Motiveless crimes

Ссылка на русский оригинал "Безмотивные преступления"

"Et Satan conduit le bal

– Conduit le bal!”

— "Faust"

— Tell me, Watson, do you believe in motiveless crimes?

"Of course, Holmes, a person can kill someone by accident, for example, by shooting a friend while hunting, mistaking him for a tiger, I remember in India..."

"Undoubtedly, my friend, your illustrious past is replete with such examples, but it's unlikely to have been classified as a crime, more like an accident. Take, for example, the notorious Dick Cheney, who fired a shotgun pellet at his lawyer, Whittington, in 2006, but doctors saved his life. The matter ended with a public apology a few days later, and Cheney got off with a seven-dollar fine for violating hunting regulations."

- Yes, yes, I remember... Whittington also apologized to his friend Cheney for the inconvenience he caused.

"Watson, your observation somewhat undermines the hypothesis of motiveless, but my example isn't entirely accurate either, since we're talking about a member of the elite, to whom the rule of law applies only to a limited extent. Tell me, have you heard the reports about the shooting at Barnum University and the murder of the physics professor in Chelsea?"

"Who hasn't heard, Sherlock? Our entire press was going nuts to receive such a sting, and the police were running amok searching for the perpetrators of these horrific acts. But thank God, the killer has already been found. It turned out to be Nick Muertes, a naturalized Spanish citizen who committed both crimes. He was found dead in a shoe factory warehouse, where he committed suicide, apparently ashamed of his actions and fearing justice.

"Oh, Watson, Watson, when will you stop using clichés? 'The police are running amok,' 'the press was going nuts'—what will our chronicler and friend Sir Arthur think? Although essentially, you're right: they were indeed 'going nuts' with delight after months of choking on hunger in the Faza, interruptions in the menthanyl supply, and the publication of Einstein's files. If you don't mind, let's start from the beginning: is the investigation over, and if not, what are the police doing? By the way, you've already quit smoking for the twenty-second time, and then you've relapsed again."

— How did you find out, Holmes? I confess, but it was the day before yesterday, when you were playing pickleball at the club.

"It's elementary, Watson! Two cigarettes are missing from the pack of Sport cigarettes, there's a cigarette butt left in the ashtray in the bathtub, and Mrs. Hudson, when she brought you your morning coffee, looked at you with the mild degree of disapproval that comes with breaking an oath. But come on, tell me what was found in the warehouse."

— At a press conference, Inspector Lestrade, who is in charge of the investigation, reported that two 9mm pistols were found near Muertes' body…

"That was to be expected: one gun isn't enough for two crimes. Apparently, he used the first one in Barnum and the second one in Chelsea. What about the fingerprints?"

"Holmes, these are top-notch professionals—they've analyzed and examined absolutely everything: the criminal not only left fingerprints on the pistol grips, but also on the spent cartridges—he apparently didn't think about that when he loaded the magazines. Unfortunately, he didn't leave a note, but even so, the police don't have the slightest doubt that it was suicide—after all, there was no one else in the warehouse. The only question left unanswered was the criminal's motivation."

Sherlock's face seemed to twist into a slight grimace as he lit his pipe, adjusted the blanket covering his legs, and looked sympathetically at his friend.

"Watson, you can take a cigarette, the pack is on the mantelpiece, behind Churchill's photograph, where you hide it. Mrs. Hudson already knows, anyway, and the nicotine will help activate the cells of your gray matter. This case seems increasingly interesting to me; let's try to reconstruct the events in order. Listen to what Sky News reported:

"On Saturday, the 13th, a pre-exam tutorial for first- and second-year economics students was being held in the large auditorium of the Morgan-Weissman Building at Barnum University. Twenty-one people attended. At approximately 2:30 a.m., a masked man descended from the back of the auditorium and opened fire on those present, firing more than 40 bullets."

-- That is, he emptied four magazines. According to unconfirmed reports, the first three bullets hit Stella Brook, a 19-year-old student known for her Christian faith and being the chair of the university's Republican chapter.

-- Look at the photo, Watson – she is simply a beauty; the obituary also noted that Stella was a high-class pianist and gave classical music concerts.

"This is terrible, Holmes. What kind of monster could do such a thing? I see that another student, known to be born to immigrants from a former Central Asian republic of the Soviet Union, was killed, and nine people were wounded, whose names are unknown, but their lives are not in danger."

