It was a day later and Matthew was still steaming from the discovery the day before. He didn't let anything leak beyond his facade but he could feel his entire body tensing with the need to do something to make his presence known to the whole world.

He was serving up dinner and instead of sitting on the couch, Alfred was pacing while texting. This was now a habit for him. Apparently, Alfred needed to know where all his friends were at every given moment of the day and if they were okay. Okay, Alfred wasn't obsessive to the point of microchipping his friends but Matthew definitely noticed an increase in Alfred's screen time. Especially since he and Gilbert started the vigilante group.

It was a pity that Gilbert was too cowardly to hunt for the Trail Killer solo. With a little luck, Gilbert might just find him...

Matthew brought both dinner plates to the couch and was about to open his mouth and tell Alfred to sit when Alfred exclaimed-

"Hell yeah, way to go Gilbert!" Accompanied by a fist pump.

That caught Matthew's intrigue but he couldn't help the scepticism. It could be something he needed to know... Something helpful. Or it could be completely irrelevant and just some dumb shit Gilbert was known to pull that for some reason, Alfred backed him up on just because he found it funny and gave his shitty friend a pass.

"What is it?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, nothing. Gilbert just got some good information for something. Don't worry about it," Alfred was buzzing as he lunged for the plate and dug in.

Matthew wanted to be upset that Alfred refused to share anything with him, even when Matthew already knew about his brother's illegal activity. He wasn't even surprised. Just mildly disappointed.

But that half answer was better than nothing. Because now Matthew knew there was something for him to look at on Alfred's phone. He'd just have to get it.

Alfred was almost never without his phone and Matthew had to be patient and wait for the right time to strike. When Alfred bid him goodnight as he walked through the door in his best going-out clothes as if he really were going clubbing, Matthew returned the sentiment and stayed home. After stalking the group for so many nights he had an estimate for when Alfred would be home. Matthew set an alarm for that time and went to bed.

When Matthew's alarm sounded he was quick to turn it off and check if Alfred was home from his location. Seeing that he was, Matthew snuck into his brother's room to swipe his phone. Every move was silent and soft, acutely aware that Alfred might not be deep asleep and if Matthew was caught doing this he'd have no explanation. He'd rather continue to have everyone assume that he was completely trustworthy.

He put in his brother's password as he sat comfortably on the couch and sat his own phone beside him. Instead of creating a traceable paper trail of sending things between phones, Matthew would just take a picture of anything he needed.

Rifling through Alfred's text conversations would certainly be a start and if Matthew was honest, he partially wanted to dig around because of curiosity. And jealousy. Because if Matthew hadn't been Matthew and had been fortunate enough to be born different, then maybe he would've had the life Alfred had. Every now and again he was reminded of it and it made him ache just a little.

But mostly he wanted to dig around because he needed information and Gilbert was apparently the one to provide it.

Immediately the task seemed more overwhelming than necessary when Alfred and Gilbert's texting history was so... rich. Matthew glared at his brother's phone until he realised that described a lot of Alfred's text conversations and not just Gilbert in particular. The idea seemed so foreign to Matthew that one could text someone so much during the day just because they could.

Because why else would Alfred be texting Gilbert so much? As far as Matthew knew those two weren't best friends and just casual friends and Gilbert only popped up because Alfred had to deal with Antonio because Matthew brought Antonio home instead of killing him - oh. How frustrating. It was his fault.

Matthew pushed it aside and began trudging through the texts and from the timestamps, Matthew found exactly what Alfred had been so excited to receive earlier.

Gilbert

its a draft I found lying around. its old apparently from before that fucker started marking people but probably still helpful because Luds awesome like that. hopefully we'll know what kind of loser we're dealing with. also Lud told me theres been 10 more this week so we need another meeting to come up with an awesome strategy

Attached was a photo of a handwritten paper, stained with coffee. Matthew's brow furrowed as he clicked on it and took a picture with his phone before reading.

