The next day.
Thanks to the good sleep yesterday, I got up very early and even arrived at the police station much earlier than the agreed time.
After waiting for a long time, Manda and several other police officers came out. I subconsciously hid in a side alley. They were chatting and laughing. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I was not discovered.
After Manda and other police officers separated, I walked out.
"You are surprisingly popular."
"It's not 'unexpected' at all, okay?"
My sudden appearance did not surprise Manda much.
"So you are unexpectedly confident?"
"I respect the facts."
"She is truly worthy of being called 'Ms. Manda, who has not yet become a police officer but is already a trainee.'"
"Hey! Don't give me a new nickname! Take it back!"
...Why is this guy so calm one moment and so childish the next?
"Okay...it's not good to argue like this in front of the police station. Let's leave quickly. We have a lot to do today."
"Then don't make me angry on purpose!"
Because the distance was far, Manda and I called a carriage.
On the road, Manda, who was sitting opposite me, kept her head lowered at first, but then she seemed to notice my gaze and glared at me:
"Don't keep looking at me, okay?"
"...I'm just in a daze."
"Then don't look at me in a daze."
"...You've been emotionally unstable lately."
"Eh? Is there any?"
"Like a balloon...ah~~I don't mean your body shape."
"Yes, I know it without you having to emphasize it!"
In this way, we kept on having endless conversations and moved towards our destination.
We all know very well that today’s task is to interview the four suspects.
......
Fifteen minutes later, the first location arrived.
This is a large garden villa that looks like it has been recently taken care of.
Its owner is one of the suspects.
There were several servants cleaning the garden. After Manda confirmed with one of the servants that the master was at home, she revealed her identity and explained her purpose.
Soon, we got the entry permit.
"Is it Mr. Bradley?"
Manda asked directly as soon as she saw her master.
"Yes, what are you doing for me?"
"I am Manda Leigh, a police officer from the police department who is responsible for investigating a homicide case. Could you please answer a few questions?"
Manda showed her police officer ID again, and Bradley just glanced at it and nodded.
"Of course, it's Miss Harriman's case, right?"
Harriman is Schimmel's last name.
"Yes."
"How long will it take?"
"I will only delay you for thirty minutes at most."
"Then, please go to the second floor."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Manda bowed slightly to Bradley.
I got the consent so quickly...
Sure enough, it was right to let Manda deal with it. If you have a police certificate, the probability of being rejected will be greatly reduced.
We followed Bradley to the reception room on the second floor.
"Would you like tea?"
"No, thank you."
"What about you?"
Bradley looked at me.
"Ah...I don't need it either, thank you..."
I was flattered that he actually took the initiative to talk to me.
"Then, please feel free to ask me."
"Okay."
At the same time, as a note-taker, I placed the voice conversion pen that had been injected with magic in advance on the notebook - so that the pen could record the entire conversation by itself, and I only needed to turn the pages.
"Why did you live in the attic before the incident? Is it related to the deceased?"
"It's not that... I am also a businessman. I plan to start doing business in Woolworth next year, so I bought this villa. However, the villa was in disrepair, so I had to rent a room in the attic first.
Stay here temporarily and hire someone to take care of it at the same time."
No wonder when you come in, everything in the house always feels like new.
But... he can hire so many servants and buy a villa of this size at any time. This is a big business man.
"Does that mean it's just a coincidence that you and the deceased lived in the same place?"
"Yes."
"You're not telling the truth."
Manda judged this. Different from the childish look on the carriage before, her eyes pierced Bradley unceremoniously, with an expressionless face, completely in an interrogating posture.
"Mr. Wyatt, the owner of the attic, told me that you had specifically requested to live next to Miss Harriman."
"Ah..."
Bradley seemed a little panicked and smiled slightly awkwardly, losing his calmness just now.
"Okay... I did choose to live there because of Miss Harriman, but I promise... the reasons will not be helpful to you."
Despite this, after admitting that he had covered up, Bradley was still unwilling to make the final move.
"Then I won't ask, but I hope you can take the next questions seriously."
And Manda surprisingly didn't have any problems, which made Bradley relieved.
"Thank you very much..."
"Did you and Miss Harriman meet through business dealings?"
"This...yes."
"What cooperation have you had with her?"
"Well... mainly the products related to the No Walkers are for sale, such as various types of potions and weapons. Miss Harriman has stocks in this area."
