Page 17 of An Ancient Power's Revenge

“It's the drive that contains the CCTV footage from the supermarket.”

His expression held a mix of eagerness and trepidation as if he stumbled upon something beyond his expectations.

Evelyn gave him a nod of appreciation, and Ryan's gaze darted between us before he quickly returned to his duties.

The bustling atmosphere of the Sheriff’s Department carried on around us, a stark contrast to the shadows that clung to our investigation.

Evelyn motioned toward her office, and we stepped inside. The door closed behind us, shutting out the ambient noise, and the room became a haven for our shared pursuit of truth.

I leaned against the edge of Evelyn's desk as she inserted the USB drive into her computer. The screen flickered to life, displaying the CCTV footage from the supermarket. The grainy images captured the mundane moments before the discovery of the lifeless body, shoppers navigating aisles, oblivious to the darkness that lurked beneath the fluorescent lights.

Evelyn's brow furrowed as we watched, a subtle realization crossing her features. "This footage... it's been altered."

I squinted at the screen, my eyes narrowing in concentration. The subtle nuances in the timeline, the glitches that betrayed a deliberate manipulation—clearly someone had tampered withthe recording. The shadows that surrounded us extended even to the surveillance of the supermarket.

"Who would alter the footage, and why?" Evelyn pondered aloud, her gaze fixed on the screen.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration mounting. "It could be someone trying to erase their presence or mislead us. The question is, what are they hiding, and what the hell went down at the supermarket last night?"

That was a rhetorical question, one that Evelyn and I had no answers to. Ryan stated he was given the footage by someone at the supermarket directly. We need to find out who.

Chapter 10 - The Press Conference

Evelyn

Ipaced around the office while everyone stared at the pictures on the evidence board. We could only get a few from the crime scene of Alpha Mark's death, but we were able to get more than enough evidence with the new body. It still wasn't leading us anywhere; we were moving in circles now.

Just like we did with Alpha Mark's body, we cleaned up every trace of evidence of the murder, and now we are reviewing it internally. We couldn't afford to make mistakes, at least not now that we had plenty of attention on us. With the treaty hanging in the air, we have limited time.

"There’s a problem, Sheriff.” An deputy called in from the corner of the room, and it got my attention immediately. I turned to see him holding up a phone. I walked closer and tookthe device out of his hand to check what the fuss was about. Cold shivers ran down my spine as I read the online blog's content.

"Harmony grove’s Serial Killer Returns. Another dead body found downtown, tortured and killed. The killer still remains unknown, and the picture of the body has been attached."

I scrolled down to see the attached picture, and I hissed slowly under my breath.I thought the supermarket assured us that nobody else knew that a body had been found there?! Tell me why I am looking straight at the victim I logged into records this morning?

"Ryan and Rodriguez, you are in charge of finding whoever runs this forsaken blog and finding out how they got the pictures. Go back downtown and find me some damn answers. I need everyone to play their best game today. We have to control the narrative before they control it for us. Get me some answers! Find the missing link, people! There should be something we are missing." I bellowed, and everyone scrambled around to get their assigned job done.

I sent a quick text to Alexei before going back to the evidence board. There has to be something that I am missing, and I am determined to find it and win this race against time. No one at the supermarket knew why the footage was corrupted. Somehow, it had been done remotely.

***

The press conference room buzzed as reporters shuffled to find seats. Cameras clicked and whirred, capturing the tense atmosphere. I stood at the podium, the microphones in front of me, awaiting the truth. The room fell silent as I took a deep breath, ready to address the rumors spreading like wildfire.

We have been trying to find the blog owner to get them to take down the post before it spread throughout the community. Still,the reporters surprised us by sharing it with even more people, and now we are left with no choice but to make them look like crazy, attention-seeking reporters, desperate to cause panic among the people.

I felt guilty doing this, lying through my teeth to these people. Still, we needed to control the narrative if we wanted the treaty to hold, especially after how much effort Alexei put into building a place like Harmony Grove.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for gathering here today," I began, my voice projecting through the room. "I'm Sheriff Evelyn Thompson, and I'm here to address the recent rumors circulating about Harmony Grove."

A sea of eager faces stared back at me, pens poised and cameras ready. I continued, "There have been claims of a serial killer in our town, with pictures circulating online. I want to be clear: there is no truth to these rumors. No murder has occurred in Harmony Grove and the pictures are doctored to fit the narrative they are trying to pedal. Yes, someone has died but we haven’t finished our investigation to determine the cause of death.”"

Questions immediately erupted from the crowd, voices clamoring for attention. I raised a hand to signal for silence. "I understand your concerns, but I assure you, Harmony Grove remains a safe and peaceful community. These rumors are nothing more than baseless speculation. We are working hard to find the perpetrators of this crime and you can rest assured that they will be duly dealt with."

A reporter in the front row thrust their hand in the air, and I nodded toward them to speak. "Sheriff Thompson, can you confirm that the pictures online are fake, or are you saying there was no incident at all?"

I maintained a stern expression. "I can confirm that the pictures circulating online are not related to any incident inHarmony Grove. They are fabricated, designed to spread fear and panic. No murder has occurred in Harmony Grove that we can confirm."

Another reporter said, "How can you be so sure, Sheriff? What steps are you taking to investigate these claims?"

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