(English) Cold Eyes Saga 1: Behind The Eyes Of A Monster

Episode 3

Jemimah Remington's POV

“THIS is the first case for our team,” Jemimah said, giving the members folders about the case Director Morales assigned them. “The profiles of the two victims are there.”

“Serial killer work?” Paul asked while reading the files.

“We still can’t say,” she replied. “Douglas, the presentation.”

Douglas nodded and opened the projector in front of them. He began the presentation she ordered him to do. “Both of the victims were in their fifties. The first victim, Clark Lumanglas, is a professor in the University of the Philippines. The second, David Escartin, is a specialist in St. Luke’s Hospital. They were both found dead in an abandoned lot near their workplaces, both have slices on their throats. Cause of death is blood loss. No murder weapon found.”

Paul looked at Douglas. “How can we say that it’s a work of a serial killer?”

Jemimah was about to stand to continue the presentation when Mitchel talked.

“Both of the victims had a missing part of their bodies,” Mitchel said while looking at the folder. “Their penises.”

Paul was shocked. That was Jemimah’s reaction too when she first saw the case report.

“It’s impossible to be a coincidence,” Mitchel added. “The killer is either a psychopath who enjoys killing men in their fifties or the killer had a grudge on these men. The missing part of their bodies was enough evidence to deduct that these are works of one killer. So, yes, maybe we have a serial killer to find.”

Paul nodded. “Both targets had good professions.”

Jemimah stood. She took a sampling bag from the box on the table. There were cigarette butts inside the sampling bag. “These were the only evidences found near the victims. The forensics checked these cigarette butts and found DNA of the victims.”

Paul frowned. “You mean, the victims were smoking while the killer’s beside them?”

“We still don’t know,” she answered. “We’re going to start investigating the crime scenes and find more evidences.”

Her team members nodded. Jemimah ordered Paul and Mitchel to go the crime scene near St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City. “We’ll call you when we get there too,” she continued. “Find all of the possible evidences.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Paul asked, frowning.

“Douglas and I will go to Ethan Maxwell first to tell him about this case,” she replied. “Director Morales ordered us to always bring him in all of our cases.”

Mitchel stood and punched the air. “Then let’s go,” he said excitedly. “I can’t wait to catch this serial killer. I’ve been researching a lot about them. It’s time to meet one.”

Jemimah shook her head, smiling at the enthusiasm of the man. “Just focus on your work, Mitchel, okay? No playing.”

Mitchel’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sure there are lots of pretty nurses in St. Luke’s.”

She knew his enthusiasm was because of women again. Jemimah turned her back on the man and ordered Douglas to follow her.

They went out of the headquarters and went straight to her car—a dark blue Toyota Fortuner. His father gave it to her when she graduated in college. Ethan Maxwell’s address was in Manila. She hoped there won’t be traffic.

“Is this your first big case, Douglas?” she asked while driving.

“Yes, Inspector,” Douglas respectfully replied. “When I was working for PNP, I’ve only been in some raids.”

Jemimah shook her head. She had been telling this man to stop calling her ‘Inspector’ but he wouldn’t listen. Maybe it was in his nature to be so respectful.

“How long have you been working in the police force?” she asked.

“Almost three years,” Douglas answered. “I dreamt of being a police officer for a long time but because of financial problems, I stopped going to school a few times. If I hadn’t met Sir Antonio, I wouldn’t be able to achieve this dream. Sir Antonio’s the one who helped me in my studies and training in the police force here.”

She nodded. “It seems like Director Morales is a really good person.”

“He’s a real good person, Inspector,” Douglas seconded. “He helped a lot of people like me. And his only dream is to give justice for others.”

Jemimah smiled. Director Morales was one of a kind. He had a high position in the society but remained having a good heart. She wished she would learn more by being in his team.

Throughout the whole ride, she asked Douglas questions about him. She wanted to learn more about her team members.

They entered the condominium place where Ethan Maxwell lives and parked her car in an underground parking lot.

They entered one building and walked towards the front desk in the lobby. “I like to ask the number of Ethan Maxwell’s unit,” she said to the female receptionist.

The woman looked at the computer before smiling at her. “Your name, please?”

“Inspector Jemimah Remington.”

“Please wait a while, Inspector.” The receptionist reached for the telephone. “Mr. Maxwell, you have a visitor in the lobby. It’s Inspector Jemimah Remington.” The woman looked back at her. “Who’s with you, Inspector?” she asked.

“PO1 Douglas Ilagan,” she replied.

The receptionist repeated the name and nodded. “Yes, Sir.” She ended the call and smiled at her. “He’s in the penthouse, Inspector.”

Jemimah thanked the receptionist and walked towards the elevator. The elevator went up to the penthouse. They went out and saw only one door in the hallway. That must be Ethan Maxwell’s unit.

