[I'm going to a place where I can't bring any suspicious objects. I'll be back in half a month, and the party will be suspended. If you have something to do in Loen, you can ask Stuart for help through the maid here. Don't miss it.]
This is all that is left to Jenkins. He can only accept his fate to solve the problems he is currently facing in the villa alone, and he is worried about Alexia again.
The blizzard finally intensified to the point where it was impossible to go out. The housekeeper Joel Bangkoks could only let the servants who went out to search come back to rest first. So all the people who were not missing are now staying in the building. In order to be able to find clues, Jenkins gathered them all in the restaurant.
Now he and Miss Lawrence were the only two remaining travelers, and he had an air of submissiveness when he spoke, so people cooperated.
"I need to know where everyone is going after five o'clock."
He sat at one end of the long dining table and ordered that Quick, Jenkins and Miss Lawrence were all together before five o'clock, during which time there was no chance of killing anyone.
Collecting information is simpler than Jenkins imagined. Excluding the servants who went out during that time period, the maids working in the kitchen, and other servants with at least three witnesses, then there is a chance to do it alone during this time period. There were only three of them.
Those three were Mr. Brad Deckert, the doctor, Mr. Keo Audley, the custodian of keys, and Mrs. Jean Hydra, who was in charge of the laundry.
Mr. Deckert is a 37-year-old middle-aged man who has never been married. He graduated from Beldyland Medical College and is a veritable top student. He only started serving here a year ago and is one of the most junior people in the villa.
At the time Jenkins questioned, the doctor said he was alone in his room reading a book, so no one could prove his whereabouts.
"Sorry, how did you get that scar on the left cheek?"
It was a small wound that had healed to a superficial mark, looking like it had been scratched by something, and no one except Jenkins noticed it.
"Oh, when I was shaving a week ago, I accidentally got hurt by the razor."
He touched his face unnaturally, and this sentence was a lie.
Mr. Keo Audley was the oldest man in the estate, ever. When he was young, he worked in various jobs. At the age of 48, he accidentally met Baron Mandela, the owner of the villa, and worked for him since then, and settled down in Mandela Villa.
Mr. Audley was deeply trusted by the baron, so he was appointed as the key keeper of the villa. He has spare keys to all the rooms in the building and is the only one with the ability to enter and exit all the rooms.
But Mr. Audley has limited mobility due to his age and needs to walk with a cane, so it is difficult to do anything even if he wants to. At the time of being suspected, he was resting alone in his room, which no one can prove. When Jenkins asks questions, he wears a red sleeveless cardigan over his black coat, much like Dad's, only uglier.
"Um...Mr. Audley, do you know the seven of us? I mean, apart from seeing travelers like us in this mountain villa every winter, have you been in contact with the seven of us this winter during the rest of the time? "
He wasn't asked this question alone, all were asked similar questions.
"No, I have never been associated with you outside the villa."
He denied it, but it was a lie.
The number of women in the villa is about two-thirds of that of men, and Mrs. Jean Hydela is one of them who has no sense of presence. Even before tonight, Jenkins didn't know that there was such a person in the villa.
She has an unremarkable background and unremarkable experience. Her brown hair can hardly cover her round face. She is wearing the standard clothes and white apron in the villa, and she is a little embarrassed when asked. Working here is because her family, the small town that has lived at the bottom of the mountain for generations, happened to come to this mountain villa because of job recruitment.
During the time that no one could prove the extent of her activities, she was not working, but claimed to be looking for some curtains kept in the basement of the villa.
"But I asked you to look for it in the morning."
Mr. Steward raised a question.
"Yes, I have been preparing new sheets for the master and ladies all morning, so I only go to the basement in the evening."
Mrs. Hydela explained.
This sounds plausible, but it is a lie.
Although all three lied, only the last woman tried to cover her whereabouts. Jenkins decided to start the investigation from her, so he asked the housekeeper to arrange for everyone else to wait in the restaurant, and he went to check Mrs. Xudela's residence with Mrs. Xudela and Miss Lawrence. After confirming that there were no suspicious items , and went to the basement together.
It's not that she insists on taking Miss Lawrence with her, it's just that she doesn't dare to stay with these strangers at all now. This lady is not the kind of bold person, not to mention what she saw during the day, completely shattered her worldview.
The basement area of the villa is not as large as the one Jenkins saw in the old castle. In fact, its footprint is not even as large as the two large bedrooms upstairs. After entering from the entrance, you can see that it is divided into three parts by brick walls, and these three parts have multiple functions such as storage rooms.
Mrs. Xu Dela's words just now contain elements of lies, but one has to admit that her lies are really perfect. Everything in the basement was just as she said it would be, and she pointed out to everyone where she had taken the curtains.
"Gentlemen, look-"
Everyone held candlesticks in their hands, and the flickering candles illuminated a cabinet with its door hidden in the corner. Jenkins stepped forward to open the cabinet door, but he smelled a familiar fragrance.
"This is… "
His end-of-year gift to Mademoiselle Michel was a bottle of homemade perfume with a unique smell that could not be imitated. He hurriedly opened the cabinet, only to see that Miss Mihail was shrunk and stuffed into the bottom of the cabinet, with a blanket covering her body.
There was no mess in the clothes, Jenkins put his hand on her neck, and her pulse was normal.
"Oh my God, it's Britney!"
Miss Lawrence followed Jenkins and saw her companions in the closet, and everyone seemed panicked.
"No, there was no one here at all in the afternoon. I don't know why this lady is here!"
Mrs. Xu Dela exclaimed, of course this is also a lie.