“Antiques? Are they very valuable?”
The Doctor asked casually while examining the corpse, and Xia De, who was checking the surrounding bloodstains, also listened. The rain was heavy, so the three had to raise their voices to communicate.
Silverware was still a symbol of status in this era. In adventure novels, there were often plots where maids eloped with lovers, taking their master's silverware to exchange for travel expenses and living costs. If the silverware was also antique, it would be even more valuable.
“Extremely valuable. Even a noble of a Count’s rank could use these two sets of silverware as a family heirloom.”
Miss Louisa once again displayed her mastery of “useless Knowledge,” most likely learned from another princess.
Xia De turned his head and asked:
“That’s strange then. Didn’t the Doctor’s investigation say that this factory owner was just an agent holding Tobesk’s property for Mercury Blood? He himself shouldn’t be wealthy.”
He then looked suspiciously at the Boy’s corpse; he had a deduction:
“Could it be that…”
“It’s hard to say for now, let’s keep going.”
The Doctor returned the corpse to its original position, softly prayed for the Boy amidst the sound of rain tapping on the glass, and motioned for the other two to leave.
After leaving the kitchen, the blood trail turned back to the living room, then headed towards the stairs.
On the stairs was a very cruel scene; the bodies of the old woman and the middle-aged housewife were intertwined. Thick blood dripped down the carpet on the stairs, leaving the three almost no place to step.
Mr. Schneider examined them and found that neither of them had obvious external wounds; all the blood seemed to have flowed from their mouths.
“It’s a bit like a curse.”
Miss Louisa judged, and the Doctor also nodded:
“I also believe it’s a curse caused by a Miracle. After entering the door, the culprit killed the maid with one blow, then went into the kitchen to kill the little Boy. When turning back to the living room, they encountered the two ladies coming down the stairs, and immediately used a spell or Miracle to make them vomit blood and die… The killer is a Ring術士, there’s no doubt about that.”
Xia De vigilantly looked around, preventing anything from jumping out of the darkness, and then was startled by the renewed sound of thunder:
“If there’s anything unusual, remember to remind me in time.”
He whispered to himself.
【No problem.】
The murmuring voice replied.
Perhaps because of the excessive bleeding from the two bodies, the killer finally got blood on their boots here. The bloodstains were very faint, still requiring Xia De’s eyes to distinguish. The bloodstains on the boots only pointed upstairs, not downstairs.
And the two examining the bodies had a new discovery: around the middle-aged housewife’s neck, the Doctor found a string of pearl necklaces. According to Miss Louisa’s on-the-spot appraisal, this necklace was worth at least 3000 pounds.
“This is definitely not jewelry this factory owner could afford.”
Xia De said, and then the three continued upstairs.
No one suggested taking the pearl necklace or the silverware from before. They were not robbers nor thieves; although they had broken clues by entering a crime scene on this rainy night, the Doctor, the Writer, and the Outsider all had their own bottom lines.
The sound of rain covered their footsteps. The three arrived on the second floor, where the bloodstains extended into the interior of the floor. A sixteen-year-old freckled girl lay face up in the middle of the corridor. Her appearance was very similar to the middle-aged housewife on the stairs, and her cause of death was the same as the maid at the door: a sharp blade directly pierced through her heart.
Xia De didn’t know what to say about this cruel scene. After examining the body, the Doctor knelt beside it to pray for her. Only then did Xia De realize that Doctor Bill Schneider believed in the Right God Lord of All Things, also known as the God of Nature and Malice.
This Right God’s divine authority included death. When Xia De first came to this world, the corpse carrier who took away Sparrow Detective’s body had the holy emblem of this Right God.
Miss Louisa was already suppressing her anger:
“This is too cruel. Who on earth would do such a thing?”
If they could find the killer, the Golden-haired girl would probably show no mercy.
Amidst the increasingly violent rain outside, the trio followed the silver Moonlight from Xia De’s fingertips, entering the three bedrooms on the second floor one after another. The killer seemed to be searching for something, but there were no traces of their footsteps lingering.
Then the bloodstains led them to the third floor, which was the topmost floor of the house besides the attic. The window directly facing the stairwell on the third floor was surprisingly open, and rain blew into the corridor with the wind, causing the curtains to flutter continuously. This scene was particularly eerie on this stormy summer night.
“The bloodstains extend into the corridor, but another blood trail extends out and disappears near the window.”
Xia De provided the information he saw.
“After the killer entered the third floor, they did something inside, and then left through the window?”
Miss Louisa stood behind Xia De, deducing. After entering the house, although they hadn’t discussed it beforehand, the Doctor had always been by Xia De’s side, with the female Writer walking last.
The Doctor cautiously approached the window and looked out. The stormy night was pitch black, and even the lights from nearby streets couldn’t penetrate the rain curtain. Such heavy rain would wash away bloodstains, so Xia De couldn’t continue tracking from outside the window.
“Let’s go to the third floor first and see what he did.”
The Doctor said, frowning as he glanced at the windowsill, then gave Miss Louisa a look. Miss Louisa immediately understood what he meant, and so she tried to give Xia De a look, but didn’t expect Xia De to already have an expression of “so that’s the trick.”
The Golden-haired girl smiled at him; the killer had clearly underestimated what Xia De’s “eyes” could see.
Following the bloodstains into the third floor, and turning into the study, they finally discovered the body of the male owner of the house, Mr. Pang Dun, who operated the screw factory.
The gas lamp on the study wall was off, but the gas desk lamp on the table was lit, illuminating the body perfectly.
Mr. Pang Dun was wearing a loose, casual shirt, sitting behind the desk and slumped over the desktop. Xia De stood at the study door, Miss Louisa went to check the papers on the desk, and the Doctor examined the body:
“The cause of death is different from the ones downstairs. His brain was likely crushed by the spell 【Brain Shatter】. I noticed the mark on his forehead; this kind of spell, similar in principle to 【Corpse Explosion Art】, is very famous. This way, unless one uses spiritualism, no one will know what was in the deceased’s head. What’s on the table?”
“An account book.”
Miss Louisa said.
Raindrops hit the window, thunder rumbled overhead, and Xia De at the door suddenly looked towards the other end of the corridor:
“I think I saw a figure!”
“A figure? Be careful, don’t be impulsive.”
The Doctor frowned and walked towards the study door, wanting to go with Xia De to the end of the corridor to check, while Miss Louisa continued to examine the documents on the desk.
Lightning flashed across the sky. In the interval before the thunder arrived, within the study illuminated by the lightning, the figure of a man holding a short knife silently appeared behind Miss Louisa.
He raised the sharp short knife towards the Writer’s back.