Where In The World Are The Killers?

Murder, He Wrote

In Argentina...

"Adalet, Antarctica was fascinating, but I'm glad we've exchanged those snowy vistas for Argentinian warmth!" Michelle says, happy to finally be warm again.

Adalet chuckled, "you and everyone else!"

"And I hope you've thawed out enough to continue our investigation! We've learned that SOMBRA was forced to abandon their expedition to Antarctica several decades ago..." Chief Ripley muses suspiciously, "after which the SOMBRA explorers returned to Argentina. We need to discover what they did next! Adalet, tracing these earliest records of SOMBRA's activity might reveal how they became the global threat we know today!"

"Around here, Biblioteca Gran Adán would be our best bet for unearthing old documents...." Michelle suggested thoughtfully.

"Then you should go there!" she instructed.

"Adalet, allow me to accompany you and Michelle!" Dupont requested, "I've wanted to visit this library for years!"

Chief Ripley sighs, "I haven't had enough coffee to deal with your enthusiasm, Armand. Your expertise might be needed, but make sure you stay focused."

"Oui!" he vows.

"Then let's go!" Adalet declared, spinning on her heels to face the doorway.

At the library entrance...

"Adalet, quelle chance!" Dupont grins as they climb out of their Jeep, "I feared the library would be closed at this early hour, but the door stands wide open!"

"Pleasant to have some good luck for once," Michelle smiles, "let's start on those archives!"

The three entered the library and admired the grand space: tall walls, countless lights, shoulder-high bookcases filled with rows and rows of books, a seating area, a dead body-

Wait, what?

Adalet nearly groans when she sees a dead man drenched in blood on the floor, propped up against a table in the middle of the aisle, lying half-on top of a pile of books. Under another desk near the man's foot was a light blue eyeglass case. There was also a pile of old, torn parchment on a leather bench a few feet from the body.

"Oh dear God, Adalet!" Michelle gasped, "the library door being wide open didn't mean we were welcome here. It meant there was a corpse for us to find!"

"Mais quelle horreur! A murder in a library! One doesn't disgrace a temple of knowledge in this gruesome way!" Dupont scowls in disgust.

"Gruesome is right," she agrees as Adalet kneels beside the body, "the victim has... how many stab wounds is that in his body, Adalet?"

"4...15...21...22...23!" Adalet announced after tallying up the stab marks.

"Yes, I also counted 23. Talk about overkill!" Michelle exclaimed.

"Adalet, how could you examine the victim closely enough to count the-" Dupont cuts himself off as he bravely looks at the victim again, "but no! How can it be? Now that I myself look at this man, I recognize him! He's the renowned Argentinian writer Ernesto Cárpena! Who'd kill the author of "Rayuela de Ficciones"?! The world's lost a literary genius!"

"And we're losing time from our investigation into SOMBRA!" the lawyer grumbled, "we can't go through the archives with a murderer nearby!"

"Well, I'm here if you require advice about any clues you find!" the historian offered but still took a step away from the body.

"Good to know," Adalet says, collecting the torn paper, "look, Michelle! This parchment could've gotten torn during the murder. Fixing it might bring some answers!"