Jemimah took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell at the side of the door. They heard the doorknob clicked open in a little while. She reached for the knob and opened the door. She walked inside, unsure.

A huge living area greeted them. This whole floor must be occupied by this unit. The whole place was luxurious and spacious. She saw no one in the living area so Jemimah took her time to look around.

The interior was manly. But unlike other houses, there was a dull and emptiness feeling inside. But the unit was beautiful because of the bookshelves that surround the place. It was filled with lots of books. The sofas in the middle were made of rattan. There were antique stuffs in one cabinet, near a desk area that was filled with computer equipment.

On the right side of the living area, there was another room. It was visible because the walls were made of glass. The room was filled with gym equipment. That must be Ethan Maxwell’s personal gym. She got curious of how much was the man’s salary as a private detective. Or maybe Ethan provided all these while working for Special Forces back then.

Jemimah kept on looking around and saw lots of CCTV’s inside the unit. Was he watching them right now? She stared at one CCTV for a short while.

She looked around when they heard a door opening. One man came out of it. That must be Ethan Maxwell.

Jemimah was stunned for a short while. The word “handsome” was not enough to describe the man walking towards them. He was wearing a white long-sleeved T-shirt, some of the buttons were unbuttoned, and black trousers. He was tall and tanned and muscular. She could even see a glimpse of his muscled chest. His black hair was messy; it was slightly covering his ears. He also had a cleft chin. All parts of the man’s face were like sculpted by a famous sculptor.

And his eyes… he had blue eyes.

The man looked at her. He had the coldest eyes she had ever seen. His eyes were cold like of a heartless monster. She couldn’t see a single emotion in those eyes.

Jemimah looked away, wishing he wasn’t like Mitchel who knew profiling. Her heart was beating fast, she didn’t like it. What was happening to her? Was she attracted to this man? No. It can’t be.

“Good morning, Sir. I’m PO1 Douglas Ilagan,” she heard Douglas said. He saluted on Ethan. “I heard you’re an ex-commander in Special Forces. I’m at your service, Sir. Just order me anything.”

“Ex,” Ethan replied in a baritone voice. “You don’t need to salute at me now.”

Jemimah looked back at Ethan. She took a deep breath to calm her heart. “I’m Inspector Jemimah Remington, I’ll be—”

“I know,” Ethan cut her. “I saw all your profiles. Antonio gave it to me. I’ve been waiting since yesterday. How can you find a criminal if you kept on delaying like this? The case was given yesterday, right?”

Jemimah felt annoyed on what he said. She was taking back the idea that she was attracted to him. No one had ever talked to her like that. And as far as she could remember, she was the leader in this team. “I’m sorry for that. But you’re not the only member in this team and we have a headquarters—”

“It’s a serial killer,” Ethan cut her again. He sat on one sofa, placing the folder he was holding on the table. “Have a seat.”

Jemimah gritted his teeth. This man was acting like he was the only one allowed to talk. She tried hard not to show her irritation and sat down with Douglas on a sofa across from Ethan.

“Would you like something to drink? Coffee?” Ethan asked.

“We came here to tell you about the case,” Jemimah said. “Now that you already know, we’ll just go to our other team members who are busy in the crime scenes.”

Ethan looked at her. “I’ve been to both crime scenes yesterday,” he said. “They won’t find any evidences there so it’s better if they go back to your headquarters.”

Jemimah couldn’t hide her shock. Ethan had been to the crime scenes? Now she knew why he said those irritating words a while ago. This was the first time she felt ashamed and incompetent since she work in this field.

She ordered Douglas to call the other and tell them to go back to SCIU Headquarters. Douglas obeyed and left them for a moment.

There was an awkward silence that filled the surroundings. Jemimah didn’t know what to ask. She felt so small in front of this man.

“This is the first time I’ll be working with others since I left Special Forces,” Ethan broke the silence. “I want all of my cases to be solved properly. I guess that’s what you want too, right?”

Jemimah looked at him. She remained quiet.

Ethan sighed. “Just tell me if you don’t want to work with me. You don’t have to come here then. Just call me if you find any leads.”

“That’s not a team,” she said. “A team should be united as much as possible. Even though I don’t like your character, I’ll still accept you because you’re one of us. And yes, I also want to solve these cases properly.”

Ethan stared at her for a while, frowning. But it didn’t last when Douglas came back. “You must’ve known that Antonio and I have an agreement. I still won’t work for SCIU despite agreeing to be part of this team. So I won’t come to your headquarters unless it’s really needed.”

“We’ll just come here then,” she said.

He looked back at her. He remained quiet for a short while. And then the side of his lips went up for a smile. “A team,” he uttered softly but enough for her to hear.

Jemimah was stunned. She didn’t expect that this man knew how to smile. But that smile didn’t reach his eyes. It seemed trained, as well. Like how he trained his combat skills in the military.

