After preparations were completed, Felinold and I came to the first destination, which was the place where the crime occurred-the attic.
Currently, the attic and its surroundings have become a quarantine area that is "no entry for idlers".
The owner of the attic has been waiting for us for a long time - standing alone in the cold wind.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
We walked towards the owner, and out of guilt, I apologized first.
The other person is an old man in his sixties who wears small round glasses and has a big belly.
In the strong wind, he waved his hand in response.
"It's okay, as long as you can find the murderer as soon as possible."
"I will try my best... By the way, it is... Mr. Wyatt, right?"
I heard Manda mention the name of the attic owner before.
"Hmm."
Then, Mr. Wyatt led us toward the attic, which was only a few steps away, and at the same time took out a bunch of keys from his coat.
Standing outside the window and looking in, you can only see a faint light on the bottom floor of the attic - it comes from a stove that is about to go out, and the rest of the corners are invisible.
Outside the attic, in order to save magic power consumption, only one or two lighting fixtures are operating on the street, and the visibility is greatly reduced in this case.
By the way...the moon tonight is also tightly covered by clouds.
These factors gave me the illusion that the attic in front of me looked like a haunted house.
No...it's not really an illusion.
There are dead souls here, and we are here for this.
Mr. Wyatt took off the "Closed" sign hanging at the door, and we followed him inside.
"This is the side door, which is usually not open."
As if noticing my observation of the door, Mr. Wyatt explained.
There are so many doors in this attic...
"Ah~~Okay..."
As soon as he entered the door, Mr. Wyatt used the ignition technique on various torches, candles and stoves in turn very skillfully. He did not even look at the positions of those items, which showed that he was already familiar with the layout of the house.
"Hey, please help me. This place hasn't been cleaned for several days. I can't do it alone."
"Okay~~Leave it to me, uncle!"
Ferrinold patted his chest, and then injected magic power into the brooms, tablecloths, etc. to make them start to work.
Within a short while, the entire main hall became bright and clean.
Wow......
It is obviously a very common thing in this world, but every time I see it, I can't help but marvel a little.
I'm amazed, I just stood there stupidly with all my magic attributes being zero.
Although Ferrinold and Mr. Wyatt use basic magic, which is so common that it can be seen everywhere, but... for me, it is really only envy.
After being spectators for more than ten minutes, Ferrinold and Mr. Wyatt finished their work.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Let me just say this.
Mr. Wyatt picked up the towel on his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked at me with a look that seemed to reproach me for not wanting to help, but he still handed me a key:
"I gave you the key. If you want to see anything, you can go upstairs by yourself."
It seemed that he didn't want to enter Schimmel's room.
"Thank you..."
"That guest room... I haven't been in it, so... it's pretty well preserved."
Mr. Wyatt is obviously very shy about murders and has become careful about his words.
"Thank you, sorry to trouble you."
"I'm waiting for you here."
After the explanation was completed, Mr. Wyatt exhaled a sigh of relief.
Ferrinold and I arrived at the second floor under Mr. Wyatt's gaze that said, "Don't let me down."
Schimmel's guest room is the second one on the left hand side of the stairs.
I opened the door——
It was pitch black inside, but the smell of putridity and blood that hit our faces made Felinold and I quickly cover our mouths and noses.
"Wow...what's going on? Didn't the body be transported out?"
"Stop complaining and turn on the lights first."
After hearing what I said, Ferrinold suddenly realized it and injected magic into the lighting equipment in the room.
Then I saw clearly the layout inside:
There is a one-meter-long entrance hall from the door to the living room. The living room is very spacious, and the furniture is clearly arranged in a single-person style. The bedroom door is tightly closed.
On the floor in the center of the living room, there was a large red blood stain - it was where Schimmel was killed.
I stared at the pool of blood.
"The strange smell we just smelled was probably left behind when the body was removed. It didn't dissipate from this room until the door was opened... Mr. Wyatt didn't lie to us, he really
I’ve never been here once.”
"Hey? Detective, did you actually suspect that uncle? That uncle doesn't look like a murderer at first glance..."
"Would it mean he wouldn't lie if he wasn't a murderer? You're thinking too simply... If you want to be a good detective, it's very important to remain suspicious."
"...I think I will only doubt the detective's ability~~"
"..."
"Besides, Mr. Detective, regardless of whether the uncle deserves to be suspected or not, who would come to such a gloomy place with nothing to do?"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Felinold had an expression of extreme repulsion on his face, not hiding his disgust for this room at all.
"Of course, Mr. Detective! Think about it...someone has died here before. How could a normal person stay here as if nothing happened?"