Trail Killer criminal psychology profile DRAFT Kirkland was likely the first murder documented to belong to the suspect, alias Trail Killer. The MO of multiple stabs and a slit throat in a blitz-style attack suggest this was an ameture and opportunistic murder. While the suspect brought their own weapon which would suggest organised planning, they didn't have an intended victim. Likely triggered by a personal event of some sort in their own life, the suspect was already pent up and snapped in a violent outburst. The brutality suggests anger and first murder committed. The blitz-style attack that is later repeated against other victims implies the suspected wanted to incapacitate the victims as soon as possible suggesting low self-esteem and an unwillingness to prolong the encounter, signifying that it wasn't personal re-enforced because these victims were ones of opportunity. Kirkland was too shocked to react in any way, either suggesting this was someone he knew or this was a person one would assume to be incredibly unsuspecting. The suspect is unlikely to fit any macho man archetype in terms of appearance. Kirkland's body was not moved after death. When analysing that murder as a standalone that could suggest that once the suspect realised what they'd done, they either felt immense regret or were too afraid to potentially incriminate themselves further. However, the existence of the follow-up murders implies the suspect overcame that fear and likely chased the thrill of the first encounter. These additional serial murders imply the suspect has had time to rationalise their actions and investigators would not benefit from using a polygraph on such an individual. The body not being tampered with or further mutilated suggests no hate or resentment and the thrill was when the victim was alive. This is true for all victims with a consistent MO. The lack of staging after the murder furthers the thrill and attention-seeking aspect, along with the spontaneity of the act and chosen victim. The suspect is also comfortable with the act and finds no remorse afterwards and is not compelled to depersonalise the corpse or make the victim 'comfortable' in any way to make the suspect feel more comfortable with their actions. The suspect desires for these bodies to be found and relishes in public interest in the case. The suspect would have a written account of the murders of some sort, whether in the form of a diary, artwork, map with markings, etc to relive the thrill. The suspect is likely to closely follow the investigation and similar discussions. How this manifests in this modern age would be hard to anticipate and harder to monitor online landscape, however would certainly encourage social discussions of the crimes in day-to-day life if they can't online. The suspect may be chasing the attention and finding more thrill in that than the act of murder itself. Since Kirkland's murder, the suspect has evolved to act differently. Bonnefoy had been found far from his last sighting without any signs of struggle. Theories about his voluntary presence in the park is limited to the hypothesis that he was upset about Kirkland's passing, as the man was known to him and Bonnefoy went to the park voluntarily to find the location of Kirkland's death for sentimental reasons. Bonnefoy's blood alcohol level was high, but Bonnefoy's friends stated that he was not known as a 'sad drunk'. Considering other victims were lured away, this tactic may have been adopted earlier by the suspect and employed for Bonnefoy. If this is a favourable tactic, then the suspect may be charismatic. Only one victim fought back despite grievous injury so the suspect is able to charm potential victims into lowering guard. This is a sign of intelligence and an adapted individual. Charisma appears to be the favourable tactic as Vargas was lured from his last known location. He was overheard talking with someone, likely the suspect before willingly leaving the location. He had no intrinsic motive to go to the park near where he was killed, suggesting external manipulation potentially by our suspect. The suspect, while statistically likely to be male, we must consider the possibility that they may be female. While a female would be noticed roaming the streets at night, it would be unlikely that a female suspect would be reported as suspicious due to a public bias against women not being perceived as dangerous. This bias would also aid in luring victims away and dropping their guard. There is no substantial or otherwise evidence for the suspect's gender yet. The choice of victims places the suspect between 20-30 years old as the victims are in their prime and fit in that age bracket. The knowledge of the area suggests someone in the immediate area, likely a lifelong local. Despite the coincidence of the victims being known to one another, the victims appear to be chosen at random due to opportunity. In cases like this, usually the reason is due to an anger or hatred towards society. The suspect finds relief in performing these murders and relishes in the publicity. This feeling of vindication and twisted reverence motivates them. We are looking for an outcast with little to no friends due to a factor they cannot control. This factor is not physical (eg ache scarring, physical disability) due to charisma and confidence. The suspect will not stop until stopped. They have an insatiable appetite for murder and the thrill compels them to escalate at a staggering rate. Solutions or ways to make progress: A media blackout might challenge a media-motivated killer Wait for suspect to slip up -too costly could take a while, slip up may not be big enough -actively create situations to tempt suspect, encouraging slip up -media blackout to cause desperation? -increased surveillance for pressure Focus on mutual friends of the victims and who had the location of each, the killer is smart and likely able to make it look like a crime of opportunity. -align with method and profile? Offer information nights to the public to create discussion, watch everyone who attends Notes TO DO -Buy more coffee -Gilbert -Drink water -Reply to Feliciano -TYPE UP DRAFT TONIGHT -Refine theories -Find reasoning for or against possibility of woman, need to rule out demographic -specify any mental illnesses

