While Naia was relaxing like this, the house she had burgled was now surrounded by several police cars, various investigation tapes, and even a few reporters trying to get a scoop.

These local reporters were hungry for excitement! After all, it wasn’t every day that such a murder happened in their town!

Inside the scope of the barrier tape, there were several police men and forensic personnel all over the place. One of the policemen rushed out from the inside, greeting the person-in-charge, currently outside and overlooking everything.

"Captain!" Along with him, a group of police officers congregated and stood in front of a tall, imposing man. Unlike most who wore uniforms, the detective was wearing well-fitting slacks and a button-up shirt.

The Captain was a handsome man with short black hair, broad shoulders, and muscular arms, standing upright like a resilient bamboo.

He was the type that embodied the aura of righteousness. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

At this time, his expression was solemn as he stared at the morbid crime scene in front of them.

He was not the first person to arrive here, but the town police hadn’t handled such a brutal murder before, and they went to ask bigger departments. After all, the police stations in cities had specialized units that towns, even ’richer’ ones like Acero, did not have.

Luke came from the nearest City, just a few hours North of Acero, called Amber City. It was one of the richer cities in the country and was considered a hodgepodge of cultures. It had a slightly higher crime rate than other cities, and the relevant infrastructure was invested in.

Anyway, it naturally had superior resources and could indeed send help, especially after the department heads saw the gruesome scene.

Before heading here, Luke had already read the files they had so far and immediately sent an arrest warrant to the prime suspect, who was a man named Houser. Even if he hadn’t been at the site at the time, he was named by the victim himself, so it was enough to detain him, at least.

Coincidentally, Houser’s villa was also located in Amber City’s suburban area, so he should soon be detained in their own cell for interrogation.

However, before they came to interrogate him, Luke wanted to see the murder scene with his own eyes. He also hoped to find more clues so the interrogation sessions would be more productive. At this time, he was consolidating what the officers had gathered so far.

His deep blue eyes shifted to the men. "What have you gotten so far?"

"There are no other living things in the house, but every room—including that...basement—seemed ’lived in’," one said.

Another stepped forward to add. He was assigned to interview the few neighbors the homeowner had. "The Old man lives alone. The villagers and neighbors can attest to this. They can also attest that the old man had visitors the previous night and the current day."

"He also has a very...unsavory reputation."

"It seems like there had been rumors of him murdering his previous wives, but no one dared report it, especially since a lot of it sounded like heresay."

"We have yet to find valuables. It seemed like it was swept clean. This could be a robbery-turned-murder."

The most somber one spoke last. He was assigned to check the footage when they saw the old man had cameras installed.

"The CCTV has been turned off on purpose. We have no record of the events today, as well as a few hours last night."

He narrowed his eyes. Since yesterday? "But what about the rest of the days?"

"They are complete, Captain, and..." The man paused, eyes narrowed, showing his anger. "The contents..."

Luke looked at his subordinate. This man was usually jovial. Him showing such extreme anger showed the seriousness of the situation. "Take me to see."

The man nodded and guided the Captain into the room, and played the footage. He couldn’t find the words to describe what he saw without his voice cracking in anger, so he let the detective and the others watch the videos himself.

And what they saw made them want to stab the old man several times.

He died too easily!

He was so arrogant to keep the footage of all the brutality, too. With the monitor in his room, did he watch these clips before going to bed?

The most impactful was the latest notable one—the murder of a young girl!

With heavy hearts, they watched her fight against the old man, struggling for her life. Their fists clenched, and they felt so uncomfortable that they could not help her.

In the end, she lost despite everything. She hit her head on the table, life and death unknown. She was then dragged by the old man outside the house.

They looked at the clip showing the outside, but it only showed the gates and the front yard. They upped the volume during the time of the murder, hearing some of the screams and scuffles, and then followed by the sound of dragging something across soil and grass.

Luke narrowed his eyes. There weren’t any fresh signs of burial in the gardens, and he immediately thought of a possibility.

He whipped his head in a direction.

"Check the cliff!"

...

There was no one on the cliff.

However, they saw marks of blood on a ledge, indicating Luke’s supposition was likely.

He felt disappointed that they could not even give the young girl a proper burial, and he was reminded of his need to stab that old man.

He took a deep breath. "Secure the rest of the necessary permits and warrants," he said. "We should try to recover the bodies of the other women as well."

He couldn’t help but feel heavy. The last one perished just the previous night.

He had hoped that they could rescue her, at least, but it seemed like he was still too idealistic.

He could only hope that the poor girl could rest in peace.