We must return to the connection between faith, mindset, and external influence.
In the face of death, the priest's mind was clouded by the unending pain from the poison. Just like other people suffering from pain, his thinking became intermittent and singular. He only had one faith, one last wish: to die in the small room where he had lived for decades, instead of lying here and staining his church with blood.
In this moment, the priest fundamentally couldn't think that his last request before dying would leave clues for the killer. His thoughts would be focused solely on his faith and his last wish. So if there was no longer a cognitive obstacle, why didn't he make that request?
In fact, the answer is very simple.
Subconsciously, he didn't see the killer as someone who could fulfill his request. It's like how people naturally don't assume a skinny person can lift a heavy object.
Even though this priest was old and frail, his body was still a heavy object. If the killer were a grown man, he could reluctantly move the body, but what if it was someone with less strength, like a woman or a teenager?
The victim didn't make the request to have his body moved to his room because his killer was a woman or a teenager. Therefore, in his mind, he didn't think the killer could do it, and so, the request was never made.
The tough question had been answered, though solving it couldn't help Arthur confirm what happened at that moment, whether the killer refused or the victim didn't make the request. Since there was no evidence, Arthur was only mapping out possibilities based on the single determined outcome.
However, the assumptions, especially the one about why the priest remained silent in the final chapter of his life, helped Arthur find a crucial piece of the puzzle.
The killer could be a woman or a teenager.
Let's remember what happened earlier, when Arthur deduced why the killer used poison instead of mechanical asphyxiation. He had also speculated that the killer might be a woman or a teenager.
A single deduction doesn't hold much weight, but what about two deductions with the same result?
This case had left very few clues, forcing Arthur to pick up and piece together each piece of the deduction without being able to see the full picture. But now, he had finally made two seemingly unrelated pieces fit together perfectly.
The killer used poison because they were a woman or a teenager. The victim didn't make his final request because the killer was a woman or a teenager.
By now, the scene playing out in his mental room had reached its conclusion. The priest died, and the killer closed the door and fled.
Arthur also opened his eyes, ending his meditation.
Sitting in a meditative posture for a little too long made his legs slightly numb. Arthur didn't pay much attention. He turned off the shower and dried himself.
Just as Arthur stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, his phone rang.
It was Sarah calling.
Arthur picked up, only to hear her somewhat urgent tone.
"We found the evidence!"
…
After getting the search warrant, Sarah and others raided Scott's house.
And in the mess in the living room, they found a pile of syringes with the sharp needles removed. In these syringes, some had traces of leftover poison, identical to the poison that killed the priest.
That's what the forensics and chemical analysis reports said.
And of course, all the syringes had Scott's fingerprints on them.
And so, Scott was taken to the police station that same evening as the number one suspect in the case.
"No! I didn't kill him! I swear!"
In the interrogation room, Scott frantically denied the accusations against him. But how could an ordinary person withstand the pressure of a police interrogation? The sharp, relentless questioning, the harsh environment, and the tense atmosphere were more than enough to tear down a normal person's defenses.
Behind the one-way glass, Arthur watched the scene in the interrogation room and frowned.
At that moment, Sarah came to stand beside him. Her eyes were also on the interrogation room, but she spoke to Arthur.
"You don't look very pleased."
Arthur didn't answer, just gave a slight nod, then asked.
"What did Scott say in his statement?"
"He said he used the syringes to make pasta. Like those simple methods of making pasta with mashed potatoes and a syringe. Can you believe that?"
Arthur sighed. How could such a weak statement deny the real evidence that there was poison in the syringe and his fingerprints on it?
"Now the search team is trying to find the needles. Once they find the right needle and confirm that it contains the victim's epithelial cells or tissue, this case can be closed."
At this point, Sarah fell silent. Arthur didn't say anything more either.
No matter how logical his deduction was, physical evidence that had not been refuted still held more weight.
After a long time, Arthur spoke again.
"Is there a report from the analysis team? I want to see it."
"Alright, I'll leave it on your desk."
"Oh, and I also want to talk to Scott for a bit."
"Arthur, what are you going to do?"
"Nothing, just ask him a few personal questions."