Published at 2nd of June 2026 7:22 am

Chapter 179. The expert

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Filip and Rey slowly came closer, as if approaching a wild beast rather than a crime scene. Filip bent down to see the victim's face, but the sight made him frown. He had checked the companys board of directors, but he didnt recognize this man. Looking to the side, he gave Jim a questioning look.

Its worse inside. This is just Vauglers lawyer.

How much worse can it be? Filip asked before turning to Rey.

He was about to ask the man his opinion, but stopped. While Filip was mainly focused on the body, Rey was looking at the many runes drawn in blood on the floor around it.

What do you think? he asked Rey.

I dont know. But I think we might be in over our heads on this one.

Filip nodded lightly before turning to the other two still in the corridor. Josh was trying to take a peek inside while Lan stood farther away, her back still turned to them.

Ill do the inspection first and call for you once were finished. No need for you to look at this, he said, and the two nodded, clearly relieved.

You want to stay? he asked Rey.

Yeah.

Filip set his phone to record as he began his work.

The first victim is Henry Lisman. Age fifty-four, white male, about five ten, skinny. Hes wearing dark blue suit pants and patent-leather shoes. His upper clothing seems to have been stripped, leaving his torso naked. His body was clearly positioned in front of the doors to Vauglers main office. He was left kneeling in a praying position, his hands most likely glued together. The skin on his back appears to have been Filip looked at the scene in front of him, looking for the word to describe what he was seeing. The killer lifted two large swaths of skin from his back and nailed them to the door, creating something like wings behind the man. The left wing is still nailed, while the right has been released so that the door can be opened. The mutilation was inflicted postmortem and is not what killed him. An incision was made in his chest right under the ribs, removing the mans heart. Many markings have been cut into the body, while around it, many similar shapes have been drawn in blood at random Filip continued, moving around the body, but Rey cut in.

Not at random.

Sorry? Filip asked, taken out of his flow.

They arent random. All the bigger ones are evenly spaced. I think they follow some pattern.

Filip took another look at the body, then nodded.

There seems to be some sort of pattern, as my colleague suggested, yet not one obvious to the naked eye. The UNSUB drew all of them by hand, but if its the man we think it is, I doubt there is any hope for prints or DNA. And finally, a single puncture wound is visible at the back of the head, which is also most likely what killed him.

He paused and saved the recording, finally wincing lightly at the sight. Yet that wince slowly morphed into a frown as he turned toward Jim.

What time did he die? he asked.

Around midnight. Both he and Vaugler.

What were they doing in the office that late? Was there a meeting?

Yeah. Jim sighed before explaining. Look. You didnt hear it from me, but there were some rumors about the CEOs late-night He paused, looking for the correct word. Sessions. Apparently, his lawyer iswas connected, and would use said connections to provide entertainment.

So wait. You have a witness? Rey exclaimed, but Filip didnt look happy about the revelation at all, a knowing look on his face.

Yes, we most likely do.

You arent looking for her? We can spin a prostitute into some secretary or whatever. We can get around the Penal Law.

Penal Law, maybe. Child labor laws, not so much.

Oh fuck. Rey winced at the realization. Vaugler doesnt want you to find the witness, he finished, earning a nod from Jim.

Yep. Good old investigate the crime, but not too deeply.

Or well call the governor, your work, your wife, and your dog. Fuck me. Im not sure I want to take that one off your hands, Jim, Filip said.

You promised.

Yeah, yeah, Filip confirmed.

Then they both went into the office behind the door protected by the lawyer. It was something between a meeting room and an office. There was a small bar to the side with expensive bottles of alcohol on display and a few crystal glasses. In front of them stood a long table with comfortable-looking chairs on either side and one larger chair at the end. The place had large windows all around, most likely offering a beautiful view of the city, but now they were covered with curtains.

And on that long table sat the victim.

Ufff, Filip groaned, seeing the body. I guess we know who the main target was, huh?

Yeah, he heard Rey say from behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Filip once again began recording his observations.

The second body is Mr. Vaugler. A white man, thirty-six, around six feet tall. Hes completely naked and, much like the previous victim, his body is clearly staged. He appears to have been castrated by a sharp tool. His eyes were gouged out and Filip took a deep breath before continuing. And replaced by his own testicles. The rest of his body is covered in markings cut into the skin, mainly over the arms and torso. A circular incision has been made around the upper part of the head. The section of skull created through the cut has been lifted, and the brain has been removed.

Filip then took a step to the side where a bloodied trash can stood. He bent over, taking a look inside it.

