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Red and blue lights blinded Chase as he stepped out of his car. Uniforms of the different departments rushed in and out of a clock maker’s shop. Apparently, it had been reported that the clockmaker had disappeared before closing time without even a single note, which was very unlike him. Chase made his way inside the building to inspect the crime scene. The store had been turned upside down, it was such a mess. The worst part was the smell of dried blood and the smell of sulphur. Chase couldn’t help but realize the familiarity of the missing person’s case…..
“Yo, Brody!”
The lead detective turned around to see the second-in-command, Jackie Peterson. The younger man called him over, indicating that he had found a clue. As he moved closer, the smell of sulphur resonated terribly in his nostrils. Jackie dragged him over the owner’s desk and pointed firmly at the desk. To Chase’s horror, there was a bloody message written on the table:
I HAVE ANOTHER DOLL IN MY COLLECTION. I THINK HE WILL BE MY FAVOURITE.
Jackie shifted uncomfortably at Chase’s disturbed expression, he never knew what went on in his boss’ head and sometimes it’s for the best. The lead detective carefully studied the bloody writing. He deduced by the smell that this was written three hours ago and the pit in his stomach went deeper. And the sulphur smell became worse, it was so bad that the detective could throw up.
“What’s the victim’s name, Jackie?” Chase asked, attempting to hold his composure.
“Uhhh, Jameson Jackson? Yeah, that’s the guy’s name.” Jackie responded promptly.
The older one simply nodded, putting on gloves and searching the clock maker’s desk. There wasn’t much in the drawers except spare clock parts and papers. The kidnapper didn’t steal anything valuable, which baffled Chase because there was a lot of stuff that could be sold to make a profit.
“Do we have any more information?”
“Well, I just contacted the researchers and guess what I found out?”
Chase raised an eyebrow at the green-haired youngster, and motioned him to continue speaking. Jackie paused a bit then shifted around.
“Th-They, uhhh, ran some files on Jameson and he has some relation to Henrik.”
The brunette detective’s stomach flipped over and over. Henrik Schneeplestein had been the medical examiner for over five years, about the same time Chase started working at the police station. But during those five years, the German didn’t mention that he had any relatives when he moved from his homeland. Chase couldn’t imagine what his friend was going through at this point.
“As in relatives or something? Hen never mentioned anyone he was related to out there. We might have to ask around.”
“No, dumbass! Not relatives. Jameson is Henrik’s fiancee! They’re gonna get married next month!”
Before the detective could express his shock, the sound of distressed screaming echoed throughout the building. Chase and Jackie casted worrying glances at each other then rushed to where the screaming was. The CSU operatives were at the door blocking the German from getting inside. He was screaming curses in his native tongue as he clawed at the fellow colleagues to let him through, they were trying to calm him down and try to explain that the medical examiner was going to contaminate the crime scene. Jackie quickly intervened into the altercation.
“Ay, ay! Let the bastard in right now! The victim is the man’s fuckin’ fiancee! Let him in!” Jackie hissed.
Henrik’s face softened immediately as the CSU operatives stepped back, nervously looked at Jackie then went back to work. The German stumbled in, looking at the mess that surrounded him. Chase opened his arms and Henrik simply fell into it, sobbing uncontrollably. The detective couldn’t find the words to soothe his friend, he knew how it felt when someone he loved disappeared from his life. Henrik broke free from the hug, he straightened out his clothes and wiped the tears from his eyes. The doctor took a few glances at the crime scene before looking back at Chase.
“S-So, has a body been discovered yet? If so, I will call the medical team to wheel out the body.” Henrik whispered hoarsely.
“What the fuck- Hen, Jameson is missin’, not dead! At least, not to our knowledge.” Jackie butted in before the lead detective could speak.
“Sure, like Jack isn’t dead either. Don’t you see Jackie?! The Ripper took JJ! Meine liebe is gone forever….turned into a fucking plaything for that sick man!” Henrik snarled.
That’s when it clicked. That’s when it all started to make sense. The bloody writing. The smell of sulphur.
“Hen, shut the fuck up.”
“Excuse me?”
The German stepped closer to the lead detective, tears burning his blue eyes. Jackie stepped in between them so there couldn't be a fight. The youngest prayed that Chase had some idea to bring Henrik to the level-headedness he used to have.
