My Insanity

Chapter 5

A few days later Eren was released from the hospital. The first thing he did was go home and shave the small bush that was starting to grow on his face, along with having a decent shower and giving Kohl some much needed attention.

Afterwards he left home straight away and drove to the office. He knew that by now he'd have cases piling up on his desk. He guessed that that was what would happen when you lie in the hospital for a week. Either way he knew that there would be some type of workload waiting for him.

Or so he thought.

When he got to his office he was surprised by the lack of any form of documentation waiting for him on his desk. Instead all there was on his desk was his chewed on pencils and his computer. That was all.

There had been no new cases involving 'Ordentlich Mörder'. Absolutely none. He did however receive a message from Hanji. He would go and see her at the end of the day. First he would sit in his empty office and work. He wasn't allowed to, thanks to Armin taking away his laptop and files and locking them away from Eren until he was told he told leave the hospital by a doctor.

He put his brief case down on his desk and sat down. He was still somewhat tired, but he needed to do something. He had to research a couple of things regarding the case. He also wanted to go over the camera footage of the hostage that happened last week.

He put his computer on and went into their database and typed in the name Ferran Gottfrid. He needed to find out how he and Carlota Vilis were connected. He knew, based on every other victim, that there was a possibility that the two were not connected at all, but now that he knew that the way in which the killer killed was changing, he knew that there could now be a link between the two. At least, he hoped there would be.

He considered the fact that the two victims were having an affair. He just wasn't sure if that was the case as there was no plausible evidence that directed that way. However, it was a possibility and Eren had to consider it. So it was the first thing he was going to look into.

He had data from both victims' electronic devices. He checked their messages and call histories. He didn't find anything of value, but what he did notice was that Carlota had been getting calls from an unknown number every night for the past few weeks. He considered the fact that had the two been having an affair, then Ferran would have used a burner phone to keep his records clean. He had a wife and two kids; it was understandable if he didn't want to be caught.

Eren sighed out. Just don't have an affair then…

"Well, there's no way I'll be able to find the burner phone. I'll have to get a permit to search through Ferrans belongings. I'm sure that this is the link between them." He says to himself as he browses through some of the messages that Carlota received from the unknown number. He was hoping to find a name or something but the messages were very discreet. However, he had found something quite useful.

"Meet me at Café Fredella, 12 AM"

Erens brows furrowed together. "That's the coffee shop" he muttered to himself. He found it extremely strange that the coffee shop, the one he frequented often and the one that had literally just been under a hostage situation (one that Eren had been caught in), had been their planned meeting place. He bit his lip. "Is this a clue?" he questioned himself.

"No, that can't be… this is just a coincidence. There's no way that it means anything important." He chuckled to himself. "I'll get the footage from that day too, just to see who it is that she met." He picked up his phone and dialed in a few numbers. It rang for a bit before being answered by a sweet voice. "Hello, this is Cristina, how may I help you?"

Eren smiled. She was such a sweetheart to listen to. Everyone in the firm loved her. He was sure that every single male, probably a few females as well, had asked her on a daily basis to be their wife. However, they were countlessly reprimanded by her fiancé, Ymir.

"Hey Christina, it's me; Eren. I need you to get some footage for me from Café Fredella." He says, his voice calm. The person on the other end of the line made a sound. "What day? When we got the footage from the other day they gave us data from at least a month back."

"Oh, that's perfect then. Can you please send it over to me?" he questions. "Of course. I'll send Ymir over with it now. She won't allow me to do anything with me being pregnant." She chuckled out. Eren almost forgot that she was pregnant. "Thanks, Christina, take care." And with that he put the phone down.

After a while he had received the footage from Ymir. Their meeting was brief and distasteful. She was a very discreet person. She didn't really talk to anyone but Christina. Eren didn't really care either way. It wouldn't have been like him trying to involve himself in the lives of others anyway. That was quite ironic considering his line of profession.

He took out the correct footage and played it on his computer. He forwarded it right before the scheduled 12 AM meeting. He saw Carlota walk in at around 11:55 and at exactly 12 AM the person he expected to walk in did just that. Ferran walked straight over to her table. She even stood up and kissed him passionately.

"That confirms it… I'll probably have to tell his wife about this… she deserves to know." He sighed out to himself. That was going to be painfully awkward. It was never an easy thing to do. Unfortunately he had to do it.

He continued watching the footage for anything unusual. He knew thee probably wouldn't have been but he didn't want to miss anything that could be there. And as he suspected, nothing unusual occurred. They exchanged a few words and ordered a cup of coffee. Eren did notice however that as someone walked past the two explicit people the footage cut out for a split second before coming back. The same person was still walking past and everything seemed normal. He didn't know what caused the footage to cut out.

