Act 1.4 Search for the Serial Killer

Already sitting in her car, she gazed thoughtfully at the forest. A suspicion crept into her mind: what if Victor was the killer? Everything seemed to fit too perfectly. No one would question what he was doing in the forest. He knew the area and all the people well.

"I can't accuse anyone without evidence. I'll check the camera recordings," she thought, though the desire to search his office grew now that she had the opportunity.

Starting the car, she headed to the office located on the outskirts of the city. The small building was only one story tall. Parking in front of the facade, she got out of the car and approached the door. She inserted the key and opened it, stepping inside.

"The recordings should be on the computer," she figured.

Finding Victor's office, she sat down at his desk. Pressing the power button, she waited for the computer to boot up. Her eyes fell on the documents lying on the desk. Curiosity got the best of her, and she started flipping through them.

"No forest fires reported," read one of the reports, filled with various data. Putting it aside, she picked up the next one.

"Poacher Thomas Kirk, caught fishing in a prohibited area," read a document on violations. There were a few more sheets detailing other poachers.

Most of the papers on the desk were work-related documents. There were also several shelves she opened. The first one contained various office supplies like staplers, staples, and other similar items. The next pile of papers were reports from previous months. The last drawer wouldn't open—it seemed locked.

Looking around, she couldn't find anything to open the drawer with, so she decided to leave it for later. She turned back to the computer. Opening the file explorer, she navigated to the folder containing video files. Inside, they were sorted by days. Watching all of them would take too long, so she had to figure out which ones to focus on.

"Where's the report on the animals? It should be here somewhere," Emily muttered to herself, rifling through the documents.

After sorting through all the papers, she finally found what she needed.

"Ah, here it is. The first case was on May 4th, the day after the city murder. Suspicious," she noted, searching for that day's folder, but it wasn't there.

"Where is it? Emily, what's wrong with you? You were told the cameras were only set up recently," she reminded herself.

Opening the next available date, she found a video. It seemed Victor had set up the cameras after the first incident. This made her think he might be innocent—or trying to divert suspicion.

As she watched a video of a simple forest landscape, a shadow flashed in front of the camera. A bird, probably, she thought. The next clip showed a boar wandering into a clearing, foraging in the ground. After a few minutes of video, there was suddenly interference. The animal jumped, looking around as if startled, then bolted forward, and the video ended. The next video was from a different camera. At first, nothing happened, then suddenly the boar rushed in, likely captured by the next camera. As the animal ran into the bushes, blood sprayed everywhere, and the leaves shook violently. A silhouette—either human or something else—was barely visible to the camera, rising up and quickly disappearing.

Opening folder after folder, she saw similar videos, all showing the same impossible-to-distinguish figure. What stood out, however, was the clothing. It closely resembled what had been found earlier.

"I'm on the right track," Emily thought, finishing up with the videos.

Unexpectedly, she decided to search Victor's office, despite knowing how absurd her suspicions were. She needed to be sure of her long-time acquaintance's innocence.

"Where did he keep his tools?" Amber wondered aloud.

She needed something to pry open the locked drawer. Stepping outside, she headed toward the back of the building where the storage shed was located. The door had a heavy lock, far too secure for her to open easily.

"I need to find another way in," Emily thought.

There should be a window above; she vaguely remembered the layout from a previous visit. She needed a way to climb up. Spotting a trash bin, she dragged it over to the side where the roof sloped lower, right above the veranda. Climbing onto the bin, she hoisted herself up onto the roof of the veranda. Moving cautiously along the roof, she made her way toward the window. Luckily, it wasn't made of metal, otherwise, she never would have been able to walk across it without making noise.

Opening the window, she peeked inside. It was the storage shed where confiscated traps, weapons, and other items taken from poachers were kept. A variety of traps hung on one of the walls, some of them enormous, likely for bears. Finally spotting a crowbar, she grabbed it and climbed back down, using the makeshift ladder she had set up. Closing the window behind her, she returned to the office. Using the crowbar, she jammed it into the drawer and forced it open with a sharp push. Inside the drawer lay a revolver and ammunition.

"There was a revolver bullet mentioned in the report, wasn't there?" Amber recalled, thinking about the incident involving the murder of the police officer.

The weapon had never been found, and the caliber of the bullet matched the one discovered at the crime scene. Wearing a glove, she pushed the gun aside. In the drawer, there were also papers listing times and street names.

