Since Vienna demolished the city wall and built a 4-kilometer-long ring road, the city has expanded outward several times. Many locals call this avenue "Ring Road". Inside the ring are noble fingers, and outside the ring are garbage that can be thrown away at any time.
Basinger Street is one of them.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, Kawei returned to No. 73, his original "home".
This small building was built more than ten years ago. It is not very old, but it is indeed not very clean with people coming and going.
Under the scattered candlelight, No. 73 was dressed in dark red clothing, hiding among his own kind. They stand in rows on the roadside, silently bearing all the shortcomings of a modern industrial city in order to make the central city comfortable enough.
The place where Rosa fell yesterday has long been cleaned, and the windows of Room 302 were dark, as if she had never been in this world.
Standing at the gate, the memories of the original owner made Kawei think a lot. But after removing these dispensable things, it still feels more strange. He didn't belong here in the first place, and the mottled memories before were too miserable. It was time to say goodbye.
Kawei advanced that month's salary from Ignatz, thinking of paying back the rent arrears, cleaning up, and moving to the hospital tomorrow night after returning the lunch boxes from the restaurant [1].
Because Andre didn't live here, it seemed inappropriate to leave without saying goodbye, so he was going to write another note to express his helplessness not to renew the contract [2].
Kawei dragged his tired body slowly up to the third floor and opened the door to his room with the key.
After entering the house and taking off his coat, he decided to lie on the bed for a while and have a good rest. Then I eat the food I brought home last night, and then review this afternoon’s surgery and design a set of experimental procedures related to postoperative infection.
However, just as he entered the house, a dark figure suddenly walked out of the window not far away.
He is shorter than Mick, who visited here yesterday, and his bulging belly is much rounder, but their reactions to Kawei's appearance are surprisingly similar: "You came back very early today."
I don’t know whether it’s because of the class gap in the 19th century or the subtle influence of the surrounding environment, but Kawei’s behavior is much more cautious than before he traveled here.
Don’t say what you shouldn’t say, don’t do what you shouldn’t do, resolutely not offend those who shouldn’t be offended, praise those who deserve praise, and add honorific titles that deserve them. It was like seeing the landlord, Mr. Andre, now. Although he was shocked, his heart rate soared over 100, and his mind was full of obscene words, he still kept his emotions stable.
"...Is it Mr. Andre?"
"You weren't here when you came, so I came in first."
Kawei once again abandoned the modern concept of "don't break into private homes" and classified "the landlord using the spare key to break into the tenant's door" into the category of normal trivial matters. After all, he is just an underage temporary worker who is far from enough to meet the basic needs of food and clothing, and has no status in the eyes of the other party.
"Why do you have time to come to my place?"
"Where's the rent this month?"
Andre asked back, wanting to suppress his temper first, but Kawei was already prepared: "The money has been collected."
"Did you get it all together? You were in trouble yesterday, why did you just..."
Andre had a good mind. He glanced at the crepe in his hand and immediately understood everything: "I was wondering just now. You eat black bread and polenta all day long, why do you suddenly have so many delicious French dishes at home? , turns out something good happened to him."
"I just found a new job." Kawei explained.
Seeing that his dessert became the snack in the other person's mouth, he didn't get angry, and he didn't want to cause trouble. He just hoped that he could send the person away smoothly. Kawei consciously took out 250 Hellers from his trouser pocket and handed it over: "This month's rent is here, please take a look."
Andre threw away the crepe casually, took out his handkerchief and wiped his hands. He took two steps forward and took the money and looked at it carefully: "What a new job? The money is so generous."
"Hospital work." Kawei didn't want to say too much, "If nothing happens, I'm going to clean up the house. By the way, I will move out tomorrow night. I originally thought...forget it, now Since you're here, it's a good time to say hello in person."
Andre didn't expect that he would make such a trick: "The house is not rented?"
"Well, it's too far from the hospital. I have to find another place to live."
Andre put the money into his pocket, slowly retreated to the bed, and sat down: "We can talk about the lease slowly. I'm not here just for the rent."
Kawei frowned: "Then for what?"
"For... well, even for Miss Rosa, who died tragically yesterday." Andre suddenly mentioned Room 302, "She was such a nice girl, she was only 20 years old, it's such a pity. Card Wei, I can see that you have an unusual relationship with her."
Kavi:? ? ?
Cavett had carefully confirmed the memory of the original owner, and he had no relationship at all with the person named Rosa. It's not easy for him to survive, so he has no time to think about such things: "Are you mistaken? I have nothing to do with her, and I don't even know her last name."
"Didn't you help her carry her suitcase?"
"That was a long time ago. It was just a favor between neighbors."
"Okay, okay, you know I'm not talking about this kind of relationship." Andre lowered his head to sweep away the crumbs of cake that fell on his chest, and suddenly changed the topic, "If I'm not mistaken, you have met me before A man in black."
