Chapter 327: Bay Harbor Butcher: What the Hell Does "Handled" Mean?!
"He wouldn't be thinking..."
Hailey's gaze fell on the tall, thin woman, unsure of what to say.
Today was the first time the three siblings had reunited.
However, Chuck had brought her to witness a twisted version of the siblings' story.
If it was really what she thought, she didn't know how to react.
"Look closely. That woman's name is Debra!"
Chuck said seriously. "She's an undercover cop, and her brother Dexter is your idol.
Brian in the refrigerated truck ahead feels that Debra stole the kinship that belonged to him and Dexter, and he's decided to use Debra as the final sacrifice to celebrate their reunion when the brothers acknowledge each other."
"..."
Hailey looked at Chuck with a strange expression.
Debra, Dexter, Brian—the names clicked into place.
Based on her understanding of Chuck's dry humor, she quickly realized the implication Chuck was trying to convey.
"My idol Dexter and this Debra are really close?"
Hailey asked.
"Debra is the person Dexter truly cares about."
Chuck looked at the tall, slender undercover cop. "Brian noticed, otherwise he wouldn't be so hostile toward her and targeting her."
"Makes sense."
Hailey nodded. "He's jealous, not only because Debra took his place, but also because Dexter has the family connection he never had.
That's why he wants to use such extreme means to announce his arrival. Seems he's a real psychopath!"
Anyone with even a shred of normalcy wouldn't choose to kill their brother's most important family member first when brothers reunite, forcing their brother to have only them as blood relatives.
"You're saying Debra and Dexter are just like siblings?"
Hailey watched the undercover cop Debra for a while longer and couldn't help but gossip.
"That's how it should be."
Chuck said expressionlessly.
"Oh?"
Hailey's eyes lit up, sparkling with gossip. "So that's not how it is."
Seeing Chuck remain silent, she chuckled and pressed on. "What you're saying is that even if they're not related by blood, they've been siblings since childhood, so they should have stayed platonic?
Or are you saying that Debra isn't hot, and Dexter isn't handsome, so they shouldn't have fallen for each other like in movies and TV shows?"
"Both!"
Chuck glanced at the undercover cop Debra and said bluntly.
"Haha, that's because you have high standards."
Hailey couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, she's alright. At least she's tall and slim, with a model's vibe. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been sent undercover to watch the working girls."
"She was sent undercover because her female boss doesn't like her."
Chuck, who knew all about these things, explained. "Also, this female boss has serious feelings for Dexter, but unfortunately, her repeated attempts to make a move have gotten no response."
"So women's intuition really is amazing!"
Hailey said with a playful smile. "Although the female boss knows that Debra and Dexter are just siblings, her intuition makes her hostile toward Debra, who might threaten her."
Chuck nodded.
"So what does this female boss look like?"
Hailey's gossip knew no bounds. "Not good enough for Dexter?"
"Not good enough, but that's not the main reason."
Chuck shook his head.
"Then what is the main reason?"
Hailey smiled. "Women taking the initiative always works on men, let alone a powerful female boss being that forward."
"She's still alive."
Chuck said calmly.
"You mean..."
Hearing this statement, brimming with hidden meaning and countless implications, Hailey's lip twitched, and she covered her face, lamenting, "My idol Dexter, how could he be so twisted!"
"Dexter and Brian grew up with their single mother, witnessing her brutal murder and the bloodbath."
Chuck, who had high hopes for his sister Hailey, didn't hide anything from her about the Bay Harbor Butcher, his remote assistant, and explained.
"When the police arrived, it was too late. They only managed to save the two brothers. This cop was Dexter's adoptive father.
However, he only adopted young Dexter, who didn't remember much, and was extremely disgusted with Brian, who was older and showed disturbing behavior. He sent Brian directly to a psychiatric hospital, where he's been locked up for years. Brian only recently got out."
"So Dexter and Brian became twisted because they witnessed their mother's brutal death when they were young?"
Hailey asked thoughtfully.
"That's just the trigger."
Chuck shook his head. "Very American—their genes are inherently violent and bloodthirsty."
"Then Dexter received training and guidance from his cop adoptive father and became a vigilante who hunts down serial killers, while Brian, who was locked up in a psych ward, became a real serial killer."
