BBDW 44 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland
Half-mad, the Chief asked for an
inspection of the laptop almost in a seizure, but nothing was found in the
laptop until the promised time neared. It was unclear whether the product was
supplied on a formal route or not, and there was no program to point out the
user's clues other than the very basic specifications. Despite the desperate
efforts of the Chief and other police officers, - if we don't get anything out
of this, we may see hell at nine o'clock tonight! - apparently, there was still no
harvest tonight, and eventually, they were forced to sit in front of the turned
on laptop around 9 p.m.
"I feel so disgusted..."
"Damn it, I know something's going to
pop out but I'm still watching this..."
Perhaps it was hard to bear the heavy silence;
small voices of complaints coming from all over the place can be heard. But since
there was no other option, they all looked at the monitor with strangely stiff
faces. Jeffrey, who was busy running around from daytime, nervously looking at
the clock, touching his chin.
"You're not nervous?"
Tim, who had already been emptying his coffee
cup for the third time, asked Jude quietly. The blond detective, stretching
with a long yawn, nodded indifferently at his partner's words. In any case,
Jude turned his neck lightly, smiling face-to-face at Tim who was wearing a
grave expression and laughed once. The sound of people swallowing their dry
saliva seemed to be heard vividly. The air was so tense that it couldn't be
stretched any longer. All their nerves were directed at the heartless second
hand on the clock. It's 8:59.
When all the police stopped breathing,
several messages suddenly popped up on the monitor and a video emerged on the
surface. As soon as the content of the video can be made out, the people in the
room held their breath. A woman was tightly bound to a chair, lowly sobbing. The
woman, who appeared to be about the same age as Sally, didn't cry out loud even
though she wasn't gagged. Whether it was a warehouse or a basement, the space is
so dark that people couldn't even see properly. Like a sombre space where the
smell of sewage and cement is likely to flourish. The eyes of the people
watching were dismally and upsettingly distorted, as a black human figure slowly
appears in front of the screen.
[- Hello. This is Alvin Jones. No, let’s
call it the person who will succeed him.]
[......sa, save me...... don't do this, let
me go......!]
The woman's voice was thin but desperate.
Looking back at the squeezed voice, the man covered in a black hood or
something on his face continued to speak with his face facing the monitor
straight.
[Since today is a special day, I gave the
police permission to be present. You've been invited, and if you enjoy it, I
can't ask for more.]
This peculiar hoarse voice must have been the
one that called on Jude's cell phone. Nodding unconsciously once, the man moved
slowly and picked up something on the shelf he had placed next to the woman.
Even with the unclear image quality, it could be seen that the small, sharp
sparkling item was not very friendly. Even under dark lighting, the people
present could clearly see the woman's face turning worse.
[......First of all, I'd like to give you a
brief explanation. I think you already knew that my identity wasn't Alvin
Jones. But it doesn't matter, from now on you'll treat me as an equal to, or as
his name. The name I originally had doesn't matter now, if I could be called a
more special and powerful name.]
The small thing in the man's hand, which
looks like a scalpel, slowly drew a line and stopped in front of the woman's
eyes. The woman was now unable to make a sound and barely able to continue her
intermittent breathing.
[Do you know? This full feeling. I, who was
nothing, can be named after the greatest fear just by doing this simple thing
over and over again. Isn't that amazing? Even my neighbours didn't know me very
well until yesterday, and all of a sudden I see the TV all over the country
talking about my actions! Mass media, of course, is a blessing, especially for
someone like me.]
It must have been a dark life devoid of any
attention. Jude got a little bored with the content that was not much different
from what he heard on the phone, and when he looked around at the others, they
were holding out their breath and concentrating on the laptop monitor. The
scalpel, which had stopped in front of the woman's eyes on the screen, slowly
descended and slit her neck slightly.
[Fear……..darkness ……. shadow…… the abyss of
a brilliant city …..When I imagined I would be a name to represent them, a
pleasure I'd never felt before paralyzed my brain. So, I decided to be faithful
to my desire. I have studied a lot about Alvin Jones. He didn't really try to
undermine his behaviour because of painful memories from his childhood. He
didn't even try to make excuses. Of course, he didn't feel any guilt whatsoever.]
That's true. Nodding his head for the first
time at the man's words, Jude held his chin and breathed a short sigh. Rather, murder for money or affection is simple. They regret, blame themselves, and
easily leave their tails out because they clearly feel that this is wrong. In
the back of their mind, they know that they have to pay the price for their
sins.
But he is different. I don't know how he
got his home education, but the universal value of ethics seemed to have not
accumulated more than as knowledge in this young man's head. He knows killing
people is a sin. He doesn't blame me for trying to catch him and execute him.
Because that's my job.
But he doesn't feel guilty about what he
did. What can he do that he feels like that?
From a detective's point of view, it was the worst case.
