When Agatha arrived at the hospital, the sky was almost orange-red. This is a color that coexists with twilight and vitality. The evening breeze that washes through the city gradually becomes cooler. She felt the heaviness in the air becoming saturated.
The two subordinates solved the troubles they encountered along the way: several robberies, countless illegal parkings, three quarrels, a dispute between two women over a basket of apples, ubiquitous thieves and drunkards rolling on the ground. Finally, they drove away the pigeons outside the hospital window because the little girl in a hospital gown who was destroying the plants by the flower bed said she was allergic to the tiny down hairs.
"Why did the doctor let her out?" Patrolman Hand complained, "This child didn't wear a mask. Even dandelions could choke her to death."
"Maybe she can't be saved even if she wears a mask." Biller said irrelevantly.
Agatha frowned: "Don't talk nonsense in the hospital."
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm too tired."
Everyone is tired, but the real highlight has yet to begin. Agatha stopped asking her subordinates to run errands. She asked them to guard the door while she went into the ward to see Bertha Verner.
The various number plates on the door really gave her a headache. Since the Gaia Church was responsible for the sick patients of the Public Security Bureau, Agatha rarely came to the Medical Department's hospital in Brumnot, which made her unclear about the level of the wards here. Since Bertha Verner was a member of the Tower, there was absolutely no need for her to hide in a city hospital. She was still thinking about this question in her mind when she opened the door. Could it be that the tower couldn’t spare more manpower? They have indeed been quite busy recently...
"Excuse me, Ms. Verner." As soon as she entered the door, Agatha knew why she didn't go to the tower.
Bertha Verner leaned back on the bed, her eyes moving dully. She had long hair as dry as weeds, hanging down to her fingers. These fingers are completely skin and bones. Her deep-set eye sockets and pointed chin exposed her haggardness, which had no sense of beauty at all. Her chest rose and fell slightly, and her hair floated and fell with her breathing. Agatha involuntarily slowed down her steps, fearing that the stress and rapid pace would make her heart stop.
Apart from her complexion, the most eye-catching thing was the scars on her body. There was a large bruise on the corners of her eyebrows, gauze was wrapped around her neck, and one leg was hung up with a heavy plaster on it. It looked like he had fallen from a tall building or been in a car accident, which was completely different from being hospitalized for heat stroke.
"Miss, who are you?" Bertha asked softly.
"I am Special Advisor to the Sheriff's Department, Agatha Poirot. There is a murder that may be related to your brother, and I would like your help... as in, I mean, maybe to help clear him of suspicion." Agatha also subconsciously lowered her voice, "Gaia, what happened?"
"I fell down the stairs," the patient replied. She didn't ask anything about Hobson, as if her consciousness hadn't returned to her body yet. "It's nothing serious."
"This terrible thing must have happened at night. There was a power outage in the middle of the night, and I almost broke the railing when I went downstairs." However, the detective is not a fragile nurse after all, so he would not be seriously injured if he fell. "It shows how important it is to always have candles!" She tried her best to look at the patient with a polite look. "Ma'am, if you still feel scared, a moderate amount of sedative will make you forget them."
"Thanks, but I don't think I'll touch it."
"I also hate the things I have to deal with all day long, like notebooks and dirty handkerchiefs."
When Agatha saw Bertha turning her head, she continued to talk: "It's really troublesome to wash things, especially you have to pay attention to distinguishing the underwear from the coat, otherwise some people hire male laundry workers to reduce costs. The store will be more embarrassing than you." She shrugged, "Going to church is a good choice. The holy spring can cleanse the inside of your body and make it clean and healthy... It is said that buying indulgences and giving long-lasting candles is an ancient practice of the church. , I remember that there would often be boxes of candles 'booked' by someone in the public mailbox of the Sheriff's Department. Blumnot is full of Gaia believers, and Otto does not send his followers to interfere."
"Destiny does not need believers." The weak patient said, "Our prayers may be a burden to the gods."
"Indeed. No one likes to accept fate." The detective agreed, "Recently, the priests moved the blessing place to the first ring area, not far from here."
"What happened?" Bertha asked.
If there were magic that could read people's hearts, my job would be much easier. Agatha wondered if she was playing dumb. "Someone died in the church." She answered in the calmest tone, even a little deliberately.
This sentence seems to be a fatal switch.
"What a pity!" Bertha opened her eyes wide and looked even thinner. "How could a goddess allow this to happen!" she murmured to herself. But after saying these words, Bertha seemed to have thought of something, and her face suddenly turned pale. "Unless he has been abandoned by God. Abandoned by God! It's too painful... She will definitely go to hell! How can this be done!"
