The Discovery

1

As Cord suspected (although, to be honest, he was actually already sure), everything they found turned out to be useless. A guitar string like the one they found was the murder weapon, but, clearly, the exact one was not left by the killer. Why did he need a new one in a package? Did he want to leave a clue for the investigators?

Let's admit it. It was a guitar string produced by a popular manufacturer, which meant that there were such strings in bulk in every music store. However, Cord, Force and Crane still rolled through the city's music shops and even market stalls.

Sky had given them a new piece of evidence: the cassette player. When she came in for questioning, she brought a promotional brochure with her and pointed to the model she needed. Everyone perked up, but then they realized: a player is not a thing that a person needs to register. However, later it might play a key role.

There was another curious detail. At the time of the murder, none of the residents of the nearby buildings heard anything (this is understandable: it is problematic to scream when being strangled) nor saw anything concrete, some noted that in the evening a strange homeless person was seen staggering about the courtyard.

One thing turned out to be good: all three murders (the prostitute in the park, the drinking trucker and the doctor in the hospital, and now Madam near her home) had been combined into one case—the case of the Villain.

2

Sitting at his new desk, waiting for supper, Cord decided to carefully go over the latest crime in his head. The killing of Madam had at least three fascinating points.

First, the mysterious homeless man.

Second, the "Liar" note.

Third, the mask.

Fiddler… A homeless man who had appeared out of nowhere and helped me solve the murder of Piala (albeit with no visible result yet). The appearance of Fiddler looked, in the least, suspicious. First, he had imposed himself for a visit (by the way, before the massacre in the hospital), thereby finding out where I lived. Then, almost two months later, he came to me a second time and told me about Familiar. Did this bring some benefit to Fiddler? That isn't clear yet. Were these meetings really accidental? Hard to say.

Could Fiddler be the Villain?

Considering that they still do not have a clear portrait of the killer, it could be anyone. Still, his intuition told him that sometimes coincidences are just coincidences, and it was silly to suspect Fiddler because of them.

Regarding the detail about the "Liar" note: Cord didn't really believe in any religious versions to explain it; his ideas were more mundane. Madam had been labeled that way because:

• She lied to Cord during the first murder investigation. The question is when and why?

• She refused to lie during the identification and pointed to Familiar, who, in revenge, killed her and labeled her a liar.

• She deceived everyone in life, and someone could not restrain themselves any longer and repaid her for everything.

The third reason Cord dismissed at once. He just didn't want to get into it. The first reason was also of little interest, but the second…

Madam identified Familiar at the investigation. Two and a half months later, when the first murder had lost its relevance, he took revenge on her. And to confuse the inquiry, he left a note on which he indicated Madam was a liar. After all, we would surely try to understand what that really meant.

That is, Familiar, unlike our elusive enemy, had a reason to commit murder. Strange and untimely, but who knows what neurotics can do…

Now the mask. There was no doubt: the killer was wearing it when he persuaded the drunkard to ram into me and later when he staged the massacre at the hospital. What for? To set me up when I began to pose a danger to him.

Familiar. Again. And this, in theory, explains why the killer did not throw the bloody clothes or any other material evidence into my apartment to set me up for sure. Familiar simply didn't think about it, just as he had not thought that I could have an alibi for that night.

The version of an attempt to first remove me by arranging an accident and then pretending that I went to take revenge on the failed killer began to look relatively believable. Except for the impossibility of telling exactly where I would head after the movie to plan the accident. Too much hope in the random! Although what if that's exactly why the plan didn't work? Because Familiar had been forced to improvise?

Let's suppose that is so. Then another question is: how did he obtain a mask of this quality? It perfectly and accurately copied all the features of my face, and the expert said that there was definitely no such quality in the city.

That is, from official manufacturers. However…

Familiar certainly had contacts in the shadows. Ten years ago, he had whores at parties (before legalization when it was not so easy to get them), illegal narcotics, and expensive foreign alcohol, obviously contraband. The expert could not know suppliers of such high-quality masks because they were of criminal origin; moreover, the usefulness of such props for illegal operations did not even require an explanation.

I need to check whether crimes had been committed using masks of similar quality anywhere in the city or even in the country.

Here was another question: was the appearance of the mask right now accidental?

Not at all. The mask has ceased to be useful, so the killer revealed its existence. He knew we had already found out about it.

But how? Did he learn about it from Flaminga's texts? Or does he have a police informant?

Stop. Stop-stop-stop. I don't think properly. Concerning the mask, it was not about its production, but how…

How the measurements had been taken.

To copy a person's appearance so accurately, the master must at least examine his head from all sides and note its smallest peculiarities.

HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE?!

Cord felt like it was dawning on him, and for the first time since the beginning of the investigation, he felt he was moving in the right direction.

The killer and the master are the same person. I had already met him face to face before the car accident. The killer had been able to examine and remember me, and it did not take long.

Because it was enough for him to just glance at me.

Because the killer has an eidetic memory.

So it was definitely not Familiar.

***

Unexpectedly to himself, Cord realized something else: the discovery did not affect him in any way. In reality, had it been six months ago, he would have run to call Force, raise the alarm with the police, and work-work-work, and now what? Never mind. He didn't care about the killer or about the investigation. He just didn't care. Was he burned out?

No. It's just that now he had a different goal in life, different interests. Previously, work had been the center of his life and his being. Now it had become Dia. She was busy in the kitchen, preparing a delicious dinner, and he, instead of helping her, was trying to figure out who the elusive killer was. Well, wasn't he a real jerk? For the first time, life had not turned its back on him, and instead of enjoying it, he was spending his free time on the invisible ninja, the Villain, a fucking ghost!

This is totally unfair! What do all decent criminals do? That's right, they make mistakes! And here? An invisible piece of crap appears, kills people quietly… Leave traces? Fuck you! So how to catch this son of a bitch?!

For the first time in his career, Cord thought:

Maybe just to hell with it?