Chapter 296
Chapter 296
The photograph was smeared with blood,
My breath hitched as I stared at Robin.
Robin reached out to take it.
“Save my daughter.”
Cops came rushing down, all panting, staring at the suspect who had fallen from the bullding.
Each of them was cursing under their breath.
“Call an ambulance! Get an ambulance!”
Inumbly watched Robin.
Robin shook his head at me, snapped pictures of both sides of the photograph with his smartphone, and handed it to Finn. “Are we sure he’s the killer?”
“We found the murder weapon in his room, a heavy sledgehammer. Looks like he’s been doing manual labor for years, probably a construction hand, Finn said, glancing up at the third floor. “Heard his daughter’s been missing for three years, and he and his wife have been searching nonstop. Couple days ago, his wife took her own life due to severe depression. A family torn apart by human traffickers…”
I stood there, feeling a strange numbness creeping up my legs.
“How old was his daughter when she disappeared?” I asked quietly.
“Eighteen,” Finn replied with a hint of sorrow.
I glanced at the photograph in Finn’s hand. The girl in the picture was vibrant and pure, the kind that sparked an instinctive fondness.
“Such a beautiful girl…” I murmured.
“She’s been missing for three years. I’ve heard about this case. The girl was abducted by traffickers, in a cloned car no less. It’s an open case to this day…” Robin said hopelessly. “A father driven to the brink wouldn’t just kill without reason. He must have discovered some truth, and the sheer despair broke him…”
“There has to be a connection between the two cases. Could the victim be related to the girl’s disappearance?” I wondered aloud.
Finn nodded, suspecting the same.
“And there’s another thing. How would a construction worker desperate to find his daughter know to sprinkle spices on a corpse to ge dogs to eat it, destroying evidence?” I puzzled. “And if he needed to dispose of the body that meticulously, why wouldn’t he scout ahead to avoid the large surveillance camera?”
It just didn’t add up.
Finn looked at me. “Clearly, he’s just another victim.”
A pawn.
Someone behind the scenes was using people to commit murders. No one could tell whether this was connected to the serial killings or not yet.
The ambulance took the man away, and Robin drove me back.
On the way home, Robin got a call. The poor father hadn’t made it. His last act was to entrust the photograph to me and Robin, still clinging to a sliver of hope.
Hoping the police could find his daughter…
“Somebody’s using these poor souls. They’re innocents. This isn’t the serial killer’s style. One avoids killing the innocent, the other exploits them,” I said with a pounding headache.
My gut told me these cases weren’t the work of the same person.
The car stopped in front of the Langley family mansion.
I got out and saw Dexter’s haunting figure. He seemed really worried about me, approaching anxiously.
“Phoebe… His voice was hoarse, his broken demeanor like that of a man truly in love.
If it weren’t for Melody who stuck to him like a shadow, I might have believed that a leopard could change its spots.
“Phoebe… I’ve got it, I’ve accessed your parents‘ social media accounts. They recorded your upbringing in their posts. Phoebe, trust me, come home with me. Let that lunatic rot in the asylum! I swore to protect you the year your parents passed away, Dexter implored,
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desperate for me to believe him.
Phoebe.. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry. His fingers trembled as he pulled me into an embrace. Phoebe, once you see it, you’ll understand. Only I truly love you. Caleb Langley? He’s nothing but a madman.
I felt numb
The Dexter of the past was selfish, arrogant, filled with pride and possessiveness, like an untouchable deity. When I drew close to him, he pushed me away, leaving wounds so deep they would never heal. And now, did he expect to spend a lifetime making amends?
