Dinner was forced to be interrupted.
Mary originally wanted to induce vomiting in Melanie, but she could not bear the external stimulation, so she had to rush to the bedroom, draw the curtains, and provide a quiet environment.
Then she found □□ in the medicine box, which is a sedative specifically used to treat panic disorder and can effectively treat convulsions.
With these two measures, Melanie's condition improved significantly.
Leo wanted to stay with her, but Mary said, "She needs a quiet environment. Extra noise and light may trigger convulsions again."
He then gave up and went to the dining room with the others.
Jian Jing was holding a camera, circling around the dining table, taking pictures from multiple angles.
Kimberly wondered loudly, "Why don't we go to Mela?"
"Are you a doctor?" Jian Jing asked.
Kimberly said excitedly: "No, but I..."
"Having more people is useless, and I need you to stay and bear witness," she said.
"Witness what? Are you so cold-blooded?" Kimberly was very angry.
Jian Jing said: "Obviously, this is a case of poisoning. I don't want everyone to leave and let the troublemakers quietly dispose of the evidence."
"Poisoning?" Hollen was the first to come in. "Why are you so sure?"
Jian Jing said, "Melanie is suffering from typical strychnine poisoning. Unless she accidentally ingested strychnine, I can't imagine why she would have such a reaction."
Mary entered the room first and frowned, "Where is the poison?"
"Wine, or something else, I'm not sure." Jian Jing made her judgment, "It would be best to put everyone's food in a container and send it to the police for testing."
"It's not difficult. There are enough things in the kitchen." Mary said, "But Barna only has a small police station. I bet they don't have the ability to solve murder cases."
Xiong George disagreed: "Don't say that about Old John. He just likes to drink a little and is a little confused. As early as last month, he caught a kid who was stealing from a convenience store."
Jian Jing: “…”
To be honest, your country is not good enough.
"That's okay," she said calmly. "Put it away first. Strychnine is not easy to decompose, so it can be detected even after a long time."
"Okay, I'll get it. Uncle George, you come too, we'd better have each other as witnesses, right, Miss Jane?" Mary asked sharply.
"I want them to be packed separately. Maybe you can't carry so many boxes by yourself?" Jian Jing asked back.
Mary glanced at her, feeling a little bit of kindness, and said in a gentle tone: "Maybe." She grabbed the still out-of-touch bear George and pulled him away.
The air stagnated for a moment.
Kang Mucheng looked at Leo, his eyes showing concern. His friend's face was very pale, with a hint of blue in it. It was not just worry or anger, but there seemed to be a trace of fear that could not be missed
He asked on behalf of his friend: "Do you suspect that it's not just Melanie who was poisoned, but someone among us?"
Jian Jing shook her head and said, "We've almost finished eating. Strychnine takes effect very quickly. If other people were poisoned, they would have had adverse reactions by now. Of course, if it was a capsule or mixed with food, the onset time would be greatly prolonged. But I don't think there's anything to worry about."
The motives for poisoning are as follows:
1. If the action is against Melanie, then others should be fine.
2. The random actions of the people present should have been taken at about the same time. If there was no attack, it was probably because there was no
3. Collective poisoning of everyone, same as above.
Karl couldn’t help but say, “I don’t understand, who wants to do this? What’s the benefit?”
His wife, Kimberly, reacted faster and more easily than he did: "It's a wedding, honey. There's going to be a wedding here - how else can it be possible?"
Hollen nodded: "Leo, this is a threat."
Si Yingjie listened in confusion for a while, and finally understood a little bit. He whispered to Jian Jing: "It must be Mary who did it. She likes Leo."
Jian Jing: “Puff—”
Si Yingjie glared.
She turned her back and pretended nothing had happened.
Leo didn't know the hidden truth. He thought for a long time and said with determination: "No, August, it's not that bad. This is just a more intense dissuasion. Melanie's condition is not serious, is it?"
That was more likely what she ate. Jian Jing complained in her heart, but did not refute it rashly.
The word Leo used was "dissuade", why
Kimberly asked anxiously, "What about the wedding..."
"I've already registered with Melanie, and the wedding can't change anything." Leo said quickly, "Let's talk about this later. If Mingxue can stop, I will take Melanie to the hospital first."
He glanced at everyone and took a deep breath: "That's it, I'm a little tired, sorry."
Without waiting for the guests to respond, he got up and left the dining room.
Kimberly stood up immediately and gathered her shawl: "I'm going to see Melanie."
No one stopped her.
Carl followed.
Hollen asked the other men, "Want a cigar?"
It was only half past eight, too early to go to bed. Si Yingjie was feeling bored, so he got out of the armchair and said, "Okay, it's a good time to wake up. Mucheng, are you coming?"
Kang Mucheng glanced at Jian Jing and agreed.
Jane Jing was waiting for Mary alone in the restaurant.
Five minutes later, she came back with the food cart, and this time it was no longer filled with delicious dishes, but brand new plastic containers.
"George has to clean up the kitchen, can the two of us do it?" she asked.
Jian Jing said: "Of course."
The two began to clear the table, pouring each person's food and drinks into containers and labeling them.
Mary noticed that Jane Jing's movements were very careful. She used a clean fork to stir the dishes and the soup. She also picked up the wine and observed the sediment under the crystal lamp.
