Officer Roland was 50 bucks poorer that day.
Although the victory called for high fives and fist pumps, it was sadly short lived.
“Teacher. If you’re right, there’s still a problem.”
“How can a dead man sit in a car and start a fire...right.”
Professor Stone and Martial Kim had to dig for the truth, literally. The forensic team brought back as many materials and evidence they could gather from the victim’s garage. Whether they survived or had been pasted against the floor, they were carefully extracted and organized on groups of tables to create one major display the size of a small pool.
The two had to do multiple circles to fish out certain items in the pile, trying to search for the right answer despite how well organized and categorized everything was.
“Fire fighters confirmed: the flames started with a faulty wire,” Prof. Stone said as he shuffled through cooked items, “The best way to hide a murder: everyday accidents.”
Martial Kim tried to help sifting through everything, but if it wasn’t the fact they were black and well done – he had no freaking clue what each item were or how they worked. So he had to just dig through like a dog, not sure what they were looking for – but wanted to be helpful!
“Teacher, what is this?”
“A portable heater.”
“And what is this?”
“A portable heater.”
“Both of them? But why do they look so different!?”
Prof. Stone snapped awake from his searching and joined his protege. Martial Kim was struggling between a box like machine and something akin to a small hand held torch. The first thing the forensic chemist did, was pick up the hand held one and waved it around like a concert wand.
“Oooooh! This one is one of the newer models, just released two months ago. Yeah. These babies are lighter, easier to use, and doubles as a light source compared to older models. See this dial – god, the numbers melted with each other – yeah this dial controls the intensity of the light...Wait you said there’s both?”
The investigators then took a look at the one shaped like a box.
“Oh my god, this is what my GRANDPARENTS would use. You see Kim, these are more suitable for inside the house than a garage. Heats up like HARD, feels like you’re face is burning within 45 minutes if you sat in front of those – I always hated them... Which is weird, because it’s not THAT cold in the past few days.”
“Also, Teacher,” Martial Kim can’t help tilting his head to examine both heaters like a confused cat, “Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the new one, over the old one?”
“...You’re right. Why, the newer version pretty much makes the second obsolete. So why are there two of them?”
The forensic investigators isolated those two items to another table so they could get a better look. They also called in some forensic technicians and specialists to help out, thinking there might be big hidden in these two items.
Prof. Stone held aloft the small heat/light lamp, “The wire looks relatively new. Even if half melted, no one has found any historical damage to show it was broken or cut prior the fire starting. And these new products usually have a fail safe the moment there is a power leak.”
As much as Martial Kim wanted to be of use, he had absolutely no clue how the box heater – or any heater for that matter – worked. Switch, dial, wire, everything went through one ear and out the other. And it wasn’t that he was a lazy student who didn’t pay attention, but even if he focused everything was essentially Egyptian to him.
“There you are!” Prof. Stone cooed. “The wire was cut, very fine. Fortunately the fire didn’t destroy this piece of evidence entirely.”
“Well this certainly narrows down what happened. The killer murdered the victim, placed them in the car, and activated the heater to cause a fire. Then left.”
“...........”
“Teacher, why the frown?”
“How did the guy leave? Didn’t Officer Roland said, no one saw anyone going in or out of the house last night? Clearly there was no second fire victim, so – how did the killer start a fire and disappear without a trace?...Oh. Dear god, is it that late already!?”
Martial Kim raised an eyebrow, until he saw the colour of the sky. If it wasn’t a fine amber by the time he looked out the window, it was about to become a deep blue ocean above his head – dark and cold.
Prof. Stone clicked his tongue, “As much as I should call it a day, the fact of ‘how and when’ did the killer start the fire is going to keep me up at night. I feel like, the answer is staring me right in the face... Ah, Kim if you like you can head back and—“
“I want to continue helping, Teacher.”
“Really appreciate it Kim, but what about Keekee?”
“Hmm? What about Miss Keekee?”
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Prof. Stone just straight up facepalmed, “Hello. You guys are dating! Wouldn’t she be worried, that you haven’t called or gone home to see her.”
Martial Kim failed to hide a blush, “I don’t want to interrupt her work. Her responsibilities are too important. However, I could go back to the cabin to let her know I’ll be a little late.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Prof. Stone had to lunge over the table just to grab his disciple from LITERALLY walking a mile or two on foot to tell someone, “Just send her a text!”
“A what?”
Prof. Stone face palmed again. This time he made it his other hand. “Yes, Kim. Text! Please tell, me Keekee taught you!”
“.............................................................Yes.”
“I don’t doubt her, but I doubt you!” Prof. Stone half laughed half snapped. “My guess she told you but it fell out of your brain through your other ear. Give me your phone, come on!”
Martial Kim was hesitant. Although he was not fond of struggling to use his phone, he was reluctant to hand it right over. It was HIS phone after all, hate it or not it felt like cutting a piece of his flesh to a stranger. Then again, it was near impossible to say ‘no’ to his mentor.
So he surrendered without a fight. What he didn’t expect was how fast the deed was done. A few thumb taps and boom, message sent and the phone was returned to his hands. Barely more than two and a half blinks.
“...Teacher, what are these symbols you added in the bottom of the message?”
“Oh those are called Emojis. Specifically heart and kisses....Heh.”
