Priya's POV:

"What happened Arjun?" The next words I heard made me numb.

"They got him," Arjun replied looking at me as if he was waiting to see my reaction. But I didn't know how to reply. I was even unsure if I wanted to meet him.

"Don't tell me you're not coming with me," Arjun said bewildered.

"I don't know," I replied looking away.

"Seriously, Mehra? You don't want to screw that bastard?" Before I could say anything Arjun started driving.

"Look! We are going that's it. I don't want you to regret it later," Arjun said, his eyes on the road but they had determination in them.

We reached a dense forest in the outskirts of Mumbai. The forest was under government yet unmaintained. The trees were huge and covered the forest making it look dark and scary. I hesitated for a moment but then Arjun caught my hands and gestured to follow him.

We walked through the woods and as we went in there was nothing but trees and trees. I was about to trip and fall but Arjun caught my arm. I thanked him and we resumed walking but this time I was more careful. Finally, we reached an old cottage in the middle of the forest and saw Ajay hiding behind a tree near the cottage. We too followed the lead and he sent as a message.

He is inside the cottage, sir.

Are you sure?

Yes, sir.

Suddenly, we heard sound of a gunshot, causing us to immediately broke the door lock and barge in. The room was dark and the moonlight through the small window wasn't helping at all. Arjun took out his gun and torch. He gestured me to follow behind him as I was unarmed. There was no noise accept of our breathing. Everyone was making sure to be as quite as possible so that they don't alarm the killer.

All of a sudden the room got lit up by the dirty bulb covered with yellow paper and the first thing we saw was the body laying in the arm chair. A young man in his late twenties was shot on the forehead. His face resembled to the sketch we had. The blood was oozing out from the wound. His eyes were open as if he was shocked or terrified. The gun was in his left hand. It was a double action pistol. There was no sign of struggle or any marks on his body.

'Was it a suicide?'

"Sir!" Ajay called us over to the table. "Look at this." On the table there was a bible lying open along with a rosary. A verse marked on the page which read as

By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of his anger they come to an end

"Call the forensic team, Ajay and ask them to inspect this place throughly," Arjun instructed. "Also, take out all the details about this man."

While Arjun was busy with Ajay discussing the further process, my eyes fell on a piece of paper which was kept under the bible. As soon as I got my hands on it I realised it was a suicide note. It said

Dear God,

I disappointed you. I am worthless. I couldn't follow your orders. I am like those ungrateful bitches. My soul has become sinfull. I need to get rid of it. Forgive me God.

Yours Devil

"What is it?" Arjun asked when I handed him the note.

"It's a suicide note," I replied nonchalantly. "But I don't think, it's a suicide."

"Why?"

"Firstly, nobody will shoot themselves on the forehead. It's much comfortable to hold the gun sideways. Second, his eyes were wide and open. Why would a person who is taking his own life would be that surprised? It's cause it was not him who took his life." Arjun nodded in agreement.

After closely looking around the cottage we concluded that it was rarely under use. We also found a fridge which had five heads of women in ice bags. Their bloodless faces were all contorted in a horrified grimace that made me feel the pain that they had experienced in their last moments. The man who called himself Devil was indeed the serial killer. But he was too young to do this. What could have been the reason for him to choose such a path to lead his life?

"How did they find him?" I asked curiously.

"It was the sketch which helped us. Someone saw the sketch and recognised him," Arjun replied. He was inspecting the table again to see if he could get any more clues.

"Oh, I see."

"Why was he addressing the letter to God and calling himself Devil? He wrote it as if it was God who was asking him to do all the killings," Arjun said as he read through the letter again.

"Wait! You are right. What if it was God who told him to do all these?"

"Are you serious, Mehra?" Arjun looked at me as if I have gone nuts.

"Yes! What if someone was telling him to do all these as if they were God? It is impossible for him to do everything alone. The killings were perfectly planned and executed."

"You are right. But why will he listen to them?" Arjun's question was valid. How did they manage to make him believe that they were a God?

"This question can be only answered by his God."

_________________________________________

Next day morning

Yesterday after collecting all the evidences and sending the body for postmortem, we came back to the police station. The commissioner was happy that the case finally ended. But when we tried to tell him the possibility of another helper he dismissed it saying it was ridiculous. He told us to keep it as it was rather than digging up more. Inshort, he told the media that the serial killer committed suicide because he knew he was going to get caught.

"It is ridiculous!" I exclaimed after seeing the press conference.

"We can't do anything. They closed the case." Arjun sighed.

"What do you mean by that? The mastermind behind this whole gruesome murders is out there. The victims deserve justice."

"I know, Mehra. I never said we are not going to investigate. We will do it unofficially," Arjun replied handing me over a file. "This has all the details about the case along with that Devil's details."

As I read through the file I realised Devil had a tragic childhood. The cruel treatment he got from his father and relatives must have forced him to become what he was today.

'I think everyone has a story for what they are today.'

"Where is Nila?" Arjun asked which jolted me out of my reverie.

"She is with Neil. She is going back to hostel today," I replied.

"Her vacation is over?"

"Nope, one more week is left. But I am sending her early."

"You are scared that something might happen to her as well?" Arjun asked. I hummed and looked away. My heart was still aching at the lose of Kashi. I couldn't afford to lose Nila too. Arjun nodded in understanding.

"By the way, do you have the number of the person who identified the killer? I want to ask some questions to him," I said closing the file and giving it back to Arjun.

"Ajay might have it. Let me ask him."

"No, that's okay. I will take it from Ajay," I replied and got up to leave. 'I should meet the witness and then drop Nila back to hostel before evening ,' I mentally calculated. I wanted to ask some questions to the witness personally. Maybe he might have seen the other person too along with the killer.

'I will catch him as soon as possible.'

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