"Yes, Watson, he shot her in the face..." Two students testified that the gunman made sounds like a dog barking, " wau-wau-wau !" while others heard Nothing. After that, he simply walked out of the building. For some reason, there were no security cameras inside the building, but he was captured on video outside, three seconds of which are available to the public: a rather overweight man with a short, thick neck, wearing a COVID mask, leisurely walks down the street, and then turns the corner. Police, searching for witnesses, showed this video to the public on Sunday on television, and offered a $50,000 reward for assistance in the investigation. That same evening, Wilson, a suspect who completely didn't fit the criminal's profile—he was thin and tall, had an airtight alibi, and was released the following day.

— Was there any meaning to it, Sherlock?

— Perhaps... Within a few hours, messages began appearing on Twitter, which, as you know, is less controlled than other social networks, that strange things were happening on the Barnum University website: access was being blocked, and all pages associated with a certain student named Merzai Habash were being deleted.

— Is there really some connection with Muertes?

"Based on surviving photographs, Merzai matches the suspect's description: roughly the same height and overweight. He's a second-year student, the son of Lebanese refugees. He's very active in the pro-Palestinian movement on Barnum's campus. He published a manifesto on his website, the contents of which are unavailable. Enthusiasts also found a comment on a gun company's website, in which a buyer, identified as "Merzai H," thanks someone for assistance adjusting the sights on a Glock pistol..."

— May I suggest, Holmes, that the same pistol was used in the Weissman-Morgan auditorium?

"You have a keen eye, my friend. Now try to predict the actions of the police upon receiving such information."

"Oh, this Habash guy was probably questioned, his gun license checked, and an alibi established. The university administration was instructed not to destroy information potentially related to the crime being investigated, which is itself punishable by law. Who, other than Barnum's top brass, could have ordered the removal of certain materials from the university website? Especially since it began three to five hours after the fatal shooting."

"Alas, Watson, at a press conference the following day, Barnum University President Miss Cynthia Duckson stated that she knew Nothing about the removal of data from the website, that student Habash had no connection with the terrorist attack, and that if something was removed, it was done to protect the student's personal information from Zionists and Islamophobes, and that she fully supported the investigation.

Inspector Lestrade, who was present, firmly supported her: Merzai Habash could have had Nothing to do with the incident, so the police did not detain or question him, and his whereabouts are unknown, as are the perpetrator and motive for the crime. I can add that the "purge" of Barnum's website continued: all information about Habash, Stella Brook, all the victimized students, as well as all pro-Palestinian circles and political groups at the university, their appeals, memoranda, and other propaganda materials, were removed.

— But back then, the police didn't know anything about Nick Muertes' existence?

"Of course, Watson, but Mrs. Hudson has already called twice for dinner, so let's take a break and continue our conversation tomorrow, and if you have time, try to find information about Muertes."

*

"I assume, doctor, that you finished working on the computer last night so late that you could have slept until noon, but your military discipline and sense of duty kept you from being late for breakfast. If you've finished your oatmeal, I'd be glad to hear the results." Holmes added a sugar cube to his coffee and slowly stirred it with a miniature spoon bearing the initials A.K-D.

"Frankly, Holmes, I expected more, but still found something quite interesting. Muertes's connection to the Barnum bombing, which, as you recall, occurred on Saturday, became known on Tuesday, the day after the murder of renowned physicist Diego Lopez on Monday evening. A homeless man, who goes by the pseudonym Billy, saw police video of the suspect on YouTube and wrote on Reddit that he had seen a similar man several times near the Morgan-Weissman building. Billy himself lives in the basement of this building, where he charges his cell phone, uses Wi-Fi, and uses the restroom. One day, he allegedly attempted to engage in conversation with a stranger, but the latter rudely refused, got into his car—a gray Nissan—and drove away. Billy didn't write down the number, but he posted about the suspicious man and his car on Reddit.

- Doesn't it seem strange to you, Watson, that he didn't go to the police, even though he knew about the promised reward of 50 thousand?

"He is apparently a conscientious citizen, but he has already had dealings with the police and wishes to remain anonymous.

"Yes, yes, he selflessly performed his civic duty, but he didn't realize the police had hundreds of video cameras in the area, and they quickly identified him and detained him for the prize, of course. The car's owner, Nick Muertes, was also identified by the license plate number of the Nissan, which he'd rented in Boston about two weeks earlier."

