Chapter 14. Human Cruelty

As I was talking to Samuel about the suspicions I had during my conversation with Alex and Riley themselves, we were interrupted by Alex's voice.

"Attention everyone! That's it for today, we're closing the club for today," Alex said.

The club members slowly started to gather their things and say goodbye to each other. Samuel and I were no exception. While everyone was leaving, we exchanged a few words with some of the club members.

As everyone was getting ready to leave, I approached the Richards family.

"I'd like to ask you something," I said.

"Yes?" Emilia Richards turned to me.

"Did Riley disappear for a little over half a year ago? And do you know where he went?" I asked.

"Riley?" she clarified.

"Yes, Alex just said that he disappears sometimes," I replied.

"Hmm, what month is it now?" she asked her husband Edward.

"It's March, dear," he replied.

"He disappeared last year in September. Sometime in the second week of September, and reappeared in early October. That's about six months, right?" she said.

"Yes, that matches up. And before that, did he disappear like this?" I asked.

"Yes, when we were in treatment from the end of March to May, we weren't here. But as far as I know, he disappeared in mid-May and returned just as we were discharged," she said.

"So, only twice?" I asked.

"Yes, he's been coming here for five years now, although we've been here a little longer," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," I said and said goodbye to them.

After saying goodbye to Alex and the other club members at the exit, we ran into Riley, who seemed to be waiting for a taxi.

"How was your first day in our club?" Riley asked kindly.

"I don't know about my friend, but I had fun," I replied, gesturing to Samuel.

"Excellent," Samuel said shortly.

"Well, I hope you'll stay with us for a long time, because for some reason, there are fewer and fewer club members. It's a shame that this happens in many clubs, not just ours," Riley said, showing a smile.

As we thought about our response, Riley's summoned car arrived. "Until our next meeting," he said, bidding us farewell.

We watched the car drive away before turning to my own car.

"I think it's still him," I said firmly.

"That's entirely possible, but then he must have an accomplice, not a victim. After all, you can't find someone to kill in 2-3 weeks, even without his personal control," Samuel said.

"Maybe he's somehow forcing them, and then releasing them," I suggested.

"The main thing is not to let him make his next move right under our noses," I said.

"If someone is killing without his involvement, even while he's in the same city, then I doubt we should expect an attack from him," Samuel said.

"Are you saying he's just going to direct someone to do it, and the killer will do everything?" I asked.

"Yes, now we need to find out who he's been in contact with for more than 2 months," he said.

"I hope your team can track down everyone he's been in contact with and is currently in contact with," I said.

"We need to first find the person who was in those places on the day of the killings, and later find the points that connect them," he said.

"Understood. We haven't received any news from your team regarding the potential locations from the surveillance footage," I said.

"No, but they told me where the ritual was held, and we missed one of the places. I think we should drive there, it's not far from where he was killed," said Samuel.

"Really? Then show me the address, and let's go there right away," I said in a hurried tone.

Samuel opened his notebook and showed me the address written on it. The address was five minutes away from the abandoned medical building where the protective pentagrams were drawn. If only I had known it was so close. Regret of not knowing my city began to eat away at me. I had worked on patrol for a long time, and here was a place right under my nose that I didn't know about.

We drove for some time, each lost in our own thoughts, not saying anything to each other.

After a while, I saw the abandoned building where we had been before. I drove past it, following the navigator for a few more minutes.

When we arrived at the location, we discovered a small grove hidden among a large number of high-rise buildings. Although the grove was small, its total area at first glance was slightly over 300 square meters. The forest was more oval in shape than round or rectangular.

We walked through the forest for about a minute and then stumbled upon the ritual site. It was similar to others we had seen, but here we saw pieces of animals of various shapes. From chicken heads to cow heads.

The sight before me shook me. I was shaken by the sight of these heads and bloody stains. A wave of nausea pierced me, which I managed to suppress. The feeling was similar to what I felt from that video. It turned my stomach. The only word that came to my mind was disgust.

Disgust for human nature, disgust for those who did this, disgust for those who saw but did not report it. I was disappointed in my city that I protected. The firm decision remained in my head to leave it, forget about my job and go somewhere with her to start a family in a quiet place.

While I was in shock and dismay at what I had just witnessed, Samuel appeared calm and collected, as if what he had seen was entirely normal. I felt sorry for him, knowing that for any ordinary person, this sight would always be horrifying.

He carefully examined the area, which covered a total of approximately 30-40 square meters. The actual site of the ritual took up only about 2-3 meters, with various candles, small paints, and several scattered chicken heads. In the center of this construction were small bones, possibly belonging to the same chickens.

Samuel calmly jotted down notes in his notebook, from which I caught a glimpse of a drawn version of the area. It depicted the key points and scattered items. He spent only a few minutes on the sketch. In my presence, he also meticulously listed everything he had seen here, carefully documenting it all.