"Noisy in my head so early in the morning... What a rare behavior, Gail."
I touched my head, propped up my body that was not yet fully awake, and broke away from the quilt that was wrapped around me.
However, after I woke up, Gale seemed to have disappeared without saying a word.
I curled my lips and regarded being called up by Gale as an illusion.
According to past practice, I should go and take a nap at this time, but today is special - Mr. Brooke, the police chief, has something to announce, so he plans to hold a meeting that all investigators must attend.
After all, I am also one of the people in charge, so I have to go this time.
"Okay...one, two, three!"
After counting three seconds, I successfully left the infinitely tempting bed.
After washing up, I really woke up.
The door to Felinold's room was closed, and the guy was obviously still sleeping soundly.
When I went out, I glanced at the calendar for the first time in a long time - and found that it was already mid-February.
......
The sky is as gloomy as ever. It is clear that winter is almost over, but there is still no sign of sunshine.
Even in the morning, the lighting fixtures on the street are still on.
The air was very dry. I licked my chapped lips, and a bloody smell instantly filled my mouth.
Fortunately, the wind was not very strong and it was quite comfortable to walk on the road.
In fact, among the four seasons, winter is my favorite, but this year seems to be a different story.
More than twenty minutes later, I arrived at the police station.
I arrived relatively early, and there were not many people inside the police station. I saw a familiar face - Chief Brooke standing by the door.
As soon as he saw me, he came up with a smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Detective."
"Good morning."
Well, just a normal greeting.
"I heard that Director, you have something important to announce today. Could you please tell me about it first?"
"Before that, I want to confess to Mr. Detective..."
Director Brooke looked embarrassed and lowered his voice:
"The Lord found me two days ago and asked about the current progress of the case... This serial murder case occurred when the Lord just took office, so he takes it very seriously..." "Yeah, I can understand."
"Actually...the case is ready for the final arrest stage..."
"So fast."
"Yes, there is sufficient evidence, and the identity of the murderer has been identified. This matter should have been discussed with you first, but... the situation was sudden, so I had to tell the lord first. I am very sorry." Is this the so-called beheading first and showing later...
No wonder neither the police officers nor Chief Brooke have come to see me in the past few days.
"It's okay, you don't have to mind."
"Well... Ah, regarding this meeting, it is mainly for the final summary of the case. If there is anything you don't understand during the meeting, Mr. Detective, please feel free to raise it."
"I obey your conclusion."
"That's it...Thank you very much! Mr. Detective."
"You're welcome."
Even if I don't understand something, I can't do anything about it - Brooke knows this, so he tells me without any scruples.
......
"Everyone, it has been about half a month since we took over the serial murder case that occurred in the attic of No. 16 North Fule Street and the Earl's Palace. Thanks to your efforts, not long ago, the case achieved significant results.
A breakthrough..."
At the beginning of the meeting, Police Chief Brooke dispensed with most of the pleasantries and went directly to the topic.
The conference room was large and closed, and the number of police officers who attended accounted for more than half of the total number of police officers.
There are many figures I have seen among them - the leaders of the four investigation teams, the leaders of the two detection teams, a dozen official police officers responsible for on-site interrogation and recording, including Bron and Devon, and people like
Trainee police officers like Manda who have been responsible for data collection and other tasks...
Manda was sitting at the edge. When I saw her spotting me, I waved to her and sat next to her.
"Well... aren't you the person in charge? Why do you want to sit here?"
"I just have the title of general manager~~Besides, I don't have anything to say, I just have to watch the whole process."
I straightened up and looked across the backs of several rows of heads - Chief Brooke was standing at the front, confirming whether all the investigators were present.
"I didn't pay much attention to it before...it turns out there were so many police officers investigating the two murders."
Almost everyone was mobilized.
"Because it's a case involving a noble...and the Lord takes it so seriously."
"Indeed..."
At the same time, Director Brooke asked the police officers to come forward to announce their investigation results in accordance with the previously prescribed order. So Manda quickly changed her attention. She took out her notebook and pen and listened attentively to her seniors.
’s speech.
The first person to speak was the leader of the investigation team.
"The location our team is responsible for investigating is the attic of No. 16 North Fuer Street. Due to recent weather factors, most of the open areas near the attic are not suspicious... The room of the deceased Miss Harriman is located on the second floor.
There were no signs of fighting inside. Based on the location of the deceased's wounds, it was initially inferred that an acquaintance committed the crime. Based on this, I have sent people to monitor people who had close contact with the deceased..."
Hmm...the method is similar to mine.
"Based on the intelligence collected by our team, the list of suspects can be drawn as follows..."
I heard the name of snow.
