Hidden Urges

Weeks had already passed since the death of Ms. Sorrel and people had stopped demanding answers as to what could happen to her. Businesses had been blooming and Astera is still running. The signature noises of the city are still there, welcoming the morning.

The answers might have been stopped but the questions remain. At the police station, everyone is moving as fast as they can to solve each and every crime the city's mystery killer but Major was still struck by the urge to run away from the city and never come back.

He had been trying to forget his encounter with the one who found Ms. Sorrel's body under the bridge and his grandson. But the memory still remains in Major's subconscious. Some nights, he kept on dreaming of the young man who is trying to kill him. Some night, he feels as if someone is trying to choke him in his sleep.

He shrugs the feeling and focuses on his work. There is a load of work since Ms. Sorrel died. The chief gave them five victims for each detective to examine if they were able to find any connections or vital clues that had been missed out from the initial investigation.

Detective Lilibush sighs as he laid back in his chair and massages his temples. "Are you okay, Sir?" Major asked, noticing the slight black circles under the detective's eyes. Lilibush just shakes his head and releases a heavy sigh.

"This damn shit of a killer is giving me headaches," he said, staring at his desk that is filled with unending paperwork. "I have been reading all of his victims' profiles since it was given to us but I haven't found any vital clues or evidence," he added, lifting the folders of profiles and slapping them onto the table, hoping that it will do something in return.

"I agree with you," Major said, sighing for the umpteenth time as he flips the pages of profiles in front of him. They both heave a heavy sigh when one of the members of the forensic team entered the office.

"Hello, may I have your attention please," she announced. All of the detectives on the station looked at her with enthusiasm.

"We re-examined the evidence in every crime scene and we found some DNA in three of the victims. It might be our killer or it could help us identify three unknown victims," she explained. Suddenly, the detectives were encouraged by what they hear.

The chief was also amazed by what the forensic team had discovered. This could be their major breakthrough after years of searching. The chief approached the lady and asks her to go to the conference room before commanding all of the detectives to go to the conference room for an important meeting.

They contacted the other officers patrolling the city for this important meeting. Hours later, the conference room is filled with police officers, investigators, detectives, the forensic team, and the chief of police.

They all sat down comfortably and pulled out their notebooks to scribble notes for the biggest crime in the history of Emir City.

"Okay, since everyone is here now, I will start by describing what we call the marks of the killer," she said.

"Most of his victims were killed not by a knife, or gun but by what the victim has at that moment. For example, the victim that was found on the alleyway weeks ago, the murder weapon that was stabbed in her eye was one of the makeup brushes she has in her bag.

Another example is victim number 4 who was identified by his colleagues, Mr. Alder Scott, who apparently has a paintbrush in his bag which was used as a tool for killing him," she explained.

"By these pieces of evidence and similarities in the ways that the victims were killed, we can conclude that they were killed by the same killer," she then added. Everything that she said was taken down by detectives.

There is a pause in the presentation and then another forensic member comes up to the stage to explain the possible description of the killer.

"This is the killer's profile based on how the victims were killed. First, the killer could be a female with a height of approximately 160 centimeters tall and a weight of 121 pounds.

As we know, she already has 46 dead victims under her name. We also believe that she is in her mid-30s with no other relatives. As of now, these are the only information that we have," she explains.

Cantaloupe raised his hand and asked, "What about the case of Ms. Sorrel? Isn't she also a victim of our killer?" A forensic doctor came up the stage to answer his question, "I am sorry to inform you all but Ms. Sorrel is not one of her victims," she said, which shocks the investigators present at the said meeting.

"What do you mean?" Lilibush asked. "The killer's DNA was all over the place and the way she was killed is very different from our 46 victims. The killer is also identified as Mr. Florence Louis, a gardener who has a motive as to why he killed her," she explains. Sighs of frustrations surround the conference room.

But one person is not yet satisfied with the information given by the forensic as if something was not right. Amongst the victims of their killer, how come only three are identified?

What about the other 43 victims? Is the killer the only one who could identify them? Does she even know who they are? Thousands of questions still remain and this murder mystery is still unsolved.

