When we opened the door, we were met with a surprise. There was a body covered in blood lying on the floor.
My heartbeat increased, I began to tremble with fear, and my breathing became heavy. I thought that my sister's killers had left us an indirect message warning us not to investigate them. Even my friend John couldn't believe what had happened, since he was the one who recommended Mr. Sebastian to us in the first place.
"How did things end up like this? And why do we always come across these tragedies? Is it because of me, or perhaps because we dug too deeply into the investigation?"
Various thoughts appeared in my mind, and I couldn't organize them because of how confused I was.
It was only a brief moment, yet our bodies had frozen in place from the shock. Arthur was the first to realize what was happening, so he quickly shouted at me,
"Quickly, Edward! Call the police!"
I quickly turned around, and my feet were about to move to call them when we heard a voice coming from the body.
"Ahem... Ahem... There is no need for that."
Everyone was shocked.
Sebastian Crowen was alive!!!!
"Damn you, old man! I knew you were eccentric, but for it to reach the point where you pretend to be dead, and what's worse is that you did it professionally! You scared us and almost stopped my heart!" John shouted angrily at Mr. Sebastian. The way he spoke showed that they had known each other for a long time.
"Don't blame me, my friend's son. An idea suddenly came to my mind, and I was very excited to try it, so I couldn't wait. It just happened that I carried it out when you came to visit me. As you can see, the idea may seem strange to you, but I liked it anyway. So, are you interested in hearing its details?"
John became even angrier, while old Sebastian laughed at the shocked expressions on our faces. Time passed quickly as he explained his strange idea. Honestly, John wasn't wrong when he described him as eccentric. Does it make sense for a detective to take the victim's place in order to know how they were killed?
I thought it was just a foolish idea, but it turned out to be a brilliant one that only geniuses who are professionals at their work would try. Because of that, my admiration for old Sebastian grew.
While Sebastian was explaining his strange theory, he asked John and the rest of us,
"Tell me, young men, what do you think an investigation is? Or rather, how would you explain it?"
John answered,
"Isn't it searching for clues that lead to solving the crime, or determining whether the incident is a crime or not?"
"Not bad, my boy, but that's not the answer I want. What about you two?"
I couldn't find an answer to give Sebastian, so my brother answered in my place,
"I think an investigation is the process of tracking or following the criminal and the victim."
Sebastian looked at me, then turned toward Arthur and sighed.
"Well, you're not wrong, but that's also not the answer I want, even though it's correct, just like John's answer. So let's leave it at that for now, because I'm going to explain to you the meaning of an investigation and the idea I came up with."
Sebastian paused for a moment before continuing,
"An investigation is the simulation of the role of the victim or the criminal in order to find the method of murder, kidnapping, or other crimes. Therefore, the crime scene can be considered a stage, and the victim a role. Simulating that role allows a person to reach evidence faster than the usual method. After all, the victim is a human just like us.
Laughs.
Gets angry.
Feels sad.
Feels happy.
All of these emotions affect the course of the case. And let's not forget the most important thing: a person's habits, such as using the left hand instead of the right, taking medicine at a certain time, or smoking a cigarette in a certain place. All of these are actions capable of changing the direction of the investigation. But as you can see, simulation is very difficult, because it means adopting another person's personality. Is that something easy to do?
Of course not. How could it be!?
So we use our minds to predict the victim's actions while they were still alive. With the help of the people who knew their personality, we can deduce their character, the way they think, and how they would behave in situations similar to those related to the crime.
Do you understand?"
We all nodded our heads in understanding.
After some time had passed, Sebastian said,
"I hope you'll forgive this old man for talking so much, my little ones. I've taken a lot of your time, so is it time for us to get to the main subject and the real reason you came to me?"
My hands trembled at Sebastian's look. It was clear that he had started taking the matter seriously. Just a little while ago, he had been laughing and joking, but now his face had become stern as he sat behind his desk. For just a moment, he seemed to me like the kind of man who would do anything to achieve his goal.
Yes... now the two brothers, together with John, were one step closer to Olivia's killer, even though the road was still long.