As described above, Winter Castle is located on a cliff, with one side facing the endless sea and the other side connected to a private road.
This road is the only way down the mountain from the castle, but unfortunately it was blocked for several days due to heavy snow.
But this afternoon, the sky seemed to have foreseen that the case was coming to an end, so it politely hid the wind and snow and let out the long-lost sun.
The warm sunshine shone on the snow, melting the hard ice. George drove a small yellow snowplow and barely cleared a passable lane.
Leo changed the car to snow tires and helped Melanie get in.
"Let's go to the hospital in town first. If we're lucky, we can get some medicine and come back." Leo apologized to the guests. "If you need to be hospitalized, I'll contact Mary."
He said to Mary, "I leave it to you."
Mary knew what he really meant—Margaret is in your hands—and she responded carefully: "I will do my best."
Leo's eyes expressed gratitude, but he did not speak, just supported Melanie. Her body was still very weak, and the low temperature of the melting snow made her shiver.
"Hurry up and get in the car." Leo opened the passenger door.
Melanie sat down weakly, her thin eyebrows knitted together.
"You'll feel better at the hospital." Leo comforted her and started the car.
The road was a little slippery, so he had to slow down. Beside the road was a cotton-like snow bed, crystal clear and thick, reflecting a white light when the sun shone on it.
“Oh, Leo, stop the car,” Melanie begged.
Leo understood why and slowly stepped on the brakes.
She said, "I have to go back and take my motion sickness medicine. Wait for me."
"I'll back the car up." Leo said immediately.
"Don't be silly, the road is so slippery." Melanie pushed the door open and got out, wrapping her scarf tightly around her. "I'll be right back."
"I'll go with you." Leo pulled the brakes and stopped carefully.
However, at this moment, he felt the car shake, and then his vision spun around, and his body flipped over with the car and fell into the snow.
The pungent smoke filled the carriage and the temperature rose rapidly.
What happened? He shook his head, feeling even more dizzy.
"Leo." A white arm suddenly stretched out from the back seat and lowered the passenger seat. Jian Jing quickly climbed to the front of the car, swung the window breaker in her hand, and smashed the glass window completely in a few seconds.
She swept roughly over the edge, slipped out, and then grabbed his arm: "Come out."
Leo only felt a huge force coming, his seat belt had been cut, and his body was involuntarily pulled out of the precarious car.
"Run!" Her command was concise and effective.
Leo stumbled and ran for a few steps, then he was pushed hard on the back. The hot air wave sent him several meters away and he fell headfirst into the snow.
The thick layer of snow absorbed the force, causing him to fall and get bruised and battered.
"Leo." In the distance, Melanie got up from the ground and staggered over, "Oh my God, Leo, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, are you fine?" Leo was still in shock and hugged his wife tightly.
The guests all ran down and asked anxiously: "Are you all right? Are you injured?"
"Leo, you're bleeding," Mary said.
Leo looked at his arm. His arm was scratched, but it was a small matter: "Where's Jane?"
"I'm here." Jian Jing shook off the snow on her body and was unharmed.
"Thanks to you." Leo expressed his gratitude incoherently, "If it were you, I would definitely be dead, but why were you in the car?"
She smiled and said, "It's simple, because I predicted this murder."
"Oh, …" the onlookers cried out in fear.
Jian Jing's expression became serious, and she looked around at everyone: "Yes, this is the third murder. However, I already know who the murderer is. If it is convenient, let's go back to the castle now, and I will explain it to everyone slowly."
No one has any opinion.
Everyone returned to the lounge, and George brought hot chocolate and asked everyone to have a cup: "You need sugar, very, very, very much sugar."
Jian Jing thanked him and took a sip.
The chocolate flavor is very strong and sweet.
Too damn sweet.
She quickly put down her cup and cleared her throat. "I think everyone will want me to keep you in suspense, so let's get straight to the point - if I say something wrong or offend someone's dignity, I apologize in advance."
After spending a few days with foreigners, she unconsciously began to imitate their tone of voice.
"First, I need you to make one thing clear. So far, there have been four cases: 1. Strychnine poisoning, 2. Corpse intimidation, 3. Cyanide poisoning, and 4. The car accident that happened fifteen minutes ago. The second case was proven to be a bad prank, so we won't mention it for now. What we need to figure out are actually three heinous murders."
The audience nodded approvingly. Without a doubt, this was the detective's finest moment.
Jian Jing's thoughts were smoother than ever before.
She said, "There may be three murderers and three motives for three cases, or there may be only one. There are too many combinations. I have no choice but to use the dumbest method. So, let's start with Kimberly. After all, there is a very small possibility that the person to be killed from the beginning to the end is only Kimberly."
Carl objected: "I don't understand who wants to kill her. She doesn't know the others."
"They are half of the suspects." Jian Jing explained, "You, Melanie, and Hollen, who had an argument with her before her death. But that doesn't make sense. Only the murderer knows the real motive. We must start from the case itself."
She said: "Now let's go back to that night. Everyone went their separate ways. According to everyone's testimony: Melanie and Kimberly stayed in the lounge on the second floor, Mary and George were in the room on the first floor, Leo and Mr. Kang were changing clothes, Hollen wanted to smoke a cigar, Carl was in his room, and dear Brother Yingjie was going to scare me with Freddy."