[I'm going to be born anew, like the one I
studied. To be fearless about nothing, and not bound by anything. And, by tearing
apart the detective who caught Alvin Jones for a while, I am complete. I don't
really know why Alvin Jones was caught by the detective, and I don't know why
he didn't kill him, but I'm sure about this.]
The man shrugged his shoulders as he
slipped the scalpel through the woman's trembling collarbone, soundlessly.
[I think that was his only mistake. Or
maybe it was entertainment against the police. But I'm different........ I
won't make any mistakes. Take a closer look at this woman's suffering, because
you will die in a finer avant-garde form based on this.]
[No, no... Don't... Don't... Don't... Save
me... I have children, I have a husband, I have families... Please help me...]
"Can't you track it or
something?"
At the woman’s sobbing, Jeffrey shouted
like a bellow, but the agent shook his head in despair. There was an
intolerable sense of helplessness in his eyes.
"….he’s just sending it as a signal to
this computer. It doesn't seem to be a registered product in the first place.
If it was a computer that can be tracked, he wouldn't have sent it here in the
first place."
"So, what, we're supposed to just sit
here and watch that woman torn to pieces for hours?! What a ridiculous thing to
do and no one has ever been on the list of suspects? Whether it's a witness,
look for ex-convicts based on their area of residence!"
"Well, you know we've done it all. Not
to mention forensic evidence. Although I have requested a report, there have
been no reports of witnesses yet, and most of the ex-convicts living in the
vicinity have an alibi. And if the killer has a car..."
"I know!"
Shouting ferociously, Jeffrey jerked his
head. His face was red with shame, anger, and fear when Jude saw him. He’s a
federal agent, but he has to put up with this kind of farce for the sake of
dealing with numbers of bizarre cases. It was obvious that he was thinking
about me -- and Jude looked around at Tim. The feelings on his partner's face
were not much different from that of Jeffrey’s, but there were a stronger
sadness and sympathy painted on his face. Tim, you have a good personality.
With a shake of his head, Jude turned to the monitor. Speaking in a curiously
excited tone, he was observing her from the woman's side in a restrained manner
contrary to his tone.
[You can be honoured. You're contributing
to the succession of a name that means great things. Based on you, I’ll kill
him--]
[-Yes, I heard it well. I will be.]
Suddenly, someone else's voice cut off the
man's hoarse voice. The calm voice froze the viewers in an instant. Those who
predicted the tragedy that would happen in the future, bit by bit behind the
monitor looked at the man who was confused as everyone opened their eyes wide.
The camera lens was out of reach from the man's gaze, and the police listened
to the voice, feeling both nervous and surprised.
[You don't have to repeat that logic
because I've heard it so much before. Actually, it's not that interesting.]
[Y, you... You can't... really... real Alvin...]
[You must have realized that you're a fake
because you're using the expression "real." I'm not that attached to
my name, but it's a little different if you're doing something bothersome with
my name. I came here on purpose because of that. It would be bothersome to
pretend to listen, right? Actually, I'm not in a very good mood right now.]
[Really Alvin Jones... Oh, my God...! I
never thought I'd see you like this...!]
Alvin Jones! Jeffrey came close as if he
would jump into the screen. Jude lowered his chin and slowly looked at the platinum-haired
young man coming into the screen with his arms crossed. The man took a step
back with the scalpel as if he had been pressed by something.
[Gee, what's wrong with you? From your
point of view, shouldn't I be the one you should kill too? I have to disappear
for you to get the title "real," right? Come on, it's a good
opportunity, isn't it? Maybe I won't have another chance to appear in front of
you like this?]
A teasing voice articulated cleverly. The
man, who was falteringly backing down, soon stopped stepping back and tried to
get back to his position. The woman looked alternately at Alvin and the man as
if she had no idea what was going on.
[I, I've always wanted to talk to you.]
[You’ll kill me next?]
[Well, that's...]
[Oh, that's weird. Wasn't it necessary for
you to abandon the name Ted Royman? The one in the ranks of the insignificant,
disgraced and discharged soldier, a failure of life in which your wife and
child have all left you behind. Shouldn't I be gone to paint your own
gold in that life?]
"Search him under the name Ted Royman!
On the military list! Send people out when they get something out of there!"
"Yes, sir!"
Commanding quickly, Jeffrey headed back to
the monitor. The man shouted and clenched his fist once as if holding back his
anger.
[You, you're...! You've been the driving
force in keeping me alive for the last few months! Isn't it natural to think
that I want to talk to such a person?]
[Gee, that's even more regrettable.]
Alvin approached the camera. [What are you
doing?] - There was a puzzling question from Ted, but Alvin smiled at the camera
and covered the lens with something.
[-I'm not interested in talking to you.]
Flap. And the
lens blacked out. The officers watching from this side buzzed lightly. Instead of waking up from
the nightmare, the ominousness of seeing another nightmare swept through them.
