Shirou Hits a Dead End / Shirou Summarizes the Case

Mr. Frederick immediately put two steps between himself and Alya, carefully examining the girl, recalling the information about the imposter train conductor: 'A short man, handsome, with pale skin, and a voice like a woman's.'

Her skin was deathly pale, indeed the skin of a young girl was snow-white, without any blemishes or wrinkles, so delicate that it seemed inhuman.

"Is this yours, Miss Alya?" Shirou stopped Mr. Frederick, who was trying to arrest him. Alya had an alibi, and it was she who pointed out the imposter conductor.

Shirou turned his head and asked the woman softly.

Alya maintained her courteous smile and replied, "No, that's not me, sir. You know I only wear maid outfits."

"When did you open this box? Were these clothes in there last time?" Shirou asked.

Alya shook her head. "No, it wasn't there last time. I haven't noticed this box since I left Istanbul. Sir, will I be arrested?"

"No, it's alright, we trust you. The Lord can vouch for you, there's nothing to worry about. I know you haven't hidden your uniform. You're an excellent boy, and you've undergone ample training in the Einzbern Family for the Holy Grail, haven't you?"

Alya opened her mouth, but didn't say anything more, looking completely stunned.

"No, no," Shirou continued reassuringly with a smile, "You're definitely alright. Listen, I'll tell you what happened. That man, the one in uniform you saw, came out of the deceased's private room and bumped into you. He was just unlucky. He thought no one would be outside. His plans were ruined, so what's next? He has to get rid of that uniform, or he'll be in big trouble."

He turned and glanced at Mr. Frederick and Waver, who were both listening intently.

"You know, a barrier was set up outside, and this Snow Spirit rampage disrupted his entire plan. Where to put this uniform? The private rooms on the train were full. No, he passed a private room with the door open, assuming it was empty. This room must be where the woman he bumped into was staying. He slipped in, took off his clothes, and hurriedly stuffed them into a suitcase on the luggage rack. It might take some time to find it."

"And then?" Mr. Frederick asked.

"That will require further investigation," Shirou said, giving him a look that suggested they discuss it later.

He picked up his uniform, and sure enough, the armband was gone. Shirou reached into his pocket and pulled out a master key that could open all the compartments.

Chapter 1255 Shirou is at a stalemate

"That explains why this person can get through all the compartments," Mr. Frederick said. "Your question to Old Boss Li is unnecessary. Locked or unlocked, this person can easily get through all the doors. In short, since it's a conductor's uniform, why can't it have a master key?"

"Really, why can't we have it?" Shirou said.

"To be honest, we should have known. Do you remember Hartless saying that when he heard the bell and came over, Old Boss Li's door was locked?"

"Indeed, sir," the train conductor said. "That's why I thought the old man was just confused from sleep."

"But that makes sense," Mr. Frederick continued. "Obviously, he intended to lock the door to the private room again, but perhaps he heard a noise from the bed and it gave him a fright."

"Alright, we've got one of those things. All that's left is to find that red cloak." Shirou said goodbye to Alya and walked outside.

"What should we do next?" Mr. Frederick asked.

"I think I know where the red cloak is. I'll go get it. You guys go back to the train compartment," Shirou said. "We've got everything we can find out. We have passenger testimonies, we found physical evidence in the luggage, and we even witnessed something ourselves... It seems we can't expect to get any more information. Now it's time to use our brains."

"I'll be right back in my room," he said. "It's a tricky, bizarre case. Who wore that bright red cloak? And where is it now? There are things, facts, in this case that I've overlooked. The case is tricky because the crime itself is. But we'll get to it. Just a moment."

Shirou returned to his room, took down the box, and unlocked it with a "click".

The room was instantly filled with the scent of roses, and on top of the trunk lay a neatly folded, blood-red cloak.

"This is a challenge from the prisoner," he muttered to himself. "In that case, fine, I accept."

