tomato

"Hey, look at this."

"..."

"Hey, don't go absent on me. This is important."

"Oh alright. It better be."

"What had you so engrossed?"

"I was uploading my notes."

"Don't forget the copies."

"Yeah, I remember. Even made the offline copy."

"Good. So anyways, look at this."

"What is that? Is that?"

"Yeah, it is. I got a good snap. Cropped it off the image, and magnified it to the maximum. Think it's good enough?"

"Oh yes it is. It's great. Send it over to me, I'll run the search."

"Sending, sent. Are you sure we're safe with the gate?"

"It might be a back door, but it is as safe as it can get. You remember all the trial runs we had. It's absolutely safe. They'll never know we're in here. I'm running the search, and here we go."

"..."

"Don't be such a scaredy cat. It'll be fine."

"I hope so. We can't afford to get caught, not for something so small."

"We won't. Anyways, while the search is running, come over and look at this."

"What is it?"

"I was looking for similarities in the patterns, in the crime scenes. Look what I found."

"The mark on the wall, three feet up, has traces of faded graffiti. Remains of some old artwork. Great. So what about it?"

"Look at the other one."

"Are you serious? Doesn't it seem too much of a stretch, even for you? Remains of old graffiti under a bridge 50 metres from where the girl had drowned. It's too much. Even assuming that the killer is prowling for such scenes with faded graffiti, the MO is completely different. One was drowned, the other had nothing to do with water."

"Just keep it in mind. It feels like it matters."

"Just can't keep up with your intuition. Alright, let's keep it in mind."

"Right. Now to our current crime scene. I think it is clear, the cause of death."

"Yes. Two stab wounds to the chest."

"Yes. But it's not that simple. The alley we found her in was not the place she was stabbed. She was placed there after being stabbed at some other place. Look at the blood spatter. There's no spatter from the stabbing. All the blood is concentrated around the body. Flowing from the wounds. She was alive however, when she was left in the alley. The wound on the back of her head is proof of that. Look at this photograph. From this angle it is clear she received the injury when her head smashed against the wall. She was flung onto the wall. She bled to death."

"Do you think we could have saved her if we had been there any earlier?"

"Don't. Remember we agreed to not personalise it in any way. It happened, that is all."

"Yes. Sorry."

"Leaves two possibilities. She was either carried there and flung into the wall, or she was flung out from a vehicle. I found no traces of any vehicle having been there, so I guess the former holds true."

"I think that is the case too. If she was flung by someone carrying her, the person must have been quite strong. And huge, considering her frame and size. She wasn't too thin, must have weighed about 50 - 60 kilograms. And she must have been at least 5'6". If the assailant was much bigger, then we can assume he left his traces in the alley, because he couldn't walk out on to the main road. He must definitely have been stained by her blood. The assailant must be familiar with the area." 

"The search is complete."

"And we have nothing."

"So, it wasn't anyone in the system. No previous record with police."

"Either a first timer, or an extremely smart killer because if it wasn't the first time, then he is very experienced at this."

"I have an idea. But it's not going to be completely safe."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll log in with the id we created, and compare with other databases."

"No. That is something we need for later. For more important times."

"We might learn something now too."

"The risk is too much. No is no."

"Alright. So, no luck this time too then."

"Not yet. Give me the piece of skirt you collected. I'll ask Colleen for help."

"Colleen from the textile design department? And what will you tell her?"

"This is a piece I ripped off from the skirt of a friend. I want to gift a friend with a skirt very similar to that one, because it was so good. Help me find out where I can get one, please."

"Hmm, guess that'll work. She does like you after all."

"Shut up. You make it sound like I'm using her emotions."

"But you are."

"Still, don't make it sound so mean."

"You're just too touchy coz you like her so much too."

"Shut up."

"Alright. Here's the piece of skirt. I'll head over to the library. Something I want to check out."

"What? The graffiti?"

"Not exactly. Just want to get a better understanding of the history of the alley. Might offer some clue."

"You're insane."

"And you're a stubborn coward."

"Shut up."

"..."

"Skipping dinner?"

"They have tomato curry on the menu. Can't think of eating that after looking at your blood spatter analysis."

"Oh. Weak stomach."

"Yeah. Humane, unlike you."

"Not very humane when gorging on sea creatures?"

"Shut up."

"Don't go hungry. Grab some ramen or something to eat at the canteen by the library."

"Sure. And remember, you have to get your assignment done. It's due tomorrow, and professor Song isn't going to give an extension. I'm not letting you copy off mine."

"Can't do that can I? Can't copy off a copied assignment. Lin is too kind to you."

"It's nice to have people who like me too."

"She's there, isn't she? At the library?"

"Don't know."

"Your hidden smile gives you away. Don't go hungry."

"Check out the notes after dinner. I might have missed something."

"Don't obsess too much on the graffiti."