The Macomb Murders

The Macomb Murders were a string of killings in Macomb, a small town in Illinois. At the time, Holliday was the town’s sheriff. The tragedy took many lives, and it became the starting point for everything she has done since.

Few know the details, but Dynamo had read about it too, and called it “absolutely ghoulish.”

“I read about what happened in Macomb. Absolutely ghoulish.”

“我读到了关于马科姆发生的事情。简直太可怕了”

Holliday’s only answer was to shy away from it.

“I really don't want to talk about it.”

“我真的不想谈这件事。”

She won’t say much, but she has never hidden her intent: the killer is not someone she means to catch, but someone she means to kill with her own hands.

“I'm not going to catch him. I'm going to kill him.”

“我不会抓住他，我会击倒他。”

People have taken the tragedy very differently. Venator, speaking like an elder, comforted her that it wasn’t her fault; the Doorman, for his part, said he could only imagine the horrors she witnessed in Macomb, and urged her to rest and put her trauma aside.

“What happened in Macomb wasn't your fault, child.”

“孩子，发生在马科姆的事不是你的错”

“I can only imagine the horrors you witnessed in Macomb. Rest, Holliday, and put aside your trauma for tomorrow.”

“我完全能想象你在马科姆目睹的恐怖。哈雷黛，好好休息吧，把创伤抛到一边，等到明天再说”

Yet Holliday herself has never been able to let it go. As she sees it, she failed to stop the killer; and when someone brings the story up, she says only that it isn’t riveting once you’ve lived it.

“Yeah. It's not riveting when you've lived it.”

“是啊。你亲身经历过后就觉得没那么惊心动魄了”

Some show no sympathy at all. Mina once mimicked her impatiently, mocking the whole affair as the same tired old refrain.

“Blah blah Macomb massacre blah blah.”

“叽里咕噜马科姆大清洗”

The Doorman, too, once told her to her face that what she failed to stop in Macomb she would fail to stop again in New York.

“You failed to stop The Troubadour in Macomb and you'll fail again in New York.”

“你没能阻止马科姆的游吟诗人，你还会在纽约再次失败”

Whether this means the Troubadour is the Macomb killer, there is no clear proof.

After the tragedy Holliday came to New York, and both Patrons have held out promises to her. The Hidden King declares that the justice she seeks for Macomb shall be hers today.

“Holliday… you seek justice for Macomb, and today you shall have it.”

“哈雷黛… 你为马科姆寻求正义，今天你就会伸张正义”

The Archmother, for her part, says Holliday is so close to finding the killer she seeks, and promises to ensure her success if only she completes the ritual.

“You’re a long way from home, Holliday, but you're so close to finding the killer you seek. Complete the ritual and The Archmother will ensure your success.”

“哈雷黛，你离家很远，但你离找到凶手已经很近了。完成仪式，源祖会确保你成功”