What's going on...
Something unexpected happened.
The murderer actually wanted to commit an assassination in the Earl's Mansion?
Who is the murderer’s target?
Neither Mr. Hammons nor Mr. Stein came to the inauguration...Bradley?!
"Bradley! Mr. Bradley!"
Ignoring the surprised gazes around me, I walked aimlessly through the dance while shouting loudly.
"Mr. Bradley! Mr. Bradley——!"
I looked around until I saw Mr. Bradley's female companion.
I ran over quickly and grabbed her arm.
"Where's Mr. Bradley?"
"Huh? He...he went to the bathroom, what?"
"Where is the bathroom?"
"Second floor..."
The other person frowned, as if he was dissatisfied with my rude behavior, but I didn't care so much.
I ran to the second floor and bumped into Mr. Bradley at the corner of the stairs.
"Ah, are you okay?"
"It's okay..."
I responded and confirmed again that it was really Mr. Bradley in front of me.
......?
Mr. Bradley is also fine...Did the Divine Eye make a mistake?
"Well, I thought I heard you calling me just now..."
"No..."
I shook my head in confusion.
"That's it...I'll take my leave now."
Mr. Bradley saw that I had a serious look on my face but refused to say anything, so he left.
I followed him slowly, my previous nervousness making my heart beat fast.
I clutched the "flamingo" on my chest tightly.
It’s a lie...the divine eye is infallible.
Could it be that...
"No! Something happened!"
As if to test my idea, just when Mr. Bradley and I returned to the first floor, we heard shouting from behind.
And I also realized at this moment that it was too late.
Then a man who looked like a butler rushed out from behind me.
"Where is the Lord?! Lord! Where is the Lord?!"
The dancing guests stopped one after another, and the butler ran towards the lord who was talking to someone. Amidst the melodious music, his hoarse voice was particularly awkward:
"That lord...that lord was killed..."
I heard the glass fall to the floor.
......
I picked up the cup.
The aroma of coffee hits your nose, and the bitter taste spreads in your mouth. This should have cleared your mind, but at this time, you are still feeling severe swelling and pain.
I looked at the information on the table and resisted the urge to sigh.
"If you can't stand it, just stop watching it."
Officer Brooke, who was sitting opposite me, spoke. Compared with the concern in his words, Manda standing aside pretended to glance at her casually from time to time, which made me feel more at ease.
The police station is different from the usual quietness. There are six police officers in the room where I am alone.
"Sir, I have brought all the remaining personnel information."
Outside the door, Officer Bron raised a dozen pieces of paper in his hand towards us.
"Boss, this is the preliminary investigation result of the crime scene!"
At the same time, another police officer...I don't remember his name handed over another pile of information.
The "chief" and "boss" they refer to naturally do not refer to me, but to Brooke next to me, who is the chief of the police station.
Last night, the nobleman who lived in the Earl's Palace, whom I considered the safest person, was murdered in his room, which made the lord furious.
At the right time, the number of police officers among the Wanderers had been greatly reduced, so the lord mobilized all available police officers to deal with the matter immediately.
Compared with the last attic murder case where only Manda helped me, the size of the police force this time is completely different.
Because the murder method is the same as that of the attic murder case, there is a high chance that the murderer is the same as last time. Perhaps for this reason, the lord ordered me and Police Chief Brooke to jointly take charge of the case.
Currently, the number of police officers in this room has increased to eight. Except for me and Brooke, the rest are standing aside.
The thickness of the information on the table doubled instantly, which made me less eager to read further.
"Well... Anyway, I will read it slowly. Before that, please ask Mr. Brooke to continue the relevant investigation."
I stood up and prepared to say goodbye.
"Of course."
Mr. Brooke is still sitting, and it seems that he does not intend to shake hands with me and say goodbye.
I left, and Manda didn't say a word the whole time.
At the newsstand at the door of the police station, I glanced at today's headlines - it was the Lord's inauguration speech.
The murder case in Earl's Palace cannot be made public for the time being.
Last night, after the murder occurred, the lord immediately sealed off the scene and ordered the guards present to register the relevant information of all guests.
I remember the lord said before allowing us to leave:
"I'm sorry that everyone saw an accident that shouldn't have happened. The assassination happened right in front of me. This was an honest provocation to me. I swear to everyone that the murderer will be found! Before that, too many people
Please note that this matter will inevitably affect the handling of the case by relevant personnel, so please do not make any public announcements."
In addition, he went out of his way to find me afterwards.
"Mr. Detective, these two murders are probably caused by the same murderer. The first happened when I entered the city, and the second happened at my inauguration... This makes me very embarrassed."
"I will do my best, Lord."
"Thank you for your efforts. I will fully meet your needs. Please be sure to solve the case as soon as possible."
However, even if the lord does not want to make it public, the important event of the Earl's Mansion murder case will inevitably spread.