After the meeting, Lilibush and Major went to the canteen to grab something to eat. When Lilibush suddenly receives a phone call coming from Astera. "This is Detective Lilibush speaking," he said.

"Hello, this is one of the florists working for Astera. We received a letter from Mr. Crantylle, inviting Ms. Sorrel to another party. But the letter looks very suspicious. Can you please come on by to check it?" She asked.

Detective Lilibush looked at Major confusedly and he answered, "Yeah, sure. We will be on our way." The girl on the other line hummed and hung up. She sounded way more suspicious than the letter sent to them so as a precaution, Major, and Lilibush brought their weapons with them just in case something will happen.

But what baffles them more is the question of Mr. Crantylle not knowing that Ms. Sorrel had died. As far as both of them had a concern, that information is all over social media and the news. With that in thought, they hop on the vehicle and drives down the city to the flower shop and park near Primula, which is owned by Mr. Sage.

They got out of the vehicle when Mr. Sage comes out of the alleyway that separates his shop from the restaurant while carrying a pot of plant that is way bigger than him. Mr. Sage sees the two detectives so he greets them out with a sweet smile on his face.

"Detectives!" Mr. Sage greets them. Both detectives turn their heads to the source of the greeting and see Mr. Sage walking towards them. "Mr. Sage, hello," Major replied with a smile on his face.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" He asked them. "We are going to Astera," Lilibush answered. "At this hour? Oh, no, no, no. Never patrol this area at this hour. It will be your greatest mistake. Come inside, I will explain to you," he frantically said, not waiting for their replies, and grabbed them inside his shop. He opened the door for the detectives and let them in.

"Would like something to drink as I explain?" He asked them. "No, thank you," Lilibush declined. "Okay." The florist answered and sits down behind the counter. He clears his throat and begins his story.

"So, it all started when Mr. Crantylle moved to the city and build hundreds of other businesses here like flower shops and restaurants then he offers the people who wanted to do business to take his businesses in exchange for parties every Saturday.

Ms. Sorrel took the wonderful offer since she loves partying and socializing with people with power. She has been invited to each party and every party has a different destination. But Mr. Crantylle is no politician, just a simple businessman with tons of money.

He was known as the Corporate King of Emir City. But something changed when his wife died and most of the parties Ms. Sorrel attended also died. The party stops and the people who took the offer went missing, we don't know where they went.

Some think that they are all dead and some think that they just moved to other cities and start their own business there. But nothing is for sure to those theories and the reason why I stopped you from going to Astera at this hour is that Ms. Sorrel's florists are all daughters of Mr. Florence Louis, her gardener." He explains.

Both of the detectives were shocked by the sudden revelation from the florist. "How do you know Florence Louis?" Lilibush asked. "He was also my gardener for about two years but after what happened six months ago, I fired him as my gardener and I looked for another one. Good thing Mrs. Mildred has a son who loves gardening so I hired him," he answered.

"What happened six months ago?" Major curiously asked. The florist looked at them straight in the eyes and smiled.

"Mr. Ianthe Garance died."

x-x-x-x

The florist's answer gave them more questions than answers. But Lilibush who looked baffled when he heard the name suggests that he either knew him or heard his name before.

For Major, he can't erase the florist's expression when he said in his last answer. They thank him for the story and for the warning and went on their way back to the police station.

Major confusedly looked at Lilibush and thinking if he would ask him about Mr. Garance or not when Lilibush suddenly spoke, "It can't be. I just talked to him 2 months ago. He looks very alive and well."

"What do you mean, Detective?" Major asked. "Ianthe Garance. He is Chief Moss's son." He declares.

Major was baffled by what he heard. How can a florist like Mr. Sage know who Mr. Garance is? And how did he die? They drove as fast as they can until they reach the police station when Cantaloupe stopped them from entering and said, "They found the chief son's body in a swamp near Peter's Creek. The forensic claims that he had died for about five to six months now because of his body severely decomposing already."

So, it is true. Just like what the florist had said, Mr. Ianthe Garance is dead and the forensic can't figure if he was killed or he committed suicide. One thing is for sure, the chief is mad and he won't stop unless justice is served.