Chapter 391 — Provocation
Aside from Officer Hobbes, who already knew the serial murders involved something supernatural, every other officer in the department still treated the case like an ordinary homicide investigation.
After all, police officers generally didn't believe in ghosts or monsters.
What were they supposed to do?
A murder happens, someone says, "A ghost did it," and the police just stop investigating?
Case closed?
Naturally, the department believed the killer was likely an accomplice of Reese—the executed serial murderer.
As for the bizarre pattern—
The killer in the first case becoming the victim in the second.
The killer in the second case becoming the victim in the third.
And so on.
The police assumed the real murderer had deliberately staged the scenes this way.
A carefully crafted smokescreen.
An elaborate psychological game designed to confuse investigators and send them chasing their own tails.
"By the way…" Hobbes' partner leaned closer and lowered his voice slightly. "That friend you brought in… is he really FBI?"
As he spoke, he glanced toward Dean.
Dean was sitting at a temporary desk with case files spread out in front of him.
Except he wasn't studying them.
He was flirting with a female officer.
And judging by the way she kept laughing at his jokes, the two were getting along very well.
In fact, from their conversation, it sounded like they were already discussing which bar to hit after work.
Give it another ten minutes and they'd probably be booking a hotel room.
In the West, attitudes toward relationships and sex were generally much more casual.
People often separated physical attraction from emotional attachment.
Enjoying physical intimacy first and figuring out feelings later was considered perfectly normal.
Dean, meanwhile, spent his life traveling across the country hunting monsters.
He had no permanent home.
No stable routine.
As soon as one case ended, he was already driving toward the next.
A lifestyle like that made having a long-term girlfriend nearly impossible.
But Dean was still a healthy young man in his twenties.
And unlike Sam's more restrained personality, Dean had never been shy about satisfying his physical needs.
With a lifestyle like his, if Dean wanted companionship without paying for it, the only option was mutual attraction and casual hookups—usually picked up at bars.
So over time, he'd unintentionally mastered the art of flirting.
And developed the habit of flirting everywhere he went.
Back in Chicago, during the shapeshifter case, Dean had openly tried chatting up Fiona right in front of Jimmy.
Which was ridiculous considering his actual mission at the time had been secretly protecting Frank.
And now, inside the police station, Dean's old habits were acting up again.
He was busy charming a female officer.
Watching this completely unserious behavior, several officers in the department had already started whispering among themselves.
This guy didn't exactly match their image of the elite, professional FBI.
"Ahem… well, even FBI agents are still human," Hobbes coughed awkwardly, reluctantly trying to defend Dean. "Especially young ones."
"Hobbes!"
At that moment, another officer hurried over.
"The person you were looking for—someone reported spotting him on surveillance footage."
"You found Eddie!?" Hobbes shot to his feet instantly.
Dean, who had been flirting moments earlier, immediately became serious and stood up as well.
The two quickly went to review the footage.
And there, on the surveillance recording, was Eddie.
Seeing him actually made both Hobbes and Dean relax slightly.
Eddie had vanished while investigating the creature.
And since the creature could possess people, the most likely explanation had always been obvious:
Eddie had been possessed.
As terrible as that was, at least it proved Eddie was still alive.
The worst-case scenario had been the creature simply killing him outright.
"Where was this footage taken?" Hobbes asked.
"Near South Standard Street," the officer replied.
"Center the search around that area," Hobbes ordered immediately. "Send officers to canvass the surrounding blocks."
Hobbes noticed the surveillance timestamp was from the previous night—only a few hours before the creature had called him again.
Which meant the creature had almost certainly killed someone nearby.
They still hadn't found the latest crime scene.
But if they searched around the area where Eddie had appeared, they'd probably locate it soon.
"Hobbes."
Another officer suddenly approached while everyone was busy.
"What is it?" Hobbes asked.
"I heard you sent your family out of town."
"Ah… yeah." Hobbes nodded casually. "They went on vacation."
"Vacation, huh… sounds nice."
The officer smiled faintly.
"I used to travel a lot myself. If not for a few little accidents, I'd probably still be traveling right now."
"You?" Hobbes looked surprised.
He knew this officer well enough.
Whenever the guy was off duty, he was usually either in a bar or at a strip club.
Traveling absolutely did not sound like him.
"Yep. I love traveling."
The officer's smile widened strangely.
"I've gone around the world so many times I've lost count."
"But someone as interesting as you? That's rare."
"This place really is unlucky for me, though."
"I've passed through here twice now… and both times I ran into trouble."
"Maybe this city's cursed for me."
"Then again, if I avoided it next time… I probably wouldn't meet someone like you."
He sounded almost like he was talking to himself.
"What are you talking about?" Hobbes frowned.
"Even though it ruined my fun a little, sending your family away was definitely the smart move," the officer continued calmly. "Saved me the trouble of tracking them down."
"Oh, and honestly? Your progress is slower than I expected."
"You only just solved the riddle, didn't you?"
Hobbes' expression darkened instantly.
"What the hell are you saying?"
His hand slowly moved toward his gun.
But Dean reacted even faster.
BANG!
Dean slammed the officer violently against the wall.
The impact echoed through the station.
"Hey, hey, no need to be so rough," the officer said casually. "Even if you catch me, it won't matter."
Then—
The "Dean" pinning him to the wall suddenly turned around and spread his hands helplessly.
"See? Told you. Completely pointless."
"Huh?" the officer who'd been slammed into the wall blinked in confusion, looking around blankly. "Why am I over here?"
"!!"
Hobbes' pupils contracted sharply.
The creature had already jumped into Dean's body.
Before Hobbes could react, "Dean" leaned closer.
"I want to tell you something…"
Then, right beside Hobbes' ear, "Dean" began softly singing:
"It's not that retribution never comes…
The time just hasn't arrived yet…"
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