Martha Murder Case Investigation: Day 29

Lara Murder Case Investigation: Day 9

Reyna Murder Case Investigation: 5

The hopes are nonexistent and almost seem like a fairytale at this point. Things are getting tangled in between. Similar to the Martha, Lara, and Reyna murder investigation is also filled with unmarked crossroads and confusion. The murder method was too similar to be called something else than a serial killing. But again, nothing showed up that could be considered proof of this concept. Even though it is very clear, it still needs a proof of concept in terms of law.  

Daniel, Maya, and Runo are checking every corner, revisiting the past sequences, and turning every piece of evidence here and there to find something that relates to the theory. Or to find some new piece of direction, but there is a wall of confusion at the end of all these theories. 

Of course, Caius is majorly involved in all of these murders, but no clue of a solid nature is present that could mark him as a certain red flag. Either he is very smart, which is not a very out-of-question remark, or he is a very unlucky person who is getting tangled up in the mess. The former seems more suitable in his case, but there can’t be any guesses or personal claims in the investigation. Only evidence can speak volumes.

At the present moment, Runo is sitting in front of his computer and Maya is sitting in the cabin chair. Case files are scattered in front of them, notes are written on the whiteboard, and they are thinking about what can be done next. Just then, Daniel walks up in a hurry and starts delivering the very pleasant news for this case. “We have found a handwriting match!”

Maya and Runo are a bit confused, and then Daniel explains, “The notes that were delivered to Maya were handwritten. Such notes were found on the other two case evidences as well. Seems like it is some sort of template-based blackmailing. The writing is similar, and it seems that the person tried his best to write differently, but personal habits are hard to hide in letters.”

After this announcement, he shows a handwriting comparison document that shows similarities in strokes and lines of several letters. 

Maya asks, “So, is it certain that these written texts are from 1 person?”

Daniel takes a sigh of distress and answers, “Well, not 100% certain, but the percentage is still very high to be considered by 2 different people.”

Runo adds, “Do we have a digital report of this analysis? Maybe I can do my side of research and, hopefully, I can find some other connection to this person.”

Daniel nods and continues, “Sure. But writing hand-written letters in this era makes him a very old person, or it could be intentional as well. Let’s consider all these possibilities as well.”

Maya and Runo nod and continue with the investigation. Strangely enough, the match was found in a few hours of search! And a day of analysis was enough to match them. It is of a man named… you guessed it right… Stygias. One of his unlinked social accounts under the name “Devil’s Workshop” is filled with screenshots of his handwritten notes shared with his colleagues. The nature of shared notes is nothing special. These are some common notes of uncommon things in demonology and some other dark stuff. But it is common in this case since allegedly, they all are students of that subject. 

But these notes helped with the handwriting comparison and it matched with all the cases. The notes are clearly written in an attempt to make a difference, but there are some very obvious slants and styles that made the match. And finally, it is time to call out the person who decided to spend his weekends on the job of blackmail letter writing. 

It seems that he just keeps lurking around her cases, for some reason.

And then his whereabouts were tracked down and it seemed that he was enjoying his day at the Infinity bar, celebrating his evening with the drinks at the bar. Since this person seems unfazed in the investigation meetings, they decide to confront him in his comfort space. This usually makes people disoriented and they are likely to make a slip of tongue remarks in those moments.

They immediately drive to the bar with a few backup officers in disguise. Her heart is racing with anticipation as she enters first to face him. She hopes that this could be a chance to find some information about him. 

As she walks into the bar, she sees him sitting beside the table in the corner. The rest of the bar is empty, like a horror movie. In the daytime! Not even the bartender is present. He is drinking a glass of whiskey, with his eyes fixed on the floor.

Maya takes a deep breath. She is carrying a simple handbag with a few papers inside of it and she approaches him.

“Excuse me, may I sit here? Have a few questions and would appreciate your input,“ she says. 

Stygias looks up at her, and nods in agreement, waiting for her question. 

“Do you know these people?” she asks, showing him the victim’s pictures.