Even with Kawei's experience and reaction, he still showed a trace of unnaturalness when encountering such an unexpected situation.
Although he tried his best to conceal his panic and denied it, Andre seemed to have already determined the matter: "Don't beat around the bush with me. Rosa was thrown down the building after being hit by a heavy object. .The murderer should be the man in black who often comes in and out of this building, and you are the accomplice."
In principle, this seems to make sense. For the first time, Kawei had the idea of killing someone to silence him.
But it's just a simple idea, and it's still far from action. This evil thought also flashed by and quickly dissipated in my mind. He is a doctor who saves people's lives, not a demon. The scalpel he just got from Ignatz cannot be used in this place.
Looking back and thinking about it, if Andre really wanted to identify himself, he should have brought the police with him. Since he is here alone, he must have a special purpose.
for money?
Or for something else?
"I don't know anyone in black, and I didn't see Miss Rosa yesterday." Kawei still denied the incident, "The murderer and accomplice you mentioned have nothing to do with me."
Andre had long expected this, and explained with a smile: "Don't rush to deny it, you know it yourself. I advise you to stay here and I will only charge 5 kronor next month." It’s just rent…”
It turned out that he was here to extort money.
"Mr. Andre, are you kidding? I only have 5 kronor in my body." Kawei didn't hide it from him and emptied his pocket directly, "You must have looked for it at home. If you really gave me these 5 kronor, I I won’t even be able to afford crumbled bread next month.”
"You can find the man in black."
Andre walked to those exquisite lunch boxes and said with a smile: "For a guy who can afford to eat at Rothschild's Restaurant, 5 kronor should be used like change."
"This is what was left over from Mr. Ignaz's treat last night. It has nothing to do with your so-called man in black. If you go to the restaurant now, Mr. Alphonse, the chef, should be able to prove it to us."
What Kavi said is true.
But in Andre's ears, it became a story with complete time, place and characters. The story was exciting, but his preconceptions convinced him that what he knew was the truth: "The old guy in Room 303 saw the man in black yesterday, shortly after Miss Rosa fell from the building."
"I do not know him."
"He walked straight out of Room 302..."
"I really do not know."
"I turned a corner and entered your room."
"I......"
Andre stood up and began to use the clues he had to press: "I don't know what the relationship between Dr. Ignaz and you is, and don't tell me you don't know. 303 has been renting here for five or six years. I I can trust him. Likewise, I have lived in Vienna for decades, and Inspector Witte can also trust me."
After saying that, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the writing table: "Let's take a look and sign it as soon as possible. I'll come back to pick it up tomorrow afternoon."
This is the 5-kronor lease Andre mentioned before, and it lasts only three months. In other words, after 3 months, Andre can change the amount to 10 crowns or 20 crowns.
Kawei had no way to argue, and the other party didn't give him such a chance, so he threw away the lease and left.
Looking at the empty room behind him and the closed door of Room 303, his mind went back to yesterday afternoon, when the guy who called himself Mick pulled him into the quagmire.
Judging from the conversation just now, Andre did grasp something, although it was somewhat inaccurate. For example, Kawei was completely forced. But when the man in black is not found and the detective is unable to close the case, he might be used as a scapegoat.
He didn't believe there was any real rule of law here.
It's a bit troublesome...
...
The incident occurred suddenly, but it did not affect Kawei's original plan.
Because the worst-case scenario is to send 5 crowns to calm the incident, which will at least stabilize Andre for a month, and I still have time.
After dinner, he reviewed the entire operation process and took detailed notes. Then he designed a plan for preliminary data collection and follow-up experimental statistics for the surgical ward, and finally slept peacefully in bed.
The next day Kawei got up early and went directly to the carriage platform.
"Is this the carriage going to the Library of Heaven?"
"Yes," the coachman said, "There are still seats. If you pay 15 Hellers, you can get on the bus."
"Give."
After giving the change, Kawei hurriedly got into the trunk [3].
There were not many people on the morning bus, so he found an empty seat and sat down. Judging from the route map, the journey would take at least half an hour. Kawei was about to lean against the window and look at the street scene outside, and then take a nap, but his eyes were soon caught by a newspaper erected opposite him.
In the center is an introduction to Ignatz’s surgery, and the photos were taken during personal interviews after the surgery. Kawei also appears as an assistant, but there is no place for him in the huge text.
But what Kawei really cares about is not the headline, but a piece of news like a patch. There are only a few sentences and the characters are very small. Even if you include a photo, it only takes up a small space in the lower right corner.
However, its content surprised him very much:
[A male body was found by the Danube River at twelve o'clock last night. He was hit hard on the head. The identity was initially identified as Andre Joseph Edmund who lived in the central city]
