Grace had to endure 12 hours of painful curiosity before Basil told her his deduction. Reason? When they had gotten home, Basil was whining about being too tired to speak and knocked himself out on the couch. Grace, by this point, wasn't even surprised. For all she knew, Basil may not even be tried. He could just be doing all this purely for thematic tension. And so, with the 12 hours she had that night, she went back to the agency to see what Masuda had gathered, hoping that maybe it could satisfy her itch. Unfortunately, Masuda had barely anything. The only thing he could offer was some basic knowledge about Sammy, how she loved Maria's soup, and that she would sometimes take her to Sangama.

  That last part intrigued Grace. Children are innocent. Sometimes they can be brutally innocent. She learned that Sammy had gone to the group a total of five times, all of which were with Maria. Four times a child was exposed to a cult, once was when Olivia caught them and took her away. This may mean that Sammy had seen some things that normal people don't. Some were petty secrets, others were... disturbing to say the least.

  "Father had a drawer full of doggy collars." Sammy told Grace, "They all had little name tags of the members."

  Grace's face morphed into disgust. She put on a fake smile and asked Sammy to wait before leaving the room. Though many people asked her if she was alright, some of her male colleagues offered cups of water, she walked past them and exited the building. Her breathing was fast; he never thought the man would be like that. She swallowed her spit and looked at the time; it was almost 5:30 PM. You'd better be awake. She thought.

  Basil stood on top of his messy coffee table. On the couch lay the photos of Kim, as well as the X-rays. Closing his eyes, he saw the humble little room shatter into pieces as he recreated Kim's home. Based on the case file, Kim was sitting when he died, using the pictures, he filed in the important details of the crime scene. His mind created a near-perfect replica of the scene, Kim's limp body on the chair, the key hidden in the altar, even something as small as a spilled glass of water. All were recreated. He talked towards the body, bending down to examine it closely.

  "fingernails perfectly trimmed with no damage or skin tissue," he said. His eyes shifted to the chest, "five stab wounds, all around 8-20 centimeters deep, 25 millimeters in width. Two of which were stabbed inward at a straight angle, three stabbed 15 degrees outward. Meaning there must be at least five killers, two standing in front, three standing behind."But his eyes narrowed as he kept his focus on Kim's left chest wound. The X-ray picture flashed in front of his eyes, showing a rib shattered and broken. Basil smiled.

  Facing the wall, Basil pushed. The wall collapsed as Sangama's dome appeared behind it. Roles of white mannequin in white robes sat evemntly on mats. In front of a frozen Ah Ching who stood with that same soulless smile. As he walked through, 35 theories and hypotheses popped into his mind. organizing the known facts, he processed each into every hypothesis, narrowing it down to three. Finally, He opened his eyes.

  He was now standing on top of his couch. Grace stood at the doorway, bewildered by what she just seen. A grown man walking around, hopping on and off tables and couches like he was sleepwalking. "How long have you been standing there?' Basil said in a plain voice.

  "For about eight minutes," she said, "What on earth are you doing?"

  "Thinking."

  Grace raised a brow, "You usually think while lying on your couch. Like some sort of... dead plant."

  "An excellent observation. All the great minds did weird things," he said, "I guess it would explain why you're so normal."

  "WHA-? YOU-!" Grace sighed. Then she took a deep breath, "I'm not even try... Tell me what you discovered."

  "Have a seat. You look like you've seen big news."

  "DUH? I just got information that this 'Father' person is actually-"

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  "A sex pervert?" Basil said casually.

  "YEAH! THAT AND- Wait. How did you know?"

  "Sangama has a person who is a level smaller than Father, like a assiant manager of sorts. Ah Ching." Basil said, "When I met her, she showed signs of arousal as well as recent sexual activity. Her eyes were dilated as well as reddened on her face and neck. Her hips and lower half seemed to be in discomfort as well."

  "Ok..." Grace said slowly, "What else did you find?"

  "The pervert thing or the actual murder?"

  "Obviously the murder." Grace stated, "But the other stuff would be useful for future events."

