by Faizal Rahim
“Sorry to say this, but technically the two of you didn’t find the victims. Someone else did the findings. What if these phrases were for you guys to find the victims before someone else does. Think from suspect’s perspective. He gave a note at Lake Victoria and maybe this riddle was meant to give you the insight to where the second victim was deposited. Based on my study of this case, so far suspect is playing the game with the two of you and he’s raising the stakes.” Aisha explained to Rossi and Shirley based on her assessment.
“Did you mention Lake Victoria?” Rossi asked Aisha.
“Yes… why…” Aisha wanted to know what was on Rossi’s mind.
“A mirror of the sky… Lake Victoria…” Rossi answered deep in thought.
“Rossi you are right! A mirror of the sky. Lakes mirror the sky. He’s trying to say that’s where he deposited Michelle Rogers. Now it’s beginning to make sense.” Shirley felt her senses awakened.
“There is still the second part of the phrase… which laid the foundations to fire. Now what do you think that means?” Aisha asked the two of them.
“According to you, these phrases might be clues to the whereabouts of the next victim. Next victim was found at Timber town.” Rossi told Aisha.
“Foundations to fire… you need wood to create fire. That is the foundation needed for fire. Where is the one place that makes wood? It’s at Timber Town.” Aisha guessed.
“Foundations of fire forgotten by Man who saw the brightness from deep down. What is the meaning of this? Amanda was found at Mansion Valley.” Shirley reminded Aisha and Rossi.
The three of them were trying to guess the phrases when Shirley’s mobile vibrated. She immediately picked it up and walked over to her desk.
“Morris what do you know about Mansion Valley?” Shirley asked.
“I don’t even get a hello from you now?”
“Tell me Morris. This is important to me.”
“I don’t know that much about Mansion Valley. Recently you guys attended to the case right. Other than that, I don’t think anything else happened over there. Only petty cases investigated by Patrol Units.”
“No, not about cases but is there anything in general about Mansion Valley?”
“Well I only know legend has it that first UFOs were sighted by the people of Mansion Valley and not Roswell. So they are a bunch of unhappy lots even today for not being given due recognition.”
Shirley was thinking about what Morris mentioned. Shirley kept coming back to the same conclusion.
“Hello… Are you there?” Morris asked.
“Oh… I’m sorry Morris. Just in my thoughts. What did you say?”
“Nothing…”
“I am really sorry Morris. I will make it up to you.”
“How…”
“You made my day on my birthday and I still owe you a lunch right? We will go for our lunch soon. How about we meet up during your rest day?”
“I am reporting sick even if I am working on that day.”
“Don’t be too eager. We will go during your rest day. I got to go now Morris, Grumpy’s watching. Bye Morris.” Shirley disconnected her mobile and walked over to Rossi’s desk.
“I think I know what the second phrase is all about.” Shirley told Aisha and Rossi. The two of them waited for Shirley to fill them up.
“Foundations of fire forgotten by Man who saw the brightness from deep down. I think suspect is talking about technology. Due to technology, Man forgot about his craftsmen skills which are foundations of fire forgotten by Man. Now the second part of the phrase… who saw the brightness from deep down, I think is referring to the UFO sightings by the people of Mansion Valley. So it’s like a connection. Suspect tells us his first deposited place of the victim and where the next victim is going to be deposited. From Lake Victoria to Timber Town and from Timber Town to Mansion Valley. I have a good feeling about this.” Shirley told them with conviction.
“Makes lots of sense if you ask me but there were no notes found at the crime scene of Amanda. All we got were the writing in blood. How do we connect Mansion Valley to Head Investigations residence?” Aisha questioned Shirley.
“I believe that is not necessary Aisha. The first two notes have somewhat connected the first victim to the second and the second to the third. If you want to find out the connection to the third victim to the fourth, time is not on our side. We have to make do with what we have and I believe in working with what I have at the moment.” Rossi told Aisha.
“So what is the third phrase found at Head Investigations residence?” Aisha asked.
“A place waiting to be reborn in the name of Noah. Now the place waiting to be reborn definitely speaks about the renovation works at Head Investigations residence. In the name of Noah… now that totally doesn’t ring any bell.” Shirley was scratching her head trying to decipher the phrase.
He knew the detectives were in their unit trying to make sense of his phrases. He just enjoyed making them look like fools. I am just too smart for them. I can go on with this for my whole life. Or I can stop when I have accomplished my goal.
He dumped his latest victim, the young journalist, onto a stack of planks and covered her with newspaper. When she was totally covered by newspapers, he walked away from the construction site. He exited through the front door of the building and walked to his parked Chevrolet. He looked around the neighbourhood and noticed that not much of commuters were seen. Place has not woken up yet. It will be wide awake when she is found in the name of Noah.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
“IN THE NAME OF NOAH… what can it be?” Shirley was pondering away at the thought.
“Are there any buildings named after Noah?” Aisha asked.