"These seem to be patrol schedules, with vehicle numbers and streets noted," she said to herself, growing even more suspicious.

There wasn't much else in the drawer. But why would Victor need the police patrol schedules? Setting that mystery aside for later, she continued searching the room for anything else that might be incriminating. On one of the shelves, she found an old newspaper.

"A woman with a mental illness becomes a successful author of science fiction novels," Emily read aloud. The article explained that despite being unable to move or write herself, the woman had nurses who learned to transcribe her speech, allowing her to continue creating books.

"You never know what life will bring," Amber remarked.

As she continued her search, she stopped at a wall where a map of the area hung, marked with the locations of the animal killings. Deciding Victor wouldn't mind, she took it down and rolled it up to take with her. As she moved to open the next drawer, she heard a knock on the wooden doorframe. Startled, she jumped, and her eyes landed on Victor, standing in the doorway of his office.

"If you need something, you could've just asked," he said, frowning, but without anger in his voice. It seemed possible he had been watching her search the room.

"Yeah, I've seen enough, just thought I'd tidy up a bit. It's a mess in here," Amber blurted out, trying to come up with a flimsy excuse. From Victor's raised eyebrow, she knew immediately how ridiculous it sounded. His office was practically spotless, everything in its place.

"Alright," Victor said, his tone neutral, "did you find what you were looking for?"

Amber couldn't tell if he was referring to the video footage or her snooping around the office. "Yes, I think I'm on the right track. I should go now—there's a lot to think about and I need to move forward," she replied firmly, masking the nervousness that gnawed at her.

Victor simply nodded, walking toward his desk. Amber almost dashed out of the room at that point.

"Amber," Victor called out as she reached the door.

"Yes?" She turned around, trying to keep calm.

"Be careful," he warned. As he stood behind his desk, his eyes flicked down to the open drawers.

"Of course," she said quickly, and hurried out.

Victor watched her the entire time as she got into her car. Only after she drove away, disappearing from sight, did he glance back down at the exposed drawers.

"You've always been sharp," Victor murmured to himself.

Meanwhile, Amber struggled to calm the trembling in her hands as she drove. She had confronted him, tested her suspicions, and despite the little signs she'd uncovered, she couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal. Victor wouldn't kill—not the Victor she had known for years. But then again, she remembered his time in the military, his cold, detached stare. He had served in combat zones, killed before. Maybe there was more to him than she had ever realized.

Finally reaching her home, exhaustion settled on her face. Despite that, she immediately began organizing everything she'd discovered. She carefully examined the map with the locations of the animal killings, comparing it to her own more detailed city maps. As she transferred the coordinates, a pattern began to emerge.

"Of course, the abandoned mansion," Amber muttered to herself.

Gathering all the information she had, Amber knew she had to act fast. She rushed to the police station to share her findings with the captain, confident that they now had enough evidence to send a team and capture the killer.

When she arrived at the station, the officers were still on high alert, as the emergency situation had not yet been lifted. This was the reality of their jobs—always being on edge, ready to respond to a crisis at any moment.

Approaching the captain's office, Amber knocked and stepped inside.

"Captain," Amber addressed him.

"Amber, any updates on the case?" the captain asked.

"Yes, I think I've found the killer's hideout." She spread out the map she brought with her and pointed to the abandoned mansion.

"You believe he's hiding there?" the captain asked.

"I'm sure of it," Amber confirmed.

"Alright, we move out," the captain ordered. As he exited the office, he immediately caught the attention of the officers. "Officers, we've got an important mission. Listen up. Detective Amber will brief you on the details," he said, yielding the floor to his colleague.

"During the investigation, we uncovered evidence suggesting the killer's possible location: an abandoned mansion. Based on our analysis, the clothes we found carry distinct odors, microbes, and other environmental traces characteristic of such places. Additionally, his hunting grounds are in the nearby forest, with the murder sites clustered close by. All signs point to the mansion being his base," Amber explained.

"You heard her," the captain added. "Arm yourselves. If necessary, we'll take him down by force. The moment he moves a finger the wrong way, open fire. This bastard will pay for his crimes."

Five officers, suited up in bulletproof vests, some armed with shotguns, prepared for the operation. Three patrol cars headed toward the suspected hideout. Amber rode in the last car, accompanied by Frank.