Kunal's POV
"How can you let this happen?!"
The sound of the files slamming against the conference table echoed through the room like a gunshot.
Everyone fell silent.
DIG Arwant stood at the head of the table, both palms pressed firmly against the polished wood. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the veins near his neck had become visible.
The conference room suddenly felt smaller.
Hotter.
More suffocating.
Outside the glass walls, officers moved through the headquarters as usual.
Inside?
A storm was brewing.
"First Vishal gets injured," DIG continued, his voice rising with every word. "Then Yash gets kidnapped. And now another murder?"
His eyes moved across each one of us.
One by one.
As if searching for the weakest link.
"We are findi-"
Before Shruti could even finish her sentence, DIG cut her off instantly.
"No!"
His voice thundered across the room.
"You people are nothing but a waste of time!"
Shruti immediately lowered her gaze.
Even she looked shaken.
"If you can't do this," DIG continued furiously, "then tell me now! I'll hire officers who actually know what they're doing!"
Silence.
Nobody dared answer.
I clenched my jaw.
Hard.
"Going after him isn't like playing with toys, sir."
Everyone looked toward me.
I leaned forward slightly.
"We're trying everything we can."
DIG crossed his arms.
"Are you?"
"Yes."
I didn't break eye contact.
"What if all of us end up injured like Vishal? What if somebody dies while chasing him?"
The room went quiet.
Nobody liked hearing it.
Because it was possible.
Terrifyingly possible.
I took a slow breath.
"But..."
That single word immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
"We finally have our first real lead."
The atmosphere changed.
Instantly.
DIG narrowed his eyes.
"And what is it?"
Without answering immediately, I reached into my pocket.
Then placed something onto the table.
A phone.
Everyone stared.
"This phone."
DIG frowned.
"When Kishi ran away, he dropped it accidentally."
I picked it up.
"And Naveen found it."
I turned toward Naveen and gave him a small nod.
For the first time all morning, he looked slightly pleased with himself.
Not much.
Just enough to notice.
He nodded back.
Proudly.
"There's definitely something inside this device."
I turned toward Jennifer.
"And I want you to open it."
Jennifer grabbed the phone instantly.
A smile appeared on her face.
Finally.
Something she could attack.
"Okay."
She examined the device from every angle.
DIG folded his arms.
"How long?"
Jennifer shrugged.
"Thirty minutes."
Then she paused.
"Or two hours."
DIG looked unimpressed.
"I don't know."
The room collectively sighed.
Jennifer rolled her eyes.
"What? It's encrypted."
DIG pointed toward the phone.
"If you fail this time..."
His gaze swept across the entire team.
"...I'll remove every single one of you from this investigation."
Nobody laughed.
Because he wasn't joking.
Not even a little.
The meeting ended.
Everyone returned to their respective cabins.
The headquarters felt unusually quiet.
Almost haunted.
I walked into my office and dropped into the chair.
The forensic report was already waiting on my desk.
I opened it.
Forensic Report Summary
Case No. 319/NITAZEN
Victim: Jagdish Sharma
Age: 34
Cause of Death: Combined effects of Nitazen intoxication and severe blunt-force trauma to the skull.
Trace Evidence: Faint pressure marks and discoloration around the victim's neck suggest the recent presence of a pendant or necklace. No such item was recovered from the scene.
Toxicology: Presence of a Nitazen derivative confirmed in bloodstream and tissue samples. Concentration levels indicate rapid system failure within three to five minutes of injection.
Cranial Injury: Massive depressed skull fracture affecting the left temporal and parietal regions. Caused by repeated impacts with a heavy metal object.
Vocal Cords:Surgically severed but non-fatal. Precision suggests intent to silence the victim while keeping him alive.
Fingers: All ten removed while victim was conscious. Swelling and blood evidence confirm torture.
Mouth: Sewn shut while victim remained alive.
Facial Burns: None.
Defensive Wounds: None. Victim was restrained or unconscious during assault.
