:Puzzling Murder Case

Anton's Pov:

"Are you sure you're not going to the precinct with me again?" I asked.

"Oum," She answered. "I want to make myself busy. Also, I have a new story idea. I'll start writing novels again, and I'll try to submit it to some publishing company here."

"Ok, if that's what you want. Just make sure you won't make any mess again. Lock the doors and windows and always wear the pager. Call me if something happens," I commanded.

"Yes, Officer Dy," She saluted and giggled.

"I have to go," I said.

I kept looking at her, so she wondered. "I thought you were leaving? Why are you still standing there?"

"Uh--"

"All right, you should leave now," she said and pushed me closer to the door. She waved at me and motioned for me to leave. "Do you want to be late?"

I just said goodbye to her and got in the car. I would have told her that Louis and I met again, but I didn't want to ruin her mood. She was determined to start again. Maybe when I mentioned Louis wanted to talk to her, there would be more trouble.

Whatever. What do I care about them?

---

I was about to enter the precinct when someone got out of the black car. I saw Detective Ishigami and Detective Santelices waiting for the woman in the car. They immediately saluted at her.

"Are you ready for the meeting?" She asked.

Right! She was Lieutenant Georgia Glemeo. She is from the Regional Investigation Department. Inspector Ayson told me they will be having a meeting today.

"Yes, Lieutenant! Homicide Department and Investigation Department are inside," Detective Ishigami answered. They entered and went to the meeting room. I followed them.

Lieutenant Glemeo was in the front and discussing the cases while detectives, as well as inspectors, of the Homicide and Investigation Departments, are listening. I sat at the end where they wouldn't notice me too much.

"Morgan Sude, 27 years old, a chef. At exactly 9 pm, he was found lying in the kitchen of his restaurant. The closing time of his restaurant was 7 pm, and his workers left at 7:30. He was left alone at the restaurant. One of the waitresses, Claire, returned to the restaurant because she left her wallet. But she just saw that Chef Morgan was already dead," Lieutenant said as she moved the slides of the presentation.

"At that time, the restaurant did not have CCTV due to the renovation. There were also no witnesses. The investigation revealed that the victim died of poisoning. No evidence was left at the crime scene," She added.

She moved the slide again where a picture of the woman flashed on the screen.

"Eva Antioquia, 25 years old, a disc jockey in a nightclub. When the club closed at 4 am, Eva went home immediately. But at 10:45 in the morning, her body was found at the river. She died after drowning. There are traces of wounds on the victim where her death may have been intentional or unintentional. Many possibilities are being considered in the incident such as an accidental fall into a ravine near a river or murder. Based on the autopsy, the victim was not raped. According to her acquaintances, she is unlikely to commit suicide. There is no house near the ravine and river, so no one has seen the crime."

"Neo Samson, 26 years old, a vendor. Past 8:30 in the evening, a woman called the emergency hotline. She reported that two men were fighting in a crowded alley. The police officer came to respond, but the victim was already dead. Strangulation is the cause of death. Based on the witness' statement, there was an argument between the killer and the victim in which the killer strangled Neo with the scarf he was selling," She continued.

Everyone looked at Inspector Arjo Romana as he raised his hand. He is the inspector of the Investigation Department.

"There are many homicide cases like those are reported to us weekly. I think the Regional Investigation Department shouldn't be involved in this," He said.

"You're right. There are many homicide cases all around the country. But look at this.." She moved the slide. "Last March 15, Morgan Sude was found dead in his restaurant. Last June 15, Eva Antioquia was found dead in the river. Last September 15, Neo Samson was found dead in an alley. If you notice, these three cases are taking place on the 15th day of the month. The three months between each murder is also noteworthy. The method of killing the victims is not the same, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it could be part of a puzzling murder case."

"Puzzling murder case..." The detectives whispered.

"Based on the investigations, the victims have no enemies in the past months, so they see no motive to kill the victims. Nor has there been any theft and rape to be linked to the case. If so, I have a strong hunch that a serial killer is behind these cases," She stated.

She turned on the lights. "The Chain Murder Task Force decided to make this an open investigation. The last case reported was on September 15. We could expect another murder case on the 15th of December. So far, we have no lead on who is behind these killings, so we need to take a closer look at these cases," She said.

I raised my hand. They were surprised to see me, especially Detective Ishigami and Detective Santelices.

"What is he doing here?"

"He's really an attention-seeker. Having passed the promotion test, so he's very proud. Officer Dy is really annoying."

I heard the two of them whispering, but I just ignored them and stood up, then spoke. "Based on the witness' statement, the killer has a scar engraved on the right temple of his head."