“The police have identified a nine-year-old boy, young Adriel Washers, as the suspect in this case.”
Chairman Peterson let out a long sigh.
“But does that even make sense? To claim a mere nine-year-old killed someone?”
It wasn’t just the fact that he was a child that made it impossible. The chairman had his own evidence.
“The victim, a housekeeper, was stabbed multiple times and murdered. There were reportedly signs of a struggle. If the opponent were a 9-year-old child, the struggle wouldn’t have been so one-sided. However, there wasn’t a single scratch on Adriel’s body.”
“Then there is no way Adriel could be the culprit.”
But surely the police knew this?
“Well, the police say…”
Chairman Peterson squeezed his eyes shut as if he found it difficult to even speak the words.
“They say he was possessed by a demon.”
“…What?”
“They claim the eerie behavior young Adriel displayed was something that could only be done by someone possessed by an evil spirit. They say it makes no sense otherwise—how he didn’t react at all while the housekeeper was struggling in the next room, how he smiled brightly upon seeing her death, and even how he had a seizure at the sight of a clock hand.”
An evil spirit?
Was that something a police officer should be saying?
No, even if they said it, were they actually letting it interfere with a judicial judgment?
It was hard to believe, but Chairman Peterson didn’t look like he was joking.
“It seems their position is that because he was a child possessed by an evil spirit, he could kill an adult woman without a single scratch. And as for the path that allowed the spirit to enter the child’s body, they’ve pointed to my company’s clock.”
“Ha…”
I was so flabbergasted that I couldn’t even think of any words of comfort.
Chairman Peterson grabbed my hand and pleaded.
“Please help me, Mr. Hayes. It’s already been four days since the incident. I heard the police plan to wrap up the case by today.”
“…”
“If things go on like this, our company will be forced to close under a cloud of disgrace, and Adriel will be dragged to a mental facility to live the rest of his life locked away.”
“!”
I had previously solved a case related to Lure’s school. At that time, I had witnessed how miserable the mental hospitals in this neighborhood truly were.
‘That isn’t a place for humans to live.’
Even a barn for livestock was better than that.
Short handcuffs that didn’t allow for even three steps. People being raised like beasts while chained to those cuffs.
To think a 9-year-old child would be forcibly confined in such a place. It would be more merciful to just kill him.
Chairman Peterson felt the same. We had developed a bond over our time together. I didn’t want to see him lose the company that held memories of his son over something so absurd.
I wanted to help. I wanted to help them somehow, but…
‘If you even think about taking this request, I won’t be able to forgive you.’
Had it even been an hour since I received that warning from Detective Baron? After boasting that I would never do such a thing, wouldn’t it be too shameless to take the case immediately?
‘Wait, no.’
Maybe it was actually okay because it was immediate? The Taylor John candidates were arriving in the Capital tomorrow.
*Click.*
I opened the lid of my pocket watch and checked the time. It was 11:30 AM. I still had half a day left.
“The problem is that there are no other suspects besides Adriel. Is that correct?”
“…! Yes. That’s why they’re trying to arrest him by creating a ridiculous excuse about him being possessed by an evil spirit.”
If it was just a matter of finding another suspect, couldn’t I do that within half a day?
‘I can see the culprit.’
I could just go to the scene, check the faces of the people there for 3 seconds, and I’d know. Exactly 3 seconds would be enough to confirm whether someone was the culprit or not.
‘What if I identify the culprit and then discreetly inform Mr. Walter and hand the case to him?’
Walter trusted my abilities. He wouldn’t ignore a culprit I pointed out. Furthermore, with Walter’s skills, there was no way he would lose the culprit if he knew who it was.
Going to the crime scene, checking the suspects’ faces, and delegating the case to Walter—it was more than possible within half a day.
“…Understood. I’ll take this case. However, please keep in mind that I might not be the one to see it through to the very end.”
I can do this!
***
It was nearly 1:00 PM by the time I arrived at the Washers mansion. It was a much later arrival than I had anticipated.
‘It took time to send the letter through Toby.’
I had to inform Walter about the request in advance. Since I didn’t know Walter’s address, the only way to get a letter to him was through Toby. Toby’s old friends would still be working under Balthazar, and Balthazar would be with Walter.
The idea was good, but the problem was finding Toby. Toby had hidden under a bridge in a far-off suburban area to escape the rain. Because of that, a significant amount of time had been wasted.
