William reached the place where they had found the dead body of the man. The body had been dumped near a river.
"You came, sir," one of the other policemen approached him.
"What's the condition?" William asked, taking gloves and a mask from him.
"It's bad, sir. He was badly injured, must have died from excessive blood loss," the policeman replied.
"Who reported this?" William asked as he moved toward the dead body, which was already surrounded by a crowd and the media.
"An old lady," the policeman answered.
"Give me some space," William said as people stood around, whispering among themselves but not moving.
As William was about to step closer to the body, a young man, around 25 years old, stopped him.
"You shouldn't see this," the young man warned.
"I need to check if it's really him," William said, worry evident in his voice. He was mentally hoping it was just a copycat or a mistake.
Hearing William's words, the young man allowed him to move forward.
William removed the cloth covering the body. The sight made him close his eyes. The man was badly injured; his entire body was covered in blood, and the knife wounds were deep and extensive. His body seemed swollen from the stabbings.
"Where is his family?" William asked.
"He doesn't have any," the young man replied.
William sighed. "It seems to be him. The pattern of the murder, the victim selection, the method of abduction, killing, and dumping the body like this—everything matches," the young man said.
William remained silent, still looking at the body. He hoped it wasn't him, but his hopes were dashed when he noticed something on the man's chest.
William's eyes widened. The man's chest was covered in stabs and dried blood. William started cleaning it, but it was difficult.
"What happened, sir?" the young man asked.
"Bring me some water," William said.
"Sure, sir," the young man replied and went to get the water.
"Here, sir," the young man handed him the water bottle.
William quickly grabbed the bottle and poured water over the dead body.
"What are you doing? You'll erase the evidence!" another policeman exclaimed.
But William was too focused to hear him. As he cleaned the chest, the sight made him lose all hope. Even though he had seen the man in the CCTV footage and thought it was him, he had still hoped he was wrong. But the sight confirmed his worst fears.
He saw the name "Petal" carved into the man's chest.
.........
Flashback::
"Good morning, Pet—" William was saying as he entered Petal's room with morning tea and snacks in hand, but he went silent when he saw the empty bed.
"Petal, are you in the washroom?" he asked.
He placed the tea on the table and moved toward the washroom.
"Petal?" he was about to knock on the door when he heard her crying.
"Please get off, please," she sobbed desperately.
She harshly pushed her hands against the sink, making a loud noise.
"Petal!" William burst open the door, worried about what Petal was doing.
Petal turned to face him, her face a tear-streaked mess. Her hands and body were trembling.
"Dad, why isn't it coming off?" she asked, crying.
"What, Petal?" her dad asked, approaching her.
"This blood," she said, looking at her hands. "I've washed them a hundred times, but it still won't come off," she cried, scrubbing her hands again.
He saw her hands were bright red and covered in rashes. It was obvious how harshly she had been washing them; they were on the verge of bleeding.
She started scrubbing them again, digging her nails into her skin.
"Petal, stop," he said, grabbing her hands to stop her.
"No, Dad, don't touch them! You'll get blood on you!" Petal said, panicking.
"Petal, there is no blood," he said, trying to bring her to her senses.
"What are you saying? Can't you see it? Look at my dress; it's drenched in blood, his blood," she cried out in distress. "Why is he doing this, Dad?" she sobbed.
"Why is he making me do things like this?" she cried.
"Petal," he hugged her, realizing she must have had another nightmare.
"I accept that he loves me. Tell him he doesn't need to prove it by behaving like this. Please, Dad, please," she cried.
"You don't love him, Petal," he said, barely above a whisper, but Petal heard him.
"Don't say that, Dad. I do, I love him. If he hears you saying I don't love him, he'll get really mad, and I can't bear to see what he'll end up doing," Petal said, worried.
"He'll hurt himself even more than he is now. Look at what he's made me do," she said, showing him her hands.
"He made me mark his chest with my name. He made me carve my initials on his chest with a knife," she said, crying.
"I was begging him to stop. There was no need to do it, but he wouldn't listen. He said if I did it, it would mean I loved him enough to mark him as mine," she said, her voice filled with pain. "Dad, I don't want this. If he just wants love, I'll give it to him willingly. I can't stand to see him in pain," she cried.
"It breaks my heart to see him laughing when he's in pain. How can he laugh about it, Dad? How can he?" Petal cried bitterly.
End of Flashback
.......
"It's him, it's clearly him," William said, losing all hope.
"Stop making comments like this. If the media hears, they'll make a scene," William's senior whispered urgently, trying to keep the situation under control.
"It's clearly him," William repeated angrily.
"What do you mean, sir? Can you explain how you're so sure it's him?" reporters started bombarding him with questions.
"How can it be? You encountered him with your own hands," his senior asked.
