After that, the seventh day after the "Subway Massacre" incident was also the first day of Ed's assistant career——
No one came to visit for almost the whole day. Even though he was bored, Ed was not idle: he first cleaned the floor, pruned the dead branches of the plants in front of the door, and then sat down and was about to look through the previous commission records...
If being a detective's assistant was really that easy, then he wouldn't mind doing it until he died.
Just when the night turned blue and the daylight was about to go out, the door rang three times, and then someone pushed the door open and came in. Ed didn't expect there would be visitors at this time, so he stood up quickly:
"Hello, what can I do for you... Damn! Why is it you?"
The person who came was the previous coffee shop owner. Wearing a very fashionable color-blocked coat and plaid scarf, he looked like he had just gotten off work from the circus. His mustache had a curved hook, and his body exuded the coquettish aura of cologne.
"Hey~, it seems that we are really destined to be together. Won't you treat me to something to drink?"
The coffee shop owner pinched his beard and smiled, then hung the bowler hat on the hanger.
"Tea or coffee?" Ed sighed and reluctantly moved towards the tea cabinet next to the coal stove.
"Come on, I'm just talking." The coffee shop owner waved his hand, "I'm not interested in criticizing the works of amateurs."
Ed stopped and turned around: "Are you here to do something for someone, or are you here to have fun?"
"...My little baby Nomelissa went missing a day ago. My heart is about to break. An old acquaintance happened to tell me that you have a very strong ability to do things here, so I came here to try my luck."
Although the tone was frivolous and exaggerated, Ed could clearly see anxiety and uneasiness flashing in the man's eyes. Perhaps time had made him accustomed to not showing these emotions on his face.
"Okay, please sit over there first...what's your last name?"
So Ed changed his attitude to a more sincere one, took out a pencil from the pen holder, and started jotting on some rough paper. At that time, it will be formally transcribed on the power of attorney, which will look cleaner and neater.
"Leonard Downston."
Client: Ray-Na-de Down-Ston, Missing Person: Na-Me-Lisa Down-Ston, "By the way, have you called the police?"
"Of course I reported it, but they said the missing cat would not be dealt with! These moths sucking taxpayers' blood..." the shop owner complained angrily.
Click, the tip of the pencil was broken into two sections by Ed.
House cat?
“…I don’t pay taxes so they can sit in the office and eat tea biscuits… Oh, what’s wrong with you?”
"fine."
Ed controlled his facial expression and took out another pencil from the pen holder: "Uh...so you just lost a cat?"
"What do you mean 'just lost a cat'?! She is my family!" the store owner almost shouted in a screaming tone: "Do you understand the meaning of family, boy?"
"No offense, I do still have a lot to learn." Ed drew a horizontal line through the word "person" in "missing person", added "cat" below, and continued to ask:
"Then please describe its characteristics and the places you usually go to."
“Her fur was darker than the night, her eyes were like bright yellow gemstones, her limbs were covered with pure white gloves, and her tail was hung with iceberg-like pure snow... The whole street was fascinated by her. "
Black cat with yellow eyes, white paws and tail tip. Ed wrote on the paper.
"The city fee for missing persons is two and a half pounds. For domestic cats, we charge you one pound. Do you think this is acceptable?"
"Don't you understand? She is my family member! As long as she comes back safely, I will give you five pounds!" The boss gestured with five fingers.
"Of course... no problem, as long as you are willing."
Ed added a line of words at the end——
Commission fee: 5 pounds.
"Would you like to buy a newspaper, sir? The subway massacre has been solved! Get a copy of the Silvermist Telegraph and you can find out the truth for a penny."
Ed looked at the newsboy in front of him - he was thin, with a sallow complexion, typical of malnutrition; his front teeth had turned into two holes, and he was obviously still in the period of tooth replacement. There were patches sewn on his octagonal hat, and his trousers could not reach his ankles...
In the East End, children from poor families like this produce more parts than factories produce, and nearly half do not live to see their 18th birthday.
The newsboy didn't notice Ed's gaze and tried his best to sell the newspaper in his hand: "Or you can add an extra penny to buy a copy of Candide. The bad jokes in the fourth page will definitely suit your taste!"
Why do you say it as if I have no taste...