“I am going through the map of the city. I can’t seem to find any places named after Noah. It can’t be that simple right. I mean, the previous phrases did not mention any locations specifically, we had to decode them. In the name of Noah can be such a phrase where we have to decode it.” Rossi ran his hands through his hair and was looking at the city map again.
“Is there a temple dedicated to Noah?” Aisha asked Rossi.
“You mean a church named after Noah?” Shirley asked Aisha.
“No I meant a temple named after Noah. Noah is an ancient name that originated from Hebrew. I would like to think that maybe there is a Jewish temple which is named after Noah?” Aisha clarified herself.
“There are no Jewish temples named after Noah in the city. No colleges or schools named after Noah. It’s got to be something else Aisha.” Rossi told her.
All three of them were trying to decode the phrase when Head Investigations walked into Crime Investigation Unit. He looked at the three of them.
“How’s the progress?” He asked Rossi.
“We are doing what we can Ashton.” Rossi replied him without looking up.
“You’ve got less than two weeks now. I am reminding all of you.” Head Investigations went into his room.
“That was inspiring.” Shirley told Aisha who smiled in return.
“You said the name Noah originated from Hebrew right? What is the meaning?” Rossi asked Aisha.
“The most common meanings are peaceful, comfort or rest.”
“Shit! I think I have guessed it.” Shirley seemed excited and was clumsily getting up from her chair. She continued, “I think it’s a cemetery. The three words, peaceful, comfort and rest perfectly describes a cemetery. I think we are looking for a tombstone in the name of Noah. The next victim might be there.”
Rossi looked through the city map to see where the nearest cemetery was. He scanned through the list and found one located at Eastpointe Road.
“Eastpointe Road. The cemetery is under maintenance.” Rossi told the two ladies.
The three of them immediately alerted
the Patrol Units and left for Eastpointe Road.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
AISHA, ROSSI AND SHIRLEY REACHED Eastpointe Road. They parked Rossi’s Camry in front of the cemetery entrance and walked in cautiously, each holding onto their revolvers and torchlight.
“We are looking for a tombstone with the name Noah on it.” Shirley whispered to Aisha and Rossi.
Rossi told the two ladies to stick together while he went alone in search of the tombstone. The two ladies were flashing their torchlight at all the tombs to see if they can spot Noah written on any one of them. Rossi walked further down the cemetery and started his search. He knew they had lot of ground to sweep. He wished the Patrol Units can reach faster and assist them in the search.
Far away, sirens could be heard. The sirens were getting louder and louder. Rossi knew it was the patrol cars reaching their destination. Always have to make a grand entrance. Why can’t they just be quiet? Rossi didn’t want the whole place to be awakened. It was still relatively early and most of the residents were still in their homes. Shirley looked at Rossi and shook her head to indicate that she could not find any tombs with the name Noah on it.
The patrol cars finally reached the cemetery, sirens blazing and lights flashing. First thing Rossi did was to bellow at all the patrolmen for coming in with their sirens blazing. Rossi would have shot every one of them with his revolver if he was given the permission. He instructed them on what to be done and continued with his own search.
“Rossi come over here! I think there’s something underneath the newspapers.” Shirley called out to Rossi. Aisha was standing close to Shirley hoping that it was not another victim. Rossi told the patrolmen to carry on with their work as he walked over to Shirley.
“Did you check it out?” Rossi asked Shirley.
Shirley shook her head. Rossi aimed his revolver at the newspapers and went to uncover the newspapers with Aisha and Shirley covering him. After removing a few stacks of newspapers, it became clear to what was hidden. They found the young journalist dead and dumped onto a stack of planks. She has been killed the same way as the rest of the victims. Rossi covered the dead victim back with newspapers to cover her modesty. He informed Gabriel to come down to the crime scene.
Aisha flashed her torchlight at the nearby tombs and found the one tomb they have been searching for. She walked to the tomb and flashed her torchlight again. The name Noah was written on the tomb belonging to a man who passed away during the civil war. On the centre of his tomb, there was a small brick placed which had a piece of paper underneath it. Aisha retrieved the paper and read what was written. I AM WAITING . . .
Aisha took out her UV light from her pocket and scanned the paper. In the name of Noah where the animals assembled. Aisha immediately passed the paper to Rossi and Shirley.
“It must be the zoological park… where animals assembled. Rossi we need to get there now.” Shirley kept her revolver and was heading out of the cemetery when Rossi stopped her.
“What’s wrong now?” Shirley asked Rossi.
“He has not dumped his next victim yet.” Rossi told her.
“How would you know that?” Shirley frowned.
“I think I know where he might be.” Rossi told Shirley.
“Who…” Aisha and Shirley asked at the same time.
Rossi looked at two of them, “The suspect, I think I know where he might be.”
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
ROSSI TOOK OUT THE CITY map and clipped it to his blackboard. He took out a few markers and was assessing the map. Shirley patiently waited for Rossi to say something.
“I found a possible match to the fourth victim. The digital reconstruction of facial features is almost identical to the real photo. Gabriel is a real genius at work. He just passed it to me on the way.” Aisha came into Crime Investigation Unit holding onto a Missing Person File.
