Stars - Part 7

Aaron didn't waste any time and made a deal with Lucas for teeth. If Lucas were any older, he would have become suspicious of Aaron's readiness, but luck has been really on Aaron's side. 

Lucas had no idea what the big deal with teeth was. His whole focus was on money. Probably his first adventure. Aaron paid quite a lot for the teeth. Luckily, Lucas brought the whole cup for Aaron, so nothing was missing.

Aaron went straight to the police station after meeting Lucas in an empty parking lot. It was only the second day since he officially took the case, but he realized how useful it was. He could get these teeth checked by forensics to know for sure if they were real. He handed those teeth to the forensics team. 

James had been keeping an eye on Aaron. He showed up and watched the team testing the teeth in a rush. The case was of high priority, so everyone quickly started to run the tests on the teeth.

"Are those real teeth you told me about? Related to Mr. Manner?" James asked.

"Mr. Fairmaner." Aaron corrected, and James rolled his eyes.

"You know, it's really not a smart move. To think that he is the Star-Killer only because you saw those teeth. They could be wisdom teeth from his family or just any teeth that were once removed by a dentist. It doesn't have to-" James was in the middle of lecturing Aaron when a forensics technician rushed towards them.

"James! Aaron! The teeth! They are real! I ran them into our database, and the DNA matched that of 13 different people!" The forensics man told them.

They all headed toward the screen showing the people whose DNA matched that of the teeth. For a moment, James and Aaron focused on the screen in silence, then they gasped in shock.

"They are people who have been missing for months now!" Aaron said.

"God! They are from neighbouring towns. The police had been having a hard time finding them." James added.

"They must have never thought that a trace could be found in another town. That must have been the reason why they never found them." Aaron concluded and grabbed his jacket. He was going to confront Eliot Fairmaner now.

"Oi! I told you that you won't go anywhere dangerous alone. I will go with you." James said as he grabbed Aaron by the collar. Aaron sighed and stood there, waiting for James to get ready. He had to listen because of the last mess he created by playing the mouse-and-cat game with the killer.

Soon, they were in front of Eliot's house. Aaron was thinking of stuff he could say to get Eliot to confess, but to his shock, the moment the door opened, James suddenly grabbed Eliot and handcuffed him.

"What are you doing!?" Aaron yelled, but James didn't reply and just dragged Eliot. James threw him into the back seat of the car while he kept asking why he was being arrested. Once he was inside and couldn't hear them, James spoke, "The case is too huge. We were granted special permissions for it. We can and will arrest whoever seems to be the suspect-"

"That's not what the police do! If he's innocent, then you're harassing an innocent citizen!" Aaron interrupted. He was all worked up.

"Oh? What about the innocent citizens the killer has murdered? Listen, Aaron. Sometimes you have to play dirty to save others. If he's the killer, he won't hand us the proof. If he's an innocent citizen, then so what? His life would remain the same, but if he's the killer, we need him to think that we believe he's the one, so he stops acting. Star-Killer is too big a threat for us to be nice and gentle."

Aaron didn't like what James said, but he understood it. Manhandling a citizen is still better than letting a butcher roam around. They both went back to the police station with Eliot in the backseat. 

Everyone was tense as they got Eliot into the interrogation room. Different police officers questioned him, but he kept rejecting all the accusations. Finally, James allowed Aaron to go in and talk to him.

He was handcuffed to the table. He glared at Aaron. "I know you. I showed you my house to sell it to you! Tell me, what did I do to deserve all this?!" He yelled.

"What you did wrong was murder people and leave those stars to me," Aaron responded.

"You have no proof of it! How can you be so sure that I did it?!"

"Well then, let's start with those teeth. Your nephew's prosthetic teeth. He clearly said that he found them in your house, and they weren't prosthetic either. We have them, so you can't lie your way out anymore." Aaron said and sat across from Eliot.

"What!? No! no no no! They are not mine! God! You didn't frame me like I thought. You really think I am the Star-Killer!"

Aaron frowned, "Umm, well...." He hesitated. He knew Eliot was dangerous, but Star-Killer was never linked to any kidnapping. He was sure that Eliot was a criminal, but not so sure if he was the Star-Killer. He cleared his head. He needed Eliot to think that they indeed assumed him to be the worst criminal, so he confesses to his crimes, whatever they were: "We found teeth in your house, and you lied about them. It sure does put you in a terrible place."

Eliot paled, "Okay, fine! I was trying to save my friend! I can't save him if it means getting into prison myself! I lied because I know how it looks! I couldn't say that my friend gave me those teeth, and I can't ask where he gets them from! He's the most loyal one I've ever had! I accept that he's creepy, but he has always been with me! I wanted to repay it by keeping the teeth a secret, but you! You came unannounced! I couldn't hide them!"

James stared at Eliot. Gray Holloway. Eliot's friend, whom he kept mentioning in his socials. Those teeth came from Gray. The main culprit was Gray, not Eliot.

To Be Continued......