The Curse Of Eden
Chapter 18- Breaking News

Intense was an understatement.

The briefing room was a battlefield of lighting bolts and fire as the two profilers crackled at each other. Ruby a little less infuriated than her counterpart Collette. "Okay, let's state all the facts in front of us." Adam suggested as he walked towards the glass board. He opened the marker and started jotting down what they know. He began by making a list of all the victims, their ages, and where they were found. Then, in another column started writing what they know about E himself. "He wouldn't know about the Holers unless he was connected to them somehow." Adam stated.

"He was either hurt himself or knows someone who was." Collette added.

"Not necessarily, maybe he just heard about them from somewhere and decided to take them out. The M.O. shows no signs of violence or anger. He was rather calm when he killed them." Ruby retorted with an eyebrow suggestively raised. Collette bit her tongue from opposing her sassily.

"They're a secret organization who keep themselves well hidden even from the government." She replied with logic. "It's not easy for someone to just 'hear about them'. He must be related to them directly."

"I'm actually with Collette on this." Ken aided. "And if he really was related to one of them directly it means that he's maybe a Holer's son."

"Why are you all pressing on the fact that it's a guy? You can't know the gender for sure." Alex piped in.

"Some of the victims are big in size, it's relatively hard for a woman to be able to carry and transport them." Adam replied.

"We know for a fact that most of them were killed elsewhere while others died where they were found. Maybe there's an accomplice or something." Ken suggested. "A guy doing the heavy work while E, assuming it's a she, does the easy bits." "And where did the blood of the ones who died in place go?" Collette asked in confusion. "Only Jason's was left to pool on the pizzeria's roof. What about the other ones?"

"Blood bags." Doc Newman interrupted suddenly as he made an entrance. All eyes turned to the old doctor.

"I actually found puncture marks on both wrists of some of the victims but I didn't understand them till now. E knew that if he just left the open wounds to dispose of all the blood, there will be a mess and he might leave traces in it or alarm people earlier than needed. He took the safe way out and drained them using blood bags and needles."

"Then slit the wrists and carved his letter after they were dead?" Alex stated more than asked.

"Not quite." Doc replied. "The letter was carved while they still had blood in their system. They correlate with the puncture marks. But only when there was no blood were his wrists slit so they looked like the others."

"He's slitting the wrists for a reason. He's not just out for any killing method." Adam noted.

"All we know is that he gave his victim's an hour-long death. There were no traces of any kind of heavy sedatives in their systems." Doc Newman spoke with a sigh.

"Let's try to replace out if we can trace the purchase of blood bags respective to the times of death." Adam ordered.

"But what if he bought them all already in bulk?" Avery suggested.

"Then that will him easy traceable. So far, we know for a fact that three of the victims were killed where they were found so that means he used a total of six empty bags minimum." Adam replied with an inward smirk. "Search all the medical supplies stores for surveillance footage and try to replace anyone who bought six or more. And Elliot, you and Kristen try to replace out if someone made a purchase online with that same quantity." "On it boss."

"Don't rule out females though." Collette informed.

"That won't be necessary." Ruby retorted with rolled eyes. "It's not physically possible for a female body to carry some of these men. The last two victims were heavy. One of them alone was about a pound and a half." "Female wrestlers are capable of carrying such heavyweight. No, scratch that, what about female weight lifters?" Collette fought back. Ruby was testing her patience and she felt angry towards how she was making her feel.

"Oh with all due respect professor, but these females train from a very young age and if we supposed that E is connected to the Holers then no way will 'she' get that chance. Plus, E killed your father seventeen years ago so he's surely not someone young enough to be a female weightlifter. Guess you're getting a little rusty." Ruby shrugged with a smug look.

"Hey!" Adam was fast to reply while Collette remained quiet with a blank stare before speaking up.

"Dear, my vast experience, even if it was a little short, taught me to always think outside the box and never rule out anything unless I'm sure. I might be getting a little rusty, but sweetie, you still got a shit load to learn before challenging me." Collette turned on her heel and left the room in quiet steps. She knew she was losing composure. Something she's not very good at and she didn't want to give Ruby that satisfaction. She knew very well what her weak points are. She knew well how she wants to just run away whenever things go bad. She knows very well how weak she could get towards problems that cause her severe emotional hurt.

