Chapter 37: Grumpy Old Man

"Caspian…?" Scarlet looked at Caspian worriedly as she saw him clutching his head tightly. "Are you okay…?"

Though, Caspian didn't hear anything that Scarlet said as the picture in front of him seemed to interconnect somewhat with his vision despite his memory of it being hazy. After a light tap on his cheeks, he shook his head and looked at Scarlet.

"What did you say again?"

"I asked if you were okay," Scarlet replied as she approached Caspian.

Caspian forced out a smile as he raised his thumbs up, signifying that he was alright. "I'm fine, but you should take a look at this."

He then handed the phone over to Scarlet, and as she saw the picture, her face turned solemn. "Was she on some kind of drug…?"

"That would be the only possibility," Caspian said as he leaned back against his chair. "The suspect might've given her some drugs that make her perceive pleasure instead of pain… but an aphrodisiac doesn't have that type of effect rather than increasing sexual hunger and enhancing the pleasure."

"Mhm, this type of increase to a person's endorphins is unheard of… they could be deeply rooted in a secret organization, the same as with that criminal organization you guys managed to capture."

Caspian agreed with a nod as he clasped his hands together. "Swipe to the photo from around two weeks ago."

"Is this her? She looks completely different! She was either forced or coerced by her boyfriend… but in just a day, she changed this drastically?"

"There's also a photo that somewhat shows the boyfriend's face," Caspian said solemnly as he beckoned Scarlet to see it.

Scarlet also had a solemn look as she immediately looked at the photo. She couldn't help but say, "Although it isn't that clear, we can get some people to enhance the photo… his appearance though… it's somewhat eerie."

Caspian then nodded his head as he also found this weird. He then said, "Well, there's one last picture. An image of a building that I don't recognize… so it has to be from another district."

Scarlet then swiped to see the next photo and observed it. After a while, she finally said, "I think I saw this back in the Rosewell district…."

"Hmm… I'll show this to my team and track it down. It's our only lead, and we should try and investigate," Scarlet nodded after Caspian said that.

She then stood up and placed the phone on Caspian's desk, saying, "Well, that's all I have today, Caspian. Thank you for your time."

Caspian waved his hand at Scarlet as she left. After a moment of contemplation, Caspian grabbed his phone and contacted Abby, "We have a new place to investigate. Call the others with you included."

[Alright, good thing I don't have a patrol today.] Abby laughed as they ended the call.

Caspian then glanced outside and back at the phone of the victim. He then decided to snoop around once more and found a hidden application.

"Why is the notes app hidden?" Caspian muttered as he opened the app.

As he read through them, he couldn't help but frown as he saw notes about committing suicide, why she exists in the world, and other notes pertaining to depression. But suddenly, there was a shift in everything at the same timeframe as the shift in the pictures.

[I got a boyfriend, and he's adorable! I fell in love the moment I saw him, and he kissed me on the neck!]

[He's so cute, I feel like I can just do anything for him]

[He took my virginity earlier. Even though we've been together for only a week, I feel like we're soulmates.]

[I love him so much! He says we're gonna do a marriage ritual tomorrow.]

[I feel like I'm in bliss. Everything he does to me feels amazing, even though it should hurt… is he a god? I want to worship him.]

Caspian's brows knitted as he read those last five notes that were done consecutively in five days. Just as he contemplated everything, a sudden knock sounded at his door. Naida and the others, including Lucia and Abby, came in.

"Good, you're all here. First, Scarlet gave me a phone that a cleaner found back at the victim's studio. We need to note a few pictures and some of her notes about wanting to worship her boyfriend."

Caspian then showed everyone what he had managed to learn about the situation. Natalie somewhat paled as she saw the various pieces of evidence, causing her to say, "That person in the picture doesn't look like a supernatural being… but he doesn't feel normal, so I suspect that he's wearing a skin mask. He's definitely the killer, but we cannot find him because of that."

"Being able to change someone's attitude and make them feel nothing when hurt is simple if you use some simple hypnosis that Second Layer True Vampires can do along with some vampire venom."

But being able to hypnotize someone to make them want to worship someone can only be done by a higher rank…. Based on the proficiency, he should wield the same strength as the captain, if not stronger."

