“There was a witness who saw a bright light from a bookshelf about trees, but he thought it would be a reflection of the sunshine or something. People here don’t have wormhole technology. I still don’t know which wormhole the killer uses to travel between parallel universes because he has appeared many times and many places. He drives me crazy,” she continued.
Jason pondered, rubbing his chin then Kate wondered. “What are you thinking, Jess?” She asked, looking at the face that hadn’t been shaved for almost a week. She thought she’s already bought him a razor but looked like he didn’t care.
“I think the killer didn't kidnap them by using wormhole from other parallel universes,” Jason said.
“What does it mean, Jess?”
“Think about it. I spent 1.25 minutes traveling here. But the kidnapping of those young women was likely to occur at a much shorter time. Because he had to wait for them to be alone in public, which may have just a few seconds. The light from the lamp as in Emma's lab will be illuminated on the victim for just a few seconds. Otherwise, the victim will be aware. Do you understand what I said, right, Kate?” Jason explained.
“You can’t beam that light on them for a long time other people would know or doubt. What kind of people walking in the spotlight,” Jason joked and the joke made things easier to understand. Then Kate nodded.
“Here’s my theory, the journey of the killer must shorter than traveling to other parallel universes. He may be in the same universe as the victims, watching them from somewhere. Keep track of them for several days, making sure he knows their daily routine and when they’ll be alone,” Jason said.
“When he knew the exact location, he then opened the wormhole to kidnap them. Each area where the kidnapping or the dropping corpse happened is mostly in a room with a window, which for him to observe them from somewhere. Maybe he used high-performance binoculars,”
“You have told me, opening a wormhole to pick up someone must clearly identify the location if there is a window it would be good. Then the light passed through the window of the room where they were, then opened the wormhole to suck them in. This would take no more than five seconds before anyone noticed. He deliberately did it in a short time so that the police thought it was supernatural, and they would be confused for a long time or entire life,” Jason said.
Kate stood still like being in a trance intently considered his words. She looked at the face of the young man with light brown eyes.
“Jess ... You're clever,” she exclaimed.
Chapter 10
“Did you collect the dust from the scene, Mr. Lewis?” Jason asked Lewis after coming out of the lighthouse.
“Yes, we let the labs analyzed and collected data then kept in the evidence box. It’s the sand from the beach. Nothing special. The lighthouse had been used before her body was found. I think it might from the shoes of the fishermen or the coastal officers,” Lewis replied enthusiastically.
“The dust scattered in a thin circle, right?” Jason continued.
Lewis thought for a while, “Yes, yes, sir,”
“You also found those sand at the library where Bella West missing, right?” Jason asked.
“Yes, we have collected it,”
“I need those evidence results,” Jason said.
“Well,... yes, sir, I’ll call the station,”
After that, they returned to the police station by Lewis's car and again he tried to talk to Kate without looked at the street. He might familiar with the route, even though he drove very badly but they could reach the destination safely and Jason just terrified.
“I almost peeing on my pants,” Jason whispered to Kate while walking into the station.
Kate giggled. Luckily, she sat on the back seat because if Lewis drove horrific, she just turned to look at the view outside that less frightening.
Lewis led them to the elevator and went to the forensic science office. He asked for the dust information for Jason. “This looks like a sand shaped I found on the sky train compartment near Bella West's body. Star-shaped and many colors but most of them are orange like this,” Jason whispered to Kate.
“I took a sand sample from the beach near the lighthouse. We should try to compare the data,” Kate said and gave Lewis a sample collecting bottle.
“Could you please analyze it? Is it came from the same place as the dust you found near Bella's body and at the library or not?”
Lewis took the sample with enthusiastic. Jason saw that he touched Kate's hand on purpose when he took the bottle from her and she just smiled charmingly at him.
“You flirt him again,” Jason whispered through his teeth, narrowed his eyes.
Kate turned and flicked her hair to his face. “Charmed, Jess. He help us work without any doubt about our agency or costume,” she smiled.
“He's already stupid. Don't be serious,” Jason said rolled his eyes.
“He’s not stupid, Jess, he's just ....”
“Silly,” Jason continued the sentence and Kate looked at him irritatedly.
“He’s just naive, Jess,” Kate said.
After that, they waited for the analysis result in front of the room, looked at the buildings through the cloudy window glass that made the buildings in the city looked shabby more. The dark sky looked like a rainy, dusky atmosphere like this made us depressed.
“It's the sand from the same source, Mr. Smith,” Lewis said after came out of the forensic science office. He took control of the work himself so that the officers rushed. He gave the picture of zoom up sand to Jason.
Jason immediately recognized the shape of those sand. Consisted of many colors and mostly orange with star-shape.
“No wonder to found those sand here, right? But the sand from here shouldn’t travel in my universe,” Jason said to Kate seriously. The body of Bella West here was found on the sky train compartment in parallel universe B13 with small dust that has been identified as sand with strange crystals. And didn’t match the sand from any beach in the city because it came from another parallel universe.
