Lord of Mysteries: Sustainer of Salvation

Gregor remained silent. He didn't want to interrupt whatever Laura was thinking about.

After about two or three minutes, Laura looked at Gregor, who still had his head down.

"How did you know what was happening there, Gregor?" Laura asked.

Gregor took a deep breath. After Wilson's tragic death, he had decided to not involve ordinary people in mystical matters.

"I don't expect you to understand, but for your own sake, I can't tell you."

Laura felt frustrated that he wouldn't answer her question. If she weren't feeling weak, she would slap the answers out of him.

"Wilson had taken two days off from his work yesterday—did you have anything to do with that?"

He didn't know if Wilson had decided to leave his work only due to their conversation or if he had other reasons, so he just gave a vague answer. "I'm not sure, but I think so."

Laura nodded. She stayed silent for a moment before saying, "He was scary."

"Wilson?" Gregor asked incredulously. From what he knew about Wilson, he seemed like a good and honest man.

Laura shook her head dismissively. "No—the killer, he was scary," Laura said, her eyes trembling. Just the memory of what happened was enough to trigger immense fear in her.

"His voice was muffled by his mask, but it felt so familiar..." Her body started to tremble. She gripped the bedsheets, trying to compose herself, but it wasn't of much use.

"H-He said that the reason Ms. Elwes's body smelled like ammonia was because she lost control of her body and peed herself..."

Gregor frowned for a moment, as if he had realized something.

"The last thing I remembered was him grabbing me by the neck; he was saying something, b-but I was so scared that I don't even remember what it was..." Laura's voice became weaker with each word, causing her to stutter.

She lowered her head, looking at her legs, which were covered by the bedsheets.

"I'm scared, Gregor—I don't know what to do without Wilson, how am I going to take care of the baby? A-And, what if the killer tries to kill me again? I-I won't survive again—that gas, his voice..." Just the idea of being a victim of the killer again triggered her anxiety.

"You'll have to figure out what to do from now on yourself," Gregor said as he got up from the chair.

"But don't worry, you're not alone; Eleanor and your parents will always be with you."

He turned to the door, and as he was about to open it, he said, "And you don't need to worry about the killer—I'm sure he won't bother you anymore."

Hearing Gregor say that seemed to have calmed her; his voice felt reassuring, warm. For some reason that Laura didn't understand, she felt she could trust his words, that he wasn't saying that just to console her, but that he really meant it.

As Gregor opened the door, Laura asked, "Are you going already?"

"Yes, I just realized there's something I need to do," Gregor answered.

"Very well. Goodbye, Gregor." She said with a weak smile.

He bowed, "Goodbye, Laura."

As he was about to leave the room, he said, "Don't be too harsh on your sister; she's doing her best."

....

After exchanging a few words with Eleanor and her parents, Gregor went back to the hotel.

On his way there, he stopped at the town's main square, where the ritual was supposed to take place.

A group of children were playing there, running around, laughing loudly.

Among the children was Matthew, son of the woman in the killer's vision.

Gregor considered talking to him, to see if Matthew knew anything or if he knew the man. But since he didn't know if Matthew's mother would be another victim or if she was an ally of the killer, he decided that maintaining distance was the best decision.

The killer saw my face. If Matthew's mom is really an ally of his, it will be very dangerous to be close to Matthew.

He took a deep breath before going back to the hotel.

....

Thursday, May 2nd. 10:00.

Gregor had woken up early; he took a shower and got dressed in all-black attire.

That day was Wilson's funeral. Usually, due to religious practices and traditions, a funeral would occur only two to three days after the person's death.

But given the grotesque nature of the murders that had been occurring in Division Bell, the town's government decided to expedite the victim's funerals.

The funeral took place in the northern part of the town, in a small funeral home administered by the town's government.

Most of the town was present, with the exception of the children, who either were too yound and didn't understand what a funeral was, or were simply uninterested.

The whole town stopped for Wilson's funeral; people left their work, closed their stores, and the entire police force, which consisted of only ten people, was there.

Normally, since the Tanner family was devoted to the Living Wheel, Wilson's body would be cremated along with a piece of clothing from his close family—in his case, his fiancée and parents.

But since preparing a cremation required at least two days and a large effort for a small town such as Division Bell, Wilson was buried in a small wooden coffin.

Gregor stayed near the entrance; he didn't want to see Wilson's body, feeling that they weren't close enough for that, but also because he never liked funerals, especially after Rebecca's funeral.

Wilson's parents, Laura, Eleanor, and her parents were close to the coffin.

Eleanor stood behind Laura, her hands on Laura's shoulders, while she cried.

Eleanor had an awkward expression, not knowing what to do for Laura. Even though she liked Wilson, their relationship wasn't close enough for her to be depressed about his death.

Gregor glanced at every person who entered the funeral home, expecting the killer to show up.

He based himself on something he heard as Abel: the killer always returns to the crime scene.

