The video reporting the incident continues, showing excerpts from videos captured by curious neighbors, photographs of the crime scene recorded by the authorities that show clear evidence that a struggle took place inside that residence. In addition, Judge Jonathan Kolm's own residence is shown in more detail, revealing a large and considerably luxurious home, but not to an exaggerated degree.
Whether through photos or videos, the judge himself was also shown extensively throughout the content, revealing a man in his late thirties, essentially in good shape, with white skin, light eyes, black hair—with a few gray strands—short and well-combed, and a well-defined, clean-shaven face marked by a notable mustache. Overall, he was a man who gave a mature and refined impression to anyone who looked at him, but this was slightly marred by the cuts and bruises caused by the security guard's attack.
Finally, the video concludes by explaining that the police had already collected enough material from the incident for preliminary investigation purposes, and that a formal investigation would begin very soon. In addition, after his aforementioned statements, Jonathan refused to give any further interviews.
And now, Francis was deeply intrigued, not only because it was a matter related to Raven—which was already a topic that interested him greatly—but because it was possibly, as far as anyone knew, the first case in which one of the vigilante's targets had escaped alive from one of her approaches.
Possibly... he thought.
In fact, the 'possibly' was still an important question to consider, because...
Is this really the real Raven? That was the question that had been on Francis' mind all this time.
If we go by appearance, it seems to indicate that it is. Unfortunately, we can see that the neighbors' recordings failed to capture her appearance in detail, especially considering how quickly she left the scene, and the condominium's security cameras, from what was shown in the video, also failed to do so. However, we can at least see that what was recorded of her appearance fits the description given by the judge, which in turn also fits the appearance we know of the real Raven. Furthermore, if we analyze her modus operandi in this situation, it also fits what we know of Raven's approaches. We know that Raven does not usually use firearms, so the strangest thing about this would be the moment when she tried to use the gun to shoot the judge in the feet, but considering that she probably did this with the intention of causing the judge pain and incapacitating him, then this does not go against what we know about her. Furthermore, according to the judge, she also carried a small blue-eyed raven made of wood that she used to distract him, corroborating once again that she is the real Raven. But if that is the case, then why would she attack an innocent judge?
This question leads Francis to two possibilities.
The first is that, considering that as far as we know, Raven does not attack innocent people, then the Raven we saw in this situation is an impostor. Someone who has a personal grudge against the judge for some reason, and disguised himself as Raven in every way to frame her for this murder. Since he is a judge, this grudge may have arisen from some verdict he gave in the past that may not have pleased this person, who then decided to seek revenge, but the truth is that when it comes to grudges and revenge, the possibilities are endless.
So that leads him to the second possibility, which in Francis' opinion is the most interesting.
Is this judge really as innocent as he seems? I know that, apparently, he has a very respectable reputation both in his work at the Royal Court and in his neighborhood, but who can guarantee that he is not hiding anything? That would make perfect sense, since everything points to it being the real Raven, and if that is true, then this judge will not have much peace from now on. Considering that he claimed not to know much about Raven beforehand, having only heard about her, it makes sense that he was so transparent in his testimony, and without realizing it, he revealed things about what happened that indirectly say he is a dangerous criminal, considering that Raven only targets this type of person. If I am coming to this conclusion now, then the investigators working on this case are too, if they haven't already, because like me, they are also aware of Raven's patterns. It will come as no surprise if this judge begins to be investigated in the coming days.
Francis then sighed with satisfaction, as if he had solved a puzzle.
But, well, it's true that nothing has been confirmed about this case yet, and until more information is released, I can't just make a definitive statement about it. Still, it's interesting to think that this may be the first case of someone surviving a Raven attack, at least as far as we know. Perhaps, even though she is a very skilled person, directly confronting a former Eadengard special forces soldier was a little too much for her. Either that, or there is something else to this story that we don't know yet. Who knows.
With that, Francis concluded his thoughts on the matter for the time being.
He then decided to check the time on his cell phone once more to see how much time he had left.
Then he saw that it was already eight o'clock in the morning.
That's it...!
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound of someone knocking on the door echoed.
Punctual as always, huh.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"I'm coming!" Francis exclaimed as he got up, not wanting to keep his insistent friend waiting.
He then walked to the end of the apartment's main hallway and picked up the keys from the bookshelf next to it.
The front door lock made a clicking sound as it was unlocked, and the door opened immediately.
What appeared in front of the door, outside the apartment, was another young adult, this time a twenty-two-year-old man.
He was slightly taller than Francis and had short, straight blond hair that fell in a fringe over his forehead. His eyes were a lighter green than Francis's dark green eyes, and his handsome face was marked by stubble that somehow added to his masculine charm.
He wore a black spandex shirt that highlighted his well-toned muscles and gray sweatpants, along with a pair of running shoes.
With a confident posture and cheerful smile, the man greeted him: "Good morning, sunshine!"
He was Lucas Vincent, Francis's longtime best friend.
"Good morning, you idiot," Francis replied in a humorous and provocative tone.
"Ouch!" Lucas grabbed his own chest in a dramatic gesture. "You're breaking my heart like that, it's sensitive, you know?"
His expression was comically tearful.
Francis raised an eyebrow and then let out an amused snort. "Heh, idiot."
"Ouch!" Lucas clutched his chest harder as he fell to his knees on the floor, feigning sadness.
Then Lucas raised his head and saw Francis trying his hardest to hold back his laughter, and that was enough for him to be unable to contain a loud laugh himself.
The next moment, both Francis and Lucas were laughing loudly in the hallway of the building, so early in the morning. A situation that was certainly uncomfortable for their neighbors in the hallway, but for them, it was just another one of the strange and funny situations they were capable of creating when they were together.
To say that they were longtime friends would be an understatement; they had been friends since childhood.
"Stop... laughing... bro..." Lucas said between laughs. "You're going to... disturb... the neighbors..."
"It's you... who's laughing... louder..." Francis replied in the same cheerful manner.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Shhh!"
A nearby neighbor, apparently annoyed, knocked on his door, getting their attention, and then made a loud onomatopoeic sound to silence the laughing duo, which made them both freeze.
"Oh...!" Lucas whispered.
"Damn...!" Francis also muttered.
The two then looked at each other.
"We better go inside," Francis suggested.
"I agree."
Francis then went back inside his apartment, Lucas following close behind. Francis then locked the door.
"Whew," he sighed with relief.
"Yeah," Lucas sighed too. "But putting that aside, do you have any coffee here? I'm out."
Francis's eyebrows knitted together. "Wait, you're out of coffee?"
"Strange as it may seem, I forgot to buy more," he admitted innocently.
Seriously, what are the chances that a coffee addict like him would forget to buy coffee?
"What did you have for breakfast?" Francis asked.
"Heh, nothing, and it wasn't a pleasant experience," Lucas replied with a bitter laugh.
"My goddess..." Francis sighed. "I have black tea, would you like some?"
"Sure." He nodded. "Black tea has a good amount of caffeine."
"I'll go make some." Francis started walking toward the kitchen down the hall. "But honestly, you forgot your coffee? That must be a bad omen."
Lucas reflected on those words for a few moments before murmuring in response, "Bad omen, huh? I think I have the same feeling."
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"No." Lucas shook his head. "Never mind."