"We need to inform the captain about this immediately, so we can request for reinforcements before we try and rush to hunt him down," Natalie had a grave expression as she glanced at everyone else.

Naida nodded as she replied, "That's true. Detective, leave the matter about finding where that building is located to us. However, we will need you if we get a confirmation from the captain."

An agreement between them was made, and Caspian proceeded to look at Lucia and asked, "Well, any news on Mitchell Graham, Lucia?"

"I found where he is. He stays in the Cromwell District, and I've kept him safe; you don't need to nag me about it. I didn't have to go against some chimeras, so I did the job well while being hidden," Lucia said as she lit her cigarette.

"He didn't even leave his home. Made the job easier. He seems grumpy, though."

Caspian then turned his head toward Naida and asked, "Was he registered as a half-blood?"

"No, I didn't see his name among the registered individuals. So it's quite possible that either he isn't a half-blood but has Rh-null blood, or he's unawakened. Him being awakened but not knowing about there being other supernaturals might also be a possibility."

Caspian nodded as he said, "We should go and inform him about the situation and offer to keep him safe right now. We can't let any chances slip, after all; might he be supernatural or not."

The others nodded sincerely as they all stood and headed out. Abby then approached Caspian and said, "Well, this is gonna be a long trip…."

"Yeah, it's gonna take about… roughly two hours," With a bitter smile, Caspian entered the car, and so did Abby and the others.

But before Lucia entered, she said, "Hey, detective, I'll drive since I know the way."

"Oh, alright, that would be for the best."

"Are you sure, detective?" Natalie smiled wryly as she asked.

"Yeah, I have no problems with it."

Caspian got out of the car and sat in the back seat along with the others. He felt somewhat flustered as he was surrounded by gorgeous women, after all.

Irene, who noticed the slight shift in Caspian's demeanor, couldn't help but giggle as she said, "Aw~~! Our Detective Caspy is embarrassed~."

Caspian chuckled at what Irene stated. She then grabbed onto Caspian's arm, causing Abby to peek lightly at the rearview mirror as Irene said, "Don't worry about us, detective~ Especially me~ I don't bite that hard~."

Abby glared lightly at her, causing her to giggle even further. Caspian just smiled bitterly as he tried to take up as little space as possible to make them all fit.

Although the car was a bit cramped, these made Caspian reminisce when they returned from the bureau. Caspian then started the car and stomped on the accelerator as they headed to the Cromwell district.

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Along with some chatting, they arrived at their destination in no time. Caspian was somewhat filled with adrenaline due to Lucia's reckless driving. Suddenly, Lucia made a quick swerve at a fast speed, causing Caspian to smile bitterly.

"We might be supernatural, but is it necessary to drive that recklessly?" Caspian muttered, fully realizing why Natalie had a wry expression earlier.

Lucia then clicked her tongue as she let out a puff of smoke, "It's quicker this way, no waste of time."

She was technically correct, and Caspian didn't want to bother replying as he knew that Lucia was hardheaded. She swerved one more time as she came to an abrupt stop just outside of a house.

They finally arrived outside the house of the possible target and got out of the car.

They then approached the shabby-looking house, and Caspian lightly knocked on the door. "Hello, is anybody home?"

No one replied, so Caspian knocked again, but louder this time around. "Hello? Mister Graham, are you there?"

Then, an old grumpy voice replied with a heavy accent, "Whoe're you?"

(A/N: The 'e' is intentional.)

"We're the police, sir. We just wanted to inform you about something."

"I got no time for no police! Fuck outta here!" the grumpy voice screamed as a loud bang resounded from the door.

"Sorry, sir, but this is absolutely necessary. We're here to offer protection since you might possibly be the target of a rampant killer."

"I don't need protection! GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE, NOW! I'll count till THREE!"

"Sir—"

"...3…!"

"...2…!"

"...1…!"

An old man opened the door with a loud swing as he brandished a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun and immediately pulled the trigger at Caspian. Caspian was shocked, but he reacted quickly and tried to dodge. The man then screamed.

"GO DIE, YOU FUCKER!"