Shadow deprived of life ( broken trust , a twisted smile )

Aiden nodded. "The whole room is destroyed," Daniel said. "Yeah," Ryan agreed. Adam left the room.

"What do we do now? She's dead. We don't even have her body, it's just ashes," Daniel said. "Yeah, terrible way to die. Plus, we don't know what to do now," Ryan added. "There are plenty of possibilities," Aiden said in a low voice.

"Like?" Ryan asked. "Questioning me again, young man?" Aiden said. Ryan shook his head. "Let's go to Tristan's apartment once again," Aiden said before he started walking.

After an hour, they were outside Tristan's apartment once again. They went inside; the view hadn't changed. Everything was like it was before, except the furniture, and the apartment was way dirtier. Daniel started to sneeze. "I'm allergic to dust," he said in between coughs.

"At least the floors are clean," Ryan added with a shrug. "You can stay outside, but don't go anywhere else," Aiden said before starting to search. "I'll be there. Call me if you need me," Daniel said.

They both started to search. No evidence, except this time, Ryan found Tristan's second and main phone. He held the phone in his hand, wearing white transparent gloves. "Where did you find it?" Aiden asked.

"In the drawer, beneath the TV. It had several books; it was under them," Ryan answered. "What an odd way to put your phone," Aiden said. "Yeah, probably he kept it there in case something happened to him," Ryan guessed.

"But that's unlikely," Daniel said from outside the door. "Stop eavesdropping," Ryan commented. "I won't," Daniel answered from outside.

"Let's go back and search it," Aiden ordered. After thirty minutes, they were in the police station staring at the phone. "We should check to see if someone's fingerprint is on it," Aiden said.

"Why, sir?" Ryan asked. "Did you notice something off in the apartment?" Aiden questioned. "Someone wouldn't keep their phone, which they use regularly, so hidden. Unless they knew they were going to be murdered, or it was kept there by someone else," Daniel answered.

"Yeah, you're right," Ryan said, picking up the phone with his bare hands. "Anything else?" Aiden asked again. They both thought again, but they got nothing, so Aiden told the answer.

"Everything was dirty," Aiden said. "Yeah, of course," Ryan said. "Except the floor; it was clean, like someone cleaned it," Aiden continued. "Brilliant! But why?" Ryan asked.

Daniel noticed Ryan's bare hands on the phone. "Ryan," he said slowly. "Look at your hands." Ryan dropped the phone immediately. "Why, Ryan?" Aiden asked, holding his anger back. "Why are you such a dimwit?" Aiden gritted.

Ryan looked down immediately. "You just made it so difficult," Daniel added. "Let's just open the phone," Aiden said. "Sir, I'm good at opening locks. May I try?" Daniel offered.

"Sure." After a few attempts, the device got unlocked. "0817," Daniel said, handing the phone over. They screen-mirrored the phone to a computer and checked the whole phone, reading all the chats. It took about three hours.

"Share what we all know. I'll go first. He was depressed, has pictures of himself, the cases he worked on, and one girl. God knows who. There are many poems, and I don't know what they mean," Aiden said.

Ryan started speaking, "He was a dull person, cut off from the world. He doesn't have much social media. He talked a lot to one guy named Mr. Someone. His last chat concludes that he knew he was going to die the very next day. His poems, I believe, have a deeper meaning that may refer to the murderer. Though some are about him and his dark thoughts."

"His father, Edgar's father; they don't talk. He doesn't even have his number. He just had a single friend, who didn't show up on his murder. He definitely knows something. I rest my case," Ryan said.

Daniel started to speak, "Well, the poems do have meaning. I think the magician one points to the person who broke his trust, used him, and then disposed of him. Like a pawn in a chess game. There is no direct confession, but I think it's Edgar," Daniel said in a low and firm tone.

"Who placed the phone there? Who bombed Ava? Who killed Tristan? Who did George work for? Are they a single person or different?" Aiden asked himself.

"Different or same, they have the same motive." Daniel adds.

"let's go to Edgar's house tomorrow. Apply for a warrant. We will go there in the morning" Ryan says.

"Good idea, let's call it a day" Aiden says, getting up.

"Day? Call it a night. It's 11.37 pm" Daniel says and then yawns