There was something rather comforting in the act of murder. Perhaps it was the idea that any atrocity that could be committed by human hands could be explained by scientific, cognitive reasoning, or perhaps it served as a reminder that Elina was one step closer towards catching another criminal who walked the streets.

Elina often thought of murder as a dissonant chord, one that struck disharmony into her very soul. It was that very same chord she thought she heard that day, staring into the empty eye sockets of the recently deceased. It was a grisly sight, she reflected to herself. One that took years of experience of getting used to. The scarlet-rich liquid which trickled down the corpses had always created tingling sensations down the back of her spine. This one was particularly foul, with multiple lacerations over the victim’s body.

A noise disturbed her from her thoughts.

Slowly, she took her eyes off of the corpse, then proceeded to glance upwards. She gave a wry smile. It was her partner, one of her fellow detectives from the precinct.

“Hey Xavier.” She called out in greeting. They were situated at the back of one of the city’s many Italian restaurants, located in the notorious Hawthorne District.

“You sure took your time getting here.” He scolded her playfully.

“You sure got here fast.”

Xavier shrugged. “I live nearby.”

“So, what do we have here? Got an ID?” She asked Xavier.

“The victim’s name is Clyde Farris. 41 years old. Body was found around 11 PM yesterday.” Xavier squatted down, examining the body.

“This would be, what, the third one we’ve had in a month?”

“Technically, it’s 1 month and a half.” Xavier informed her.

Ignoring him, she went on with her commentary. “They were all killed the same way, weren’t they? Eyes gouged out, cuts all over the neck and torso. Are we looking at sequential homicides here? The same person doing this all by himself?”

“Not sure.” He frowned. “Could be a copycat, you know.”

“A copycat...killer? Is that even a thing?” She could have laughed. “So, anybody nearby see what happened?” She inquired.

He jutted his head slightly towards the back door leading inside the restaurant. “We have a witness in there, the owner of the restaurant. Chief Higgins thinks she may be able to help.”

***

“Thank you for agreeing to speak to us, Ms Russo.”

The older woman inclined her head slightly.

“Mr Farris’ body was found at approximately 11 PM last evening at the back of your restaurant. Did you see anything beforehand? Anything that could point us towards a potential suspect?”

Her eyes glimpsed downwards. “There was an...altercation the other night. Between some men who had come in. Around...9 o’ clock. A group of ruffians, was what they were.”

“An altercation? I see.” She jotted a note down on her pad. “By the way, did you happen to know the victim personally?”

Ms Russo’s head turned sharply. “What makes you say that?”

Elina shrugged. “It’s nothing really, it only seems as if his death hit you pretty hard. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be fairly shaken up too if I had to see that sight this morning.”

She sighed. “Mr Farris was a regular customer here at Focaccia’s. He’d always liked my Rissotto.

“I see. You mentioned him getting into an altercation? With whom, exactly?

Ms Russo was silent for a moment. “Unfortunately for Clyde… he wasn’t always on the right side of the law.”

Elina’s brows furrowed. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Clyde had another business on the side. You didn’t hear it from me, but there were rumors that he was… dealing for a certain group of people in the city. Oftentimes, he’d get into a bit of trouble with… dubious people during the evening.”

Her ears perked up. “Oh? And what kind of people would that be?”

Ms Russo peered downwards again.

“Ms Russo. Please. ” Elina spoke rather sternly. “Our investigation hinges on your testimony.”

Ms Russo exhaled slowly. “I’d rather not speak their name.” Elina thought she could see her shivering underneath her thick, woolen sweater. “It’s like they say.” She whispered incessantly. “Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”

“Ms Russo, I’m afraid I don’t quite understand. Who was Mr Farris dealing for?”

Her eyes glazed towards the door, almost as if she were expecting someone to appear.

Ignoring her question, Ms Russo diverted.

“The truth is, Mr Farris got himself into a bit of a mess the other night.” She reiterated her earlier statement. “An argument with another gentleman, if you can call them that.” She chuckled half heartedly. “I was even afraid it was about to turn violent. Fortunately for myself, the other man agreed to leave Focaccia’s.

“He was another regular at my restaurant. Another...dodgy figure. He goes by the name of Brick. Brick Rockwell.”

“Brick Rockwell? Does he live nearby, do you know?”

“You might want to ask around. Some of the locals know him.” She said helpfully.

Jotting down her newly found information, Elina got up from her seat. “Thank you very much, Ms Russo.”

“Good luck finding him.”

***

Huffing, Elina bent down and reached for her knees. She’d always loathed running after suspects. “Did you see where he ran off to?” She asked Xavier breathlessly. The two had asked around for what felt like hours, inquiring after Brick Rockwell’s whereabouts. Eventually, they’d managed to trace him down to a tiny apartment complex around the area.

They knocked on the door, only to be greeted by a heavily tatted, muscular figure. “Brick Rockwell?” Elina held up her badge. “We have a few questions that we’d like to ask.” He took off running almost instantly.

