Chapter 40: It Was Personal

 *Continuation of the flashback*

"And does the court know this?" Yuri asked

"Not yet, this is why I'm the Ghost. I find things that are not to be found" Jason answered

"So, were looking at a man responsible for multiple murders. This is enough to put him in for life" Yuri said

"I'm not looking for life Yuri,I have enough to make the court hang this man. It's justice enough for him to be behind bars, but for the lives he has taken he deserves to be six feet under so that the families get some closure." Jason said

"Don't you think that you are taking this case a bit personal? That isn't healthy in our line of work." Yuri said

"He made it personal when I realized he might be connected to the death of a friend" Jason replied

"What's her name?" Yuri asked

"Becky, her name was Becky. She was here just for a while, but we became friends. Such a young soul to be lost in the way that she died. She's never been found after going missing for weeks. I found out that the only person she had as family was her father. His name is Jeff, he's a reporter for Sin City. He thinks that her disappearance is as a result of his line of work" Jason said

"But you think otherwise" Yuri said

"Exactly. But enough about that, look at these files" Jason said as he handed Yuri more files. Yuri took them and after carefully scrutinized them

"Jason, some of these files date back to nearly five years ago" Yuri said. "How are these going to help?"

"If you look closely, all those murders have something in common" Jason said

"A killer?" Yuri joked

"Funny. But on a serious note, none of them has been solved" Jason said

"Jason, we're trying to solve a case here and prove how this guy is guilty, not have more cases on our hands" Yuri said

"I know Yuri,but allow me to tell you what you're holding right now" Jason said

"Please do" Yuri replied

"In that file, you have nearly forty unsolved murders of girls aged from 18 to 35. All of which happened in the last five years all across Europe. You know what that means," Jason said

"It means Europe has one hell of a messed up justice system " Yuri chipped in

"No..it means that someone has been committing these crimes and is still walking free" Jason said

"What makes you think that it's only one person?" Yuri asked

"Same method of killing, all were raped before being killed. And one small detail in every one of those files. Cotton fibres, possibly from a car's carpet. But somehow this has been overlooked by every investigation group" Jason said

"Cotton fibre, like the same cotton fibre from the two other murders?" Yuri asked

"Exactly like from the other murders. But different mats same fabric. Which means someone with the same taste." Jason said

"You're trying to tell me that for over five years this guy has been going across Europe killing people and has never been jailed?" Yuri asked

"Everytime he sensed that the police were into him, he just moved to another country and pick up from where he left of. And if the court doesn't find him guilty, he's going to continue with this rampage until he decides when it it's time to stop. The next victim can be anyone. We need to convince the court that he is the same person reigning havoc and destroying innocent lives." Jason said

" Remind me, how did you get your hands on these files?" Yuri asked

"I have a source" Jason said

"No no no...a source is when you know a guy who can get you a sitting with the president, a source is when you have a guy who knows who the next chief of police..., but yours is not a source. Because how can you be able to get files of evidence for not just one or two but more than forty ongoing investigations that even the public don't know about. That's not just a source, that's something else" Yuri said

" Well then, I know a guy who can get me information that people don't want to be known" Jason said

"You always say that, since you're not going to tell me that then answer me this. How did you know what our guy could be related to all these murders?" Yuri asked

"During an interview,I heard one particular person claim that this guy reminds him of his daughter who was murdered a few years prior. The killer was never found, so he wanted this man to be put away because he knew what the family was going through." Jason replied

"You based your research from just the words of a bitter parent?" Yuri asked

"He might have been bitter, but like the way you just overlooked his comment, most people did. I looked at his daughters case, she was killed in almost the exact same way but something caught my eye" Jason said

"Cotton fibre" Yuri speculated

"I see you're following. But this info was left out such that even the family didn't know about it. So I looked up all unsolved cases in Europe and I guess that's when I knew I had hit the jackpot. Dozens of cases just left to collect dust growing colder by each passing day." Jason said

"I'm really thinking you should probably start thinking about getting a life or that sort of thing. Because you are way too weird even for me. While people your age are searching for the best club in town, here you are searching for a serial killer that the world doesn't even know exists" Yuri said

"I didn't get to be called the Ghost that easily, or just because I won one case Yuri. It's because I've never lost any case, it's because I'm the one who puts people who deserve to be in jail where they belong. Of course I want to find myself a girl in future and settle down, but for now I have a cause. And I have to live up to my reputation for the sake of such families which have been denied closure for their loved ones who were snatched away from their lives." Jason said

"I hope I'll be there for that day. Hell, you have one of the cheesiest pick up lines that can get you laid in one night" Yuri told him

"Which is?"Jason asked

"You simply say, 'hello I'm Jason, famously known as the Ghost of Europe, wanna hang'" Yuri said imitating him

"Unfortunately I've made more enemies than friends using that name, so I'd rather not have dozens of kill squads sent after me, so it'll be a hard pass for me" Jason said

"Well you always have your way with words so I figure that you won't have much of a problem when approaching a girl" Yuri said

"When that time comes, I'm sure the words will come to mind" Jason said

"Sure thing. Now let's get this over with first. Does anyone else know about these files? Yuri asked

"Currently, no one. That's what we call a smoking gun, hit them with the unexpected." Jason said

"I knew from the moment you took on this case, that there was something more to it. But never in a million years did I think that you could make such a great breakthrough. But I can't stay with these files, you take them" Yuri said as he handed them back to Jason

"Why's that?" Jason asked

"Everytime I walk out of those doors, I always put my life at risk and me having such information with me looks like a tempting offer to anyone who might want to sabotage the case. So you hold on to them till the court hearing." Yuri said

"I couldn't agree more" Jason said as he took the files and put them away.

"I guess till next time then" Yuri said as he got up to leave

" Till next time old man" Jason said as they shook hands