Detective John

CHAPTER 2

John and Ryan both went to the crime scene when John said “The decoration style is so strange. Reflecting Mirrors. How weird it is!”

“Do you believe someone would come out through the mirror?” John asked and Ryan said “No. But there is no better explanation than this. After the crime occurred, no one had entered or left this place except for the victim and his three bodyguards. We’ve verified the structure of the mansion, too. There’s no space where someone can hide.”

John was inspecting the whole area while listening to Ryan at the same time. Suddenly, one of the mirrors caught his attention. “What did you find?” Ryan asked.

“The mirror is a bit loose here. There should be a secret passage.” John said but Ryan told that they have checked it that there is only a solid wall behind the mirror and maybe the construction was just not done well.

“Well, what about the ceiling then? And have you interrogated the three witnesses?” John asked.

“We checked it. The ceiling is less than 2.6 inches from the roof. No one can hide there. And about the interrogation, yes.” Ryan replied.

“Where are their confessions?” John asked and Ryan said at the Concession Police Station.

After that, both of them went to the station. John was checking the testimonies written by the witnesses when he asked “His two bodyguards and secretary witnessed his death at the same time?”

“Precisely. One of the bodyguards said that he saw someone stab his boss with a knife from inside the mirror. Once they rushed inside, the murderer was already gone.” Ryan said.

“Then within just a few seconds, the murderer had too little time to hide in there.” John said.

“Is it possible that the three guys colluded in devising a consistent story?” Ryan asked.

“It’s possible.” Lily said while entering the police station when John asked “What brings you here?” to which Lily said that it has nothing to do with him.

“What did you find?” Ryan asked Lily.

“Those two bodyguards owed a lot of gambling debts before, but they suddenly paid the debts off last month.” Lily said.

“The bodyguards were suspicious indeed. But the secretary was also there at the scene. He worked for the victim for over a dozen years, he has earned lots of reputation for his loyalty. I know him because he also used to be a goon. Later, he got wounded and became lame. The victim still kept him by his side as his secretary instead of driving him away. Anyone would remember this great kindness for a lifetime.” Ryan explained.

“Is the autopsy report done?” John asked when Lily too asked “He was stabbed to death, wasn’t he?”

Ryan threw the autopsy report towards John when John exclaimed complaining “This report is too sloppy! I need a blood test, urine test, and tests for all the indicators.” “You, go with me to visit the mansion again.” John ordered Ryan. Ryan asked why need to go there.

“The murderer killed the victim at the mansion. As the householder, the entrepreneur should also be definitely investigated. Get the car ready, now.” John said.

“Brother, why do you have to listen to him?” Lily asked.

“Do I have other choices?” Ryan said helplessly.

Ryan and John went to the mansion and saw that the family doctor was treating the householder.

“What’s wrong?” Ryan asked.

“There’s is some nonsense in the newspaper. After reading it, the patient was so angry that he had a heart attack. And he almost failed to survive.” The doctor said.

“Any disputes between the victim and the patient?” John asked the doctor.

“There used to be a village at the site of this new mansion. The patient paid the victim for demolition and removal. Later, it is said someone died. The newspaper said it was retribution.” The doctor explained.

“So…at that time, you were the first who got to the scene, right?” John asked.

“Yes. The bodyguards were crying for help around the whole building. I was the first to get to the second floor. At that time, the victim was lying on the ground without a pulse. I pulled the knife out quickly, covered the wound, and pressed his chest. However, I failed to save his life.” The doctor said to them.

“Doctor. This watch you wear…” John trailed when the doctor said that the householder gave this to him as a gift.

Then, both of them left the mansion. And John complained “ Why does this family doctor have such an expensive watch? Even I don’t have such an expensive watch as a stock investment manager.”

“I think you should arrest him, and I’ll bring the watch back for investigation.” John said to Ryan.

“Would you concentrate on the job? I went everywhere with you, but you were talking with that family doctor about a watch. Did you find anything at all?” Ryan scolded.

“Yes. A question for you. Is there any profit for demolition and removal?” John asked.

“That depends on where the demolition was. There must be little profit from this village, but this mansion is very valuable. The Germans designed it and supervised the construction. It’s a top luxury mansion.” Ryan replied. So, John asked for all the information about the demolition and removal from Ryan.

“But the village has been demolished. Where can I get the information for you? Ryan asked mockingly.

“You are the inspector, aren’t you? Why can’t you even manage such a small task?” John asked to which Ryan reminded him not to forget of still being a criminal suspect.

“Fine, arrest me then. Arrest me, come on.” John said.

On the other side, Lily was looking for a temporary place to stay since she ran from her house.

