The Four Brothers ~ Completed

Capítulo Vinte e Nove: O Cientista

I'm having a really, really bad day. 

I need something to make me happy. 

If you have any happy or funny stories, I'd appreciate it. I don't have anything to smile about right now. I just need something to smile about. Please.

Gemma's POV:

I've found that when someone doesn't know what the worst thing that's happened to them is, it's either because too much worse has already been done, or they haven't gone through their 'worst' thing yet. 

I'm pretty sure I'm in the first category, but I can't be sure. Logically, it makes sense.

But, I've also found that the universe doesn't work on logic. Hence my dilemma. 

"And you're saying that when you tried to find George, all you found was a dead body?" I asked, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. 

Yeah, I wasn't believing that story anytime soon. I knew about at least one of my brother's homicidal tendencies, and I doubted that the other three were without their faults. Was it sad that the most murderous of my brothers was also the purest one?

Was a person still pure if they killed people for a living?

"I promise, we didn't do it. My men were actually ordered to bring him in alive." Tobias explained, sitting behind his fancy desk and rubbing the bridge of his nose. I lowered my eyebrow since the area was starting to cramp.

Eyebrows cramp. That's weird. 

"And it couldn't have been one of your men?" I asked, glancing back at Zion who was sitting on the couch. I was in the chair right in front of Tobias's desk, looking between the two as they gave me the news. 

Oh, yeah, we were at home. Went home a couple of hours after I woke up from sleeping off my trauma. 

After we were home, Tobias got a call and stormed off to his office without a backward glance at the rest of us. I wasn't focused on that. I was focused on how good of a job the people who cleaned the house did. 

Everything was basically perfect. 

When Tobias ordered me and the rest of my brothers to his office, we were all kinda expecting bad news. His tone wasn't friendly. When I found out my brothers had sent their guys looking for George, I may have slapped them on the backs of the head repeatedly. Until Tobias told me that George was already dead when his men got there. 

Which effectively stopped my trying to slap some sense into my brothers. 

"Failure to do as instructed would put them in a difficult position; a position, I assure you, no one wants to be in. And, they didn't have enough time to do the damage to George that was done." Tobias said, his calm gaze steadied on me. 

"What damage?" I asked, turning to face Tobias fully. He hesitated, thinking over his words carefully. 

"I don't think it's important." He told me, waving his hand dismissively. I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes.

"Calm down, you overprotective loon. I'm not trying to get all the details. But I do know the Mexican Cartel coming after me has a signature torture move to garner information." I smirked victoriously at his defeated sigh.

"What twelve-year-old knows what the word 'garner' means? Much less uses it in a sentence?" I heard Sinclair mumble from behind me. I faced him, a smile curling my lips.

"I told you I'm smarter than I look," I said, chuckling softly at his lost expression. Oh, how I loved surprising them at every turn. 

Tobias cleared his throat, pictures in his hands. He handed them to me without a word, his steely gaze watching me carefully for signs of a reaction. I flipped through the pictures, grimacing from the awful wounds. 

Whoever did that had a heck of a lot of time on their hands. 

"So?" Tobias asked. I continued flipping through the pictures, my confusion growing as I searched every picture. 

"He wasn't killed in this house, was he?" I asked, handing the pictures back to Tobias, who frowned. He cocked his head, his eyes slightly narrowed. 

"How do you know that?" He asked, answering a question with a question. That right there told me that I was right, but I would indulge him. 

"Well, Forensic Science is a bit of a hobby of mine. There isn't enough blood here for him to have the stab wounds and cut and bloody clothes that he has. The smears on the wall are simply a cover. Possibly making it look like a robber with a penchant for killing people sadistically. That, and there are neighbors everywhere. There are several gunshots in his torso, so the neighbors would have heard and called the cops. Even in that neighborhood. And since your people were the first to find him, after what I'm assuming was an hour or so, the cops weren't around. My guess, killed in a different location. Which means all the real clues are out of this house. We won't see anything they didn't want us to see." I explained. 

Wow, I needed a glass of water. My throat was sore from all that talking. Tobias blinked slowly at me before his mouth formed some semblance of a smile. 

"A hobby, you say?" He asked slowly, obviously amused by my knowledge on the subject. I huffed out a breath, leaned back in my seat, and crossed my arms over my chest. 

Ya know, typical teenager stance?

"I may have read a few textbooks and gone to a few different seminars at the local colleges. I also may be way too obsessed with Snapped. " I shrugged, trying, and failing, to fight off my proud grin. Tobias shook his head at me before pressing his phone to his ear. 

"Read a few textbooks? You sound like you memorized them." Damian scoffed. I turned away from Tobias, mainly to give him some privacy. 

"What do you think I do when I read them?" I asked sarcastically, knowing that my words would get a rise out of Damian. He took the bait and smirked. 

"Well, little Miss. Genius, care to tell us anything else about the amazing subject?" Damian asked, stepping towards me. I cleared my throat and went back to my archives, pulling the information needed out of its particular drawer, and letting the words flash across my vision.

"Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of to and, mainly—on the criminal side—during, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal procedure. Forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze scientific during the course of an investigation. While some forensic scientists travel to the scene of the crime to collect the evidence themselves, others occupy a laboratory role, performing analysis on objects brought to them by other individuals. In addition to their laboratory role, forensic scientists testify in both criminal and civil cases and can work for either the or the defense. While any field could technically be forensic, certain sections have developed over time to encompass the majority of forensically related cases. Forensic science is a combination of two different Latin words: forensic and science. The former, forensic, relates to a discussion or examination performed in public. Because trials in the ancient world were typically held in public, it carries a strong judicial connotation. The second is science, which is derived from the Latin word for 'knowledge and is today closely tied to the scientific method, a systematic way of acquiring knowledge. Taken together, then, forensic science can be seen as the use of the scientific methods and processes in crime-solving." I said without taking a breath. 

Damian stared at me, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. I was guessing he wasn't expecting a full explanation of what a forensic scientist was. Oh well, he got one. And so did everyone else in the room that was staring at me like I was some sort of monkey who started spouting Shakespeare. 

A monkey spouting Shakespeare would be so cool. I would totally go to that zoo.

But could the monkey spout Pi? That was the real question.

"Hold on a minute! What just happened?"