For the first time in years, a sense of euphoria pervaded through every street corner on the island of Ireland; a black fog had finally lifted from the people’s hearts. A parade of celebration passed through O’Connell Street to a huge cheering crowd. Laura had become something of a female icon for her role in capturing The Irish Ripper as was later definitively confirmed, right up there beside Katie Taylor and it was only a matter of time before a major promotion. Some questioned how it all happened but these voices had been lost in the chorus of affection.
The Irish Ripper was now behind bars in solitary confinement. The doctors had battled for hours to save his life to the dismay of many who would have preferred for him to die in agony. But that was their job and they did it well. There was enough evidence to lock him away for the rest of his days in any event.
Sean preferred to stay in the shadows and the public rarely heard mention of his name. Everybody, in the force, knew though that he played a pivotal role in what had occurred and his reputation had soared still higher. It left him with a great sense of satisfaction.
The terror of that night had also rid him of any lingering doubt that Laura was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He could no longer imagine a life without her and the recent events had drawn them still closer.
He was waiting there on the floor holding the ring outstretched in the kitchen one evening after she got home from work. She gasped in astonishment; then tears rolled down her eyes.
“This is the closest I could get to being on the bended knee!” he said anxiously.
“Oh yes!” she replied passionately before gripping him in a tight embrace.
It seemed that he now had everything he could ever want. But life was quiet now, there were no night terrors but also there was no buzz or intrigue. The Ripper or rather the hunt for The Ripper had become such an integral part of his life that he now felt somewhat lost without it and had to readjust to ordinary life once again. But he was still relieved the killings had come to a halt.
Gensearch X had received the positive publicity it craved at the beginning but then there was something of a backlash, especially outside of Ireland which hadn’t experienced the fear. The power of genetic technology was now all too evident for some. Sure, it had been put to positive use on this occasion but there was nothing to stop private enterprise putting it to nefarious use in the future or so many people thought. There were huge privacy issues and people questioned how much power the state should have. A wall of new regulations was erected, dramatically reducing the method’s future effectiveness.
Sean logged off his computer, he had an appointment with the Superintendent in five minutes that he had been told that it would be best not to miss. As he pushed his wheelchair towards the meeting room, he wondered what lay ahead, at least he didn’t have time to ponder too much.
As he drew closer, he could hear the sound of chatting and laughter in the distance. A few Gardai were waiting outside the door and told him to go in, that everyone was in there waiting for him and they were, even Laura and Jim from England. A large round of applause broke out as he entered the room as everybody turned to face him. Then Jim, dressed in an immaculate suit approached giving a firm handshake and whispered into his ear that it was good to see that his Irish friend was as loved at home, as he was abroad.
The Superintendent then took center stage.
“We are here today to honor the great work done by Detective Sean O’Callaghan in the pursuit of The Ripper. Without him, justice may never have been served. It is my pleasure to award him the highest medal that An Garda Siochana can award – The Scott Medal for bravery. It’s something that he richly deserves.
I know that many people here thought Sean O’Callaghan was finished after his accident. But that day I visited him in the hospital I could see a determination and steel to thrive, and by God he has.
But I also have another announcement, I have nominated Sean to work with an elite international group that will have component parts from different police forces around the world, including Scotland Yard and the FBI that will offer support in the hunt of these kinds of killers around the world.
Will you accept the position, Sean?”
Sean smiled and nodded that he would, this was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to be involved in, even if he hadn’t realized it right till that moment; the thrill of the chase without putting himself in jeopardy. Laura frowned, although he didn’t notice. With that, the Superintendent walked towards Sean and put the medal on his neck as rapturous applause once more broke out.
Sean was still to stay in his old office, something that he was thankful for as he could continue with his normal daily routine without adjustments. A week later, he had been officially assigned his first communication. The subject line was immediately worrisome –
The Happyface Killings (Worldwide).
Even Sean was shocked by what he read next. A group on the dark web was organizing murders. Members were to put a happy face close to the scene so that they could be tallied. It is thought that they were responsible for over thirty murders to date and we were to review homicides in our jurisdiction to see if any of them could be linked to the phenomenon…
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