In the small room, temporarily used as evidence, Elin looked at the fragments collected from the ruins of the fire. These remnants of the fire were arranged on the table, like unnoticed loot from a theft. The patient's room was empty, so most of these items came from Amy's room: partially burnt file pages, charred vials of medicine, partially melted metal trays, and so on. They used to surround her, vying for precious space in that cramped room, but overnight, Amy disappeared into thin air, leaving them abandoned in the scorched earth. These objects, subjected to destruction and devastation, were placed together, making it difficult to look at, as if there were still invisible flames in the air, continuing to gnaw at them, causing them to contort and wail.
Elin was familiar with fires. He always felt that the most terrifying aspect of fires was their ability to turn harmless things into accomplices of the flames. You wake up from a dream and find yourself in the midst of a fire. The most familiar and intimate chairs, books, and clothes in your heart all become things that can kill you because of the high temperature. They are scorching, grotesque, and cannot be approached until you, too, become a destructive force due to roasting. He recalled Jonathan from that night. A victim who had received a letter from his wife just moments ago, handed over by Elin. But when he appeared before the crowd, completely engulfed in flames, the first emotional reaction was fear. Perhaps Flint killed him out of that fear. He was afraid of associating this hideous, horrifying image with Amy.
Just as Elin was trying to prevent himself from making such connections, Flint entered, accompanied by two guards. They were ordered by Lord Renner to supervise Flint and prevent him from engaging in any violent acts after being released from prison. It was a symbolic gesture to some extent, as everyone knew that the two guards couldn't stop him from doing anything. Elin turned to Flint, sensing the restrained anger on his face.
"So, any discoveries?" Elin asked.
"There are three locations that burned most thoroughly, all within the room's range, but it's impossible to determine the initial point of the fire based on this. Did you get anything from Coersta? For example, which direction did she first smell the smoke from?"
"She woke up when it was already time to escape. Don't expect too much from a fourteen-year-old girl."
"Useless, then why let her survive? Just making Amy take care of her for nothing."
Elin suppressed the thought of saying, "Are you jealous of that girl?" "Alright, Flint. Don't you have anything more important to say?"
"I found the ignition tool."
Elin put the legs resting on the table down, sitting up straight in his chair and tapping the tabletop. "Show it to me."
Flint took out a flat piece of flint and pressed it against the edge of the table with his right thumb. It was very thin, almost invisible under the thumb when viewed from a different angle.
"Rub it quickly against a hard object, add some flammable material, and it's easy to start a fire."
"No need to explain, I've used this kind of thing myself. Where did you find it?"
"Buried in the soil about two meters away from the isolation room, mixed with some wood debris. It must have flown to its current position with the explosion."
"So, you, the expert arsonist, do you have any other thoughts about the use of this tool by the arsonist?"
"Convenient to carry. But using it wouldn't create a large fire in a short amount of time; that would require bundles of dry hay or oil as an accelerant. So, I can be sure that the fire slowly started from inside the room. If someone tried to set the fire from outside, it would be difficult to ensure that the flames wouldn't spread before it was extinguished."
"So, you're saying someone confidently walked into the room with their own accelerant and carried out this deed?"
"I don't know. I'm waiting for you to tell me, Chief Investigator. Your job comes into play from this point, right?"
Sorry for my over-eagerness. Elin can see that Flint urgently needs an answer. The two guards behind him are getting nervous.
"Alright." Elin stood up, facing Flint, and before speaking, he tilted his head to the guards behind him and said, "You two go back to Renner. Staying here is just a waste of time."
"But..."
"Go back, go back. Don't disturb the internal conversation of the MI7. Wait, help me deliver a message to Renner, tell him I'll return the bottle of rosewater in a few days. Alright, you can leave now."
"Now that those two are not watching, it's much more comfortable." After the two guards walked out of the room for about ten seconds, Elin turned to Flint. "Although you are from the Special Operations Department, you are now involved in the investigation, so..."
"I need to know what you and Joachim have found out, by any means necessary. Of course, only about the fire. I don't care about anything else."
"Don't keep interrupting me. Flint, since you're involved now, let's follow the rules. First, you must understand that investigating a case won't be swayed by the personal emotions of investigators. Do you understand what I mean? We will explore all possibilities."
Flint remained silent, his expression becoming even more serious.
"To be honest, I am grateful for the information you brought about this flint. It can be said to be critical, and you've done a great job. As a reward, and for the sake of work convenience, I can share the current analysis with you. But you must accept this first, that is," Elin paused for a moment. "We haven't found a body that can be confirmed as Amy's."
"I know." Flint said with some effort. It seemed that just associating Amy's name with the word "body" was enough to make his voice tremble. But he had to overcome this.
