Chapter Eleven - Sylphie Moore

  Detective Sylphie Moore – just who exactly are you? The carefree behavior you employ makes it seem like you are attempting to sweep your worries under the rug. It is not believable for you to be so undisturbed as a detective, you may be hiding your true self under a persona of some kind.

  “Then, let’s start with how you got around to getting involved with MC-13, shall we?” I begin the half-interrogation.

  Sylphie innocuously nodded in response, yet unknowing of what I was about to do. This is what kept bugging me about you – you are simply innocent. Innocent in face and performance, almost too much. On any other person, your behavior would have been sufficient to gain their trust. But, if there was ever something I learned as an S-tier detective, it is that there is never something you can fully predict. That is why, Sylphie, this won’t be a casual conversation to pass the time. In your eyes, it will be just that, but for me, I will be watching your every move and listen to your every word.

  I kept talking in a positive and upbeat tone. “For starters, tell me about the definite beginning of your relations with MC-13.”

  I was never honest with myself as to what opinion I should have of you. I kept swinging from trusting you blindly to suspecting you, and no matter what, that motion continued throughout our together-spent days. I’m sure that there is nothing for you to hide, but I just cannot accept that. My detective sense could never accept that Sylphie Moore is unrelated to the Flawless. It may seem like a wild stretch to think that, and I fully agree with that outlook. However, it is simply too convenient. Too convenient for me to blindly trust you, and too convenient for you to blindly trust me.

  She opened her lips. “Sylphie should have brought this up much earlier, but she is one of the few responsible for discovering the case.”

  Your reply was sincere and succinct, while also being surprising to boot. You are the holder of an A-tier detective’s badge, I would be surprised if you weren’t careful.

  “How so?”

  “Sylphie was the first detective called to a crime scene of this case,” she calmly reacted.

  “Oh, what a surprise. What were you thinking when you saw the chair-bound victims?”

  I have a lone theory. If her history is valid, as was claimed by both her and Faust, then theoretically, she should know what the crime scenes look like. Sylphie does not meet the features of the Face, and so I do not think of her like that, but maybe she is involved in some other manner. I have never seen her and the victims in the same room, literally. What is swirling in my head is the thought that Sylphie could’ve never seen a crime scene of MC-13.

  I feel like I am betraying her to some extent by infringing on our trust like this. I want to trust you, Sylphie, but nothing about you screams “I am a trusted detective”.

  “Back when Sylphie was a standalone detective, she could not discern the cause of death. The scenes were bizarre, she thought.”

  “What did you see, exactly?”

  That question threw her out of comfort, despite my friendly approach. That slight reaction, the smallest twitch of her eyelids was enough for me to see that her perception skills are legitimate. She knew that I was doubting her, and being in my trust circle would be beneficial to her, therefore, her next counter will be a sincere answer to my question.

  She gazed deeply into me. “Are you doubting Sylphie?”

  “Uh, no. Why would you think that?”

  Sylphie took a deep breath. “Sylphie sees how it is – the Detective is under the assumption that Sylphie is either incompetent, or the killer. It would match up with your earlier remarks, too.”

  Her tone was of a much higher degree of potency than before. And the frown she now had, it completely deflected my expectations. I must admit, I underestimated her deduction capabilities. Nonetheless, I stayed composed.

  “You are right, Sylphie. I am doubting you, because trusting you gives me the wrong feelings. You as a person are a blend of mischievousness that exudes no real sincerity. You are the only being in this world who knows as much as they do about MC-13, yet they provide me with nothing new.”

  “Sylphie is appalled. How could the Detective forget that Sylphie hates excessive talking?”

  “I never forgot. I merely chose to overlook it for the sake of the argument. You wouldn’t tell me what’s on your mind if I were that oblivious.”

  The conversation has taken a big nosedive. The atmosphere visibly changed from solemn to uptight, and our composures lowered accordingly.

  She looked down to her folded hands. “Sylphie understands. You will not be satisfied until you think you know enough. But, you should know that it is impossible to know everything. Sylphie has remained as an active detective for this evil case for a long time, and there are a few things Sylphie refused to tell you, but if you so insist, she will oblige.”

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  “I am listening. Go right ahead.”

  “The ample truth is – the three years were monotone for Sylphie. She has acquired knowledge of the same levels as the Detective has, and a bit more on top of that. What that statement entails – Sylphie knows something important. And what she knows is hidden, even from you.”

  That is quite the bombshell you just dropped. Hidden information? Not only that, but your way of speech suddenly turned firm.

  “What kind of information would be hidden from the Head Detective?”

  She got closer and whispered. “You may find this hard to believe, but the higher-ups are tampering with certain pieces of information.”

  “What?”

  “Sylphie tells no lies. Parts of this case were obfuscated. As for the reason, Sylphie does not know.”