"Probably a glitch in the equipment."

He closed the footage and put in the one from the day of the robbery. He skipped forward to the part where he and Adler had shot each other. He grimaced at it. He watched Adlers body fall limp and blood pool around his head.

He didn't quite enjoy seeing himself kill another human being. He knew that it had to be done. Adler was a dangerous man. He was a threat to Eren and everyone else that was in the café. Eren kept telling himself this. He kept telling himself that it had to be done. He had to or else he would be overcome by regret and guilt.

He paused the footage. He counted the number of people. Armin was right. There were only 16 people including him, but he had sworn there were 17 people. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows together. He needed to think but his head was all fuzzy. He couldn't understand why he felt like there was something wrong. He knew that the footage was clear and showed on 16 people, but he remember there being 17. It didn't make sense.

At that moment an image popped into his mind, one that gave him chills. It was of someone walking past him. He couldn't see their face clearly, but he could see a pleased smile on his face. "That's right… someone walked past me… they wore a black hoody and he was smiling…. I wanted to call out to him but Armin came in at that moment… I must have forgotten about it."

He played the footage again. He saw everyone walk out. And at the moment where he Armin came in, he watched himself turn to someone, but there was no one there. There wasn't anyone wearing a black hoody. No one at all.

Erens eyes widened. "This can't be.." he mutters out as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and dials Armins number. He didn't wait long for the blonde to answer.

"Hel-"

"Armin, do you remember seeing someone wearing a black hoody? When you came into the café on the day of the robbery, someone wearing a black hoody should have walked right passed you… do you remember seeing them?" Eren cut him off hurredly.

"Eren… where is this coming from…?" Armin questions confusedly. "Please, Armin, it's important. I need to know."

"I do remember someone like that walking out as I came in… why is it important? Does the person have anything to do with the case…?"

"Armin…" Erens voice was soft, and his lips trembled, "he isn't on the footage…"

"What do you mean?" Armin questions. "He isn't here. I watched the footage… and I don't see him walking out. The footage has been tampered with."

"You can't be serious… that's impossible… we got the footage the same day… that doesn't make sense." Armin says, his confusion was evident in the way that he spoke. Eren sighed out. "It's possible that the person I've been looking for has been with me the whole time…"

The thought made Erens blood run cold. It was possible that this whole time he had been facing the killer the whole time without even knowing it. Now he didn't know who to trust anymore.

Everyone was a suspect.

After his phone call with Armin, Eren packed his stuff and headed home. As usual, as he stepped outside he felt eyes on him again. He hurried over to his car and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Eren was never someone that had been afraid. At least, he hadn't been that way for a long time, but for the first time in a while he was petrified. He didn't understand what was happening at all, but he knew that it was all related to the killer. The coffee shop, the robbery. It linked together and he didn't know where to even start on how or why.

He knew that the killer was playing tricks. Eren was a game to him. And he was slowly winning it. Eren trembled.

He knew it was just his imagination, but it was like he could feel someone breathing against his neck. They were holding him in place. Eren hated to admit it, but he was slowly losing his mind to this case. Or rather, he was losing his mind told the one that it centered around, the one that he knew nothing about.

He was chasing after someone that could very well not exist. He wanted to stop. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't, because as much as he feared the man who was slowly hunting him down, he was excited as well. His body was trembling, but it wasn't out of fear alone. He was trembling with excitement.

"What's happening to me?" he questioned himself as he stared at his darkened house.

He got out of his car, not even bothering to take his briefcase with him inside. He walked straight over to his front door, stopping when he saw a little note taped onto his door. The handwriting was neat and tidy, just like the one before.

"I'm closer than you think" it read. Erens eyes widened when he saw that his door was slightly ajar. He pressed his hand against it, opening it up all the way, and walked inside. He didn't hear anything, and Kohl didn't come to him either like he usually did. He felt something under his feet and when he looked down he almost vomited.

There was a trail of white rose petals going down the corridor, into his bedroom. He walked down, slowly making his way to his room. And when he entered he noticed the dull lighting. He also noticed the person sitting on his bed, their back towards Eren.

Kohl was there too. He sat next to the person, who stroked him casually.

Eren felt his blood run cold.

"Who are you?"

Silence.

"The one you've been searching for."

Hey guys, I know it's been a really long time. I'm really sorry. But after the last chapter I started my final exams. I finished high school (FINALLY). I've also been struggling with writers block. But I am trying to fix that. I can't guarantee any updates. I'm actually trying to write an original story. But I stumbled upon this one and I felt like continuing it. I might continue some of my other stories, but my main inspiration and motivation is being focused on this one for now. I'm really sorry for the long wait. And I gave such a crappy chapter as well.

Well, let's hope the next one is better!

Hope to hear from you!

Ciao~