She couldn’t understand the pity she felt for this man. Jemimah had no idea what he had experienced, why he left the Special Forces or something happened in his life that made his eyes like this. She didn’t want to feel this way but couldn’t help it. Ethan Maxwell was so mysterious that she wanted to know all his secrets.

“So what do you want to drink? I have coffee, juice, tea. There’s beer and wine too,” Ethan asked.

“I’ll have coffee, Sir,” Douglas replied.

Ethan looked at Douglas. “Go ahead; you can make it in the kitchen.”

Douglas was stunned, then nodded. “Do you want coffee too, Inspector?”

Jemimah shook her head, trying not to laugh. She bit her lower lip until Douglas left. But she couldn’t help it and laughed when Ethan looked back at her.

“You’re very hospitable,” she commented, still laughing. This was the first time she saw a host ordering his visitors to make their drinks.

Ethan shook his head, but there was a slight of enjoyment in his blue eyes.

He’s not that cold, Jemimah thought. Despite his coldness towards others, she was sure there was other emotion inside this man. She knew there was also warmth behind those cold, blue eyes. Maybe he just needed to socialize with others.

She cleared her throat. “You said a while ago that this is a work of a serial killer. Mitchel also said that; he’s the profiler of the team.”

Ethan nodded. “It’s a serial killer. And he will kill again, for sure.”

She looked up at him, surprised. His voice was sure and Jemimah didn’t know why she believed in him.

Ethan picked up the folder he put on the table a while ago. He took pictures from inside of it. “Those are the photos of the two crime scenes.” He pointed at the two pictures of the cigarette butts found beside the victims’ bodies. “According to the forensics who analyzed these cigarette butts, they found the DNA of the victims. You think the victims smoked while their killer was already in front of them? It’s not acceptable, right? So the explanation is that the killer may have forced his victims to smoke these cigarettes before killing them.”

Jemimah frowned. “Why would the killer do that?”

“I still can’t answer that.” Ethan looked back at the photos. “If you notice, there are five cigarette butts beside the first victim, Clark Lumanglas. Beside the second victim, David Escartin, there are four.” His gaze went to her. “The killer has a countdown. Which means there are three more to go.”

She put one hand on her forehead. “We need find this serial killer as soon as possible.” But she didn’t know how to start. This was the first time she would handle a serial killing case.

“We have to know the killer’s patterns first,” Ethan said. “It won’t be easy to find one person in a huge place.”

Jemimah nodded. “For now, the vicinity of the crimes happened around Quezon City. It’s still a huge city.”

They both looked at Douglas when he got back from the kitchen, holding one cup of coffee. Douglas sat beside her; he put the cup on the table.

“Douglas, right?” Ethan asked. “Call the other members and tell them to come here. I want to talk to the profiler.”

Douglas obeyed immediately.

“He’s the errand boy in the team, right?” Ethan asked when Douglas left.

“He’s not like that,” she replied. “Douglas is just obedient and respectful in nature, I think.”

“He’s only started in this kind of job. The most important thing is he can help out in any way.”

Jemimah looked back at the photos on the table. “These two victims had good professions. And these men were in their fifties. Why?”

“We won’t understand until we caught the one who did that,” he said. “It’s not easy to catch a serial killer. They’re intelligent in nature and they plan their every step. Are you sure it’s okay for you to take these kinds of cases?”

She looked at him. “You think I can’t because I’m a woman?”

Ethan didn’t reply, just staring at her.

“I’ll do everything to give justice for others,” she continued.

He smirked. “Justice is not easily served. And not all crimes are given justice,” Ethan seriously stated.

Jemimah saw the anger in his blue eyes. She was about to ask something when Douglas came back.

“They’re coming,” Douglas informed Ethan.

Ethan nodded. “Do you want something to eat? I’ll order something downstairs.” He stood up and went to the telephone.

Jemimah just stared at the man. She was sure something bad happened to him. As much as she wanted to know what it was, she knew it wouldn’t be easy for him to open up to anyone.

She decided not to care about it and read the case file again. She should think about this serial killer at loose in Quezon City. If Ethan was right, there would be another killing.

An hour passed when Paul and Mitchel arrived. They were busy eating lunch at that time.

“Food, at last,” Mitchel immediately sat beside her and started eating. “Oh.” He stopped when he noticed Ethan. “Dude, I’m Mitchel Ramos, the team’s profiler. And this one is Paul—”

“I know him,” Ethan cut him.

“Oh.” Mitchel just nodded and focused on his food again.

Jemimah looked at Ethan and Paul when they shook hands. After that, Paul sat on a single couch.

She took one plate and gave it to Paul. “Eat some lunch first. We’ll have a meeting later.”

“Thank you.” Paul smiled. “Did you eat?”

