The rain is...harsh. To say the least. I wonder if I'll ever be able to cope. Not from the rain. From betrayal that resembles rain. The way rain washes out homes is the same way my partner has washed away my trust. You'd think that man was a kind soul. A person who helped me with every case. But, nevertheless, he has betrayed me. We were partners. We solved crimes together. Alas, he left me. Writing this is not so easy. I still miss the way he laughed when I made a joke. Or when he sneezed so loudly in that one house that the murderer himself got scared out of his hiding. My pen doesn't capture the tears striding down my cheeks, but my words do. They're hot and cold at the same time. That's what happens when you lose your best friend. You lose your sanity. You also lose your job. I quit when he betrayed me. I left mid-case. The way he did. I didn’t start this with the intention of digging through memories. But the case keeps calling to me in my sleep. His voice echoes in the scrawled notes he left behind. Notes I once thought were meaningless…or maybe I refused to see their meaning. I asked for all the evidence from the police when they called me yesterday. The conversation went a little something like this:
"Detective Abhanite?"
"I prefer James Abhanite now."
"Please, sir! We have no idea how to solve this case. Please, help us." The policeman pleaded.
I sighed, "I've told you this multiple times. I'm not doing it unless he does."
"Sir you-wait. You plan on never coming back?"
"Only until he comes back with me."
"But sir, do you not know?"
"Do I not know what?"
"Sir, Detective Suhajite is," A pause. Rather long one, if you ask me.
"Is?"
"He's...dead."
Silence rang in my ears like a loudspeaker. My heart nearly stopped beating. "Wh-what do you mean dead?"
"He committed suicide shortly after resigning. His death note was left on his study."
Not the best way to find out your best friend was dead. I honestly thought I'd find out he's dead over 5 shots of tequila and a migraine, after we'd solved a case when we were closer to retirement. Not when I had quit because he betrayed me. He didn't even say goodbye.
I haven't opened the box of evidence yet. I hope it has a note from him, specifically addressed to me. If it doesn't, I... don't know what to think. Walking to that box is scary. It's enveloped in caution tape and 'DO NOT DROP' markings. I pick it up. Lighter than I thought. At least it's lighter than my heart.
Criminology was never my dream job. I only got the job when I was 16, helping the police as an intern who would answer 911 calls. Now, they're begging me to come back. I open the box that I've set down on my study, and the first thing I see is a note. It's...a note.
My guy,
Please forgive me. The truth wasn't that easy to find out. Sure, I had to leave to give you the answers, but I left happily. I hope you forgive and never forget.
Your guy,
Raymond Suhajite
P.S. HET ERSPON HWO DTAENW OT THGFI OFR HET ELUIOTORNV SAW AT HET RIAELTHAD.
That's...that's it? 15 years of brotherhood for 4 lines and gibberish? 4 lines is my worth in his eyes? In his dead eyes, I'm worth 4 lines. Yet, I still sob hysterically. Another note is beneath it, and I grab it immediately.
Dear Detective Abhanite,
We are so sorry you had to be told like this. But, alas, we need your help. The case is of the tiny resort town (near the Altown exit) where a self-described artisan has been killed. There are four suspects, and none of the clues are at all helpful. We've given the suspects' description, weapons found, locations, motives and the clues we have.
Good Luck,
Derek - Police Department
Great. Let's see who these suspects are.
Suspect #1 : Principal Lambert
-5'11"
-No hair
-Right handed
-Libra
-Blue eyes
Suspect #2 : General Alistaire
-6'0"
-No hair
-Right handed
-Sagittarius
-Brown eyes
Suspect #3 : Major Winston
-6'2"
-Left handed
-Brown eyes
-Brown hair
-Aries
Suspect #4 : Mayor Austin
-6'0"
-Right handed
-Hazel eyes
-Brown hair
-Scorpio
Lovely. Now, what weapons were there? A snowglobe, a laptop, a rope, and a spork. Locations? Gift shop, real estate office, trailhead and motel. Motives? To fight for justice, to rage with jealousy, win an argument, and escape blackmail. That's...extraordinary. Now, what's this?
CLUES & EVIDENCE
• A single fiber was found in an arrangement of mementos.
• The person with a laptop wanted to win an argument.
• Whoever wanted to escape blackmail had brown hair.
