“Wow, quite a lot of people died. That’s crazy to think about.” said Rintaro.

“Hey, could you look at the database and see if the police investigated their deaths?” asked Joey.

“I have all the files here now. Let me read it for you.” said Yung.

He cleared his throat and started.

“There is the apartment fire case that killed Levi Lucifer, Mina Swelski and Penny Swelski who is Mina’s older sister. Time of death is around 19-23 PM April 4th 1255 for all of them. The fire destroyed the bodies so much that gauging the time of death was rather difficult.” said Yung.

“Wow. What happened? What caused the fire?” asked Galtomor.

“They left the stove on and it caught fire. It's sad. From the testimonies of Levi’s parents it seemed he was dating Mina” said Yung.

“Huh. Did all three of them sleep and didn’t notice the stove was on?” asked Klancy.

“Maybe. It says here that the fire was so rampant that basically no evidence was left. Everything burned. Mina and Penny’s burnt bodies were found on the remains of one extended bed while Levi’s was found on the remains of the bed that was near them. Their bodies were identified thanks to 1 or two teeths that survived the fire. There weren’t any known external wounds on the found bodies.” said Yung.

Klancy contemplated the information that was given.

“What about the other dead people?” asked Galtomor.

“Redrick Oshwalt died from alcohol poisoning just three years ago. No external wounds, people who were at the party with him confirmed that he started vomiting during the feast at the restaurant.” said Yung.

“Brian Belzwitch died in a car accident last year. An old truck that its break became loose hit him to death” said Yung.

“Sad” said Joey.

“Arnold Stuart died of a heart attack at work three years ago.” said Yung.

“Okay. So that’s not related to our case.” said Rintaro.

“We have the phone numbers of people who are alive. Should we start calling them one by one?” asked Janet.

“Sure, I see why not.” said Klancy.

Yung made the phone call to call Galart. Shrueder seemed interested but he sat away from them, likely bummed out about his failures in the case.

“Hello?” boomed a deep voice.

“Hey, Galart. How are you? We’re the police. We are contacting to ask for your help regarding a certain case.” said Klancy.

“A case? Help?” gasped Galart.

“Yes. Do you remember Purev Dashvan, Doltey Kinanov, Hermen Nymts?” asked Klancy.

“Oh yeah. Yes, I do. They were my classmates in highschool. What about them?” asked Galart.

“They are dead.” said Klancy in a deadpan tone.

“WHAT?” yelled the man with utter terror.

“Calm down. We need your help in identifying the culprit of these serial killings. There is a very likely chance that the serial killer has a vendetta against your classmates. Could you tell me more details about these three? If you could. And perhaps any possible motive as to why they would be targeted.” said Klancy.

“Hmm. Well, I did occasionally chill out with Purev. He was a really smart guy who helped me in my studies. I was not very talented with math and thinking stuff. I was a pro wrestler in my prime but I’m retired now and work as a coach, you see.” said Galart.

“What about the other two?” asked Galtomor.

“They were all right. Hermen was kind of a moody guy sometimes but he is pretty chill. I did hang out with him and Purev once. Purev and Hermen seemed like they were good friends. Unfortunately I had a lot of wrestling practice and couldn’t hang out with my friends during highschool much, so I can’t comment much.” said Galart.

“I see. Anything else to note?” asked Yung.

“Not really. I wish you luck in finding the culprit.” said Galart.

“One thing. Do you know about Levi and Mina’s death that happened in 1255?” asked Klancy.

“Oh…that. Yeah. We were getting close to the final exams. I heard that teachers had high expectations for Levi. He even helped the whole class practice math once. But unfortunately he…died in that horrible fire with Mina” said Galart with clear pain in his voice.

“Mm. Quite unfortunate.” said Galtomor.

“Do you think someone had a motive in killing them?” asked Klancy.

“What? Motive? I thought the death was an accident.” said Galart.

“It may be. Or it may be not. Everything was burned, forensics were not as developed as it is now and the detective report is wishy washy.” said Klancy.

“Umm. I really don’t know and I don’t wanna point fingers towards my friends. Sorry.” said Galart.

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“I see.” said Klancy.

With that the call ended.

“Okay, next up is Judy.” said Yung and called her.

“Hello?” spoke a soft woman’s voice.

“Yes. Are you Judy Hoodson?” asked Klancy.

“Yes, I am her.” said Judy.

“Do you know of Purev Dashvan, Doltey Kinanov, Hermen Nymts, remember them?” asked Klancy.

“Oh, yes. They were my highschool friends. How could I forget.” said Judy.

“They are dead. Their cause of death was the same as each other. Someone has targeted these three.” said Klancy.

“Wow, what? Way to bomb me with a surprise, mister” said Judy, clearly flabbergasted on the other side of the phone.

“Could you talk about these three and their relationships?” asked Klancy.

“Oh those three were friends. I dated Doltey for a while just to do something fun. Sometimes we would hang out just the two of us but most of the time we hung out with Hermen, Purev, Fedrick and Henry.” said Judy.

“Ahh, so any motive for them to be targeted?” asked Galtomor.

“Hmm, they were kind of douches sometimes in hindsight. Doltey specifically bullied Yuma sometimes and Purev would sometimes join in on the bullying. I did tell him to stop eventually so during the last few months before graduation, he stopped bullying people for good.” said Judy.

“Have you heard about Levi and Mina, what happened to them?” asked Klancy.

