Chapter 9: Investigating the Missing Cases

Aryan sat across from IPS Officer Naina Rathore, forcing himself to stay focused. His mind was still reeling from the fact that he had completely lost himself in her presence earlier. But now, with her sharp gaze locked onto him, he pushed all those thoughts aside.

This wasn't the time for distractions.

Naina flipped through a file before speaking. "Meera Sharma's case isn't the only one like this."

Aryan leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

She slid a few papers across the desk. Aryan picked them up and scanned through them. Four other missing persons reports. Each of them eerily similar to Meera's case.

"All of them disappeared under mysterious circumstances," Naina explained. "Young professionals. No sign of forced entry or struggle. And their phones were all switched off the moment they went missing."

Aryan's grip on the papers tightened. "And the bodies?"

Naina hesitated. "Not all of them were found. Some are still missing."

A chill ran down Aryan's spine. Still missing?

"How long ago did the first case happen?" he asked.

"Nearly two years ago," Naina said. "The first official report came in eighteen months back, but there were a few disappearances before that too. At first, the cases were treated separately. But once the pattern started forming, we realized it was bigger than we thought."

Aryan looked at the names again. Each victim had vanished without a trace.

He exhaled sharply. "So there's a serial killer on the loose, and the police still don't have any leads?"

Naina's expression darkened. "We do have a few theories, but no solid suspects. Whoever is doing this knows how to cover their tracks. No fingerprints. No surveillance footage. No witnesses."

Aryan felt frustration bubbling inside him. "There has to be something. Some kind of connection between the victims."

Naina nodded. "That's exactly what we've been trying to find. But apart from their age and profession, nothing else links them."

Aryan's mind raced. What if the connection wasn't about their jobs, but something else?

"What about their social lives?" he asked. "Were they in the same friend circles? Did they visit the same places?"

Naina glanced at him, intrigued. "We considered that. Some of them had mutual friends, but nothing concrete. No specific place that ties them together."

Aryan rubbed his temples. "So we have missing people, a possible killer, and no real clues?"

"Not exactly," Naina said. "There's one thing."

She pulled out another file and opened it. Inside was a map with red markings.

"These are the locations where the bodies were found," she explained.

Aryan leaned in. The locations were scattered, but there was a pattern.

"They're all near deserted areas," he muttered.

Naina nodded. "Exactly. Forests, abandoned buildings, riverbanks. Places where no one would find the bodies immediately."

Aryan exhaled. "And Meera was found near one of these places."

"Yes," Naina confirmed. "That means whoever did this knows the city well."

Aryan's thoughts were spinning. If they could figure out how the killer chooses his locations, they might be able to predict his next move.

Karan's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. "So what do we do now?"

Naina closed the file. "We start digging deeper. If the killer is following a pattern, we're going to find it."

Aryan nodded. "Then let's get to work."

Little did they know, they will be in for a big surprise.