— DECEMBER 12nd —

  It didn’t take long to make a decision, just a few days of staying at home and thinking. I decided it was the best way to spend my energies.

  Kaeron and I are heading to the first crime scene, Alice Dellis. We’re using her car. It's white and shiny, pure class.

  “Why would you bring me to a cleaned up crime scene?” I ask her, tapping on my knee as I look outside the window.

  “Because I think you’d be able to figure out more if you were standing where things happened,” she calmly replies, making a slow turn. She’s very careful with her driving.

  “Alright…” I check my watch, “you dragged me out of my home at 7:00 without even telling me anything about the case, the very next day I accepted your offer. May I know ANYTHING now that we’re heading to the place?”

  “Sure, I have Alice’s file in there. Read it,” she points at her suitcase casually, placed behind her seat.

  I sheepishly grab it and hand it to her.

  “Can’t you see I’m driving? Just open it and search for it.”

  “Isn’t there...like, top-secret stuff in here?”

  She furrows her eyebrows, “what? No.”

  “Okay…”

  I open it and search for the right folder.

  “Okay...WMK case, victim #1...Alice Dellis.”

  Federal Division of the Royal Empire – Criminal Analysis Department.

  Subject: Victim Profile – Case Reference #WMK-01

  Name: Alice Dellis

  Age: 21

  Sex: Female

  Species: Human

  Occupation: Artistic Illustrator

  Residential Address: 214-L Grissom Avenue, Southbridge Sector of West-End district.

  Date of incident: August 28, around 2:00 AM

  Location: Victim’s residence

  Status: Deceased

  Cause of Death: Asphyxiation.

  Body discovery: September 4, 7:36 AM. By landlord, excessive odor.

  - DETAILS (curated by Special Agent #204184, Kaeron Karthea).

  The victim was discovered nude in a seated position, slumped against her bedroom wall. No signs of a struggle in the immediate environment.

  The time of death determined with autopsy estimation and environmental indicators is approx. between 1:45–2:15 AM.

  There is evidence of recent sexual activity (penetration), with the presence of male DNA inside the victim’s genitals (semen).

  No signs of bruising, defensive wounds, or restraint markings were observed during the sexual intercourse. Toxicology reported no mental-impairing substances. Suggesting a consensual act. The location of the act happened on the same bed where she died.

  The victim was then strangled to death. Forensic findings suggest a deliberate force was applied to her neck. The angle and marks are consistent with someone of considerable strength, height, and also anatomical precision.

  Lastly, the victim’s abdomen was cut, from below her breasts to her crotch. Her internal organs and other entrails were pulled out and placed around the crime scene, focusing on the bed.

  A copy of a book titled “The Blackened Theatre” was found in her lap, open to page 42. Fingerprints consistent with the victim’s were present on the spine and several pages, suggesting frequent interaction with the book.

  The Mental Health Profile (obtained via prior psychiatric documentation and therapist interview), suggests the victim was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, reportedly stemming from a violent incident two years prior.

  Notes indicate increased paranoia and recurring hallucinations in the final weeks leading to her death. The final session was conducted a week before the incident; the victim had mentioned a white-haired woman who was watching her at all times while under the influence of her medication. The psychiatrist assigned her a different type of medication, which was never bought after the session.

  A witness, living next door to Alice’s apartment, reported hearing “obscene moaning” at around 1:30 AM and silence shortly after the night of the murder. They did not report at the time and did not investigate, citing frequent and usual use of prostitution services in the complex.

  Additional Notes:

  The book found at the scene does not match any known publisher or registry database. Cover is unmarked, pages are rough-cut, and interior layout appears custom.

  The victim’s personal items were-

  “We’re here.”

  “Wait, let me finish this.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “No, I’ll tell you the rest inside.”

  She snatches the folder from my hands, stuffs it back into her suitcase, and opens the door. I sigh and get out.

  Her apartment complex looks like mine, just a bit taller.

  We arrive at her door. Kaeron pulls out a copy of the keys and opens it, peeling off the yellow tape.

  It smells stuffy. The windows haven’t been opened for a while.

  “So...what did you actually find in her house?” I start wandering around after turning on the light. It’s a small apartment. Kitchen and living room together, small bathroom inside the bedroom.

  "What do you mean?"

  "You want me to analyze motive, so I need to know the victim first," I stop and look at her, "what kind of life was Alice living?"

  “We found several illustrations inside folders. Alice was an artist that took commissions. We found checks from strangers and request letters,” she replies, tracing her fingers along the table in front of the kitchen, “as of the rest, the house is just like any other normal house."

  “Much like Claire’s,” I say, “when I went searching for anything in her house, I found nothing but that book. Oh, by the way...Alice was given the book too, I read.”

  “Yes. We didn’t find the prints of the killers, he probably wore gloves. But I'm sure it was placed on her lap with page 42 opened by him, for a reason.”

  “Let me check.”

  I open page 42 as I head into her bedroom. I stop searching for the page when my eyes lay upon her small bed. Brownish-red stains are still visible across the mattress...my mind inevitably attempts to recreate the scene, making me nauseous.

  Kaeron walks to my side, her arms crossed, her gaze sharp and cold. “She was rotting on that bed, all alone.”

  “Motherfucker…” I grunt.

  I read page 42.

  Nothing special is stated. The protagonist, at this stage, is wandering through the Lost Town under the rain, exploring freely.