Shirou, carrying his cloak, entered the train compartment, where Mr. Frederick was talking to Waver. Mr. Frederick seemed somewhat dejected.

"Shirou, where did you find this?" Mr. Frederick greeted him as he entered.

Shirou casually tossed his cloak onto the sofa and said, "It's in my trunk."

"So you dressed as a woman last night?" Frederick asked with a smug grin.

Shirou shrugged.

Mr. Frederick sat down again, and said with a look of utter helplessness:

"If you can solve this case, Shirou, I really will convert to Christianity!"

"Is this case really bothering you?" Shirou asked the man.

"Nature troubles me. I simply can't figure it out," Mr. Frederick replied, glancing at Shirou with curiosity.

"To be honest," he said, "I don't know what you're going to do next."

"Don't you know?" Shirou said thoughtfully.

Mr. Frederick took out his cigarette case and lit a cigarette. His eyes were unfocused, as if he were absent-minded.

Shirou laughed and said, "For me, that's precisely what makes this case interesting. Now, the normal channels for solving the case have been cut off. We can't even tell whether the testimonies we've obtained are true or false, unless we figure them out ourselves. This is quite a mental workout."

"That's right," said Mr. Frederick, "But what credible testimony do you have to back it up?"

"I already told you. We have passenger testimonies, we have eyewitness accounts."

"Great, the passengers' testimonies are really good! They didn't tell us anything."

Shirou shook his head.

"I don't think so. Although these testimonies are chaotic, there are several points that are very noteworthy."

"Really," Mr. Frederick said skeptically, "I didn't see it coming."

That's because you weren't listening carefully.

"Alright then, tell me what I missed?"

"Let me give you an example, the first testimony we heard, the testimony of the German secretary Caules. In my opinion, he said something quite interesting."

"About the letters?"

"No, it wasn't about the letters. He said he was traveling with Old John. Old John wanted to see the world but found it difficult because he didn't understand foreign languages. He was more like Old John's travel companion than his secretary."

He looked at Waver's face, then at Mr. Frederick's.

"You mean...?" Mr. Frederick still seemed puzzled.

"Ah, you want to express it in simple sentences, don't you? Listen, here it is! Caules said, ' Old John doesn't speak a foreign language.' Last night, when the train conductor heard the bell and rushed to the door, Old John was speaking Romanian. Before that, Old John had come to see me and the teacher, and he spoke English then. More importantly, Old John's true identity..."

"Darnic ..."

His nickname is...

"Darnic, a smooth talker with eight tongues, a politician in the Magecraft world. Yes!"

Mr. Frederick exclaimed excitedly, "We should have noticed this much sooner! I remember you repeated those words to us, and you spoke very strongly. There's something wrong with Caules! He's lying!"

Mr. Frederick, in high spirits, wanted to have Caules arrested.

"Wait, Caules has an alibi, and the colonel can testify for him." Waver's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Frederick's face.

"That's his gang!"

"This is not enough to convict him. Perhaps Old John was just being cautious and didn't tell Caules that he understood the languages of Middle Eastern countries. Besides, if that were the case, there would be many more prisoners on the train, and all the passengers on the train have alibis."

"You're very cautious, Waver, my old friend. So what does this mean?" He slumped back onto the sofa and said weakly.

"What I mean is that there's misleading information in the evidence, so we should step back and not let this evidence constrain our thinking. We don't yet have conclusive evidence to prove when Old John died. It could be before the time the gold watch points to, or it could be after the time the gold watch points to," Shirou said calmly.

"Shirou, you said a noise woke you up after 1:15."

"Yes, that's true. But I'm not sure if it's outside or next door." Shirou nodded.

"But the train conductor Halletts said he didn't hear any noise outside?"

"Yes, he said he only saw a lady in a red cloak, and I saw her too. And that cloak is right here now."

The case seems to have reached a stalemate once again...

Chapter 1256 Shirou's Summary of the Case

"In a sense," Mr. Frederick said.