The snow is not very heavy today, and as we enter February, the temperature has also risen a lot.
I walked leisurely, not knowing where I should go.
"What a big deal, Gail."
"For you, indeed."
"That noble gentleman is actually dead. There are obviously still a lot of doubts surrounding him..."
"But you didn't intend to pay attention to those in the first place, right?"
"Yeah, I was careless..."
"I didn't hear the slightest bit of regret in your words."
"Well... maybe my self-adjustment ability is too strong..."
I kicked away the small snowdrifts on the roadside.
"Actually, from a certain perspective, the occurrence of this murder also has advantages. For example, the assistance of the police department has been doubled several times. In this way, the murder in the attic can also be solved... I
The only thing that needs to be considered is probably the distribution of the reward after the case is solved."
"Haha, you are really a person who doesn't take other people's lives seriously."
"I just don't pay attention to people who have nothing to do with me..."
Well... I can only talk to Gale secretly about this kind of thing.
Unknowingly, I wandered to the vicinity of the city wall.
"Well...this should be the East City Gate."
I am talking to myself.
I saw Xue, she seemed to be staring at something in a daze.
I approached her quietly, but when I was still more than ten steps away from her, she noticed me.
Snow's eyes immediately moved elsewhere the moment they met mine.
This makes me feel quite strange.
Every time I saw Xue in the past, as long as she made eye contact with me, she would keep looking at her until I came up to say hello or took the initiative not to look at her - of course I usually chose the former.
Is this guy in a bad mood?
With this mentality, I approached the snow.
"Oh, with such a happy expression, did you quarrel with someone?"
"In other words, do you think quarreling is something to be happy about? Then let's give it a try."
...As expected of Snow, similar jokes seem to only work on Manda.
"No, no, no~~I'm willing to give in."
She usually chokes me to the point of being out of breath, let alone any quarrels.
Besides, I don’t think Snow is the kind of person who gets angry.
"What are you doing here?"
"I come here often."
Do you come often...
I looked around again.
"It seems like there's nothing special..."
"There is a cemetery on the right."
"...This is indeed very special, but you don't come here often just for the cemetery, right?"
As soon as the words came out, I felt that I had said the wrong thing again.
Oops, if her family or friends really... wouldn't I be exposing her scars?
After all, this is a sensitive issue...
I carefully observed Xue’s expression——
But her face was expressionless.
"..."
"..."
"...The first ray of sunshine in spring shines on this place."
"Huh? That's it."
After a long silence, Xue’s words made me breathe a sigh of relief.
I really didn’t expect that she would pay attention to this kind of thing.
The first ray of sunshine in spring...it’s very romantic just thinking about it.
It's so romantic that it seems out of place, for me or for Snow.
"Spring is coming."
"Spring is coming..."
Xue repeated after me.
I saw her gently pat the snow off her body and knew she was ready to leave.
"Hey, that..."
"What?"
I poked my chin with my index finger.
"I've solved the beard problem."
"I've seen it a long time ago."
Xue frowned slightly.
"So?"
"I'm just reminding you..."
I smiled lightly.
......
"So, why are you here?"
"Ah, I passed by by chance..."
"In other words, you passed by here by chance, entered here by chance, and were seen by me here by chance?"
"Haha... maybe that's the case."
The next day, I was sitting in the lobby of the hotel where Xue lived to rest. After a while, I bumped into Xue coming down from upstairs.
Xue is still holding the hand of the little girl who called me "Auntie Long Beard" last time.
"Uncle, who are you?"
Well, from the fact that she called me "uncle", it can be seen that she no longer remembers me, or maybe she doesn't recognize me.
"He is Aunt Bearded's husband, Edith."
Snow touches the head of the little girl called "Edith".
"So that's it! No wonder I always feel that he looks very similar to the 'bearded aunt', thank you sister!"
"Hey, hey, don't lie in such a gentle tone! Little Edith~~your sister is just joking."
In order to avoid planting bad misunderstandings in the children's minds, I quickly interrupted them before Xue said anything more terrifying.
"Playing...laughing?"
"Yeah~~ It's just a joke."
I knelt down and looked into Edith's round eyes.
"But...sister said it so seriously..."
"Because it's an adult's joke."
"Is that so?"
Edith looked at the snow.
At the same time, I also cast a "let me go" look at Xue.
"Yes."
Snow touched little Edith's head again.
Phew...it scares me to death, just a little bit, the tragic misunderstanding of 'marry yourself' will take root in a child's immature heart.
I'm not thinking about my reputation or anything else, I'm trying to protect the gullible hearts of children...
Xue glanced at me, as if to say, "Don't forget to thank me."
Hey, hey, everything happened because of you, okay? I don’t owe you any favors.
"Since my sister said so, it's true!"
Edith hugged Snow's arm and smiled happily.
I like snow very much, this little guy...
This chapter has been completed!