30th July 2017.

I spend another night sleepless. I haven't been to work ever since I was attacked.

I'm running out of my medicines. Maybe I should talk to Nathan about this.

. . .

2:57 a.m.

"Joyce, Joyce!"

Joyce shuffled restlessly in her sleep, drenched in sweat.

"I've been kind to you. I killed your Angel without hurting him, shouldn't you return this favor? Joyce? Joyce!"

I jump to my feet.

"Angel.." I say his name in a husky voice. Then all I hear is my sobs.

. . .

3rd June 2017.

"Nathan, dear, it's me. Can you check on Joyce? She has stopped taking my calls. I'm sorry, dear, but I can't trust anyone but you."

Voice message ends.

. . .

The doorbell rang thrice.

I open the door to find Byles standing there.

"Come on in."

He looked taken aback.

"Joyce! You look terrible."

"I was never pretty. My body looks like a man's body, my eyes.."

"That's not what I meant. When did you last sleep? Your hair looks.."

"Oh, don't mind my hair, Nathan. I tried to chop them off, but I didn't have a sharp enough pair of scissors."

Nathan, unsure what to say, gave me a smile.

It's been a while, ever since anyone genuinely smiled at me.

"Are you here to console me, Nathan?"

He looked at me blankly.

"I'm not sure. But hey, you minored in psychology, right? Can you maybe help me out?"

"That sounds good. Better than being consoled."

"Oh, tell me about it," he says sarcastically.

. . .

We sit across each other in the living room.

I scribble on a white sheet of paper. Nathan links the things I scribble.

We note down the details about the first six victims - Campanula Cannibal's victim, Nancy and her parents, four victims of the Trumpet Creeper, and seven more victims of Campanula Cannibal.

"But the question is, why would the killer treat Angel kindly?" I muse.

"That's what I thought too. But.."

"Could it be someone Angel knew?"

"He knows two types of people: ones that loved him and others that didn't. He wouldn't have died if the killer loved him. And he would've been tortured to death if it was someone who despised him."

I pick up another piece of paper and start scribbling on it.

"I came to a conclusion after going through all the facts. Both the cannibal killers' motive is to gain recognition. They intentionally left clues that would lead the police to the men they have used to kill the victims. But those men died right before getting caught. It means those men devoted themselves to the Cannibal killers."

"But why? What could those serial killers offer them?"

"That's for you to find out. But the Cannibal killers gave those men something nobody else could - it could be money, security, solace, or love. It could be anything but surely something worth their life. Otherwise, why would you kill others and then yourself?"

Nathan got up instantly as if something came into his mind.

"Take these papers with you. These papers are not safe in my place." I tell him.

"No one can break into your place, don't worry. You'll be alright." He comforts me.

But I still hand all the papers to him.

. . .

"Samuel? Do a thorough background check on all the killers we found till now. Find if there's a link."

"But they are all dead, Chief. Is it necessary?"

"DO IT. We should have done this long ago."

. . .

Nathan Byles walks into his house and turns on the lights. His place is in a mess. He hadn't checked any of his mails that piled up on his dining table. He hasn't done his laundry for the past two weeks. His utensils are dirty and piled in the kitchen sink. His floor and furnitures are layered with dust.

Nathan starts sweeping the floor when his phone rang.

"Chief, we got a breakthrough, all the killers were victims of the kidnapping that happened in 2013."

The corner of Nathan's mouth twitched upwards.

"All the victims killing their kidnappers whom the police couldn't catch. Find everything about the rest of the victims that survived the kidnapping, including Joyce."

Nathan continues to clean his house. He does his laundry, washes the dishes, takes a shower, and eats his dinner.

He looks at the pile of mails.
"Uh-oh, I forgot you guys." He mutters under his breath.

He goes through his mails.

Electricity bill
Water supply bill
More than fifteen mail from Nancy's workplace.
Insurance
Blah blah blah

Nathan stops at one mail. Bloodstains at the edge of the mail packet.

It's from Casey. She didn't use her full name.
Angel's sister.

I instantly call Casey.

"Hey, it's Officer Byles. Did you send me any mail?"

"No, I didn't. Is something wrong?"

"Ah, nevermind, maybe it's a different Casey."

Nathan hangs up.

Nathan opens the mail.

Few sketch papers. A bottle of pills and a prescription.

The sketches were of all the murder cases from 5th July. The killing machine, blades joined perpendicularly to give a square shape. The screwdrivers and crosses engraved in human body designs. Bodies with wings of flesh. All the murder plans were here.These sketches were done by the mastermind himself. The sketches had every tiny details on them - details which even the police didn't notice. The style of the sketch seemed familiar.

Nathan then sees the bottle of pills. The bottle is foreign to him. The prescription read the name he has known forever.

Joyce.

Nathan shakes the mail packet and finds a tiny note. Nathan reads the note.

It's Joyce. I found the sketches in her place. I'm mailing this under my sister's first name so that it reaches you only, Chief. Angel.

Nathan shocked, angry and sad all at once. His hands balled into a fist and his veins popped out.

Suddenly his phone rings. It's Samuel.

"Chief, we traced the locations of the kidnapping victims from 2013, and a few of them are at your place. We are bringing more cops with us, but right now, you have to escape from your house."

Nathan silently listens to Samuel as his eyes follow the shadows moving past the windows.

"I think it's too late to run away. Get here as soon as possible."

. . .

40min later.

The police arrests all seven intruders who intruded in Officer Byles' place, a few of them wounded by gunshots.

"I hid in the chimney. After searching a bit, they found me. I shot them in defense. They tried to shoot me, but I dodged them. But couldn't dodge two gunshots as you could see my arm and leg." Nathan Byles gives his statement to the police.

"Samuel?"

"Yes, Chief."

"Arrest Joyce. Right away."

"Joyce?"

"Yes, Joyce from the forensics department. NOW."