Chapter 8: Esther's Diary (Page 06)

The 'Mad Dog' case was undoubtedly the most difficult I have dealt with. He brutally raped all his victims, either directly or through some mechanical devices, slashed their faces, gouged eyes, bitten off pieces of flesh, and at the end stabbed countless times. Therefore, on this day, September 20 2020, when we got this call and finally caught him, I felt a great deal of relief and joy. However, what he was talking about then re-confused my mind. The 'Scarlet Angels'... I heard clearly - that's what he called those 'creatures' he saw before we came. My mind responded automatically to that term, so I had to ask him more about it. After all, so far I have not met anyone who has mentioned this legend, and certainly not that had seen it with his own eyes. Knowing the legend and what these Angels do, one would think that as a detective, often detaining very dangerous criminals, I should constantly hear from them about the 'Scarlet Angels'. And yet, it was only at the detention of 'Mad Dog' that I've heard for the first time that we 'interrupted' these messengers of Heaven from punishing a great sinner. Is it because this man had been free for almost a year? I admit that so far me and Leo have managed to detain perpetrators of crimes in no more than five months. It was only when we took over the 'Mad Dog' case that we exceeded this time, and by quite a lot. That's why I immediately thought that these 'Scarlet Angels' aren't sent out right away, but after a longer while. As if God gave humans time to find such a person and punish adequately to the act. And only if we fail, are 'Scarlet Angels' dispatched to do what we couldn't. However, I found it strange that they reached 'Mad Dog' fairly quickly, in the end not even a year had passed and the police still had a chance to find and catch him. I began to think whether their speed of action depended on the severity of the crime the sinner had committed, or whether they could look into the work of the police and see if humans had a chance to find the criminal themselves, or whether they needed help in getting rid of such sinner. Of course, I was unable to answer these questions. To find out, I would have to ask the 'Scarlet Angels' in person, and I have no chance of that, right? Unless... Unless I kill someone, hide well from the police and wait for them to finally decide to get me. But on the other hand, is satisfying curiosity worth becoming a killer and thus sacrificing your soul? No, definitely not. I shouldn't have considered such option at all. The fact that such an idea came to my mind is certainly the devil's whisper. Or a sign that I'm really losing my mind.

It could also be that 'Mad Dog' was just lying about seeing those creatures. He might not be from Wales or UK at all, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear about the legend somewhere. But back then, it seemed obvious to me that he probably couldn't have create it all on spot like that. Besides, before we entered the apartment, we all clearly heard this man screams, and his would-be victim mentioned how he suddenly started talking to someone, and yet, apart from her and him, there was no one else in the apartment. Leo said right away that this guy was just not right in his head, but 'Mad Dog' didn't look like a complete freak to me. Guess it sounds weird after I mentioned how he treated his victims, but in my opinion, this man wouldn't cover his tracks so well if he was completely insane. Besides, even relatively sane people could be ruthless and cruel towards others. This is why I thought 'Mad Dog' was telling the truth, that he had seen the 'Scarlet Angels'. This man started mentioning them long before we caught him, so playing crazy for interrogations and later court cases was also pretty much out of the question. On top of that, as we drove away, I saw a distinct relief on his face, the complete opposite of the horror that lurked on it just after he regained consciousness. It was as if something really scared him before we got to this apartment. He was clearly grateful that our appearance then had saved him from a fate possibly worse than any punishment possible in our legal system or perhaps even than the death itself. This convinced me that this man had actually seen the 'Scarlet Angels' with his own eyes and was the only witness I knew who could prove they existed. I had no idea how my relatively realistic nature could waver so suddenly after hearing someone recall an old legend I heard as a child and always considered it a fairytale. Though now, when I think about it, as a child I was more likely to believe in the existence of such creatures, and it wasn't until I started working in the police and got to know Leo that I began to take on his skepticism about all supernatural things. Yes, his worldview certainly influenced me a lot. The more that he was like an older brother to me and I took his opinion into account, Leo also taught me a lot. But this time I just couldn't be skeptical about it all the way he did. The mere mention of the 'Scarlet Angels' seemed to awaken a child in me again, a child believing that there fairies granting wishes and monsters hiding under the bed or in the closet are indeed real. In other words, it has awakened my belief that there are things in this world that we don't normally perceive, but when we can see them they seem supernatural to us but they do exist, only in a different way than we all and our world. That's why I decided back then, that as soon as we got to the police station, after interrogation of 'Mad Dog', I have to ask him about 'Scarlet Angels' in secret.

Anyway, on September 20th, after all, I was really happy and proud of myself and Leo that we finally managed to catch 'Mad Dog', therefore probably saving more women from a terrible fate that awaited every victim of this serial killer. Yes, it was definitely our success, a huge win that was achieved after so many long, depressing months, therefore it tasted even sweeter than usual. It also brought us more than just congratulations or a hefty bonus. Suddenly we grew up in the eyes of our colleagues. One could say that it was a truly wonderful event and all that any detective wants. We finally caught a crazy psychopath that was walking around, torturing and killing his victims. But on the other hand, it was the beginning of my own madness.