Groups of knights patrolled with lances, the steel clanked, and the sun shone on the armor. A tight defensive line was pulled up in front of the church, as if every window on the cross building had hidden eyes peering out. Fortunately, not many people pass by here, otherwise tomorrow's daily newspaper would have new material worthy of reporters shaking their quills.
If we take one step slower, we will be trapped inside and become a crab in a jar. Agatha looked at the gradually shrinking figure behind her, and couldn't help but feel glad that she had arranged the evacuation route in advance. After separating from Uriel, she asked Witek to stop a carriage and agree with the driver to pick them up at the designated time. The alley was too empty to hide anyone, but at least it was wide enough for the wheel and axle to pass through in a thrilling way. When the horses enter the streets, no one can find them.
However, the plan went wrong, and only two people got in the car and left. Witek was in a daze and kept silent from beginning to end. No matter how Agatha tried to insinuate the secret between him and Gunther, this guy always looked half-dead and gloomy, as if his old wounds had recurred. Uriel said that she had lost track of Gunther... She had long decided that this guy who was too involved in the murder was not trustworthy at all, but her subordinates became friends with Gunther in just a few days.
At this point, blaming Witek will not help the case progress at all. Agatha felt the bumps of the wheels and was thinking about Hobson, the gambler who surrendered in the Sheriff's Department. Uriel told her that the killer had nothing to do with the church, and the vampire Gardner, who had been ruled out as a suspect, was mentioned again. Sauvero, I have seen the introduction of this thing in the newspaper, but Brumnot is not a small place like Four Leaf City. Is there really a mysterious creature that would be deceived by closing its eyes when buying something?
If Gardner had deceived me, Hobson must have had personal contact with him. Miss Detective thought to herself. She recited the names of Bowman, Hobson, and Gardner, trying to find the thread that connected them. Originally, the deceased Bowman seemed to be the key to contacting the other two people. However, once Hobson and Gardner were directly connected, many things were explained... The gambler also smoked, and he was quite addicted. Why couldn't they have known each other in advance and then worked together to set a trap for Bowman? If this is the case, Hobson must have some evil intentions and drained Bowman's blood in order to blame the vampire businessman. But there was really no evidence for this speculation. She couldn't figure out what a low-level member of the gang could do to deserve the murderer to offend the Gaia Church.
There is also the church. Now that they are open-minded, or that the reason for their decline is given to Hobson, the criminal's motive for killing Father Fielding needs to be reconsidered.
Suddenly, she felt a tiny flash of light leap into her mind.
Since the relationship between the church and Hobson was not one of pursuit and escape, it meant that she had to change her mind to explore the intersection between the two. There are very few overlaps between Hobson and the church. One is that his sister, Lady Bertha, believes in Gaia, and the other is that at the wedding at the manor at night, this guy planned to kill Father Fielding for a trivial matter. In the end, he connected with the church privately, but whether this can be confirmed depends on luck.
If she chooses one of the three, she will be wrong more than half the time. The Detective Queen makes no such mistakes. Agatha used her brain to sift through the known information. Bowman was hanging in the church. I originally thought it was Hobson's revenge against the church, but he has no reason to do so now; Father Fielding was assassinated, and Gunther and Hobson's plan was used. In Brumnot, there is really no one else who can do this except the church... Astrologers can of course do it, but they will never leave such obvious traces.
Then Bertha Verner is the only answer. Agatha thought of Mrs. Verner's pale face, desperate eyes, and the attitude of her husband Andrew before she died. She felt very sad for the other party. Hobson was connected to the church through Bertha. Could it be that he was blaming the church for what happened to Bertha? No, poor Bertha, her brother didn't love her either and would do nothing for her. Perhaps Hobson heard news about the church from Bertha and wanted to get rid of Father Fielding unscrupulously.
Such far-fetched logic actually appeared in my mind, Agatha couldn't help but smile. "After all," she said to herself, "perhaps he just wanted to blackmail, whether it was Bowman or Bertha. Gamblers just want money."
The root of the problem lies with Gardner Reynolds, and if you ask him the truth, the problem will be solved. She had a hunch that there was only one empty spot in the puzzle... She seemed to already know the purpose of the vampire, but the answer to the murder was still confusing.
"There are indeed gains in the church." The detective lady said with satisfaction, not paying attention to their own "payment". From her point of view, as long as Gunther and Uriel did not die in the church due to the attack, they would probably be safer than them now. Needless to say, the former's ability is not to mention, and Uriel directly attracted the White Envoy. However, using the magic on the ring is a clever way to successfully throw the angry believers into the tower. The killer's employer came to think of it with me.
