"He's my classmate." Angela said, horrible lie. Basil sat there with his eyes closed, preparing for the worst.

  "Classmate?" He thought, "I'm 25 for crying out loud".

  Quickly, he got up and nodded goodbye to the father, fearing for his life that he may ask some weird questions. Squeezing past him, he marched his way to the elevator. Something about that guy was sketchy, something in his eyes. He stood there for what seemed like eternity, he could feel Angela's father still standing by the doorframe, his eye staring at Basil.

  "Any day now...." Basil mumbled.

  He glanced to his right to see the father still standing there ominously, staring at him like a hawk staring at its prey. Basil quickly shifted his eyes elsewhere, dying inside. Finally, the elevator came, the soft ding sound made Basil's heart clam down, it was like a sailor who found a way out of the pressuring sea. He stepped in swiftly, spamming the close button as much as he could.

  By the time he left the building, he still felt that sense of stress. Something about the father was off, something about him wasn't right. Catching a coffee shop near by, he went in, trying to duck in a place where he doesn't feel watched. He sat at a table near the window, a window that faces directly at Angela's home.

  "What was it I saw?" He mumbled, "was it just the fear of seeing a dad? I hear they are quite scary."

  "Welcome welcome~" an annoying voice pierced though Basil's thoughts. "What could you like to order?"

  Basil looked up, seeing a waiter who is... a boy and a girl at the same time.

  "Uhm..." basil said in confusion, "sir... Ma'am.... Transformer? Sorry, what exactly are you?" Basil asked.

  "I will be your waiter, please order something~"

  "Do I have to?"

  "Sir this is a coffee shop." The waiter said, "That's how coffee shops work. You come in to drink coffee~"

  "What if I don't?" Basil said back, pushing the menu in front of him away.

  "Then I'll have to ask you to leave."

  "You're kidding..."

  "No kidding~"

  With a sigh, Basil ordered, "Give me a coffee, extra sugar."

  "Okok~ fifteen dollars please~"

  "HUH???" Basil cried out, "Why the hell is it so expensive?!"

  "Do you want to stay or not?"

  Glaring at the waiter, he pulled out 20 dollars from his pocket and shoved it in his hands, "keep the change." He said.

  The waiter left, leaving Basil to sit there to die in pain. First he got his legs melted by Angela's father, now he spent 20 dollars and a cup of coffee. He doesn't even like coffee! Honestly, it Grace was here, he would have just got her to pay, would have re much easier.

  For the next 20 minutes, he processed what Angela had told him. Johnny went missing, then his father died. Angela seemed uncomfortable about Tomas which is odd in of it itself: Angela seemed pretty close with Johnny, why could she be scared or afraid of Johnny's father? Perhaps Tomas did something to Angela?

  "Hmm..." he said, "then there's Stella's story."

  "How can Stella hear Tomas working if he was dead?" Basil said to himself, "I must go back to Tomas' workshop.

  .

  .

  .

  Grace made her way to Tomas' workshop. The sun was nearly down and Grace still got no sign of Basil. She was thinking of slapping him when she sees him again, disappearing suddenly on her, how rude. Luckily for Grace, Basil might get that slap, after all, Grace knows where Basil is likely at. Knowing him, he's probably back at the crime scene despite being told not be go.

  Hopping out the taxi, she thanked the driver before making her way to the garage. The police tape was still there, but the gates were slightly ajar.

  "Just as I thought." She said with a proud smile on her face.

  A second later, the sound of the garage gates echoed though the night, sound of metals and machines, slowly rolling up wasn't exactly the kind of sound you wanna make when trying to be quiet. Shining her flashlight, her light shined directly on a figure.

  A tall man, with messy black hair, sitting on the floor playing with wooden figurines, his beige trench spread on the floor.

  "Grace?" Basil said, "what are you doing here?"

  "That's my question, didn't Mr. Virg say that you are not to step a foot into a case?"

  "Meh...." He replied half paying attention, "he's not my boss."

  Grace chuckle, she slowly walked deeper into the garage, pointing her flashlight else where, "you know, Mr. Virg decided to give you a chance." She said, as she turned to face him.... On the ground, "you better not mess it up." She said, flicking his forehead.

  "Ouch..."

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  Basil finally stood, holding Grace by the arm, startling her, "I have something to show you." He said as he pulled her towards the work station.

  Insides, Basil rummages through the desk, "Remember how you asked me how Stella was able to hear him hammering things when Tomas was supposed to be dead?" He said.

  "Yeah?" Grace said, standing by the opening? She shone her flashlight onto Basil.

  Well..." he said, pulling a small black box out of the bottom of the table, "this is how."

  Getting a closer look, Grace realized that Basil was holding not a black box, but a speaker. The speaker was not very large, with tape marks around it, indicating that it was likely tapped under the table.

  "The killer must have played an already recorded audio!" Grace exclaimed.

  "Right you are, my dear Grace!"

  "So then does that mean...."

  "Yup, that bin that Stella pushed out wasn't garbage or anything, but the killer making his escape. That white van Stella saw was likely the killer's car."

  "Then what's the motive?" She asked again? "Why kill Tomas?"

  "Well, remember how I told you that Tomas' son went missing just before he died?" He said, "well, I visited His son, Johnny's friend, Angela. Based on how she acted, it seemed to me that something about Tomas makes Angela extremely uncomfortable. This means Tomas did something to Angela, perhaps stalking, or maybe something else." He concluded.

  "So you're saying the motive has something to do with Tomas and Angela?"

  "Yes, however. It is a theory," he said, "if we want to know for sure, we must speak with Angela herself."

  "You're that confident?" She asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at Basil.

  "Wanna bet on it?"

  Grace shook her head in amusement. From her pockets, she pulled out a quarter and gave Basil a sly look.