Hailey sighed. "Chuck, do you think things would have been different if that cop adoptive father had also adopted Brian?"
"Yes, but worse."
Chuck said. "Brian, who already had memories and his own warped values, would definitely have influenced Dexter to become like him.
After all, kids look up to older kids, especially since they're brothers.
If conflict had occurred, the cop adoptive father's family would probably have been wiped out long ago, and the two brothers would have become a roaming, twisted brother duo across America.
That's what Brian longed for and regretted the most!
Now what he has to do is make up for that regret!"
"Since you know so much about this, you must know what he's planning?"
Hailey looked at him.
"He's dumping bodies all over Miami to attract Dexter's attention and let him experience the pleasure of indulging himself."
Chuck looked at Debra at the motel. "Then he'll slowly approach Dexter and guide him step by step."
"So he's observing Debra now so he can seduce her later and get close to Dexter? And then when Dexter learns of Brian's identity and the brothers acknowledge each other, their celebration will be the torture and murder of Debra?"
Hailey said.
"Poor Debra."
"That's why we're here."
Chuck said calmly.
"Looks like my family is too well-adjusted."
Hailey laughed. "Even though the three of us siblings are a bit weird, being weird is actually a good thing."
She leaned closer to Chuck, but he stopped her with his hand.
"Seriously? I'm feeling sentimental right now, and you're being so cold."
Hailey glared at Chuck, but seeing his lack of reaction, she could only mutter "emotionally constipated" before looking out the window again.
"That Brian is really out of his mind. He uses such extreme methods to force his brother to only have him. Does he really think that blood ties are more important than chosen family?"
"The debt of raising is greater than the debt of birth."
Chuck glanced at the refrigerated truck that had restarted ahead, then started the car again and followed at a distance. "Brian might understand this principle, but he clearly wants to challenge it.
Years of family upbringing shaped Dexter's values, giving him his own code for killing. He's inherently a twisted, emotionally detached individual, with his only emotional attachment resting on his sister with whom he grew up.
Now, someone suddenly appears—someone who was originally Dexter's prey—causing him to betray the code and habits he's cultivated over the years and destroy his emotional anchor, just because this person is his blood brother?
Even without us, Brian wouldn't have gotten his way in the end."
"If Brian hadn't killed Dexter and Debra out of disappointment, then Dexter would have killed him, just like those serial psychopaths he hunted."
Hailey laughed. "And you don't want to see this kind of tragedy. I know you have a soft spot."
"He wasn't explaining that to you—he was warning you not to go down the wrong path."
A voice suddenly rang out in the car. "Otherwise, you'll definitely be dealt with!"
"You finally couldn't hold it in anymore."
Hailey wasn't surprised at all by the sudden voice, and chuckled. "It took much longer than I estimated. Not bad~"
"..."
Frank, who had been listening through the earpiece, turned pale upon hearing his younger sister Hailey's teasing. He yelled at Chuck, "It's all your fault! You told her everything! Just because I made one mistake, does it mean you have to talk about it for the rest of our lives?!"
"You almost didn't have a life left."
Chuck remained unmoved, bluntly pointing out the key issue.
"Second brother, don't be mad."
Hailey smiled. "Chuck is only doing this for your own good. You know, in families like ours, one mistake could mean the difference between life and death."
At this point, her tone immediately became playful, full of teasing. "It's all my fault. Even if I wanted to meet you earlier, I couldn't."
"..."
On the other end of the communicator, Frank was speechless, his face darkening.
Hailey was blatantly showing off her flawless record. Otherwise, he, her secretly protecting second brother, would have already come to her rescue.
Damn it!
This half-sister is not only more like Chuck in her quirks, but also more like him in her sense of humor.
Who's the real sibling here?!
"Let's have a proper comparison when we meet!"
Frank gritted his teeth.
"Okay."
Hailey readily agreed, still teasing. "But don't be like that loser, because even if you beat me to death, you won't get all of Chuck's affection~"
"I know!"
Frank became even more frustrated, saying sarcastically, "I'm not his best friend anymore, and now I'm not even his only sibling."
"You're still his only brother, and I'm his sister!"