“Ah...Wait—H-heart and kiss—WHAT!?” Martial Kim’s eyes were glued to the screen as he had to read the cryptic message 10 times.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e5d49d01-e685-46aa-8d92-b07d57dc33fb/diyv37n-a0e7163c-8bcc-4e56-bf62-b7b96cde82aa.png/v1/fit/w_480,h_852,q_70,strp/moon_tavern___pavilion_arc___chapter_53_phone_text_by_suimaifiles_diyv37n-375w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODUyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZTVkNDlkMDEtZTY4NS00NmFhLThkOTItYjA3ZDU3ZGMzM2ZiXC9kaXl2MzduLWEwZTcxNjNjLThiY2MtNGU1Ni1iZjYyLWI3Yjk2Y2RlODJhYS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NDgwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.1qiKZSVjQ3gLJJMQXJF7wvSf3mJLWF7nR48PcInHyZI]
“TEACHER! H-HOW COULD YOU!?”
“You’re welcome lover boy! Hah!”
“Quick! D-do something, you have to stop the message! Sh-shoot the magic messenger if you have to! O-or M-Miss Keekee will misunderstand completely!”
Prof. Stone rolled his eyes, “Kim. Taking it slow is respectable – but if you keep dragging your feet through the mud, you’ll lose your woman to boredom. You gotta roll for initiative, show her you mean business. Take action, be assertive every now and then!”
“I-I appreciate the advice – but it’s not THAT necessary right now!”
That’s it! All lines have been crossed! Martial Kim couldn’t handle this embarrassment any longer. He had to set the record straight, now or never! Even if it meant burning a bridge or two, he had to protect Keekee’s pride as a chaste maid!
BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT! BZZZZZT!
“Oh my phone! HELLO? HELLO! MISS KEEKEE! IS THAT YOU!? HELLO!?”
Prof. Stone face palmed a third time. Yes, with both hands. “Kim, calm down. That’s not your phone. It’s that over there.”
The forensic chemist pointed to a machine nearby, one of their forensic equipment. Another group of scientists and examiners were trying to pull any finger prints from any surviving materials from the fuming machines. The buzzing noise kept going until one of the technicians pressed a button and opened the door to retrieve samples.
“T-Teacher. What was that sound, exactly?”
“It’s a timer.”
“A-a timer?”
“Yeah. Like a microwave or oven, some people set up a timer and when it ends it buzzes................Kim you’re a god damn genius!”
--- My emotions went in and out of hell in a few blinks of an eye. How is this relevant of me becoming a peerless martial god!?
What got Prof. Stone all worked up? The forensic chemist raced back to the table and swept up the old clunker. He gave it a few turns in his hand and cracked a lottery winning grin.
“I thought so! Kim come over here! See this dial! It’s a timer!”
“It is?.......Wh-where is the timer image?”
“Ah. Right. The timer you see on the fuming machine is digital. This timer is based on analog clock, like the ones in our office. In fact, this old timer functions like adjusting the time on a classic clock face. So whenever it hits a certain time, say 6:30 in the morning or in the night, the heater would automatically turn off and then switch off after a period of time!”
“.........”
“Don’t you see Kim!? This is how you can start a fire, remotely!”
“OH! You mean, like a time-based automated trap?”
“...SURE! Sounds close enough!” Prof. Stone shook at the clunker of a heater as if a magic eight ball! “This is how no one saw anyone coming or going from the Burn Victim’s house during the incident. After some set up beforehand, the device can independently switch on, leak power through the cut wire, onto something super flammable, and start a chain reaction!”
“A-and the killer could have formed an alibi by the time the flame began...” Martial Kim gasped, “How fiendish. Who could it be!?”
“Well, that’s an answer left for the detective – but!” Prof. Stone whipped off his gloves and tagged his protege to follow him, “Time to pull an all nighter to narrow down suspects for her! It would take a certain level of intelligence and understanding of electronics to pull this off, so we’ll focus on that area!”
“Indeed! I’m right behind you Teacher!”
“Good man!”
In all the excitement and eagerness to seek justice for a stranger, Martial Kim failed to realize something far more important was waiting for him in the future.
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e5d49d01-e685-46aa-8d92-b07d57dc33fb/didaiyy-7cc70b06-faf9-4771-a24f-b7127efe7b76.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_207/moon_tavern_page_break_by_suimaifiles_didaiyy-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZTVkNDlkMDEtZTY4NS00NmFhLThkOTItYjA3ZDU3ZGMzM2ZiXC9kaWRhaXl5LTdjYzcwYjA2LWZhZjktNDc3MS1hMjRmLWI3MTI3ZWZlN2I3Ni5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.V__LDKPGxPLEElJXKGgxKvmlMcRIG9Nv3hgCGY_VlEE]image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e5d49d01-e685-46aa-8d92-b07d57dc33fb/di6ht8a-6b7841a9-7268-4fab-a51a-b1367877f8d8.png/v1/fit/w_828,h_1210/moon_tavern___pavilion_arc__lightnovel_image_01__by_suimaifiles_di6ht8a-414w-2x.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MTY2NyIsInBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2U1ZDQ5ZDAxLWU2ODUtNDZhYS04ZDkyLWIwN2Q1N2RjMzNmYlwvZGk2aHQ4YS02Yjc4NDFhOS03MjY4LTRmYWItYTUxYS1iMTM2Nzg3N2Y4ZDgucG5nIiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTExNDEifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uub3BlcmF0aW9ucyJdfQ.1MRXBAT-lkHjJI86BlLFW_2-DsZ2mPQmrpQnyPY-Ay8]