Both the brain and the eyes have been discarded in the trash. Aside from the wounds, there are even more markings drawn in blood. The body itself sits in the middle of what this time appears to be a magic circle? Made up of regularly spaced runes, this one much more obvious to the eye. And finally, a single puncture wound at the back of the skull.

He finally paused the recording and turned to Rey.

Anything to add?

The policeman looked more closely at the body.

There is some bruising around the wounds.

Fuck me, Filip said, then clicked the recorder on again. The wounds appear to have been made while the victim was still alive, aside from the cut around the head, he finished.

The two examined the corpse and the surroundings, but nothing came up, or rather, nothing that wasnt part of the spectacle left for them. Finally, the two hurriedly went back out of the room, returning to Lan and Josh.

How is it? Lan asked once they approached.

Not good. In thirty years of chasing murderers, you see some stuff, but this...

Really? Never seen anything more brutal? Josh asked, frowning.

Ive seen more brutal things. Whenever children would get involved, it would be much worse. But Ive never seen a show like that. We had some psychopaths staging their kills, leaving flowers, taking organs out, but here here its like looking at a sculptors work.

So why do you think he escalated? Rey asked.

Maybe its the victims identity? Lan proposed.

He went after traffickers before, Josh observed, but Lan shook her head.

Yeah, but never their clients. Maybe he walked in during the act and got angry?

Doesnt look like anger, Rey said. And he brought nails, for fucks sake. This was prepared. How did he even get into the office? There should be some security, right? Rey finally asked Jim.

All cameras turned off when Vaugler arrived with his lawyer. The building has underground parking. All security after that point was Vauglers. They knew what they were doing. It was just a late-night meeting with his lawyer.

Fucking idiot covered for the killer by accident. But still.

The guards didnt see shit. The elevator goes straight from the parking to the office. There is no breach, no destroyed door. But Vauler didnt give us full access yet, sooo

Yeah, theyre wiping anything incriminating as we speak. Filip chuckled.

Silence descended over the four as Filips eyes slowly drifted to Josh.

Im sorry to ask this of you, but

Yeah, Josh nodded. Ill do it.

He nodded at Rey, who got behind the wheelchair and pushed the boy toward the crime scene.

Josh winced at the sight, going pale and green, but just as Rey was about to take him back, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. He stared at the scene for a couple of seconds until his breath calmed. Only then did Josh close his eyes again, entering the trance.

But this time, things didnt go as usual.

Aaaagh! he screamed, opening his eyes again.

His trances had never gone this violently, so Rey didnt catch him in time as the boy fell out of the wheelchair, thrown by a powerful convulsion. Rey got down to help the boy, but another scream reached his ears.

Oh my god! Lan shouted.

Then the sound of a door moving reached his ears. Looking up, he saw the lawyer stand up, blood still seeping from the chest wound, his eyes milky white, the flap of skin still nailed to the door pulling on the wood as he moved.

The creature stood up and tried to walk toward them, the sight made even more horrifying by a red glow emanating from the blood-drawn runes around it.

Josh tried crawling away as the rest froze in terror. The reanimated corpse tried to get closer to them, but Rey was faster. As the others stood frozen in sheer terror, Reys hand went to the handgun by his belt, and in one smooth motion he pulled the weapon and fired right between the eyes of the creature.

Only for the bullet to ricochet off an invisible wall.

Filip! Rey shouted as the man finally sobered up, going for his weapon.

The enemy screamed a gurgling scream and moved forward, now toward the two policemen, with a sound of the nailed skin tearing.

Filip moved back, shooting yet barely hitting the target. Rey, on the other hand, stayed rooted in place and, taking aim, unloaded the whole magazine between the creature's eyes. And as its bloodied hands almost closed on his throat, the shield shattered, and his last bullet landed between the creature's eyes, blowing its brain out.

The body went down like a puppet with its strings cut.

What what the Jim said, then turned to Rey. You killed him, he said. You just shot a man.

I didnt, Rey said, eyes still on the body. You could almost see his spine through that chest wound. No way he was alive.

He just stood up! Jim screamed.

Yeah, Filip said, swallowing hard. He did. Jim, theres no way he was alive. You know it.

Jim looked at Filip, panic on his face.

How the fuck do I explain that bullet wound? he groaned, still panicking.

Well explain it for you, Filip told him. Ill write the report. Dont worry. He lifted his hand before Jim could protest. You wont get in trouble. Ill say we got in on our own, thanks to the turned-off security. Go, Jim. Leave this to us. That was the plan, right?

Jim nodded after a moment of thought. He was still in shock, which Filip used to his advantage as he moved the man out of the crime scene, leaving only the four.

So what now? Rey asked, holstering his gun and going to help Josh back into the wheelchair, his eyes still on the dead man.

