Copycat

  Chapter Ten

  Part One

  The body was still, unmoving.

  The deep crimson blood that had pooled around him, was now dry.

  And the smell of decay hung in the air.

  Brynn O’Hare was a decent looking middle-aged man. He was a merchant in the jewellery guild, and apparently, he was pretty popular amongst the other merchants. Brynn O’Hare hadn’t married, nor did he have any children. So it took three days before his body was found, and the only reason he was found, was because of the smell.

  His body was lying in the centre of what appeared to be his study. The bookshelves that lined the walls were full of thick, heavy looking books and scrolls. His desk was cluttered with papers, and a brass set of scales were currently weighing out some gems and gold. His once green plants had long since began to wither and die, they would’ve once been greatly looked after.

  The doctor pushed his way into the study, through the large wooden door. He grumbled, as he placed his leather brown bag down on the floor. He knelt by the body to begin his cursory check before moving the body to the morgue for a deeper inspection. He muttered to himself while he added notes into his small brown leather notebook.

  “Well” The doctor began “You don’t need to look far in order to see how this man was killed”

  Line, who had not taken her eyes off the doctor since he came inside “I can see how he was killed. But Arasha told me that I needed someone licensed to confirm it, she’s mad that I don’t wait for a confirmation”

  “I see” The doctor muttered.

  Ali picked up a small gem from the scales on the desk, and watched the weight of the scales shift “Well, I don’t know how he was killed”

  Line sighed “Ali, you would know, if you stopped playing around and concentrate”

  Ali placed the gem back “I’m concentrating, I’m concentrating”

  “Shall I explain?” The doctor asked.

  “Yes, please”

  The doctor pointed to the neck of this body “He was stabbed, once in the neck here. Based on the wound itself, it looks like he was stabbed with a dagger”

  “How long ago was he stabbed?” Ali asked.

  “Three days” Line said.

  “Three days” The doctor confirmed.

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  “Three days?” Ali asked.

  “I’m going to leave the body with you, doctor. I need to talk the person who found the body” Line said.

  “Of course. I’ll keep you updated, if there’s anything else I find”

  “Thank you”

  Line then turned and left through the doors. She led Ali down the hall, and into the living room. It was quite cosy in here. But once again all the plants were just beginning to wither.

  Sitting on the leather couch, was a woman who closely resembled a cute mouse. She pushed up her big round glasses, that just made her big brown eyes seem even bigger. As soon as she noticed Line and Ali, she stood, showing off her small stature.

  Line spoke up “You found the body, correct?”

  She nodded “I did”

  “And may I ask who you are and what connection you had with Brynn O’Hare?”

  She pushed up her glasses again “Olivia Swin. My name, that is. And O’Hare is my boss. I manage one of his jewellery shops”

  “How long had you known Brynn O’Hare?”

  Olivia Swin smoothed out her already smooth dress “I’ve worked for him for about five years now. But when he didn’t come to the shop, we thought that we should check up on him”

  “We?”

  Olivia nodded again “A few of us work there. We don’t necessarily like O’Hare, it’s just that I was voted to come and find him”

  “You didn’t like him?”

  “Well, he is a bit hard to get along with” Olivia yet again pushed up her glasses “He’s always been a little pushy”

  “I see. You mentioned earlier that Brynn O’Hare didn’t come to the shop. Does he often visit?”

  “He comes about once a week. Just to check how things are going. But it’s already been two weeks since he last stopped by”

  “And you only just came to check on him?”

  “I told you, we didn’t like him that much”

  “Wait” Ali said “If you haven’t seen for so long, is it possible that he was killed much earlier than we think?”

  “No. It’s definitely three days since he was killed” Line responded.

  Ali knew that Line wouldn’t possibly mistake the time of death, so she didn’t push any further. Instead she asked “Do you know what he was doing these past two weeks?”

  Olivia shook her head “He’s pretty private, it’d be hard to find anyone who knew him well enough to be able to answer that”

  Line sighed “Well, thank you for your time, Miss Swin. Stay in Yor, just in case if we need to ask you anything else”

  Another nod “Of course” Then a smile “I’ll be happy to answer any more questions to the best of my ability”

  *

  They watched two guards carry out the body of Brynn O’Hare, that was hidden beneath a white cloth. Not too long after, the doctor followed the guards out. Their heavy silence was broken by Ali’s voice.

  “The way he was killed. Do you think The Sect did this?”

  “It’s certainly a possibility”

  Ali winced “Then what should we do?”

  “I suppose it doesn’t hurt to talk to his other employees”

  “What will happen to them? You know, now that Brynn O’Hare is gone?”

  “I don’t know. Nor do I care to know”

  Ali sighed “You could show a little empathy”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Ali shrugged.

  “One of them could be the murderer”

  “Still, its human to show empathy”

  “Olivia Swin didn’t seem to show any empathy for the death of Brynn O’Hare”

  “Then she mustn’t be a nice person. Unlike you, of course”

  “Of course”