“Hello? Anyone here? Open the door! Hello?” Lily was knocking at the door which she rented.

When the door opened, John and Lily came face to face with each other. “What are you doing here?” John asked Lily.

Lily ignored his question and said “ This apartment is nice. Is the rent high?” John also ignored and asked “ Can I help you?”

“Of course. I got the information you wanted.” Lily said entering his house and sat on the sofa.

“At that time, the victim was in charge of demolition and removal. Most villagers had already left by force except for an old lady living alone, who was unwilling to move however much money was paid. Afterward, the victim, out of anger, sent his men to throw firecrackers at the old lady’s house at midnight. The old lady was so scared that she had a heart attack and died.” Lily informed John.

“A lawsuit should be filed for this.” John said.

“Yes. But no relatives were around her, and nobody even came when they collected her body. So….why do you think this case is related to the demolition and removal?” Lily asked.

“The murderer selected the most difficult way to commit the crime. With this kind of IQ, it was easy for him to kill the victim. But he chose to commit the crime in the mansion. Why? That means he wants to get the entrepreneur involved.” John replied.

“Is it possible that the householder did this himself? They had a business relationship before but distributed the spoils unevenly.” Lily deduced.

“Will you kill someone in your own house in front of all those celebrities? How stupid you are! Are you even educated?” John said sarcastically.

Then, Lily said that she has some other news as well. And that is today, the car keeper again came to the Concession Police Station and denied his previous confession. That means…..John’s alibi is invalid. And that it was pretty obvious, someone ordered the keeper to do so.

“Buddy…how many people have you offended huh? So…. I suggest you find some clues as soon as possible with your petty tricks.” Lily proposed and John nodded his head.

In the early morning, John himself went to the forensic department and was checking something when Ryan came and informed that the autopsy report was done.

“The incision is two centimeters lower from the heart. The knife was stabbed obliquely into the right atrium. Stab to kill? No fingerprints on the weapon. Nice. There’s a high concentration of diuretic in the victim’s body. He had hypertension?” John read the report.

“This murderer is an expert, steady, accurate and cruel.” Ryan remarked.

“Do you have his medical records?” John asked and Ryan nodded his head in NO.

“How can I investigate without everything? There were hyoscyamine and atropine in his body, too.” John said which Ryan didn’t understand a word.

John saw his face and explained “It’s a kind of anesthetics extracted from the herbs. One’s limbs will be stiff and his reaction will slow down after he smells it. Looks like the murderer has been fully prepared before committing the crime.”

“Let’s start with the people around him. Something is wrong with the watch, too. The watch was supposed to be studded with diamonds, but someone replaced those diamonds with worthless crystals. The price difference is pretty large. Ahh…ask someone to help me order some mirrors.” John said.

“What do you want the mirrors for?” Ryan asked. John ignored his question and said handing a drawing “Just make the mirrors as shown in this picture.” After sometime, the mirror was made and delivered to the police station according to the picture.

“This glass is intact. Check it.” John said and Lily checked by slightly hitting the mirror. Then, John rolled a big paper over the mirror and told Lily to again check it. Lily checked and nothing much happened.

“Now, it’s time to witness a miracle.” John said and went behind the mirror while Lily was standing in front of it. John then passed his hand through the mirror and again took it back. Everyone present there was shocked.

“How did you make it?” Lily asked first.

“It’s just a small trick. The glass can be moved up and down. Dig a hole behind in the mirror so that hands can be stretched out. Then put the mirror in front, back where it was. So it looks like a complete mirror as it used to be.” John explained.

“But I didn’t see you put it back.” Lily cross-questioned.

“That’s because I have an assistant. Thanks for your help, Inspector Ryan. Actually, when I heard that a hand came out from the mirror, this was the first thing coming to my mind. Then I went to the scene, and I found this method didn’t work, but the principle should be almost the same. First of all, both of them are cover-ups. Second, there must be an accomplice on the scene. There were three people present at the time of crime. They should be interrogated again.” John said.

After interrogation, nothing much came out. Only that the bodyguards paid off their debts with the help of those diamonds that they replaced with the crystals in the watch.

So Ryan asked “Among the three guys, who’s the most suspicious?” John indicated that it was the secretary and Ryan asked why.

“He’s not the murderer, but I am sure he’s an accomplice.” John said determined.

“So, who is the murderer?” Ryan asked to which John smirked and said “Guess.”

“Put the medicine down!” Ryan exclaimed entering the mansion with John to see the family doctor feeding medicine to the entrepreneur.

“What’s wrong?” The doctor asked.

