The Urban Abyss

Sophia is an Angel

A few days later, there was still no word from Cathy's family, so the police department decided to temporarily take care of the child. Vivienne, being the only female officer in the detective squad and also single, was naturally tasked with looking after the child.

During these days, Vivienne had no choice but to take Cathy with her everywhere she went, earning the nickname "Nanny Sister" from a few ill-intentioned colleagues. She felt utterly dejected walking around holding Cathy's hand.

That night, Vivienne let Cathy read a comic book she had just bought for her and decided to browse the internet on her phone, hoping to vent about her frustrations on Instagram. Unfortunately, none of her friends were online at that time. She suddenly remembered Sophia, whose Instagram account she had gotten but had never greeted before.

She found Sophia's account and sent a friend request, which was quickly accepted. Vivienne was surprised to see that the gentle and slender Sophia had chosen an image of an ugly big dog for her profile picture, with the username "celestial dog." Vivienne thought to herself that her cousin really had a unique personality.

She chatted with Sophia, asking about her recent life and was delighted to learn that Sophia had quit her job at the bar and was now looking for work while studying. Vivienne also shared her own troubles of juggling work and caring for a child, to which Sophia immediately responded, "Cousin, why don't I help you with the child? I like kids, and since I'm not working right now, I'm free anyway."

Vivienne sent Sophia a big virtual hug, "Dear Sophia, you truly are a kind-hearted angel!"

True to the praise of being an "angel," Sophia came early the next day to Vivienne's dorm to pick up Cathy. She helped Cathy pack her clothes and toys and reassured Vivienne as they parted, "Cousin, don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

With this big problem solved, Vivienne felt much lighter and almost hummed a tune on her way to work. There was a case analysis meeting scheduled for that day, and she could finally focus on the meeting without having to entertain a child outside the conference room.

During the meeting, photos of the six bodies were presented in a slideshow on the projector screen. The discussion was heated. The six cases had many commonalities: the method of murder, the victims were all young women with marginal jobs, the time of death was around 1 a.m., and the locations were in secluded alleys in the urban-rural fringe of the city. The detectives concluded:

The six cases were clearly serial, likely committed by the same individual or group;The victims did not suffer any financial loss nor were they sexually assaulted, suggesting the perpetrator was not motivated by greed or lust but rather a twisted vendetta against society;The six victims had no known connections to each other, indicating the perpetrator chose their victims randomly. The interval between murders was about four months, as if the perpetrator was following a meticulously planned schedule

Following the meeting, the detective squad established several key tasks: continue to investigate the social relationships, work environments, and activities of the victims prior to their deaths; probe the city's entertainment venues and their staff for clues; and closely monitor accident-prone locations and their surrounding transient populations.

After work, Vivienne hurried to Sophia's place to visit Cathy, not forgetting this was a task assigned by the department. She even stopped by a KFC to buy a takeout family bucket as dinner.

Cathy was thrilled to see the family bucket. She grabbed a large chicken wing and pushed it towards Sophia, "Sophia, eat!" Vivienne laughed, "Ha, just one day with Sophia and you're already so close? You little ingrate, Vivienne has been with you for three days!"

Cathy snuggled up to Sophia and made a face at Vivienne. Sophia wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek. Vivienne was pleased, "Sophie, thank you! Cathy seems much livelier than before!" Sophia quietly said, "No child isn't lively; they just need to know someone truly loves them."

Vivienne looked at Sophia with sympathy, knowing that her cousin must have been reminded of her own upbringing. Sophia, raised solely by her mother, must have also had a lonely childhood.