  How could it be that my own allies are against me? How can the board of the DPD hide important clues? That is not something you can say lightly. There have been times where evidence had to be discarded due to how it was obtained, or what it contained. However, this case is infinitely more imperative to be solved. Hiding evidence of MC-13 is the literal definition of shooting oneself in the foot. What the hell is Watkins doing?

  “I’m assuming you’re not going to tell me,” I exclaimed.

  “Depends. Are you willing to go against your own in order to solve your case?” She said with a devilish smile.

  The fact that someone in the DPD has confidential information on MC-13 is diabolical. If I understand things correctly, Sylphie knows of someone that has secret information on this case. Whatever that might be, is it any good as potential clues?

  “Sylphie, what kind of information is it?”

  “Hm, Sylphie only took a quick glance at the file, but it is related to the decision to appoint you as the Head Detective, it seems.”

  This is starting to get weird. The whole process of me obtaining the case was strange from the get-go, but I never would have thought that there is something more to that. From everything Sylphie said up to now, and from everything I know myself, I can conclude that there is a black sheep amidst the DPD. As soon as I get the option to, I will pay a visit to Watkins. That corrupt ass is bound to know something about shady happenings within the department.

  I will not question as to how Sylphie managed to obtain this information unless it leads to a dead end. An obvious thing is that I cannot discuss this with anyone. It is without a doubt an unfortunate ordeal, especially in the middle of an investigation. Still, the decision to make me the Head Detective – is that really a clue to this case? It seems completely irrelevant, but if Sylphie brought it up as something related to MC-13, then it must be.

  She smirked. “Does that wash away your doubts, Detective?”

  She just risked revealing insider information to me in order to prove her worth and innocence. I can hardly doubt such valor, and if this clue truly matters, then I can confidently claim that Sylphie will be cleared of suspicion I had towards her.

  “Yeah, I have no clue in hell as to how you managed to learn any of this, but it has to be explored as soon as possible.”

  “Sylphie is glad to be of service,” she declared with a profound smile.

  I really tried to doubt her words and her ways, but to no avail. However, I should be glad, because my Assistant Detective is not a traitor. It is almost ironic that in order to clear one name, the name of the whole DPD had to be stained. As I said many times before, as a detective, there are never times where you can predict everything.

  “Would the Detective still like to hear a few things from Sylphie?”

  Our bond just grew exponentially from that revelation. Not only do I trust her, but she is seemingly on the same wavelength now. Sylphie trusts me, and I trust her. Despite my paranoia, we have managed to come to a pleasurable conclusion.

  “Sure, Sylphie. Tell me something about yourself.”

  With that, our tense feud came to an end. It ended up being a debate on whether or not I should trust her because of her lack of providing support, but in the end, she provided the most important clue so far. What ensued next was the friendly conversation we really wanted to have, a place in time where we held no contempt for each other anymore.

  Sylphie recalled her experiences as a detective, or rather her humble beginnings as one. I could relate to almost everything she mentioned, and even a few laughs from her side were heard aloud. Now that the cold barrier between us was shattered, there was nothing preventing us from connecting on a deeper level.

  When it was my turn to talk, I provided some of my own experiences and witty replies, something that I have not been able to do for a good few years now. And that thought brought me some nostalgia, too. These past years have been cold, for I had no one by my side to express myself. The last time that was made possible was back when I still took on cases with Faust in the seat next to me. Truthfully, Sylphie was a completely different person than Faust, but the company she provided equaled the one of the mad scientist.

  When I said these words before, I came back to eat them many times. But now, I can proudly say that I understand how Sylphie operates. Her whole mindset can be described in one word, and that is ‘humble’. She never acknowledges her own skills, and even prefers to not use them unless necessary. She is truly an A-tier, but only when she wants to be. Her way of expressing herself, along with the illeism she does, makes her appear careless, maybe even stupid to some. But, these are mind games that I finally understood. Sylphie is the opposite of a paper tiger. She appears as a miniscule non-threat, but the opposite is true. Detective Sylphie Moore is a force to be reckoned with, especially when dealing with data analysis and perception. She took most of the credit for doing the research on the victims, rightfully so.

  I was secretly hoping that this quality time could go on for longer, but our calling suddenly answered to us. The thing we have been waiting for manifested in the form of a beeping radio. The police communication in the car began blaring loudly, and voices of officers talking over the radio were heard. They said the most important things right off the bat. ‘MC-13’, ‘Detective Vince Capleaf’, and so on.

  Sylphie taunted me. “It appears that you will have to have a chat with the board after this, then.”

  And she was damn right. If there was one emotion I started feeling when I heard that there are nuisances from our side, it was rage. Not unbridled fury of that sort, but more controlled and internalized rage. Nonetheless, rage it was, and I was going to use it for my benefits. This time, I will not let the Face get away.