"I think - Bowman used forged IOUs to defraud. He thought he had caught Hobson, but not only did he not get the money, but he also lost his life." The Sheriff guessed.
"He also knew that Gardner was also involved in forging IOUs, so he simply framed it on the vampire?" Uriel added.
"Sounds reasonable." Miss Detective fell into deep thought, "But do you think Bertha Verner's death is related to this incident? According to many witnesses, Bowman first went to the Verner family villa that night." Patrolman They had just finished searching Andrew's home.
As he said, the stairs were fine but the bedroom was messy. The patrol officer found a bag in the place where the garbage was stored, which contained half a rope, several broken cosmetic bottles, a bloody pin, a wooden comb with long hair wrapped around it, and two pieces soaked in blood. A handkerchief and a bottle of alchemical potion for healing wounds. Biller opened the lid, filling the room with the stench of mold and mildew. He had no choice but to endure his nausea, tear off the label and give it to his superior.
Uriel walked with his new neighbors and saw the evidence that was about to be disposed of. He could imagine Mrs. Verner's hands being tied together and Andrew, ignoring her wails, grabbing her hair and slamming it against the dresser as punishment... and he felt a twinge of discomfort.
In addition, they also found a box of addictive tobacco and a torn IOU.
"That night, Bowman came to the door. Ms. Bertha learned that her brother had fallen into a terrible quagmire and could not extricate himself." Witek Shazo speculated, "This was hard for her to accept. But it was her husband Andrew who crushed her. Violence. As soon as he knew the news, he wished she would die. There have been rumors in and around the city that the Verner family has been unhappy recently. I'm afraid this is not the first time. Maybe Andrew didn't kill her... but For Bertha, this was real despair."
"Go on," said Agatha. She turned her attention to Uriel, and the apprentice quickly said that he had no opinion to express. As a complete layman, he is very self-aware of his ability to solve cases.
"Bowman found Bertha and Hobson was nowhere to be seen, so Andrew went crazy," continued the Sheriff, encouraged. "He must have taken steps to stop Bertha from rescuing her brother. It would have cost her her life. We all know that the gambler was her only relative. She was so desperate that she died while her husband was still away from work. Let it go."
"The tower should be released early." The detective glanced at the apprentice again.
This is not something I can decide. "I... my astrology course instructor recently took a leave of absence." Uriel replied softly. "There is no place in the library." He suspected that his reason was completely untrustworthy.
The Sheriff had no problem with the tower's closing hours.
"In short, Hobson learned the whole story from his sister. He was very angry and went to find trouble with his enemy in the middle of the night. In a certain street, he killed Bowman in a sneak attack and drained the debt collector's blood. Let the Sheriff's Department suspect the vampire cigarette dealer. Because Gardner's hands are not clean either, he is the largest underground supplier in Dead End Alley." The last point was what Biller told him.
"I have a question." Agatha said to Xia Zuo.
"Speak directly, sir."
"It is rumored that the Whistle Gang is hunting Hobson. He is hiding in Tibet, how can he have a chance to kill Bowman? He is an ordinary person, and no matter how useless Bowman is, he is still a mysterious person."
"Maybe it's poison," Wittek said, winking quietly at the apprentice.
Uriel's heart suddenly lifted, and he remembered that Gunther had said that Hobson had also become a Nameless One... Gaia blessed him with being able to fool him.
"Hobson also appeared in the murder of the priest. The key to his plan was to use sedatives to render Father Fielding unable to resist."
"To be honest, sedatives are not easy to get now." Agatha didn't agree with it. "This is also a doubtful point. Where did the alchemy potion in Hardy Manor come from? I should ask Hand and the others to go to the hospital to investigate the theft of the medicine." She was a little annoyed, "Bowman's case takes up too much time!"
"I'm sorry, sir, I couldn't help you." The Sheriff also knew that his escape was causing trouble for his colleagues.
"Forget it. If you stay in the police station for two months, you should know the most basic rules of being a roving knight." She waved her hand, indicating that she would not pursue it any further. "Did you see Hobson at the banquet, and that suspicious figure who ran away as soon as he saw me?"
"Exactly. But Gunther left because he didn't want to start another conflict with Andrew."
"What hatred can these two people have?"
"I don't know, sir. But when they met at the hospital entrance, they got into a fight."
Agatha touched her chin, "Who won?"
Witek apparently didn't expect her to care about the outcome of the fight. "It was Andrew... I mean, sir, I pulled them away."
