His head throbbed as he looked over the report for the tenth time.

Ever since Elliot can remember, he has worked as a detective, with the same boring cases being solved in about two days, depending on whether it was interesting. But his life was really a total bore, always in a routine. Until he arrived at his work one morning, his assistant handing him his black coffee while he went to his meeting room for the boss to assign cases. In years of work, he'd never seen anything like what awaited him.

The board had pictures from every angle of a decomposing body, without eyes and without some teeth. What really caught attention was the initials engraved on the eyeless face. And this was just the beginning.

Every day when he arrived at work, new photos were updated on the board, all in the same way, with initials engraved on the faceless faces of eyeless victims. The boss grew increasingly irritated with the murders, all lacking evidence other than the initials whose meaning they couldn't decipher. As the best detective in the area, his boss put him in charge of the case.

And how he wished he hadn't.

He'd never had such frequent headaches, but this case surpassed everything. Every morning brought calls to investigate new crime scenes - every single day.

Exhausted, he stopped at a coffee shop instead of getting his usual from his assistant. There he saw the most handsome person he'd ever seen. Elliot wasn't usually attracted to pretty faces, but this one surpassed everything he believed possible. By some twist of fate, when the barista handed over his coffee with a napkin bearing their name and number, Elliot was happy as a child.

When he got home that night, despite exhaustion, he saved the number and sent a message that was answered within five minutes. They talked all night. The next day required three cups of coffee, but that didn't stop him from talking to them again that night, and the next, and the next. He even went out with them on Saturday night despite the heavy workload. Three months later, they were in a relationship.

He told them what he did for a living on the first date, but never about the specific case. One night while working late, they hugged him from behind and asked about his current investigation. When he described it, he noticed their eyes darken and skin turn pale. They left without a word and lay down on the bed, but the next day made pancakes and smiled like nothing had happened.

Eventually the murders began to stop. He found it strange - stranger than he should have - but did nothing. Then came a normal day for him, visiting another crime scene. This victim had only one eye gouged out but still bore the signature on her face. One false nail had fallen off, not pulled out - as if she'd struggled. When he came home later that day, there they were with a scratch on their neck. That's when he began to suspect they might be the killer.

Now he was at home alone, knowing they'd gone to the coffee shop for work. When he was certain they were gone, he began searching their drawers, checking everywhere until stepping on the floor produced a strange noise. Looking down, he noticed poorly fitted wood. Part of him wanted to cry, but he forced himself to stay calm. Elliot crouched down and lifted the wood, fingers trembling at what he found: a knife, mask, black disguise, and gloves.

That's when he looked up to see them standing there, holding a bakery bag from their workplace, eyes darker than he'd ever seen. He stood up, clutching the evidence, then threw the knife and gloves onto the floor near them.

"Are you going to explain to me what the hell this is?" His voice sounded sadder than he intended.