Chapter 12: First case

[Vivian's POV]

He quickened his pace, feeling his heartbeat race with anticipation. As he ran, he caught glimpses of her car up ahead, weaving in and out of traffic.

"Miss, why are you here? What are you doing standing in such heat? Look at your condition. You're drenched in sweat. You should go inside and sit," she said to a woman who looked about 45 years old and was wiping the sweat from her forehead as she brought her inside the police station.

"It's been a week now that I've been going around the police station, but no one is listening to me," the woman said in a low voice.

"What happened?" she asked.

"My daughter. She has been missing for a week. No phone call. No message. I don't know what to do or who to tell."

"What is your daughter's name? Age? What class is she in?" she asked.

"My daughter's name was Faryal Matthew. She is a 20-year-old college student."

"Did you find out about her from her college?" she asked again.

"Yes, I went, but they said she hasn't been coming to college for a month. When they asked her about it, she told them that her mother had died and that's why she was on leave."

"That is the problem. No one knew where she was going instead of college. And why would she lie about my death? As her mother, I couldn't help but feel like I had failed her. Maybe if I had paid closer attention to her behavior, I could have seen the signs that something was wrong. But now, all I could do was try to piece together the mystery of her disappearance," tears welled up in her eyes.

"Okay, don't cry and drink some water," she said, giving her a glass.

"Got a ransom call?"

"No," the woman said, placing the glass of water on the table and shaking her head. "If it had come, I would have been relieved that my daughter was alive."

Knock!

"Miss Vivian Jasper!"

"Yes," I responded, looking up at the beautiful woman with black hair tied in a bun and hazel blue eyes with long thick lashes framing her face. She was wearing a blue police uniform that accentuated her curves. I saw Mr. Park, who had come to say something. But seeing me, he fell silent and turned back to the door, beckoning me to come out.

"Try to remember the last time you both had a fight over something or noticed a change in her behavior. Maybe she had an argument with someone, or someone was bothering her," I patted the woman's shoulder lightly before leaving the room.

"What happened, Mr. Park?"

"Another body has been found near the forests of Nagosia. The forensic team has arrived, and we have to rush there too."

"Wait, I am also coming along with you guys," Altan said, holding his breath. He had black wavy hair and black eyes with a beautiful mole on his nose, making him seem like some kind of dark angel.

I looked at Altan and sat in the car.

"Any updates?" I asked. "Don't know much about the updates, but the killer is the same," John replied.

"Who?" I asked.

Altan carefully examined the body and then looked around. It was an old factory that had been closed for years. There were claw marks everywhere; it seemed like a fight between some big animals. But the dead body of a girl looked as if she had been there for a long time. Her face was damaged. Some animal skin was stuck in her nails. There were claw marks on her body and hair on her clothes, as if she had been trying to save herself.

"Do you think a human can kill an animal alone without any weapon?" I asked Altan, looking at the corpse's hands.

"Man is only a name for humans."

"Means?" I asked in confusion, causing two lines to appear on my forehead.

"But looking at it, the contest was probably even," Altan said, changing the topic.

"WEREWOLF," we both said in unison.

Altan quickly placed his hand over my mouth and said, "Speak slowly."

My eyes widened as I felt Altan's hand on my mouth, but I quickly regained my composure and nodded in agreement.

"Okay," I whispered, "I'll speak slowly."

He removed his hand from my mouth, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"What happened? Found something?" Aydin asked, looking at us.

"I think the case is straightforward. A wild animal must have attacked her, probably a lion or a tiger," Altan replied. "Nowadays, wild animal attacks have increased. This is the third attack. They've tasted human blood; if this continues, the cities will become forests."

As Aydin examined the torn clothing and deep claw marks on the victim's body, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. The thought of wild animals attacking innocent people was terrifying. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Either way, we need to notify the authorities and make sure this doesn't happen again. People need to be aware of the dangers of venturing into these parts alone. And we need to inform her family too."

"But she may have been dead for a long time.

Nothing was found even from her clothes. Her face was also damaged, so she'll have to be taken for a post-mortem." At Altan's words, Aydin stared at him from head to toe and signaled John to take the body to the hospital for further processing.

"Why are you still sitting here?" I asked, shocked as I arrived back at the police station and saw the woman I had left there four hours ago.

"It's been almost a week since my daughter went missing. Who did I go to? There's no one at home."

Pause.

"I remember some questions you asked before you left," the woman continued after pausing for a while. "Before she disappeared, she was acting quite strangely."

"What?" I asked.

"A few days before she disappeared, she was suffering from anxiety and hallucinations."

"What kind of hallucinations?" I asked, interrupting her.

"Kind of weird. She told me she could smell like a dog on herself, which made her bathe several times a day. She used to clean herself so much that there were marks on her body, and then she would scratch those marks and draw blood. A few days ago, her dog also died. I thought it was just shock because I couldn't smell anything."

"So, didn’t you take her to a doctor?" I asked.

She cried and said, "I had her checked by a doctor, but he said she was depressed, so I was satisfied. I started giving her antidepressants, but that didn't work either, and now she's gone. I don't know where."

"Do you have a picture of her?" I asked.

"Yes, I've brought it along," she said, taking out a photo from her pocket and handing it to me.

"Tell me your name."

"Taylor Matthew."

I wrote her name on the back of the picture and took a look at it. "I will find your daughter, Mrs. Matthew. Don't worry."

Mrs. Matthew looked at me with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you enough," she said, her voice trembling with emotion.