Back at the police station, Jude first found a piece of paper on the desk before requesting the case file. With a note on his desk, Jude unwittingly opened it. And on that piece of paper, as soon as he saw the sharp, neat handwriting he had seen before, Judd tilted his head a little. Tim, who was looking for the case file instead of his partner, looked at his appearance and came to him with a little curiosity.
“What’s wrong? What’s that?”
“Ah. Well… …it’s nothing. What time do you want me to come back for a consultation?”
“Again? Aren’t you tired of them? Oh, and among the people involved, Mr. Zegens seemed to be staying at a motel right next to here, and he wouldn’t be able to go home, so they sent him there alone. It’s going to be very traumatic.”
“Well, I suppose so. I, I’m going to go somewhere for a while.”
Folding the sheet of paper into his pocket, Jude smiled at Tim. Naturally Tim’s face is mixed with questions.
“Why? Where?”
“Oh, doing something important for the sake of my life.”
“Anything to eat? Buy something for me, too.”
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Gently waving to Tim, Jude walked out of the police station with a slight pomp. He also did not forget to ask a police officer to bring a small recorder just before he came out. Gently fidgeting with a revolver on his waist, Jude unfolded the note he had stuck in his pocket: slender, polite writing.
-Detective, the culprit is an immature kid. You know that, right?
With a shrug of his shoulders, the dark blonde detective started walking again.
“-I’m from the police station, and which room that Lloyd Zegens is staying in?”
“Yes… …it’s room 304. He’s probably in there right now.”
With his police ID back in his pocket, which he had shown to the motel owner, Jude greeted him lightly and climbed the stairs. Room 301, Room 302, Room 303. Jude stopped in front of Room 304 with a light whistle, lightly tapping on the thin crack of the cement wall with his hand.
Bam-bam-bam.
The dull sound of the door struck the ear under a pale fluorescent lamp. After a while, the door opened slowly. The slightly bald man in his late thirties was visibly emaciated for the past few days. His blue eyes were empty as if he was asking not to talk to him. But regardless of the atmosphere, Jude grinned.
“Mr. Lloyd Zegens, do you remember me? I’m the detective you met at the time. I’m Jude, and I need to ask you something. May I come in?”
“……Oh, yes…. …please come in. But…..”
“Is there a problem?”
“……no……I’m just a little tired, so could you finish it quickly?”
“Of course.”
Answering eagerly, Jude went into the room that possesses the innate interior characteristic of motels. Before he could suggest, Jude flung himself into the chair in the room, and Lloyd hesitated to sit in front of him. Jude opened his mouth cheerfully, no matter how sympathetic he was to the exhausted appearance of the man in front of him.
“Hey, the compliments were great. Your neighbors say that you were a good child who listened to his mother very well when you were young.”
“……is that so……?”
“You must have been on good terms with your mother. She was a very strict woman, but she must have been nice to you. Since you are also her only son, have you been nice to her?”
“……Oh, no…… not necessarily. Well, she wasn’t flexible and gentle, but she was always right. It was a little rough, but…..”
“Ah-ha. So do you happen to know someone who recently had a big argument with your mother?”
The man’s gaze, which had been on the carpet, glanced at Jude. Fixing his loose glasses, Lloyd licked his chapped lips.
“I’ve already told you that, but why are you asking again?”
“It’s supposed to be a huge fight for things to get done that cruelly to her, but if the culprit was always in constant contact with your mother, I think you know that much. Think about it, it doesn’t make sense to cram a hand into her mouth just because of a few simple harsh words. Besides, if he’s turned over the food waste on the floor, wow, it wouldn’t be enough to fight once. Unless he’s been insulted consistently for at least a few years, he doesn’t usually do that?”
“Well, that’s enough. I threw up several times already. Well, I couldn’t even look at the scene properly.”
Shaking his head hysterically, Lloyd continued to wave his hand, as if he had never seen or heard it.
“So, has she had any relatives or anyone she usually meet? Neighbors, acquaintances, whatever. As long as one who had an exchange with her.”
“…….Yes? That, well. I’m not sure about the details, but I know she’s been talking to my aunt occasionally. But why is that……?”
“Ah, since she usually doesn’t interact with the neighbors, wouldn’t there be only family and relatives that she sees often if there’s someone who had grudges with her? That’s why I’m asking.”
“Ah……yeah, it’s hard on you.”
He licked his lips one more time. Jude looked at his expression for a moment and his thought wandered.
“By any chance, do you know where the big kitchen knife was at your mother’s house?”
His eyes, which had been drooping toward the bottom, suddenly turned to Jude and grew curiously.
