CHAPTER 8

It turned out that Alexis didn't get the time for an emotional breakdown and her infamous migraine like she had imagined. She sprinted around the corner only to come face to face with a girl, not more than twenty-four years old, a petite little thing with raven black hair sitting on top of her head like a nest. Looks like she just got out of bed. Her tear-streaked round face spotted a few freckles, eyes swollen and smudged a thundercloud grey; she had done a good deal of crying. Might think there's a limit to the waterworks; but no, she was still screaming her lungs out. And what a fine pair of lungs those were?

Her first instinct was to block her ears from the noise. Her hands were pressed firmly to her ears when she remembered that the lady was currently at the door to the crime scene. And from her position, she was sure the screaming woman had just rushed out of the house, the crime scene. How the hell had she gotten past the yellow tape and who the hell was she?

At the corner of her eyes, Alexis noticed Collins hovering at the door, seemingly undecided whether to approach the girl or let her cry it out first. Alexis threw Collins a questioning look but he simply just shrugged.

And so, Alexis had to calm the shrieking mess until she was coherent enough to talk, and before she could get anything constructive from her, she got a phone call from Alison, pleading for representation in court, apparently her mother was seriously sick and she had to rush her to the hospital and unfortunately, she had a court case to attend which now she couldn't, Alexis agreed to go on her behalf. Just shoved the slightly calm shivering mess of a girl into Collins' hands for the interrogation that was to follow, upped and left.

By the time the ruling was done, with the defendant left to walk free because there was 'just not enough evidence to put him behind bars, not that Alexis bought any of that crap, it was precisely twelve minutes past noon. She watched the man arrogantly walk to his car, watched as they conversed with his lawyer, watched as the girl's mother cried helplessly, watched the guilty look on the girls face and the indignant one on her father's as he vehemently defended the man that had unrepentantly used their daughter sexually and her heart tugged painfully in her chest. It didn't need a genius to understand that the man had been bought off and the daughter had been part of the plan. Such bullshit!

A quick visit to the local supermarket, a tin of yogurt plus a cake five minutes after entering the super, and her lunch was more than taken care of. She was about to toss the carrier bag on the back seat when she remembered the scene that might be awaiting her when she got back and decided to eat in the car before going back. Three minutes and forty-seven seconds later, she hit the road.

As she drove, she allowed her mind to wander back to the mess that was dumped into their hands early this morning. South Mara was a quiet small town whose biggest incident in years had been the floods that threatened to overthrow the floods of the times of Noah and the Arc and maybe a few petty thefts here and there. For a man to turn up crucified stark naked and dismembered in such a place was horrifying.

But then again, he had been an object of her nightmares for a long period of time, only for the nightmares to stop when he dies. What was the connection? Who was he really and why the hell had he been appearing in her dreams?

She had already thought of why and who would kill the man in cold blood. After all, his dogs had mauled Richards's daughter to death and her brothers were not the kindest souls around. Alexis was sure Collins had thought of the same thing and she was sure that is where they would start their investigations. But she had a feeling something was not adding up. Why would the Rich Brothers dismember him? What kind of sick message were they trying to pass? And to who?

What if it was not them?

Questions kept flying around her mind she almost missed the turning on Katch Avenue. She was forced to make an illegal turn, luckily, there was no oncoming vehicle.

By the time she got there, the crime scene clean-up services were being summoned via a very loud phone call. The time of death had been estimated to be around ten to ten-thirty the previous night and the crime scene investigation was basically wrapped up.

The cleanup services would come discreetly, restore everything back to order both inside and out. The home would go back to being just another normal home for all the rest of the world, maybe with time get another occupant and become a place where a child could grow in peace, where Easter egg hunts were done by happy family members and friends. A place where Christmases were warm and life was normal.

But, for those who had witnessed the horror unleashed in that house this morning, it would never be looked upon the same again. The place would be in the center of horror and ghost stories told to children for generations to come, maybe labeled a haunted house or something just as scary or maybe be an agenda of village gossip. All in all, life would go back to normal after a while of the villagers being scared and peeping behind closed curtains at the slightest movement which won't last long. Slowly, they will ease back to their normal routine and put the incident behind them.

Alexis and her team will need to solve the puzzle, put the criminal(s) behind bars and reassure the inhabitants of south Mara that that was just a one-time incident and that they are safe to go about their businesses as usual. It seemed to be an already closed case. Touch and go. But when had life ever been that simple?

Unfortunately, there was no clue whatsoever. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Alexis had to admit the guy they were up against was good. He definitely knew what he was doing. He didn't leave behind anything to link him to the crime. Not even a scrap of forensics. Nothing even halfway resembling a lead. Not even a hair out of place for the DNA.

And the screaming blubbering mess of a girl? Apparently, she was the neighbor's teenage daughter who brought him milk every morning and snuck into the man's bedroom for a quickie and some monetary benefits from the old man. She had suspected something was wrong, snuck in via the side door as usual, hid in the adjacent room to the bedroom to listen. That is when she learned of her lover's death in his bedroom. She was just spying through the crack in the door to find out as much as she could when she saw the body, lost her marbles, and screamed. In her shock, she had lost her filter somewhere and blubbered all their secrets and endeavors to Collins and her parents. And no, apart from his body size and what he could do to her in bed, she didn't know anything else about the man either.

Alexis was exhausted after such a long day but still none the wiser. She still didn't have any answers. Still, no leads, no light at the end of the tunnel.

And then, there were the reporters to worry about. By tomorrow, there would be a lot of ridiculous news to try and contain. Maybe she should talk to her boss, start the containing right now to limit the damage. But then again, why not give them a false almost true story to throw the murderer off and allow them to do their investigation in peace.

Decision made and with nothing else to do at the crime scene now that everyone else was leaving, Alexis slowly walked to her car all this while typing a text message to her connection to Times magazine, the most notorious magazine of all newsagents in Mara, going ahead to leak some 'juicy details of the murder' and pleaded anonymity. They would just say they got the info from an inside source and none would be any the wiser. She had bought them time, thrown the hounds to a fake trail. She had done her best. She would leave the rest to fate.

But as she drove out of the parking lot, she couldn't help the nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something was not right, that she had missed something, a sense of fore boarding. Something sinister was coming to this sleeping town, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.