Cases Uncovered

31 | Fool Me Twice

"Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons, with the greatest for the last."

- Sherlock Holmes

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Chapter 31:
Fool Me Twice

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ZANE

On the night the full moon will appear,
A whisper of music soon you will hear.
The scarlet shadow is now drawing near,
Who am I, to whom shall you lend an ear?

"...lend an ear?" said Raine after reading the note given to me.

"Any idea who is it from?" I asked while we were in Officer Lee's car.

The letter wafted a familiar scent, the same of the previous one. It hinted at a common origin, perhaps from the same sender.

"Probably from the stalker involving others. But now they've leveled up," Raine replied from the back seat.

"What do you mean?"

"They've sent it through the post office now. The postman delivering this letter was targeted," Raine added. "Their earlier strategy must have failed."

"Who is this guy? Why is he involving others who has nothing to do with this?"

"Do you think this is related to what you two did before?" Officer Lee asked.

"I don't know, but that's my hunch," I replied.

"May I ask what happened to your mother? I recall hearing something about it from Inspector, but as I’m still quite new, I haven’t yet learned the full details," Officer Lee said, his eyes fixed on the road as he drove his small black car towards our destination.

"It was five years ago when the garment factory she worked at caught fire," I answered. "She was one of the victims because a piece of equipment malfunctioned."

"It was an accident, right?" Raine asked, her gaze dropped towards me through the car's front window.

As far as I remember, my father said that was the reason. "Yes," I replied.

"When you said five years ago, was there a suspect involved?" Raine continued.

"They jailed the owner," I said.

"What if—" Raine suddenly exclaimed.

"What if what?"

"We're here," said Officer Lee as he stopped the car.

As we pulled up, the car's tires crunched on the side of the road. The house from the old photo loomed before us, its weathered facade and overgrown garden mirroring the image we held in our hands.

"What now?" I asked. "We haven't had a break since this started."

"Maybe the person living here knows something," Officer Lee said, opening his car's door.

Just as I reached for the door handle, he swiftly closed it, leaving me momentarily halted.

"What's the problem?" Raine asked, already out of the car through the car's door nearest to her.

"How do you open this?" I admitted, feeling embarrassed about the time it took me to look for the answer myself.

Officer Lee circled around to the front of the car and pulled my door open with a firm yet gentle tug. "Let's go."

Stepping outside, a strong wind greeted us, along with the fluttering of pigeons nearby. The lot was spacious, enclosed by a wall adorned with climbing vines.