The man smirks.

“I think you have the wrong person. I am not the one you are looking for,” he says, without directly answering her question and then simply taking a sip of his whiskey.

No one can be fooled by his nonchalant attitude. At least, not Maya. She knew for sure now that he was directly connected with these cases. No matter how much he may try, he now has an established connection to these murders. Even though they still can’t prove him to be the murderer, he can still be convicted as an accomplice.

She takes out a bunch of papers from the inside of her bag and declares, “We know it’s you.” Then shows the printouts of letters. Her voice is now steady, and she continues, “I know you’re the one who’s been sending me those notes. Apparently, you sent these to other victims as well. How will you explain that?” 

The man’s smirk turns into a scowl. He immediately takes his eyes off the document and looks on the ground. 

“What are these notes? I don’t know these,” he questions.

Maya places the document on the table in front of him and continues, “These notes.” 

She further implicates him. “We know it’s you. And we think that you’re the one behind these murders as well.”

And then she looks around the table. Very conveniently, there is a handwritten note of the order. She picks it up, places it next to the evidence document, and expresses, “I see that you have a handwritten order note, very conveniently placed beside your glass. We can analyze it too to get the facts out right away. But I can clearly see the resemblance of handwriting with my eyes.”

The man looks puzzled for a moment, and then a shift happens and he changes to a more confident self. He laughs at the declaration, leaving a cold, calculating sound behind. 

“You think you know everything, don’t you?” he says and continues, “But you have no idea what’s really going on here.”

Maya feels a surge of anger rises within her. But at least it is clear now that he can be convicted for his involvement. His statement just now proves his involvement in this case. But she continued her conversation while the other officers on the outside kept the audio recording running.  

“Well, then you tell me,” she suggests. “What is going on? Why did you kill those women?” 

The man leans in close, his cold breath almost touching her cheek and he murmurs, “I didn’t kill them,” he then continues his whispers, “But I know who did. And I know why.” 

Maya feels the rage, and there is an urge to kill him on the spot as well. But she resists and considers, ‘Could he be telling the truth? Can he give further info? It did seem more of a boast than reality in the view. But who knows? Maybe he can be of some help. 

She decides to press him for more information on the spot before even bringing up the arrest since this was the first time he discussed these things directly. He clearly doesn’t fear being arrested and taking him into custody won’t be of any avail if he doesn’t talk at all.

She continues, “I would like to know more. Who do you think is behind it? And why are you generous enough to share this information with me?”

The man leans back in his chair. There is a sly grin on his face.

“I’ll tell you all that,” he announces with a smile of satisfaction on his face and continues, “But you have to promise me something in return.” 

Maya narrows her eyes in suspicion but doesn’t let her emotion show too much on her face. 

Then she proceeds with her question, “What do you want?” 

The man leans in again, his voice seems more low and grim this time.

“I want…,” he stops abruptly for a second and looks around, then continues, “…want you to come with me… alone. And if you do, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Maya smiles, leaving no trace of her nervousness and fear on her face, and then asks, “Well, that is a very rich suggestion from someone who is on the edge of being arrested for murder. What makes you think I will do that? How do I know that you have any information? From my point of view, it doesn’t seem like a valid deal.”

She knows that he is dangerous, and clearly involved in these murders, no matter to what extent, but she also knows that she would need to do that in order to get to the bottom of this case. So, she tried to bring more to the table, and the guy seemed more excited than her about the proposal.

The man shrugs, and his expression turns cold once again. Almost like the excited person... left the chat! Well, that happened in there and he replies, “Suit yourself. But I warned you, detective. This isn’t a case that you want to get involved in.”

With that, he stands up and walks out of the bar, leaving Maya sitting there, angry and frustrated. The backup officers rush in, collecting the paper for handwriting analysis. And since he did indirectly confess his involvement in the case, it was enough to arrest him on the charge of voluntary involvement in criminal activity. He was arrested on the spot, but he did not give any further information during the investigation and questioning at all. This seems like another halt in this case.