In the elegantly decorated room, Middleton lay quietly on the bed. He was wearing a loose white robe and was dressed as if he were going to an open-air party. His handsome face was very peaceful, and he had a carefully trimmed mustache on his upper lip, which showed that he paid great attention to appearance and was used to showing a mature and steady side. Unlike those children of wealthy families, who always shaved their beards cleanly in order to imitate the nobles of Highland City.
Middleton has a good reputation in Water Snake Town. He safeguards the interests of the town residents and often provides free medical treatment for the townspeople. Naturally, he is generally loved by the townspeople.
Within a few days of arriving in the town, Victor heard about the mayor's reputation for being fair and kind. Who would have thought that the first time he met the mayor, the mayor was already dead.
Middleton's skin exposed outside the robe still maintains a normal color, but the area from his neck to his cheeks is covered with terrible purple blood lines, his lips are also black and purple, and his half-closed eyes are covered with a layer of mud-like blood. It was gray and looked like it had been dead for a long time. This feature formed a strong contrast with the relatively normal skin color, making it impossible to determine whether he had just lost his life or had been dead for some time.
There was only one cause of death that fit Middleton's current circumstances.
——Poisoning.
President Eckert put on deerskin gloves, carefully opened Middleton's mouth, checked his mouth and tongue, and said with disbelief on his face: "It's Death Sleep Black Sunflower..."
Death sleep black sunflower is a highly poisonous plant. Just one drop of the medicinal oil extracted from the Deathly Sleeping Black Sunflower can cause an adult half-elf to lose consciousness instantly, become paralyzed and paralyzed, and suffocate to death within the next twenty minutes. However, the toxicity of Death Sleep Black Sunflower should be discounted for professionals.
The higher the level of life, the higher the resistance to toxins. This is a relatively common law of life.
What's more, Middleton is a third-level doctor who is proficient in occult medicine and pharmacy. How could he die of poisoning?
It should be said that no one can secretly poison a professional physician without being noticed. If someone uses Death Sleep Black Sunflower to poison a third-level doctor, the dose of poison must be very high, and Mayor Middleton cannot possibly not know about it.
Unless he was force-fed drugs or died of suicide.
Everyone present thought of these two possibilities, but no one opened their mouth to discuss them. When Middleton was alive, he maintained good cooperative relations with the merchants who came and went, but the personal relationship between the caravan, the adventure group and the local mayor stemmed from common interests. Now that Mayor Middleton is dead, his "old friends" will be shocked, regretful, and sad, but they will not stand up for Middleton.
Their friendship didn't reach this level. Moreover, the sudden death of the mayor of Water Snake Town is a big or small matter, involving the interests of many parties. No one is sure what will happen next, and it is best not to wade into the muddy waters now.
The president of the Eckert Branch was puzzled and aggrieved. All he could see were faces that had nothing to do with me. In the end, he could only stare at the private guard who tipped him off and invited him to come to the scene.
It is certainly true that the head of the Adventurer's Guild is a powerful figure in Water Snake Town, but Eckert is not an administrative or military official. The death of Mayor Middleton was strange, why should he be allowed to come forward?
If you do something you shouldn't do, you will make the mistake of overstepping your authority.
"Where is Mrs. Christine?"
"Where are the Isenils?"
Victor and white-haired Rhine asked almost at the same time.
Everyone squinted at Victor, secretly despising him, thinking that it was outrageous that you were thinking about his beautiful wife just after Middleton died.
A bright light flashed in Eckert's heart, and he finally understood the reason for his panic, and shouted: "Where is the mayor's wife? Where is the mayor's housekeeper? Are all the Middletons dead? "
Middleton died inexplicably. If such a big thing happened, important members of the mayor's family should rush to the scene immediately instead of notifying the head of the Adventurer's Guild to come and check. Eckert still didn't know that he was being used. No matter what conspiracy the other party has, he must disassociate himself from it.
Seeing Eckert's anger, the guard at the mayor's house quickly explained: "Butler Yisenil went to the plantation outside the town to find his wife. He said that she might be in danger and asked us to inform you and several guests..."
"Ethaniel?!"
Eckert gritted his teeth and ordered: "Protect the scene, and then send someone to notify Captain Husserl of the town guard. The others will follow me and retreat outside the door first, don't stay here."
Suicide is the worst outcome of an inner struggle and requires a process. No one can end his or her own life on a whim. Middleton was still wearing a white robe and was planning to attend an open-air party. This shows that the possibility of his committing suicide is almost zero, which proves that he has just been murdered. But this is just speculation that conforms to the logic of general behavior, and there is no evidence to prove that Mayor Middleton died of murder.
Eckert had no intention of solving the case because the death scene had been destroyed. The spoilers were none other than him and the party guests.
The room where the mayor was killed was quite spacious, but when more than a dozen people entered the room together, it seemed small. Everyone left their own traces on the scene. This may be the murderer's deliberate attempt to confuse his vision.
Fortunately, the guests at the party are all respectable people, and everyone can prove each other's innocence.
Although he was very angry, Eckert had to step in to clean up the mess. The stewards of each caravan and the leaders of each adventure group were also willing to cooperate with him, and they mobilized their armed guards to surround the entire mansion and prohibit the entry and exit of people inside.
Of course, not everyone likes Ector, such as Rhine and Victor. The other guests returned to the small garden and pretended to discuss the cause of Mayor Middleton's death, but the white-haired and red-eyed bounty hunter wandered alone near the mayor's mansion.
