The interior shrouded in warmth gave people a friendly and comfortable feeling, and the finely crafted carpet absorbed the footsteps of the maid. For a while, the only thing left in the room was the sizzling fire not far away.
Mrs. Summer watched the maid put down the coffee and lowered her eyes as she said:
"How should I call you?"
"Louis Evans." Dunn said his pseudonym very smoothly, without saying anything else.
Seeing that the future tenant in front of her was extremely indifferent, Mrs. Summer couldn't find the starting point of the topic from his demeanor and actions, so she could only skip the pleasantries and mentioned the other party's purpose without paying much attention.
"You want to rent the house No. 15 next door, right?"
"Yes, I just came to Backlund, and I want to choose a quieter and safer residence." Dunn pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose unaccustomedly, his dark red eyes looming under the reflection of the lenses.
.
Quiet, safe... Mrs. Summer, who finally found the opportunity, straightened her back, sat gracefully and smiled:
"Indeed, although Backlund is prosperous and developed, the security here is also very different."
"I wonder if you have heard about the Ripper in the East District and Backlund Bridge area recently. He has killed several poor ladies."
"There are also rotten male corpses that always appear for no reason. Sometimes I think, fortunately, the security in Jerwood District is quite good, otherwise how could I dare to let my children go out after school in the afternoon to play in the nearby street garden."
This stay-at-home wife may be influenced by her husband. She seems to have the habit of reading newspapers and is relatively familiar with some of the recent dangerous incidents in Backlund.
"The Jowood area is indeed relatively safe, which is why I chose this place." Dunn briefly agreed with the lady, and then, influenced by his professional habits, he quickly devoted his thoughts to the two pieces of news he had just heard.
The Ripper, a repeat offender?
Rotting male corpse?
Dunn, who has many years of experience as a Nighthawk, immediately thought of the "demon" murder case he had dealt with. This was essentially a ritual, a promotion ceremony for the Extraordinary in the "criminal" path.
The local night watchers in Backlund must have realized this... Although Dunn was worried, the expression on his face did not change. Instead, he brought up the issues related to the house next door very timely.
"Can I ask what the interior decoration of No. 15 is like? Is it equipped with complete heating equipment?"
"You know, the weather in Backlund is even more extreme than that in Jianhai County. Without heating, I don't know how I will survive this winter."
"So you are from Makai County." Mrs. Summer suddenly cheered up, looked around her house with her neck raised, and then said with a sweet smile, "Of course the house next door has complete heating facilities, but it doesn't have the same heating facilities as here.
There is a special pipe design, there is no large carpet, there is no card table or easy chair, there is no good ceramic tableware, there is no decent enough matching sideboard, even the tea set and cutlery are not gold-plated, it is not gorgeous enough."
"This is all because their previous owners, my sister and brother-in-law, failed in business, and most of the furniture in the house had to be sold off." She retracted her raised arm and brought it back to her belly modestly, her smile still unchanged, "
It's a pity that they chose Balam in the end."
"It's so barbaric there. There are no qualified tutors or good grammar schools. Sometimes I really feel worthless for my nephews and nieces."
Opposite her, Dunn listened to everything in silence. For a while, his relatively pure dark red eyes were a little deep, like a dream.
"Indeed, Bailang is not a good place to go. Although the weather in Jianhai County is not always pleasant, that's all."
"If they go to Jianhai County, I think I can provide them with some help." Dunn agreed with Mrs. Summer's judgment in a calm tone, using a less obvious wording to hint at the background of his identity.
.
Sure enough, these words aroused the lady's interest. She changed her sitting posture and said with a smile:
"I just remembered that I haven't asked you what you do."
"This is no offense. You know, when renting a house, we also need to know the basic information of the tenant. Recently, some relevant news always makes us uneasy and we have to be more cautious."
"I agree with your point of view." Dunn nodded slightly, leisurely called the maid, took back his suitcase, and took out the identity certificate stored in the mezzanine.
He made a general confirmation and calmly handed the brown paper bag with Louis Evans' name written on it to Mrs. Summer.
The off-white thin threads were unraveled, and the sound of paper was mixed with the crackle of flames.
