Chapter 5

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Sam flicks through the case images, stopping on the latest, and then extends the smart tablet towards his colleague.

"Here. These are all the photos from the crime scene."

Victor, leaning back in his chair with an air of faux astonishment, arches an eyebrow and quips with a hint of sarcasm lacing his voice.

"Wow, efficiency personified today, huh?"

Sam shrugs off the comment with exasperated familiarity, an edge of annoyance in his tone.

"You know I'd do anything to spare myself your endless complaining."

Victor tosses a smirking apology over the screen of the tablet.

"Apologies, oh great and punctual one."

"I'm out. My shift's done," declares Sam, eager to leave.

Victor, without looking up, waves his colleague off and calls after him teasingly, "Try to make it all the way home this time, will ya?"

As Sam's footsteps fade away, Victor turns his attention back to the tablet, fingers swiping through the digital stack of images. The first photo fills the screen: the deceased, sprawled in an unsettling silence. The next, a close-up, detailing the lifelessness that has staked a claim on the victim's features.

Then, a photo depicting what appears to be an ordinary bottle at first glance. But there is something about it that snags Victor's attention. With practiced gestures, he enlarges the image, zooming in on the bottle. The label becomes clearer, sharper, the details starting to reveal themselves under the scrutiny of Victor's experienced eye.

"Zoom in," Victor mutters, pinching and expanding his fingers on the screen as...

"Zoom in," Victor mutters, pinching and expanding his fingers on the screen as

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A small face on the bottom of the water bottle?

Huh?, Is this the same as...

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THO Stands for *The head officer*

THO - "We've got the autopsy report for the student. Confirmed death due to epilepsy."

Victor, his voice tinged with doubt, hesitates before responding.

"Sir, should we really be closing the case so soon?"

THO - "There's no 'should' about it. The case is clear, the family's been notified, and that's the end of it."

Victor, reluctant to let the matter rest, interjects.

"Sir, we've come across an unusual item... I need time to look into it more deeply."

THO - "Victor, we're not here to chase shadows. Small cases like these happen. We've got bigger issues to tackle."

Persisting, the detective's tone reflects his conviction.

"Sir, I strongly believe we need to afford more time to this case."

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