Chernobyl’s Revenge

III*

He quickly arrived at the police station around seven-thirty in the morning. An officer approached Kreves to inform him that John was looking for him and that he should head to the office as soon as possible. This surprised Kreves; he hadn’t expected John to be at the office so early. However, he didn’t dwell on it, said goodbye to the officer, and went to help his friend with the case.

As he passed Captain Brown's office, the captain motioned for him to come in. Kreves entered, closed the door, and the captain asked him to take a seat. To Kreves’ surprise, the captain spoke in an unusually sad and melancholic tone—one he had never heard from him before.

“Kreves, you know I’ve cared for you like a son since the day I met you. You know I couldn’t have children, and when you told me you were joining the police force, I trained you personally.”

“I know, Jonathan. You’ve been friends with my parents for a long time. In fact, they helped you get this job.”

“Exactly, Kreves. That’s why I know your secret. And I must tell you that your parents…”

“They’re not my parents,” Kreves interrupted, his blood boiling at the mere mention of those people. The captain sighed heavily after this interruption.

“Well, Alexa and Benjamin contacted me to ask where you lived and whether you were at the station. Moreover, your father—well, Benjamin—told me it was time to reveal the truth to you.”

“They only confessed because of the case; otherwise, they would’ve taken that secret to their graves. They think this killer lived in Pripyat, and since I lived there, I might know his identity. You know how everyone knows each other in those small towns, and if the killer seeks revenge for Chernobyl, then he surely lived there.”

“I know, Kreves. They told me.” The captain sighed again. “I just want to tell you to be careful. If this person knows you, then you’re in grave danger. You could become his next victim.”

“Don’t worry, Jonathan. Thanks to you, I’m well-trained. Believe me, nothing will happen to me. I’m cautious enough. My only goal is to catch this bastard before more bodies show up in London.”

“You’re not understanding, Kreves. I’m reassigning you to another case. This one is no longer yours. I can’t risk something happening to you.”

A wave of anger surged through Kreves, and once again, he had to restrain himself from exploding and yelling at the captain. He was the only one who could solve this case. If someone replaced him, the killer wouldn’t be caught and would keep killing until his revenge was complete. After that… who knows if he’d start targeting innocent people? Taking a deep breath several times, Kreves managed to calm down and respond.

“Jonathan, there’s no reason to take me off the case. You know I’m the only one who can catch him, the only person who might’ve seen him before and can identify him. If you remove me from this case, he’ll come after me through other means. He probably already knows who I am and where I live. Damn it, he knows everything about me. It’s pointless, and you know it. I’m safer if I remain part of the investigation.”

Kreves hoped he had managed to make the captain reconsider. Indeed, the captain appeared thoughtful for a moment. Looking back at Kreves, the captain’s expression revealed something Kreves recognized—his “parents” had asked the captain for a personal favor. Yet the captain also knew Kreves was a critical piece of the investigation.

“Fine, Kreves. You’ll remain on the case, but under one condition: you’re not to go anywhere alone. You must always be accompanied. You’re in considerable danger while this killer remains free.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll make sure I am. By the way… tell Benjamin and Alexa I send my regards.”

After leaving the captain’s office, Kreves sighed heavily. He was still overwhelmed by the information that had been revealed to him in such a short time. He still couldn’t believe that his entire life—or what he thought had been his life—was based on a lie. Nonetheless, there was no time for lamentation. They couldn’t afford to lose a single second. They had to discover the killer’s identity as soon as possible.

He headed to the office where he worked with John. John appeared very busy, sifting through the case files as though the identity of one of the victims or the killer might be hidden among the papers. Reviewing the same information over and over was futile; this person wouldn’t leave any traces until their objective was complete. Kreves reached the office door and greeted his partner.

“Morning, John. I see you’ve already started. I didn’t know you were such an early bird,” Kreves said in a mocking tone, which seemed to annoy John, judging by the grimace of irritation on his face.