“She is the one found at Head Investigations’ residence right?” Shirley asked.
“Yes. Her name is Claire Sinclair. She was born in 1994. She was reported missing by her father, Mr Sinclair, two days after the incident at the night club.”
“What about the latest victim? Is there anything about her?” Rossi asked Aisha.
“There is nothing yet Rossi. Gabriel is still working out the forensics process. No Missing Person File yet reported on her.” Aisha explained.
“Take a sit Aisha. I was waiting for you before I started.” Rossi passed a cup of coffee to Aisha. Aisha took it and sat down beside Shirley. Shirley rested her head on Aisha’s shoulders. It has really been a tiring period for everyone.
“As what we have gone through previously, there might be more victims. We are taking Michelle Rogers to be our first victim as she was the one suspect got our attention with. So we have five victims on our hands now. Five victims dumped at five different locations across the city.” Rossi ran his hands through the city map. Rossi continued, “First location was at Lake Victoria. Second location was at Timber Town. Third location was at Mansion Valley. Fourth location was at Third Ave. And the last location was at Eastpointe Road. Copy so far?” He asked the two ladies who nodded their heads in acknowledgement.
Rossi took out a blue marker and drew circles on the city map. Then he took a green marker and drew another circle on the city map. He faced the two ladies and continued; “Now the blue marker indicates all the locations where victims were found except for Amanda. Amanda’s location has been marked in green by me. I’ve circled the four locations in blue as these four victims somewhat fall into the same category. According to your assessment, you believe that suspect is targeting girls in their teens to mid twenties. So Amanda was not meant to be part of the plan. Actually Aisha, I think there is a connection we can derive at. Can the two of you see any similarities?”
The two ladies looked at the city map and the circles drawn by Rossi. The circles seemed random and both the ladies could not conclude anything. Both of them just shrug their shoulders.
“Look again and tell me.” Rossi encouraged them.
“You have just circled the locations where victims were found. All seems to be random locations.” Shirley suggested.
“Look at the city map as a whole. And then look at the circles. See anything now?” Rossi asked again.
The two ladies looked at the map for a long time before Aisha answered, “All the locations are clustered Rossi.”
Shirley sat straight and took notice of the city map and the circles again. All the locations where the victims were found were somewhat closely clustered together. No victims were found at the outskirts of the city. All the locations were found in the inner part of the city.
Rossi took a black marker and circled another location.
“Now this black marker is possibly where the next victim is going to be dumped. According to Shirley, it is the zoological park. If it is right, then location is still inside the inner part of the city. Suspect is venturing but he is not venturing out too far.”
Rossi took out his a red marker and connected the circles together. As Rossi was connecting the circles, Aisha and Shirley got up from their seats and stood next to Rossi. They could not believe their eyes what they were witnessing. As Rossi connected all the blue, green, and black circles together, what formed on the city map was another incomplete bigger circle in red. The incomplete circle formed an unfinished boundary around the circled locations.
“Now these are the locations made known to us by suspect. Now what we get is an incomplete circle. Let me complete the circle with a yellow marker.” Rossi connected the incomplete circle with yellow marker to form a finished circle. Once he had finished the circle, he looked at the two ladies.
“What do you see now inside this finished circle?” He asked them.
The two ladies looked inside the circle completed by Rossi. Which ever way the two ladies looked at it,
only one thing kept catching their eyes. Right from Lake Victoria to Eastpointe Road, all the locations had identical distances to the location which has caught the ladies eyes.
“Do you think he is there right now?” Shirley asked Rossi.
Rossi checked to see if his revolver was loaded and he looked at the two ladies, “I have a strong feeling about this. It is worth a shot. Suspect must be from Lagoon Villa.”
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
ROSSI PARKED HIS CAMRY A street away from Lagoon Villa and got out from his car. Shirley parked her Ford beside Rossi and got out with Aisha. Rossi had already informed Patrol Units to be on standby in case anything happens. This time, he made it clear to the Units that he does not want any siren blazing entrances by them.
When they were at the entrance of the Villa, there were two signboards welcoming them. Beach => Take Left and Residence <= Take Right. Rossi looked at the path leading to the beach. It was a flight of concrete stairs that will lead you down to the beach. Rossi took the stairs down to the beach, Aisha and Shirley following behind. When Rossi reached the beach, he noticed that the beach was not crowded.
“Where’s everyone?” Rossi asked, admiring the scenery of the skyline and the cool breeze.
“It’s only crowded on Sundays. Weekdays, you can’t find anyone here. When was the last time you went to a beach?” Shirley asked Rossi.
Rossi ignored Shirley and looked around the beach. He was amazed that a man-made environment could look as good as a real beach. From the beach, Rossi tried to look up at the residence side of the Villa. He could not see much. A sea cliff actually separated the beach and the residence. This was created to give privacy to the residences so that they will not be in the view of patrons to the beach.
“Based on the list, there are only ten residences or so here. Two or three residences are unoccupied and are waiting to be rented out or sold.” Aisha was going through the list that she obtained from the city records for Lagoon Villa.