  “Looks like a random page,” I close the book, “have you read it, by the way?”

  “Twenty times,” she briefly replies, checking outside the window.

  “Hm, okay,” I nod interested, “thoughts?”

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” she replies, turning around and leaning against a wall. "The White Maiden, in the story, appears before the protagonist as something so beautiful and perfect that he falls in love with her immediately. The book is long...but all it does is just prolong the delusional fantasy of whoever wrote it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The book reveals that the world was made by the Maiden only at the end, following the protagonist falling in love and copulating with her. Why would you write 87 pages of pure riddles and pointless landscaping...if the juice of the book was just a sappy, stupid romance? It could have all fit into a poem.”

  “Who knows? I find the book very odd too...the characters in it don’t make sense at all...everyone speaks in riddles.”

  “Anyways...let’s start thinking.”

  “Mhm...so, how do we approach the investigation of the oldest, first victim?”

  “Let’s think about motive. What started all this?”

  I pace around, careful not to step too close to the bed, “a sexual motive, clearly. All victims are naked, sexually interacted with. The evisceration itself could be part of a fetish. Have you ever found semen on other parts of the victims’ bodies? Maybe the guts themselves?"

  “No. Only inside the vagina.”

  “Fertility,” I mutter, writing it down.

  “Or maybe just the sheer pleasure of doing it inside. I hear you humans are into that.”

  “No,” I mutter, “the killer is obsessed with the White Maiden, who has a child with the protagonist. It might be an ‘acting’ of that very tale.”

  “Interesting...you think his obsession with the story made him want to make the story real?”

  “Not quite. In the novel, the protagonist doesn’t gut the Maiden. It’s said he lives with her for all eternity. I think it’s just a distortion of an already present deviance he developed upon reading the novel.”

  “So you think he was a freak already...and then he just adapted his sick fantasies to the book?”

  “Yes. But Agent Karthea...you keep saying him. I'm talking about both the killers. This guy isn’t alone. There is a female with him, called Elaine. Here…”

  I pull out of my pocket Claire’s diary. She read it carefully, reaching the final message.

  “So this is the evidence Lowe told me about."

  “Yes...he was taunting me about Elima, my assistant. As you can see, Claire Eisern was indoctrinated by Elaine, not the male rapist and killer. She’s an accomplice. She manipulated her for him, and then he barged in and got the job done.”

  “Claire’s diary...this is very valuable...more valuable than anything we’ve ever had. It explains why Claire hasn’t reported anything until the end.”

  “Exactly,” I nod at her, “at first, Claire liked it. It became scary and dangerous only at the end.”

  “And she’s not the only one, D’arbie. Here...I’m going to show you something.”

  She pulls out something out of her suitcase, after placing it on a furniture of the room. A worn out binder.

  I open it. It’s Alice Dellis’ art book. Countless drawings...years of improvement and devotion to the craft.

  “Go to the last drawings. You’ll see something very interesting.”

  “Oh lord…”

  “Alice Dellis was very into the Maiden. Very much," she sighs.

  “They target mentally ill girls...they make them feel wanted and loved...and then they implant the White Maiden into their heads. Pure monstrous work.”

  “We tried to look into Alice’s past. No relatives alive. All we know is what she chose to tell her therapist. Two years ago, she witnessed someone die in the streets. They were ran over, mauled by a cargo vehicle. After that, she started developing PTSD and having panic disorder.”

  “Wait...no schizophrenia?”

  “No. The White Maiden...was her first hallucination. Which is why the psychiatrist was very confused and changed her medication...because they thought it was the collateral effect of her treatment.”

  “What were the true meds she was taking, if she didn’t have any hallucination-inducing disorders?”

  “Pills for depression, anxiety, and hormonal balance.”

  “Agent Karthea…” I look at her with a serious expression, closing the book, “do you even realize what’s going on? You don’t get hallucinations out of nowhere.”

  She looks away, feeling attacked, “I...ugh. This is why I’m asking for your help. You studied human criminology and psychology. So you’re telling me that her sudden hallucinations aren’t normal?”

  “No, they aren’t!” I shook my head, leaning against the furniture, “Claire was schizophrenic...so even if she saw the White Maiden under medication...the explanation could have been that the meds were somehow ‘failing’. But Alice? She was just anxious and traumatized...but you don’t start seeing things just because of that.”

  “Then how did Elaine make her see this stupid ghost?” She asks.

  I play with my beard, deep in thought.

  “I don’t think she made her see it,” I mutter, going back through the artbook. “I think she made her believe in it. The brain’s a delicate thing, Agent. Feed it fear, trauma, obsession...it starts creating monsters just to make sense of it all. Have you ever heard of the term mass-hysteria?”

  “Sure, yes,” she nods, “you’re making me confused now, however. You said it’s weird Alice had hallucinations out of nowhere, and now you say it’s possible?”

  “I’m not talking about possibility...I’m speaking of plausibility. A random, young girl shouldn’t be able to deeply carve a hysteria into a woman like Alice.”

  “I see…” she walks closer, glancing at the drawings, “so this is why the man heard moans and not screams. Alice had consensual sex with the executioner...after Elaine made her believe in the White Maiden.”

  “Exactly. She made her believe into the White Maiden AND possibly other fucked up things...leading her to have sex with this man.”

  “Let’s move onto the next scene, Agathe. I’d like your thoughts on that one at this point.”