"Who knows. Why do you care about this?" It sounded like Xiao didn't know much.
"I...I am also a believer of Gaia."
"Yes." Xiao had no doubt at all. "Minnie said that the Queen of Detectives Agatha Poirot would be responsible for solving the case. She admired the female patrolwoman very much. When filing the case, our Miss Poirot declared that she would be responsible for solving the case in three days. The case was solved internally, and it was published on the front page of the newspaper. I think no matter what decision the Secretariat of Affairs makes, her promise should not be ignored."
Gaia bless. "Then she still has one day left."
"To be honest, I have more faith in magic than reasoning," Xiao said. "Catch the suspects and give them truth potion one by one - and then, the matter will be solved! What else do you need to worry about? This kind of thing requires efficiency. Yes, efficiency means the faster the better. ." But he failed to get the approval of his companions.
Uriel stopped and decided to go down the stairs. "Where are you going?" His back and forth made the glasses apprentice very confused.
"I suddenly remembered that my things were left in the library." Uriel convinced himself that this was a white lie to avoid developing the bad habit of telling the truth. He found that this was of little use. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go first. You know, my mentor is not easy to deal with."
The apprentice hurried down the stairs.
…
Uriel met Witek in a double apartment near the garbage dump. He couldn't wait to tell him the news of the Affairs Department's intervention, but the guy's reaction was quite slow.
"It's nothing," the Sheriff said. "We have captured Hobson. Once the Sheriff's Department hands him over to the Cross Knights of the Church, it will be over."
Got Hobson? Before Uriel had time to be surprised, he realized another question: "Isn't he one of your kind?"
"Indeed. But not all of the same kind are suitable to be companions." Witek will unlock the memory when there is no need for pretense. He looked at the apprentice and said, "Our group is not large and only exists for mutual aid. Hobson is not a good companion. He will cause us trouble."
"Do you think I'm a good companion?"
"Your identity is not. No nameless person is willing to take the risk to enter the Seven Fulcrums of Knox, unless one of their internal members later awakens. These people are relatively miserable, and they often cannot escape screening." Wittek explained, " Do you think the fire trial is just to ignite the fire for the apprentices?"
"They are screening for the evil within," Uriel whispered. He fully understood Witke's warning. Originally the Sheriff was just giving me a hint, Uriel realized, but my report gained his trust.
It seems that I can also reveal some information to him. Uriel asked in a rather formal tone: "Do you belong to a secret society?"
The Sheriff was surprised. "Do you still know about secret societies?"
"I've met quite a few demons."
"It's a pity that none of them are members of the secret society." Witek said firmly. "We will not reveal our identities casually."
"Frankly speaking, I really don't think you have done anything to hide your identity." Uriel suspected that he was still testing himself. "I discovered your abnormality easily——"
"——Because I was involved in a murder." Wittek pointed out.
Uriel disagreed. "If the Sheriff's Bureau also conducts screening during the Fire Trial, your memory lock will be useless." Obviously, that kind of magic only works wonders on mantra potions. The truth potion, as the name suggests, is an alchemical potion that enables people to tell the truth. But if you firmly believe that there are two suns in the sky, it probably won't be able to tell that you are lying - because you believe it yourself.
This is the church's method, and the effect of the Scroll of Oath is exactly the same as their potion. Uriel was sure that his career was related to the church.
"But no one will be thrust into a trial to monitor the fire for no reason."
The apprentice had to admit that he was right. "Hobson has been caught. Won't he be used against you?"
"We have only had contact with Gunther." Wittek said. "Hobson does know Gunther, but he is better at hiding than anyone else. All we have to do now is find Gunther and tell him to hide better. In fact, it sounds quite unnecessary.”
In other words, no matter whether the Affairs Department intervenes or not, we will not be implicated... Uriel only breathed a sigh of relief now. "With Hobson captured, the mystery is solved."
If there is any problem, the patrol officers can use magic to understand it clearly. Andrew and Gunther lied so much that the patrolmen couldn't do anything without solid evidence. They can hide it and get away with it. But in Hobson's case, this trick did not work.
"I imagine Miss Agatha must be disappointed," the Sheriff also said. "How about following me to the Public Security Bureau? It's time for me to go back and report on my duties. As an enthusiastic citizen who lends a helping hand, maybe you can get a pennant."
…
The meeting had just ended when Agatha burst into the office. Collisions were avoided as people were busy getting up and packing their things.
"Found Hobson?" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Chief Johnny's harvest last night," Biller reminded. He pointed to the interrogation room on the left with the hand that was not holding the file folder. "He is there too. However, I have to say, Miss Poirot, because the suspect surrendered himself, the commander is very angry."
