DECRYPTING MURDERER'S MIND

Before it turned dark, everyone was back with their resources. Martha came with loads of files stuffed in a carry bag. Hannah and Grace came with a diary full of scribbles. Lastly, Evan and I had some literally unexpected news for them. 

Martha went first to spill the details about Maddy's murder. She had a complete case study of her death. 

"First, check out this," she forwarded a file towards us. "This is her complete autopsy report." 

"Death due to strangling?" Evan raised his brow as he read something on the report. 

"Yes. Marks of forceful torture all over her body with chain depressions on hands and feet." Martha commented. 

I was shocked to hear and hurt too. Still, I kept silent. 

"Next is her call records and some investigations from her peers," Martha continued. "Janice said she last heard from her when Maddy was at Kaslo Park. Her call records show she made a few calls before going out of reach." Saying, Martha handed a paper with a list on it to me. 

I did a careful examination. Some of the names on the list were familiar, while some others completely unknown. What caught my attention was a name that spelled NOTSOUSYET. It almost sounded gibberish when read together. 

However, it was actually not-so-us-yet, with a heart emoji at the end. These were the numbers Maddy had saved on her mobile. So she definitely knew who this person was as she had a 5 minutes call with this same person before her cell went off.

I highlighted the name and passed the sheet to Grace for further observation, turning my attention towards Martha. 

"The pathologist further said that Maddy was definitely killed in an old, closed room. The reason being, effect on her respiratory system faced due to tiny dust particles gathering in the tube in enormous numbers." Martha narrated what the pathologist told her. 

Everything was relatable. We found Maddy's body in that creepy office which was as dusty as an old trunk. It was most probable that she was murdered there. There were many such things that Martha presented before us, which confirmed her death in that room. 

Next came Hannah and Grace. They collected responses from Maddy's friends and family about her death. 

"According to Janice, she was unaware of why Maddy visited the park. It seemed off to her, but she chose to ignore and not dig too much." Hannah read through her bullet points. 

"Which, however, contradicts the statement of Maddy's mother," Grace spoke this time. 

Her eyes were stiffened on the paper she held with her voice being firm and thoughtful.

"What did her mom say?" I raised the most obvious question. 

Grace lifted her head up, glanced at my uneasy expressions for a few seconds before turning her gaze back towards the paper.

"She said Maddy was habitual of visiting the park every day. She loved to jog there. Never had she ever missed a day." Grace added and a layer of suspicion encompassed around us. 

Evan quickly made a note of it. I kept aimlessly staring around each one to speak further. When they didn't, I came up. 

"So we have two suspects now? This caller," I said, pointing at the highlighted number on the list. "And Janice." 

All gazes turned towards me. 

"There's more to the story," Hannah disclosed. "The murders are undoubtedly distinctive. However," she took a pause to dramatize her tone. "They still have one thing in common." 

"What's that?" I spoke instinctively. 

"The attire," Hannah concluded, and I felt a cold wind blow through my existence. 

The night when we buried Maddy's dead body started rolling in front of my eyes like a film. The attires we wore. It was a part of the game. I remember I wore a black widow suit, and Hannah had a Catwoman for hers. 

What was this obsession with Halloween Disguise? 

I sighed, wrenching unnecessary thoughts from my brain. 

"Anything else?" Evan inquired thoughtfully. 

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hardly realized he had actually placed his notepad on Martha's knee and not hers. 

"Yes, there is one thing." Grace intervened. "I saw a strange boy there. A boy who looked like Maddy's father, but he was definitely not Maddy's brother." 

Grace sure was an alert observant. She paid a lot of attention to things and noticed more about them than most people did. Minute details mattered to her, making her an expert in coding and graphics. 

"Any guesses who he might be?" Martha was the one to ask. 

"Haven't seen him around ever before." Grace shrugged as she was clueless. 

So that adds to our suspicion list. Three suspects now. 

"I have some more details about previous murders too," Martha informed, pulling out a humongous file from the bag. "The first murder that took place this week was at the Georgia Hotel in the Murder Party." 

"Wait, The Murder Party?!" Evan asked. 

"Yeah. It was some random party of college students where a dead body was found in a bathtub." Hannah added. 

"Hmm." Evan hummed, signalling Hannah to carry on. 

"So, the murder was primarily due to numerous stabs in the abdominal region with one deep stab around the liver." Martha read the report. "It was also accompanied by ruthless face stabbing which was mainly to distort the corpse as the person might have already died." 

"Insane," Hannah grumbled. 

"Typical killer psychology. They kill to satisfy their animal instincts." Evan sighed. 

He sure was a professional. 

"Anyways," Martha continued. "The disfigured corpse was dreadful enough to make its first viewers pee in their pants." 

Martha's voice had an unintentional threatening hint making a chill fear sweep over me, and goosebumps sprang over my arms. 

"So, what was the reaction of the people who saw it?" Evan asked. 

"Everyone was terrified. Screams started erupting, many of them ran away to puke. The smell of blood nauseating." I replied, pressurized my brain to remember the chaos which occurred that night. "I guess the reaction was normal. We suffered the tragic effects too." 

"I saw something abnormally there." Again Grace, with her immense minute observation, intervened. "A guy in a Frankenstein's attire was taking pictures and filming the whole scenario. Except for him, everyone looked terrified." 

"Noted." Evan nodded understandably. "Did you recognize him?" He asked. 

"Nope." She said, popping the P. "He had himself disguised as a Frankenstein." 

Everyone let out a sigh. This ain't going anywhere. 

"What about the second murder?" I asked as a thought passed my mind. 

"Umm, yeah! Wait, let me check." Martha said, flipping through the pages of a file. "Here, see. The body that was found in the locker had a skull pierced with an axe. He was murdered most probably by a person taller than him." 

I nodded. 

"Weren't there any CCTV cameras in the hotel or the college?" Evan asked with hints of suspicion in his voice. 

"Indeed there were," Martha sighed. "But to no avail. The footage of the period where the action happened is not to be found." 

"So he is someone with access to control systems," Evan said to himself, noting the details on his pad. 

"Who's this Mason guy?" Hannah questioned out of nowhere, her eyes fixed at her mobile screen. 

Her face glowed in the light of the screen as the only other light source which entered the room was from the window of the setting sun. We were so caught up in our discussions that we nearly forgot to turn on the light. 

"What about him?" I asked. 

"He made a post that says he wanna talk to…," Hannah paused. She lifted her head with puzzled expressions dancing on her face and said, "Us?" 

********
Hey, fellas!
Yeah! It's me again. Your stupid author.

So, getting back to the point,
How was the chapter?
What was your favorite part?
Who is your favorite character so far?

I'll be awaiting to hear your thoughts...

Till then
Keep reading, keep enjoying, keep investigating

~Toodles :)