"..."
"...Huh? By the way, detective, aren't you scared?"
"...Me? Ah~~I'm so scared..."
"...It always feels so perfunctory. Does the detective really have no sense of the atmosphere?"
How can I feel...
At most, it’s just a sigh of “I died here”.
"Is there someone dead here?"
Ferrinold is still insisting on this point with me.
"I know, I know!"
Being impatient, I walked towards the bedroom and left him in the living room.
"Isn't it just dead..."
I muttered secretly.
Schimmel's bedroom is small, with only a bed, a bedside table and a mirror.
The clouds seemed to have dispersed, and the moonlight shined through the window on the bed where Schimuel once slept.
I came to the window - a moderate layer of dust fell on the wooden window edge.
The dust is evenly distributed, and there are no signs that the windows have been opened.
Manda told me that except for Shimuel's body, everything else in the room remained the same.
The murderer probably didn't escape by jumping out of the window.
As for why it is just "should", of course it is because of the two uncertain factors - magic and mate.
Alas~~So pure physical reasoning is of little use...
Just take it one step at a time.
I returned to the pool of blood in the living room.
"It's your turn to perform."
I said to Ferrinold.
"Leave it to me, Mr. Detective."
After hearing what I said, Philinod suddenly regained his energy.
Immediately, black streaks began to appear around his eyes - this scene told me that Ferrinold was concentrating all his attention on the blood.
Felinord's ability of [Dissociation] - Analyzing the current and past elemental composition and formation methods of a certain substance.
After more than three minutes, with a deep breath, the black stripes began to fade.
"It's done, Mr. Detective."
"What did you find?"
"...As far as I know, this is just ordinary blood stains."
"Okay..."
"However, the blood... seems to have been diluted."
"Dilution?"
"Yes, it was mixed with a lot of water that did not originally exist in the blood."
"How is this..."
"...Well, all I can see are blood components and excess water. He was probably killed while drinking water, and then the water spilled on the ground...mixed with the blood that flowed out.
Together."
"...There are no rolling glasses of water around here."
"Uh... So the murderer took it away or put it somewhere else? Or... the murderer wanted to use water to clean up the blood stains on the ground?"
"..."
I always feel like we are just making random guesses without any basis...
To be honest, even if we figure out why there is excess water in the blood, it may not be helpful in finding the murderer.
"Anyway, let's search in the room again."
"Okay~~"
......
The subsequent investigation yielded nothing. The whole room looked ordinary...except for the fact that a murder had occurred.
No secret passages, no secret rooms, no secrets...
But if you think about it carefully, just being ordinary is strange enough.
After all, Schimuel is a woman, but I can't find any cosmetics, paintings, or diaries.
These personal items deserve to exist...at least for most people.
Could it be that...Simuel is really a very nervous person?
Then why would such a person be killed?
The murderer must have done it deliberately, otherwise he would not have taken such a big risk...
In the process of going downstairs, I kept building and then overturning the ideas in my mind.
This seemingly normal case turns out to be completely abnormal after careful consideration.
Uh...although maybe it's because I'm not in the mainstream.
When we arrived at the main hall, Mr. Wyatt, who was deep in thought about something, asked as soon as he saw us:
"How was it?"
"Thank you, it helped us a lot."
"That's good..."
My vague answer slightly relieved Mr. Wyatt's frown.
"Then, it's your turn next, uncle~~"
"What...mean?"
Ferrinold nudged me with his elbow, and we sat on the sofa to Mr. Wyatt's left.
"If it's convenient, can I ask you a few questions?"
"..."
"Don't worry, everyone involved will be asked questions. If you don't want to answer, I won't force you."
"...Then have you asked him?"
"Eh?"
Mr. Wyatt pointed to Ferrinold next to me.
"I remember he was there at that time."
"Ah..."
Indeed, Ferrinold told me that he had a chat with the owner of the attic that night, and it was no wonder that Mr. Wyatt remembered him.
"He, I have asked him carefully. I brought him here today because he has the status of a client."
"..."
"Eh? Is that so, Mr. Detective?"
"If you follow me, won't I be able to compare the information you provided in real time to determine the authenticity?"
I may have to adopt a slightly tougher attitude.
"Only by making judgments through comparison can I eliminate doubts."
"Heh..."
When Mr. Wyatt heard this, he gave a low but clear sneer.
"Okay, then you can ask."
Phew...
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
I thought I would be rejected...
Alas, if I were a police officer, I wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble to convince others...
Facing a private detective with a bad reputation, no one is obliged to answer his questions.