“Oh, yeah? Didn’t the culprit take it?”
Bingo. He managed to swallow a sigh of relief trying to get something out without him even realizing it -Ah, now I can rest for a while! I could eat more leisurely! -Jude nodded.
“Oh, yes. The culprit took it. But how did you know, Mister? You said you couldn’t even look at the scene, well, I’m grateful that I didn’t have to drag it off for too long,” Jude smiled and said, “Oh, I guess the culprit must have taken it. I was wondering if it was thrown away somewhere in the house, haha,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. Lloyd’s blue eyes were forcibly thinned and laughed as if they were in sync.
“Well, I’ve asked almost everything I’d like to ask, so I have to go to work now. Ahaha, I’m afraid my partner is waiting for his rice.”
-Click. Pressing the stop button on the recorder that had been running from the moment he sat down, Jude rose from his seat. What’s left now is to quickly go out and contact his trusted partner. Slightly relaxed, he walked towards the door. As soon as he tried to grab the doorknob, something passed by the side of his sight at a rapid pace. Bang! A pair of rough hand stretched out from behind and pressed the door. Jude reached out to the holster reflexively. But at the moment, he felt something cool pressing down behind his neck. Jude stopped talking and lowered his head a little. There was a sweet smell in the breath coming out of the side of his face.
“I see why you’re here.”
“I told you I came here to ask you something, but you didn’t like it that much?”
“You know what, Detective? Can I tell you more about the kid I used to be?”
“Uh…… I’m not very curious at this point.”
“You couldn’t help but listen… Oh my God, you’d never know how strong that bitch was.
You know that red-hot poker, you know? Have you ever been slapped with it? It’s more painful to have your mouth torn than to have your cheeks swollen, but it was harder every day to be told that you’re a hopeless trash and impotent.”
(T/n: A poker is a tool you use to adjust the logs in a fireplace while they’re burning. So a red hot poker is one you’ve just taken out of the fire — hold that to your arm and it’s like a cattle branding iron.)
No, I’m not really curious. Murmuring in his mouth, Jude let out a small sigh. Judging from the length of the blade on the back of his neck, it seemed highly likely that it was the knife stuck in the blank compartment in the kitchen. Just where did he hid it that he could take it out so quickly.
“So, I started killing her in my dreams when I was 11 years old. No, I didn’t kill her from the beginning. I just wanted her to shut up. When I was very young, I just used a tape to shut her up, and a year later, it became common to cut her throat in my dream. Do you know at what age I decided to kill my mother?”
“Do I know…”
Whether he heard a murmur or not, Lloyd gave him a low kick.
“It was 14 years old, 14 years old. Since then, every day, I’ve been thinking about what it feels like to cut her throat and how much strength it takes. I experimented with cats and dogs, but it wasn’t easy, so I grew my arm strength while exercising. Like a butcher, so that I can get her throat cut with just a few hand moves. After more than 20 years of practicing, I knew where to dig into, and where to cut.”
The blade behind the neck shook with his laughter. Even the tickling breath in his ear rang in the air. Jude stood still and lowered his hand trying to hold the doorknob.
“It was amazing. Can you guess? All I could hear was a hissing sound from her throat that kept spewing filthy things at me! Kekeke, she looked at me with unbelievable eyes. Stupid bitch, she thought I went home all the time because I liked her. Isn’t she an idiot? After all what she did to me? Her eyes were wide open until I cut off her neck, and it was so funny!”
“……then, why did you report it?”
Even though I asked him in a non-interesting tone, Lloyd could not stop laughing like a convulsion, whether it was because of the excitement or the joy filling his entire mind with the memory of that time.
“Well, I had neighbors who know I go there every Wednesday, and I’m an innocent salary man. You know, if you go to my workplace and ask, I was an impeccable socialite. I didn’t like to be in a crowded place, and I was a quiet and kind employee. Even if I reported it, there should be no harm to me…… it should have.”
“Aha. I’m sorry……………..”
Bang! As Lloyd grabbed his hair mercilessly and pushed it against the door, the view flashed white for a moment. There was a burning pain on his forehead. Soon he could feel a stream of hot liquid flowing. The tight-lipped man gasped for air lightly.
“Do you know what I realized when I killed that pig?”
“……If you’re dying to do it, just, do it……….don’t bother me, don’t ask……!”
Lloyd’s voice sank when he clenched his teeth and barely answered, holding on to his flickering spirit.
“There are so many women like her in the world. Plus, there are still neighbors who know I’m being treated like that but have been busy laughing inside their warm homes. There are plenty of people in the world who still have to shut up. Besides, I have a knife in my hand. It is a strength that no one can take away.”