"This is a crucial point, and it becomes even more critical when combined with the flint information you brought. From the flint, you deduced that the fire started from the inside, which aligns with my and Joachim's earlier deductions. Let me emphasize again: someone started the fire inside the isolation chamber. The person who had the key to the chamber's door was only Amy. So the first possibility is that the culprit was someone Amy knew and trusted, and she willingly opened the door for them. The second possibility is that Amy left the door unlocked, which is highly unlikely given how cautious she was. Additionally, we found no signs of forced entry on the door lock, so it's unlikely someone broke in. Now, the third possibility—"
"That's enough." Flint turned away, waving his left hand aimlessly in the air.
Elin waited for a moment, allowing Flint's breathing to calm down.
"If you truly want to know how the case unfolds, you must accept this point. It's a core issue that cannot be avoided. Understand?"
"But why would she...?" The question made Elin realize that Flint was also troubled by this third possibility. Perhaps he was leaning towards this answer too, but couldn't bring himself to say it.
"I don't understand, to be honest. I don't know her well enough. You know her better than anyone. Can you answer? If you can provide any clues, it would be a tremendous help. But if you don't want to say anything, I understand."
"No, there's nothing. There's nothing to say. She cared most about those infected, just look at how she treated that little girl."
So, you're still jealous of Coersta. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Elin raised his voice. "Let me confirm one last time—"
"That's all." Flint looked up. "She absolutely, absolutely wouldn't do something like this."
"Okay then. Calm down, Flint. If you don't want to explore the third possibility, we'll put it aside for now. The second possibility is practically ruled out as well. So, let's focus on the first possibility. Do you want to continue?" Elin said.
"Tell me everything you know, and I'll listen," Flint replied.
"I only know bits and pieces. You might not be aware, but someone tampered with Amy's door lock. They inserted a thin metal bar into the keyhole and bent it, making the lock unusable. It takes a man's strength to do that. I tried it myself, see this mark in the center of my palm? It's all red. Was the arsonist this person? I don't know, but he certainly knew about the arson, otherwise, why would he do this? Just for mischief? Certainly not. Let's consider a situation: Imagine you are Amy that night, and you hear a knock on the door. You go to open it, and there I am, someone you know, standing there. Remember, it's late at night. Would you leave me alone by the open door? Think about it carefully."
"Knowing Amy's personality, she would definitely close the door herself."
"That's right. First, we need to understand that the arsonist and the person who tampered with her door lock might not be the same person. So, at the moment she opens the door, regardless of how many people are involved in the crime, they all must be people who know Amy and entered the isolation chamber at the same time as her. As you said, she wouldn't leave the door open and allow strangers to enter. In this military camp, almost everyone knows Amy, but there aren't many people she would let into the isolation chamber late at night. If there are multiple participants in the crime, our investigation will narrow down, but in any case, among these people, there must be someone whom she had to open the door for. To be honest, when Joachim and I started the investigation, we had a primary suspect in mind."
"...Who is it?"
Elin raised his right index finger to point at Flint, but before the finger could be level with the ground, Flint grabbed his collar with both hands, pulled him forward, and slammed his back against the edge of the table. Some vials and papers slipped off the vibrating table.
Elin placed his hands on the table behind him to support himself. "What's wrong? Is that all the strength you have? If you think I'm saying this just to target you, then you're not qualified to stay in Military Intelligence Section 7. You won't even be fit to guard the door."
"I would never..." Flint began, but Elin cut him off.
"Still don't get it? I've been talking to you for so long, and not once did I mention 'motive.' Yes, I haven't found anyone with a strong enough motive to do this, so we have to consider other aspects. You have all the conditions to be a suspect, Flint. Time, opportunity, familiarity with arson. This flint might be something you fabricated. In investigations, we must take all these things into account. Do you think Joachim doesn't consider me a suspect? Because our circumstances are almost the same. This is our procedure for handling cases, understand? If you use your brain a little, let go of me. Attacking your colleague twice within a short period and obstructing the investigation is not as simple as a demotion."
Flint tightened his grip even more, then finally let go and turned his head to stare at the flint, his breathing heavy.
"The flint wasn't fabricated by me."
"I can believe you."
Flint looked up, his eyes filled with pent-up confusion and anger. "You got one thing wrong. Besides Amy, there's one more person with a key to the isolation chamber."
"Who?"
"Bishop Nehari."
After saying this, he turned and left with impulsive steps.
Elin pressed the sore spot on the right side of his neck. He didn't regret telling Flint all those things because he believed Flint had the professional integrity not to obstruct the investigation. At least Elin felt he could trust Flint's strong desire to uncover the truth about what happened to Amy.
Although the information about Bishop Nehari having access to the isolation chamber was significant, Elin understood that it would be challenging to make use of it. Any direct attack on Nehari, protected by the amnesty, would likely prove futile.
He turned around and picked up the fallen evidence from the ground. As he held the charred medicine bottle in his hand, he felt a sensation of burning, as if these items had just been retrieved from a still-smoldering fire scene.
Then, he suddenly realized something. Among the evidence that was originally in Amy's room but didn't have much significance, there seemed to be something missing.
Ceramics. Amy's small potted plant that she kept on the windowsill.