“Yeah. They burned in a fire. Mina’s sister Penny died too. I wasn’t that close to Mina or Levi but you should definitely ask Emy about it. She was close to Mina.” said Judy.

“Oh also. If the friend group of you six might be the target of the serial killer. Afterall, Doltey, Purev and Hermen were the victims. Then uhh-” said Joey.

“We could protect you from the serial killings, mam” said Rintaro happily.

“That’s so sweet of you. But fortunately for me I am going to fly to Jananda next week. Sorry sweeties but if mister serial killer doesn’t hurry, this bad girl will be whisked away, ahaha!” said Judy.

“Even so, I believe we can be of help. This is a free service. Let's talk about your classmates more at your place” said Klancy.

“Alright. I wouldn’t say no to free protection.” said Judy.

They talked about a few nonchalant topics and ended the call then called Emy. Klancy told her about the serial killings and asked her about Mina as well.

“Yeah. I loved Mina, honestly still do. We were friends since elementary school. And she died in that fire with Levi and her sister. It was her birthday too which just makes it so messed up and sad.” said Emy with despair.

“Do you suspect anyone for starting this fire?” asked Galtomor.

“N-no…well.” grumbled Emy with worry.

“What? Please, even if it's just a shot in the dark, speak whatever theories you have.” said Klancy.

“I’m not accusing him. But Hermen had a crush on Mina. Mina talked to me about how Hermen confessed to her. Of course, Mina was dating Levi so she had to deny going out with him. Hermen seemed kind of depressed about that.” said Emy.

“Come to think of it, if the day of the fire was Mina’s birthday, did she have a party at her home? Did she tell you anything about it?” asked Galtomor.

“Oh yeah. I remember. She did tell me that she was gonna have a party and Levi was gonna bring some friends. She wanted me to come but I had a really bad cold during that time so I declined.” said Emy.

“And who were these friends? You have any ideas?” asked Klancy.

“I don’t know. My guess would be someone from Levi’s circle outside of school. In school he was close to Purev. Oh wait, come to think of it, I did call them during her birthday.” said Emy.

“Oh, you did?” asked Galtomor.

“Yeah. I called her at around 19. She talked to me about school and she was just really worried about my health. I asked her how she was doing and how the party was going. She said that it was only Levi, Penny and the three of them though more people were gonna come. We hung up on that note.” said Emy.

“I see.” said Klancy.

The call ended.

“Call Fedrick and Henry. If Judy’s testimony is true, they may be the next targets.” said Klancy.

Fedrick was called and a burly man answered the call. He was told about the serial killings.

“Oh dear. That is crazy to hear.” said Fedrick with terror.

“Worst of all. You may be the next target, sir.” said Galtomor.

“OHMYGAWD” cried Fedrick.

“Calm down sir. If you tell us your location we might be able to go there and protect you from harm sir.” said Joey earnestly.

“T-that would be good. Umm…there is no payment, right?” said Fedrick.

“If you’re paying your taxes correctly, it should be fine.” said Galtomor.

“Also, why me? What did I do wrong?! I made sure to be nice to all my friends during highschool. All I ever did was paint beautiful landscapes and women” cried Fedrick.

“You were friends with Doltey, Judy, Hermen, Purev and Henry. We don’t know why but the serial killer is targeting this group.” said Joey.

“Well, if you’re not gonna take away my little income, please protect me. I have so much to live for and do!” said Fedrick with a cry.

“Okay.” said Galtomor and the call ended.

“Now it's time for Henry.” said Yung and called him.

The person who responded was calm and well composed. He was given the details of the serial killing victims and how his friend group is being targeted.

“Hmph. I suppose a rich and powerful man such as myself would bound to attract the jealousy of some crazy nutjobs.” said Henry elegantly.

“So, since your safety is endangered. Would you mind if we protect you and ask you more about your highschool days?” asked Galtomor.

“Hmm. I believe that to be unnecessary. I already have two bodyguards. I’ve decided to retire so I barely leave my mansion. I don’t see how a normal human being would be able to kill me in these circumstances.” said Henry.

“Hey, more help doesn’t hurt mister.” said Rintaro.

“Meh. You’re wasting your time.” said Henry.

“Alright, fine. In that case we would like to ask you about Levi and Mina. Have you heard about the fire that killed them?” asked Klancy.

“Yes, I have heard. I did study at the same class as they did after all. It is unfortunate but I don’t know much about their deaths.” said Henry.

“Do you have any suspects regarding that case?” asked Galtomor.

“Suspects? I only remember that as a freak accident, nothing else.” said Henry.

“In that case. We don’t have much to ask.” said Klancy.

“Right. Goodbye” said Henry and cut the line.

“Damn. Well. It wasn’t completely fruitless. All we’ll have to do is protect Fedrick and Judy now.” said Yung.

“But Fedrick did say that he was completely harmless. And he seems to be just a painter with a very distressed personality. Is the serial killer really targeting him?” asked Galtomor.

“From the patterns of the serial killings, the victims were all men. It is likely that he might be the target. Henry also might be the target albeit he doesn’t want our help” said Klancy.

“And Judy is gonna be fine? Even if she is a woman, we should still protect her.” said Joey.

“Yeah, we already agreed to do it.” said Klancy.

“We’ll contact Fedrick and protect him. In the meantime you guys go and protect Judy.” said Yung.

“That sounds good.” said Klancy.

*******