"That's exactly what happened, Holmes, the only strange thing is that the Nissan turned out to be blue with a Massachusetts license plate, and Billy said the license plate belonged to the state of Florida."

— And how did the police explain this?

"It's very simple: Inspector Lestrade said Nick Muertes was skilled at covering his tracks, changing his car's license plates to avoid paying tolls. He also had several mobile phones, the location of which couldn't be determined by GPS due to illegal apps installed on them, and numerous counterfeit credit cards with fictitious names. All of this was found in a warehouse next to his body."

- And when was it discovered?

Three days after Lopez's murder. Both pistols, several magazines, and two hundred rounds of ammunition were found next to him. A ballistics analysis was conducted, and Inspector Lestrade proudly announced that it had been definitively established that a Glock was used in the Barnum bombing, and that Diego Lopez was killed in Chelsea with a Beretta. He also mentioned that on the day of the murder, a gray Nissan was parked half a mile from Lopez's home, which is compelling evidence of Muertes's involvement.

*

Suddenly, something brightly flared in the fireplace, and Holmes's thin face, sitting next to him, lit up for a moment. Watson thought his friend was deeply angry: his gray eyes glittered, and his jaw was clenched far harder than needed to hold his pipe. However, Holmes's voice was as even as usual, and there was no overt expression of emotion.

"Well, Watson, thank you, I believe you've managed to uncover virtually all the essential information the police deemed necessary to share with the public. The investigation's findings are clear and beyond doubt: in both cases, the perpetrator is the same man, found with the weapon used to commit the crimes, and he's dead, which is very convenient. Doesn't this remind you of Moriarty's style—everything planned down to the last detail and no clues left, but admittedly, there's a slight flaw—a problem with motivation..."

"Holmes, Nick Muertes attended the same university in Spain as Diego Lopez, so that they may have known each other. In 2001, Muertes entered graduate school at Barnum, but was expelled after six months..."

— The reasons for the expulsion of Barnum's management are, of course, unknown?

"Of course. No documents survived, and the university archives will never be publicly accessible—or rather, as Rector Duckson stated, everything is completely open—but the physics department's student files for 2001 were destroyed in a small fire. Nevertheless, although he was expelled voluntarily, the police suspect Muertes harbored a grudge against both the university and his friend, Lopez, who had a successful academic career, and has now decided to settle the score... Yes, after 25 years. Revenge and oysters, as the saying goes, are best served cold.

"Oh, Watson, your erudition still pleasantly surprises me, thank you for not bringing up Mozart and Salieri. And Lestrade and company explain the mass shooting of children as an insult to his university, which did not allow him to defend his dissertation."

"Exactly, Holmes. A failed physicist returns to Barnum 25 years later and murders two students born five years after his failed graduate studies. According to witness Billy, Muertes had visited Barnum several times before for some reason and could have at least found and sacrificed some of the faculty or administrators who worked at the university in those distant days.

"Of course, Watson, you would have done so. There was a report online that a certain professor (name withheld) remembered Nick as an unpleasant and incompetent student who had been there for less than a year. Although his personnel file was burned, a certificate of enrollment was allegedly found. After the shooting in Morgan's classroom, Nick Muertes, still wearing his mask, calmly exits the building, where he is captured on a surveillance camera, and leisurely walks to his car, parked nearby (the camera is either off or missing), changes his Florida license plates to fake Massachusetts ones, and drives away. Two days later, on Monday evening, he seriously wounds Lopez in the foyer of his Chelsea apartment building and disappears with the gun. Police have determined that the same gray or blue Nissan was parked about a kilometer from the murder scene that evening, which they believe is evidence of Muertes's involvement. Neighbors came running at the sound of gunshots; no one saw the killer, and Diego Lopez was taken to the hospital, where he died the following day. It's worth noting that the press provided no information about his wife and three teenage children, their whereabouts at the time of the murder, or whether they knew Muertes. Even their names were concealed, although their address, 9 Gross Street, was published, making it easy to identify the residents.

"And Muertes drove 70 kilometers north of the crime scene to the town of Dalem and committed suicide the next day in a warehouse, where he was found two days later, on Thursday. Incidentally, this wasn't a shoe factory, but a paid long-term storage facility, where Nick rented a 6-by-6-foot locker.

"Yes, Watson, and that's why the case will be closed soon: under US law, if the perpetrator is identified and dead, the criminal investigation is closed, although the victims can file a civil suit to somehow compensate for the damages. Most likely, the families of the dead and injured will sue Barnum for the negligence of its security service, and will be awarded very large sums of money."

