Wednesday wouldn't stop taking notes; she intended to use this material to create her own book on real dark folklore. So far, her connection with the dead hadn't given her any clues.
"Please continue — everything you remember is important to the investigation," Wednesday reminded the man, who hesitated until Jonathan pulled out a stack of bills.
"That night, my brother went to bed very early after coming back. I remember it well… The next morning, he also got up early. We had breakfast together, and when we talked about what happened the night before, he even smiled and said that what he'd seen wasn't really a ghost — which was a lie. I asked him what he had seen, and he told me it was a white face hanging from a tree, staring at him with a pair of black eyes. I laughed when I heard that — I thought someone had played a prank on him. In fact, everyone thought so, so we didn't give it much importance."
"But when we looked at some of the photos taken that same night, we discovered that face was there — as clear and sharp as if it were part of the joke. A pity we got rid of those photos. We decided to burn everything and move away from this town."
Jonathan nodded as he listened; it seemed this surpassed many of his expectations for the investigation. And given how old the case was, the chances of success were diminishing more and more. "So, did any of that help you? From what I see, you came back and now live your retirement here…"
Billy smiled while staring into the distance, sitting on a wooden bench beneath a tree, and replied, "It doesn't matter anymore… Back then, no, it didn't help at all, because my brother started seeing that head wherever he went."
"The night it happened, my brother came home early. This time, without saying anything, he ran straight to his room and locked himself in. He and I shared the same room back then. Our family's situation wasn't great, but we never lacked food on the table."
Wednesday didn't need to be an expert to feel that this wouldn't lead them very far.
It was clear that this case was beyond what a detective could reasonably investigate, but since this was meant as a test for Wednesday — and because it needed to be solved — Jonathan didn't abandon it out of discouragement.
He had promised to train Wednesday to become a good detective, so he couldn't afford to give up now. That's why, by listening to the testimonies of those who lived nearby, he hoped to encounter the main problem.
After hearing Billy's testimony, Jonathan finished his notes, lifted his pen, and looked at the elderly man before him. The man seemed to notice his gaze and said, "Not long after that, my brother killed himself…"
"No one ever found out why?" Jonathan asked with a discreet, analytical look, as if he were evaluating the man.
"No one ever knew. Shortly after, it was discovered that a girl had died in the lake, and later another victim was found near the factory, which was eventually shut down."
Jonathan noted this down and said, "It must have been hard, but now tell me — if those people died in a relatively short time span, is there any connection between the victims?"
"The girl who was found dead in the lake sometime after my brother's suicide was an orphan. The boy who died later near the factory was my brother's best friend. So the three of them were somehow connected."
Jonathan stayed silent for two or three seconds, as if he were thinking about something that had just dawned on him. "Thank you very much. You seem to know an answer you've never spoken aloud until now…"
"Yes… Did you think the same?" Billy didn't bother to hide it, since he had no one left — knowing the truth didn't matter anymore.
Wednesday frowned as if trying hard not to say what she was thinking too soon. She slipped her notebook into one of her pockets and said, "It's possible your brother killed the girl he liked by the lake that same night he came home later than usual. Maybe you could recall something that points to that — your statement could be directly tied to what you witnessed."
"That's…" Billy thought for a moment. Staining his brother's name was something he couldn't allow. However, as he'd mentioned before, he didn't want to take those secrets to the grave.
But Jonathan didn't give him the chance to answer and said, "It could also be that your brother wasn't the killer — maybe it was his best friend. Or maybe both of them were, and somehow, all three ended up dead. There are many reasons we can't know, since both the victim, the friend, and your brother are gone."
Just before leaving, Jonathan paused and said, "Of course, all of this may or may not be as we've said. I'm not here to solve the problems of the past, but to make sure the future is alright."
After saying this, Jonathan left — he still needed to clear his thoughts about how a human head could appear before people, and whether it was the work of a malevolent spirit.
But before he left, Billy shouted, "I have a photograph of the girl, my brother, and his best friend. If it's of any use to you, you can have it. You don't know how much you've eased my mind."
"Then it would be of great help."
Wednesday then asked herself, "Did the agents who came to this place really do their job?"
"No. They give up when the victims are few and prefer to focus on cases where they can do something more significant," Jonathan replied, putting his hands into an inner pocket of his jacket.
That was the sad reality of the world — something that could never be avoided.
And unfortunately, the victims who turn into ghosts take a long time to cleanse their sorrows.