"How much inventory do you have?"
"Not a lot...what's wrong?"
"No, just asking..."
But you look like you are asking questions seriously - I thought in my heart.
"What were you doing on the night of the incident?"
"As for me... I was discussing business with people elsewhere and didn't come back until almost ten o'clock."
"Who are you talking to about business? Can you tell me the specific address?"
What a detailed question...
"There is a ball club at the south entrance of the central square, and the owner there is named Ruku."
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Bradley frowned, obviously not willing to reveal all his whereabouts, but he still told Manda honestly.
"Okay..."
Although I have already taken notes here, Manda still took out a notebook to write down this information.
"Did you go back to the room directly after arriving at the attic?"
"Well..."
"Okay..."
There was a little helplessness in Manda's tone, which I felt deeply.
The time of the crime happened to be the rest time for the residents in the attic. Everyone was in their own room, so it was difficult to check the alibi of the person involved during this period.
"Then did you hear anything unusual next door after 11pm?"
Bradley's room is on the left side of Schimmel. Logically speaking, he should be able to detect any big movement there.
"Well...I was quite tired that day, so I fell asleep as soon as I got back and didn't hear anything. I'm sorry..."
"Don't mind."
......
After Manda finished asking, I only asked one question at the end:
"Did you feel anything was wrong after the incident?"
"What's wrong?"
"Hmm... It's like being followed, or receiving a threatening letter."
"No, no."
......
"Bradley's relationship with the deceased must be more than just a business partner."
As soon as she left the villa, Manda said decisively.
"Well...there is indeed something wrong with him."
"However, his motive for approaching the deceased should be good."
"Oh?"
"Because he is definitely a big business person, but he cooperates with Miss Harriman who doesn't have much inventory. What economic benefits does this have for him? It's possible that he wants to help Miss Harriman."
"So you asked Schimmel about the inventory to confirm this..."
You are truly worthy of being a police officer.
"You...maybe you are quite suitable to be a police officer."
"I was originally a police officer."
......
The second location is a B&B.
Here lived another person who had a relationship with Schimmel and was a former tenant in the attic.
As usual, after seeing Manda's police ID, we quickly met the second suspect - Hammons.
"Why were you living in that attic before the incident?"
Manda begins with the same question.
"What's the reason? I've been living there for almost two years. Does this have anything to do with the case?"
Unlike the polite Bradley, Hammons's way of speaking is much less polite.
"What is your relationship with Miss Schimmel?"
"It doesn't matter...at first she asked me to bring a newspaper to her when I came back from get off work every day, and over time we became familiar with it."
"Where do you work?"
"The manager... is at the Cross Bank. There are many newsstands on the way from there to the attic. It's just a simple matter to bring her newspapers."
Cross Bank is very famous. Although I have never been there, I have heard about it.
The manager of the bank...
As Manda said, people who rent lofts have more or less assets.
"Did you also bring the newspaper to Miss Harriman on the night of the crime?"
"Well, but...well, I met a difficult customer that day. I got off work very late, and the door was almost locked when I came back."
This is also consistent with the records in Manda's notebook.
"You went to see Miss Harriman as soon as you came back?"
"That's not true...I went back to the room, drank a cup of coffee, and rested for a while before going."
"About what time is it?"
"After ten o'clock."
"Were Miss Harriman alone in the room at the time?"
"...No, there was another person...I can't remember the name, but she had a good relationship with Harriman. She would always come to see Harriman, and she watched me hand in the newspaper.
For Harriman."
"Oh? Can you tell me what she looks like?"
"White hair...very white skin...no features, but she is a very beautiful person."
There is no doubt that it is snow...
In the list of suspects I gave Manda, Xue did not exist.
Now, Manda has obviously realized that Xue is a person who belongs to Shimuel's social circle and also met Shimuel that night.
She glanced at me lightly. I pretended not to notice and moved my eyes to the conversion pen.
"Did anyone else see you giving the newspaper to Miss Harriman?"
"No, but wouldn't it be enough to have one witness?"
"...You are right."
......
This time at the end, I asked the same question again:
"Did you feel anything was wrong after the incident?"
"Why should I tell you?"
The answer was very direct and showed lack of cooperation.
"...Let's go."
And Manda didn’t speak for me.
......
This chapter has been completed!