"Are you a professional scholar of criminal investigation?" Mrs. Summer, who had glanced at the documents in her hand several times, had a lot of surprise in her tone.
Her finger pointed at the words "Graduated from Constance University", she carefully put the document back into the brown paper bag, and returned it to Dunn with both hands.
Dunn, who had already re-wrapped the paper bag with string, replied slowly.
"Yes, I have been interested in knowledge related to criminal investigation since I was a child, but my family is not very supportive."
"They wanted me to study finance more and wanted to force me to become a banker. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come to Backlund by myself."
At this point, Dern did not forget that he was playing a scholar with a strong bookishness. It was quite reasonable that because he mentioned the sadness, he said a few more words according to his emotions.
"Family support is indeed more important." Mrs. Summer briefly mentioned, and then quickly changed the topic, "The house on No. 15 still has a three-year lease. If you think it is appropriate, you can choose to pay one year's rent at a time.
, calculated at 18 soli per week, the furniture usage fee is 1 soli, and the deposit is only fifty pounds."
This seemed a bit expensive for Dunn, who had just climbed out of the grave and had given his "inheritance" and pension to his family. Fortunately, when Edmund Jason was preparing Dunn's identity, in order to fit the personality
, very considerately prepared a sum of "public funds", a full 2,000 pounds, to help Dunn better play the role of a child of a wealthy family.
"No problem, it's a very fair price." Dunn, who received the financial support, did not hesitate and gave the reply almost immediately, which made Mrs. Summer's eyelids jump.
"Then we will be neighbors from now on." Mrs. Summer took the banknotes from Dunn's hand without counting or checking them. Instead, she placed them directly on the tea table and stretched out her right hand.
The corner of Dunn's mouth was slightly hooked, and he also extended his right hand, holding it in his palm, and shook it a few times.
"I'm honored."
The hostess opposite was in a good mood, but she seemed to have remembered something, and her questioning voice was somewhat tentative.
"By the way, would you like to tell me your beliefs?"
"I believe in the goddess." Dunn said this unchanged answer with a solemn expression. There was an indescribable weight in his clear eyes. He raised his right hand slightly and outlined the crimson moon on his chest with an extremely familiar movement. "
Praise the goddess!”
............
Backlund, Monday at eight o'clock.
Klein, who had a hearty meal at Loren's Restaurant in Jowood District yesterday, was burying his head in the quilt. After rolling a few times, he reluctantly got up from the bed in the apartment.
From now on, he can no longer eat so full at night... He felt the discomfort in his stomach, lamented and changed his clothes, and rubbed the "human skin mask" that had been stuck to his face all night with his fingers.
After learning about the "Crazy Ripper" incident from the newspaper last night, Klein has determined that Backlund's Nighthawks were definitely involved in the arrest of this suspected "demon" and may have even captured this suspected "demon" at night.
Investigation and surveillance were launched near Backlund Bridge.
As a resurrected person unknown to the church, although he guessed that the goddess and "Mystery" were secret allies, he did not dare to grasp the church's attitude. After all, just like a boss would not tell his subordinates all his thoughts, neither would the gods.
He will reveal his secrets freely.
Therefore, for the sake of safety, Klein decided that he would always wear this mask that can change his appearance as long as it is not necessary in the future to prevent capsizing in the gutter.
Who knows whether St. Samuel's Church will just send Ms. Loretta or Mr. Al Hassan to investigate the so-called Ripper incident!
He held his black cane and walked down the stairs while adjusting the position of his hat.
"Good morning, Mr. Agron."
Eight o'clock in the morning is the time when most working-class people go to work, but most of the tenants who rent the riverside apartments managed by Aiglon still have relatively decent jobs, and their places of work are usually far away from the factory area and Jorwood area, so
Klein needed to go out earlier, and Klein, who didn't go downstairs until eight o'clock, became one of the few "lazy guys" in the whole building.
"Okay." Although he was not willing to greet a shabby scholar like Sherlock Moriarty, Egron still replied without raising his head.
Being disliked... Klein smiled awkwardly, then took a map from the newspaper rack on the first floor of the apartment and walked out of the door alone.
Since he has to take time to hold a Tarot session in the afternoon, Klein must be prepared to "find a job" in the morning.