Wow, those clues really aren't that helpful. I'd better get my notebook. I'll write here and there simultaneously. Alright, first thing. 'A single fiber was found in an arrangement of mementos.' Mementos. That'll be the gift shop. And a single fiber would be the rope. So, the rope was probably in the gift shop. Now, the other two are a bit trickier. I sit and stare at everything. Then, I see the gibberish that Raymond left for me. 'HET ERSPON HWO DTAENW OT THGFI OFR TESUCIJ SAW AT HET RIAELTHAD.' I stare at it. Now, when you've been in criminology, you realise that everything's a clue. Like this code. It's not gibberish. I have to decode it. My specialty. 'THE...PERSON WHO WANTED TO FIGHT FOR...' What is that? Oh! 'JUSTICE WAS AT THE TRAILHEAD' Put it all together and you have 'The person who wanted to fight for justice was at the trailhead.' Wait, what? Raymond had another clue? I stare at the cipher again. “The person who wanted to fight for justice was at the trailhead.” Raymond, you really couldn’t resist leaving me one more puzzle, could you?
I sit with the note in my hands a moment longer, its edges creased from my tight grip. My breath rattles in my chest. Raymond, you old ghost… you're still sending me messages. I let out a bitter laugh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he planned this. And knowing him? He probably did.
I glance back at the box. More papers. More fragments. More ghosts. There’s another bundle of files inside—statements from the suspects. I pull them out one by one.
SUSPECT STATEMENTS
Principal:
"Climbing rope was in the gift shop."
General:
"Hmm... Major Red brought a spork."
Major:
"By the revolution, General Coffee brought a laptop."
Mayor:
"A laptop was not in the real estate office."
Huh. A revolution reference. Raymond always used to say “by the revolution” when he meant he was telling the truth. Maybe Major Winston picked it up from him. I take a deep breath and start organizing things. Bit by bit. Piece by piece. Raymond always said a case is a clock—broken at first glance, but all its cogs still exist. You just have to know how to align them again.
CLUEBOARD (in my head, but also in my notepad)
From earlier:
Laptop = Argument
Rope = Gift shop
Brown hair = Blackmail
Justice = Trailhead (from cipher)
New Clues:
• Major Winston wanted to rage with jealousy
→ Motive: Jealousy
• Principal Lambert hated the person who brought a spork
→ Whoever brought the spork ≠ Lambert
• General Alistaire was found indoors
→ So he wasn't at the trailhead
• Real estate office suspect had brown hair
Let’s take it person by person.
1. Major Winston
Jealousy motive (✓ clue)
According to General Alistaire, brought a spork
According to Winston, General Alistaire brought a laptop
Likely truthful (says “by the revolution”) → Therefore, General Alistaire = laptop
Which matches:
Laptop = Argument
So General Alistaire = Argument motive
Now… let’s match locations.
Mayor Austin said:
“A laptop was not in the real estate office.”
→ So Alistaire (who had the laptop) was not in the real estate office
General Alistaire was found indoors
→ So he couldn’t have been at the trailhead
That leaves:
-Motel or gift shop
-But rope was in gift shop → Not likely him.
-So: → General Alistaire = Motel, with laptop, motive = Argument
The picture starts to click. My pen races on the page.
So we have:
General Alistaire = Motel, Laptop, Argument
Major Winston = Spork, Jealousy
Principal Lambert ≠ spork → must be either rope or snowglobe
Mayor Austin – nothing definitive yet
And this:
Real estate office suspect had brown hair
Only two suspects have brown hair:
Major Winston
Mayor Austin
And suddenly, it clicks. I sit back in my chair.
General Alistaire. You had the laptop. You were in the motel. You wanted to win an argument. Raymond was pointing right at you.
Maybe it was never about the betrayal. Maybe it was always about the truth, even if it was cloaked in riddles and hidden under caution tape.
I look at the Raymond's note again. His signature, still in that crooked left-leaning scrawl.
“Your guy.”
Yeah. I forgive you, Ray. But I won’t forget.
The same way rain washes out homes, it also waters plants and helps them grow. That's the way my best friend washed away my happiness, and fed me clues to help get this case solved. I pick up the landline on my study, and dial the police department's number. "Derek? Get everyone at the department. I'm coming." I hung up and headed straight for the police station.
All the suspects were there. Each and every one looking shameless as they sat on their chairs. "Did you find out?" Derek came up to me. "It was General Alistaire with a laptop at the motel. Why? To win an argument!" I declared.
While General Alistaire protested his innocence, he could not withstand the breathtakingly logical arguments I presented, and he knew he was caught.
"I hope that they have good coffee where I'm going..." he announced.
I watch him be led away, knowing it was the last we would see of him.
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