Mirror, Mirror on the Wall ✓

8 | Eureka!

Chapter 8: Eureka

Sanchez was having his breakfast, but his mind was still on the possibility of the arrest of Sanders being a false façade created by Scott. He was just finishing his toast when his eyes landed on Antony and Cleopatra. He sat staring for a minute, and then, like a bolt from the blue, it hit him.

He called Sergeant Clark and said, 'Clark, I'll be the station in fifteen to pick you up. We have some business to finish. Be sure you are ready before that.' Before Clark had the chance to reply, he added, 'I had a Eureka moment just now. I'll explain everything when we meet.'

~

Sanchez was driving on the edge of recklessness while Clark struggled to make his voice heard from the passenger seat. He shouted, 'Sir, I understand you are very excited about this case but, as your junior, I need to know what's going on.' 

Sanchez replied, not looking away from the road ahead, 'I know you don't like this abduction act of mine. I'm ready to explain. Have you heard about Cleopatra?'

'What?' Clearly, Clark hadn't expected that coming.

'Cleopatra?'

'Uh. Yeah. Well, who hasn't?'

'Did you know the Cleopatra we know about was the seventh Cleopatra?'

'Do you expect me to know that stuff?'

'Well, no.' He continued, 'There were six Cleopatras before her. But we refer to the seventh one when we say Cleopatra because she was the most famous one.'

'But what does that have to do with the case?' Clark asked sceptically.

'I'll come to that. Now this Cleo Seven had a daughter who was called Cleopatra Selene Two. Yet another Cleopatra.'

Clark could not help mumbling, 'For a cop, you sure know your history.'

'Yeah. I have this weird habit of researching about my book characters.' He added with a grin, 'Now why would she be called Cleopatra Selene Two?' He put emphasis on the last word. 'Because there had been a Cleopatra Selene before! Why would the Cleopatras be numbered? Because there already had been the first Cleopatra and they had come after her!'

'But what does all this have to do with the case?' Clark asked a second time with a hint of annoyance.

'Don't you see? Although we generally refer to the seventh Cleopatra as "Cleopatra", there was only one true Cleopatra! The ONE. The Cleopatra who could be named without a number. At least by her contemporaries.'

'I'm still not sure I follow you.'

'Look at me. You are called David Clark now. Now suppose a few years later, you have a son. You decide to name him David too. Then, he would be called David Clark Junior. And you, David Clark Senior. But that will happen only when you have a son by that name. For example, if you sign your papers now, you write only David Clark! You don't use "senior"!'

'But what—' Clark stopped abruptly. He finally seemed to have gotten the detective's point. His eyes dilated with delighted surprise and he exclaimed through a lopsided grin and a sideways shake of his head, 'Brilliant, detective!'