  "Bet."

  .

  .

  .

  The next morning, Basil and Grace went to Angela's home again, expecting this time, things won't go as lightly as before. As they approached her doorstep, Grace suddenly smelt something ashy... something burning.

  "Basil, I smell something burning..." she said, "it's coming from within the house!"

  The two of them knocked fiercely at the door, until finally, Basil rammed into the doors, opening it. The smell was stronger now, the two rushed into every room to find Angela, until Grace found her in the washroom on the ground, beside her were bottles of pills and just below her feet was a burning journal.

  "BASIL!!" she yelled, "GET OVER HERE!"

  Basil rushed in, his eyes shifted towards the journal and he rushed towards it as if Angela wasn't there. He stomped at it until the fire went out, and only then did he check Angela. He bent down, observing Angela, putting his fingers on her wrist, he could feel a pulse.

  "Grace call an ambulance," he said, "she's still alive."

  The two of them caught there breaths, Basil sitting on the floor next to the poor girl while Grace stood alert near the doorway. His eyes shifted back towards the journal, picking it up he began to read.

  "He,y Grace...." He said slowly, "Looks like you owe me 25 cents..."

  But then he paused. As he kept flipping, he noticed that two pages were missing, ripped, likely from a hurry. His eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the unconscious girl.

  .

  .

  .

  Angela was sent to the hospital, and Grace and Basil came with her. They, as in Grace, waited patiently outside while doctors examined her. Luckily, the drugs she took were enough to kill her, she just needed a few days in bed and she'd be good as new. But unfortunately, this wouldn't be a bright and eventful day, after all... someone was going to be arrested.

  Angela's father rushed in, looking panicked and worried. As any parent would, he demanded the doctor to let him see his daughter; how could he not? He was a father after all.

  But Basil knew the truth, he knew exactly who that man was. A father yes, but something else.

  Roughly 20 minutes went by, doctors finally allowed people to see Angela. After the Agency found out that Grace had a strong lead in the cases and had identified the murderer, those involved in the investigation went to Grace to hear the answers. In front if Angela stood many people, beside her sat her father, generally holding her hand, in front of her stood Grace and Basil, and a few meters behind stood officers and other detectives, include agent Stella Carson, detective Carwell and well as many other officers, all here to listen to the great deduction.

  Basil started, "Tomas Sage was killed in his workstation at his work desk. Our first suspect was Ms Stella over there, who was the last person who saw him." He said.

  "She stated that when she had seen him, the place was dark, it was dim, the lighting was bad, but Tomas was alive. When she left, Tomas asked her to bring a bin to a parking lot near by." He states, "the last time she saw Tomas was his silhouette in the window, she heard him hammering something, working."

  The other officers quietly glanced at Stella, to which she nodded before looking down slightly. Grace was standing next to Basil, listening to the whole thing, quietly.

  "Little did Stella know, that the Tomas she saw alive and well wasn't Tomas at all..." Basil paused before pointing at Angela's father, "it was you."

  The room gasped. Angela's father stood up, outraged, "what did you say?!" He said, "You're accusing me? How would I even pull that off?"

  "Whoa now." Basil said, "Patience..."

  Basil continued, "you used the poor lightly to obstruct your face right, then you used candle light instead or actual lights to show Tomas working, the real, dead Tomas." Basil said, pacing around the room like a man in a movie.

  The father sat back down, his eye's slightly twitching, his forehead getting shiny, "even so. Let's just say I did kill him. What is my motive?"

  "Tomas Sage has stalked your daughter, yes?" Basil said bluntly, he could see the father's eyes grow sharp, his jaws tightening and his legs growing restless, "perhaps...." He added, "Something more?"

  "NO!" The father snapped. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Basil, staring at him with eerily calm eyes, "Even if I did, what evidence do you have?"

  "This." Grace cut in, holding up a small black speaker, "This was found at the crime scene, used to play work noise to trick Stella. I'm sure if you pull out your phone, it will still automatically connect."

  The whole room looked at the father, some with sadness, some with disgust. Angela turned her head towards her own father, her eyes fragile, her voice weak, "is it true?" She asked, "did you really do it?"

  The dad, now defeated, unable to excuse himself anymore, looked at Angela with sorrowful eyes, as if confessing without words, but with emotion.

  "Angela..." he said quietly, "I love you."

  Angela's eyes shifted, "I know..." she said.

  Officers rushed in, detaining the father in cuffs before pulling him out of the room. Grace glanced at Stella and gave her a cheeky grin, as if mocking her or teasing her. Stella stared at her before flicking her hair, turning to leave.

  Later, Grace turned to Basil.

  "How did you figure it out?" she asked.

  "Occam's Razor," Basil replied.

  "Occam... what?"

  "Occam's Razor," he repeated. "A principle of reasoning. When there are multiple explanations, the one that requires the fewest assumptions is usually correct."

  Grace stared at him, utterly lost.

  Basil sighed. "In simpler terms, the simplest answer is most likely the right one."

  He glanced toward the door where the father had been taken.

  "Angela's father was the killer because the facts pointed to him. There could have been other explanations," Basil admitted. "But a father killing his daughter's stalker out of protection..."

  He paused.

  "That's the simplest answer."

  "Hmmm..." Grace said before punching Basil on the arm.

  "Ouch..." he said, "what was that for?!"

  "For disappearing on me."

  "Ohhhhh~ you really missed me that much?" Basil said as they headed for the door. Bask wrapped his arm around Grace as if teasing her, "Don't worry, my dear~ I won't leave."

  "QUIET!" Grace cried, pushing Basil away with a face full of red. She was lucky that no one in the station was in here, especially Stella, she would have the time of her life if she saw Basil wrapped around Grace like a clingy boyfriend.

  "Aww... is that blush I see~?" Basil whispered.