But Ruby rubbed it in bitchly.

Collette took in a deep, heavy breath as she stood in the middle of Adam's office. The air stung like a needle in her chest.

A moment passed by before Adam was opening the door behind her.

"Hey, don't listen to what she's saying. Her words mean-" He started.

"No, it's okay. She's right." Collette sighed. "She didn't provide it in a good way but she was right. I ran away when I faced an obstacle life threw at me. I didn't give myself the chance to fight and get past it. I just took the easier route." "That's not true. You were attached to that girl, she was your student. Seeing her die right in front of your eyes in the warehouse isn't something easy to experience." Adam tried to soothe as he stepped closer. Collette offered a small, gentle smile.

"Do you know what she told me before he-" She swallowed hard at the memory.

Adam squeezed her arm a little tighter in comfort.

"She said that her biggest regret was trying to help and save the others. She should've just..... stayed at home where it was safe. And that's what got her captured easily in the first place. Her courage. " Collette struggled with the lump in her throat.

"He tortured her Adam. Right in front of my eyes. I can still hear her screams to this day and it shakes me violently. But that wasn't what got me stopping. It was her words to me and the way her eyes looked when saying them. And that's when a big part of me wanted nothing but to stay at home where it was safe. I made that decision, tied to a chair in a warehouse, bleeding, wounded, and on the verge of death. But the funny thing is, even when I was safe at home, that decision didn't change. I was too weak to face it and I just left."

"You can't hold yourself accountable for that Collette. It was a hard time. You fell into depression and got a little extra jumpy. It's completely normal to feel scared in situations like these." Adam tried to soothe.

"But it wasn't okay for me to allow fear to shape my future." She smiled emotionless. "See? I left and know I'm getting 'rusty'. Will I be spending the rest of my life like that?"

Adam pulled her close to his body in a tight hug. He didn't have to say a word for Collette to know what he was saying and they stood silently in each other's arms.

Adam pulled back slightly.

"No matter what you decide, or how you want to shape your life, I'll always be there to support you."

Collette's smile widened before reaching up to give Adam a chaste kiss on the lips. "Let's get this case done with first."

A knock on the door dragged their attention to it.

"Hey boss, you need to see this." Ken entered, showing them his tablet.

"We just got information from trusted sources that a series of murders have been taken place for the past three months and a half." An anchor spoke.

"The killer has so far killed about nine men." She stressed out.

Adam and Collette shared looks then went back to the blonde woman on the screen.

"It is said that the killer, noting himself as 'E' is targeting members of what appears to be a religious cult known as the Holers but no one knows for sure if the Holers will be his only victims or will he be aiming at other sections of the society as well. We have Daniel now with one of the witnesses from the last crime scene."

The screen changed to a male reporter on the street standing next to someone else.

"Yes Sarah, it appears that the news sure spread fast and I'm here with Rob, one of the people who were at the fair when the victims were found."

He turned the mic to Rob who was more than willing to say everything he got.

"It was very horrible." He started. "One second we were all enjoying our time at the fair, and the next thing we know, it turned into a crime scene for a double homicide. No one actually knew it was the work of a serial killer. The police said nothing about it."

"Can you describe to us how were the bodies found? Did you see both of them?" Daniel asked.

"Yes yes! I actually saw them both!" Rob answered. "They were as pale as ghosts and you know," he leaned in closer to the reporter. "I think they were tortured before they were killed. I overheard the forensic doctor say that all their blood was gone. I think the killer drinks them or something."

"Looks like we have some vampire killer on the loose." The reporter had the audacity to joke.

"Supernaturals do exist you know." The man spoke with a sure expression.

"Okay, thank you Daniel." Sarah interrupted as the screen changed back to her. "And we just got further news about those Holers actually being part of domestic violence which asks the question, is 'E' really a bad guy for killing all these men or was he just trying to protect those families? We will be back with more after the break."

The report ended with the program's logo and turned to play an advertisement for some chocolate brand.

The trio shared deflated looks.

"This is will cause trouble." Adam voiced in frustration.