Chapter 5 (pt-1)

Alex was looking at the whiteboard before him. He had several files on the table waiting to be checked. His hands shook a bit looking at the files. Liam Foster’s file was compiled by his assistants. His hand opened the covers of the files. One by one he could see Liam Foster. His eyebrow squinted in the middle as the writings opened to him. Liam Foster is the CEO of the Porter’s Central Construction Company. He is known as one of the underdogs in the race of the real estate field. At a young age, he became the favorite of the city with multiple contracts falling into his hands. There had been several fingers pointed at the famous man, with the most important of them being his connection with the celebrated politician and the leader of the congress.

Alex made a face and turned the page. He would go for the summary from his assistant; there is no need for useless words like this. He thought and lit a cigar, putting it in his mouth, looking at the whiteboard, and then to the files. He tried to make a connection to the murder with the 100 faces. Orion says it is not 100 faces, but Alex cannot forget the scene. It is just like his previous cases. It was just like the case before.

‘How can no one notice what is going on?’ Alex grumbles as he watches the papers, using the smoke from the cigar to stop his mind from getting distracted.

“You are still stuck with the same theory? I thought we had overcome that idea.” Orion frowned at him. He had a pair of coffees in paper cups in his hand. There was dissatisfaction in Alex’s face; the coffee was not the one he had expected to get. Orion noticed his expression.

“I am not your assistant; I don’t know how to get that premium coffee. Drink what the office gives.” It was the coffee he had taken from the vending machine.

“They don’t have the roasted smell. To me, it is like that thin water juice.” Alex made a face, but he took the cup. He was craving it anyway.

“As I was saying, you are taking this too personally, Alex. You should not just make it as if this is the 100 faces, even if it is the news pressure.” Orion sighs as his eyes move to the whiteboard as well. The markers made him squint a bit.

“Can we go for the lien of an unknown murder first? I think we are rushing to this.” Alex tilted his head to peek at the board from his sitting position. He had his legs up on the table as he leaned back on the chair.

“It is…. Why…. I am looking at these files; I don’t want to conclude without any proof. I know the commissioner.” He admitted defeat but stayed true to his belief.

Orion sighed in relief; Alex was not someone unreasonable, but the hardheadedness that occurs at times can be poison. Even though Alex said he would not think it based on the 100 Faces case. Orion knew there was more in there.

“How long till Dr. Emily Hayes gives the report?” Alex asked as he went back to browsing through the file in his hand. Orion jerked his shoulders.

“It is going to take some time. There are bits and pieces left to check in her words.” Alex mumbled something, but it was inaudible.

“Was there any video footage of the area?”

Orion shook his head to answer that. “I am afraid there is none. I could not find any CCTV cameras or any shops… There is not even a homeless person living in that area.”

“This CEO ….” He turned the page back and forth as he addressed the case.

“This Liam Foster, he does seem like a shady man. This article praises him too much…. as if someone paid to write the appraisal of an object.” Alex put one file down and took the other one. Orion took the discarded file and turned the first page to check. They were pictures of articles taken from the internet.

“I thought you would be willing to check the phone for the information, but you are going old school.” He raised an eyebrow.

“You know I can’t think straight with all those gadgets; I have to think with the papers and boards,” Alex grumbled, frowning as he read the printed paper. Orion smirked as he took the files and decided to give the old way a chance. After all, his partner believes that it is a good way to make the brain work. He took the chair on the side and started to go through the papers. The gloomy gray room had several detectives' desks with only cardboard partitions in the middle to separate them.

At present, no one was in the room, and Alex’s voice echoed around the wall whenever he grumbled about something, and the access to the whiteboard was his. Orion sits in the room beside them. Even though he is part of Alex’s team, he is assigned to a different room due to the rankings. The seats in this office are based on rankings. An individual can sit with his team only when he is of the same rank.

It is good for the team to build up and also gain experience in the middle. However, this is a problem with Alex. While his team can sit together, Alex has a bulk load of experience, which puts him in the rank of the elite. This makes him sit in a different room. Orion was the only one who could come and go whenever he wished due to his personality; Samantha needed permission to enter as well. Rank hierarchy is seen with a greater role in the office. It is granted to the people with more cases solved. Some people do rush to solve cases due to this at times. However, the number of cases properly solved is counted to the cases taken. Alex lost only two cases in the past; for this reason, he is considered one of the elites in the office. One of those cases is the case of the 100 faces.

The files on the table not only had some information on the present case; there is also the case of the past. 100 faces have multiple cases unsolved.

“This character makes me curious. Why do you think he is killing? He is killing people who are corrupt, right? Or so the news channels say.” Orion took out the phone in the middle and started to match the information with the phone; it was tiring for him to check through papers by turning again and again. He was noting things down on the phone and felt it was better with the technology.

Alex peeked from the top of the folder and frowned a bit before going back to reading the papers. He can only criticize the man, not force him. “There is a pattern in his killing. Have you seen this? It is mostly people with money allocated to them suddenly.” Orion pointed it out, but Alex only nodded his head.

It is something I have noticed before, but that is not something we can go by, as the murder happened in multiple areas, not only in City X.” He puffed out a few smokes from his mouth before pointing to the whiteboard.

“A total of two were killed in City X, three in City C, and one in City H.” He went back to reading the files.

Orion now realized why Alex was looking at the other killings. He is trying to find a match.

“Of all of them, the only thing I can find in common is the knife and the mask. There is nothing else. The profession is not even the same not even gender. It is only that corruption is attached to them.” He pointed at the female in City H.“Even the allegations of the corruption are different; I can’t find a match there.” Frustrated, Alex went back to studying Liam Foster’s file.

“I hope the kid is having better luck than I am.” His grumbling could be heard clearly by Orion, who had a confused look at the case.

Since that time, Alex has been transferred to his office; this is the first time he has seen him struggling with a case. Usually, he is someone with frustration showing in his expression; otherwise, he could easily solve the case without much of a sweat. Orion put the file down and walked to the board. He had the phone still in his hand. His fingers were typing fast, cross-checking the information with the board.

“Case on embezzlement, unfair treatment of colleagues in the office, bullying kids, embezzlement again, and theft from the company and a bank she used to work on. Can I get details on these cases?” Orion pointed at the board.