— Just today, the press reported that the head of this service, Thompson, has been suspended from his post without explanation. In total, he oversees 95 employees in the university security service, 40 of whom are licensed patrol officers. The report also cites information about 30 rape reports from university students in the past year alone.

"Oh, Thompson was fired without explanation, but publishing such information these days requires considerable courage. Is there anything else worthy of attention, Watson?"

"The only good news is that of the nine wounded students, seven have already been discharged from the hospital, and the remaining two are recovering and will be able to return to duty in the coming days. As a doctor, I can assume the injuries were quite minor. It is known that the students hid under their desks, but given that 44 bullets were fired at very close range, I would say the outcome could have been much worse."

"Indeed, that's good news, doctor. I'd even suggest that, after killing two students at once, the perpetrator simply fired into the air, which casts doubt on the theory of terrorism. But I see you're rushing to your evening shift at the hospital. I won't keep you, but in the meantime, I'll try to understand the motive for Lopez's murder—what exactly in the former alumni's career could have triggered such a violent outburst of hatred in Muertes and prompted him to act."

*

"Good morning, Watson! Judging by your cheerful appearance, there weren't many patients admitted to intensive care last night, and you even managed to get a couple of hours' sleep."

"That's right, Holmes, the shift passed without any major incidents: one slightly wounded gangster and two overdoses. Not only did I get some sleep, but I even managed to catch up on the news on our case. Incredibly, almost three weeks after the events, the police suddenly discovered in the same storage locker a videotape of Nick Muertes' confession, made hours before his suicide, in which he admits to murdering the students in Barnum, muttering that they simply didn't have time to hide under their desks like the others. He shows no remorse for his actions, but he doesn't give a reason either. The videos themselves are not available to the public, but a transcript translated from Spanish has been published.

"I also read that astonishing document, Watson. Did you notice that Muertes doesn't mention Diego Lopez at all? He also, for some reason, denies shouting "Allah Akbar" during the shooting, which is quite odd, considering he could only have learned of this insinuation from bloggers' posts, which were quickly deleted from the internet. He certainly found time to check social media immediately after the murder! So what else did they discover?"

In Stella Brook's hometown in Alabama, after the funeral church service, her funeral was held. More than five hundred people attended, but no one from Barnum's administration was present. Chancellor Duckson sent her condolences, and the university website published a very brief obituary, making no mention of Ms. Brook's affiliation with the Republican Party or any political activity on campus.

— And how did Lopez's funeral go?

"Holmes, I was waiting for you to ask this question, and unfortunately, I can't say anything. There's absolutely no information, not on the website of the university where he worked, no funeral date, no cemetery. The only thing that caught my attention was the large number of internet posts denying the rumors that Lopez was Jewish, but providing no evidence. It would be enough to state the cemetery where he was buried, right?"

"Yes, that would be too easy, my friend. But hiding this information from the public is not so simple and costs a considerable amount of money. Although if you think about it, what difference does it make what faith the famous scientist professed when an envious person murdered him? And the rivalry began back in 1995, when Muertes, not Lopez, went to represent Spain at the International Physics Olympiad in Australia. If you pass me the cream and sugar bowl, I'll tell you what I've learned about Lopez's scientific achievements."

- Sure thing.

Diego Lopez was the director of the Plasma and Fusion Research Center; he supervised more than three hundred people, who were tackling the complex theoretical and engineering challenges that arise in the construction of commercial fusion reactors, such as how to contain plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius within such a reactor, or how to convert the released nuclear energy into electrical energy. There is a fierce global competition to be the first to build such a reactor, with the main participants being America, China, Russia, England, France, and several large private companies. The task is expected to be completed within two to three years. Lopez, one of the leading theoreticians in plasma physics, assembled a very strong team and was able to attract the significant capital investment necessary to solve this problem.

— So Muertes has significantly weakened the American team?

"Without a doubt, although Lopez's group includes several world-class scientists who could lead the Center and the reactor project. And now, my dear Watson, I'd like to consider all the available facts and hypotheses on this case, which, I believe, is beyond the capabilities of our Inspector Lestrade. The weather is fine, no rain is expected, and I think I'll take a stroll through Regent's Park. If it's convenient for you, let's meet at five for lunch. I'll ask Mrs. Hudson to prepare your favorite Ukrainian borscht with goose rinds."