Hailey asked with gossipy eyes. "What's with this 'best friend' thing?"
"You don't know?"
Frank, who had been sarcastic, suddenly laughed upon hearing this.
"You think your position in Chuck's heart has risen again?"
Hailey genuinely didn't know about Anna, but the clever girl immediately sensed her brother Frank's mindset, her eyes darting around as she began to probe for information.
"Why don't we ask Chuck how we rank in his heart? Including this best friend!"
"You wouldn't want to know."
Frank laughed even louder.
"So this best friend is a woman?"
Hailey's eyes flashed.
"You guessed it?"
Frank was stunned.
"That's too easy."
Hailey laughed. "Only if this best friend is a woman would you be so smug, because you think you might not be number one in Chuck's heart, but you're number one in the men's category, unlike me, who's only number two in the women's category, right?"
"I hate high IQs!"
Frank complained dejectedly.
Actually, he was quite smart, but his intelligence was mostly in combat skills, which couldn't compare to Chuck's all-around talent.
Now it seemed that even his younger sister Hailey was repeatedly displaying intelligence that surpassed his, which made him very frustrated and more resentful of their mother who'd left them when he was young.
But he didn't have the chance to lash out, because he was the one with the same father and mother as Chuck, while Hailey was only a half-sister.
"I also know that this best friend has been quietly protecting him all along, and she's a hacking genius, isn't she?"
Having learned of Chuck's best friend's existence from Frank, Hailey immediately pieced together the information.
The network access Chuck granted her definitely required incredibly skilled hacking.
She didn't doubt Chuck's ability.
But Chuck was so busy, with so many scientific experiments to conduct, often requiring three or more people on bed rest.
She didn't think Chuck had the time to manage so many network issues and process so much network information.
She'd had some doubts before, but now she was completely certain.
Someone really was helping Chuck.
"Who is she?"
Hailey stared into Chuck's eyes, very excited.
Chuck looked at her for a while, then didn't speak, continuing to drive after the refrigerated truck to the beach.
There were beachfront apartments there.
Under their watchful gaze, the driver of the refrigerated truck got out, looked around, walked over, opened the door of an apartment, went inside, and after a while, came out again, got back into the driver's seat, but didn't start the engine. He just turned off the truck and parked there, watching the apartments.
"This is Dexter's place?"
Hailey momentarily forgot her questioning about Chuck's best friend and looked around the bayside apartment. "Not bad—away from the crowds, close to the marina. If you had a small boat, you could dump a body into the ocean anytime..."
Frank, listening to his younger sister Hailey immediately grasp the key point, couldn't help but mutter, "She really is a psycho!"
"Thank you."
Hailey didn't mind and cheerfully accepted her second brother's 'compliment'.
Just as they were bickering, a car drove up, and a man got out, walking toward the apartment with a heavy heart. After opening the door, he was still savoring the passion he'd just shared with his girlfriend.
This was the first breakthrough after six months of slow, careful intimacy in their relationship. He'd thought he couldn't handle it because he wasn't interested in women at all, but it went surprisingly smoothly.
The reason wasn't that his girlfriend was pretty or willing to take the initiative, but rather that he kept thinking about those serial crimes...
Then he keenly noticed something different in his home. Outside the refrigerator, a Barbie doll was stuck there, only its head remaining.
He flicked it, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips. Sensing something, he immediately opened the refrigerator and, sure enough, saw the rest of the Barbie doll inside, lying there, just like in those serial crime scenes.
Any normal person would feel fear, or at least the anxiety and anger of a home invasion, but he didn't.
He saw a friendly message: "Hi, wanna play?"
He picked up the Barbie doll's hand, which held a small mirror. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought, "Yes, I want to play, really, really want to!"
So he took out his phone and sent a message.
He desperately needed to find this 'playmate' and join the game.
And just as he'd told Greg, the pervert who had a penchant for drowning cheating women: he wasn't alone. Someone was listening to him! Someone could help him! Provide him with more accurate and comprehensive information to help him hunt better!
This time, the reply was swift, but his smile didn't even have time to appear before he froze, only to find that the reply wasn't the target's information file, but a simple single word: Handled!
(End of Chapter)
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