Dawn paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts before speaking slowly.
"The key found on the deceased was not originally on him."
"It was in his daughter's possession."
"When she discovered the door was locked, she sent her brothers to fetch the spare key from the housekeeper.
During that time, she used the key she already had to unlock the door, entered the room, placed the key into her father's pocket, and then stepped out again, closing the door behind her."
Groot looked half-comprehending and instinctively asked, "But if she put the key in the victim's pocket, how could she lock the room again when she left?"
"Exactly," Dawn replied with a nod. "Which is why, when the housekeeper and the two sons arrived, the door was already unlocked."
"She simply took the spare key from the housekeeper and made a show of unlocking the door, using that action to conceal the truth."
"I see!" Groot exclaimed, his voice rising in excitement. "So the killer is the victim's daughter?"
He hurried on. "But what about the muddy lawn? How did she reach the house and leave without leaving footprints?"
"That part…" Dawn murmured.
Then inspiration struck again.
"I understand. When the three children first came to the western house, the victim may not have been dead yet."
He clapped his hands lightly as everything aligned in his mind.
"The real time of death occurred after she sent her brothers away."
"She used her key to enter the room, killed him, placed the key in his pocket, and left. That's why no additional footprints appeared beyond the three of them."
Dawn's thoughts flowed more smoothly now.
"As for the pistol found buried in the garden, she likely hid it during the chaos after discovering the body and reporting the crime."
Groot followed the reasoning step by step, his expression growing increasingly animated.
"Yes! Yes! That must be it! Sid, what's gotten into you today? You're on fire!"
Dawn only smiled faintly, a strange exhilaration rising in his chest.
After exchanging a few more words, the two left the room and waited outside the estate for the suspects to return.
Soon enough, the hands of the watch pointed to noon.
A car rolled into the manor. Four figures stepped out—three men and one woman.
The victim's two sons, his daughter, and the housekeeper.
"Chief, have you found my father's killer?" the eldest son asked, exhaustion written across his face.
Dawn recognized him from the photographs Groot had shown earlier.
"Yes. We've made significant progress," Groot replied, casting a subtle glance at the daughter.
She remained composed, her expression unchanged. Groot couldn't help but admire her apparent calm.
"That's wonderful," the eldest son said, visibly relieved. Then he noticed Dawn. "And this gentleman?"
"Sid. A highly capable detective," Groot introduced. "He's the one who uncovered the breakthrough."
"Thank you," the eldest son nodded sincerely.
"So who is it? Have you arrested them?"
"The killer…" Dawn stepped forward, one hand in his pocket, the other pointing directly at the woman standing slightly behind the others. "Is your sister, Miss Louise."
"…What?"
All four stared in disbelief.
The younger son immediately stepped forward. "That's impossible! Why would she kill Father?"
Dawn ignored him.
The moment he had locked eyes with Louise, he had already begun using Legilimency.
He wanted to confirm the details from her perspective.
Scenes flooded his mind.
He saw Louise and her brothers approach the western house, fail to get a response, send the brothers to fetch the spare key.
Then—
She took a brass key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock.
Correct.
But what he saw next made him freeze.
Louise entered the room.
The victim was already dead. Blood flowed from the back of his head as he lay slumped on the sofa.
Dawn blinked.
What?
He quickly rewound further in her memory.
Dinner ended. The father returned to the western house. Thunder rolled.
The children grew concerned. They went together. The door was locked. She used her key. Inside—the body was already there.
There was no act of murder in her memory.
Dawn's thoughts faltered.
He scanned the memories of the two sons and the housekeeper.
The same.
Confusion crept in.
There were only the victim's footprints and the three children's tracks in the mud.
From Louise's memory, the door had indeed been locked at first.
Which meant— Unless the killer was a wizard, no one else could have entered that room.
Wait.
Only the victim himself had been inside.
Could it have been suicide?
Dawn's mind raced.
Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
What if the victim had intended to shoot himself in the temple, but a flash of lightning startled him at the last second, causing him to turn his head and fire unintentionally, sending the bullet into the back of his skull?
Dawn hurried back through Louise's memory.
Yes.
When she entered, the victim had still been holding a pistol.
Dawn had overlooked that detail earlier.
But if it was suicide— Why did Louise conceal it? Why remove the gun? Why stage a locked-room murder?
As Dawn stared into her eyes, understanding dawned, and his jaw twitched.
Fuck.
Louise was a devout Catholic. She believed suicide was a mortal sin.
She could not bear the disgrace.
So she removed the pistol, placed the key in her father's pocket, staged a locked room, and created the illusion of murder.
She had sent her brothers away simply because, in her panic, she forgot the key was already in her possession.
Dawn felt as if he had swallowed something foul.
Silence fell.
The eldest son stepped in front of his sister.
"Chief, if you're accusing Louise, present your evidence."
"Of course we have evidence!" Groot declared confidently, turning to Dawn. "Right, Detective Sid?"
All eyes fell on Dawn.
Cold sweat gathered at his temples.
He could not possibly laugh now and claim it had been suicide. His pride would not allow it.
"Sid?" Groot pressed.
Dawn's gaze shifted as he met Louise's eyes.
He made a decision.
"Miss Louise," he said softly, "are you certain you will not confess? If you admit it now, it will be considered voluntary surrender."
The eldest son stepped forward angrily. "Don't make vague accusations! Show evidence or leave!"
Tension sharpened.
Then—
A sigh.
Louise stepped forward.
"There's no need," she said quietly. "I confess."
"Father was killed by me."
Shock rippled through the group.
"I used my key after sending them away," she continued calmly. "I shot him and placed the key in his pocket."
"Why?" her younger brother demanded desperately. "Why would you do that?"
"Because he was a disgusting man," she said evenly. "He tried to force himself on me. I endured it for years. That night, I ended it."
Her brother shook his head in disbelief.
Groot moved to arrest her.
Suddenly, Louise turned and sprinted toward a nearby wall.
"What are you doing?" Groot shouted.
A dull crack cut him off.
Louise slammed headfirst into the stone wall. Blood and brain matter spilled down the surface.
Everyone froze.
"…Louise?" her brother whispered.
Dawn stood on the lawn, staring at the blood pooling near his shoes. He ground it into the mud without expression.
The Imperius Curse he had silently cast dissolved with her death.
The courtyard erupted into chaos.
Dawn wiped the cold sweat from his brow. The killer's suicide left minor imperfections in the narrative.
But regardless—
Through extraordinary reasoning, the great detective Dawn Richter had successfully solved the very first case of his career.
___________
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