“Um well... what does it mean ‘in my universe’?” Lewis asked curiously and with sparkling eyes he overheard Kate and Jason talked for a while.
“Oh, ... Mr. Lewis, can we just talk in private? This is very important, and ...it’s a secret,” Kate said to Lewis politely, and he made a disappointing face before walked away. Poor Lewis…
Jason peeked at Lewis, who stood at another side of the corridor. He did obey her.
This was far enough, hoped he couldn’t hear them. “The killer might kill them here and brought the bodies to drop in my universe,”
“Kill them here? He must have a freezer room,” Kate said it wasn’t easy to find a freezer room to freeze three women’s bodies. “And the wormhole traveling lab, if you said that the killer should be watching them, then it must be a convenient place to live and no one disturbed,”
That sounded complicated. “Mr. Lewis, if I want a freezer room, where can I find it?” Jason said loudly to Lewis at another corner.
Lewis has thought for a while before answered. “The harbor, sir. There’s a warehouse for rent, an ice cream factory or butcher shop, freezer room in a restaurant or hotel,”
The harbor sounded more sensible than anything else. There were rental freezer rooms and seemed to be easier to access than an ice cream factory that was strict about cleanliness and who has a right to get inside.
“We’ll go there,” Jason told him. “But I want to drive myself. Can you just call the harbor for us?” It would be safer if he drove himself.
Then Jason drove Kate to the harbor. “Can you really drive a car like this?” Kate asked after left the police station for a while. She was worried at first, but after saw Jason could really drive and turned smoothly, she began to feel relieved.
Jason smiled proudly. “I used to drive a car since I was a teenager. Driving for two years, then the non-driver car replaced. Luckily I don't forget how to drive,”
“It means
you haven’t been driving for over ten years, we will be fine, right, Jess?” Kate asked and looked at him with serious eyes and she began to worry again.
“Come on, I think it should be safer than Lewis drive. I don't want to pee on my new pants,” Jason replied with serious as well.
The GPS in the police car led them to the harbor. Jason parked with a bit awkward and parked almost two feet far from the footpath. This area looked different from the abandoned lighthouse. This place looked cleaner and crowded.
“There is no sand in this place,” Kate said because the shipping harbor was only concrete roads, warehouses, containers and large cargo ships.
Jason agreed with her, even though it was near the sea but the surrounding area didn’t have a sandy beach that could be attached to the shoes of the killer.
They went to meet the owner of the freezer room. His name was Harry and his face was sullen like never smile for centuries.
“Yes, we have a freezer room for rent. There’re many sizes, half a bedroom to a football field,” said Harry, the freezer room for rent manager. He wore a sweater, jeans and boots. Like worked in snow.
“Can we see those rooms?” Kate asked.
Harry nodded. “Yes. Whatever, the police send you here. You can see anything, oh, where are you from again?” He asked while walking to the freezer room area.
“The Agency of Civil for Peacefulness and Security of the World,” Kate answered.
“What?” Harry frowned.
“Forget it, we are investigating the case of founding three women’s bodies. You may get some news,”
“Oh, yes. I watched that news. There was a strange thing happen in our city like this. It's a bad sign, don’t you think so?” Harry answered.
“There is our own body appear even though we still alive. It’s a bad sign…and after a while, we disappear. This’s terrifying really terrifying,” Harry said, trembled. Although his face looked fierce but when he talked about this issue, his face was pale.
“I don't know when this will happen to me. I do paranoid if I see my own body like them, what should I do?” He sighed.
Kate and Jason looked at each other and Jason smiled tried not to laugh. “You will be alright, Harry,” Kate said comforted him.
They checked many freezer rooms that Harry had opened for them. Most, being rented for seafood or meat. The temperature in the freezer rooms were minus. That’s why Harry was wearing a sweater and boots.
“These rooms don’t have windows and can’t see the city,” Jason whispered to Kate after Harry had opened a large freezer room for them. The inside was filled with large crates that packed with a variety of seafood, shrimp, crab, squid, clam, deep-sea fish, tuna, lobster and many kinds of seafood that popular for people.
“I think I’m hungry,” Jason groaned because it was noon, and his breakfast had gone out since arrived here. Seeing these frozen seafood made him thought about many menus.
“Yes, I heard your belly screaming,” Kate said, smiled and giggled. “We will take a break for lunch before going elsewhere,”
Jason nodded enthusiastically. “Other freezer rooms also be like this, right?” Jason asked Harry.
“Yes, all the same just different size,”
If there was nothing different like this, it would be a waste of time to check every room. In other words, these freezer rooms didn’t have windows, using wormhole would be difficult. Who inside the room couldn’t see what happened in the city.
If the killer just rented a room to freeze their bodies, he must bring the women here. It might not be difficult for anyone to notice. This was a harbor, there were people walked around all the time.
If there were a lot of conditions for the killer like this. He might find somewhere more convenient. “Is there a small freezer for rent?” Jason asked quickly. He was very hungry and wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
Hungriness could push the brain to work faster.
“Yes, we have a small freezer for ice cream, ice or meat for the general store to rent,” Harry answered.