"I'll be looking forward to this lunch with impatience, Holmes, and not so much for the borscht as out of curiosity to see what you'll make of the police version of events. I suspect you find it unconvincing."

*

"Holmes, I admire your attention to detail: a shot of ice-cold vodka is a delicious complement to borscht! How did you come up with that idea?"

"Thank you, but this time your compliment should be addressed to Mrs. Hudson. To your health, Major!"

— Major of Her Majesty's Medical Service, retired, thank you, Holmes.

— If I'm not mistaken, while I was walking in the park, you decided to clean your signature weapon?

"How did you recognize Holmes? It's necessary to do this at least once every six months, and I took the liberty of lubricating your revolver as well."

"That's very kind of you. And the smell of gun oil is hard to confuse with anything else."

"Indeed, it's elementary, Holmes. But I'm all ears and awaiting your analysis of these crimes. I must say that the police's theory seems quite reasonable to me, although the question of Muertes' motivation, pardon the cliché, leaves food for thought."

"You're right, Watson, it's all about motivation, and, if you ask me, Nick Muertes had none at all, and the police's story about a simmering, thirty-year-old grudge is simply laughable. I was finally convinced of this after carefully rereading the transcripts of his 'video confessions.' Such suicide notes are made by criminals precisely to justify their actions, and every criminal has such justifications, especially the insane."

In our case, none of that exists. Muertes spends a lot of time focusing on his eye, supposedly damaged in the shooting, and goes on a long, incoherent rant about why he ended up in this storage locker, which, it turns out, he'd been renting for three whole years. He expresses anger at Trump for calling him an animal in absentia, declares he's not an America hater, and casually declares he has no regrets.

Note, Watson: just a few hours before the recording, he shot Diego Lopez—and yet he doesn't even mention him once. It's as if the murder simply doesn't exist in his worldview.

Only in the fourth and final video fragment does Muertes finally recall the shooting in Barnum's classroom: it turns out he only saw one guy there—not a girl, mind you—everyone hid under tables and chairs. And, most importantly for the investigation, he categorically maintains that he didn't shout "Allah Akbar." As we know, several victims made similar statements, and there were posts about them online, quickly deleted by someone, but our attentive Nick was monitoring the social media comments in real time and felt it necessary to clarify his lack of jihadist tendencies. How sweet! What conclusion would you draw, Watson, from these video documents?

"You know, Holmes, this reminds me of an old police joke: when they find an unconscious drunk on New Year's Eve and pin all the unsolved cases on him. Do you think it's a fake, Holmes?"

"Of course, it took time to prepare: two weeks after Muertes' body was discovered, these video recordings were suddenly found in his storage locker. Whatever one might say about the professionalism of Lestrade's men, they would have immediately searched a suicide scene measuring four square meters. They likely had some video clips of Muertes that needed to be processed so that his confession would have minimal connection to the incident and incriminate him. It's a difficult task, but solvable with artificial intelligence. However, they still decided against releasing the footage, and so only the transcript is available to the public. Perhaps the specialists need additional time to refine the original footage, and in a few weeks, the videos will be posted online. After all, no one actually saw Muertes in Barnum."

"But what about Billy? He claims to have met Nick several times on Barnum's property."

"Billy himself is most likely a fictional character. My police source told me there's no mention in the investigation files of Muertes's body being presented to Billy. Furthermore, none of Barnum's students present in the classroom at the time of the shooting participated in the identification; as noted in the case file, this was for humanitarian reasons, so as not to upset the children, who had already experienced terrible shock."

— What about his car, the grey Nissan?

"Nobody even saw the perpetrator get into the car. A masked man was casually strolling down the street, but none of the 820 cameras installed on the university campus captured him near the car. All we know is that Muertes rented a car in a Boston suburb two weeks before the Barnum murders, but it's unknown who drove it, where, or why."

— But then maybe he didn't kill the students?

— Exactly! Watson, usually the simplest explanation for an event is the correct one—Occam's Razor principle. The murder of Stella Brooke is a political assassination, similar to the recent murder of Marley Dirk, committed by an Islamist named Merzai Habash, well-known on Barnum's campus for his anti-Zionist and pro-Hamas activities. A Republican and Christian, Stella drew the hatred of both the Palestinian students, over a thousand of whom "study" at Barnum, and the left-liberal faculty. An additional factor is Habash's non-binary sexuality, which is referred to as "they" in a biographical note on Barnum's website. It's entirely possible that Stella held and expressed negative Christian views on the existence of multiple genders, which were known to Habash.

