The three people who had a secret meeting with Count Sachia were the bald Mr. Thornburg, a local tobacco businessman; Miss Martha, who was beautiful, dressed in a red dress and smoking a thin lady's cigarette; and Mr. Francis, who had a gloomy face and greasy hair and taught basic physics at Huntington Public Theological Seminary.
The three of them met with the Earl in the room in the order of Mr. Thornburg, Mr. Francis, and Miss Martha. Each of them met for about half an hour. After the meeting, they did not leave the club. Mr. Thornburg continued to meet with his business partner on the first floor, Mr. Francis met an acquaintance on the second floor, and Miss Martha had left the club, but did not go far, so she was found again.
They all had letters from the Count inviting them to meet today, and after body searches, no poison was found on them. However, after meeting the Count, the three had time to deal with their belongings, so they were still the biggest suspects.
What was very strange was that before Colonel Wood brought Shade and Mr. Bernhard into the room, the three refused to tell the reason for their meeting with the Count. After Colonel Wood officially announced that Count Sachia had been confirmed dead, and had died in front of Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, the three of them all gasped and looked shocked.
"Three of you, none of you can leave until you find out the truth of this matter."
As a soldier, Mr. Wood acted decisively, and he mentioned the princess' name to let them know how serious the incident was. Sure enough, after learning that the incident involved members of the royal family, the three were willing to explain the reasons for their coming here, but they asked to tell their stories separately so that not too many people would know about it.
So, the three were separated again. Shade, Mr. Bernhardt and Colonel Wood first interrogated Mr. Sandberg, the tobacco merchant who first met the earl. The latter sat dejectedly on the chair. After the royal guard who left last closed the door from the outside, the bald middle-aged man suddenly covered his face and cried bitterly:
"I knew that doing this kind of thing would be discovered sooner or later. This is God punishing me."
"What on earth did you do?"
Colonel Wood asked sternly, and Mr. Thornburgh, covering his face with his hands, sobbed and replied:
"I am a partner with Count Sachia in the tobacco business in the southern part of Delarion... the kind that doesn't pay taxes."
That is smuggling.
"We met today because the Count wanted to readjust the distribution of profits. We had a big argument, and no one wanted this to happen, but I swear, I would never want to murder a Count."
"smuggling?"
Colonel Wood looked at Viscount Bernhardt, who nodded slightly:
"Indeed... there are such rumors, but I can't be sure."
In other words, this is a well-known fact among the local nobles, but Mr. Bernhard will never testify for it and offend a count family... Whether this title can be passed on depends on how big the smuggling business is during the later investigation. But looking at the bald merchant crying sadly at this time, I am afraid that the scale of the business is much larger than the three people imagined.
Afterwards, the three met Mr. Francis, who looked gloomy and looked like he hadn't washed his hair for several days. Although he taught basic physics at the university, he was only a lecturer, not a professor.
"I know it's hard to explain, but the truth is... the Count wants to connect me to MI6 in Delarion."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he announced another piece of news. Mr. Bernhardt and Colonel Wood were so shocked that they were speechless. Although Shade was also shocked, he still asked first:
"You mean, you're from MI6?"
"No, Mr. Delarion, please don't wrongly accuse me. I am a very loyal Carsenrick. As you know, although teaching at a university is a very respectable job, the weekly salary is not very generous. It is really too little to use those few crowns to support three children..."
He took off his glasses, lowered his head and wiped the lenses with his clothes:
"I made some friends in Delarion when I was young, so I sometimes worked part-time in Huntington...keeping and selling intelligence for people. I didn't know anyone in MI6, and they didn't trust me, but I was able to contact them."
In other words, this is actually an intelligence dealer in the local underground black market.
"What did Count Sachia want you to do to contact MI6?"
Colonel Wood came to his senses and asked. Mr. Francis hesitated and pursed his lips:
"This is not the first time the Earl has approached me. He wants to use the intelligence from the Huntington Railway Department in exchange for Delarion's permission to allow a batch of goods from the New World to dock at Coldwater Harbor... Yes, a batch of herbs that do not quite comply with the terms formulated and approved by the United Kingdom and enforced by force."
Mr. Bernhardt had raised his hand and held his chin without knowing when. He was very interested but did not dare to continue listening. Colonel Wood's brows were furrowed like the rising Rommel Mountains. He exhaled several times through his nose before asking with difficulty:
"What kind of illegal herbs? Pornographic ones? Psychoactive ones? Or ones listed by the Five Gods Church?"
Mr. Francis pouted and scratched his face, this strange look was to hide his inner anxiety:
"Both. However, the Earl is not a traitor. He is loyal to the kingdom and loves the people. He has been trying his best to stop the reconstruction plan of Huntington East Reservoir..."
"Oh my God."
Colonel Wood was no longer listening to the other party. He covered his forehead and groaned, then looked at the two gentlemen beside him.
"I didn't hear anything!"
Mr. Bernhardt said immediately.
"What?"
Xia De patted his ears and looked confused, and Colonel Wood was relieved.
After confirming that the deceased Count Sachia was engaged in smuggling and collaborating with the enemy, the three met the gorgeously dressed Miss Martha, who had a very pungent perfume on her body, a low-quality perfume that was incomparable to the one used by the girls around Shad.