Time of Death: Between 2:30 AM and 3:00 AM.
Conclusion: Victim was drugged with Nitazen, tortured while conscious, and killed with extreme precision. Signs indicate a highly intelligent and sadistic offender. Methodology strongly matches previous murders.
I lowered the file slowly.
"Nitazen again..."
The word tasted bitter.
The same drug.
The same pattern.
The same monster.
I rubbed my forehead.
"If you're really the one behind all of this..."
My grip tightened around the report.
"...I'm going to make sure you pay for every single victim."
Ding.
The notification sound shattered the silence.
My eyes moved toward my phone.
Another message.
Unknown account.
No.
Not unknown.
I knew exactly who it was.
[KishiVaitarna]: Feeling good?
My heart skipped.
A second message appeared.
[KishiVaitarna]: You must be wondering why I texted you.
I immediately typed back.
[Me]: So you're admitting you did it?
The typing bubble appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Almost like he was enjoying this.
[KishiVaitarna]: Well... I just wanted to make sure you don't think someone else did it to frame me.
My jaw tightened.
Bastard.
[Me]: So you accept responsibility?
Several seconds passed.
Then:
[KishiVaitarna]: Catch me if you can.
A new message arrived.
Not text.
A location.
I stared.
Then immediately stood up.
My chair rolled backward and slammed into the wall.
I ran.
Straight toward the Cyber Lab.
Luckily everyone was already there.
The moment I entered, something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Nobody was speaking.
Nobody was moving.
Their faces looked pale.
Shruti looked like she'd seen a ghost.
The usual energy she carried everywhere had vanished completely.
Rhea, who normally looked fearless no matter what happened, seemed genuinely disturbed.
Tanish stood frozen beside a monitor.
His expression looked like someone had just revealed the eighth wonder of the world.
Jennifer sat in front of a computer.
Completely focused.
Completely silent.
And Naveen...
Naveen stood near the back wall.
Motionless.
Like none of this affected him at all.
Like he was merely watching a movie.
Something about that bothered me.
A lot.
"What's going on?"
My voice cut through the room.
Everyone turned.
Jennifer looked up first.
"What a coincidence, Mr. Kundra."
Her tone sounded strange.
Almost disturbed.
"Look."
She pointed toward the screen.
I walked closer.
Then froze.
A new post.
Uploaded minutes ago.
By Kishi Vaitarna.
The title alone made my stomach twist.
The Day After Murder
I read it aloud.
Jennifer nodded.
"Read the whole thing."
So I did.
"After his greatest work, Ghostface grew tired."
"To rest, he visited the park near his house."
"He played with children."
"Sat on the swings."
"Watched people come and go."
"Until he noticed a man wearing a green T-shirt."
"So he followed him."
"The man lived only five minutes away from the park."
"Ghostface asked the man to hide him because the police were searching for him."
"And the man agreed."
"But..."
I blinked.
Then read the final line again.
"But..."
That was it.
Nothing else.
No ending.
No explanation.
No victim.
No murder.
Just...
But.
I looked at Jennifer.
"But what?"
She threw both hands in the air.
"Exactly!"
Her frustration matched mine.
"This post is completely different from the others."
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
No story.
No confession.
No victim.
No ending.
Just a cliffhanger.
And Kishi knew we'd read it.
Which meant this was intentional.
I suddenly remembered the message on my phone.
"Guys."
Everyone turned toward me.
"I need you to see this."
I held up my screen.
Jennifer stepped closer first.
Her eyes widened.
"A location?"
I nodded.
Without wasting another second, she sat back down and started typing.
Keys clicked rapidly beneath her fingers.
One screen opened.
Then another.
Maps.
Coordinates.
Satellite imagery.
The room waited.
Five seconds passed.
Ten.
Then Jennifer stopped.
Her eyes slowly lifted from the monitor.
And for the first time all evening...
She looked genuinely uneasy.
"It's a park."
Silence filled the room.
The same park mentioned in the post.
And suddenly...