"Welcome Roy, make yourself at home." Said Dave as he was shaking my hand.
He seemed like any other man, but something was unusual about him. It was not his messy hair or a funny hat, it was his eyes, they were different, I can not describe it, they were just, different.
"Thanks a lot sir." I replied, "I hope I will be of assistance to you, and to learn from you."
"You seem like a nice smart kid Roy, and you look a lot like your father."
"I appreciate it sir."
"Tell me, what do you expect to learn?"
"What am I supposed to say? I did not want to come in the first place." I said to my self. "I hope to experience the work of detectives, how to investigate and think logically," I replied.
"Well, these things can not be taught, you have to learn them by yourself. Let me ask you something, what is the difference between a detective and a normal person?"
"A normal person sees, but a detective observes."
Mr.Dave laughed as he heard my answer, "you are a true Sherlockian just like your father said. You are right little Hanson, but do you know what it means?"
"I think, detectives should observe the details, the circumstances and then analyze everything before coming with an explanation. A detective should have a flawless logic and piercing eyes."
"Your answers are pertinent. I like the way you think Roy. We will be a great duo."
"I am looking forward to it Mr.Moore"
"Do not be so formal with me Roy." He said jokingly, "you can call me Dave. Come, let me show you around."
We started walking around the place, showing me things he uses to solve the crimes he encountered. "A detective should have a vast knowledge. From engineering, history, psychology and medicine. You will find criminals smarter than you are, so you should always be prepared. I am a voracious reader, I read everything I can get my hands on."
He had a big encyclopedia in his office. It contained a large collection of books, about poisonous potions, antidotes and a lot more.
"You are a lucky guy, Roy" Dave said as he was showing me a paper. It seemed like an invitation. "Miss Vivian invited me to her mansion, and you will be going with me."
"You mean Vivian Jones? The famous actress?"
"Yes. It seems like she has been receiving threats lately and she asked me to investigate it. I told her I will come with my assistant. Go back home, pack your things. We will be traveling tomorrow at 9:00 PM."
I went back home, packed my things, took a bath before going to sleep and then I went to bed, earlier than usual. I was imagining how this trip is going to be, the people I will meet, but most importantly, I will have a close look to see Dave Moore's abilities. I can not wait to see what kind of adventure it is going to be.
I woke up at 8:00 in the morning, had my breakfast, kissed my mom goodbye and then went out. Dave was already waiting for me at the train station.
"Good morning Roy. You are right on time."
"Good morning."
"I can see you are a light packer like me."
"Oh yeah." Said I as I lifted my single bag, " I take only what is necessary."
"That is good, come on let us get on board."
We got on the train, found our selves some seats, put our bags and sat in our places.
"It is a two hours ride." Said Dave, "have you brought something to read on the way"
"No, I think I will just sleep."
"Not a bad idea."
I closed my eyes and leaned on the window.
I was in a deep sleep until I was suddenly awakened by a woman. She was trying to put her bags and unintentionally touched my head with her elbow.
"Rise and shine" said Dave with a sarcastic tone.
"How much longer until we get there?"
"About 30min."
"Ah, I see. So there is no need for me to go back to sleep."
"Indeed. Do you want to play a game? It will make time go faster."
"What is this game called?" I asked.
"Honestly, I have not thought of a name for it. But it is simple. You just look at someone, and guess something about them based on their luggage and looks. We can call it look and guess."
"Never heard of this game before. It seems to me like you just made it up right now."
"It is a real game" Dave said in a serious tone.
"Relax I was just kidding. But who do you play it with?"
"With myself" he replied as he laughed.
"I knew it. It does not seem like a game people would play." I thought to myself. "Would you show me how to play it?" I replied.
"Okay. I will go first since this is the first time you hear about it. Who do you want me to try it on?"
"How about that woman?" I said as I pointed to the woman who woke me up earlier. She was not sitting so far from us.
"That woman. Okay let me see."
He then leaned forward, with his hands together covering his mouth and looking straight at the woman. It was awkward honestly, I was hoping he will be done before she notices him. Luckily it did not take him very long.
He turned back at me and started talking.
"This train, departures from Widefield. It has 4 stations, Oakleaf where we got on board, Wichita Falls where the lady rode, Ottumwa where we are heading and Norfolk the terminal."
"That is correct, but what does it matter?"
"Everything matters. Norfolk is well known for its cold weather, even during summer. The lady is not wearing clothes suitable for that weather, her bag is not big as well so we can say she is heading to Ottumwa like us and she is not staying for long."
"I think it is logical to say so."
"Now the question is, what brings her to Ottumwa."
"How can we know it?"
"Her clothes. She is not wearing formal clothes, so it is not very likely to be work-related. She is wearing some makeup, not so much of it, just enough. You can smell her perfume, it is not very strong."
