Chapter 1: After All, He’s Hamish

"It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact..."

- Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

PART I

In front of a quiet, peaceful coffee shop, there's a man in his mid-20's standing, waiting outside for someone. This young man is six feet tall, has white-skinned well-built body, sharp jawline, thin pinkish lips, pointed nose, green eye color with his perfect shape eyebrows above his eyes, and brown wavy hair. He's wearing white long sleeves that tucked in inside his black slacks paired with his black leather shoes.

This young man pulled out a box of cigarette from his pocket and get one from it. He put it in his mouth and after that, he pulled out a lighter. He inhales his cigarette lightly while holding the flame of his lighter to the tip for a moment then he takes the lighter away and starts inhaling and exhaling it.

As he smokes his cigarette, he looked up at the sky and observed the shady, gloomy weather in his town. He also watch how busy people are though it's still 7 o'clock in the morning. Some people are running while they are looking at their watches, some are casually walking while reading their papers and documents on their way to work. Some are waiting for their service in a waiting shed while browsing internet in their phones, and some are rushing to get in to a public transportation vehicles.

"Seriously?" A man appeared in front of him. From the way this man's appearance, the young man immediately recognizes who's sarcastically looking at him right now: 4 feet tall, physically not fit, white skinned body, fats in his chin are showing, traces of bread crumbs in his thick pale lips, chubby cheeks, pointed nose, hazel eye color with his messy eyebrows and black straight hair. He's wearing his blue uniform with his badge placed in his left chest.

The young man calmly inhaled his cigarette and exhaled it for the last time and dropped it close to his shoes and stepped on it, "Detective Keswick," he greeted him as he start walking inside the coffee shop. The bell ring as they opened the door. A tan-skinned man welcomed them and he appears to be one of the waiters in the coffee shop.

"Good morning, sir," the waiter said.

As the detective greeted the waiter back, the young man looked at him and observed him in a short period of time and then looked every costumer inside the shop and examined his surroundings. "Good morning. We would like to have a table for two and order a pitcher full of water and two cups, please. Thank you," the detective said.

"Please, follow me, sir," the waiter said. He brought the two gentlemen close to the window where a table is good for two person and said, "This spot will do, sir. Please wait for your order."

The detective nodded while the young man silently looked outside the window as they both take their seat. The waiter didn't take time in bringing those two costumers' order and came back to their table. "Here you go, sir," he said as he put the pitcher and two cups in their table and leave them as the young man started the conversation.

"What made you want to see me here in our rendezvous?" asked by the young man as he pour his cup a water.

"Well, we received a report from the police that someone's been missing for two days. And a while ago, my team went on an errand in the whole city and found a dead body of a woman in a secured well-known subdivision not far from the victim's house," he said.

The young man drink his water and said, "And you need my help in this one?"

"Yep," the detective said as he also poured his cup.

They barely know each other. They just met two days ago when the young man helped the detective solved a case when he was at the crime scene at that time.

"I just helped you with your previous case because it is very inconvenience for me that your team's making me stay at the crime scene and letting them take their time to investigate the case when it's too easy for me to solve it. But!" The young man crossed his arms and said, "I didn't say something that I'll help you onwards."

Detective Keswick sighed and said, "Please, help me. My agency's activeness is descending and once it completely falls down, the government will force me to close it. The case you solved were not counted."

"Didn't I told you not to put my name on the credits?" the young man asked.

"I am grateful for your help. That is why I wrote your name in the report," the detective replied as he drink his water.

The young man once again looked outside the window and thought of the detective's request while his companion watched his facial reactions to try to determine if he'll accept or reject his offer, but unfortunately, the young man is good at maintaining his unpredictable face.

As the ambiance of the coffee shop became silent, a siren coming from a police car stopped and parked in front of the shop. The costumers were alarmed in the presence of the two policemen that went inside and walked to the table of the detective.

"Detective Keswick, we would like to give you this report," one of the policeman said and gave a sheet of paper. The detective reached for the paper and read it. The young man looked at the detective's reaction and guessed what is inside the paper.

"Another victim was murdered in the same area?" the young man asked. The costumers inside the coffee shop starts whispering something to their companions about what the young man said. The detective looked at him in a surprise way and nodded. The young man sighed and said, "Okay, fine. I'll help you." And as he said that, the detective's mood was lightened up and thanked the young man. "Yeah. Let's go," the young man said in his monotone voice and stood up from his seat and walked outside the coffee shop.

While the detective followed him together with his policemen, one of his team whispered, "Sir, is this okay? Based on what I see, he's just a college student."

The detective smiled and said, "Don't worry, he's not a college student. He don't go to school... at all." The two policemen looked at each other and didn't expect what the detective said. Before they came close to the young man, the detective stopped walking and faced his two policemen, "Let him do his thing. We need him," he said in a low voice.

"But, how are we going to rely our job on an uneducated man?" one of the policemen asked while looking at the young man who's calmly standing beside the police car while his both hands were in his pockets.

"Uneducated man?" The detective asked and acts like he's going to burst in laughter.

The detective nods his head and turned his back on them and started walking. When he's next to the young man, the detective tapped his shoulder and faced the young man to his two policemen and said, "It's going to be fine. After all, he's Hamish."