‘No, it’s fine. It’s still only 1:00 PM.’
I tried to soothe myself, but the sky was dark despite the early hour due to the chilling rain. I felt an unnecessary sense of urgency.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
My faint impatience leaked through the knocking.
“Is anyone there? I’m a detective.”
A moment later, *clatter*, a small brass cover on the door slid aside, and a large pair of green eyes scrutinized me.
“…Mr. Hayes? Is that right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
I heard the sound of a chain being unlatched from behind the door.
*Clank.*
Soon, the door opened, and a lady with a haggard complexion appeared.
“I knew Chairman Peterson wanted to entrust this case to you. But since I hadn’t heard anything for three days, I assumed the request had fallen through.”
“Well… for the last three days, I was in a place where contact was unavoidably impossible. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Hayes. Are you Mrs. Washers?”
The green-eyed lady winced.
“Just call me Claire. I’d rather not be called by my ex-husband’s last name.”
“Ah, my apologies. Ms. Claire.”
“At any rate, thank you so much for coming. I was desperate for someone’s help right now. Follow me. I’ll take you to the police officer who is investigating the case.”
The lady guided me into the house. Surprisingly, the interior was bright. It was a completely different world from the darkness outside, all thanks to certain objects placed throughout the house.
“These are… lightbulbs?”
“You recognize them.”
Of course I did. They were the incandescent lightbulbs I had been so surprised to see at Madame Moss’s party. They were placed all over this house.
‘But the feeling is different.’
At Madame Moss’s party, the lightbulbs were the main attraction. Each one was placed atop a magnificent chandelier, decorated brightly as if to show off. In contrast, the lightbulbs in this house were practical and varied in form.
Bulbs hanging from the ceiling, bulbs hanging with lampshades, bulbs standing on the floor, bulbs that looked like bedside lamps… It was like being at a lightbulb exhibition.
“I didn’t expect to see so many lightbulbs.”
“You’ll be seeing them often from now on. A few months ago, our research team invented a technology that can drastically reduce the production cost of lightbulbs.”
“Your research team?”
“I forgot to mention. I’m a scientist. I belong to the Albertaine Institute of Applied Science.”
A scientist, and one who contributed to the production of lightbulbs.
‘Ms. Claire was quite an impressive person.’
“That’s incredible. Did you decide on the interior of this house as well, Ms. Claire?”
“Yes. To handle the lightbulbs more conveniently, I paid attention to every single electrical wire embedded in this house. There isn’t a single thing in here my hands haven’t touched.”
No wonder the front door had such an unfamiliar design. It seemed everything was the work of a scientist’s hand. Beside that, there were sliding doors and double-locking mechanisms on the windows, but we didn’t discuss them further. It wasn’t the right situation to be discussing interior design.
After all, the housekeeper of this house had been murdered, and her son had been identified as the suspect.
“The police officer is resting in this room.”
Claire stopped in front of a door and hesitated for a moment before opening it.
“There’s something I want to tell you in advance.”
“What is it?”
“Since you’ve come at Chairman Peterson’s request, you must know that our Adriel is innocent. Isn’t that right?”
I hesitated and then withheld my answer.
‘Nothing is confirmed yet.’
I had only heard the general circumstances of the case from Chairman Peterson. While it seemed unjust for a child to be the suspect in a murder case, nothing was certain. Fortunately, my answer didn’t seem to be important to her, as Claire continued speaking.
“People say whatever they want—that Adriel is possessed by a demon, or that he’s slow—but none of that is true. Adriel is a perfectly normal child; he was just a little late in starting to speak and is very shy.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. So please, I hope you look at the child without prejudice.”
Having finished, Claire opened the door. I soon understood why she had felt the need to give such a solemn warning.
Inside the room that appeared to be a drawing room, an officer was resting, leaning back on a sofa. He was draped in garlic and silver ornaments. To anyone’s eyes, he looked like someone who was deeply influenced by the rumors.
‘Wait, I think I’ve seen that officer somewhere…’
Just then, the officer looked up at the sound of our presence.
“…Hm? You?”
He also frowned deeply, as if he recognized me. Seeing that grim face made the memory clearer.
‘Ah! That Inspector!’
Let’s see… his name was definitely…
“Inspector Suren?”
“It’s Inspector Serret!”
Ah, right. Inspector Serret. The police officer who seemed to have a bad relationship with Detective Baron.
