Painter’s Vision 4: There’s More?

Hosen dragged himself behind at his own pace, unphased by the commotion escalating ahead.

He expected something to happen sooner or later. For him, the question wasn't directed at if, but rather, at when.

"Let me pass." His calm demeanor never once wavered.

He squeezed through the crowd to get to his companion, who already secured a spot by the body.

"Bill, you finally came-"

"Move."

The scientist didn't care for snappy one-liners. His eyes focused on the task ahead as he pushed Inase out of the way.

"Woah, rude."

Though, Inase wasn't bothered by this treatment. At least he got to call him by a false name to grind his gears just a little.

Glancing down from under a squinted eye, Hosen's white coat rustled when he kneeled beside the corpse, checking on the pulse and any other signs of vitals. He evaluated the state of the body, taking into consideration any recognizable markings or wounds.

It was a man neither had recognized—in his forties, slightly overweight, with an amazing, luscious mustache which he clearly cared for.

His skin had turned pale, and his warmth had already faded; only the coldness of his flesh was left behind like a memory of those who passed away. His eyes were unfocused, surprised by the sudden assault, and his heavy eyelids would never blink again.

One stab through the heart and the man had bled out quickly.

People were still pretty shaken, and their fear spread like a plague.

"I saw it…"

There was one who spoke amid silence.

"I-I saw Mark do it…!"

A man called out, his knees weakly bent, sending him impactfully backwards to the ground. His voice trembled when he pointed west with his index finger.

"That newcomer—! He stabbed him and ran away!"

"Mark?"

Inase's eyebrow raised.

"This is bad—"

Hosen's nose wrinkled in distaste—their statement meant two important things.

One, the victim was killed not so long ago, and two, those who gathered here would soon swarm their way to chase after the killer.

That runaway might have been their only living clue. If the townies were to reach him first, they would destroy their search progress by taking things into their own hands.

Either they find him before anyone, or the locals do, and if that happens, their investigation is as good as over.

It was a battle of time.

"Quick!" Realizing the gravity of the situation, he gestured Inase to hurry before any of them could follow. "We have to chase after him!"

"Wha-? Woah—! Hey- Don't pull me so strongly!"

Inase's feet were dragged along the ground until he moved on his own.

And by the time the others had realized what had happened, the two had already sprinted at top speed down one of the many maze-like alleys, directing west and snapping their heads left and right to find any suspicious individuals.

Separating on the fork road, Inase nimbly swerved through the curvier paths, dodging the nearby stack of crates and nearly tripping over a trash dumpster. His breath was ragged as he plunged deeper into the backstreets, weaving through the loaded carriages led by startled horses. He also climbed onto the roof and jumped from one house to another, hoping to see the runaway better from up there.

Hosen was not as sporty. He stayed clear from trying out Inase's acrobatics. Rather, he dashed forth, heart pounding from the footsteps of the confused mob echoing behind. The only thought in his mind was his hope to find that man before the pursuers did.

One crossroad after another, they passed countless winding paths until the rocky, uneven pavements had turned into sandy roads. Craving rest, houses flew past their pupils in rows, the dense constructions thinning on the west side of the town, until—

"...!"

Upon noticing, their breaths halted only when a pair of legs stuck out from behind a boarded barn on the side of the road.

"Hey!" One of the two shouted loud enough for the other to hear. "I found him."

Even before Inase jumped off without so much of a hitch, Hosen was already kneeling by the man's side.

Checking his pulse, he could already tell what had happened...

Mark was dead.

"Goddamnit!"

Even an angry curse leaving Inase's lips didn't break the other's focus.

What were they going to do now? Their only clue was gone!

The crowd caught up to them, staring at the scene in disbelief with mouths agape and gasping in horror at another dead man—now two in one day.

Thankfully, Hosen managed to examine the body thoroughly before everyone else gathered around them.

The man had been dead but not long enough for rigor mortis to set in. His body was stained with blood around his chest, with eyelids wide open—he seemed like he died in shock so suddenly they wouldn't close on time.

And when Hosen tried to shut them by force, they wouldn't budge a millimeter.