"In that case, it's entirely natural that someone heard the sacred chant of 'Allah Akbar,' as reported online in the first hours after the attack. But then such reports mysteriously disappeared, and the students who supposedly heard it recanted their initial statements, even claiming they heard the killer's 'wau-wau-wau-wau'—a dog's bark, similar in assonance to 'Allah Akbar.' Now it becomes clear why Muertes, in his dying message, denies having shouted this phrase—otherwise, the entire theory of his guilt would crumble like a house of cards."

"Watson, you think logically, just like the perpetrators of this hoax. Although the students were forced to recant their testimony and likely intimidated with both expulsion from the university and physical threats of sharing Stella's fate, there remains a slight chance that someone will testify truthfully under oath. Note that the names of the students present in the auditorium on that fateful day are being kept secret. The names of the injured are also unknown, but the situation could change if any of them sue Barnum.

"Your hypothesis, Holmes, explains the motive: it appears we're dealing not with a so-called 'mass shooting,' but with the planned murder of right-wing activist Stella Brook. A Central Asian student was caught in the line of fire and shot while shielding her, and then Habash killed Stella with three shots to the face, and, without taking much aim, emptied several clips into the students trying to hide under tables. But I'm tormented by a question: how could Barnum's superiors, in your opinion, have resorted to harboring a criminal?"

"It's not that simple, Watson, but put yourself in the shoes of Barnum's rector and board of directors. I think it's no secret to you that universities in the United States are largely controlled by left-wing liberals who espouse socialist ideas and despise the American state as a symbol of capitalism. In their view, it stands in the way of the transition to a bright communist future. It's not even an ideology, but a religion that requires no proof of its adherents' rightness. The destruction of America, even if it means their own downfall, is the highest goal, for the sake of which they can agree to any alliance, including Islamists, drug dealers, or the Chinese communists, as well as commit any crime against their opponents.

Minutes after the tragic events on Saturday, the university's internal security team reports to the chancellor that Merzai Habash, an ardent Hamas supporter and pro-Palestinian activist, carried out the shooting in Morgan-Weissman Auditorium and that there are casualties. Students who might have recognized him are almost certainly among the victims. Half an hour later, it is discovered that Stella Brooke has been killed—one of the very few right-wing Barnum students, the chairwoman of the Republican Charter of the university. What goes through the mind of Ms. Duckson, the chancellor?"

— Was there a political assassination in Barnum?

"Exactly! And here, Watson, it's appropriate to use the modern term 'optics,' which in Newspeak means the impression a given event might make on the public, regardless of its actual effect. Even a moderated newspaper headline—'Murder of Republican Christian Student by Palestinian Activist in Barnum'—is 'bad optics' and could damage the great Left Cause of Fighting America. This cannot be allowed to happen, and emergency measures are being taken to minimize the damage. The first step is to hide Merzai from any possible involvement in any investigation: his whereabouts are still unknown, and it is believed he was secretly transported to some Arab country long ago. Barnum's website states that his interests are represented by a certain Association of Islamic Lawyers.

- Yes, it is a bit strange to hire lawyers for an innocent student who is not accused of anything and is not involved in the case in any way.

"Literally three hours after the incident, a purge of Barnum's website begins, deleting all pages mentioning Habash or Stella Brook, all political content—multi-gender, Palestinian, and Republican—and anything that might suggest the rampant Wokism, Islamism, and anti-Semitism on the university campus, and thus sheds light on the motive for the crime. Students present in the auditorium are given a "clearing" or heads-up: under no circumstances are they to interfere with the investigation, meaning no interviews under penalty of immediate expulsion, and internal security is blocking all access to the wounded in the hospital."

— However, there were reports about "Allah Akbar."

"They were, but were quickly disavowed and diluted with lies about barking, and then completely removed from the information space. Tweets about 'all mentions of Habash being removed from the internet' spread like wildfire, and amateur detectives found an unpleasant note on the website of a weapons dealer, in which a certain "Merzai H." thanks them for good service, indicating the suspect may have weapons.

"It seems, Holmes, that everything was hanging by a thread: one question for Habash, whether he had a license to carry a weapon and..."

