"This is what you guys missed while you were gone," Chris tells us and drops a tablet with case files on Dad's desk. "Two more murders and there's been another. I'm heading over there now. Meet you three there." Chris walks away before Dad can say anything.
"Great." He mutters. "Another fucking crime scene."
"Not even a day after we get back and we already have to deal with another murder." I groan.
"Mine as well get it over with," Dad says as he gets up.
"We can go over the case files on the other two murders in the car," Connor says, getting up as well and grabbing the tablet.
I nod. "Sounds good."
The three of us walk out of the precinct and to Dad's car. I sit in the middle of the backseat so I can peek over Connor's shoulder to look at the case files. Dad starts the car and we're off to the crime scene.
"It looks like the murders we're just like the other ones. Victims are androids, they were torn apart by hand, and their right eyes were taken out with a knife after they were shut down." Connor says, reading the files as he scrolls through.
"How the fuck do they rip them apart by hand?" Dad asks.
"Beats me," I mumble with a shrug.
"If you bend the limbs the right way they can break just as easily as a human's and then our killer can rip the limbs off from there," Connor says, not looking at us and still at the tablet in his hands.
"Shit. That sounds painful." Dad mumbles.
"Yeah..." Connor trails off. I can see that he's troubled by this.
"So there's no evidence linking us to our killer?" I ask.
"No. And the victim's family and friends all say that they had no enemies and everyone loved them."
I groan. "What the hell."
"What if it's not someone they knew?" Dad suggests.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"If the victims were loved by their family and friends and nobody has a clue on who could have done it, what if it was someone they didn't know. Someone who just despises androids."
Connor looks over at Dad. "That could be a possibility, but that just makes this case even more complicated than it was before."
"Is there anything else that the file says?" I ask Connor.
He looks back down at the tablet and shakes his head. "Besides the fact that our killer hid the victim's heads in different spots then no."
Dad's eyebrows scrunch in confusion. "What do you mean the killer hid the heads in different spots?"
"Well our first victim, Linda Martin, her head was found in the bedroom according to Gavin. Our other two victim's heads weren't found in the bedroom. Elaine Walker, our second victim, her head was found on the kitchen counter and then Christian Flores' head was found in the bathroom."
"So our killer likes to play hide and seek with the victim's heads." I deadpan.
"That's fucking sick!" Dad exclaims.
"This is just a game to them," I mutter. "We're dealing with a serial killer now."
"We could be dealing with a psychopath. Someone who fits in society better and can lead a semblance of a normal life." Dad says with a shrug.
"Possibly. But we can't really know without proper evidence." Connor says.
It becomes silent between the three of us. Neither of us saying a word until Dad finally pulls up to the crime scene. Once at the crime scene we all get out and head inside, pushing through the crowd of people and reporters.
"Alright Chris. Give us the rundown." Dad says as he sees Chris outside of the house.
"Victim's names are Donna Peterson and Luis." Chris starts.
"Victims? There's two of them?" I ask.
Chris nods. "Yeah. It seems like it's the same killer that killed our other victims. Looks like they bumped up their game."
We walk into the house and just like the last crime scene we were at, the victims are in the living room, tied to a chair.
"One's a human and the other's an android," Dad says as he looks at the bodies in front of him.
Donna Peterson is the human because she has a single bullet right in the center of her head, her wound still leaking out red blood. There's a gag in her mouth that is getting stained with the blood from the bullet wound. Luis, on the other hand, was ripped apart like the other victims, his limbs and blue blood all over the living room.
"They're killing humans now?" I ask.
"Seems like it," Chris says. "Neighbors heard the gunshot and one witness says they saw a Caucasian male with blond hair."
"Oh great. Like that fucking helps." Dad mutters.
"Every little bit helps Dad," I say to him.
"There's a note," Connor says and walks towards a wall with a note attached to it.
We follow him. He takes the note off the wall and reads it.
"'We don't bleed the same blood.'" Connor reads.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dad says.
"If it helps, Donna and Luis were roommates. Donna used to own Luis but after the revolution she let Luis stay with her. According to her family and friends, they were really good friends." Chris speaks up.
"So maybe our killer just hates seeing humans and androids living together...?" I say more as a question.
"Are there any fingerprints on the letter?" Dad asks.
Connor scans the letter and shakes his head. "No. None."
"They were smart enough to type the letter too so we can't analyze the handwriting," I mumble.
"How long ago did this happen?" Dad looks at Chris.
"A little less than an hour ago. Killer came in through the window it seems. It was opened when we got here so they could've climbed in."
"Heads up!" Gavin yells.
Something is chucked into the air and Connor runs to catch it. When Connor looks down he finds the head of Luis in his hands. A gag in his mouth and his eye wide open.
"Gavin you could've damaged the head if Connor didn't catch it." Dad scolds him.
Gavin scoffs. "I knew the plastic Ken doll was going to catch it."
Connor glares at Gavin before looking at the head in his hands. "Same signature," Connor says as he looks at where the right eye that was taken out of Luis' head.
"Killer could've threatened our victims with the gun, tied them to the chair, and then killed them." Gavin shrugs.
"Could be, but we still have to look around," I say to him.
"Yeah, it was just a suggestion."
"Gavin and I can check the kitchen. You two can check the bedroom." I say to them.
They nod and we disperse. The two of us head to the kitchen and look around. Nothing seems to be disturbed or out of place. There's nothing missing, it looks like either.
"You doing anything exciting this week, Squirt?" Gavin asks as he takes a look around.
I shake my head. "Nothing really. I mean I have a little fun project... shit."
"What?" Gavin quickly turns to face me to make sure everything's okay.
"I forgot career day is this week. Instead of dressing up as what we want to be, we're bringing in our parents to tell our classmates what they do. I forgot to tell Dad about it."
Gavin chuckles. "Oh I can only imagine how that'll go."
"He'll traumatize those kids." I chuckle along with him.
Connor and Dad come into the kitchen. "We found something," Connor says.
"Good because we got nothing," Gavin says.
"What's up?" I ask.
"We found a bullet in the wall. Our killer sent a warning shot at Luis in the bedroom. Donna heard it and dropped her book she was reading on the couch and came into the bedroom to check what the commotion was about. Gavin was right when he said our killer threatened the victims with the gun." Connor explains.
"How do you know Donna was reading the book and not Luis?" I ask.
"Her fingerprints are on the book."
"Oh." Is all I say.
"But is there anything on who our killer might be?" Gavin asks.
Dad shakes his head. "Nothing."
Gavin throws his hands up in the air. "Figures." He mutters.
I sigh. "Well, I guess we should head back to the station. We have people we have to question." I say.
The three of them nod and we all head out back to the police station.
'Five murders, no suspects, and no evidence. They're bound to make a mistake eventually, right?'
—ASE715