It's not Over Yet

James said, 'Sir; you had the same feeling about Clarissa Sherman. We talked to her and her phone records prove that she called Sineas that night at eleven o'clock. She also claimed that the call concerned the recovery of Justin Foyer's body. Are you also forgetting, sir, that we actually visited the Murphys' neighbour and he confirmed everything Sineas told us?' He sighed and leaned towards the inspector. He clasped his hands on top of the desk. 'Maybe it's time we accept defeat, sir. Maybe…' he shrugged, '…Maybe it's time to call in the big guns upstairs.'

'Do you know that I saw Freddy Krueger in church last Sunday, James?'

'I think I saw him too,' said James. 'Wasn't he the one who was on the pulpit, preaching the sermon on mercy?'

'No, James, that was Jack the Ripper. Krueger was in the praise and worship choir.'

They both laughed out loud.

The inspector said, 'James, the suggestion you're making, that we should make fools of ourselves by admitting to the public that we failed to find the serial killer we promised to apprehend…soon, is a death sentence for us. And now that we've released news of the death of the doctor, how long do you think our heads will stay on our necks? Do you think that the nation would feel any safer if they found out that not only have we not found the person behind the murders, but we do not have much substantiating evidence that could lead to a possible arrest? Calling in the detectives would be just another way of telling the people that the Malrich Police Department is not competent enough to keep them safe. That we're only good for cleaning up the crumbs and not the heavier work. That is why, James, we shall not be calling anyone for anything! This is our mess and we shall clean it up ourselves!'

The inspector's closing statement brought an end to the conversation and began a long, strict stillness in the room.

'How's Martha?' James asked.

Charles rubbed his face. 'She's losing it…if she hasn't already. Worse, Sabrina goes to that school. She could easily have been one of those victims!'

'But no one knows, right?'

'Knows what?'

'That she's your daughter?'

'Remember, James that our surnames are never revealed to anyone except those in the Department, and the mayor, who happens to keep most of our personal records. If it was obligatory to use our surnames then Martha and I would have even more reasons to fear for our daughter's life. Although…' the inspector folded his arms. He stared reminiscently towards the door.

'What is it, sir?'

'About a week ago, I came home to find Martha done preparing dinner and we had a little chat about work. After the conversation, she decided to call Sabrina downstairs for dinner but she didn't answer back. I figured that maybe she had her headphones on; you know how kids are attached to their gadgets these days. But suddenly, Sabrina starts yelling her lungs out from inside her room, the wife is panicking and then ultimately, I start panicking as well. I rush upstairs and as soon as I get to her door, the lights…all the lights in the house just go off. I thought to myself that this phenomenon is conceivable since we had been having electrical problems in the house for a while. Here I am, James, a panicking father with a daughter on the other side of the door but I can't get to her because I can't seem to open it. I knew the door had problems, she had told me that before and I had promised to fix it, but I also knew how to work it…how to make it open. But this time, nothing just seemed to work. When I started losing it, it was when she said…"Daddy, there's someone in here". That's when I knew I had to bypass the handle and break down the door. And after twelve-and-some kicks, I broke through. I searched the room from top to bottom and there was nothing…outside the window; nothing. As my little girl was crying in my arms, I asked her what had happened and she said she didn't know. But…listen to this, James; she said she thought she saw a shadow by her window, and the bloody thing was moving towards her the whole time we were trying to get the door open.'

'A shadow?' James asked with no shortage of curiosity. The inspector's story had somehow sparked up his adrenaline and exiled his exhaustion. He was fully awake.

'Yes, James,' said the inspector, 'a shadow or unclear human form right there within the darkness of her room. And she also said it was carrying something very long in its hand.'

'So, sir, you're thinking that this was our killer and whatever was in the "shadow's" hand was the axe?'

He nodded slowly. He went on, 'And that same night Sabrina said she saw the shadow was the same day we talked to Clarissa Sherman and Sineas Murphy at their school, James.'

James immediately began shaking his head. 'I don't know, sir. This looks like another wild goose chase. Isn't it more possible that the shadow Sabrina thinks she saw was fear induced? Because I've actually heard about stuff like that.'

'James, she said the shadow moved. She said it was walking towards her, and my little girl doesn't scare easy.'

James sighed, now ruffling his hair slowly with his hand. 'So, sir, you think that this…this shadow was Sineas Murphy trying to send you some sort of message by killing your daughter?'

The inspector shrugged, his eyes looking as sincere as possible trying to win James over.

He moved his hands from his head to his eyes. 'This is somewhat of a long stretch, sir. I believe you when you say the Murphys are an unusual bunch, but this shadow theory? And you never even heard the person jump out the window. And as far as merciless professional murderers go, I don't think this kid fits the criteria.'

'James, don't be daft. I've already told you; there's no such thing as a professional murderer. You don't grade killers by their wicked talents. You grade them by their mistakes and what we have on this family is a lot of mistakes.'

'Sir, I know that the axe killer is sick and evil but Sineas Murphy? An eighteen year old, sir?'

'Alright, fine. His mother then. Her records do state that she's smart.'

'Yes, sir, but she was still locked up in the asylum when Foyer and Bale were murdered, remember? We checked the records at the hospital this afternoon.'

The inspector began tapping his fingers on the desk. Then his foot. When he finally stopped he was smiling. He stared directly at James. He said, 'I guess that leaves one more Murphy.'

'His aunt,' James said nodding. It wasn't clear whether his superior had won him over. He looked like he was thinking about it. He added, 'What do we know about her anyway?'

The inspector replied, 'She looks like the quiet type, and as we heard from Sineas this afternoon, she loves to take jogs. When we drive through Malrich, most joggers always go for Renhain Road all the way to the supermarkets, about two to three kilometres in all. And since this is all we know about Janice Murphy, we're going to have to dig a little deeper.'

'Where can we start, sir?' James asked him eagerly, snatching his hat from the table and getting onto his feet.

'I want her medical records, bank statements, the routes she takes when she goes out for her jogs, her hobbies, the people in her work place (how they know her and what she does during work, the times she calls, how long the calls last) and especially her activities during the nightshifts. We need to find everything, James. I can feel it in my gut. If Sineas is neither the killer nor his mother then his aunt is the jackpot.'

'So, Sineas and his mother are off the hook, sir?' James asked still standing at attention.

Inspector Charles scratched his moustache, staring blankly at the door. 'Yeah, sure. The cheeky little goblin and his mother can take a breather…for now. But that only implies if Plan B doesn't work out.'

'Do you think Plan B will work on that kid, sir? Because I think I'm sticking to my opinion that that boy could never commit three murders of such a degree.'

'James, listen to me. All these three are suspects until they are proven innocent…or until they prove themselves innocent. The mayor is already breathing down my neck, talking about results and demotions if he doesn't get the killer in cuffs soon. So that's our plan: us two will investigate the aunt. I'll put three more men on the search for the mother and we'll let Plan B take care of the son.'