In the previous chapter, Lindsey had been reading through several files on Arya Starling. Now, she was working her way through the 'Suspects' folder, which contained a mix of image files and documents that appeared to hold information on each person of interest.
She opened the first file. A photo of a young woman with long hair. Lindsey pulled up the corresponding document. "Maya Starling, the victim's wife..." she murmured, reading the text.
"She lived separately from her husband. At the time of the murder, she was on holiday in Hawaii and flew back within twelve hours of learning he had been killed," Lindsey continued, reading quietly to herself.
There was a link embedded in the document. She clicked it, and it opened a page displaying a travel ticket issued under the name Maya Starling. "A ticket... easily forged," she murmured.
"But I'm sure Ryuu already verified the code, so that's probably a dead end," she thought, shaking her head.
She moved on to the next image file. A heavyset man with round glasses stared back at her. "Haikal Starling, twenty-eight years old. The victim's son," she murmured.
She opened the attached document. "Haikal is the victim's only child. He works at the victim's company as a manager. At the time of the murder, he was out of town with his girlfriend," she read to herself.
Just like before, she clicked the link at the bottom. It opened a photo of a man posing with a woman in front of a clock tower. The hour hand sat between eleven and twelve. The minute hand pointed to eleven. "Impossible for him to have made it to his father's house in ten minutes," Lindsey murmured.
She moved on to the last image file. A lean, muscular man with rectangular glasses. "Indra Baskoro. Employee at the victim's company," she murmured, reading the caption beneath the photo.
She opened the accompanying document. "Indra Baskoro was one of the victim's most trusted employees. He was known at work as a dedicated and hardworking individual. At the time of the incident, he was traveling with a colleague to another city and returned that evening," she read to herself.
She clicked the link at the bottom. It opened a photo of Indra inside a train station. Above him, a digital clock on the wall read 12:06 PM.
Lindsey exhaled slowly. "Huh~"
Ryuu glanced over at the sound. "So? What do you think?" he asked, leaning toward her with curiosity.
Lindsey slid the laptop back toward him and leaned back into the sofa. "Hard to say..." she said, right after letting out another breath.
"Actually, it's almost too easy. I'm not even sure it's worth telling you," she added flatly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
Ryuu's expression fell. "Is that so..." he muttered. Then his head snapped up. "...Wait, what?" he said, staring at her with a look caught somewhere between surprise and irritation.
"I know, I'm genuinely torn on whether to tell you or not," Lindsey replied, her tone light and a little playful.
Ryuu immediately grabbed her by the shoulders. "Just tell me!" he said, eyes wide with hope.
Lindsey sighed. "Fine, fine..." she said under her breath, glancing off to the side.
"The culprit is... the victim's son," she said, raising one finger.
Ryuu pulled back. "Really?" he breathed.
Lindsey nodded. "The photo you received, Ryuu... it's been tampered with," she said, lifting her shoulder.
"Look carefully. The shadow from the clock tower doesn't match midday," she added, pointing at the image on the laptop screen.
"You're... right," Ryuu said slowly, leaning in to look.
"That photo was probably taken in the morning, around nine or ten. And there's really no other reason to do something like that unless you're trying to fake an alibi," Lindsey said, moving her hand through the air as she reasoned it out.
"But... we already confirmed Haikal's alibi with his girlfriend," Ryuu pushed back, tilting his head.
"It's easy enough to get someone close to you on board, especially if there's a big reward waiting for them afterward," Lindsey replied, raising her shoulder.
"That's fair. But couldn't Baskoro have tampered with the timestamp on his photo too?" Ryuu asked, tilting his head the other way.
Lindsey sighed. "You haven't verified it yet?" she asked.
Ryuu sat up straighter. "Ver... verify what?" he asked.
Lindsey shot him a sharp look, then pressed two fingers to her temple and exhaled. "You're right that the photo could have been edited," she said.
"But... if he actually did it, he wouldn't be stupid enough to choose a train station as his location," she continued, pouring herself a fresh cup of tea.
Her eyes sharpened. "Have you even checked the security camera footage at the station?" she asked, taking a sip.
"You're right... I mean, no, I haven't," Ryuu admitted, scratching the back of his neck.
"Huh~" Lindsey let out a breath. "Everyone knows a train station is a public facility with cameras at every corner," she said.
"And Baskoro would know that too. So you can go ahead and verify it later," she added, pausing between sips.
"Mm... mm..." Ryuu murmured, nodding along as he scribbled notes in a small notebook. "Alright, thanks!" he said, tucking it into his pocket.
Lindsey exhaled again. "Sure," she said simply.
"By the way... has your brother come back yet?" she asked, taking another sip.
Ryuu jolted. "How did you know my brother was coming back?" he asked, taking a small step back.
"I heard you talking to Mr. Houdoug yesterday," Lindsey replied, shrugging.
"Oh... not yet. Probably later this afternoon," Ryuu said, eyes drifting up toward the ceiling.
"Slruppp~"
"My guess is he's a detective. Am I right?" Lindsey asked, glancing at Ryuu.
"Y... yes," Ryuu answered, visibly caught off guard. "How did you figure that out?" he asked, eyes rounding.
"Your father... the one who was running the investigation into Dr. Rian's missing capsules yesterday," Lindsey began, taking a sip.
"He seemed to be struggling handling it alone and decided to ask for help," she continued, setting her cup down.
"A brother of a friend I've never actually seen, despite being at your house practically every day... he must have been away somewhere doing difficult work," she went on, refilling her cup.
She blew gently across the steam rising from the surface. "But suddenly, he says he's coming back home..."
"Something important must have come up. Which makes sense, because Mr. Houdoug needs his help," she continued, taking another sip.
"Someone like Mr. Houdoug reaching out for help means this person must be seriously capable. An inspector, maybe? Or a detective?" she finished, lowering her cup and looking at Ryuu.
Ryuu's shoulders dropped. "Incredible," he said softly, eyes bright.
"Yes, my brother is a detective," he confirmed, sliding his laptop back into his bag.
"I have a request," Lindsey said, placing her cup on the table.
Ryuu looked at her curiously. "A request?" he echoed.
"Could you share your brother's investigation findings with me once he's back?" she said, eyes steady on his.
"That's impossible! There's no way my brother would allow that!" Ryuu said immediately, his voice jumping.
Lindsey sighed. "Don't be ridiculous. Obviously you'd do it without telling him," she said, with just a hint of a scold.
"Still!" Ryuu protested.
"Come on... Think of it as returning the favor for what I just helped you with," she said, leaning slightly toward him.
"And going forward, you can always come to me if you're up against a complicated case or something like that," she added, sitting back and lifting a shoulder.
Ryuu exhaled heavily. "Alright, alright," he agreed, nodding.
Lindsey leaned back into the sofa. "Good..." she murmured, glancing at him.
Then her expression shifted. The light in her eyes went somewhere far away, leaving them flat and unreadable.
"For now... this is enough," she thought, her gaze dropping to the floor, filled with something deep and quiet and cold.