‘Wasn’t he a corrupt cop who took bribes?’
That alone made him unpleasant, but what was with that look?
“Is an Inspector allowed to be swayed by superstition?”
He was doing all sorts of nonsense.
“What are you doing here?”
As if he were actually ashamed, the inspector untied the garlic from his head and asked brusquely.
“I thought someone who became undeservedly famous wouldn’t take a simple case like this.”
“We’ll have to wait and see if it’s a simple case or not.”
“Tsk! Even your way of speaking is exactly like that washed-up old man. I see you’re still hanging around that unlucky old geezer?”
“Of course. He’s a good police officer.”
Unlike someone else.
“Hmph!”
Whether he understood my implication or not, Inspector Serret snorted and turned his head away. I didn’t want to be friendly with him either, but that attitude was problematic.
“I am a detective officially commissioned by Chairman Peterson. As a police officer, you will naturally let me participate in the investigation, right?”
While the initiative of the investigation belonged to the police, the parties involved or a detective commissioned by them had the right to share the investigation’s details.
“Well… you were commissioned by Chairman Peterson? I don’t see Chairman Peterson as a party involved in the case.”
To say Chairman Peterson, whose company’s survival depended on the outcome of this case, was not a party involved? It was truly just a petty argument.
‘What should I do? I don’t have much time.’
As I was considering an appropriate response, Claire quickly stepped in.
“You won’t be able to say I’m not a party involved, will you? I also want to commission Mr. Hayes for this case.”
“I will gladly accept that request.”
I immediately snatched the opportunity.
“Dammit, what a stupid law.”
The inspector had no choice but to hand over the case records.
‘Let’s see… the one murdered was Dolores, the housekeeper of this house. She was 28 years old at the time of the murder.’
“Twenty-eight years old?”
I muttered in surprise without realizing it. It might have been a prejudice, but I had vaguely thought of a housekeeper as a job for an older person.
“Dolores was a friend of mine.”
As if answering my question, Claire spoke up.
“She was a kind-hearted friend who was in difficult circumstances. Since I was also having a hard time raising my child alone, I hired her.”
I see. Dolores was both the housekeeper and a friend to Claire, the owner of the house.
‘The location of the murder was the child’s room on the first floor. Numerous signs of a struggle were found inside the room. The cause of death was excessive bleeding due to multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. The weapon is presumed to be a kitchen knife found next to the body. Investigation confirmed it was originally from the kitchen of this house.’
It was a gruesome incident.
“The most important point of the case is that there are no signs of outside intrusion,” Inspector Serret said.
“This house was designed with strict security. Intrusion through the windows is completely impossible, and the only entrance is the front door. However, there is a peephole installed in the front door to look outside. Even if someone forgot to look and opened the door, it’s impossible for an outsider to enter without unlatching the chain. Despite that, the entrance is clean without a single sign of struggle. What does this mean? It means the culprit was someone they knew.”
His tone was unpleasantly arrogant. But regardless of his tone, I agreed with the content.
‘Since it was someone they knew, they would have used a weapon found in the house.’
If it had been a robber, they would have brought their own weapon.
“The problem is that on the day of the crime, no one visited this house.”
“Has that been clearly confirmed?”
“Well, the victim, Ms. Dolores, had a very unsociable personality. Ms. Claire doesn’t seem very social either, and the son of this house who has mental issues isn’t even worth mentioning.”
“Take that back.”
Claire immediately countered.
“My son is not a mental patient.”
“Well, every mother says that,” Inspector Serret said with a shrug.
“At any rate, the people who would visit this house were very limited.”
The inspector continued.
“And those limited people are all gathered in the room next door. I’ve just finished interrogating them. Let me tell you in advance, I didn’t find any grounds for suspicion from them.”
Isn’t that just because you’re incompetent?
“I want to see them for myself.”
“Well, I knew you’d say that.”
Inspector Serret clicked his tongue as if it were a nuisance, but he didn’t refuse. It seemed he knew that refusing would only make things more troublesome.
“Well then, let me introduce them. The prime suspects who might have killed Ms. Dolores.”
At Inspector Serret’s call, three people who had been waiting in the next room appeared. A young child with green eyes, and a pair of adult men and women.
‘This is bad.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘There are no black shadows?’
Even though all the suspects were gathered in this room, I couldn’t see the culprit. I had a feeling the case was about to get complicated.
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