After a few rounds of shouting inside, Jet came out. He looked like he had just heard something he shouldn’t have, his face all scrunched up. I immediately asked him, “Sheriff, what did the detective say? Who’s Zodiac?”
“…No idea. Pinkertons can’t always catch the bad guys right away. What Sophia said was just too ridiculous.”
Swoosh.
At that moment, Sophia also came out of the sheriff’s office. Her face was also scrunched up like she had just bitten into a bug. She seemed angry that Jet hadn’t listened to her. Sophia, with a face that clearly showed she wasn’t happy, spoke to Jet as if giving a final warning.
“Sheriff, Zodiac won’t stop. If we don’t catch him now, there will be more victims. No matter how deep your feelings are…”
“Quiet! Didn’t I clearly say it’s not him?”
Jet shouted loudly, dismissing her opinion entirely.
“…Fine, then I’ll handle it my own way.”
Perhaps upset by Jet’s actions, Sophia glanced at me and Emma, then rode off somewhere on her horse.
Her retreating figure seemed filled with determination.
‘She must know who Zodiac is.’
Now, she would soon catch Zodiac.
But we couldn’t wait for her to catch Zodiac. In the meantime, Zodiac would do as he warned in the letter…
[Next, I will kill the most beautiful woman in this town.]
…He would try to kill Emma.
It would be bad if Zodiac killed Emma. It would also be bad if Sophia caught Zodiac first and took the bounty…
So I…
Clutch.
At that moment, Emma grabbed my sleeve and asked, “…Boss, what are you going to do now?”
I smiled slightly and answered, “…We have to catch Zodiac.”
Yes, I was planning to catch Zodiac.
Right now, my mind was filled with fog.
After the first and second murders, there was no way to know who Zodiac was.
But from the third one…
The silhouette of Zodiac began to appear in the fog of my mind.
A very familiar silhouette…
“…Boss, there are some suspicious circumstances.”
Emma hesitated and spoke as if she felt the same way.
“Zodiac is…”
“Wait.”
I stopped Emma and spoke first.
“Let’s talk somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere safe? Oh, okay.”
Since Sophia had already left and the atmosphere felt like everyone was leaving.
“Sheriff, we’ll be going too.”
“…Ah, alright. Kid, you’ll stay with Emma, right?”
“Of course.”
“I trust you. …I hope we can meet with smiles next time.”
Jet said that, but the chances of us meeting with smiles next time were slim.
I didn’t say anything to Jet, just gave a bitter smile and waved.
And then…
Emma and I got on No Name and headed to a safe place.
**
When we arrived at the safe place I mentioned, Emma looked a bit puzzled and asked, “…Is this the safe place you were talking about, Boss?”
“It’s a very safe place.”
The place I headed to was Deaf Man’s Tavern.
Creak.
“Oh, Kid and Emma. What brings you here at this hour?”
Since it was close to noon, Bob wasn’t there, but his wife Mari, daughter Daisy, and Rize were inside.
“……”
Rize looked at me with cold eyes as soon as I entered, as if curious about why I came here knowing her identity.
I gave a casual nod to Rize and sat down.
“Emma, you haven’t eaten yet. Let’s have a meal here first.”
“I understand, but… I don’t get why this is a safe place.”
“Zodiac has always kept his identity hidden. There are always a lot of people at Deaf Man’s Tavern. If we stay here, Zodiac won’t be able to approach easily.”
“I see. …Well, it does seem safer here than in a remote office.”
At that moment, Mari brought us food, and we started our late breakfast.
But Emma, while pretending to eat, secretly asked me again.
“…But Boss, didn’t you say you were going to catch Zodiac?”
“……”
“If we just stay here, we’ll never catch Zodiac.”
Emma was sharp, as expected.
If we just stayed here at Deaf Man’s Tavern, we’d never catch Zodiac.
But I had a plan for that too.
“Joe will be here soon with an important clue. I told him in advance.”
“…Joe?”
“Yeah, so let’s wait for now.”
After what happened to Joe’s younger sister, I had Joe, who was filled with anger, take on the role of finding clues about Zodiac.
We agreed to meet at Deaf Man’s Tavern two days after the investigation, so Joe would definitely come here.
At that time, I planned to catch Zodiac.
But when I mentioned catching Zodiac with Joe, Emma’s face stiffened for a moment, and she said,
“Boss, didn’t I have something to say earlier? It’s…”
“Ah, I think I know what you’re trying to say. But it’s okay, Emma.”
“But…”
“It’s okay.”
“……”
After my firm statement, Emma didn’t bring it up again.
After that, we finished our meal, had some drinks, and chatted about other everyday things.
It was a bit uncomfortable with Rize staring at me, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Emma and I enjoyed our time there until the sun set, the tavern filled with drinking customers, and Bob returned to work.
And then…
Thud.
By the time the moon was high in the sky, the door opened roughly, and Joe came in.
“……”
“……”
Although the villagers usually treated the friendly Joe casually, this time they clicked their tongues and avoided eye contact when he entered.
Everyone knew that Joe had been wandering around the village without working ever since his younger sister was attacked.