"That's what I'm asking! How can he be alive? How dare he be alive after what he did to my daughter?" William almost cried.
"What did he do to your daughter? Are they related? Is that why you encountered him?" The media's questions came fast and furious.
"Take him away," the senior officer commanded, his patience worn thin.
"Sir, come with me," another officer said, trying to move William.
William didn't budge. "Sir, please," the officer insisted, finally managing to lead William away from the scene. The media tried to follow, but other police officers blocked their path, preventing further chaos.
The tension in the air was palpable as they moved away, William's mind swirling with anger. The crowd's murmurs grew louder, but the police maintained their barricade, keeping the scene under control.
William's thoughts were a chaotic mix of memories and disbelief. The confirmation of the identity of the dead body, the media frenzy, and the anguish of recalling his daughter's suffering made the moment unbearable.
His senior watched him with a mix of sympathy and frustration, knowing how deeply personal and painful this was for him, yet also aware of the professional chaos it was causing.
........
"Ethan, it's him, it's clearly him," William said, getting anxious.
"Calm down, sir, calm down," Ethan said, trying to soothe him.
"He's back," William continued. "Not only is he back with his killings, but he's also back with his obsession with Petal," he said, worried. "He will hurt her again, he will."
"He will not," Ethan assured him.
"No, he will! Don't you see what he did? He wrote Petal's name on that boy's chest, showing he's still as obsessed with her as before, or even more," William said, his anxiety growing.
........
"Chase, why did you say Petal's name?" Maya asked. He was ready to go to work.
Chase was silent, not knowing what to say or how to cover up.
He was about to leave when Maya grabbed his arm and turned him around. "Chase, answer me," she insisted.
"I didn't do that, Maya," Chase lied.
"You think I'm naive?" Maya said.
"You must have misheard," Chase lied again.
Chase saw that Maya wasn't buying his lies. "Or I might have said 'Petal's mom' or something. You just misheard me. I don't even remember clearly; I was just lost in the moment," Chase tried to lie again.
"Then why did you leave when I asked you why you said her name?" Maya asked.
"I just..." Chase didn't know how to respond.
"Forget it. I need to go. We'll talk after I come back," he said, checking the time.
Maya just looked at him.
"Come on, Maya, don't make that face," he said.
Maya was about to say something when their eyes landed on the news on the TV.
"It is confirmed. It was really the Masked Man. Not only that, but a new detail has emerged. The policeman who encountered the Masked Man confessed he did it because of his daughter. What was the relationship between his daughter and the Masked Man? It's still a mystery. Was it the girl the Masked Man attempted to rape?" the anchor said.
It boiled Chase's blood. "How dare she say this?" he muttered, clenching his fists in anger.
........
William took Petal to their family psychiatrist. After the doctor was done with Petal, he asked her to rest while he spoke with her father.
"It's now become an everyday thing. She’s having nightmares almost every night. You said she would get better. So what's this? Even the medicine isn't giving her relief," William said to the doctor, frustration evident in his voice.
"Actually, I saw this coming," the doctor replied calmly.
"What do you mean?" William asked, perplexed.
"In the last few sessions, I’ve been noticing Petal's behavior. It seems she is starting to get her memories back," the doctor explained.
"What do you mean? She can't," William said, his voice filled with dread.
"The memories seem to be overwhelming her. They are fighting to come back," the doctor explained. "I think it would be a better idea if you tell her yourself."
"What?" William asked, confused.
"Tell her, before she finds out herself about the man in her nightmares," the doctor suggested.
"You need to tell her, otherwise it can get worse. Her mind is distorting her memories; she is getting them back but in a twisted way, as if they are manipulating her," he said.
"She is developing emotions for the man in her dreams. She is worrying about him. At this rate, she might think he was important to her and develop feelings for him. I'm worried that, seeing her condition, her mind will create hallucinations and fake memories of being in love with him and spending time with him. I can only foresee the worst," he said.
This reminded William of a past incident.
.......
Flashback
"Petal, come to your senses. He is not real. Nothing like what you explained happened," William said.
Petal just looked at him. "Petal," he called her.
"He was right," Petal said, pulling her hands away. "You don't want us to be together, right?" she accused.
"Petal," he tried to reach her.
"Don't come near me. He was always right. He told me, and I didn't believe him, but now I see—you don't want us to be together," Petal said, her voice filled with betrayal.
End of Flashback
.........
"Give her some medicine. How can this happen?" William said, worry creasing his face.
"Medicine will not work now. We need to come clean," the doctor said, holding William's hand. "You need to be honest. You need to tell her about that man, and you have a clear reason to do that now," he said, looking into William's eyes.
"I heard the news about him. If it's true, you better do something before he gets to Petal again," the doctor said firmly.
Author's Note:Hope you enjoyed reading it. Do let me know your thoughts and vote if you liked it.
Write a comment ...