"Ya I did read about it a little in the file and correct me if I am wrong but 2 white men are dead, 2 asians with suits are dead and one unidentified had a blood trail leading out of the warehouse towards the water. " Sergeant Mahoney summed up the entire file of the warehouse murders in 2 sentences.
Elise nodded and said "Yup…right on point Sergeant. We don't know if the blood trail leading outside belongs to the one who killed them all or if was he just an accomplice to the dead ones."
"Why can't he be the one to do all this? Why aren't we exploring the option that the white men and the Asians went after each other?" Mahoney asked.
"Because of this." Mathew said and pulled out a photo from his suit pocket. The photo was a little blur but it could be seen that a man wearing black clothes and a black bandana was holding onto a car roof.
"This is a photo of the car we found in the warehouse from a traffic cam. It seems like the ones who were inside didn't know about this Hitch-Hiker." Mathew said as he handed the photo over to Sergeant Mahoney.
"You're a long way from home." Sergeant Mahoney murmured.
He looked at the two detectives and contemplated if he should tell them about this man in the photo or not. Mathew and Elise also got a feeling that Sergeant Mahoney knew something. They understood that there must be some particular reason why their captain had them come to the Sergeant.
Sergeant Mahoney walked near the glass door of the cabin and flipped the blinds so that no one could see what they were doing inside.
"Okay, now what I am about to tell you needs to stay between us. This isn't something I or even the entire police department wants getting out. The man whose photo you are carrying is called the masked vigilante. He mostly operates in Hell's Kitchen and goes against underworld gangs and drug dealers. These Asians who were in the car must be from one of the gangs. The Chinese mostly deal in drugs and smuggling of artifacts."
"Wow…I didn't know that Hell's Kitchen had a vigilante of their own. I don't remember seeing anything like this on the news." Elise said.
"It was the police department's decision to keep it under wraps because they don't want the people to start trusting a man they don't know over the police department and he doesn't seem to mind either. There are mixed opinions regarding him in the department." Sergeant Mahoney said.
"This means that this is the vigilante's doing right?" Elise asked in a slightly excited tone to which Sergeant Mahoney shook his head and said "I doubt that."
"Huh? Why? You don't think he did it?" Mathew asked to which Mahoney said "Up until now, the masked vigilante has beaten up several people but none of them ended up dead. He would only beat them up or knock them out. At the worst, he would beat their face to a pulp but 4 murders is too much. Even I don't think it is his doing."
"Sergeant Mahoney, you know how it is. Once they start to feel that they are law and justice, they won't hesitate to cross the line and take a life. I think we should consider the masked vigilante our prime suspect." Mathew said. He knew that vigilantes always started as a beacon of hope or someone who dished out justice for the less fortunate but eventually their actions would escalate and there would come a time when the vigilante himself is committing crimes.
"I agree with Mathew on this one Sergeant. Just because he didn't kill before doesn't mean he will never kill." Elise said.
"Alright, you two…I understand what you are saying but let's not rush it shall we? Why don't you two work with me in Hell's Kitchen and maybe we can cross paths with the masked vigilante? If it turns out that it was him who committed those murders then we can officially name him as a murderer and a criminal." Sergeant Mahoney said as he walked toward the door to leave the cabin.
Mathew and Elise looked at each other and nodded confirming that they have agreed to the Sergeant's plan. As the Sergeant was leaving, Elise asked "I don't understand why you are advocating for a vigilante?"
The Sergeant turned back and said "The condition of Hell's Kitchen is way worse than you can think. But due to the fear of the Masked vigilante, it has now come under control. The gangs, the drugs, and all of this had made the life of everyone in and around Hell's Kitchen truly hell. The police department is also not much help since many cops are on the take. No matter which gang is fighting among whom and for what reason, the innocent people living in the area are always collateral damage."
Mathew and Elise weren't convinced by what Sergeant Mahoney said but he was truly shocked hearing the state of Hell's Kitchen. He had heard several times that Hell's Kitchen was a mess and no one was stepping up to do anything because they would get threatened or shot at…but they didn't know it was this bad.
Elise looked at her partner and said "What are we going to do now?"
Mathew chuckled as he heard that and said "Lunch"
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Midtown High School.
As Jared came back inside the basketball court with Peter and Ned, he saw a few more people had gathered around May and the others.
"Maya? What are you doing here?" Jared asked a little confused to which Maya and the Rossi twins turned back.
"I wouldn't even need to come here if you had cared to pick up your phone or reply to my messages." Maya said as she rested both her hands on her hips and opened her eyes wide.
'Is this her trying to make herself look scary or something?' Jared thought.
He then pulled out his phone and checked that there were plenty of calls and messages from not just Maya but also Ryan.
"Huh? Why is he calling me so many times?" Jared asked in a low tone. Even though the tone was low, Maya heard and asked "What happened?" to which Jared shoved his phone back inside his pocket without reading any messages from Ryan and said "It's n-nothing…Oh yes about your calls…The principal sir was addressing the parents and us students so I decided to keep my phone silent."
Maya looked a little convinced because her wide eyes had started to come back to normal side and she even gave a big sigh of relief.
"So where is Professor Morris?" Lucas asked to which Ned said "He isn't here…The principal must have sent him home."
"WHAT? IS THIS TRUEEE?" A loud voice came a few rows away in the stands and suddenly the entire court became quiet and looked at the source of the voice. The source was a fat white woman who seemed to be speaking on the phone.
Coach Jones, who was talking with Hannah at that time looked at the lady and shouted "Maam, is everything alright? What happened?"
The woman pointed towards her phone and said "M-My husband wanted to confront Professor Morris so he went to his house just now but the entire house is on fire and Firefighters are on the scene."
Everyone on the basketball court including the principal were shocked to hear this. The fact that the scandal happened today and the Professor's house burned down the same day…this can't be a coincidence.
"What? Professor Morris' house is on fire?" Principal asked as he walked toward the white lady to which she only nodded.
"What happened to Professor Morris? Is he out of there? Is he safe?" The principal asked again to which the woman just shook her head and said "My husband doesn't know…the firefighters didn't find anyone inside."
The principal sighed in relief…He didn't care if Professor Morris lived or died but if he did die and this became front-page news, the school would be done for.
The Principal looked at Coach Jones and another staff member and said "Both of you go there as well. See for yourself what has happened and let me know."
Just as all this was happening, a white man wearing black sunglasses walked into the basketball court with a stick in hand "Excuse me, can someone guide me to the Administrator's office?"
As everyone looked at him in confusion, the only words Jared could think of were 'Holy Shit'
(If you like the chapter then spare us some power stones)
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