The moment Jason spoke, Harry caught on right away.


    Harry admitted with a grin, "Yeah, Ryder''s my brother. Why, you know him?"


    "I do," Jason replied, ncing at the fish swimmingzily in the tank. "Hey, boss, what''s the price on these silver carp?"


    "Sixteen a pound," Harry answered, slipping into his fishmonger role with a practiced smile. "How about it? Want one? Ours are super fresh-just came in today."


    "Alright, I''ll take one," Jason said. "Could you clean it up real nice for me?"


    "No problem at all. I''ve been doing this for years. I promise it''ll be spotless," Harry replied. With swift, sure movements, he hauled a big silver carp out of the tank.


    His hands worked quickly and confidently-clearly, this wasn''t his first rodeo.


    As Harry started prepping the fish, Jason waited nearby, making small talk. "You and your brother are twins, right? He''s in finance, so how''d you end up running a fish stall?"


    Harryughed. "I never liked school much, but my brother was all about it. Now he''s got his fancy desk job, and I''m notining either. Selling fish pays the bills and then some."


    You could tell right away-Harry was the upbeat, easygoing type.


    He was good at business, too. After weighing the fish—just over four pounds-he turned to Jason, "I''ll call it four pounds even, make it an even sixty-four. Venmo, WhatsApp Pay, whatever-just scan here."


    "Thanks, boss," Jason said, pulling out his phone to pay.


    Harry pressed a hand firmly on the fish and, with the other, picked up a stick and gave the carp a quick thump on the head. The fish stilled instantly. Then, grabbing a fillet knife, Harry stabbed right through the chest and sliced downward, gutting the fish with one fluid motion.


    Watching Harry''s technique, Jason''s brow furrowed. That chest stab reminded him of the recent murders-each victim killed by a single blow to the chest.


    Jason casually nced over at the other fish vendors. They weren''t stabbing the chest-they''d snip open the belly with scissors and clean out the guts fast.


    Every victim had reeked of fish, every death caused by a blow to the chest. Harry and Ryder looked almost identical-except for the little mole in Harry''s eyebrow. Ryder had been brought in for questioning before, no problems found. But what if Monica hadn''t met Ryder by the river that day? What if, at the riverside andter at the restaurant, she''d actually run into two different people?


    Jason''s mind spun-suddenly, it all seemed possible.


    Finished cleaning, Harry handed the fish over. "Here you go, man. Come back anytime."


    "Will do," Jason replied, taking the bag and heading out.


    Harry watched him go, wondering if Jason really just wanted to buy fish.


    Jason walked out of the market, got in his car, and called Monica.


    She answered, cheerful as ever. "Detective Jason, calling me during work hours? You must be missing me, huh?"


    "Monica, I need to ask you something," Jason said, getting straight to the point. "The guy you saw by the river-did he have a mole in his eyebrow or not?"


    "A mole? What are you talking about?" Monica sounded puzzled.


    "You know, the short guy at the crime scene by the river. About five feet tall, smelled super fishy. We ran into him again at the hot pot ce. The first time, by the river-did he have a mole in his eyebrow? Think hard. This could be really important."


    Jason was trying to figure out-had they seen the same man both times, or two different men?


    Monica thought for a second. “Oh,


    that short guy? Honestly, I c


    didn''t


    notice anything like that. Didn''t you


    bring him in for questioning?


    Wouldn''t you know?"


    She didn''t quite catch Jason''s drift. As far as she was concerned, it was the same guy both times.


    Jason pressed on. “Monica, seriously-try to remember. At the river, did the guy have a mole in his eyebrow? This could be the key to the whole case."


    Jason was sure the man at the restaurant was Ryder-no mole. But the one at the river? Only Monica would know.


    Monica was flustered. "Jason, now


    you''ve got me all confused. How would know? I wasn''t looking that closely. I just remember he


    reeked-like, really fishy."vent


    Jason sighed it was understandable. Who really pays that much attention to a stranger''s eyebrow?


    Meanwhile, Monica was hanging out at Anastasia''s ce.


    Anastasia came in with a te of sliced fruit and noticed Monica on the phone. "Who was that? What are you two chatting about?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!