Chief McCann's anger meant nothing to Agatha, but she stopped and repeated: "Surrender yourself?" The excitement in her voice suddenly disappeared, replaced by a dull, surprised dullness. "What crime did he commit?"
"He killed Bowman—" Buehler said curiously.
"Why didn't he say that he also killed Dunbar Fielding?" The detective was so angry that he left his subordinates and walked away.
…
"Stop wasting time!" roars came from the interrogation room, but no one was standing guard outside the door. "You will suffer in the hands of the Crusaders!" Agatha recognized the voice of McCann Johnny.
She pulled off the "In Use" sign hanging on the door and turned the handle to open the door. The door frame shook. Agatha closed the door with her backhand, shutting Susu Dust out.
The layout of the interrogation room never changed. The suspect was shackled and tied to a chair at the other end of the table. A recorder stood behind the interrogating police officer. He was the only person here who had no chair to sit on, and his face looked painful from standing for a long time. There was a cup of steaming coffee and scattered papers on the long table, and a pen was inserted into a golden ink bottle. When the interrogation is over, the criminal needs to use it to sign his confession and then go to the dungeon to confess.
"You are too anxious, Mademoiselle Poirot!" Chief Vegetable stood up and scolded. "What does it look like!"
"The people in the church are more anxious than me."
"Are they here again?" Johnny said displeasedly, "I will hand over the person to the Cross Knight, but we have to go through the process no matter what -"
"If he wants to surrender, why doesn't he go to church?"
"That's just right. Are we going to let everyone in Brumnot know that the patrols in the Sheriff's Department are useless and can only wait for the criminals to come to their door?"
The detective lady sighed. McCann Johnny never knows what's important, and I'm so impressed with him. "It's better to hand in blank papers than staggered ones," she said.
These words caused the three people to turn their attention to her.
"What are you talking about?" Officer Vegeta stood up and pushed the chair and the recorder behind him to the side. Visible anger flared across his face. "You don't think he's a criminal?"
"Of course it is. But regarding murder, there is a big difference between attempted and successful sentences. And this Mr. Hobson was involved in another murder case." Agatha stared at Hobson closely.
"He admitted that he killed someone!" Police Officer Vegetable emphasized. "The crime of murder is not a lost item in the box. Why did he rush to pretend to admit it?"
"You'll have to ask him about that," the detective said. "Perhaps he had a recent addiction to cigarettes and lost his memory."
"Mademoiselle Poirot, I know exactly what I have done," said the prisoner.
"You have no business interrupting!" Officer Johnny tried to control his volume. "For Gaia's sake, Agatha, what's wrong with you?"
"There is still time." Of course Agatha knew why he was so angry. There is no more perfect answer than the murderer who comes to her door, but Agatha does not allow the truth to be buried in her hands. Just like when he exposed his mentor as a spy in the tower. "I have one more day before the real murderer escapes Agatha Poirot's sight," she declared without fear.
"That's ridiculous!"
"I will answer the church." The detective insisted, "Please block the news temporarily. How many people know about his surrender?"
"Hmph! At least the Cross Knight knows everything."
"They're going to take him away now?"
"Three o'clock in the afternoon at the latest." Johnny glared at her fiercely, "But it's not impossible to delay it until the next morning. There is no difference between him in the church prison and the Sheriff's Department dungeon. Anyway, tomorrow is confession day, and this kind of crime is extremely heinous. The criminal must be executed. What are your ideas?"
Agatha smiled. "Then let me do the interrogation now." Her tone was full of pride.
When the vegetable officer and the recorder closed the door, the detective lady picked up the paperwork on the table. She took a sip of coffee and met the prisoner's sharp gaze.
"Don't worry, this is freshly heated coffee. Chief McCann hasn't had a chance to drink it yet." As she said that, Agatha tore up the paper in her hand.
Apparently Hobson didn't care about the cup of coffee he couldn't drink. "Are you here to defend me, Mademoiselle Poirot?" the gambler taunted. There was a tinge of doubt in his eyes.
Compared with the photo on the wanted poster, Hobson seemed to have lost a lot of weight in just a few days. The bones of his eye sockets and chin are faintly outlined, and his thick beard has not been trimmed for a long time. The prisoner was wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt and ankle-length trousers, and the smell of his hair reminded Agatha of déjà vu—it had appeared on the slovenly patrolman Witek Shazo who was said to live near the garbage dump. Maybe he lived in the sewers, which was why he was able to evade capture.
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