Si Yingjie's mouth twitched, Hollen crossed his fingers, and Carl moved slightly.
"But, everyone lies."
She looked at their faces and said slowly, "Mary is in the kitchen, Hollen and Melanie, unfortunately, they are together..."
Leo looked surprised, and Hollen said happily: "That's right, Jane, your word choice is obviously accurate enough."
"Oh, really? It's 'together'?" She said innocently, "Sorry, my English is too good."
Kang Mucheng: "Well, then what?"
Jian Jing said: "Mr. Hollen must avoid Leo. What he talks about alone with Melanie must either be related to Leo or Melanie, and it must not be a good thing. People told me that Mr. Hollen is a loyal friend. I believe that he is not saying bad things about Leo, so the answer is the latter.
"What he has to say is so good that it could affect their marriage. This is very strange. If Melanie herself has any problems, why would he explain it in advance as a 'loyal friend'? So the answer is already very obvious, it has something to do with Kimberly and Carl."
Carl's expression was so good-looking, his eyes lingering on Hollen.
Melanie clasped her hands together and said with a little shame: "Oh, this matter is really... I am very grateful to August for keeping it a secret for me. This is really difficult and hard to talk about."
Mary asked impatiently: "What's the matter?"
"Coincidentally, the answer is related to Mr. Karl's actions that day. You said you were in the room and almost went downstairs when you heard the noise." She faced Karl and pointed at him by name, "However, my room was behind yours, and I waited a while before going downstairs, but you arrived one step later than me."
Carl argued, "I took a little too long."
"Yes, of course, because you need to put back what you broke."
Leo was puzzled: "Jane, please explain it more clearly, I understand."
"Of course, Carl was in the collection room, probably wanting to - sorry, I can't find the right word, so I can only say it directly - steal something." Jian Jing announced the answer.
The others all looked at him.
Karl said coldly: "You want to throw dirty water on me, what evidence do you have?"
"You were eyeing the antique sword against the wall, right? There's a gem on the hilt." Jian Jing blinked. "Also, when the power went out, you were scared and you bumped your head against something. Am I right?"
Carl tried hard to pretend that this was the case, but his expression of surprise and hidden fear completely betrayed him.
She raised her hand and shook the transparent ID bag: "Look what this is, Einstein's white wig. After you try on the wig, this synthetic hair is left on the back. Then, it is hung at right angles to the sword and displayed on the antique dress. The lady hung a lot of strange decorations on her clothes, and this is hooked on it."
The evidence was irrefutable, and Carl subconsciously avoided everyone's gaze. After a while, his brain came to his senses and he made up an excuse to fool people: "I was just admiring it, so I was afraid I would damage it. I didn't dare to tell you because I was afraid you would ask me for compensation."
Hollen sneered, "Really? Then what I heard you say to that woman, 'It's just a gem, they will find it', was it also an auditory hallucination?"
Carl shut up.
Melanie said shamefacedly, "I'm so sorry, Leo, please forgive me for not telling you. I just couldn't believe Kimmy would do such a thing."
"What is this?" Leo comforted his wife, tolerantly saying, "Jane, please continue."
Jian Jing said, "Okay, so we can rule out Hollen, who knew Melanie was wearing the necklace. We can also rule out Carl, who stayed upstairs the whole time. But the rest of the people seem suspicious too."
"Wait, I want to ask, who scared Kimberly? It was me that time." Si Yingjie interrupted.
"I'll tell you later." Jane Jing ignored Margaret's presence and said to herself, "If we analyze these three cases carefully, we can outline the murderer in our minds - she hates Melanie very much and tried to kill her three times to silence her. At the same time, she is very familiar with the terrain and can bypass George to poison him, and can also attack accurately in the dark."
"Fortunately, there is such a person."
A few people glanced at Mary, but Mary's face was expressionless.
Jian Jing said: "I can't help but ask myself, is it her? Is she capable of doing this? Yes, of course. But one thing that puzzled me was the first time Melanie was poisoned.
"Let's recall that when we had dinner together, everyone sat wherever they wanted, and the wine glasses were placed there long ago. The murderer smeared the poison in advance, and the poison should have taken effect 10 minutes after the dinner started. However, it was Mary who brought the champagne and Leo who poured the wine. During the whole process, no one approached Melanie's glass, except Kimberly who was sitting next to her. So, who poisoned her?"
Hollen said: "It is indeed very strange. Considering the seats where the police were seated, Kimberly is the most suspicious person."
"To Melanie's right is Leo, and to her left is Kimberly. Who is more likely to harm her?" Jian Jing asked back.
Si Yingjie thought for a while and said, "Kimberly. She is jealous of Melanie."
"Melanie, what do you think?" Jian Jing asked.
Melanie said sadly, "I know."
"You know, of course she's jealous of you. I remember Kimberly always saying you're the lucky girl."
“Is it really her?” Melanie asked.
Jian Jing smiled: "Of course - yes. She is short of money and asked you for money, okay? Why did she want to kill you? Could she marry Leo instead of you? No, it's not her, and it's not Leo, it's you, Melanie, you are the real mastermind of these three cases."
The scene was silent.