If Grande hadn't been a guest, these people would probably have been 'guests' here in Boqi. Vertex 23S. The fastest update. But even if there were guests, only Zach went back alone.
"Mr. Grande! I'm so glad you want to see me!"
The guest looks familiar. Moreover, the excited expression on the other party's face did not look like someone had died in the family. Therefore, it is not a matter of the funeral industry.
"You look familiar, have we met before?"
"I've seen it! I just met it during Mrs. Quinn's funeral! Have you forgotten? I am Amanda (Mrs. Quinn's caregiver)'s cousin!"
"You don't need 'you', Zach is enough." Correct the title earlier to avoid discomfort, "Is something wrong?" Zach thought about Amanda's cousin, and it seemed that there was indeed such a person.
Mrs. Quinn 'died', and Amanda, who was Mrs. Quinn's caregiver, lost her job. Of course Amanda came to the funeral a few days ago, but Zach didn't have much contact with her. Of course it was because of Louise, but there was still some ceremonial communication. Vaguely, Amanda, who was still in pain, seemed to have introduced her cousin.
"Ah!" This cousin probably thought that Zach remembered his name, so he didn't introduce himself. He was such a simple guy, "That's it. I, originally, was here to take Amanda and her family back to their hometown. They are here anyway. There is nothing to do in the middle of the country. Our family has a small business in the middle of the country. Haha, it has been pretty good recently. In the past, their family saved some money with Mrs. Quinn in Barton, which was of great help to our family. , now their family, well, you know, so we want to help him... "
Zach had already zoned out. But it is necessary to have a face that looks like you are listening attentively.
"...Amanda hasn't been sorting out the Indian cultural collection that Mrs. Quinn donated to Smith these days. She found this account book. It's not an important thing. It's a record of Mrs. Quinn's acquisition of some collections over the years..."
Zach was thinking about other things, shitty things.
In the past half month, there were two major events that everyone in Barton knew about. One was naturally the death of Mrs. Quinn. The other was a self-destruction case that became a household name due to constant exposure in the news. Let’s not talk about these two. There is another thing that should have been an important change in Barton as a city, but for a boring reason, it turned into gossip.
Mayor Anthony appropriated funds to support Smith's construction of the Patton Museum on the site of the Hermann factory. The project was handed over to the mayor's ex-wife, Isela, who was often present at any event with her current husband, after a less public tender process. The official answer written in the news was that Aisela’s husband had experience in planning and building cultural projects in Newton. The gossip is that the mayor is compensating him for occupying other people's wives every day, or creating more opportunities to occupy other people's wives...
"... Well, I actually just want to help. I can understand things like ledgers, so I just want to help Amanda organize a catalog of the collection. It's better than finding a collection catalog for her, a woman who doesn't know anything. Smith is giving one, right? The expenditures in this ledger are very clear, such as totem sculptures from the tribal period and traditional clothing. Even if Mrs. Quinn didn't know the name of the thing she bought at the time, she would make up for it after appraisal later. Sort it out. It’s so convenient to come out, right? I mean well..."
Adding to the gossip was the resignation of the mayor's secretary. Does anyone remember the secretary who worked with Anthony until midnight and urged the mayor to eat healthily? The biggest worry was whether the third hole in his shirt should be buttoned.
The important project that made Barton more complete as a city was ignored and turned into a photo on the gossip pages of a beautiful secretary crying in a coffee shop in the warm afternoon sun.
"...Then I discovered that for a long time, every few months or years, a 'maintenance' expense would appear in the accounts. Sometimes the amount was staggering, and sometimes it was ordinary. This is quite strange, I asked Amanda if she had any impression of Mrs. Quinn's 'maintenance', but she said no, and then asked me to stop taking care of these accounts, haha... "
Zach is already thinking about something even more ridiculous. Do you think the headline in the newspaper in a few days will be that a certain secretary is pregnant? Sorry, Zach spent a few days with Mo chasing soap operas during this time. Leisure. Don't ask why you are idle.
"... Then, I checked, and the last 'maintenance' expenditure was the day before Mrs. Quinn died. The amount was..." There were many zero numbers.
Zach stopped being distracted and looked at the smiling guy opposite.
"I went to the bank to inquire about it. On the same day, a customer cashed a check of the same amount~" laughed.
Zach looked at the smiling guy opposite, and the key point was a bit strange, "Can the customer's business in the bank be inquired about?"
