
âSince Ms. Rachel is safe now, we should get going,â I said. I wanted to bring Steven back home.
He was still sick, after all.
Zion nodded. âIâll have Phil send you guys back.â
1 shook my head. âNo need. We can take the train.â
Rachel nervously looked at me, her mouth opening in hesitation as if to say something.
Then, I turned around and gestured for Steven to leave with me. However, he raised his hand and said, âHold my hand, Stephie.â
I turned back and held his wrist, exasperated. âCome on, âHold on tight and donât let go,â Steven whispered.
letâs go home.â
However, I didnât hear him clearly the first time, so I looked back at him and asked, What did you say?â
But in response, Steve merely smiled at me without saying anything.