Those eyes… Those bulging eyes, open as if they still looked at them judgementally—forcing them to remember this brutal view for the rest of their lives—was what townies had muttered about.

Hosen let out an irritated sigh whenever he heard locals' speculations run wild.

Not only did they raise concerns about their own lives being in danger, but they also instigated frightened reactions from each other, insinuating it might have been a serial killer or something of a similar sort—all whilst a body still laid fresh before them.

Rumors spread faster than poison—that was for sure. Sometimes, they might become even deadlier than one, so Hosen needed to straighten any misunderstandings from the get-go.

Who might know what a human can do during a raised panic, right?

"It was an accident. The man drunkenly tripped and fell on a sharp object front-first."

His words were simple, monotone, reassuring—careful to maintain a calming tone in the already rising tension.

"None of you go make any assumptions," he warned about jumping to conclusions way too fast as he held up a bloody ice pick found beside the body.

"Judging by an alcoholic smell lingering around his mouth, he has been quite drunk since yesterday."

He continued with all the attention directed at him.

"From my deductions, he was asked to get an ice pick for the bartender, but because his legs were unstable and his mind spinning, he stumbled on his feet and bumped into the victim, accidentally stabbing him on his way back to the pub."

That would most likely be the cause (the explanation) behind the first death.

"Afterwards, he got scared that he'd be punished for what he had done, so he tried to run. On his way, terrified and helpless, he fell and pierced himself in the chest with the same ice-pick. The one he was still holding onto while running away."

A sad fate, dying in fear of being found out without a chance of explaining himself. That was why Hosen spoke for the dead, being his advocate in the afterlife.

"It was an unfortunate tragedy."

That would be the reason for the second.

It was what it was. His reasoning was upheld solid, with a bloody tool of crime resting in his palm as proof, showcased support for his rational explanation.

His once downcasted pupils shifted at the crowd's faces. There, Hosen saw a glint of disappointment in each person from this anticlimactic ending to an exciting case.

"..." Silence followed his dull words of truth.

"..." But were they fully convinced?

Not quite.

"...and who are you for us to believe in what you're saying?"

One of them protested—her sharp gestures betrayed her dubious intentions.

"After my thorough examination, this is the answer I ended up with."

But people didn't seem to be satisfied with such reasoning—of a stranger no less.

"Katherine is right! We don't know if you're not pulling that out of nowhere!"

Others followed, sending the crowd into a bandwagon of disappointed protests.

"..."

These idiots…

Knowing better than to rile up an angry mob further, Hosen had no other option but to turn to his last resort.

He reached for something in his pocket, prepared especially for a dire occasion—a piece of paper, a badge that he faked to lessen the suspicions—a medical license.

Although it was a counterfeit, no one should have realized these were fake once he claimed he came from far away. Even if the stamp would be different from the local ones, the certificate would prove that he was a legitimate…

"I'm a medic—"

But before he could explain more about what happened, his train of thought was distracted by an arriving guest.

"What's all the racket?"

A deep voice, thick with the city's grit, cut through the crowd.

"Someone fill me in. What's the story behind this mess?"

"Dammit." Upon recognizing it, Inase's expression changed into a visible grimace. "It's Detective Watson. We gotta go."

Without a second of hesitation, Inase grabbed Hosen by the arm—

"But what about the-"

"It's fine! The guy's too dumb to realize anything."

—and forcefully dragged him away from the crime scene like a flaunted flag in the strong wind, a payback for what he had to endure earlier.

The detective's naivety didn't change. Still monologuing nonsense, he checked the body but indeed had a hard time noticing anything more than these two had.

Inase and Hosen disappeared behind the closest buildings while the detective's confident tone faded in the distance. There, both could finally catch a break and properly inhale some very needed air into their tensed-up lungs.

"Are you sure about that guy?"

Hosen inquired, still doubtful about involving such a big shot in their plans.

"It's fine. Once he gets to know our descriptions from these people, he'd play along."

Inase made a deal with him, after all. That dimwit should help with their investigation if he wants a successful solution to this case.

"Trust in idiots a little."

He exhaled loudly.

"But man, that gave me a scare… I didn't expect him to be here so fast."