The police could have found out within five minutes, but no such order was issued. However, not everyone in law enforcement, as they say, was "in the loop," and the next day, a three-second video of the suspect appears—an overweight man wearing a mask, a black jacket, and holding his hands behind his back, a typical Middle Eastern stance. The public is asked to help, and a $50,000 reward is offered. It's almost a failure: a passerby resembles student Habash, heightening suspicions. It's safe to assume the police officer who released the video has already been removed from the investigation, but damage control requires extraordinary measures and extraordinary powers. The rector can order the internal security service to destroy footage from 800 CCTV cameras and remove materials from the university's website, but wiping out the entire internet is beyond their power, nor even the state police. Only special services, like our MI5, with their unlimited powers like Agent 007, can do this. Clearly, to come to the rescue in such a matter, the leadership of these special services must share Barnum's ideology.

— Holmes, are you a supporter of conspiracy theories? A global conspiracy?

"No, Watson, I'm just a detective and a proponent of common sense: why hide something that's of no interest? Give me a coherent explanation of what's happening, and I'll readily accept your theory, but until that happens, my interpretation of events can stand until facts refute it. Specifically, facts, supported by documents, and not the statements of a certain Billy, whose identity is unknown, and the public has only seen his blurry photograph, in which a man is indistinguishable from a monkey. What's being hidden is something that someone needs to hide, for example, the president's birth certificate, or a secret annex to the peace treaty on the division of Europe, or the cargo manifest of the missing MH-370, which the Malaysian authorities "couldn't" publish for two years. But we've digressed, and if you don't mind, let's examine what happened next in our case."

- Oh, I'm looking forward to it. I don't remember seeing you so excited, Holmes.

"Frankly, Watson, the very phrase 'conspiracy theory' unnerves me. It's one of the most sophisticated inventions of modern political strategy. A mantra that would earn a 'Devil's Prize,' if such a thing existed. A brazen crime is committed, the most implausible explanation is put forward, and when anyone questions this idiotic fabrication, they are accused of conspiracy. Meanwhile, the surrounding imbeciles shake their empty heads with an air of importance: 'Yes, it's all clear to us: Muertes held a grudge and shot everyone. He bided his time for thirty years, prepared two pistols, and shot himself so as not to burden the authorities with investigations,' while Soroarty rubbed his withered, old hands." Watson's thin lips pursed, but he didn't dare show his hurt, so Holmes continued.

By Tuesday morning, the plan was ready and underway: the musicians were handed the sheet music, the conductor waved his baton—off we go. Someone was working on Billy's avatar—they needed to link Muertes to Barnum: a vigilant homeless person posts on Reddit about seeing a suspicious man getting into a car—a gray Nissan—near the Weissman Building. The ever-watchful eye of "Big Brother" monitors billions of posts across all social media and, within minutes, supposedly delivers the information: the Nissan was rented by someone named Muertes. This was a full two weeks ago, and why? According to investigators, because the criminal was preparing: he was researching the situation at the university, the class schedule, the location and technical condition of the security cameras, the security patrol system, and who knows what else. Everything needs to be foreseen, except the choice of victims: what difference does it make who gets killed? Let's say it's a young girl born five years after Muertes's stay in Barnum. The author of the Reddit post, Billy, is easily "identified" a couple of hours later, and he conveniently recalls seeing Nick several times before the murder. The hypothesis strengthens – there's a witness who could have been interrogated if necessary, but it wasn't necessary. I think, Watson, that Billy is a fictional character altogether, and the 50,000-ruble bonus will be handed out to the X22 staff.

— What about Lopez's murder? How is Muertes connected to it?

"Most likely, my friend, none whatsoever — but our Nick is already doomed. All they thought necessary to tell us was that a gray Nissan was spotted half a mile from Lopez's home on 9 Gross Street. But more about Lopez later, and the unsuspecting Muertes continues his routine work as an X22 technician and arrives in the town of Dalem at his storage locker, where his coworkers are already waiting. They make Nick lie comfortably, saying, 'Nothing personal, amigo. Pick a gun.' A second pistol, magazines, and ammunition are placed near the body, and two days later, on Thursday, a random passerby or warehouse worker calls the police.

— And in both cases, were the pistols abandoned by the killers at the crime scene, as is usually the case?