In the speeches of the next three investigation team leaders who were responsible for investigating the lobby of the Earl's Palace, the external garden of the Earl's Palace, and the residential area of the Earl's Palace, two of the team leaders also had Xue on their suspect lists.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Next is the leader of the inspection team.
"My team is responsible for the detection of related items in the attic of No. 16 North Furl Street. In Miss Harriman's room, we found many fingerprints that did not belong to Miss Harriman. By detecting the time when the fingerprints were left, we can obtain
The list is as follows..."
Xue stayed in Schimmel's room on the night of the crime, so it was inevitable that she would appear on the list again.
"At the same time, Miss Harriman's blood has been detected on an iron cone found by the investigative team in a square leading to the back door of the attic at No. 16 North Furle Street, and fingerprints have also been found. The fingerprints belong to.
....."
Hearing this, the pen in Manda's hand stopped, and I caught a glimpse of her turning her face away from the corner of my eye, as if to confirm something.
I pretended not to care and continued to watch the next team leader walk on stage.
"My team is responsible for the inspection of related items in the Earl's Mansion. In..."
Then the leader of the interrogation team made a speech...
"What our team is responsible for is..."
I have lost count of how many groups of suspects Xue has been included in.
Finally, there is the Chief of Police.
"Based on the opinions of various groups, the truth of this serial murder case has emerged. As a friend of Miss Harriman, the murderer brutally killed Miss Harriman, and then assassinated the noble Lord during the following inauguration ceremony, openly
Provocation, so I hereby announce that in three days, an arrest warrant will be issued for Miss Xue."
I lowered my head involuntarily.
"Do you have any objections here?"
"..."
"Then, relevant departments please start preparing for arrest immediately. Since the murderer is a homeless person, in order to prevent the other party from violently resisting arrest, please be sure to be fully prepared in the past three days to reduce losses."
"Yes!"
"In addition, before the arrest warrant is officially issued, all contents of this meeting are not allowed to be disclosed, discussed in public, or disclosed to others."
......
The nearly one hundred and twenty-minute meeting was not very long, but after I came out of the meeting room, I felt like I was in another world.
I touched my dizzy head.
At this moment, someone behind me suddenly pulled at the corner of my clothes - it was Manda.
"Huh?"
"Come here, I have something to say."
I had long expected that Manda would do this, so I followed her obediently to an empty office.
She didn't activate the lighting equipment inside, apparently because she didn't want anyone to notice us when passing by.
"So, what are you going to say?"
"You know——Miss Xue's matter."
Manda stood in the corner farthest from the office door, leaning against the wall.
"You heard just now that Miss Xue is about to be arrested..."
"Well...since the police officers have talked about it to this point, no matter what they think, the murderer can only be Xue."
"Yeah...Eh? Don't you have anything to say?"
"Me?"
I cast a puzzled look at Manda.
"Well... I probably just thought, 'Yeah~~ I finally solved the case,' or 'I hope the bounty will be bigger,' or something like that."
"...Do you really think so?"
"What if?"
I shrugged and my tone was matter-of-fact.
"No matter which angle you look at it, there is conclusive evidence that Xue is the murderer. Even if I believe her in the past, I can't be motivated, right?"
"Well..."
"Oh~~Your expression...doesn't it mean you don't believe me?"
"A little."
"Because I have never expressed my doubts about Xue? Then you have misunderstood~~ I just didn't admit it because of my face."
"Well..."
But Manda didn't look relieved at all, so I had to increase my efforts.
"Let me tell you, Manda...compared to the illusory friendship between Xue and I, a generous bounty would be more attractive to me~~ Besides, Xue's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon, right?
”
"The murder weapon..."
"As for the ice pick... it's just my random guess~~ In comparison, professionals are really reliable."
Yes, leave the rest to reliable people...
"..."
"That, Manda..."
I wanted to pat Manda on the shoulder, but in the end, my hand just stayed in mid-air.
"Do you remember what I said before?"
"What?"
I looked into Manda’s serious eyes.
She has to give up - I decided.
This is for her own good...
"If it's something related to the nobles, then there's nothing we can do."
"You mean..."
"That's right, so..."
I took a deep breath and made a sound of relief:
"Our mission is over."
Our mission is over, there is no need for you to continue.
Before my turn comes, I have to prevent others from being implicated.
So Manda doesn't need to know anything.
"Do you understand, Manda?"
"Well...well..."
......
"Almost there, Gail?"
"Soon."
At night, I braved the wind and snow and moved forward step by step. From time to time, I used Gale to know how far I was from my destination.
The moment I stepped into the hotel, the bell of eight o'clock in the evening could be heard in the distance.
"You were almost late."
The snow is not far from the door.
The light was very dim, and I looked at Xue alone, alone - this time little Edith was not with her.
"In other words, I came early."
I slowly approached Xue, but he remained motionless.
She looked at me, with no emotion in her cold eyes.