Chapter 3

Martindalle Police Department, the heart of Martindalle's safety. It was founded a hundred and fifty years ago, the same time that the city charter was signed by the founding families. For the past decades, Martindalle Police Department has been undeniably the best in the region. But their skills are about to be tested.

"Sullivan! I need you in Hamonport. Salazar Simmon's body was found dead at a hotel in that wretched town." Their captain announced.

Detective Marvin Sullivan is one of the senior detectives of their department, and he is one of the best. He has been a promotion multiple times but he declined. Marvin Sullivan wanted to be a detective since her mother was killed by burglary gone wrong. It was one of the cold cases of Martindalle before he became a detective. And he solved the case to get justice for his mother. It was dubbed as "Revenge of a Son" by the Martinedalle media.

"Yes, Captain!" Marvin immediately picked up his jacket and car keys.

It only took him twenty minutes to arrive at the Rose Alley Inn, a seedy hotel known for illegal activities and prostitution. But no police department can arrest anyone because every time they bust the hotel, it's almost empty. Like someone is always tipping those lawbreakers.

"Good morning, I'm Detective Marvin Sullivan of the Martindalle Police Department. What do you have so far?" Marvin asked as he presents his badge.

"Good morning detective, Andrew Clayton. Well, we have a Salazar Simmons here, it looks like he was with something hard in his head. My guess is that's what the killer used to knock him down. You see this bruise on his neck? I'm guessing poison, which is the cause of death. By the discoloration of his body, especially around the face, he didn't die quickly. The killer wanted him to suffer." Forensic Investigator Billy Lewis explained to him.

"And I'm guessing the killer is a woman," Marvin said out loud.

"That is correct. Poor guy here checked in last night. One of the hotel staff saw a young woman inside his car as he gets a room. Nobody saw the young woman leave. You smell that? It is a very distinct scent sold by only one perfume company. It's called Kiss of Death." Andrew added.

"How do you know?" Marvin asked because he doesn't look like a guy who would use a woman's perfume.

"My wife has the perfume. It is very expensive but a lot of women are crazy about it. It's trending in social media." Marvin nodded.

He looked at the body of Salazar Simmons. He definitely looked like he suffered. Whoever killed him made sure of that. Salazar's lifeless eyes are wide open, so is his mouth while his hands are in his neck. 'What have you done to deserve this?' that's the question that pops on his mind.

Marvin scanned the surrounding. There's no sign of struggle. Everything is in its proper place. The bed doesn't look disturbed. He was raping someone. He was lured here. This is a premeditated, well-calculated and, cold-blooded murder.

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Bartholomew Carter is a seasoned reporter. He covered every single scandals that happened in Martindalle. He is always first in every big scoop. That is the reason many of the elites of Martindalle doesn't like him. Because he's not afraid to report the truth.

"Bart, you have a mail." One of his colleagues informed him.

After receiving the envelope delivered by the city postmaster, Bartholomew went back to his office and opened it. He was stunned by the content he found inside the envelope. It was list of names of Salazar Simmons' supposed victims with their addresses.

"Damn it! This is going to be explosive! People will go crazy about this!" Bart didn't waste any more minutes thinking. He took his jacket and grabbed his cameraman who is currently eating his lunch.

"Whoah! Easy with the jacket. I just bought that." Neilson, his cameraman complained.

"Work, Neil. Work." He simply responded.

When they arrived at the hotel room where Salazar Simmons' body was found, he's no longer there. But it doesn't matter to him. Because it's not the death of Simmons he's interested in reporting. It's the crime he committed and got away with all his life.

Bartholomew started with Cindy, Simmons' last victim. When the teenager learned about his death, relief was written all over her face. Cindy's parents were devastated to learn that their daughter was a victim of a predator but at the same time, they are happy he's dead. For them, justice has been served.

Cindy was cooperative, she gave a complete statement about how they met and how Salazar approached her to offer her job. Even though it was hard for her, Cindy's parents urged her to talk about how he did it. She was crying the whole time as recall that nightmare. And Bartholomew decided he will report it, raw and unedited.

For him, the crime of a charlatan and a predator should be made public. He doesn't care if he's dead. After his interview with Cindy, Bart went straight to the names on the list. Majority of them were willing to provide their testimony about how Salazar Simmons destroyed their lives. One of the parents even said that if they knew, he would have been a long time ago.

After almost all of the names on the list, Bart realized that Salazar Simmons has been ruining the lives of teenagers for thirty years. Every young woman he used as an art subject was a victim of his hunger for younger women. It's the reason he never married. Salazar Simmons doesn't want his monstrous deeds to end.

"Holy cow! How did someone manage to do all that?" Neilson exclaimed when got into their car.

"He knows how to choose his victims. They were timid, naive, and afraid. They don't want people to know what happened to them because it means shaming themselves. He is the embodiment of a monster." Bartholomew responded with anger in his voice.

"How do you want to do this, then?" Neilson asked.

"We will publish it and post the videos on my vlog site. People deserve to know and those victims deserve to be heard. We will not edit or cut anything." Bart said with conviction.

"But that will ruin the name of a dead man, Bart," Neilson replied. He is worried about what could happen.

"He ruined how many lives, Neil? How many young lives did he destroy? He doesn't deserve to be praised or remembered as a national artist. He is a criminal." Bartholomew made his mind.