After doing all this, she sealed the things and put a note with her name on it.
“You don’t look like a doctor,” said Mary.
Jian Jing: "Indeed not. Are you a doctor?"
"I haven't passed the exam yet," she said calmly. "If you want to know why I'm working as a maid here when I'm studying medicine, you can just ask me."
Jian Jing asked straightforwardly: "Why?"
"My mother used to be employed by Winter Castle. After she passed away, Leo funded my college tuition." Mary said frankly, "As a reward, I will come here to work during the holidays."
Jian Jing realized that this red-haired girl was a straightforward person, so she got straight to the point: "You don't seem to approve of this marriage?"
"Yes," Mary admitted immediately, and said, "That's right, so I am now the first suspect?"
"Is it the champagne that I brought for you? No." Jian Jing said slowly, "It was poured by Leo."
Mary was indeed anxious and denied it flatly: "It can't be Leo, he loves her very much."
"Then why don't you agree?"
There was silence.
"This has nothing to do with poisoning. I don't want to answer." Mary said coldly.
Jian Jing wisely changed the subject: "Who do you think would 'dissuade' Leo in this way? If Melanie had drunk one more sip, he would have been a widower."
Mary looked thoughtful. After a while, she said, "I don't know. Maybe Mr. Holland is right. This is intimidation."
"Who are you threatening?" Jian Jing.
Without hesitation, she said, "Of course it's Leo."
"Who wants to intimidate him? We are all friends who came to attend his wedding." Jian Jing blinked, remembering the experience at the pizza shop at noon, and asked tentatively, "Could it be... someone from the town?"
Mary's eyes were filled with gloom. "Bana is not a famous place. I don't know if it's the same in your country, but in Bana, everyone knows each other, and many people have lived here for generations. They don't like Winter Castle."
"Why?"
"Real estate." She said coldly, "The Thrall family bought a lot of land, some of which were ancestral property of others. When they were short of money, they sold the land, and then turned around and accused the Thrall family of taking advantage of the situation."
Mary's speech speed increased: "I think this is what happened: Bai, among the people who came to the castle to help, there was a guy who harbored deep resentment. He found a way to poison someone, and he didn't have to harm Melanie, just anyone, as long as he could get revenge on Leo."
make sense.
But Jane Jing instinctively believed that Mary was not telling the truth, at least not the whole truth.
While they were talking, the two of them had packed up and worked together to put the fresh-keeping boxes into the underground ice cellar. This was a pure natural cellar that could maintain a low temperature in the cold winter without any equipment.
Mary found an iron box, put the box in it and locked it.
I handed the key to Jian Jing: "I think you are worried about keeping it in my house, so I'll give it to you."
"You seem to trust me very much?" Jian Jing was not surprised.
Mary said: "You have nothing to do with Leo, so you are the least likely suspect. Of course, the other man is also a suspect, but he doesn't seem to be reliable at all."
"Thank you for your trust. I will keep it in good care." Jian Jing put the key into her pocket.
Mary: "It's late. I'll take you to your room."
"No, I know the way."
"There are many forked roads in the castle. Some of them were left for servants. Don't walk randomly. It's easy to get lost." Mary warned meaningfully, "If there is any strange sound, it's the wind."
Jian Jing smiled: "Okay, I'll remember it."
The two of them parted ways.
But unfortunately, the road that Jian Jing took was very peaceful and she did not hear any strange sounds.
The fatigue from the journey had not yet subsided, so she did not visit the castle again. She took a hot bath early and turned the mattress over to the harder side.
Then, turn on the wall lamp and write down your ideas in a notebook.
Strychnine, only Melanie's wine is problematic (?)
Indiscriminate killing? Specific targets
Leo, Winter Castle, what's that strange noise
Melanie ate very well. Is she worried? Fear of marriage
Kimberly (Melanie's cousin), she is very concerned about marriage
Hollen (last name withheld?), first to make threats
Mary doesn't approve of the marriage, her and Leo
Real estate? The attitude of the people in the town towards Winter Castle
There are so many doubts, more than the hair I lose.
Jian Jing only thought for a while before she became drowsy due to the myriad of thoughts on her mind.
Before she knew it, she actually fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a strange and ethereal singing.
From the cracks in the ceiling, from the partitions in the wall panels, and from deep underground water pipes, came strange singing. The syllables were vague and it was impossible to tell what language it was speaking; it was probably not English, French or Chinese.
The tune is very strange, sometimes up and sometimes down, not pleasant to listen to, vague, sometimes close, sometimes far away.
At one moment, Jian Jing felt that it was indeed the sound of the wind, but at another moment, she suspected that she was being tricked.
She couldn't tell, so she climbed out of bed in frustration and went to the bathroom.
"Ah!" A shrill scream came from under the floor.
Jian Jing: “…”
How can it be fixed? It happens to be when I go to the toilet.
She hurriedly dealt with her physiological problems, grabbed her phone, and rushed out. Hasty footsteps could be heard from every corner, converging from all directions to the guest room on the first floor.
The person screaming was Kimberly, who lived downstairs with Carl.
The door opened, and Carl hugged his frightened wife and leaned against the corner in shock.
There, sitting was a skeleton dressed in fancy clothes.