Ed handed over a small two-penny copper coin and asked casually: "Have you ever seen a black cat? It has yellow eyes, white claws and the tip of its tail."
"I've never seen one. Sir, are you looking for a cat? I can ask the guys I know to help you look for it. If you find it, you'll pay a shilling."
If these children can really be found, I can make a net profit of 5 pounds for just 1 shilling. It turns out that being a middleman is so exciting...
"Well, if you find it, bring it to Mr. Downston at the Broken Dreams Cafe on Klein Street. If it is really his cat, I guarantee that he will pay you a lot of money, a full five pounds. Understand. Yet?"
Ed said matter-of-factly. He is not a capitalist and has no intention of making money from this.
When the little newsboy heard this astronomical figure, he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, and ran away like a whirlwind.
According to coffee shop owner Downston's description, in addition to Klein Street, Namelisa often wanders around the surrounding streets and has a strong desire to hunt.
The most optimistic scenario is that perhaps Namelisa was accidentally trapped at the top of a tree while climbing to catch birds.
And the most pessimistic situation is that there are always a lot of cars and horses in the surrounding streets...
Ed spent a whole morning searching the streets, parks, alleys and other places where cats are most likely to hang out around Klein Street, but found nothing.
Seeing that it was already noon, he gradually felt empty in his stomach, and he planned to use the salary given to him by the maintenance shop to have a good meal first.
Since returning from the dead, he has never had a truly decent meal. He picked a mid-range restaurant that looked good, but was stopped by the waiter as soon as he entered:
"Sorry, sir, we are closed."
Ed was stunned and then asked: "Why do you have a break at noon?"
"This..." the waiter said with a confused look on his face: "There's a rat in the kitchen."
Making a fuss?
Ed couldn't help but be a little surprised. It was common for restaurants to have rats in the kitchen. They would close down for rectification because of rats. Could this restaurant be so conscientious?
Ordinarily, this kind of thing is not told to diners. Wouldn't it be nice if the rats were caught or driven away, but why would they suspend business because of this?
"Is it serious? My uncle is a professional rat catcher. I learned some skills from him. Do you need me to go over and take a look?"
Ed made up some nonsense at random. He was just curious as to what kind of rat could put a restaurant out of business during prime time at noon.
"Wait a minute, I'm going to ask the store manager for instructions..." After a while, the waiter trotted back: "Follow me, but don't talk nonsense to anyone."
After that, the waiter led Ed to the kitchen. Opening the door, Ed was shocked by the scene in front of him:
Oh My God……
Rats, swarms of rats, carry the ingredients, vegetables, fresh meat, and cut cheese in the kitchen like a workshop assembly line. Those who don't know it think they are in the mouse kingdom in fairy tales.
He even saw several rats working together to carry away a large piece of lamb leg...
The rats ignored them at all, and were not as timid as ordinary rats. They were like an army of rats.
"Do you think we can solve it? They've run out of ingredients, so we have no choice but to close down. Oops!"
The waiter watched in horror as the rat tide came and went at his feet, folded his arms around his shoulders and screamed.
"Where did these rats come from?" Ed felt more and more strange the more he thought about it.
Such a large group of rats would obviously not appear out of thin air. If they swarmed in from the street, they would definitely cause quite a disturbance.
In other words, they must come from some hidden passage that is not easy to find.
"Back alley, go see it for yourself...ah!!!"
A mouse suddenly climbed onto the waiter's leg along his trousers. He was so frightened that he kicked the waiter in a panic, causing his shoes to fly out. He closed the door and ran away without looking back.
Okay...it looks like I have to go out on my own again.
Following the trajectory of the mice, Ed pushed open the back door and entered the back alley. The place was filled with brooms, barrels, broken shelves and other miscellaneous items. It was so narrow that even mice had to squeeze past his legs.
The rats that had looted the restaurant disappeared behind the moldy and rotten fence boards. From the gap in the board, a fluffy black tail was exposed, with a pure white tip.
No way? Melissa? !
Ed never expected that he would find the coffee shop owner's pet cat here. These mice are not afraid of it at all?
He walked over carefully and slowly, trying to reach out and catch it...
The fluffy black tail actually fell down like a dead branch from a tree trunk. The bloody end was full of traces of rodent bites...
…