"So what if her perfume is not very strong?"
"Women my friend are not like us. If she is wearing a perfume that is not very strong, it indicates she is meeting with one person, at a private place. If she is putting a strong perfume, it means she is going to a place full of people and scents. So naturally she would want her perfume to stand out."
"Maybe you are right, or maybe you are just over-thinking it."
"This is just a game Roy" he replied jokingly, "I am not supposed to get everything right" he added.
"Now, look at her left hand, at her wedding finger precisely. If you look closer, you will see traces of a wedding ring. Those traces look recent for me, so why did she take her ring off?"
"She was scared someone might steal it, or something."
"That is possible. But then, why is she leaving her purse beside her out in the open, and she is gazing at the window not looking at her bag."
As Dave was speaking, the conductor came in. He started asking people for their tickets. We gave him our tickets. He then moved to the seats in front of us. Next, it was that lady. As he asked for her ticket, she handed it to him, along with a card. I did not know what it was exactly, all I can tell is that it was a green card. It looked like a military card.
"You know what it is for? That card I mean." Dave asked me.
"No I never saw it before."
"It is a discount card, given to soldiers and their relatives, parents, wife and their children."
"So her husband is an officer?" I asked him.
"That is very likely. The only problem is at this time of year, military members from our area are all gathered at the base, 200Km from here. So whoever she is meeting, he is not her husband."
The idea he was trying to tell me was clear for me now. A woman, well dressed, married and hiding her wedding ring. She is a cheating wife.
"I know what you are thinking right now. But before we question someone's loyalty we must have proof. Besides, like I said this is just a game"
"Yeah I know. But now, I feel like I must find out if what you said is real or no."
Dave then looked at me, smiled a soft smile and said "do not bother yourself with the results. The point of the game is to test your observation skills and deduction. Most of the time you will not be able to know if what you deduced was correct or not."
I then gazed back at the view through the window, trying to forget this game. Ten minutes later, we arrived at our destination, we got up and packed our bags. The woman also went to get her bag.
"This is your station as well?" Dave said to the woman.
"Yes. Yes it is." She answered.
"Visiting a relative maybe?" he asked her again.
She nodded her head and turned, declaring her intentions.
"I think I saw you somewhere before. Where was it exactly?" he stopped for a moment pretending to be thinking, "Ah I remembered! You were at that dinner party in Wichita falls. Your husband was an officer if I remembered correctly."
The woman was surprised. " I do not remember you" she said.
"Of course you do not remember him, he just made that up" I thought to myself.
"All officers at this time of the year are at the military base. So what brings you here? Visiting a relative maybe?"
"Yes, yes. I am visiting my sister" she answered with hesitation in her voice.
"Well, send your husband my regards."
We reached our destination, got off the train, said goodbye to the woman and went in our way.
"So, we can say that confirms it," I said to him.
"You can say so. I feel sorry for the poor man. No one deserves to be cheated on."
"I agree with you. I have to admit it, that was a smart move. Pretending to know her husband, that got her to speak."
"When you do not have much informations, you sometimes have to take risks to get what you want. Just be careful, it does not work as planned always"
"Do not worry !" I said," I never take such risks"
I have to admit it, his observation skills and thinking are outstanding. He notices small details, analyzes them and uses them to build a bigger image. I do not know where he learned to do it, but I know I want to learn how to do it as well.
The mansion was far from the station. We took a cab to get there. It was on the edge of the city, standing alone at the top of an isolated hill. The road leading to the mansion was in bad shape. As we got closer to the top, we could see more and more of the city.
"What a view!" I said.
"A very beautiful view indeed. Miss Vivian had this mansion for a long time. The only problem is this old road, it has not been renewed for a long time. Sometimes you can not even cross it, which makes this place even more isolated." Said the taxi driver.
"I hope it will not rain today, I have no intention of staying here for long." Said Dave.
"I hate to tell bad news, but it is very likely to rain today."
As we arrived, we found out it was not a mansion. It was more like a palace.
The cab parked right in front of the gate. We took our bags, paid the driver and stood in front of the gate. It was big and old fashioned. The two pillars of the gate had a statue of a lion on top. All you can see behind it, is the long passage and the countless trees on the side of it. We stood there, looking for the bell to announce our presence. Until suddenly, it opened by itself. We looked at each other, picked our bags and went in.
The passage was almost 5 meters wide. It went on for over one hundred meters. In the end, there was a fountain in the middle. At its center, there was a statue of an angel, with the water coming out of its eyes.
"That is the crying angel." A man said. The sound was coming from the palace's door. We looked over, the door was open, a tall man with black clothes and gray hair was standing there. "My name is Fritz" he said, "I am the butler. Welcome to our mansion"