The perfect pattern

Six days and six murders, a clean getaway, detective Reeves and his associate Summers have only one more day to apprehend the serial killer before he kills the seventh person on the seventh day and the pattern ends…

July 18th - Saturday.

‘Look at these pictures, all of them shot dead at point blank range, the victims have nothing in common, they comprise of both the sexes and of all ages, no clues and just 8 hours, I don’t see any hope’ Reeves was furious, pushing the papers and photos of the deceased off the table.

The previous day, he received a call from the serial killer stating that he would kill one more person on the last day to complete the pattern. Summers and Reeves knew that they need to prevent the murder else the doors to catch him are almost closed.

Suspect seven as he was called, started on a killing spree a week earlier. Each time he kills, he would call the police and confess. Six days have passed by without much progress and today is the last day. Time kept ticking down. The federal agency roped in the two best detectives to solve the mystery but on the last day.

‘Detective, I have killed six people till date and tomorrow’s my last day. After that, the pattern is done and so am I. After that you will never be able to catch me as I am gonna getaway with the perfect crime pattern’, and he hung up.

I have been thinking about the same since yesterday night. The voice was so cold, and his words are still ringing in my ears.

‘I got it’ Summers jumped in excitement, ‘I found his pattern…. Look at the dates. July 13th, the killings started, and see this. Reggie was killed on July 13th and he was born on July 13th. Murad was killed on July 14th and he was born on July 14th. He’s killing people on the days when they were born’

‘That means he’s gonna kill somebody born on July 19th, tomorrow. Excellent!!! Summers, let’s check the database for the people who were born on 19th July in this area and perhaps we may protect them thus failing the perfect crime pattern.’

30 minutes later, Summers was exalted and came running into my room. ‘I found our killer, sir’

‘What!!!’ I exclaimed.

‘Yes sir, at the third and fifth murder scenes, we have identified different blood samples along with that of the deceased, and both these samples are identical and the most appalling thing is that they belong to a person born on July 19th, and the only person living in the Bay Pay area’

‘You mean to say that the serial killer is the only person born on 19th and he wants to complete the pattern by killing himself………’ saying this I shivered in fright even as the hair on my skin stood out, as if I have been electrified. I was so damn excited.

‘What are we waiting for, let’s prepare an attack, and get the damn guy on his knees’ said Summers.

‘Look at this map, this is the guy’s house, we under the cover of the SWAT team will break into his house and arrest him. We’ll have two teams, one attacking from the front led by me and the other from the rear led by Summers’ I told summers and the SWAT team. ‘Under any cost, we are not gonna kill or let him kill himself and complete the pattern, I repeat ….’

July 19th - Sunday.

Two police cars and one SWAT van have arrived at the place in the early hours of 19th July, Sunday. Even as I was preparing the team for an assault from the front door, Summers and team have already gained entry through the back door.’

‘Please drop your weapons men, and don’t shoot!!! Drop your weapons’ I cried out loud, as we forced our entry through the front door. I saw Summers being held captive at point blank range by our man. With one gun pointing at Summers head and the other pointing at his own, we had to jump into a defensive strategy.

‘Man, just listen, please don’t shoot yourself. This is really stupid of you to kill yourself and complete the pattern. Instead hand over the gun to Summers and we will walk away, with you unhurt’ I shouted out loud.

‘You can call me Jack, detective. It’s a great pleasure to meet you and Summers here. Do you think I am stupid enough to fall for your counseling? I am almost on the verge of completing my pattern and you say that I should quit’ saying this he removed the gun pointed at him and fired a shot. And that hit me in my chest. Even as the SWAT were ready to take him down, I made a sign not to.

‘Don’t you see this as a trap detective, have your stress filled nights made you forget that you were also born on the 19th of July’ and my heart started to beat faster.

‘So it’s me who he’s wanted, he’s not gonna kill himself but he’s gonna kill me’ I looked at him in distraught agony.

‘No detective’, Jack shouted, ’But that is not my pattern you see, you are not my target’ saying this he pulled the trigger of the gun pointed towards Summers and he collapsed onto the ground.

And the SWAT team swung into action putting him down and nabbed him as they din’t have orders to shoot.

‘Summers was only correct till the fact that Jack killed people based on the dates but Jack killed people based on dates as well as days. The first victim Reggie was born on July 13th, Monday and the second victim Murad on July 14th, Tuesday and so on’

‘The first mistake Summers did was, he checked the birth list of the people born in Bay Pay. The second mistake, he never told me that he was also born on July 19th, and the biggest mistake that cost him his life. Summers was born on a Sunday….’