And it was I who had ordered Joe to wander around the village.
Only Joe could find the clues about Zodiac.
Thud, thud.
Joe, having done everything I asked, came straight to me and whispered,
“…Noah. I found the person you mentioned.”
“…Yeah?”
Hearing Joe’s words, I immediately grabbed my gun and stood up.
Seeing me like that, Emma clung to me and asked.
“…Boss, where are you going?”
“To catch Zodiac.”
“Then I’ll…”
“No, you stay here.”
When I said I was going to catch Zodiac, Emma tried to get up, but I sat her back down.
Honestly, the safest place in Justice Town isn’t Deaf Man’s Tavern—it’s by my side.
But today, I had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.
“Let’s go, Noah.”
“I’ll be back soon, wait.”
With eyes full of vengeance, I followed Joe, who was leading the way, and told Emma not to worry.
And then…
“……”
“……”
I approached Rize, who was still working long past quitting time, and whispered.
“…!”
Hearing my whisper, Rize flinched for a moment, then nodded.
“I will… follow your orders.”
Her response was stiff, almost robotic.
I clicked my tongue at her demeanor and then said one last thing to her.
“…I’ll finish this soon and be back. Just wait. Let’s settle everything tonight.”
“……”
After all, Rize would soon try to take my life.
If that’s the case, it’s better to get it over with quickly—less exhausting for everyone.
Zodiac… Rize…
I planned to take care of everything tonight.
‘This is gonna be one hell of a tiring night.’
I set off, looking up at the unusually large full moon.
**
As usual, Joe arrived with his carriage.
I rode No Name and pulled up beside him, asking, “So, did you find the person I asked you to look for?”
“Yes, definitely. There’s only one person among the immigrants who speaks Spanish.”
<Outlaw Chapter 8> [Zodiac Serial Murder Case].
Every time you play, Zodiac changes, and the clues change too, making even veterans start fresh like newbies in finding Zodiac. It was a tricky episode.
But as if anticipating the players’ complaints, the game developers added one clue to find Zodiac.
That clue was Spanish.
[Zodiac Serial Murder Case] changes every time you play.
But one thing remains the same.
Zodiac is always fluent in Spanish.
So, I had Joe, the only Mexican in Justice Town, look for another Spanish speaker.
“His name is Gregory. He came from Mexico to the U.S. a few years ago. No family, lives alone out there in the outskirts. His log cabin should be coming up soon.”
“Good job finding him.”
“But Noah, are you sure he’s Zodiac?”
“If he’s the only one in town who speaks Spanish, probably?”
“If you say so, then it must be true. …That bastard. I’ll definitely kill him.”
*Grit.*
Thinking of his dead younger sister Laura, Joe clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the reins.
Tears welled up in Joe’s eyes, and as if preparing for a fight, a Remington revolver was holstered at his side.
*Clatter, clatter.*
Riding through the fields with Joe and our guns, I couldn’t help but reminisce.
“…This reminds me of when we took down the Redbeard Gang.”
“Back then, I owed you, Noah.”
It’s been about eight months now.
I had helped Joe take down the Redbeard Gang, a bank-robbing gang.
“Remember, Joe? You set off the dynamite, and I shot all those outlaws dead.”
At my words, Joe finally chuckled and replied.
“Unforgettable memories. Still vivid in my mind.”
“Yeah, same here.”
Redbeard, Redbeard’s daughter, the blood from that day, the acrid smell of gunpowder after the dynamite exploded.
It’s all so vividly etched in my memory.
Maybe that’s why.
“It’s so vivid, I can still smell the gunpowder from that dynamite.”
“……”
“From the cargo box in the back of your carriage, Joe.”
*Clatter, clatter.*
Joe and I were now heading to a dark, remote place.
Does this Gregory guy even exist?
I’m not sure, but there’s no log cabin around here like Joe mentioned.
A man who can travel all over Utah by carriage, who knows about the weapons stash from when we took down the Redbeard Gang, the first discoverer of the second murder case, and fluent in Spanish.
That man is right beside me now.
Then, I suddenly remembered something unforgettable.
‘How about TKK for our organization name? The last K stands for Clan!’
‘…You idiot. Clan isn’t spelled with a K, it’s with a C.’
Why that irrelevant memory popped up, I don’t know.
I chuckled and said to Joe,
“…You dumbass, snap out of it. You’re a J, not a Z.”
Hearing that, Joe laughed too.
Seeing Joe’s smile reminded me of when we first met in this town four years ago.
‘Welcome to Justice Town. I’m Joe, the carriage driver here. Nice to meet you!’
Our friendly neighbor Joe, always smiling, working harder than anyone for his beloved family.
That Joe wasn’t here anymore.
“This is why I hate sharp kids.”
All that was left was Zodiac, the serial killer chosen by the system.
*BOOM!*
Joe jumped off the carriage, and the carriage, reeking of gunpowder, exploded with a deafening roar.
I fell off No Name’s back from the explosion’s impact and thought,
This damn world really doesn’t give a damn about justice.
