Early in the morning, Ed stood in front of the door, looking over the eaves at the bright yellow sun like fresh lemons. On the rare few sunny days, he even had to water the potted plants.
"Mr. Waikolo, this is today's newspaper." The newsboy delivered today's newspaper.
Ed put down the tinplate water bottle in his hand, took out a small copper plate from his pocket and handed it over:
"okay, thank you."
After watching the newsboy leave, Ed opened the newspaper, and a piece of news quickly caught his attention:
"Spontaneous Human Combustion"
Recently, at the Jubilation Club on Mansa Street, a tobacco merchant in his fifties suddenly burst into flames while smoking hookah and died. It is said that the blood-red flames only burned his body, and the people around him were unharmed. It was later found that no property was missing. Currently, the accident has been handed over to the Eastern District Police.
"Died by mysterious spontaneous combustion", "Others were not injured", "No property was lost".
Sounds like a serious mystery. Ed thought to himself that he finally had some work to do, and he no longer wanted to deal with gangsters and veterans.
Entering the room, he handed the newspaper to Mr. Eaton at the desk. The other party held a corn cob pipe in his mouth and stared at it for a moment, then breathed out a long, thin cloud of mist:
"What do you think of this case of spontaneous human combustion?"
"Could it be an accidental fire?"
He had seen similar cases in the files. The deceased was an elderly or disabled person with limited mobility. He accidentally ignited his clothes or hair while smoking a cigarette. He was unable to run away to call for help or take the initiative to put out the fire. As a result, the whole body was burned, which was eventually mistaken for spontaneous human combustion.
Similar situations may include sudden symptoms such as stroke, heart disease, brain disease, etc., causing the victim to lose consciousness and drop a cigarette or igniter on the body.
Of course, it is not ruled out that it is the work of extraordinary people or mysterious creatures. It is entirely possible that the "Cremation" secret text can cause a similar phenomenon.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out. I received a report from the police station last night. They believe that the smoke in the hookah caused the victim's body to become more flammable, which led to such a tragedy."
This explanation doesn't sound very reasonable.
"What's Dr. Rowan's opinion?"
"He doesn't quite agree with this statement because he has never seen a similar case. In order to pursue excitement, some drug addicts will add opium or blood honey to hookah, which will cause the smoker to be intoxicated and hallucinate, but will not cause human body damage. combustion."
The Jubilation Club on Mantha Street... Ed thought back to that location. Wasn't that Dylan's favorite place?
"He shouldn't have been the only one in the room when the incident happened, right?"
"The witness was a nineteen-year-old girl named Abigail who worked at the Jubilation Club. According to police, she appeared panicked when the statement was taken and had bruises and whip marks on her body."
Ed wasn't surprised by this, it was possible it was part of the "extra services". But maybe the tobacconist went too far.
Killing in defense? It is unlikely that she did it. An extraordinary person who can skillfully use the secret text of "Cremation" has no need to engage in this kind of business.
"Ed, I'm afraid you still need to make a trip to the Jubilation Club in person this time to investigate."
I? Go to that kind of place to investigate? He scratched his head. This was not really a chore.
"Okay, no problem...but why does it have to be me?"
"Quinn's goal is too obvious, and few women would go to that kind of place; Byakuya is decisive, but has a frivolous personality; Anvil is too cruel; as for the Stranger, the Sea Monster, and the Blue Butterfly, they are even less suitable for execution It's time to investigate. The most important thing is that there is someone who is more familiar with you and can help with this matter."
Father Dylan, I understand. Ed rolled his eyes and accepted the mission.
Since it was still early and there was still plenty of time, he went to the shooting range at the East District stronghold to practice shooting——
Six shots hit, no misses.
Under Miss Quinn's careful cultivation, Ed's marksmanship is improving by leaps and bounds in a way that is visible to the naked eye.
"Eton is sending you to a brothel?"
Just as he was reloading, Quinn came over and said casually.
"It's to investigate the spontaneous human combustion incident on Mansha Street. There are still many doubts about that case. If we don't figure it out, there may be another victim."
Ed opened the magazine, and the cartridge cases were immediately thrown into the air. He quickly used the loader to load six bullets, and it took less than two seconds to complete the loading.
"Oh, I'm just asking casually. Why not let the anvil go? He must be ten thousand happy. Or the sissy, he can do this even after wiping the powder off his face."
"Mr. Eaton is still not at ease with the two of them. Besides, my relationship with Dylan is pretty good, so I can ask him to take me there."
"Hmph...you should stop learning from him." Quinn sneered softly, took out a pocket watch from her pocket and threw it to Ed, "By the way, take this."
"Is this?" Ed reached out and grabbed the pocket watch from mid-air, but found that the weight was slightly different.
"Pocket watch bomb, a product of the scientific research department of the Divine Bureau: it is filled with crystal dust explosives. The default detonation time is five seconds. The timing can be adjusted by the clockwork. This thing is very powerful. Remember to hide behind the bunker when using it."
"I know." He put the pocket watch bomb into his vest pocket and said with a smile, "Thank you, Quinn."
"It's nothing, just pay attention to safety."
Quinn tilted her head.
…
"So you need a reference?"
After listening to Ed's words, Dylan smiled evilly, and his cheeks that had begun to relax suddenly became full of wrinkles:
"Please, this is not an introduction to a job or a higher education. Just take out your money, slap it on the table, and tell the boss lady which one you want. God, you don't even need someone to teach you about that kind of thing."
"I have to admit, you are quite experienced in this area." Ed put his hands on the cane, his face full of helplessness.
"...That's it. I don't want to approach Abigail in an overly official capacity. The other person has just experienced excitement. As an unfamiliar face, going directly will easily arouse caution. Therefore, I have to ask you to accompany me."
"What about the money...?" Dylan rubbed his fingers.
"The Bureau of Investigation will fully reimburse related expenses." At the end, he added, "As long as you don't go too far."
"It's no problem, my little man. Punishing evil and promoting good is what we clergy should do."
Father Dylan looked righteous and solemn, patted Ed on the shoulder and said.
