Chapter 79: Serial killers

"There have been some murders, which isn't unusual for us," Sergeant Hally began, standing in the middle of the group as everyone listened intently—everyone except Astraval Killian, who looked frustrated but remained silent. The burly sergeant continued, "But you may wonder why a special unit like ours is concerned with them. Well, the reason is the sheer number.

So far, there have been 19 murders, and we expect more."

This shocked everyone, and Alix quickly asked, "What were department doing while all these murders happened?" Discover hidden tales at m,v l'e-NovelFire

Sergeant Hally remained composed as he explained, "We've been rounding up suspects. All these murders occurred in the last two months, and every time, multiple bodies were found at the scene. Each time, the victims belonged to the same family—sometimes it was the children and mother, sometimes the father and children, and other times, just the parents." Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"So, does that mean a family member is responsible?" Detective Eve Dallas asked thoughtfully, noting the sergeant's mention that in some cases, the mother and children were killed, in others, the father and children, and in a few cases, only the parents—always leaving one family member unaccounted for, whether a father, mother, or child.

"It's possible, but not certain. The family members who weren't killed or whose bodies haven't been found are missing," Sergeant Hally explained. Cassian, listening carefully, scribbled down notes as part of his duties. Robert, assigned to investigate with Julius and Alix, did the same while Cassian was paired with Eve and Cassandra for the investigation.

Cassandra shook her head and added, "They might have been kidnapped, or worse—controlled. It's hard to believe that all of them would willingly kill their own families with their own hands." The detectives' expressions darkened, as did the sergeant's. Sergeant Hally nodded grimly. "Yes, the investigators, before you came to the same conclusion."

"Hopefully, they've just been kidnapped. Dealing with mind-controlled people is a nightmare," Robert said, jotting down his observations. Cassian nodded in agreement, fully understanding the difficulty of interrogating someone who had been under mind control. Even if they were freed from it, they might not remember anything about what they were made to do while controlled.

Fortunately, it wasn't Cassian's job to handle those complexities—that responsibility fell to the detectives. His and Robert's role was to manage the groundwork, assisting by gathering and sharing information between the two teams. With multiple murders, numerous crime scenes, and a host of suspects, this investigation was going to take time.

Though most of the information they gathered might end up being useless, uncovering just one or two key details could be enough to catch the culprits—if luck was on their side.

"If the missing family members are mind-controlled, then this becomes a serial killer case, which falls under the special unit's jurisdiction. And if it's a case of kidnapping, that's also our responsibility. Large-scale kidnappings and killings like this can only be the work of an organized crime ring, if not a single individual," Sergeant Hally said, his frustration evident.

"Now, gather the information from the previous officers assigned to the cases and split the crime scenes between your two groups."

As Sergeant Hally finished speaking, he glanced at Killian, who was clearly holding back from interrupting. Sighing, the sergeant added, "As for Senior Detective Killian, you can return to your case, but stay informed about this one—it might be related to that terrorist organization of yours."

"It's called the Cult of Silias, Sergeant, and yes, it might be connected to these murders," Killian said, rising from his chair. "I've investigated one of these cases myself. While I couldn't find any concrete proof, the nature of the crime fits the pattern. Many of the serial killers we've caught in the past belonged to that organization. If this is their doing, you all need to be extra cautious.

Most of their members are strong, possess strange and sinister powers—mind control being one of them."

While Cassian, Robert, and Julius looked confused, the other members of the special unit wore grave expressions, clearly understanding what Killian was talking about. Sergeant Hally nodded as he listened and said, "Detective Killian is right. Stay alert while investigating these murders, and make sure our new recruits are informed about the serial killers and the organization. Dismissed."

As he dismissed the group, Hally turned to the old mage and added, "Detective Killian, come to my office."

As the two older men left the room, Alix approached Robert, while Dallas went to Cassian, instructing them to gather the investigation reports from the other officers.

"We're going to be busy from now on, it seems," Robert said, glancing at the list in his hand. It contained the names of officers who had been assigned to the murder cases before the special unit took over. The list wasn't long—just ten officers, with two of them assigned to five murder scenes each.

Four of them were already in their department, but the other six were scattered across different departments.

That meant they'd have to visit other department offices, each about an hour away from one another, spread all across the city—a task that would take a lot of time. "I just hope I get some time to practice," Cassian muttered with an annoyed look as he followed Robert. Since he wasn't yet familiar with the layout of the city, he didn't want to risk getting lost on his own.

"We'll start with Officer Romin," Robert said, pointing at the name on the list. "He's only about an hour away, so that's not too bad. After that, though… things get tricky."

Cassian groaned internally. "Tricky how?"

"Well, after Romin, we'll have to head to the East District, which is the opposite direction. Then we zigzag back west, and south to come back here. It's like someone planned it just to annoy us," Robert explained with a grin, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

Cassian shook his head in frustration. "By the time we're done, it'll be midnight."

"Probably," Robert said with a chuckle. "But hey, at least we'll get to stretch our legs."

"I'd rather keep them tense, but at least the department will cover our expenses," Cassian said with a smirk, and he could see that Robert was equally excited, as it means there meals too.