Facts concerning the case are still inconclusive, Masumi read. However, it is clear that the resulting verdict of innocence was acceptable. Even though Wiru Gureamu was found with the murder weapon in his hand, there was no evidence to suspect he pulled the trigger. Further investigation and medical records show that the investigator was most likely having a seizure when the doctor was shot.
"Spying on me?" the dog asked, standing symmetrically in the doorway.
Masumi quickly clicked out of the window.
"Agent Gureamu," she greeted.
"I understand your uneasiness with me," he said, stepping into her office and closing the door. "Believe me, I would too if someone like me showed up in my city."
"I wasn't-"
"There's no point in lying to me," he said, raising a hand. "Is there anything I can clear up?"
The dog sat with clasped hands in a chair across from her desk. He was in the same get up from early that morning, his face soft, though she could tell his expression could harden at the blink of an eye.
"The report says the murder weapon was found in your hand, though you weren't the one who pulled the trigger."
"Yes," Wiru said. "I was in a seizure induced by my psychologist. He was supposed to be helping me with my condition, but instead decided to play around with my mental stability."
"And this doctor is the same one you mentioned in the report?"
"Yes," he said. "He has since gotten away, but it's sort of a passion project of mine to find him. And now you are thinking that sounds insane, well you're not the only one."
"What is this condition?" she asked cautiously. The canine's behavior had become seemingly very aggressive in just a few seconds.
"No one's entirely sure," he said in a calmer state. "I believe myself to be on some spectrum. My doctor called it 'pure empathy', though I'm not sure how much I can believe him. My colleagues like to think of me as a sociopath. It depends on who you ask really."
"What about in the alley?"
"Simply interpreting the evidence," he said.
"I've seen many people interpret evidence," she stated. "But not in the way you have."
"That's my way to interpret evidence."
"It says in the report, you killed another killer, who you say was set on you by your doctor."
"That was in self defense," he responded with a smirk that stayed on his face longer than the police chief felt comfortable with. The federal agent didn't remove the look from his face.
"I just want to make sure the people working in my city aren't the killers they track," she said.
"No need to worry," Wiru said, still smirking. "I'm not the one beating people to death with piping."
"Why are you here?" Masumi asked, changing the subject.
"There's not much I can do with the evidence you have," he said. "Everything has been cleaned from the crime scenes so I can't really do anything in that department, and your own profile is pretty solid as is. We know where he's located, it's just a matter of trapping him. I'm here to bring you a message from the guard."
"What?"
"The guard will be here in a few days," he answered, leaning back. "We'll have the strength then to take The Drusk."
"Is that all?" she asked.
"No," he said, leaning forward again; His hands never unclasped in his lap. "I'm here to help you catch this killer of killers."
"But you said so yourself that it was a one time kill," Masumi said. "That he'd never kill again"
"Oh come now Masumi," he snickered, looking her directly in the eye. "I know you've heard of a white lie."
That smirk made her uneasy again. And he had used her first name, which she had never used in front of him. He had done his own research. But how much?
"What makes you so sure he'll kill again?" she asked.
"When I was in the alley," he said, going into a half trance again. "I killed him out of an impulse. I didn't know what I was doing and just wanted him dead. I beat him with that pipe and left him struggling in the alley, barely holding on. He died later, after I left. And I felt something. It was a feeling I had never felt before. For the first time I felt in control of something and it was so good."
He snapped back to reality, looking at her with a blank expression as he gasped in his breath.
"Our killer lives within walking distance of the crime scene," he said. "Based on the wounds, I can guess the killer is around one point seven to one point nine meters tall. The DNA doesn't match anyone in the criminal database, so it's someone who's never killed before, or done anything for that matter. A fresh killer is always more interesting to me."
"What radius would you suggest from the crime scene?" she asked. "I can have patrols drive around the area."
"Suspects will most likely be someone directly affected by the events of the massacre," he said. "If at all possible you might want to look into the victims' families."
"Why are you helping a case you're not a part of?" she asked.
"I'm bored," he stated, matter-of-factly.
Masumi's phone rang, drawing her out of the conversion. She picked it up.
"Hello?" she answered.
Wiru stood and left her office.
"The...ex-chairman is here," said the receptionist. "Razor sent him a letter."
It's starting again, Masumi said to herself.
"Set him up with the agents," she said. "All information regarding Razor goes to them."
"Yes ma'am," he said before hanging up.
Masumi rubbed her temples again. With any luck, there wouldn't be as much damage as before, but the death toll would probably rise. She wouldn't be able to trust anything, or anyone. No, this wasn't the mindset of a police chief. These were the thoughts of a paranoid individual who had gotten very little sleep. Though that wasn't far off from her current state of mind. She opened up the file on Wiru again. Even professionals had no idea what his mental issues were. The man was an enigma, and a mentally volatile one at that. He was the only person that gave her the creeps, and she didn't like it.
Her phone rang again and she picked it up.
"Chief," said one of the agents from the other end. "Can we see you in interrogation room two please?"
"Be right there," she answered. Why did they need her? Hadn't they taken the case? She turned off her monitor and headed out of the office. She took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked to the room. She paused for a moment, remembering what had happened here. Her shoulder buzzed and she reached up to calm it. She stepped into the observation area, seeing the three agents from that morning.
"Have you seen Agent Gureamu?" asked the rhinoceros. "Last we heard, he had gone off to see you on that body in the alley."
"He left just before our guest arrived," she answered. She looked in on the interrogation and saw the young deer seated at the table. An envelope was on the table with two tickets splayed out with a razor blade.
"It's the same brand as the others," the wolf said. "We can authenticate that the handwriting is the same. He's not trying to hide."
"We're thinking it's a trap," the bear finished. "But we can't pass up such an opportunity to catch him."
"Be careful," Masumi warned. "There's no telling with Razor. You think he's leading into a trap, when in reality you're already stuck. We still don't know what he wants, or if this is the beginning of another cycle."
"Well, whatever it may be," the wolf said. "We have a place, day and time where we can catch him. I suggest we try."
"But we'll need your help," the rhino said. "The guard won't be here for a few more days, and we need men to carry this out."
"You're asking for my men?" she asked.
The herbivore nodded.
The horse sighed and looked back through the glass.
"He's going to have to be the one to pick his guest," she said. "We send him in with one of our men and Razor's going to catch on real fast."
"But if we can set up a perimeter and eyes in the crowd we may have a chance," the bear added.
Masumi was still pessimistic. They didn't know Razor like she did. She couldn't disagree because it was a solid plan and she couldn't think of a better one, but Razor had a back up. And a back up to his back up. They wouldn't be able to catch him this soon. They still had no idea what he looked like, the feed from the art gallery had proven fruitless.
"When's the show?" she asked.
"End of the week," the bear answered.
The horse laughed a little through her nose. They'd have to move quickly to set up a plan.