Devil's Whisper Chapter 73: Cycle of Death

"Jira claimed this guy was chanting forbidden ancient knowledge—said he saw it with his own eyes. He warned that the man was getting ready to start sacrificing people to gain Satan's blessings, setting off some kind of deadly cycle that would make him invincible."

Jason explained, his tone low and serious, as if the memory still unsettled him.

Kate, who had been leaning forward with interest, blinked a few times, trying to grasp the full weight of what Jason was saying.

"Wait, Jason... you didn't tell me—what's the name of the guy you're talking about?"

"Oh, right, I didn't mention it," Jason said with a small shake of his head as if he'd forgotten something important. He took a deep breath and looked directly at Kate. "His name was Darrel Luke."

Kate's brow furrowed as she repeated the name to herself. "Darrel Luke..." she murmured. After a moment of thought, she looked back at Jason. "Okay, so what happened next?"

"Well, I listened to Jira's story, took it in, and told him to leave my station. I didn't have time to deal with what seemed like some wild claim from a guy who sounded more paranoid than anything else. I was chasing down a smuggling ring hiding out in Adelaide at the time, so it wasn't exactly a priority for me. But a few days later, everything changed."

He paused, letting the silence stretch between them for a moment. Kate remained quiet, eager to hear what happened next.

Jason continued, his voice a little heavier now. "Nine men from Yarrabura were found butchered in Darrel Luke's house—the same guy Jira had warned us about, the guy he wanted us to arrest." He watched Kate's face carefully as the realization hit.

Kate's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, wait... are you talking about the murder case? The one with the nine men from that Australian native tribe?" she asked, her voice suddenly sharp, as though the pieces were beginning to fall into place.

"Yep," Jason said, his expression grim."That's the one. It was all over the news, one of the most infamous murder mysteries to come out of Australia in years. But at the time, I was too focused on my own investigation to connect the dots. The whole thing was... well, it wasn't something you just brushed off."

Kate's eyes shifted from shock to regret. She hadn't paid much attention to the case back then, and the weight of her neglect as a journalism student hit her now. "Do you know the full details of the case?" she asked, feeling the sting of her own missed opportunity.

Jason's gaze softened a little, as if he understood her regret.

"Not really," he admitted with a shrug. "I was in the States for a short course at the time, and I honestly didn't pay much attention to what was going on back home. I was so caught up in my own work, I didn't realize how serious things were getting." He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But then... when the bodies were discovered, everything changed."

Kate's mind raced as she tried to piece it all together, but Jason's next words cut through her thoughts. "No one from Yarrabura came to the station to report the murders. The tribe was angry—furious, even. They were pissed off at the police for not taking their warnings seriously, for not acting when they had a chance. They felt like we let those nine men die. And, well, maybe they were right." Jason's voice had dropped, and there was a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

Kate remained silent, letting Jason continue. She could feel the weight of the case now, the heaviness of what he was about to describe.

"So, I decided to go out there myself," Jason continued, his voice hardening. "I had to see it for myself, even though I knew what I was walking into. The Yarrabura tribe wasn't coming to us for help, and I couldn't just sit around and wait for the next body to turn up." He looked off into the distance for a moment, as if still haunted by the memory. "When I got to that house... I wasn't ready for what I saw. No one could've been."

Kate felt a chill creep up her spine as she waited for him to continue, her breath catching in anticipation.

"The house was a bloodbath," Jason said softly, almost to himself. "There was blood everywhere—splattered on the walls, pooling on the floor. And the body parts... there were pieces of the victims all over the place. Nine men, hacked to pieces. It looked like something out of a nightmare. No one could believe it—not the police, not the locals. Darrel Luke had used an axe, no doubt about it. The brutality of it all—it was... beyond comprehension."

Kate shuddered at the thought, her stomach turning. "And no one knew why they went into that house in the first place?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The professional detective in her was still trying to make sense of it all, to find the logic in a situation that seemed to defy rational explanation.

Jason shook his head slowly. "No one understood it. Those nine men were from Yarrabura. They knew what that house was. Everyone in the area did. It had a reputation— a reputation, you know? The place was known as Satan's den. Hell, even people in the town whispered about it, but no one had the guts to do anything about it. So, why would they go there? Why would they risk their lives like that?"

The question hung in the air between them, unanswered and perhaps unanswerable. The fluorescent lights of the precinct seemed to dim as they both sank deeper into the mystery.

Kate wasn't sure if he was asking himself that same question, but she couldn't help but wonder too. What had driven those men to enter that house? What force could compel nine people to walk willingly into such obvious danger?

"And what happened to Darrel Luke?" Kate asked, unable to hold back the question any longer. Her voice was sharp, eager for answers.

Jason's expression grew darker. "That's the thing, Kate. No one knows. He just... disappeared after that. Like he vanished off the face of the Earth. The authorities searched for him for months, but he was never found. Some people say he's still out there, hiding in plain sight, waiting for his next move. Others think he's dead. But the truth? No one really knows. And that's what makes it so goddamn unsettling."

His eyes met hers, the unspoken implication clear between them—Darrel Luke could be still alive.