Tim asked Jude in a puzzled voice.
"He really showed up, Alvin Jones......!
How the hell did he know?"
"Well, murderers think alike. Maybe
they had their own way."
"What do you think?"
"What?"
Tim's face was serious, and he had a face full
of worry.
"Can she... can she live?"
"Well... maybe it’s possible to live?
Alvin Jones went to get rid of that copycat, not to get rid of her. I'll leave
it up to luck."
"I feel like I'm having the worst
nightmare of my life....."
Just a few minutes after Tim shook his
head, the monitor screen suddenly returned. Again, all eyes were on it, and
they grew with astonishment. Where the woman was once tied, instead it was the
man wearing the hood that was tied in the same way. Slowly, the sound of fluent
speech and footsteps rang at the same time.
[If you're wondering about the woman, you
don't have to worry about her, it's a bit difficult if she runs out first, so I
put her over there, but I have no wish in paying attention to her.]
An uneasy sigh of relief echoed in the air,
no matter who it was. Alvin smiled faintly as if he had seen their reaction,
and approached the man. The man was shaking.
[Can I tell you why I'm not interested in you?]
[No, no, what.......]
[You said you wanted to be me. But it's
just the kind of struggle that came out of the inferiority complex. There is no
deep feeling. I felt it while looking at you.]
[Me, me, looking at me...]
[Didn't you feel anything? That night, the
moment you were holding a gun and talking to him on your cell phone, I was
behind you. You will eventually come to find him, so all I have to do is wait
for you around him. Isn't it simple?]
As he spoke, Alvin picked up the scalpel
that the man had just lifted. Putting on a student-like face who was
contemplating what to make from this, the man shouted hysterically.
[Uh, why! I respect you! Why like this, for
stealing your name? Well, then that’s it. I'll follow you. I'll make a move for
you!]
[...... because you stole my name? No,
it's a little different. Ted.]
Calling his name gently enough, Alvin
turned the scalpel once in his hand.
[Maybe, more importantly, you said you
understood me. You kept saying, it was my mistake or for amusement sake to be
caught by the police. You will be me by killing him.]
[Well....... yes, no matter what the
problem...]
[Ah, there's a big problem.]
Alvin turned his back on the camera.
Without any particular movement or words, a silver glint flashed in the air
once. With a scalpel stuck under the clavicle, a hoarse scream erupted from the
man's mouth. In that scream, Alvin's voice reached Jude's ear with a curious
clarity.
[-You don't know anything about me.]
His heart suddenly went numb. As Jude
stepped back reflexively, Alvin whispered something into the screaming man's
ear. Because it was a low sound, it was not caught on camera, but only the eyes
that were enlarged by the man's consternation were captured on the monitor.
[No way, you can't...]
Twisting the scalpel, Alvin turned to the camera.
It was a calm smile, but all the police gathered at the station felt the chill
running down their spines.
[From now on, I don't think it's a good
scene to see, from your point of view. If you don't want to see it, you can
turn off the monitor. You know what's going to happen. But I can assure you
that it will be difficult to find this place until I finish all the work. When I’m
done, I'll release the woman over there, so it'll be the fastest to hear from
her.]
Finishing off neatly, Alvin approached the
man in the hood. As the police feel complicated feelings - it's a relief that
the woman is alive, but should they be watching it for the next few hours,
can't we just turn it off, how did Alvin Jones find him - Tim looked back at
his partner and was a little bit surprised. His partner, who was standing
without any problems until just before the woman was drawn by the scalpel, was
covering his mouth with a slightly blue face.
"Jude, what's wrong? Are you okay? You
don't look well."
"......no, I'm fine......well, I just
don't feel good."
"You can’t feel good looking at that. Do
you want to go early? You even played the role of bait, so you can do that. Go
get some rest. Well, that guy can't go after you anymore. Chief!"
Not hearing any word to refusal, Tim told
the exhausted Chief that he would leave and take him home first. The Chief just
nodded as if he couldn't afford to think about anything, and Tim pulled out the
key and dragged Jude's arm. Turning away from Jeffrey's sharp gaze, Jude headed
for the car as soon as Tim pulled him out.
* * *
I am really curious about what alvin said 😏 and what happened to jude ?
ReplyDeleteThank you ❤️💯
I'm curious too ¯\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯ and I'm in the middle of translating for the next update at the moment and and and.....ahhh [spoiler] ..... can't say it, so... just wait for the next update ( ˘ ͜ʖ ˘) And you're welcome.
DeleteI’m starting to wonder if Alvin and Jude’s first meeting was really their first meeting.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they met when they were children but Jude doesn’t know because he has memory loss? Or maybe Alvin just fell in love with Jude at first sight 😆
I wonder why Jude reacted sensitively to Alvin’s words [-You don't know anything about me.]
This novel really deserves to have mystery genre