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Kreves. Didn’t the captain tell you? You were talking for quite a while.”

“Tell me what?” Kreves asked, intrigued. His partner was utterly disheveled and desperate—his clothes wrinkled and stained, his hair unkempt, his shirt untucked, and dark circles under his eyes betraying a severe lack of sleep.

“Another body turned up at three this morning…”

“And why didn’t anyone tell me? I’m part of this case too!” Kreves interrupted abruptly. He couldn’t believe such crucial information had been withheld.

“I tried calling you, Kreves. You didn’t answer.” John paused momentarily, rummaged through the papers on the desk, and handed Kreves a beige folder. “Here are the photos from the crime scene. This time, the body was placed right in the center of Lambeth Bridge. As expected, there are no obvious clues. This guy’s like a damn ghost.”

John sighed, clearly exhausted. And who wouldn’t be? They were chasing a shadow—someone impossible to track. While John continued combing through the scattered papers on the table, Kreves studied the map that marked all the locations where bodies had been found. He examined it carefully and noticed a pattern. The points weren’t random, as they had assumed. They were forming something—a possible message from this maniac.

“John, come over here… look closely at the map. What do you see?” Kreves said enthusiastically.

John sighed in annoyance and walked over to the map.

“They’re random points, Kreves. What do you want me to see? He just dumps them there to make all of London aware,” John said irritably, fiddling with a pen in his right hand. He walked to the opposite side of the room and closed his eyes.

“No, look carefully. They’re not random points.” Kreves pointed to the pattern he observed. “They’re forming something. I don’t know what yet, but I’ll figure it out.”

This time, John approached the map with less skepticism. He studied the marked points carefully and began to see a pattern, though it was clearly incomplete. Neither of them fully understood what was forming, but they knew deciphering the pattern could help them catch the killer when he dropped the next body.

Kreves scanned the desk but couldn’t find the reports Dr. Abbat usually sent after examining a body.

“Has Dr. Abbat submitted her report yet?” Kreves inquired. He knew that, though unlikely, the killer might have left a clue within the body. It was evident the killer wanted to communicate with Kreves, and leaving a clue seemed possible.

“Not yet, Kreves. She’s probably still performing the autopsy. We asked the captain not to rush the reports so she could send us complete information. But from what I saw at the scene, it’s the same as always. The only difference is the location.”

“There has to be something new besides the location. Something tells me he left something behind.”

“No, Kreves, there was nothing. As always, a dismembered, disfigured body, marked on the chest, with a mask over its face, left in a public place, and oddly enough, no witnesses. Although… now that I think about it…”

“What, John? You know there’s something new—what is it?” Kreves snapped, utterly frustrated. This wasn’t the time to waste time.

“The victims’ faces are usually fully covered by the mask, but in this case, it only partially covered the face. The killer wasn’t as careful placing it, leaving the left eye completely exposed. If you look closely,” John picked up the photo of the victim from the table, “it seems the killer wanted the victim to ‘look’ toward the Thames.”

Kreves pondered this for a moment. He knew the killer didn’t have a personal grudge against this victim, or else the attack would have been as brutal as the one involving the girl from The College Gardens. The killer sought something else, leaving something hidden that no one had bothered to examine closely. Kreves needed to return to the scene and uncover what the killer had left behind.

“John, I need to step out for a moment. Please let me know as soon as Dr. Abbat’s report is ready. Let’s hope this lunatic left something behind to help us identify him.”

John nodded and left the office. He headed to another area of the station, where teams were working to identify all the victims. Due to the disfigurements, it was almost impossible, but they hoped that through mass reporting of these individuals, their names would eventually appear among the missing persons reports. About twenty people were working solely on this task, scouring the bodies and crime scenes for any clues that might help. Everyone wanted to put an end to this killer and the terror he was spreading through the city.

Without looking back, Kreves grabbed his briefcase, which held the victims’ photographs, and left the station.