Panting, Xavier pointed towards a row of closed up shops in the distance. “I think he went off in that direction.”

“He couldn’t have gotten that far.”

They darted past flights of apartment stairs, past cans of garbage bins, past the puddles on the ground, hellbent on catching their new suspect. Unfortunately for them, Mr Rockwell was quite a sprinter.

“I think I know where he’s going!” Xavier yelled a moment later as they chased him down the street. ‘We’ll cut through here! He’s heading for Gloria’s Bar!”

“How do you know?” She hollered back.

“It’s a popular hangout for the lowlifes! We’’ll cut through the back alley.”

Speeding past the tiny fences, they cut through the back alley, and eventually arrived at their destination.

“And right on time.” Elina panted.

They hid behind the dusty wall of the bar, waiting till they saw Brick approach from the distance. Catching him by surprise, Elina swung her baton under his feet once he got close enough. He moaned as he lay on the ground.

“Mr Rockwell. We only meant to ask several questions.”

He threw his hands up. “Alright, listen, now I don’t want no trouble.”

***

“Where were you from the hours of 10 to 11 PM yesterday evening?”

Beads of sweat glistened down from his neck.

“I was uh- doing business. With a couple of associates.”

“Associates?”

His eyes darted around. “Look, I didn’t do it, alright? I heard about Clyde. Now I don’t know what you heard, but it ain’t me. I ain’t done it.”

“A witness informed us you got into an altercation with Mr Farris.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I killed him, now does it?”

“Can you tell us what you were arguing about? And who are these associates of yours?”

“We were- I was just.” Brick sighed to himself. “Alright, alright, look. It was a business deal. Clyde- Clyde was meant to sell me some stuff. Some X. We disagreed on the price and… it got a bit rough.”

“Some X?” They’d been on the tail of the city’s newest drug for months now. “Who the hell was his supplier?”

A cunning gleam shone in his eyes. “I tell you, and you’ll let me go?”

Elina exchanged glances with Xavier. “Tell us who gave you the X, and...we’ll consider it.”

“Now you didn’t hear this from me, but everyone knows that Clyde was working for the Aritis.”

“The Aritis?” The name of the city’s prominent crime family sends an involuntary shiver down the back of her spine.

She turned to Xavier. “Could one of the Aritis have done this? The murders have been mob related. Maybe the boss has been ordering hits.”

“On his own men?” Xavier asked.

“Maybe one of them started talking. Started doing something he didn’t like.”

“You really think one of them did it?”

“I’m saying, I think it’s something worth investigating.”

“You better call the chief first. Tell him what we know.”

Elina turned towards Brick. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do.”

***

“I had no idea your math skills were so impotent, Dax.”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Are you planning on giving me the rest of the X we agreed on?”

Dax shifted his stance slightly. “That is the amount we agreed on.”

The man sighed loudly to himself. “Dax. We both know that 20 pounds of X won’t be able to fit into a pouch as tiny as that.”

Dax huffed, clearly displeased. “I don’t know what to tell you sir. That’s 20 pounds of X right there.”

“Well it’s a good thing we’re paying you for this. Maybe after this, you can buy yourself a new pair of glasses, considering how poor your eyesight is.”

By now, Dax was irritated.

“Sir, that’s all I can get you today.”

A beat passed.

“Well alright then. I’ll be docking your pay.”

His face turned beetroot red. “Are you shitting me? Getting a load of this stuff wasn’t easy.”

“Why waste the rest of it? Hand it over, and I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated. Otherwise, I’ll be paying you half.”

“Listen here, you asshole-” Dax drew out a small switchblade from his coat pocket, marched up towards him.

Unfortunately for Dax, he miscalculated twice in one evening.

Seizing his wrist, the lanky figure loosened Dax’s grip on the knife, spraining his hand in the process. Before he could yelp, the man had his arm pressed against his back, and pushed him towards the wall.

Groaning in pain, Dax struggled against his opponent’s iron-like grip.

“I suggest you measure your next words very, very carefully. You either get me more of the X, or I’ll break your other hand. Are we clear?”

When he failed to respond, he pressed harder on his wrist, eliciting another yelp of agony. “I said, are we clear?”

“Yes! Yes we are!” Dax moaned.

He loosened his clutch slightly. “Good.”

“I-I’ve got a bit more in my pocket. Just a bit.” Dax gasped.

Searching his pockets, the man found what he was looking for a few moments later. “Now, was that so ha-”

Footsteps echoed on the pavement behind them.

“Boss!” A voice cried out.

“Brick? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be back at-”

Brick whispered in his ear. “We’ve been made, boss.”

He furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”

The man barely had time to register the loud sirens and clatter of boots, before he found himself being thrust onto the ground.

“HCPD! Everybody get on the ground.”

Dazed, he could only stare up into the face of a tall, brown haired woman.

“Seferino Ariti, you’re under arrest for trafficking and intent to distribute.”