LATE NIGHT WORK
“A dead body has been found on the streets of Basantapur nearby Shiva Temple. Victim is a male of average build and seems to have been in his late 30’s. The identity of the victim is still unknown.
Its the 5th case of the late night murders this month. The body of the victim shares the same traits as the other night murders that were discovered before this. A stab on the throat and a stab on each eye along with both the wrists slit open. The clothes of the victim are well intact with only marks of blood and no signs of tears on them. One could assume that the victim was not robbed, as his belongings i.e. his cell phone and wallet with cash are still there in the pockets.
The police have named the mysterious killer as the Night Hunter. Based on what they say, the night hunter is a psycho-maniac who roams aimlessly around the city area at night. The victims are all male but random and do not share any connections with each other. It is very much less likely that the murders were done because of robbery or personal grudges. All the victims so far share the same set of wounds in their body i.e. a stab each on the throat and the eyes and the wrists slit open. The stab wound seems to be made from a small but sharp knife, such as a kitchen utility knife. None of the victims have survived their brutal fate. They have announced a night curfew will be soon implemented with police patrol at the murder areas and the search for the hunter is still going on.
There is no evidence or leads yet on who the night hunter might be. At this time, we can only advise the general public to stay in their homes after 9, specially around the areas where the murders are found.”
“So, the night hunter is still on the loose?”, I asked.
“He could already be behind bars. This is a week-old newspaper”, my colleague replied as he folded the newspaper he was reading and placed it on his table alongside his coffee mug. “Are you done?”
“Yes, I’m packing up for the night now.” I said, shutting down my computer. Then I turned towards the direction of the clock hanging on the eastern wall of the office. “You could have left after your work was done. It’s already very late”.
“I just finished a few minutes ago. We are the only remaining ones , you see, everyone left hours ago. It would be rude to abandon you.” He sounded high and mighty as if he was doing me a favor.
“Or hah- maybe you are afraid that the hunter might catch you alone in the street.” I let out a small giggle as I teased him.
He picked up his office bag which seemed rather like a small gym bag, put its strap by his shoulder and looked back at me. “And you are not?”
“I don’t think I have ever wronged anyone in my life. Why would I be afraid of anyone?”
“As if the night hunter is someone who cares about personal grudges. Didn’t you hear what the newspaper read? He kills randomly. He is just a maniac on the streets.” — he said as we got up from our respective chairs and began moving towards the office exit to leave for the night.
“I think the police are incompetent. They are lacking proper investigation. Surely, there must be some connection among the victims. The paper does say that the hunter does not take any belongings from the victim. In your honest opinion, what else could be a reason if not an act of revenge?”
“Maybe the victims were all lovers of his lover. He must have sworn to himself to erase everyone who even gazed flirtatiously at his girl. Hahaha!”. He laughed at his own imaginary tale while locking the office door which we had just stepped out of. “Wait here, we have to leave the office keys with the security guard before heading out.”
The guard usually stays by the gate room but since we were already too late, my colleague assumed he was in the staff quarters which was on the far side of the building. I could see my colleague tapping on the glass window and shouting inside to wake up the sleeping guard. I can tell he was in a deep sleep because the guard looked annoyed, with a frown face I might add, to see my co-worker. He asked us to double check if we had left anything back in the office. I happened to overhear them, so I tapped my pockets just to be sure that I had not missed anything.
Mobile phone in my right pocket, check.
Pens on my left, check.
Wallet on the back, check.
Inner pocket of my coat, check.
Everything seemed to be in place. I took a sigh of relief and shouted out, “Nothing missing here” at their direction. They exchanged a few more words and then my colleague came pacing back from the guard’s room. “Whoever comes to the office first tomorrow shall open the door. Obviously, the office wouldn’t expect us to be the first to arrive tomorrow since we have worked until this late.”, he said.
The guard followed him from behind. We walked a few steps on the building yard and then out the main gate which he then closed behind us.
