Chapter 75

Beverly, seeing Jackson's grief, stepped forward to comfort him.

"Don't be so sad, Jackson."

"He was my best friend," Jackson replied, clearly in anguish.

Jackson seemed ready to ask Beverly for a hug under the guise of his grief, but he was quickly stopped in his tracks.

Reluctantly, he took a step back and continued to look mournful.

"Mike was so unfortunate, but that damn guy turned out to be a mental case! We can't even imprison him!"

Beverly also felt sorrowful: "It's my fault. I thought that hit would be enough to knock him out, but I didn't realize his head was so tough."

Beverly had indeed intended to hit him with full force.

Seeing that Jackson was also a close friend of Mike's, everyone stepped forward to offer comfort.

Bill, not one to give up easily, chatted with Jackson for a while and then tried to extract some information about the clown.

"Jackson, since you were so familiar with Mike, did he ever tell you how to deal with the clown?"

"The clown?" Jackson looked puzzled. "Do you need to call Batman from Gotham?"

"No, not that clown!" Bill explained excitedly. "I'm talking about the monster from the town! The real culprit behind the missing children cases! The clown! Pennywise!"

Upon hearing this, Jackson's expression grew even more intense!

"It wasn't the clown! We've already found the real culprit. I was just about to inform Mike that it's someone called Mr. Swirl!"

"Mr. Swirl?" Beverly and the others looked confused, and even Ricky, who had just gotten into the ambulance, leaned out to listen.

Randy, who had been quietly observing, furrowed his brow.

He hadn't heard of this person before, and he knew well who was causing the chaos in the town.

So, this guy is just a scapegoat for Pennywise?

"Yes, it's Mr. Swirl!" Jackson said indignantly. "He's the demon who enjoys tormenting children. Before each crime, he takes a photo with the victim and then sends it to the local police station! Since his face is a twisted swirl in the photos, he's called Mr. Swirl."

Bill was taken aback by Jackson's detailed description, wondering if perhaps Pennywise had been wrongly accused or if Mike had been overly sensitive.

After all, since they arrived in Derry, they hadn't encountered any supernatural events, and the note from last night didn't mean much.

"I know this guy! My mother used to scare me with Mr. Swirl when I was a kid," Andy raised his hand to speak. "Mr. Swirl, also known as the Child Torturer, full name Christopher Neil, enjoyed committing crimes in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. As technology advanced, his swirling face in photos was restored to pixels, eventually revealing he was from Canada.

But unfortunately, Canada's criminal activities are international, and they haven't affected our country. Also, Neil had psychological issues, so they only banned him from interacting with minors alone."

Ricky cheered, "Good to know. I always knew the Land of Freedom was in North America. When I eventually kill someone, I'll definitely sneak into Canada!"

But Bill countered, "With just a pervert from decades ago, it's hard to believe he could cause so many missing cases in such a short time."

Before Jackson could respond, Andy continued, "Actually, Neil's story isn't over. After he returned to his country, he uploaded his 'works' to the dark web, gaining the support and attention of many like-minded people. Suddenly, one day, he contacted the local police, claiming he wanted to commit suicide. By the time the police arrived, he was already dead, but they found his suicide note at the scene.

Neil claimed his followers would provide him with faith, allowing him to be reborn on the internet. Not long after, similar crimes appeared in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Before each action, Mr. Swirl would send a photo of himself with the victim to the police station, and no one knew where the photos came from. He became a new urban legend."

These revelations left everyone stunned, including Randy, who listened intently.

Rebirth through faith seemed possible in this world's context.

Bill looked at Andy in disbelief, "How do you know so much?"

Andy, a bit embarrassed, explained, "When I was a kid, I was always worried about being caught by him, so I searched online about how to avoid being noticed by Mr. Swirl."

After all, he was a very timid person, easily frightened by various stories.

Jackson nodded approvingly at Andy, "You're impressive. As he just mentioned, last night, another little girl, Vicky, went missing. Later, around noon, our police station received a photo from Mr. Swirl, showing Mr. Swirl with Vicky, along with a letter.

He's always been the one causing chaos. In the letter, he mocked everyone at the police station except me, but he was very polite and praised the residents of our town as all being talented!"

Bill continued to question, "So, didn't you receive any photos before? Why only now confirm it's him?"

Jackson looked puzzled, "Maybe he sent the photos to the wrong address before. There are quite a few places called Derry."

Everyone thought it was rather absurd, but none of the officers, including Jackson, seemed to find anything strange.

Randy, however, thought that their memories might have been affected by Pennywise.

The clown's methods were indeed endless; previously, he could make grieving parents completely ignore their children's existence. Now, he made an entire police station believe in a fabricated story.

But thinking about these two individuals, one who revels in torturing children and the other who grows by feeding on fear, perhaps they really are in cahoots. Pennywise might indeed be using someone else's identity!

After all, with his abilities, he could easily become the real Mr. Swirl.

After Jackson finished explaining, he took out his phone to contact his superior, hoping to apply for a leave under the pretext of handling Mike's affairs.

Since learning that the culprit was Mr. Swirl, the chief was preparing to seek external help. It was said that there was a specialized organization to handle such cases, and there was no longer a strong requirement for street patrols, which relieved the officers' stress significantly.

Jackson thought he would need to give a lengthy explanation, but the chief easily approved his leave.

"Sure, take your time to rest. The station will be the same with or without you."

"Thank you, Chief!"

Jackson felt greatly encouraged, thinking the chief had recognized his dedication!

Even during his vacation, he would continue to fight crime! So, there was no difference between working and being off-duty!

Jackson also looked at Andy, "I think you'd be a great colleague. Are you interested in changing careers?"

Andy quickly waved his hand, "Forget it. I'm doing well in insurance claims. How about you? Interested in buying insurance? It could cover any accidents in the future."

"Oh, that's very tempting. After all, the danger factor in my line of work is high, and in case of an accident, it would leave a substantial sum for my wife."

Jackson gave Beverly a meaningful look, but it was completely ignored.