Chapter 237: Malik’s thoughts
"You don’t want to fully come to the fact that this serial killer is operating on a cycle. Every week one kill, that means, from the time you found Emily Wilson, it means that he is holding another victim captive and she is undergoing inhuman torture, right now." Malik did not waste a single moment to rip open the bandage even without touching Arlen.
A pained expression crossed Arlen’s face and Malik sighed.
"I think that it is interesting you feel so guilty when the killer is probably having wine and cheese without a single shred of guilt." He decided to be kinder, considering this person is his friend’s lover and his lover’s brother. "Feeling guilty that you have not caught the killer. Are you an oracle hiding your power, or perhaps, a god? Did you hand the knife to the killer in some sort of hide-or-seek game?"
"Of course not. I don’t think that I am..." Arlen hurried to reply.
Ravi frowned and was about to step forward when Malik’s expression softened somewhat, "Then it is not your fault. Since you did not give the knife, then you must never feel like you did. Your pain right now is what this killer would enjoy the most and it would cause you to make mistakes in your haste. You are a detective, it is your job, not your life purpose, the only person answerable to the crime is the criminal."
The room was silent for a few minutes and Arlen sighed, "Thank you. You are right and I...know that." There was a sad smile on his face, of course, he knew that it was not his fault that a madman was patrolling the street, looking for people to kill but even though he did know that, he could not help the guilt that he felt." It is just that feeling that if I am a little smarter, or faster or stronger, then I might have saved them. You understand what I am saying."
He looked at both Malik and Ravi who paused for a second and in an identical motion, shook their heads.
Arlen looked up to the ceiling, a helpless expression on his face. Ravi chuckled and reached out to hold his hand, interlocking their fingers to comfort Arlen. He knew that the kind of Arlen would have a hard time because of this case but there was little that he could do to help.
"I would not take any more time. This killer is operating within his own crime cycle. The interval between the last crime and the next crime can be divided into a cooling period and a fantasy intensification period. After that, the killer will kill again."