Since Wilson's body was removed from the crime scene shortly after the murder, Gregor thought that the funeral would be the killer's only opportunity to see Wilson's body.

Someone performing such a sick ritual wouldn't miss the opportunity to see this...

The victim's family crying, depressed. The people's fear, the growing tension in the town... This is a Criminal's wet dream; he won't get a better chance to see the chaos and despair he's inducing in the city.

People came, paid their respects, consoled the family, and walked away.

Even though most were sad about Wilson's death, their expressions showed more fear than sadness.

Most did not stay long due to the weird feeling, the unending tension surrounding the murders. The fact that the killer was among them and showed no regard or remorse for killing elders or pregnant women sounded like a horror story coming to reality.

This continued for almost an hour, when the funeral home director, a short old man in his mid-sixties, said, "We need to close the coffin." His tone showed no emotion, as if he were accustomed to death and felt no emotion toward it.

Crying, Laura nodded, as she placed a piece of clothing in Wilson's chest.

The funeral home director stopped Laura. "Miss Rigby, I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

Already emotional, Laura cried even more. "Please, we weren't even allowed to have a funeral that follows our beliefs; at least let us do this simple ritual."

The ritual Laura referred to was a tradition of the devotees of the Living Wheel. The deceased person's closest family would place a piece of clothing on the deceased's body so that the deceased person's spirit could guide and look after them in the afterlife.

Following the original ritual, the clothes would be cremated with the deceased body. But in cases where cremation is unavailable, the Church of the Living Wheel allowed a slight change to the ritual.

This change allowed the family to place their clothing on the deceased person's coffin before burial.

As the funeral home director, the old man knew that, but even so, he refused. "I'm sorry, Miss Rigby, but this is against regulations. The coffin cannot contain anything but the deceased body," the old man said, emotionlessly.

Laura's mother-in-law, Wilson's mother, argued with the man, but he still refused.

Their argument quickly gained everyone's attention, including Gregor, who paid close attention to it.

As Wilson's family argued with the funeral home director, a man who appeared to be in his early forties, wearing an all-black suit, quietly entered the funeral home.

Even Gregor, who was standing near the entrance, did not hear the man enter, only noticing him because of the strong smell of his cologne.

As Gregor looked at the man, he had no doubt who he was.

The owner of the blood-red light, the man with a mysterious relationship with Matthew's mother, the one terrorizing Division Bell.

The Serial Killer!

Gregor had to hold himself back to keep a straight face, since he didn't want the man to notice that he knew.

Caught you, motherf***er

Gregor thought.

The man walked calmly to the funeral director, gently placing a hand on the old man's shoulder. In a calm, authoritative voice, he said, "You can make an exception this time."

The old man looked at him before nodding, "Yes, sir."

Laura wiped her tears before bowing to the man. "Thank you, Mayor Thompson," she said. Her voice was weak and shaky, clearly demonstrating how vulnerable and depressed she was at that moment.

Thompson smiled gently before returning the bow. "Don't worry, I understand how hard this moment must be; it's the least I can do," he said. His voice was powerful and strong. Even though he wasn't particularly handsome, his voice alone would be enough to charm someone; that, along with his kindness and politeness, made him gain the town's trust and become mayor.

Thompson went to Wilson's coffin, looking at it as his body shook slightly, not in shock, but thrilled, as if seeing Wilson like that satisfied him.

Those who didn't know his secret thought he was shocked and angry seeing Wilson dead, especially since Thompson had portrayed himself as a mayor deeply committed to catching the killer.

Thompson closed his eyes, composing himself, before bowing again at Laura.

"Unfortunately, I can't stay any longer, Laura, but if you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thank you for coming, Mayor Thompson, this means a lot," Laura said.

"Yes, it's good to know that the person taking care of our town actually cares for us," Laura's mother, Amelia Rigby, said.

Thompson nodded with a small smile before walking away.

In his way out, he bumped into Gregor. "I'm so sorry, I guess I was quite distracted," the mayor bowed.

Gregor smiled; he knew Thompson didn't bump into him by accident.

"Don't worry, Mr. Thompson, these moments are very overwhelming, I understand," Gregor said calmly, trying hard to maintain a facade of ignorance about Thompson being the killer.

"I'm so sorry, I'm really trying, but I don't seem to recognize you. Are you a tourist, by chance?" Thompson looked embarrassed for not knowing Gregor's name, but Gregor knew it was just an act.

This guy is really good at acting innocent, isn't he?

Gregor thought.

"I'm Gregor, Gregor Alighieri. Yes, I'm a tourist," Gregor said with a polite smile.

Thompson smiled, "I hope you're enjoying your stay here. But please, be careful; unfortunately, our town has been having some security problems."

Gregor understood his words as a mockery; he wanted to provoke Thompson back, but to keep his facade, he just ignored it.

"I'll keep that in mind," Gregor said.

Thompson nodded as he left.

Once Gregor was sure he had left, he mumbled in modern English, "I'm going to make sure you pay for what you did..."