  "Very well then," Basil said as he tossed the pictures on the table, "each stab wound had a relatively thin width, this means that the weapon used by all the murders were likely something small, like a hunting knife of sorts. however if we look at the stab wound on Kim's left chest, you can see that the stab wound is a more prominent triangular shape, meaning this knife was clearly thicker than the others, perhaps a kitchen knife."

  "And.... what does that mean?" Grace asked with a serious expression.

  "That means that the knife likely didn't have a hand guard!" Basil exclaimed, "One of Kim's left ribs was broken. This means the killer who dealt that strike likely hit a bone. Since kitchen knives don't usually have handguards, their hand likely slipped down, meaning-"

  "That person should have a wound on their pinky!" Grace cried.

  "Exactly!"Basil said in whimsical excitement. "Additionally, stabbing someone on the left back side with their right hand wouldn't be optimal."

  "meaning the cut should be on their left hand."

  "Yup. And so far, Ah Ching fits all requirements." Basil's head tilted down as his chin rested on his hands. He thought, who else may be involved? Why was Kim killed? And what secrets were involved with that key? Then his mind clicked.

  "Of course," he said slowly.

  "Of course, what?" Grace said, "Can you please stop these dramatic pauses? You're not in a movie."

  "First. Rude, my dramatic pauses add so much more tension to my brilliance!" Basil exclaimed, "But most importantly, cases are stories with missing pages, and I've figured out the clue that ties all the pages together."

  "Well, spit it out!"

  "When you were, unsuccessfully, following me, did you recall Father wearing anything?"

  Grace's eyes wandered up as she thought, "He was wearing a red ring, I think." She said, "What about it?"

  "Before I kissed the ring, I heard a soft clicking sound...." Basil paused as he thought. Then his eyes lit up like a light bulb had just turned on, "BRILLIANT!" he said as he stood in excitement, scaring Grace slightly.

  "What what?!" Grace asked, her voice also shifting towards excitement.

  "Kim's home and Maria's home had one thing in common." Basil said, "They both made my head slightly dizzy at specific locations. Kim's was near the spilled water, and Maria's was near almost all her charms. Once I kissed the ring, the dizziness intensified, and I saw many hallucinations. I can imagine others were to. These are no coincidences, Grace. Something was on those things that made me like it..."

  "Have any idea what it could be?"

  "It's a chemical." Basil stated, "orderless, flavorless, colorless. Must be in dust form, and must be able to be applied anywhere with no-" He paused as he listed the facts. An idea, no, a theory came to mind on what this chemical could be. "Scopolamine," he muttered.

  "huh?"

  "Scopolamine." Basil repeated, "a chemical that is extracted from the Brugmansia plant, also known as Angel's trumpet."

  "Angel's trumpet..." Grace repeated the name slowly, "I think I remember reading it once."

  "Yes, it produces a chemical called Scopolamine. A toxin that incapacitates people once it enters the human body. Causing dizziness, hallucinations, and memory loss. Basically, being a zombie for a temporary period of time."

  "Ok, even if you are right." Grace said, "You have nothing to prove it."

  "Has forensics tested the spilled water in Kim's home or any of Maria's charms?"

  "Not yet." Grace said, "But I can tell them. It'll just take some time."

  "Excellent, my dear!" he said, "The true all reveal itself soon!"

  Grace sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if the things you say are scripted. or if you're actually just dramatic."

  "Hey! Thats not very nice!"

  "You want to talk about being nice?"

  Basil paused, "Fair."

  But then Grace's face soured as she remembered what Sammy told her, about the collars. "Those poor people. Being used without them even knowing," she said.

  Though Basil wanted to stall longer, after all, he had much more fun plans for the cult. But seeing Grace so disgusted, especially by something like this. It made him feel something. Like he wanted to just expose the cult, just so Grace could smile. He thought for a moment. A plan of some sort. Usually, his genius is focused on crime-solving, but he's a genius nonetheless.

  "Every good plan involves knowing your opponent." He said, "I know just enough to create one."

  "What in the world are you talking about?" Grace said as he watched Basil talk into space.

  He signaled Grace to come close. Whispering into her ear, Grace's eye's opeend hopefully, "You think it'll work?" She asked, though it was less of a question and more of a confirmation.

  Basil smiled mischievously.

  "A man who uses faith alone to rule will falter once logic enters my dear."