Chapter 319 - 319: Catseye Is Back!

As early in the morning, Erick received a call from Police Officer Kim, requesting members of XXX Crime Investigation Bureau to head over a crime scene area.

He didn't give Erick the full detail but it sounded very urgent. Erick also called Bryan, instructing him to go with him as well.

Erick suddenly remembered Elle's request. Since he also wanted to see her Erick informed her about this big scope. 

Erick: "Good morning! 

Elle: "Good morning too, Chief Lee!"

Erick: "I told you just call me Erick. By the way, where are you?"

Elle: "Hmmm… still at my place. Why?"

Erick: "I have a scope for your team to cover. It's some kind of murder case. You might see some unpleasant and unsightly scenes. Do you still want to come? I am on my way to the location now.

Elle: "Yes, of course! This is also part of our job as reporters.

Hearing her persistence and determination, Erick gave her the location. Erick smiled the moment he received her reply, telling him that Elle together with her team was now also on the way going to the place.

Both of them were unaware of what was waiting for them in the crime scene that would truly shake them once they saw it.

Among them, Bryan was the first one who arrived since the address was nearer to his house compared to Erick and Elle. Several police officers were also there headed by Police Officer Kim.

They were already taking pictures of the crime scene and gathering some useful evidence. The crime happened in a small concrete bungalow house at the District of Whales. There was a white room inside the house.

It was not an old house rather it was a newly built house but no one was occupying it. There were no neighboring houses in the area so it was a perfect place to do a crime and to murder someone, without worrying about witnesses.

When Bryan entered the room he was shocked beyond belief seeing the brutal scene in front of him. But that's not the only reason why he was utterly astonished.

"H-How could this happen?" That's the only words he could utter at that moment.

Officer Kim stood beside him, shaking his head. "I also have no idea. This is the main reason I requested Chief Lee's presence here."

Then they heard the sound of approaching cars outside.

"I think that's Chief Detective Lee." Officer Kim mumbled.

Elle and Erick arrived at the same time. Sandy and Josh were also there. Erick guided them inside. He was the one who talked to the police officers to let the reporters in together with him.

They were still in the entrance door of the white room but they could already smell the stinky metallic scent of blood. Erick stopped Elle for a moment, giving her handkerchief first to cover her nose.

"Chief Lee!"

"Erick!"

Both Officer Kim and Bryan called him out but the moment they saw Elle beside Erick the two forgot what they were about to say to Erick. 

Officer Kim just stood there bewildered. He didn't expect to see Elle. He was also aware of the story about Elle's identity as Catseye and that she was already dead.

On the other hand, Bryan was giving Elle a strange look as if he was assessing her thoroughly, hoping that he would be able to see some clue. But when he averted his gaze to Erick, Bryan's expression was filled with worries and uncertainties.

Meanwhile, Elle and Erick, both of them froze as their eyes saw a certain portion of the wall wherein a message was written in blood.

[ CATSEYE IS BACK TO COLLECT SOME DEBTS! THE DEVIL IS COMING YOUR WAY! ]

'No! No! This is not my doing!' Elle was screaming hysterically in her mind.

Elle's face instantly became pale. She staggered and almost fell but fortunately, Erick was there beside her, holding her the moment he noticed her trembling in shock. She was quite shaken.

Complicated emotions flickered through Erick's eyes as he darted his gaze back and forth between Elle and the bloody notes written on the wall. The entire room was engulfed with deafening silence.

Then suddenly they heard a surprised gasp. It was Sandy. She entered the room together with Josh. They didn't expect to see this.

The white room became red as the blood of the victim splattered all over the place. The corpse was still there on his standing position where his feet and arms were restrained by cuffs. He was hung into the two metal posts at the center of the room. 

The smell of blood smothered their senses, suffocating their breaths. Sandy had the urge to throw up.

"Oh my gosh! This is so brutal!" Sandy exclaimed.

"Erick…" Bryan called him out worriedly.

Erick's eyes darkened when he recognized the victim's face. The person was Roland Bienvenido, the new leader of Los Molasses Gang. He hired someone to follow him but three days ago he suddenly went missing.

Over the two years, Erick did his best to stop the Los Molasses gang and their operations. He succeeded in weakening the power of the gang. He put a lot of members into prison. Only Roland Bienvenido remained at large.

Then he went missing. It turned out that someone had kidnapped him and tortured him, Erick didn't expect to see him again as a corpse.

"The person who did this might be full of resentment. Like a psycho who stabbed him anywhere he could." Josh commented, breaking the silence.

"No that's not the case. The culprit stabbed him in places that cause the most severe pain. He stabbed and twisted the knife. He watched him die a very painful death." One member of the medical forensic team said to them.

Officer Kim walked towards Erick.

"Chief Lee… I got an anonymous tip early this morning. I guess the culprit was the one who reported this incident. As you have seen in the wall, the person is claiming that he or she is Catseye. The culprit purposely did this to let everyone know that Catseye is back." Officer Kim shared his thoughts with them.

Upon hearing that, Elle clenched her fists. 

Officer Kim continued.

"This style of killing was also the same on how Catseye killed her victims before. But this Catseye became much more brutal compared to before. It's quite alarming. This is the main reason I called you here. You were the one handling Catseye's case before and everyone knows that she's dead. I want to know your thoughts about this."

"Do you think Catseye is alive? And now she's back." Officer Kim asked Erick but his eyes were fixed on Elle.

There was a moment of silence once again after Officer Kim spoke up. Bryan was also anticipating Erick's answer.

Before Erick could give them his answer, Elle suddenly collapsed.

Thud!

She fell on Erick's arm.

Erick: 'Elle!'

Sandy: "Ali!"

Josh: "Miss Aliyah!"

"Hey… are you okay? What's wrong? Did you bring your medicine? Where is it? Josh, pick Aliyah's bag in the car, Go! Quickly!" Sandy said in her panicked voice.

Panic already clouded Elle's mind. She couldn't hear Sandy nor anyone in her surroundings. Her breathing became more rapid, her heart racing faster.

Fragmented memories of what she had done in the past came flashing into her mind. Her thoughts seemed to jump from one thing to another, recalling the bloody scene of every killing she did.

'Am I this ruthless… so vicious… so evil? What Erick would think about me now? I thought I would be able to have a fresh start. Catseye was dead in the eyes of everyone. I wanted to bury that in the past. Why suddenly this is happening now?'

Elle felt the tightening of her heart inside her chest. She couldn't breathe. She felt like she was about to blackout. The room spun and all she could see was blood.

'Erick will hate me! He will hate me! No! I didn't do this. Catseye didn't do this!'

All her fears were pouring out uncontrollably, suffocating her.

Meanwhile, Erick felt alarmed seeing Elle like this. He felt her fingers holding onto his shirt too tightly.

"Hey, what's happening to her?" Bryan asked worriedly.

"I think it's a panic attack." The member of the forensic team said.

"Make her relax and calm down." The man suggested.

"I am here… please calm down. Breath… slowly breath…" Erick was gently stroking her back.

"Look at me… I am right here. Don't be afraid." Erick softly said, caressing her face. His face was painted with worries and concern.

When Elle heard that familiar voice she felt a sense of comfort. She finally started to calm down and her breathing slowly came back to normal.

"Erick…"

Tears fell down her cheeks as she mumbled his name.