Fight evil with evil

A brutal crime happened in my jurisdiction. A six-year-old girl, we'll call her Emily, was abducted and tortured by some kids she knew. The scene was horrific. What’s worse, she was conscious through it all and somehow survived. The perpetrators were all under fourteen, the oldest barely a teenager, the youngest only nine. Juvenile court, no real consequences. Their parents were ordered to pay restitution, but the moment everything was official, they vanished – two families to the next county, two more out of state. Everyone seemed to walk away unscathed, except Emily, of course. But the damage, it was far from over.

One day, we got a call from detectives in the neighboring city about a homicide. Captain Johnson and Officer Miller, seasoned veterans, were on the case. A family of three had been butchered – John Smith, his wife Mary, and their ten-year-old son, David. Over twenty stab wounds each, hallucinogens in their system. Drugged, then slaughtered. Their heads were placed neatly on the coffee table. The Smiths had no family in town, few friends, lived in a secluded farmhouse. A week went by before the smell drew someone's attention. The police suspected someone they knew; no forced entry. The scene was spotless – no fingerprints, no footprints, no hairs, nothing. The area was rural, security cameras scarce. A dead end, until they learned two things: the Smiths had only lived there a few months, and David Smith had been involved in a vicious assault a year earlier. Emily’s case.

Revenge seemed obvious. Captain Johnson suspected Emily’s parents, Mark or Sarah Edwards, despite the lack of evidence. I brought Mark in for questioning, but he refused, claiming he had to care for Emily. He agreed to a home visit instead. That afternoon, we arrived at the Edwards’ place, a run-down brick house. Mark looked haggard, unshaven, exhausted. He immediately launched into his hardships: no money, no time. He’d been Emily’s caretaker for a year, unable to work. Sarah had left them, vanished. Emily could walk, but she’d withdrawn, diagnosed with severe autism. He showed us the diagnosis; limited contact with strangers was recommended. So, Emily stayed in her room, and Mark stayed home. His alibi? He had a neighbor, a seventy-something named Joe Davis, do his grocery shopping. Joe corroborated Mark's story, even producing a little notebook with daily expenses. Mark seemed in the clear. He hadn't abandoned his daughter to pursue revenge. Good for him, but what about Sarah? Her disappearance became our focus. But before we could track her down, things escalated.

A twelve-year-old boy, Michael Carter, was murdered in broad daylight, throat slashed near his elementary school. The attacker, a woman bundled up in clothes and a mask, calmly walked up to Michael, grabbed his head, and sliced his throat open. No one reacted until it was too late. Security footage caught the whole thing. We launched a city-wide search, suspecting Sarah. Michael was another one of Emi...