"Standard? Arthur, I really think you're going a little too far off-topic."
"No, I'm not."
Arthur shook his head. He reorganized his thoughts once more and continued.
"Standard here refers to a patterned expression. Sarah, have you ever seen a model or actor smiling in a magazine? That smile where the corners of the mouth are raised at a 30° angle, the eyelids are lowered, and the cheeks are lifted. That can be considered close to a standard, patterned smile. But as I've said, behind an expression are various emotions mixed together. So, compared to the template, a real expression often has characteristics from other emotional templates, not just one type."
"Scott's expressions are very close to a single template, which means he is very straightforward. Angry is angry, happy is happy; very few other emotions are mixed in. People like this are very emotionally impulsive, but these emotional fluctuations come and go quickly."
"Impulsive, hasty, sloppy. Even if such a person had the mind to come up with a plan to conceal investigation clues, why would he wait a whole month after the last argument to act? If he acted out of a moment of rage, he should have done it immediately. If not, as soon as his head cooled down, Scott would surely have carefully considered his actions if he dared to commit that crime."
"Making the poison and related tools would have been very simple for Scott. I don't think he would have needed a whole month to prepare."
"Remember, when we went to see Scott, even though we showed up to question him unexpectedly, he still tried to act very restrained, like a person who knows right from wrong. So, I don't think a month after a simple argument, this man would decide to commit murder."
"Even if this is a kind of avoidance strategy, where Scott thought that if he had an argument with the priest one day and the priest died the next, he would be a suspect, so he postponed the murder for a month, my hypothesis could still be correct. A month is too long to think about anything, and a simple argument… is fundamentally not enough to be the cause of this crime."
Hearing Arthur's reasoning, Sarah frowned, a look of contemplation flashing in her eyes. She was connecting the pieces of data using Arthur's way of thinking.
From a psychological perspective, Scott really seemed innocent, even if the physical evidence was against him.
However, no matter how logical Arthur's argument was, a case needs evidence to be solved.
"Let's just wait until the search is done."
She rubbed her forehead, saying wearily.
Although she had worked with Arthur for a while, his style of reasoning, which didn't rely heavily on physical evidence and often jumped to assumptions and patterns, still gave Sarah a headache. It was no surprise to her that many of their previous colleagues couldn't work with him.
Arthur sighed.
Evidence, the most important thing in solving a case.
But in this case, the available evidence was surprisingly scarce, making his deductions seem particularly disjointed and unfounded in the eyes of others.
Using a foundational deduction as the premise for a subsequent one means that if the initial deduction is already uncertain, the later ones will only stray further from the case's reality. At some point, it might even become a completely new case, just using the existing details.
That's what Sarah was afraid of, and she always tried to pull Arthur back to the main path.
However, he didn't think he was going in the wrong direction.
He felt he was just missing a little something.
…
At the police station, Sarah and Arthur were praised by Holand for discovering a crucial clue that helped advance the investigation. But Arthur wasn't in a very good mood, so he asked Holand for permission to leave earlier than everyone else.
As he walked out the door, some colleagues not far away clicked their tongues and started gossiping.
"What an odd guy."
"I think he's just arrogant. He gets praised by the boss so many times, and he doesn't even want to hear it all."
"The boss spoils this guy too much. He almost accepts any condition."
"That's different. You go and solve cases and earn commendations like he does, then we'll talk."
"I'll pass on that."
"..."
With her sharp senses, Sarah vaguely picked up on the criticisms directed at Arthur.
It was true that if you didn't know him well or weren't close to him, his behavior could indeed make people uncomfortable, as if he were being "arrogant."
Fortunately, Holand didn't pay attention to this.
Because he was the one who first guided Arthur into this profession as a police officer and investigator.
"Boss, how did you even get Arthur to join us?"
Hearing Sarah's question, Holand shook his head and smiled.
"I didn't pull him in here. He wanted to be here. As for the reason… you can ask Arthur when this case is solved. I think you two will be working together for a long time, so it's not wrong to get to know your partner better."
Sarah nodded slightly, her eyes looking away. She didn't see the look of regret that flashed in Holand's eyes.
Others didn't understand, but he did. Arthur always strived to catch the killer more than anyone else. Because Arthur always believed… that he was guilty.
And a debt… must be paid.