Deduced | Mericcup

Chapter 10

The car arrived where the victim had bought his ice. The place was like a warehouse. When they opened the door and stepped outside, cold breeze welcomed them. Officer McGuffin instantly ordered his people to circle the perimeter and to not leave an opening so that the criminal won't be able to escape.

Hiccup stood beside Merida, his hands inside his pockets. He stared at the police as they positioned themselves. Then Hiccup went inside, followed by Merida.

The men had stopped working. All of them were kneeling on the ground, their hands at the back of their heads. They wore the same blue shirt and white apron. Hiccup examined them. One of the men have a spatter of blood on his shoulder. Hiccup stared at him and he stared back.

"What's that?" Hiccup asked.

He did not answer. "Where did you get it?" This time, Hiccup's voice was much louder. His voice echoed.

"I-I was cutting up cow's flesh for meal." He said.

Hiccup went close to the man. "Nice try." He whispered and touched the man's shoulder. He did not put pressure on it, but it's clear that the man was trying so hard not to scream. When Hiccup applied pressure, the man screamed.

"Now," Hiccup started. "Did you kill them? The men."

He did not answer. The kept trashing, trying to get out of Hiccup's grip. Merida couldn't take it anymore. She pulled Hiccup away from the man.

When Hiccup calmed, he went over to him and pulled his shirt. There was a deep gash on it like something long and circular was impaled on it.

"What did you use to kill?" Hiccup asked dangerously calm.

The man whimpered. But he said, "Why don't figure it out since you're so clever?" He said, challenging Hiccup.

Hiccup grabbed the man by his shirt. The man flinched. All of the other workers were looking at them, afraid to interfere. Merida stood beside Hiccup, ready to stop if he do something crazy.

"I'm an artist, you know?" The man said, his shoulder bleeding so hard. "Someone supplied me the tools to make my art. He's a big fan of yours."

It just made Hiccup angry. He pushed the man, placing a foot on the man's shoulder. He screamed in pain.

"Hiccup!" Officer McGuffin called out. "Stop that!"

But Hiccup did not listen and pushed harder. "Tell me who." He said, but the man did not move. "Tell me!" Hiccup pressed his foot harder. The man screamed and thrashed.

"Mac-" The man yelled, but before he could say it, a gunshot pierced through his head.

Hiccup quickly removed his foot, shielding one arm to Merida. He looked around.

"Follow that gunshot!" Officer McGuffin yelled.

***

When Merida and Hiccup went back to their flats, Merida was silent. She didn't know what to say or what to think. The man was killed just before he could say who helped him. She wondered what Hiccup was doing.

Merida opened her door and went over to 112B and knocked. No one answered. Merida tried to turn the knob. Surprisingly, it was open. She let herself in. His flat was not far from Merida's. The coat rack was positioned on the same spot as her coat rack, the table and the couches were placed on the same spot as hers, and other furnitures were placed on the same spot as hers too. The only difference was that there were a bunch of paper scattered everywhere. The wall where the couch was placed were full of faces and red strings, connecting each individual like you'll see on crime-solving movies.

Hiccup was lying on the couch, his cat sleeping on his stomach. His fingers were intertwined—like how he usually does—under his chin. He looked like he was sleeping so Merida decided to look around. On top of the fireplace, there were two guns resting and a bunch of papers impaled together with a knife, locking them in place.

On his table, there was a puzzle that looks like it has a thousand pieces. The only weird thing about it though was that nothing was printed on it, just plain white.

"I got it!" Hiccup exclaimed, startling Merida. The young lady screamed and Hiccup did too.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked.

"You're not the only one who could sneak inside one's flat." Merida said.

Hiccup chuckled. "You used the door." Hiccup said.

"You left it unlocked." Merida said, crossing her arms on her chest.

Hiccup shrugged and laid back down. Merida sat near him, leaning in. "What did you figure out?"

"The murder weapon." Hiccup answered.

Merida reclined herself to the couch and looked at him. "Oh?" She said. "What is it?"

Hiccup looked at Merida as he said, "The victim was constantly stabbed by a weird weapon, right? The wounds were getting narrower as the wounds multiplied.

I touched the water and it was not cold nor warm. I went over to touch the puddle near the man and it was so cold. There was something melted in there. Probably a huge block of ice that the murderer set down to pin the man's hand on the floor. That explains the purple color of the hand." Hiccup sat up.

"The murderer said that he was an artist. The only art that you can do in ice is sculpting. That's why I figured the weapon out. An ice knife. The ice melted as he constantly stab the man, making the wound much smaller." Hiccup laid back down and continued, "If that ice knife melted, then there will be no murder weapon to be seen. And the blood on it will just mix in with the water. No one will suspect."

"Amazing!" Merida exclaimed. "How are you doing that?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Easy. You examine the crime scene and you think about it."

Merida frowned. "Yeah, right." She stood and went for the door, but Hiccup stopped her.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To work." Merida answered.

"Just start tomorrow." Hiccup said. "It's almost five."

Merida glanced at the wall clock. She did not notice the time. Her stomach grumbled. She groaned and left Hiccup's flat to find a place to eat.
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Author's Note: DUNDUNDUUUUN! Did you know the murder weapon before Hiccup realised what it was?

By the way, if you saw some mistakes please let me know so I can fix it. :)

kungfukick <3