You shouldn’t think of it as a something that can’t be taken away. At least the stuff in my holster……no, not this one. Thinking in a dazed spirit and shaking his head in bewilderment, Jude bit his lips once to turn back his twisting vision.
“You know Alvin Jones, Detective? He’s the most famous guy I’ve seen lately. What he did wasn’t that different from me, was it? So, I’m going to be like him. I’m going to be rooted in the minds of people in the form of an ordinary salary man. People will understand me. After all, I’m just doing what they can’t do. I’m doing what I have to do, to get rid of the trash in society instead of the incompetent police!”
The moment Lloyd took out Alvin Jones’s name in a reverent voice, Jude’s eyes, which had been slightly frowned with pain and annoyance, bent slightly, and drew a smirk on the corner of his mouth. Kekeke. To Jude, who occasionally sheds an unbearable laugh, Lloyd asked in a voice yet to cool off, but a little cold.
“Why are you laughing, Detective?”
“No, that’s… …Alvin Jones. Haha. I don’t mean to stand up for that killer, but hahaha, what should I say? That you’re like him? I think it’s too much.”
“Why is it too much? I realized, there are so many people in the world that should be killed. I’m just doing the right thing. Didn’t Alvin Jones run away because he thought he had no reason to be executed……!”
“Hahahaha! The damn press. What, justification? Do you think Alvin Jones was going to give a reason for his actions? He didn’t need a reason. He just did it because he wanted to. Simple? I would be less tired if he had a clear and trivial reason like you. Pure desires move people better than rationalized reasons. I couldn’t say anything.”
“Nno, no reason…?”
“Yeah, it’s not nonsense, Lloyd. It’s no use planning to kill your mom for 20 years just for trivial reason. I don’t want to grade things like that murder maniacs, but nonetheless, I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere near Alvin Jones’ toes. It’s better that way, for me.”
“What do you know about him?! What do you know about me……!”
“The first dead body we found showed us the human limitation. There were signs of crushing from the fingertips, signs of Achilles tendon amputation. His eyes were sunken, and he had several small needles inserted, probably. The intestines were deftly long with small holes in the stomach. Electric torture cannot be left out.”
Jude laughed out loud once again. The blade on the back of his neck was shaking with anger, not laughter. “You’re going to emulate someone who did that nonchalantly from the first murder? Give up, Lloyd. That’s good for you, too. You’ll lose your mind if you imitate someone like him. Well, he’ll get caught soon, but there’s still the most important reason.”
“What…”
“I’ve been wondering how much pain you have to inflict on a person to die from that pain. Can you do it with a smile on your face? Keke, the guy who committed his first murder with a grudge against his mother would be like him. Oh, that’s the funniest comedy I’ve heard lately. I’m going to tell my partner.”
His face must have turned red. And his eyes should be bloodshot due to intense emotion. Judging the situation to the extent that the blade on his neck trembled, Jude aimed for the holster, straining his muscles little by little. I need to fire as soon as it’s taken off. If I hit his stomach as hard as I can with my elbow while holding the gun in my hand, I’ll be able to earn the time to pull the trigger. It would be better to aim for a gap when he loses his composure and raises his blade high.
“Eee…!”
A beastly groan rang in the room. As soon as the blade fell off his neck, and Jude pushed his elbow back as hard as he could, Jude and Lloyd stopped moving at the same time.
Bam-Bam-Bam, Bam-Bam-Bam. With the regular knocking sound of the door, Jude stopped clicking his tongue. Why a visitor at this moment? No, but maybe it’s Tim. He guessed this and that, and Lloyd grabbed Jude’s shoulder with a rough gesture. As he walked with his hands tied at the back and thrown into the bathroom, the man, who was a neat salary man, growled, looking down at Jude with a disheveled face.
“You’ve got handcuffs.”
“Oh … there is.”
“Get it out. Put it in this water pipe with your hand.”
“Uh…… haah. Um. Okay.”
Reluctantly pulling out the hard glossy handcuffs and put them on his wrists, Lloyd held out one hand. Jude, who looked at the hand for a moment with a look of “What do you want?” – only sighed when Lloyd’s face became grim, rummaging through his pockets and pulled out the handcuffs key. With it in his hand, Lloyd rushed out at the knock of the door. Bang, the bathroom door is closed.
A good detective always prepares a backup. As the chief often recited clearly a snorting line in front of his face, Jude searched his pocket and took out a small piece of wire. It will take some time, but will I be able to make it by any means until he gets back? Wishing that the person who came at the door was the one with a pleated story, Jude listened and inserted pieces of wire into the keyhole of the handcuffs.