Jemimah nodded and returned the smile. She gazed at the men around her. They were complete, at last. She couldn’t explain the happiness she was feeling at this opportunity. Despite their character differences, she hoped one day they would all have good relationships. And like what Director Morales said, she hoped they would be one of the best teams in SCIU. Hopefully.

After eating, Ethan put back the crime scene photos on the table.

“Ugh, we just ate,” Mitchel protested.

Jemimah lightly hit Mitchel’s nape. “We need to work fast.”

Mitchel sighed.

“I called you here because I need your help,” Ethan told Mitchel.

Mitchel pointed at himself. “Me?”

“You’re the profiler of the team, right?” Ethan looked at the files on the table. “I want you to tell me everything you’ve profiled in this serial killer.”

Mitchel took a deep breath, looking at the photos on the table. “The killer is like most of the serial killers. Every move is planned, obviously. I think our killer has a huge grudge on these men.” He pointed on one picture. “As you can see, both of the victims’ p*****s were cut. Which only means that these men were either cheaters or rapists. It’s obvious. The killer must have a cruel past. Raped or cheated, whatever it is.”

“The… p*****s of the victims are still missing,” Jemimah added. “Maybe the killer kept it for collection.”

“Collection?” Paul repeated. “I still can’t believe that there are people who want to collect parts of human bodies. And a p***s, to be exact.”

“Maybe the killer’s going to use it as a dildo,” Mitchel said, laughing. He stopped when he noticed they were not entertained by that joke.

“So we’re looking for a woman?” Douglas suddenly asked.

“Don’t assume it’s a woman just because the victims are men,” Ethan replied, annoyed. “With that kind of thinking, I don’t think you can catch a criminal.”

“I’m sorry,” Douglas bowed his head.

Jemimah looked at Ethan. He was a one hot-headed man despite his cold eyes. She shook her head. “Douglas, I want you to look for police records of these victims if there’s any, especially in rape or harassment cases. That will be your assignment.”

“Copy, Inspector,” Douglas replied.

“Paul and Mitchel, you two go to Clark Lumanglas’ address and talk to his family. It will be good if you can find evidences that can be reason for his killing,” she ordered.

“Who’ll go to David Escartin’s place?” Paul asked.

“I’ll do it,” she answered.

“Do you want me to accompany you?” Paul asked again, worried.

Jemimah shook her head and smiled. “I can do it. And if Douglas’ done with his assignment, he can accompany me.”

“Alright, then. We should get moving,” Mitchel said. He stood up. “While the sun’s still up, we should find more leads.”

Paul stood as well. “Are you coming with us, Jemimah?”

“No, but Douglas can come with you,” she said. “I have a few more questions on Ethan.” She glanced at Ethan who remained quiet.

There was a worried look on Paul’s face but then he nodded and left with Mitchel. Jemimah looked at Ethan who was now cleaning up the table.

“Can’t you talk in a nicer way? And stop being hot-headed?” she asked.

Ethan stopped and looked at her. He didn’t answer; there was pure coldness in his blue eyes.

“I know Douglas’ question was stupid but you could have tell him that in a nicer way,” Jemimah continued.

“There’s no stupid question in this world, just stupid people who don’t know the right questions to ask,” Ethan replied, shrugging.

Jemimah was now totally annoyed. “He’s still new in this field, even in the police force. Don’t be too harsh on people. I don’t know what happened to you or whatever this world did for you to have that shitty personality, but that’s not a reason to hurt others, especially people who try hard to achieve their dreams.”

Ethan stared at her for a long while. He took a deep breath, shaking his head. “This is the reason why I don’t want to work with anyone. I don’t want them meddling with my life.”

“Well, I’m sorry for that. But you can’t do anything about it because you agreed to be part of this team. And while I’m still the team leader, I won’t let you ruin it that easy. I am the team leader, Ethan Maxwell. And I’m ordering you to apologize to Douglas.”

He looked at her, irritated. “Why would I do that? He needs to learn in order to get through this field.”

“Then you’re admitting you only said it for him to learn and not because he’s stupid?” Jemimah smirked. “If that’s you’re reason, I’ll let that go, then.”

Anger sparked in Ethan’s eyes. Before he could say anything, Jemimah stood up. “I hope next time you think first before throwing out your hurtful words,” she added. “I’ll take my leave now.”

Jemimah was about to leave the unit when he said something.

“I’ll go with you in David Escartin’s place.”

Jemimah was surprised.

“I planned to talk to the victims’ families too, find some leads,” Ethan continued.

She looked back at Ethan. He was already standing. He told her to wait for him while he gets dressed. Jemimah sat back on the sofa. She couldn’t help but smile when the man left. Being with Ethan Maxwell made her feel different kinds of emotions. And she didn’t know the reason for it.