The sudden appearance of the area's jester sent flashbacks to his mind.

Calming down from the unwanted surprise, Inase soon came back to his senses, and dusting off his jacket, he collected his irritation back into a nonchalant facade.

"Do you really believe in what you said?"

Turning to face his partner, he asked with a corner of his lip upturned.

"Hah. Of course not."

Hosen scoffed without a second thought, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Truth is, he killed the first victim purposely. A stab to the chest to end it in one, clean strike. Afterwards, someone else targeted him. It was also intentional."

His hand was sullied with blood from checking the body. The tool of murder dropped at the crime scene when he was pulled away by Inase—he couldn't pick it back up anymore.

"Besides," he added, "the murder weapon wasn't an ice-pick to begin with."

He planted it.

"It was quite easy to come up with a solution on the spot when they allowed me to get so close to the body."

A playful note haunted his words, knowing what he did was both dangerous and a felony.

"Hah! I didn't take you for someone who had it in you."

But Inase couldn't keep his entertainment contained within. The guts of this jerk!

"Snatching an ice pick from the bartender and staining it with the fresh blood of the victim… I was wrong about you."

A crooked grin surfaced on his face, the one Hosen saw at first on his mugshot. With it, he really looked like a soon-to-be criminal.

"Who would have thought a scientist strictly following the rules would do something like this!"

A hard-to-hold-in laughter escaped his throat.

"Then you don't know me well enough just yet," Hosen responded with a calm voice, an opposite reaction to his companion's.

"Why did you lie?"

Though, curiosity struck Inase's happy nerve. He couldn't just leave these crazy actions unexplained. His intrigued mind wouldn't let him.

But the scientist only shrugged indifferently.

"To prevent mass panic." It was a simple answer. "Their deaths triggered an ironic chain reaction, potentially leading to more killings if not well-controlled," was his reasoning. "If the locals learned a killer was hiding between them, they would have started a witch hunt."

Rationally speaking, yes.

They would, by logical assumption, start looking for the culprit if they knew the truth. They'd take things into their own hands, either for revenge or justice.

Regardless of their motive, it would only make things worse.

"And then, the prime suspects for killing somebody from their circle would be-"

"Us." Inase snapped his fingers when realization dawned on him.

"Exactly."

"You're right." It could hinder their mission. "The locals didn't seem to like newcomers bringing trouble. If it escalated, our situation would become worse."

"And more chaotic."

When they observed the townsfolk's hostile reactions towards themselves, or Mark, they could notice the look of disdain in their eyes.

"I guess we gotta look for the actual weapon, then."

With arms behind his head, Inase mentioned it quite nonchalantly.

"..." But his words clouded the scientist's countenance. "That's what I'm still wondering about."

Hosen's mind was fixated on another detail that had been bothering him since the moment he saw the bodies, as though something was missing—a final piece to the puzzle.

"The way that these men were killed…" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "There's something odd about it-"

"Uhm…"

Suddenly, the voice of an old man murmured behind their backs, snapping them back to their made-up town persona, Will and Bill.

"Woah! Where did you come from?!"

Both yelped in surprise and stared at a short grandpa standing there with widened eyes.

Speechless at first, the two came back to reality, fully believing he owed them an explanation.

This old man was in no state to be walking around, and yet, his legs were quite fast. Just how quickly did his feet pace to walk to find himself two buildings away from the incident when both of them ran here at full speed?

Hosen coughed awkwardly on the side while the elder stared into their souls, or at least, it felt like it.

"Good afternoon, young lads."

"Hello…"

Inase, bowing his head, copied the old man's gesture in response as if in a trance (he wasn't; it was just out of politeness)—reciprocating a local greeting, though a little hesitantly. Something in that man's tone forced him to comply.

"I overheard what you were talking about, so I thought I'd help you out as thanks for the other day."

The man smiled kindly at Inase, who took a moment to remember who this stranger was.

A second passed, then another, until Inase's eyes sparked in eureka, a metaphorical lightbulb lit up above his head.

"Ah, you're from the fishing net incident—"

"The very same. Call me Jenkens if you must."