“Well, what’s the matter?”
“Oh, this is room service. It’s to relieve your hardship.”
“What? What…. …you, who…………kohookk!”
At the moment of the short scream, Jude’s movement stopped. Pooh! The sound of impassive penetration into a person’s body without permission. The sound of liquid-bearing body tissue entangling with metal inside a watery mucous membrane.
No, in fact, before that, from the quiet, dingy voice of the room, his movements stopped. Thud, thud. At the sound of something soft and heavy falling on a cheap carpet, my heart beat a little out of sync, which didn’t get that fast even when Lloyd stroked his blade from behind. With a calm breath, I could hear the hem of the garment passing by. Is he searching his body? A low-pitch voice rang calmly in my ear.
“You don’t deserve it.”
After a while, there was a light, gentle tread on the carpet. It feels like the soft leopard’s soles passing through the soil. The sound of footsteps drew near, little by little, in front of the bathroom. Click, the doorknob is turned. As soon as the light blue-gray eyes were seen through the crack of the door, Jude sighed and looked at the ceiling.
“-What are you doing here?”
Alvin, who puts the key in the keyhole with a light smile, asked Jude, looking with a carefree eye.
“What are you doing, in a place like this?”
“I’m taking off the handcuffs, aren’t I?”
The sound of a clear laugh rang. Click, the cold ring unraveled with a small sound. Pulling off the handcuffs with a soft touch, Alvin put it back in Jude’s pocket with the key.
“Let me tell you…”
“You could have solved it without me, right? I know.”
“Not helping at all.”
As he spat dryly while rubbing his wrist, Alvin reached out his hand and touched Jude’s neck slightly. The fingertips were strangely delicate, like a painter’s hand.
“You’re hurt.”
“Oh, really? I thought he was pressing it with the back of the knife, but I guess it wasn’t.”
“I stabbed him with the knife he was holding, so you can tell that he killed himself while talking to you. Oh, is it all recorded on the tape recorder?”
“……no, I don’t think so, but are you telling me to say it as it is now?”
“Then are you going to say I come and killed this guy? You’re going to get extremely tired.”
That’s true. With a long sigh, Jude shook his head. Alvin Jones came and saved himself and killed him? Then there are many problems. Why would Alvin Jones do that for Detective Jude? You’re in touch with him, aren’t you?- They’ll question me. The possibility of a preposterous investigation, which comes from that conclusion would be, “Even if you aren’t, we can use you, detective to lure him.”
“……as expected, I hate you…….”
“Ahaha, don’t be too much.”
“So, let me just ask why. Why are you here?”
“There were a few things, but I came here because I thought it would be fun, but it was kind of boring to see someone who seemed like a beginner, and it’s too obvious what he’s trying to do. I thought I’d kill him before you came, but you went in and didn’t come out, so I just came in.”
“Oh. Are you interested?”
Nodding with a bemused face, Alvin smiled tenderly.
“Well. Anyway, you want to see something interesting, don’t you?”
“Aha, my bonus.”
“Oh, I didn’t say yes. Are you angry?”
With a light burst of laughter, Jude rose from his seat with his mouth down. Jude, who shook off his dusty pants, touched his forehead with a face of intense agony as if he was choosing over vanilla and chocolate-flavored ice cream for about 20 seconds, shrugged his shoulders with resignation and pulled out his cell phone. And turning his head, he spat at Alvin.
“You, leave now.”
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“Are you going to be okay?”
“Stop talking nonsense. You won’t get caught even if I call for backup now. Trying to get caught? Then I’ll call you because I’m always eager to be kind.”
“Hahaha, see you next time. It’s not that I don’t want to relax and spend time with you, but I don’t have that much time. Maybe next time, I’ll see you in a fun place.”
“Hurry up. I’m calling Tim…” Oh, Tim? Yeah, sorry, I’m in a motel right now. Yes, where Mr. Lloyd is. Well, it’s a little long. Yes. In short, Mr. Lloyd is the culprit… …don’t yell. Send me the probation team. There’s a dead body… …Oh, hurt? Yes, not much…….. Yes. I’ll wait.”
When he closed the flip phone and turned his head, the blue-gray-eyed young man was gone. Looking a little tired at where Alvin was standing, Jude sighed again and left the bathroom. Lying on the floor was Lloyd’s body which was deeply penetrated into the neck. Feeling familiar with the fishy smell filling the room and entering his lungs, Jude grumbled a little, opened the window and waited for Tim.