If Dean Rubin could get the news, he would definitely seize the opportunity to add fuel to the flames... She suspected that the young envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already taken action. But there was no reason for him to kill Father Fielding...or did Uriel and the others just encounter Dean's men? Thinking about it this way, the suspicion of the church may not be cleared.
Agatha felt her heart skip a beat. "Diversion to Pepper Street, sir." Pepper Street is the address of the vampire Gardner. "Please hurry up, the Sheriff's Department is at the patrol office," she added.
Witek said in confusion: "Aren't we going back to the headquarters?"
"Go to Gardner Reynolds. This bastard didn't tell the truth." Agatha couldn't help clenching her fists, for fear of being late. "The church's blockade is so powerful that there's no guarantee that the profiteer won't hear it. Once this guy slips away, our clues will be cut off again."
"He signed the contract and can't go anywhere." Witek reminded her that the contract between the vampires living in Brumnot and the Department of Affairs included the registration of entering and exiting the city. Now unless Gardner steps into the Sky Realm and grows wings, he can fly out of the Floating Cloud City.
The detective said nothing. She had other considerations in mind - if it was Dean Rubin who attacked Uriel in the church, what danger was Hobson trying to avoid?
"Prepare your weapons, Xia Zuo." She couldn't help but order. I hope Wittek will be more competent at this time. Although Agatha distrusts this subordinate who is close to Father Fielding, she has no one available at the moment. There is a big trouble waiting for her in the police station. The detective lady knows how difficult Minerva is. If I go back to the police station, I will never think of it again.
"Miss Poirot, do you think he will resist?" Wittek was very surprised.
"Not sure yet. What I'm worried about is that there are people who are more unhappy with us taking him away than Gardner himself."
As soon as she finished speaking, the carriage jolted violently. "Miss," the coachman shouted, "there are too many people in front of us, we have to take a detour."
Gods above. "What happened?"
"Your colleagues have blocked the road." Agatha poked her head out of the car window, and the coachman pointed with his whip at the heads ahead that were jammed on the street. These civilians watching the excitement did not constitute an obstacle. What really worked was the diamond-shaped translucent barrier with a light blue halo shining above. "It would be great if you could give me a token of passing the blockade."
"Why are they blocking the road?" The detective felt strange.
"It seems that there was a human death... uh, a ghost death? Anyway, a human-looking guy died, and he died not long ago. The knights are closing the road to find out the murderer."
Agatha's heart sank. "Let's go over there." She threw her patrol badge outward. The black bird flapped its wings and flew towards the crystal barrier in mid-air, penetrating through it lightly. The crystal wall as smooth as glass immediately tore open a large hole vertically. The two horses neighed, spread their wings and led the carriage across the air into the blocked area.
The blackbird flew back to the window and landed in Agatha's palm. She pinned it to her chest in case the Sheriff arrived. "Who is the deceased?" she asked with her last hope.
"It's a vampire, sir." This Sheriff was unfamiliar to her, but he handled things neatly. "The inspector believes that the heart stopped for less than half an hour and the body was on the floor. We are investigating the surrounding residents based on clues."
Agatha was disappointed. "Damn it! He is a suspect in the church case and should be monitored day and night."
"Him? Sorry, sir, the deceased we found was a woman. Or rather, a little girl."
girl. The detective's mood was almost like that of the carriage that had been vacated before. "A vampire girl?" she confirmed again and again. "What is going on? Tell me everything."
Things haven't progressed much yet. Even if the Sheriff told Agatha Poirot everything, there was no way for her to learn more about the deceased. The child died on the floor of Gardner Reynolds, from a long gash in his neck that ruptured an artery. The owner of the house, Gardner, was missing. The patrol knights asked around with swords and short sticks, but no one even knew the identity of the girl, let alone the murderer. The sheriff speculated that she was a thief on the street or a prostitute who moonlighted as a beggar.
Another death related to the case. She looked around the room at the girl's young body, which had been laid flat. The girl was about eleven or twelve years old, wearing a tattered gray lace robe. The pair of bright red pupils belonging to the inhuman race were dull, but the pale skin was very clean. This is obviously not a kidnapped wanderer... However, this means that there are still unregistered vampires in Blumnot.
"She is probably a mixed race, and one of her parents belongs to the blood race." Witke analyzed. "Regular patrols are of no use to an orphan kid running around like this. It is reasonable not to sign a contract."