The other party was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting Zach to care about such a thing, "Well, I found out anyway, so you don't have to worry about this. The person who cashed the check is..." Looking at Zach's actions, he paused to say Then, there was still some residual smile on his face, "What do you want to do?"
"Don't pay attention to me, go on." Zach picked up the receiver and started dialing.
The smile of the person opposite has disappeared, and his tone... You can feel it from the content, "The person who cashed the check is your brother! Mr. Grande! Do you have anything to explain!"
After the call was connected, Zach looked at the other party who was staring at him with squinted eyes, "Benjamin."
"Yeah." Alpha responded lazily, probably sleeping.
"Did you cash the check from Mrs. Quinn that day?" Zach asked.
"kindness."
"Uh, why? Are you short of money?"
"No shortage."
"Then why?"
"Isn't she going to die the next day? What if I don't redeem it and I can't redeem it later?" Alpha seemed to have a very reasonable reason.
"Well, you have some common sense, okay? Of course you can cash it in." Zach said helplessly, "Isn't Pochi still alive?"
"I'm too lazy to look for him." Another very reasonable reason.
"Hey." I can't go back to that beautiful past. Zach had no patience to talk to Benjamin, "Did you know that someone discovered your behavior of cashing the check? Now they are sitting across from me and talking about it." Zach impatiently took the time to glance at the guy opposite. , "It's okay, you continue."
Keep talking, the face on the other side already looks like he is constipated.
Zach's phone calls also continued.
Benjamin on the other side of the receiver asked, "Who is it? Do we know each other?"
"No, Armand's cousin, I met him at the funeral. I didn't even remember his name." Zach was honest.
"Then why are you bothering? Everyone is there anyway, just deal with it to save me the trouble."
"Deal it? Do you have any suggestions?"
"killed."
"Uh, get serious Benjamin."
"How do I know? It's up to you."
"Uh, forget it."
"Yeah. Is it okay? I'm dead."
Hang up.
Zach put down the phone and looked at the person opposite again, "So, what do you want to do with me?" He asked a very sincere question.
"I, I want..."
Zach waited for a while, was impatient, and waved his hand, "Does Amanda know you are here?"
"I don't know." Confused and nervous, he stared at Zach, "What do you want to do to me?!"
"You should answer this question for me." Zach shook his head, reached for the phone again, and continued to ask while dialing, "Is the account book in the hands of the police now?"
"No! I'm hiding!!" I don't know if this guy is cheering himself up or something, but his voice and momentum are inexplicably higher.
The call went through, "Pochi? Go down and ask if there is a ledger that records all the secret transactions of the Quinn family."
Pochi seemed to be drunk, "What are you doing?"
"I have a person here who said he found a book like this. The last expense was the remuneration paid by Mrs. Quinn to Benjamin. Oh, by the way, it is the account book used to record Mrs. Quinn's usual acquisition of collections." Zach also He glanced at the guy opposite who had been constipated for a week, trying to make sure what he said was right.
"Oh, no need to ask, there is such a book, I have seen it."
"have you seen?"
"Of course, we paid Mu En before..." The voice was lowered, obviously to avoid bringing up bad memories of someone on the other side of the phone, good husband~ "The previous fees for Mu En and Andrew were all on it, um, in name, It seems to be 'maintenance'. Of course it's not just this, there are many other transactions on it, and the affairs entrusted to you Grande should also be on it. Wait, who do you think found this thing?"
"Amanda's cousin."
"who?"
"Uh, it's not important. I'm here." Zach had to reach out to prevent someone from running away. "He knew that the last expense was given to the Ancestors Firm by Mrs. Quinn."
"What? How did he know?"
"Tsk. Benjamin went to cash the check that day." Zack disliked the other person's erratic movements, so he casually picked up a pen and settled it.
"ah"
This penetrating howl could reach Boqi's house without the need for a phone call.
"*! Who is howling?!" Pochi on the other side of the receiver.
"Uh, did you listen, that man, Amanda's cousin, he is here with me."
"Get rid of it, why are you keeping it!" Affected by the penetrating noise, no one had the patience.
"How to deal with it. Kill Amanda's cousin??" Zach just helplessly expressed his entanglement. Oh, the miserable howl disappeared, an unexpected gain. Zach raised his eyebrows, glanced at the guy who was trembling except for a pen fixed on the table, and gave him a grateful look, "Thank you, please speak nicely and don't scream."
"Cousins are cousins, don't you know me very well? Tsk! I just can't stand your hypocrisy!"