"I am the Count's lover."
Miss Martha, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, had put out her cigarette at Colonel Wood's warning.
The three gentlemen standing there were not surprised at all when they heard this answer. Compared to the secrets just revealed by the two men, the answer "lover" seemed too common.
"You only met for half an hour."
Colonel Wood pointed out very sharply, his eyes were sharp:
"Even if the Earl is not in good health, there is no reason to only meet for half an hour. This is unreasonable."
After that, he explained to the two people around him:
"I don't have a lover. That's common sense."
"The Count wants to abandon me."
The woman said these words with no expression on her face. Instead, she looked at Xia De's face with great interest:
"He abandoned me because he was fed up with me. He gave me a bill of exchange for 200 crowns to keep me quiet. You should have found the bill of exchange. Please return it to me after this matter is over."
She was looking at Shade, and Shade was also looking at her. It wasn't that the stranger had any interest in the woman in front of him, but the emerald ring on her finger caught his attention.
Yes, it is an alchemical item, but the elemental traces are very weak.
The other party is just an ordinary person. Even if he has an alchemical item on him, it cannot be said that he is the murderer who poisoned Count Sachia, who will probably be nailed to the pillar of shame on Carsenrick.
Colonel Wood continued to ask about Count Sachia's daily habits and the details of Miss Martha's acquaintance with the Count. Mr. Bernhardt behind him pulled Shad's sleeve and pointed his finger in the direction of Miss Martha.
Xia De was startled, opened his mouth, and made the following gestures:
"Is it her?"
Mr. Bernhardt nodded slightly, then he put his hands down at his sides, palms facing down, and shook them up and down quickly. Then he raised his right hand and touched his nose.
"The hands imitating wings refer to bats; the pointing to the nose refers to a keen sense of smell. He meant that he relied on the vampire's gifted keen sense of smell to smell that the other person's smell was abnormal."
Xia De nodded to show his understanding. He rolled his eyes, then raised his right hand, palm up, and extended it forward, meaning "What is the evidence?"
Mr. Bernhardt also understood what he meant, but still shook his head, meaning that he had no evidence for the time being.
Mr. Wood had finished asking questions and turned to signal the two gentlemen beside him to ask a few questions. Mr. Bernhardt signaled that Shade should speak first, so Shade thought for a moment and said:
"Why don't we just treat this lady as the murderer."
"Um?"
The other three looked at him in surprise, and Xia De analyzed:
"You see, these three are the most suspicious. The tobacco merchant is smuggling, so he will definitely not be allowed to leave; Mr. Francis is suspected of collaborating with the enemy, so he can't leave either. Only this lady, we have no reason to keep her without the police. Why don't we announce to the public that it was Miss Martha who poisoned and killed the Earl, and then detain Mr. Thornburg and Mr. Francis on the grounds that it involves state secrets."
Colonel Wood, who was a little surprised just now, now understood. Mr. Bernhardt also took a breath and touched his chin.
"In this way, the incident that should have been handled by the police can be handled by us alone. We just need to dispatch Gray Gloves' personnel from Willendel, and after Your Highness leaves on the airship, Gray Gloves will take over the matter. In this way, the criminal case will become a state secret case that does not need to be disclosed to the public, and the three people will be controlled. No matter what the truth is, there is no possibility of it being exposed to the public, and the princess's reputation will definitely not be damaged."
In this way, the focus of Gray Gloves' investigation will be on these three people, and Xia De will also jump out of this matter.
After Xia De finished speaking his thoughts, he heard "her" laughter:
Outsider, sometimes I really have to admire your wisdom.
The middle-aged blood-sucking creature had already given Shad a thumbs-up, and the look in his eyes seemed to have reacquainted him with this young knight from a foreign country. Mr. Bernhardt now fully understood that Shad Hamilton had become the only knight of this era, and it was definitely not just because of good luck.
Colonel Wood, who was originally a little wary of this Delarion man, also said from the bottom of his heart:
"That is very impressive, Mr. Holmes, that is very impressive."
This is heartfelt praise:
"You shouldn't be running a vineyard in the New World. You should apply for the civil service exam. That's amazing. That's really amazing."
Shade smiled and shook his head modestly. He was a major in the Royal Army of Delarion. According to the Kingdom's regulations, he could not apply for the Kingdom's civil service before retiring from the army.
"I'm just better at grasping the main contradiction."
When the real murderer has been identified but there is no evidence to prove that the other party is the murderer, do not look for evidence. Instead, turn the problem into how to arrest the other party without evidence.
"Okay then."
Colonel Wood clapped his hands and summed up the matter:
"Then, let's temporarily treat Miss Martha as the murderer who poisoned her."
After that, he coughed, turned around and faced the sofa, and announced in a very formal tone:
"Ms. Martha, now that you are arrested, please do not take any additional actions, otherwise we will have reason to take restrictive measures against you. It should be pointed out that since you were arrested by the Anjou Royal Guards, you will be sent to the Gray Gloves for processing, so you do not have any right to meet with relatives or express your opinions freely."
The woman sitting on the sofa stared at the three men in amazement. She could never have imagined that they would be so shameless.
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