"Obviously. The police or local security services found them and handed them over to X22, but since they were different police units, they had to deal with two weapons, even though one would have been more convenient. In his suicide video, Nick Muertes makes a crucial observation for the investigation, stating that he decided to use two pistols. This confession plays into the narrative, as do his repeated references to his eye being damaged by a ricochet, which explains why no more than fifteen of the 44 bullets hit the target. The question of the weapon used is always important and could have aided the investigation, but when intelligence agencies have access to it, it becomes meaningless, and there's no need to analyze the ballistics results or figure out what pistol Merzai Habash bought back then."

 If Muertes wasn't involved in Lopez's murder, then who did? And what about the fact that they knew each other?

"I believe Muertes isn't an operative, but rather a legitimate X22 support technician, and it's unlikely he's ever killed anyone. These types of people do the dirty, boring work without asking too many questions, but they rarely know the full picture, and they're the ones who are easiest to write off when an operation doesn't go according to plan or the plan changes. My suspicions of his involvement with the intelligence services arose when we tried to establish any details about his biography, and the search yielded Nothing more than fragmentary comments about representing Spain at the 1995 Olympics and studying at a technical university around the same time as López, but even these facts are quite difficult to confirm. After that, there's Nothing at all: since 2000, for some reason, he severed ties with his parents (so they wouldn't be bothered with unnecessary questions), allegedly worked as a programmer, and in 2017, he won the American green card lottery. What he's been doing for the past 25 years and where he's lived is completely obscure. There are no traces, which is practically impossible for an ordinary person changing jobs, moving from place to place, registering, and obtaining various documents. However, it's quite logical for an intelligence agent, whose entire biography is fictitious, and whose real details have been completely erased by the professionals who work at X22. It's possible that during his student years, his life crossed with Diego Lopez's, and this fact struck his handlers as an interesting possibility, as a way to connect him to Lopez's murder—a weak motive, but one the public will swallow and forget. But I wouldn't be surprised if Nick studied elsewhere—Moriarty's imagination knows no bounds.

— So, who killed Lopez and why?

"If we compare all the circumstantial evidence, Watson, the most plausible is the involvement of Iranian intelligence services. Professor Lopez was a Sephardic Jew by birth, and although he didn't actively practice Judaism, he was an outspoken supporter of Israel, as reported in Israeli media the day after the assassination. His murder, too, was a political assassination, committed in retaliation for the assassination of several Iranian nuclear scientists by Israel last June. It's worth noting that it occurred on the second day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which lends a certain symbolism to the act. The shooter was a professional, and as is customary, he left the weapon at the crime scene, where the Chelsea police picked it up. Technically, one of X22's missions is to counter the agents of enemy states, and this is an obvious flaw, which can easily be pinned on Muertes. So much for the motive... And now it's five o'clock, and it's time to ask Mrs. Hudson for tea. Do you have any questions, my friend?"

"Frankly, Holmes, your theories seem convincing, but they're just a theory. While they explain many facts, I think the documentary evidence is lacking. Perhaps one of the students in Barnum's classroom could tell what really happened there?"

"You're right, Watson. Witnesses can be intimidated, documents are almost nonexistent or destroyed, but secrets always come to light. History is replete with examples of official versions being considered unshakable for decades, only to collapse under the weight of documents. Polish officers in Katyn were considered victims of the Germans for half a century, until NKVD orders and archival lists were published, clearly pointing to the true perpetrators. Similarly, in Britain, the story of the Cambridge Five was long perceived as an exaggeration, until declassified materials confirmed that Soviet agents were at the very heart of MI5 and MI6. In this sense, the word 'conspiracy theory' often proves to be merely a temporary label for something that hasn't yet received its archive number. Let's hope that the vile murderer of young Stella Brook is brought to justice, and that you and I, Watson, will live to see that time." Now, tea, doctor, and I think you won't refuse a glass of brandy.

*

Inspector Lestrade, accompanied by four police officers, walked past the weeping Mrs. Hudson and up the stairs to the second floor of 221B Baker Street. Holmes and Watson sat dead in armchairs facing each other in the salon, a pistol in the doctor's hand, and Holmes's revolver lying on the floor. The inspector's first thought was "a double suicide," but then a possible duel flashed through his mind. Confused, he turned to the window and saw a gleaming red Rolls-Royce with an "M" on the hood. A thin man in a black cloak and top hat stood next to the car; he was pulling on his gloves, but from a distance, Lestrade thought he seemed to be rubbing his hands, and of course, he couldn't hear the professor say as he climbed into the cab: "I don't think they need any more evidence, Sir Arthur."

(c) Dimus, 2026