Old Man Jenkens.

Huh, so they already knew each other… Just how much trouble did Inase get himself into when Hosen was gone?

"Good to see you in high spirits, sir."

"Mhm," likewise. "Poor George, he didn't deserve such an end."

The old man's raspy voice had a tinge of sadness in it when he reminisced about the dead one.

Knowing that the one they found later was called Mark, by connecting the dots, they deduced the previous name belonged to George—the one with the luscious mustache.

"What kind of person was he?"

Hosen asked with faint curiosity.

"A kind soul. He wouldn't hurt a fly." But unfortunately, he got hurt instead. "A bit of an idealist. Never interested in starting a family because he was running his mouth about catching a gigantic fish in the ocean one day. One that would break all the world's records."

And now, the only thing he could catch was the ticket to the afterlife.

"God bless his soul."

"..."

God… what an ironic thing to say when the two were against the complete opposite of a benevolent, all-forgiving being.

"And— ...what kind of person was Mark?"

Inase added, not wanting the conversation to become stale.

"A shame that he died, too… He was a handsome fella who had just recently arrived in town. New to our customs, but he was a good youngster. He liked to drink, though. Usually, when he wasn't working at the docks, he was hanging around the bar. His favorite drink was… uh, rum, if I remember correctly. But what do I know, I only saw him lifting barrels onto the ships every other day. A big hard worker, for sure. All of it to earn some pennies for his sweet wife, the love of his life."

The elder's tone darkened for a moment.

"Now that girl is going to live alone… I have no idea what would have gotten into him to commit murder so suddenly."

"They are new?"

Inase picked up on the old man's wording.

"Indeed. He and his wife came to this town around a month ago. A beautiful couple they are, really lovely people. They settled down at the harbor's border, not too far from the forest."

The thought of them turned gramps' expression upside down. Even though the time wasn't the happiest, he still could see the goodness in the bad situation.

"Since they came here not so long ago… Are there any other new people in town?"

Hosen asked, trying to get a read on what had happened.

"Oh, yes. About a month ago, four young people came here to settle down from their sea adventures. Ah, by sea adventures, I meant they came from overseas. In that group were Mark with his wife, Virginia, and two other young men."

The blonde chuckled as if the man had just told them a funny joke—the coincidence with which these events occurred seemed rather ridiculous.

"Quite convenient, ain't it?"

For that, he earned a chop to the head from his partner for his sarcastic comment.

"Ouch-!"

"I see."

Completely ignoring the glare of his companion, Hosen continued listening to the old man's words attentively—with a hand under his chin.

"Do they live on the east side of the town or…?"

"If you go down south following this street, you should see their house in fifteen minutes."

The elder pointed with his wrinkled finger at one of the narrow alleys, wide enough for one person at a time to walk through comfortably.

Like any other area of this town, a damp scent of soil and salty waters filled the air, and the uneven cobblestones upheld the weight of many past footprints.

"Did you count the time it takes to get there considering our walking pace or yours…?"

A bit of a cheeky comment, but the man only laughed.

"Ho-ho. I wonder about that."

He wouldn't answer, huh. What a cocky grandpa.

"I have to leave you lads now, but I do hope your discoveries will blossom soon. Thanks again for your help with the net ruckus, young 'un."

Surely, he was proud of his fast legs, comically moving at the speed of light when he put some effort into it—just like now, when he disappeared behind the curve of the road.

The two should have been suspicious of him, particularly after he gave them such shady directions, but they couldn't bring themselves to be. Still, even if it was a trap made by a playful senior, they couldn't be more prepared than they already were.

Once that odd interaction ended, Hosen turned to the blonde.

"We should check it out. The more knowledge gathered, the better."

"Yeah, we should."

Still a little salty about the head-chop, but Inase got the point.

"Let's pay them a visit. We're probably going to be the first ones to break the sad news to the newly dubbed widow."

Right… News spread fast, but not that fast to reach a few people living separately on the very edge of the town.

It sucked they had to do that... but the silver lining of it was that they were able to observe their genuine reactions upon hearing it—that alone should be enough to tell them whether they should be wary of these people or not.