Now we report what just happened as we saw it and leave it to others, Filip said, suddenly looking really tired, as he stopped trying to control his expression.

What? Lan exclaimed.

Look, Filip began. That body just stood up. You saw the blood glow, right? he asked, looking at them, actually waiting for confirmation. Dwayne didnt want anything weird in the reports. I imagine there might be people looking for weird cases then. I say we report it as it happened and stop here. This this fucking thing is beyond our grasp.

We cant just leave it like that, Lan protested.

I... Filip began searching for words. Rey might be right. This is someone with a gift. Josh, you were in danger there. If not for Rey, we dont know what that creature might have done

You never gave up that easily, Josh said, clearly weirded out by Filips sudden change. Im fine.

I know the price of failing, Josh. There are some people you cant let outsmart you, Filip said, looking ahead with an unfocused gaze. Rey noticed his shaking hands and how surprisingly fragile the man looked. I Thirty years in the force. He swallowed hard. I thought I knew every trick in the book. But how do you chase someone who can reanimate corpses? Do you know what that means? All the bodies we had could have been staged, staged by themselves. Our entire fucking crime scenes could have walked in from some other place. They had only one wound at the back of the head. They could have walked the streets for hours. We cant deal with a case like that. We cant risk it.

The four stood in silence, looking at the complex arcane patterns drawn on the floor, which were slowly losing their glow. Filips words rang true. They didnt have the equipment to deal with this. Filip felt a sting of guilt as he looked at Josh deflate. He had taken the kid in, promising to train him, to one day help him chase his own case, but now he was giving up in front of him. He wanted to say something to the young man, to lift his mood, but Rey was the first one to speak up.

I This might sound crazy, but I know someone who can.

What?

I know a mage, Rey finally said, growing awkward at the words once he said them out loud. I dont know what deal he might want, or if my contact still works. And Im not sure what kind of person he is But I know he uses magic. I saw it.

Explain, Filip said, looking at Rey with a frown.

Sam, QShar said slowly, looking at the man, who was putting on a dark blue robe taken from the singularity. When I said that we might need to interfere with the investigation, to throw a wrench into it, I meant normally. Leave fake evidence, destroy the existing evidence, hell, if there was someone fitting your criteria, even get rid of them.

Mhm. Yes, Sam confirmed, letting his staff unravel into his hand.

What I didnt mean, QShar continued in a slow voice, pronouncing each word as if speaking to a child, what I didnt mean was for you to insert yourself into the investigation like a fucking psychopath! the cat shouted.

Well, shit, my friend, you should have specified. I have trouble socializing, you know.

You The cat was about to blow up, but then took a deep breath. Whats even the point?

Well, it was a long shot but We need an empath if were to deal with singularities in the future.

And helping him catch you is helping how?

Look. Sam stopped adjusting his ensemble. I dont know much about training an empath, but I know symbolism and auras. The guy needs guidance, and I need to get a feel for him. What better way than preparing training exercises around something he already does? I can steer the investigation off course. I can also maybe get Peter involved, get him moving. Also, I think the FBI's arcane unit will join after my little trick. You wanted an in with them, right?

Right, QShar groaned. But what if the empath reads your aura and recognizes you?

He wont do that easily. And if he does, well, then that means hes ready to work as an empath.

And youll go to jail.

Since when do empath readings hold up in court?

They dont. QShar sighed. Youre not completely wrong. But still, that can backfire within the FBI.

Fine. Sam relented. At least let me get a read on the empath, steer the investigation away if hes not worth the risk. Okay?

QShar looked at Sam for a few seconds before finally relenting. Fine.

Sam nodded happily. If ou want an in, I can always introduce you as my talking familiar.

You can go fuck yourself.

Sam shrugged, finally happy with his getup.

Why are you going dressed like that? QShar asked, looking at Sams full wizard ensemble.

What do you mean, why? They expect a wizard, right? Good first impressions count.

Im not sure youre capable of those.

Very funny. Sam rolled his eyes before getting into his car.

The drive to a massive building in the nicer part of town took barely an hour thanks to the streets being empty at night, even more so in recent times. Since everything was closed, they had just decided to meet on the street near the crime scene.

Didnt think Id get your call, Sam greeted as Rey approached his car.

Yeah. I didnt think Id ever call you either.

Sam nodded and got out of the car, going to shake Reys hand. The policeman looked him in the eye for a few seconds before sighing. Let me be clear. Im not sure about your involvement, but the case could use a specialist.

Dont worry, Sam replied with a smile. With my help, youll get the bad guy in no time. Im sure.

Share