"Madam, are you okay?" Agatha became nervous. "Cheer up." She noticed Bertha's chest rising and falling suddenly, as if her heart and lungs were inflating. The patient's head was tilted on the bed and he was staring at the window. Agatha didn't dare to ask a word. She turned around and pulled the rope at the head of the bed.
"No! That candlestick...blood..." Mrs. Verner began to moan, "red...oil and blood..." Tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm sorry...Andrew, honey, I'm sorry..."
Her voice weakened. Agatha turned around quickly and saw Bertha Verner's eyes staring blankly at the window edge, the brilliance of life gradually disappearing from inside. Finally, her chest stilled.
The detective almost froze in place. After a long time, Agatha stepped forward and picked up the cup on the bedside table. The pungent-smelling liquid remained at the bottom of the cup, and she sighed. “Gaia has mercy, may He have mercy on your soul.”
…
"Goddess, please get this damn wild dog out of the way!" Gunther had to lower his voice when he cursed. It was really painful at this moment. His clothes were dry, but there were still animals with keen senses of smell following him.
Uriel couldn't stand it anymore. "You can turn into air," he suggested, "or just throw your shirt to it."
This idea was not so easy to realize in the cool night, but before Gunther could answer, Witek stretched out his hand to silence them: "No noise is allowed in the hospital." He warned them, "Otherwise the patrol will let you go to the dungeon. Stay here."
"You know a lot," Gunther said. "I heard that before you were transferred by Father Fielding, you were a little secretary responsible for organizing files?"
"Better than a former factory janitor."
"Or be more polite." Button Gunther said unimpressed, "Manager of the Import and Export Management Department."
"That's a lie." Uriel couldn't help but say.
"Liars are more welcome in church dungeons," the Sheriff continued.
Gunther didn't speak again. He snorted and stretched out his legs to kick away the barking wild dog, but when he pulled his feet back, he tripped a passerby. The other party stumbled and turned around angrily. Gunther quickly wanted to enter the gaseous state, but he changed his mind the moment he saw the other person clearly.
"Gunther!?" The unlucky pedestrian actually called out Button's name. He roared in extreme annoyance, and then punched Gunther on the chin. "Stay away from her!"
Uriel and Wittek were both stunned by this surprise. The apprentice was still stunned, and Sheriff Xia Zuo rushed forward: "Calm down! Mr. Verner, calm down!" He separated the two of them with force, and Gunther was already bruised and swollen.
The pedestrians wanted to rush forward, but Uriel woke up from a dream and immediately pulled the button worker back. If Gunther suddenly uses magic to inflict pain on the other party, then the apprentice will not know who is unlucky. But in fact, Gunther didn't fight back at all, but his eyes were full of toughness. He didn't take a step back, as if the magic his soul had given him suddenly disappeared.
"What's going on with this guy?" Uriel asked loudly, ignoring the looks of the people around him. "Did the lunatic from the hospital escape? That's just in time. Let's take him back on the way."
These words made Mr. Verner wake up from his anger. He had been pushed to the ground by Xia Zuo and could not move. People's curious and surprised looks made him feel embarrassed. "Enough!" Andrew Furner growled.
The Sheriff let him go. "Sorry, sir, you violated Article 29 of the Public Security Regulations."
"If I really want to violate it, I won't leave you a single line." Andrew said. But he didn't pounce again. He stared at Witek Shazo for a while, and suddenly his eyes looked familiar. "I've seen you in the newspaper, boy." He threatened, "Get out of here, or we'll see who of us goes to the dungeon first." The silver light on his hand flashed away.
ring. Uriel felt his heart beat faster. He had the same ring. Gaia is on top, he is a member of the tower maintenance department!
"Mr. Andrew." He couldn't help shouting, "Are you here for medical treatment?"
Andrew Furner finally looked at him squarely, and his expression changed accordingly. "Who are you--"
"We all know some things, so there's no need to waste our words." When he mentioned Joey, Uriel thought of the lessons he had yet to learn. He didn't even dare to let his mentor know about helping Wittek and Gunther. Even though the messenger seemed to be easy to negotiate, it was said that the Cardinal of the Glorious Council angrily accused Joey of ignoring the contract and trampling on the rules when he was unfrozen. Sauron told Uriel these things as a joke.
"I heard Ms. Bertha from the medical department talking about you." The apprentice said politely, hoping that he could calm down. "This is not a place for arguments. You can go inside, and no, noisy stuff is allowed in the hospital. Can you guys calm down for a while?"
"I came here just for her." The maintenance man's expression changed, and he glared at Gunther fiercely, his eyes filled with hatred. "Bertha is injured." His whole face was deep red, as if he had seen the enemy in life.
()