After comprehensive consideration, he found that if he wanted to balance work and secretly investigate Lanerwuss and Ince Zangwill for revenge, the only industries he could choose were relatively free newspaper reporters, freelance detectives, and East District detectives.
Bounty Hunter.
The former is more difficult to apply for. Although he has Lundborg's master's degree, Klein does not have similar work experience and is most likely to be assigned to a civilian position instead of being put in charge of interviews outside.
Freelance detective is a profession with a high degree of freedom, and it is very suitable for Klein's current false identity. However, the income is not stable enough, and it is easy to be involved in a case that involves a lot of energy, just like Klein himself in court.
It’s the same as the trouble it causes to others.
As for the most unreasonable bounty hunter, to be honest, this profession may be very efficient when used for revenge, and can integrate the dark side of Backlund as quickly as possible. The disadvantage is that safety cannot be guaranteed and it is easy to get burned.
"It seems that detective is Moriarty's destiny." Klein walked out of the small downstairs of the newspaper company and laughed to himself.
He had just spent a huge sum of 30 pounds to reserve advertising space in the Backlund Post for a full month starting tomorrow.
Although it was small, this was the beginning of my stay in Backlund... He painfully recalled the process of handing over thirty pounds just now, raised the cane in his hand slightly, and called a hired carriage that happened to be passing by.
.
"Go to the East District." He didn't say much. He sat in the middle of the carriage and silently activated his spiritual vision.
Based on the situation in Tingen Lower Street, he could imagine that the chaos in Backlund's East District was even worse, and he had to step up vigilance.
As the carriage bumped, the rumbling wooden wheels kept hitting the gravel road, and it took twenty minutes to get close to the border of the Eastern District.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped in front of the fork in the road that was about to enter the East District.
Klein was slightly inspired and cast an inquiring gaze on the coachman who had already approached the carriage door.
"What's wrong?"
"Sir, we generally don't drive carriages into the East District. I hope you can understand." The skinny coachman imitated the words taught by the company, and his movements were a bit unnatural.
Klein's eyes moved up and down, and he scanned the driver. After confirming that he was not lying, he replied with a smile:
"No problem, how much is the fare?"
Seeing the coachman's relief and unabashed sigh of relief, Klein's expression became a little solemn for a moment.
He tentatively set foot on the most crowded land in Backlund. Not long after walking, he saw unemployed workers crowded on both sides of the street. He also saw the foreman who came to select coolies and had a bad attitude.
The capital of Mando, the city of hope... The corner of Klein's mouth curled up. Based on the incomplete road signs and passers-by who had to pay fees on the street, he quickly found a bar where bounty hunters often gather.
The smell of alcohol was everywhere here, but no drunks were seen, and the order was relatively good.
He nonchalantly looked at the possible colleagues around him and walked straight towards the bar on the west side of the house.
"Have a glass of South Wales beer." In order to blend in, Klein deliberately chose a relatively strong beer, imitating the captain's usual sense of maturity.
The bartender, who was reading low-quality and vulgar books, poured a large glass of South Wales beer without raising his head, and asked in a low voice as if there was phlegm stuck in his throat:
"New here, right?"
Miss Intis...Klein subtly withdrew his gaze from the vulgar book, his smile remained unchanged, and he frankly acknowledged the other party's judgment.
"Yes, I just arrived in Backlund and want to make a living."
"Is there anything more convenient you can do recently?"
He recalled his few experiences working with gangsters in Tingen and recalled the words of the semi-literate gang leader.
"It's not a big job. There was someone looking for someone a while ago, saying they were looking for a sailor, but that mission is gone."
"If you want to find a job..." The bartender behind the bar seemed to be in a good mood. He raised his head and looked at the old-looking Klein for a few times before considering, "The Zigman Party may be expanding recently. The boss over there
Tell me that you will come back tomorrow to announce the mission. There is also a detective. He seems to be hiring temporary assistants. You may find a job if you come tomorrow."
"Zigman Party?" Klein expressed his surprise very appropriately.
Wow, the bartender turned another page, biting the dead skin on his lips with his teeth.
"The gangs of plateau people are quite powerful."
People from the plateau...Klein's mind suddenly flashed back to the men in black he saw on the subway yesterday, and his brows slowly came together.