"This is not hypocrisy, this is responsibility." Don't you think that Porchi invited Zach to be a guest for two consecutive days because the two became friends? "Do you want me to create more things before I leave? Killing someone is right It's very simple for me, but what next? I'm leaving, will you handle the rest?"
"Then do it cleanly! Don't leave any clues! Isn't this difficult for you!"
"It's not difficult, but is it meaningful? How many people in Barton know how easy it is to kill someone in this city without leaving any traces. Are you prepared to be entangled by James without me? Better yet, be entangled by the Sabbat. ?” You don’t need to understand Zach’s words in depth, you just need to know what it means. The victims and murderers in this city are divided into humans and aliens, a combination of types, simple, for example, the victims and murderers are both humans, and the events develop normally. That's it. Cross-combination, such as a more typical alien race killing humans? It's not simple anymore, it's so troublesome that it makes my stomach hurt.
"Tsk." Pochi seemed to be convinced by Zach, "Then what do you want to do?"
"Suggestions?" Zach asked the same question as Benjamin.
"Get rid of his memory, let him get out of Barton, and never come back!"
"What about Amanda? I just heard what this guy said. I don't think Amanda knew anything, but suspicion must have arisen."
"It happens, it happens. That woman has stayed at home long enough, and she knows that there are some things she cannot interfere with! She is not stupid!"
"That's what you said." Zach turned his head and thought for a while, "I did it, and you will bear the trouble in the future."
"What nonsense! Come over here when you're done!" He hung up.
Zach also put down the phone and looked back at the guy opposite. The constipation disappeared, but the real weakness and blood loss appeared.
"Ah!" With a weak moan with a transliteration, it was Zach who pulled out the pen stapled on the table. It's a pity that the tip of a good pen is bent.
Zach put on the thimble and took the other person's bleeding hand gently. It doesn't take Zach any extra effort, Sam is in charge. Zach looked at the other party sincerely and said, "Hey, before I start, maybe you should tell me your purpose. I won't have a chance in the future."
"Money, money..." It's not that this guy doesn't want to escape, the powerlessness caused by blood loss limits his sense of survival.
"How much?" Zach was just curious. At the same time, he turned his head and saw someone appeared at the door of the office, the new employee Dell.
Zach raised his eyebrows and did not let Dale leave. He continued to sincerely ask the guy whose hole in his hand had healed, "How much does it cost?"
"(A string of numbers with many zeros)" The other party also obviously found that the pain on his hand was gone, and the wounds were gone. He instinctively wanted to withdraw his hand and observe, but Zach held it a little tight.
"It's not much." Zach commented. Dale, who didn't consciously want to leave after another glance, still addressed Amanda's cousin, "You obviously didn't realize what was going on, and you still came. Trying to threaten me, why?" Red, whom Dale had seen once, appeared.
"I, I don't need to know." The charming pupil replied, "I just need to know that Mrs. Quinn's death has something to do with you. If you don't give me the money, I will hand over the account book to the police, no matter what you do. What a deal, I don’t think you want the police to know.”
"The logic is correct." Zach agreed and no longer cared about Dale. "The action is a bit reckless. You are not from Barton. You don't understand this place. Where did you get the courage to come directly to Grande to confront you?" Me?" "Me, am I dead?" That's right, he actually avoided the question under the charming pupil. I guess there is no way to answer this question. How do people explain that their courage is not recklessness
"Where did you hide the account books?" What should be asked, of course, must be asked clearly.
"Under the mermaid fountain in the front yard of Quinn Manor."
Zach nodded and finished. I won’t go into details, they are just commands that humans cannot resist.
Zach let go of his cousin and watched him leave.
It's time to ask Dell, who has been standing next to me. No need to speak
"We heard screams." Well, it's reasonable, "Hank is not here and no one wants to come and take a look, so I'll just go..."
"Where's old Hank?"
"Going to the cemetery."
"Oh." Zach didn't care anymore.
"Who is he? What did you mean by telling him just now that he should forget everything since he found the ledger and go back to the central part?" Dale looked at Zack with a smile on his face. The smile was not the point, the point was that it faded away. The redness gathered in the eyes again.
Dale's mouth was closed when he was about to continue asking questions, because he realized how stupid he was. Does it make sense to get the answer? What will happen if he repeats those words to himself as the red in Zach's eyes spreads? Want to experience for yourself what it is that you didn’t use on yourself that morning
As Dale's mouth opened, "I'll go."
"What are you going to?"
"Isn't that account book hidden in Quinn Manor? You want to get that thing, right? I'll get it. It's your secret and mine."
Ouch, not bad~