Murder Mystery
"Welcome back everyone, welcome back, settle down," Rivers called, motioning for the trainee Aurors to sit down in the conference room. Cynthia and Róisín returned to their same seats as the previous day, quickly being joined by their classmates. Black and Potter, again, took their places at the front of the room.
"Today we will be focusing on crime scene analysis," Rivers said. "Since it's only your first week, we're going to start easy by splitting you up into two groups and give you some basic crime scenes to discuss based on real crimes that we have investigated. Next week we will focus on duelling with some of our more senior Aurors, who will be your teachers for the rest of the year. For now, Potter and Black will guide you through these deduction exercises."
Potter's group took one half of the conference room, and Black's the other half.
"Right," Black said, clapping his hands together. Behind him, a standing chalkboard sprang to life and presented itself by his side. A piece of white chalk began to scribble as he spoke. "The scene we have on our hands today is a classic murder. Gideon and Juana Armadill were a married couple living happily in Brighton. They had a gorgeous, idyllic family home right on the seaside, but had not yet had any children. Beryl was an old friend of Gideon. Gideon and Beryl were found dead in Beryl's's house, with Juana not far away. The main clue we found was a shopping list on the kitchen table, which listed only three items: bread, eggs, and peppermint."
The chalk finished scratching just as he finished speaking, and a wide grin befell his face.
"There is more I can tell you but I would like to see how far you get on your own," he said. "Any questions?"
"How long were Gideon and Juana married?" Cynthia asked.
"Nearly four years."
"And what did they all do for a living?" Staghart asked.
"Juana and Beryl both worked for a successful legal firm. In fact, Beryl had been the one to get Juana that job. Gideon worked in Gringotts," Black replied.
"Did Beryl get Juana fired from the firm and Juana went to their house with the intent of killing them, but they didn't know that Gideon would be there too and she needed to kill them too to cover it up?" Staghart asked.
"No, I'm afraid you're off by quite a margin," Black replied apologetically. He paced the room. "Would anyone else like to guess?"
"What kind of tea did Beryl keep in her kitchen?" Róisín asked.
"None at all," replied Black. "Beryl was a coffee drinker. We didn't find any tea of any kind in her kitchen."
"Did Beryl have a background in potions or herbology?" Róisín asked.
"Yes - potions," Black said, a small smile tugging his lips. "It sounds like you might have a theory you'd like to share."
Róisín paused. "Now, it's just a guess, but... was Beryl using Amortentia on Gideon to make him fall in love with her?"
"Exactly!" Black exclaimed, now beaming. "Got it in one - I'm guessing it was the shopping list which brought you to that conclusion?"
"Yes - peppermint is not an everyday item someone would normally buy unless they drink herbal tea. It's not a common ingredient in potions, either. I think it's more likely that Juana killed them both intentionally and then killed herself because she believed that Gideon had left her for Beryl."
Black smiled warmly at Róisín and nodded enthusiastically.
"You're exactly right, yes - now, to be fair, when I first looked at this case, I also thought that it could have been a work dispute and that Gideon was just an innocent victim - especially when I found out that Beryl and Juana worked together in high-pressure jobs. But the skill you have just demonstrated is that of deduction. The key is to ground yourself in the evidence available to you at the crime scene. The shopping list was a key piece of evidence many of us working this case also overlooked, because it looked so innocuous. It was only when we paired it with the lack of any tea and the abundance of coffee in Beryl's kitchen that we realised that peppermint was an unusual shopping list item for her. That's what you are doing as a detective - you are searching for that which is outside of the ordinary."
Black paused for a second, allowing the chalk to catch up to him.
"One last thing I'll leave you with before we examine the next example," he said, returning to his pace. "However advanced we like to believe ourselves to be as a species, ultimately there are only a few raw emotions which drive us. Happiness - joy - fulfillment." He paced in Róisín's direction. "There are only a few emotions which drive us to commit such barbaric acts like killing each other. Fear - hatred - outrage. Jealousy, as we saw in this case." His eyes fell on Róisín. "And then we have perhaps two of the most powerful emotions in our arsenal - again, which we saw in this case: love... and lust."
His eyes lingered on her for a moment. "Just something to keep in mind," he added, before returning to pacing the room.