Alfred

1

fuck 10!

and they still wanna keep us in the dark?

2

way to go Gilbert!

imma skim it now but then I'll analyse it properly like a real detective later

or we can discuss when we patrol

also we need to scheme to find out everything they aren't telling us and put it together

Gilbert

like detectives! we could get a corkboard and spend all night investigating. lets have a meeting tonight and I'll get Lud to tell me as much as he can before he leaves again then everyone can come over

Alfred

fuck yeah good idea

I'll get the stuff to bring

you interrogate Ludwig

WAIT

i just read some was it HIS idea to not tell anyone anything

hes the main detective right?

Gilbert

he's just doing what he thinks it right. he knows more than us because he has to deal with criminals all the time! maybe it helped get some information and he's close to solving it!

Alfred

Gilbert that's fucked up

what if people are dying just because they don't know

what if it's his fault that bastard can

if your brother has so much power then can't he just lockdown the city?

Gilbert

because locking down the city is probably really hard. Ludwig is awesome he probably thought to do that and probably has a reason not to do that. what if everyone panics or something? we can't tell him what to do and if we want him to keep telling me stuff you can't say anything to him or he'll get mad that im snitching

Alfred

cus then if that asshole really wants to kill people he will still go out then he'll be caught

he'll be caught if he's the only one going out in lockdown

plus your brother said that the killer wont stop so why is keeping it a secret going to stop him

Matthew could keep scrolling for a while, but Alfred was very much displeased with Ludwig's choice to keep the whole city in the dark and Matthew shared the sentiment with growing aggravation at Gilbert for defending Ludwig. Not that he should even be surprised. If Gilbert didn't see that what his brother was doing was wrong, then Gilbert was a fucking idiot too. More than he already was.

Despite Matthew's own personal interest, Alfred was right. As a police officer, Ludwig made the wrong choice. In an effort to hinder the killer that didn't even pay off, he compromised the safety of the entire city. Sure Ludwig thought that more surveillance would suffice, but by now Matthew should've proven him wrong. While Matthew saw the strategic move he had to give Ludwig credit because it turned out Matthew really didn't like that this whole time he actually believed that any day now he'd see his work in the news and he was holding on for it. He felt stupid for assuming he knew what the police were thinking.

Plus Ludwig scared him for how he was so easily able to break down Matthew just from the crime scene alone... and this was only a draft. One written before Matthew started marking his victims. As much as he wanted to see the updated version and hear Ludwig's take on that because Ludwig was much smarter than he gave credit for, he feared Ludwig might have a clearer image of the killer than Matthew was comfortable with...

But Matthew took a calming breath because he really doubted that no matter how well Ludwig thought he knew the 'Trail Killer' - arguably the 'real Matthew', Ludwig would never connect that real part of him to the Matthew suffocated by a facade he knew how to wear. And he knew how to wear it well. Especially when he had insight into what Ludwig, and now all the police, expected the killer to be.

He was fine and he will be fine. All he needed to concern himself with was making a statement so loud that the police couldn't stifle his existence any longer. Something so big that the stress would pay back Ludwig tenfold for what he put Matthew through.

Would killing the lead investigator's brother do the trick?