Patrick Jane was called to the scene of a bizarre murder at a luxurious mansion in the suburbs. The victim, Robert Griffin, a wealthy businessman, was found dead in his living room, a glass of red wine in hand and a fatal blow to the head. Initial signs pointed to a possible robbery, but nothing was missing, and there were no signs of forced entry. Lisbon and her team were stumped, with no clear leads.
Patrick Jane, with his keen eye for detail, entered the room, immediately surveying every inch of the scene. He noticed the small things others overlooked. Walking around the room, he touched the walls, examined the couch, and scrutinized the wine glass clutched in the victim's hand. Lisbon, growing impatient, asked, "Seen anything yet, Jane?"
Jane smiled faintly and replied, "Lisbon, we're looking for something that's not in plain sight. This case might be more complex than a simple robbery."
He spotted something unusual: two candles in the room had been extinguished, but no one had considered them relevant. Jane turned to Lisbon, "Who discovered the body?"
Lisbon replied, "His housekeeper, Clara, called us as soon as she found him."
Jane decided to question Clara. He asked her about the victim’s habits, and she revealed that Robert had a ritual of drinking red wine alone in the evenings, often in the dim glow of candlelight. But when questioned further about last night, Clara became inconsistent, fumbling over the timeline of when the candles had been snuffed out.
Back in the living room, Jane continued examining the wine glass and the floor beneath it. He noticed a small splash of red wine on the carpet—an oddity given the victim’s position and how the glass was placed in his hand. That small detail was the first clue that something was off.
Jane chuckled, "Lisbon, I think I know what happened here. This isn’t a robbery; it's a carefully staged scene."
Lisbon frowned, "What makes you so sure?"
Patrick took a handkerchief and gently wiped the rim of the glass, inspecting it closely. "This wine glass was placed in the victim’s hand after he died. If he had been drinking when he was attacked, there would be far more wine spilled on the floor and the couch."
He continued, "The head wound suggests he was hit from behind unexpectedly, but the way his body is positioned is unnatural. Someone staged the scene to make it look like an accident. And the candles… they were blown out before the victim died, which means the killer knew his routine."
Jane turned toward Clara, who had been lingering nearby. "Clara, how long have you been working for Mr. Griffin?"
Clara, nervous, answered, "Over 15 years."
Jane stepped closer, his gaze sharp. "Then why did you stage the scene to look like an accident?"
Clara stammered, denying it, but Jane remained calm. "We’ll find your fingerprints on the wine glass and traces of you handling the candles. You thought blowing them out would hide the true time of death, but you made a small mistake by placing the wine glass incorrectly."
In the end, Clara confessed to killing Robert after he caught her embezzling money from his accounts. She never expected that tiny details like the placement of a wine glass and the extinguished candles would unravel her plan. Lisbon, in awe of Jane’s sharp eye, said, "You always notice the things no one else does."
Jane smirked slightly, "The little details are always the key, Lisbon. That’s the game."
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