“You’re most likely right about it being the Ripper. The MO fits everything to the T, it’s unnerving. And the sulphur, do you smell it?”
“Yes, arschloch, I can smell the sulphur. Is there something that I’m missing?”
“Um, remember when Jack disappeared? Do you remember what Marvin said about the smell?”
“It’s the indication of demons, if I can recall correctly. But we all know that’s absolute bullshit! Demons don’t exist, Chase! A real, twisted individual kidnapped Jameson and you think it’s a fucking demon?!”
Henrik balled his fists until the knuckles turned white. Tears flowed out of the doctor’s eyes like a waterfall as he yelled out of frustration. Jackie looked at Chase with a concerned expression, he seemed to be unbelieving too.
“You’re supposed to be the lead fucking detective and you’re acting like a drunkard! Did you drink before you walked in here, huh?! Trunkenbold!”
“Jesus, I’m not drunk, Henrik! And I get it- you don’t trust Spellman and you obviously don’t trust the paranormal division but we have to regard all the possibilities. Look at all the other cases, there was the smell of sulphur at every fucking crime scene.”
“And not to mention how they turn into freaky dolls! That isn’t even humanly possible, Hen! I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but as Brody said, we have to consider all the possibilities!”
The German, disturbed from what he just heard from his friends, stormed out of the Jameson’s store, saying that he needed air. Jackie shrinked away and left to find more close, leaving Chase to think. The detective remembered the first case of the Ripper he investigated, his friend Jack Mcloughlin had suddenly disappeared after Chase had a distressing call with him. Deeper into the investigation, he discovered that a serial kidnapper named the Ripper had stolen Jack. From more research, the Ripper turned their hostages into unnatural-looking dolls. The kidnapper has been doing this for 10 years, and each case always ended up cold. Even Jack’s case became cold after months of investigating. And it might happen to Jameson too. Chase couldn’t bear to see Henrik in the broken state that he’s in. The detective vowed to himself that he will find Jameson and even Jack then turn the Ripper in. Chase fumbled in his pockets until he found his phone. He punched in a few numbers into the dialer, then he patiently waited.
“Hellooooo~! Marvin Spellman at your service~! How can I help you, Chase?” A cheery voice was heard on the other line
Marvin was the lead detective of the paranormal division for the police. The paranormal division doesn’t do much, other than archiving odd testimonies and looking into otherworldly occurrences in crime scenes. Since the Ripper case was introduced, Marvin had been incredibly interested in the case and helped out from behind the scenes.
“Heya, Marv. I’m going to need your help for something. I’m working on a kidnapping case that might be the work of the Ripper and-”
“The Ripper? Did you smell sulphur? Did you see doll parts? Or-Or demonic occurrences?”
“Holy shit- calm down with the questions, man! Yes, I did smell sulphur. I relayed this to Henrik and-”
“Henrik? Why would Hen be there? He knows that there won’t be a goddamn body because someone got kidnapped, right?”
“Yeah, I think he knows. What I’m trying to say is that the victim is Hen’s fiancee.”
“Wha-What the fuck?! Hen was going to get bloody married?! And he didn’t fucking bother to tell us? How repulsive! Anyhoo, what’s the vic’s name?”
“Uh, Jameson Jackson.”
“Huh, I remember Hen mentioning going on a date with someone named ‘JJ’, so it’s a nickname then.”
“Uh-huh, and I was saying before, I relayed the info of the sulphur smell to him. I brought up that you said that’s the indication of demons and he didn’t believe that could be a possibility.”
Marvin laughed, almost mockingly at the last sentence.
“Henny is a man of science, even I know that he wouldn’t believe that shit. But you’re right, it could be a possibility that the Ripper might be some sort of demonic creature. I’ll do some research and have it on your desk by tomorrow.”
“Wait, I didn’t even say anything about that-”
Then Marvin hung up.
Chase was flabbergasted, but he was glad he could find another angle for this case. Deep down the detective knew that the Ripper was going to watch his every move, which he didn’t mind. He was doing the right thing, doing the lawful thing to do. Chase wanted to bring the madman to justice, no matter what the cost.