John snatched the medicine from the doctor and smelled it saying “Aha…these herbs used in the medicine are bad for a cardiac patient. You want to fight the poison with poison, Doctor?”

John said to the householder “If you take more of this medicine, you will die.”

“Why do you waste so much effort on killing him? It’s quite easy to stab him with a knife if there’s a chance.” John asked the doctor.

“Mr. John according to what you said, you are also suspecting that I killed the victim. Right? On what basis?” The Doctor asked.

“Of course. First of all, when we met last time, you said… ‘At that time, the victim was lying on the ground without a pulse. I pulled the knife out quickly, covered the wound, and pressed his chest. However, I failed to save his life.’ As a graduate from Harvard university, you received advanced education on medical treatment. In that case, pulling out the knife means death. You should be definitely aware of that.” John pointed out.

“I majored in dermatology. Seeing blood for the first time, I suddenly felt such a panic that I rescued him in an improper way without thinking. It’s my fault exactly.” The doctor said in defense. John and Ryan looked at each other.

“Come back to the crime scene with me and I’ll show you something.” John said. Everyone reached the crime spot.

“The key to this case is essentially a magic show. The killer went to great lengths to perform such a play to mislead the audience, making them think that this killer really came from the mirror. First, I want to explain how this killer in the mirror was born. On the night of the murder, judging from the position of everyone, the moment the victim was killed, the secretary blocked the view in front of the bodyguards and the murder can only be seen from the mirror reflection on the ceiling. It’s impossible for the bodyguards to have witnessed the whole process of the murder.

That day, the secretary put some diuretic on the victim’s wine in order to lead him to murder scene he designed. Then, he adjusted quickly where he stood to prepare for the play coming up. After the victim came out of the bathroom, he came to the sink. At this moment, the murderer came out from the mirror and stabbed him to death.”

“I found out that day that there is a gimmick here. I was wondering why the mirror randomly became loose because the Germans designed and constructed this mansion carefully so it can't be a mistake. That means the mirror was brought here by the murderer. At that time, the killer was hiding in the space between the two movable mirrors. After the murder, the secretary already has mislead the bodyguards psychologically that the victim was killed by the knife that came from the mirror. He asked them to find someone for help which helped the killer to move the mirrors to its original position as well as to perform a so - called rescue. The knife was stabbed from a slanting direction. The Doctor pulled out the knife because he didn't want to expose that he was actually in a slanting position with respect to the victim." John explained the whole plotting.

The Doctor clapped and said "That's a wonderful speech. But you don't have any solid evidence. So you still cannot pin this on me."

"The evidence was just in front of you. Although you have cleaned the front portion of the mirror after the crime, the back portion will still have your fingerprints on it. We just need to take the mirror for a test to see if I am right or not." John said smirking.

"I didn't expect I still missed something even though I racked my brains." The Doctor said without any remorse.

"You killed him for revenge, right?" John asked.

“Yes. Revenge. The old lady who died an unjust death at the time of the demolition was my mother. Both of them killed my mother just to build this luxurious mansion. So, that politician and entrepreneur must pay for her death with their lives.” The Doctor said angrily.

“Then, what about you?” John asked the secretary.

“Take a wild guess. It’s all because of you, Ryan! We both tried to survive on the streets but then my leg became lame, so I had to work as a secretary for the politician. He bossed me around all day and I lost my pride. Later, I heard you became an inspector in the Concession Police Station with a bright future. I too had to find a future for myself. Just at that time, the Doctor risked his life and came to me. Ryan, you have a better fate than me. You chose to work for a loyal and good boss unlike the one I worked for, who never treated his men as humans.” The secretary confessed.

At that time, John said “I figured out how the crime was committed, but I still can’t figure out why the householder framed me.”

“There can only be one killer. If the police caught you, then the real murderer would get away with it.” Ryan replied.

“Then, why did he protect the Doctor?” John asked.

“He didn’t have that kind of intention. He and the politician used to be partners in selling crude opium. If this case was not closed, sooner or later he would be a person of interest. He framed you as a scapegoat to protect himself. But now, he was deeply poisoned by the medicine I have given, so he will not survive.” The doctor answered John.

After their confessions, the officers handcuffed them and took them to the police station.

“What are you going to do next?” Ryan asked John.

“Back to work in the bank. What else can I do?” John replied.

“You are a good detective candidate. Would you like to stay and handle cases for me?” Ryan asked.

“Work for you? Do you know how much money I make a month? Stay to work for you? Can you afford to pay me?” John said mockingly and then left the place.

What do you think about this chapter? Will John get back to work for his previous job or he will change his decision to help Ryan solve cases with the help of his detective skills? If you like this chapter, share and follow me to stay updated.