Victor and his entourage followed Rhine at a short distance. The leader of the Eckert branch did not restrict their freedom of movement, but he also resolutely did not allow them to leave the confines of the mayor's residence. The private guards of the mayor's family received Eckert's instructions and kept a close eye on them, following them wherever they went.
Even under close surveillance, Rhine behaved calmly enough. He is like a keen hound, carefully exploring unknown clues in his own way.
Victor is now more interested in Rhine than in Christine. If Rhine doesn't leave, of course he won't leave in a hurry. Unfortunately, with the mayor's private guards watching, Victor could never find a chance to communicate with Rhine alone.
Just like this, when it got dark, Husserl, the captain of the Water Snake Guards, arrived belatedly.
He is about 50 years old, has common brown hair and brown eyes, a clean shaven beard, regular facial features, and a strong build, but has deep bags under his eyes and a bloated face. As a professional, this must be a physical feature of long-term indulgence in drinking and sex and neglect of exercise.
Eckert made no secret of his disdain for Husserl and mocked: "Captain, you came just in time."
The guards of Water Snake Town are affiliated with the Fallen Leaf City Council, rotate every two years, and are responsible for the security of the town. Husserl holds the title of military official and receives a salary from the city-state parliament. The distribution of benefits in Water Snake Town actually has nothing to do with him. He is a person who just eats and waits for death.
However, if the mayor dies in an unnamed manner, the captain of the guard who is responsible for public security will certainly not be able to escape his involvement. On the other hand, according to the regulations of the Fallen Leaf City Council, Captain Husserl will act as the mayor of Water Snake Town until the city-state council appoints a new mayor.
Husserl was shocked when he heard the news of Middleton's death. He has no choice, either to be punished by the city-state council, or to succeed Middleton and become the new mayor of Water Snake Town. The more critical it is at this critical moment, the less anxious he can be. It is necessary to spend more time to inquire about the situation.
Now that Husserl appeared in front of Eckert, he had already thought of a countermeasure and would never be a scapegoat.
"Mr. Eckert, I personally went to the plantation outside the town. The mayor's housekeeper Ethan Neil, the mayor's wife Christine and three guards disappeared together. My people also detected signs of activities of the bandit gang." Husserl paused and said sincerely: "I believe that the mayor's death is related to the bandit gang outside the town. There may be bandit spies in the town. I have ordered all people outside the town to come back and close the town gate. , to prevent gangs of bandits from taking advantage of the chaos to attack Water Snake Town... As you know, the Guards are short of manpower. I hope Master Eckert and various caravans and adventure groups will help me protect Water Snake Town."
The head of the Adventurer's Guild had a strange look on his face, and looked at the usually dull guard captain in surprise, as if he knew him for the first time.
It has only been a few hours since Middleton's death. Can the losers under Husserl find traces of the bandit gang?
...What about lying to a fool?
However, Husserl said this as the captain of the Water Snake Guards, and Eckert had to support him in order to clear his suspicions.
After Eckert thought for a moment, he asked: "We should assist the town guard in resisting the bandit gang... Then what? Captain Husserl, what are you going to do?"
Husserl raised the torch, turned to look at every guest present, and said seriously: "My lords, the bandit gang assassinated Mayor Middleton and kidnapped Mrs. Christine. We must blockade Water Snake Town and investigate strictly. A bandit spy who sneaked into the town. During this period, no one is allowed to leave the town until Luoye City sends city defense troops. I have already sent people to Luoye City to report, and reinforcements will arrive in Water Snake Town in up to twenty days. "
Eckert and several caravan stewards knew very well that if Husserl was not the mastermind of this matter, then he was trying to save himself.
This guy also has his own backing in Luoye City, so he may not be able to be promoted to the position of mayor.
The so-called prevention of bandit gangs from looting Water Snake Town was just Husserl's excuse to delay time. He blocked the whole town to block the news so that his backstage boss could make arrangements in the city-state council. If someone insists on leaving the town at this time, Captain Husser will inevitably be accused of colluding with bandits and murdering Mayor Middleton.
Although Captain Husserl never glanced at Victor from the beginning to the end, everyone knew that these people who were suspected to be defectors from the famous Golden Nightingale family were also Husserl's intended political chips.
He reported the news about Victor in Water Snake Town to his boss, and he could sell it to the famous Golden Nightingale family for a favor; or the famous family from Luoye City, who secretly supported Victor, was willing to buy the news with a favor.
When Husserl blocked the news, didn’t he just want to block this most valuable news?
Twenty days were enough for the big shots in Luoye City to complete a political deal around the defector from the famous Golden Nightingale family.
"Leave the matter here to me. I suggest that everyone go back to their respective residences now and try not to talk to others about the murder of the mayor and the disappearance of the mayor's wife. If the bandit spies use this matter to create chaos in the town, I promise to catch them." Captain Husserl made his last request with a serious expression.
Victor didn't seem to realize that Captain Husserl was trying to figure him out. He walked straight up to the white-haired Rhine and asked, "Where do you live?"
Rhine smiled and replied: "I live in the hotel opened by Mr. Eckert."
Victor nodded and said, "You are interested in my two female companions, we can talk in detail."
"Okay, but it will take some time... We may all run into trouble. We might as well wait for the right time to arrange a place to talk." The bounty hunter leaned slightly and said politely .
Victor shook his head and said, "You are perfunctory with me, but I will come to you."
