Two murders

The light is dim and the silence is only interrupted by the sound of the clock on the north wall. The room, which usually has a life of its own, is now dormant. No computer turns on, no cell phone rings, it would be impossible to guess that there are seven people in that lab room. Just three days ago, Lucas, the head of the sleep research, was getting a call from sebastian, one of his colleagues. He is the one who usually reports the news from the lab and who had to call Lucas about the recent murder of Marcus, a colleague.

A meeting of an urgent and immediate natur was then called in which all the members of the laboratory would be present, and they met there. But nobody said anything, there was no desire to narrow anything down, and everyone knew the news. Tam's sobs made that place a darker one than it already was, to whom one could only see her long hair as her face was glued to one of Lucas' arms. Everyone was upset, but no one dared tell him to stop.

"Excuse me, but... do we expect anything?" asked Sebastian, the most anxious of the group, shrugging his shoulders as he looked at each other, worried that someone would take his question for lack of respect.

Lucas only nodded his head, he already knew that Sebastian would be the first to utter words in such a gloomy atmosphere. Ana, Sebastian's girlfriend, only took her partner by the arm. Her elegant, shoulder-length hair was impeccable, but her light violet-toned makeup was not in good condition. Only Sebastian will know how much that girl cried as soon as she heard the news that summons them there.

Professor Levinghton's gaze was serious and immutable. His lost gaze turned to the south wall in a way that he seemed to be able to see through it, to the next room. From time to time, a tear ran down the cheek of that experienced teacher who felt the loss of one of his students for second time.

Adlonov's gaze was different from that of others, it was a defiant look, but a challenge that was not addressed to anyone in that room. His celestial eyes called for search, action, justice and revenge, something he was already imagining as it would be, that kept him calm in the face of so much waiting.

The one who couldn't stand whe wait is Mio, who cried. Despite having only known him for a couple of hours, Marcus' charisma and Mio's empathy made him forge a friendship so strong that few are able to archieve even in years, Suddenly Ana gets up from her seat and runs to Mio, the two girls hug each other tightly and cry heartbroken as everyone else looks down, including Adlonov.

"My condolences." A man appears at the door.

He was tall, thin, wearing a very elegant suite underneath his brown coat that matched with his hat. It contrasted sharply with the boy behind, who, although of similar height, wore a grey jacket, black pants and sneakers.

"And who are you?" Adlonov asks.

The crying begins to diminish in response to the unexpected interruption.

"He is Errol, a private detective" responds Lucas as he gets up from his seat while Tam looks away to dry her tears.

"A private detective?" insist Sebastian as he dries a tear running down of his cheek.

"That's right. I contacted him a while ago when it was Mark's"

"You did't tell us anything, Lucas" Adlonov Interrupted.

"The problem is that we had no conclusive evidence, nothing what would give us a clue where to look" said the detective.

"However, now there are, isn't it Errol?" Lucas added.

"Indeed. If I may..." Errol said as he put the briefcase on the table and his hat that had been taken off as he entered, on a chair.

What briefcase was filled with papers of all colors and ages. Although his services were not as sought after as he and his assistant would like, they take every job they find very seriously. Inside these papers, Errol takes a folder and gives it to Lucas who is behind him, while his assistant puts the suitcase he brings, a little bigger than Errol's, and takes out another folder that he gives to the teacher.

"Excuse me, but I dont't know your name yet" Levinghton asks.

"Adler, sir," the timid assistant answers.

Errol turns around, look each of the scientists to his eyes and begins his presentations.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Errol Brown. Now let me present the case. When Mr. Lucas Tarquini presented himself with a murder case two years ago, I must admit it was a surprise as many things did not make sense, I investigated the case but it came to nothing. However, given the recent events, we can proceed to discover who was responsible for these strange murders.

Adlonov settled in his seat, the search for those responsible were words that encouraged him to join the cause. The others listened attentively, they needed to know what was happening, what danger was lurking.

"Let's start with a brief review of the events that occurred five years ago," continued Errol. "Mark Gonçalvez left these same offices at 22 hours on 2 May. He locked the door and immediately recived a call of just five seconds. He leaves the building but does not go to his house, but takes the opposite road, first down Havok Street, 25th Street, to Adlenton Street. At 22:58 there's an emergency call from a pay phone about a man on the sidewalk who's not answering. The police, paramedics and relatives arrive around 23:20. The cause of death is cardiac arrest. Forensics finde no signs of violence, struggle, absolutely nothing, but they are inevitably surprised to find a diode on Mr. Gonçalvez's neck, a very large one, a deep wound. Among his belongings, a card with the inscription 'R.E.M.' which results in the case being treated as a possible serial killer since it has 'signature' characteristics, but in the absence of evidence, the case is closed."

"All this is in Mr. Tarquini's folder," Adler clarifies.

"Tsuambe Marcus' case," Errol begins while looking at a document.

"Wait a minute, how come you already have details of Marcus' case when it happened less than three days ago?" asked Ana, who does not speak much, but when she does she can become strikingly incisive and insightful.

"The police coroner has been in operation for more than 25 years, so I knew him since he was a cadet in the Force," said looking at Ana. "Case of Tsuambe Marcus," continued Errol returning to the document. "He received a call at 14:25 less than five seconds from an unknown number. At 15:50 a woman calls 911 from a pay phone as she heard screams in an abandoned facility. The same cause of death is confirmed and there is also a diode in his neck. In his cell phone was found a note that only says 'R.E.M.'".

At that moment Lucas drops the folder he was holding, he is paralyzed by such news, as the message repeats itself. The shock is shared by everyone in the room.

"No doubt," continued Errol, "they are a threatened by a serial killer.