"It seems the winner has been decided." She suddenly smiled, which made people feel confused. Soon, she asked Uriel again: "Do you know who won? I guess you do."
"I don't want to discuss the emotional problems of a dead person - especially a poor person as kind as Lady Bertha -" Uriel told her.
"But I don't know." Witek looked confused.
"What hatred can these two people have?" she repeated, "a tower maintenance master and a button worker, or a shady killer. There is no possibility of contact between them, let alone hatred. Then there is probably only one answer, for woman."
"Mrs. Verner?"
"Gunther and Hobson were old acquaintances, perhaps through Bertha." This is a strong basis. "This also explains why Gunther took the risk to help Hobson get rid of the priest. He is Bertha's lover, so he naturally has to endure her family."
"Lady Bertha is not that kind of person," the apprentice couldn't help but say.
"You seem to know her very well."
"This is just a possibility." He insisted, "She is a dignified lady and would never go behind her husband's back -" Uriel felt that he could hardly say that word. However, Gunther's tone when he mentioned Bertha supported this guess. Gaia was on top, and he paused.
"That is also the highest possibility." The Sheriff seemed to have forgotten his position, "Don't forget, she often endured Andrew's abuse at home."
"I'm sorry, Andrew, dear, I'm sorry." Agatha suddenly said. She raised her head to meet their gazes. "These were Bertha's last words. She still loved Andrew, but she was ashamed of him. What did she do?"
Uriel was speechless.
"Of course, the key to the matter still lies with Hobson." The detective finally raised her hand and brought the topic back on track. "The deaths of Bowman and Fielding were all related to him. Gunther...he said that he didn't kill anyone. The goddess will judge whether this is true or not."
"I can testify that he is telling the truth."
"Sorry, Uriel, even if the White Envoy comes forward, the Public Security Bureau still needs to give the Gaia Church an explanation—"
"I can use Gaia's magic." The apprentice felt uncomfortable for a while, "My mysterious profession comes from the goddess." The divine words on the scroll of oaths had already told him its origin. Only divine magic could briefly transcend the limits of mystery, allowing him to borrow Joey's magic. Because divine magic is the magic of gods, when priests induce mysteries, the power of faith is as indispensable as magic. "The Knights of the Cross may have their own ways, but I do know when someone is lying."
He added: "This is one of the reasons why I chose to help Mr. Witke."
"Well, since you are willing to take responsibility." Agatha seemed to lose her suspicious qualities when dealing with Uriel, which always made the apprentice feel the need to be wary. "Unless Hobson is outside the door, I am afraid that only Gaia knows the cause of Bowman's death. I can't get any more information about the murder in the church from you. Now let's talk about the priest. There are people involved, I hope He never forgets to ask his reliable colleagues to find which hospital or clinic the sedatives were missing from."
Wittek blushed visibly, and Uriel suspected that the magic in his mind was working at this moment. However, the Sheriff knew very well that such words were not enough to deal with Uriel, let alone the detective queen Agatha.
After he described everything carefully and completely, Agatha looked thoughtful. Uriel realized that in Witek's new statement, he only blamed Hobson for his injuries, and his face, which had nothing to do with conspiracy, remained calm at all.
"There is his spy in the Sheriff's Department." Witek insisted. "He helped Hobson find out the priest's schedule, and directed the murder and framing of the murder. Putting the blame on others! Hobson did the same. Learned from that bastard - he drained Bowman's blood and pretended to be a crazy vampire who had forgotten his oath to the goddess." He emphasized, "We have to find him! Go now."
But Mademoiselle Poirot seemed to have an idea of her own.
"Okay, Mr. Xia Zuo. There is no instigation and no imitation." To prevent him from overacting, Uriel quickly said: "Sometimes, things are just coincidences like this."
"Yes, coincidences, coincidences will always happen." Agatha began to repeat again. This is not a mockery, Uriel told himself. He watched helplessly as the detective fell into deep thought again, while Witek looked at her helplessly, as if he was placing all his hopes on the female patrolman. A feeling of powerlessness arose spontaneously.
I think I also need to calm down and think calmly for a while, or maybe clean my floors. Uriel opened the door, thinking he would start thinking about the allocation of focus between astrologers and training sessions, but damn, most of his brain refused to move - they were busy looking for the truth about the two murders.
"The key person is not Hobson."
The apprentice returned to the room again, "It's Father Fielding." At this moment, he suddenly felt truly relaxed. “Church, church is all that matters.”
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