“Is there anyone who rent it but not the owner of a shop? About a month ago, during the police found those women's bodies,” Jason asked continuously.
Harry thought for a while. “Well,...There were some. As I can remember they used for chilled food for the party, Food festival or something?”
That sounded nothing wrong. Disappointing that there was no useful information to lead to the killer. Assumption about the killer has killed those women here but nothing could prove it.
“But there was one. He told me to send it to the room at the Sky Beach Hotel. He said that he loved ice cream a lot, so he needed a freezer to chill while he was there,” Harry continued after thought about it for a while.
“Can I see the freezer that he’d rented?”
Harry led them to the back of the warehouse. There were more than 200 small freezers lined up. If they check all these, surely they would spent their hold live.
“We have 250 freezers. Some freezers are now sent to customers. Some were booked. So, I’ll search for the code of the freezer, which one has sent to Sky Beach Hotel,” Harry said and picked up the tablet. Saw the rental schedule.
Jason and Kate sighed as relief, they didn’t have to check all the freezers.
“It was no.128, but now it's sent to clean up after being used for a party last night. We have to clean these freezers after returning because we don't know what it used for or how dirty it was, you know you can’t see germs,” Harry said shrugged.
Clean up? The evidence would not be left. Jason considered the size of those freezers that placed together. It should be large enough for a woman's body to chill. If arranged the space good enough, it could contain three dead bodies.
“I couldn’t ask you to sit inside the freezer, right?” Jason said and Kate looked at him, although she was say nothing but he could feel her savage beam.
“.... Thought so...” he said after caught her eyes.
“Where’s the hotel?” Jason turned to ask Harry.
Harry led them out of the freezer warehouse area and pointed to a tall building. “There, the tall building with a large eagle statue on the top. You must not believe, it’s a beach up there,”
The sky beach? Sounded good. Suitable for having sand on the shoes and suitable for seeing all over the city “I think we should go there,” Jason said to Kate.
Kate nodded in agreement. That sounded better than he tried to let her sit inside the freezer.
They left the harbor and stop for a simple lunch close to the Sky Beach Hotel. When looked at it closer they could notice, it was a bigger building that placed on over 50 Roman pillars.
Kate asked the receptionist about the room that has rented the freezer. The staff immediately recognized because moreover ordered the freezer to delivered to the room, he still didn’t pay the rent. He disappeared for many days until the hotel had to go to check in the room and knew that he has escaped. They had to inform the harbor warehouse to take the freezer back.
“He used the name Tom Lightbulb. I'm not sure it is his real name. You know, if he is the killer, he shouldn't give the real name to the hotel. And if Tom Lightbulb has a real exist here. He should be in trouble. I will ask Mr. Lewis,” Kate said to Jason after received the information from the receptionist.
Then they asked to see the room which Tom Lightbulb had stayed free for a month. The hotel might be angry because the room he stayed in was a suite room with a great view that could see the city and the lighthouse as well.
“The hotel staff opened the room because they didn't see Tom for several days. They said the room was in very good condition and has nothing damaged. While he was staying here, he didn't let housekeeper or room service come to clean the room, he just placed the trash can in front of the room for housekeeper to garbage sometimes,” Kate said, walked into the suite room and went straight to the bathroom.
“But I think the bathroom should have something for us,” Sh
e said.
The bathroom was paved with large dark anti-slip tiles with a separate bathtub and shower booth. Large comfortable flush toilet beside the sink counter and large defroster mirror.
Kate picked some toolbox from inside the suit jacket. Then opened and took a small spray bottle out and sprayed all over the bathroom area, especially the bathtub.
“Why I don’t have that box?” Jason said and looked at her both interested and envious.
“I’ve taken it from materials store for several weeks ago,” Kate answered and picked her smartphone and turned on the purple light shone at the bathtub. “Use your smartphone. It also has a black light,”
Jason picked up his smartphone from the pants pocket and shone the purple light all over the area Kate had sprayed and this made him feel like standing in a horror movie scene.
The traces of protein from a large number of bloodstains that have been washed with a toilet cleaner were reflected in purple light all over the sink, ceiling and bathroom walls, especially at the bathtub. Bloodstains were flowing into the sewer. The easiest way to get rid of blood from the victims.
The three women were slashed on their throat at the bathtub and let all the blood flow out before chilled in the freezer. From the splashes of blood, Jason was sure they were killed here.
“This place seems to be a crime scene. The bathroom was cleaned before Tom escaped,” Kate said, picked up a cotton swab and rubbed the gaps between the tiles on the wall and bathroom floor.
“We may have some luck in finding their DNA. I hope that the housekeeper would not clean it very well,” she said and kept the cotton swab in the toolbox.
Jason came out of the bathroom and walked to the balcony of the suite. From where he stood, could see the library. “Kate, can you show me the area they found the bodies of three women? And the area that the other three women missing,”
Kate walked to stand beside him. Then turned on the tablet and opened a map of the city to determine the location of founding bodies and the area where the three women disappeared.
The Traveling Killer and Jason Smith Page 9