"This discovery didn't have much impact on things. You heard someone moving around next door. It wasn't Old John, but someone else. There's no doubt that he was washing the blood off his hands, cleaning up the scene, and burning the letter that was connected to the murder after committing the crime."

Then he waited until everything was quiet. When he felt it was safe, with no obstruction and no danger, he locked Old John's door from the inside, chained it, and then used a general key to open the connecting door to Old Boss Li's room and slipped out.

In fact, it was exactly as we had originally thought, except that Old John died about half an hour earlier. The watch was set to 1:15 to create the illusion that the murderer was not present at the time."

"Such evidence is not very convincing," Shirou said. "The clock hands point to 1:15, which is the exact time this uninvited guest actually left the scene."

"Is that so?" said Mr. Frederick, somewhat puzzled. "Then what inspiration does the watch itself offer?"

"If the clock hands were moved back—and I mean if—then the time it indicates must have some meaning. When someone finds this clock, they would naturally assume that this is the time of the crime."

Conversely, at the time indicated by the clock hands: 1:15, anyone with a solid alibi is a suspect!

"Yes, that's it." Waver nodded.

Shirou continued:

"We also need to pay attention to the time when the murderer entered the room. When would he have had the opportunity to strike? Unless our train conductor Hallest is an accomplice, there is only one possible time for him to strike: when the train stops at the Romania border station."

"After the train left Romania, the train conductor sat facing the aisle. Other passengers wouldn't notice a conductor moving around outside. But the conductor himself would definitely notice an imposter inside the carriage."

But when the train stopped in Romania, the conductors were all on the platform, so there was no obstacle or danger. If it were a vampire, this would be the perfect time to sneak under the train and board."

Shirou made a final joke.

"The Mystic Train would never let vampires in! Based on our previous deductions, the murderer must be one of the passengers." Mr. Frederick waved his hand and said, "Let's start from the beginning. Which one of them is it?"

Shirou smiled, took out the document he had previously written down, and handed it to Frederick.

"I've made a list," he said. "Take a look, sir; perhaps you can recall something."

Both Waver and Mr. Frederick examined the list carefully. The list was well-organized, with all the necessary information recorded, and arranged in the order of the meetings.

First place:

Caules Folvige, a German.

Her identity was the deceased's secretary; her motive was a conflict of interest with the deceased.

He has an alibi: the crime occurred between 12:00 AM and 2:00 AM. US Colonel testified for him between 12:00 AM and 1:30 AM; the train conductor testified for him between 1:15 AM and 2:00 AM.

Suspicious circumstances: The deceased may have lied regarding their language skills.

Second place:

Hartless, a train conductor on the Mystic Train.

Motive: None;

There is an alibi: at 12:37, when there was talking in Old John's room, Shirou saw him in the corridor. Between 1:00 and 1:16 or 1:07, the other two train conductors testified for him.

Suspicious circumstances: The discovery of the train conductor's uniform is favorable to him. The armband incident may have been a setup by the murderer.

Third place:

Edward, an Englishman, was the deceased's servant.

Motive: Possibly related to the deceased.

He has an alibi: his Italian roommate testified for him between midnight and 2 a. m.

Suspicious circumstance: He is one of only two people who would be suitable to wear that train conductor's uniform.

Fourth place:

Old Boss Li is a Chinese.

Motive: None; no alibi.

Suspicious circumstances: The testimonies of Kairi Shishigou and Alya confirm what he said: a mysterious person broke into his room.

Fifth place:

Swedish priest,

Motive: As a member of the Church of the Holy See, he was hostile to all Magecraft who did not believe in God and were not loved by God.

Alibi: The train conductor can provide proof.

Suspicious circumstances: He had an argument with the deceased on the night of the incident.

Sixth place:

Lord Rin - El-Melloi Archizorti, British citizen.

Motive: She had a close relationship with Kaineth, as she was Kaineth niece.

Alibi: The train conductor and maid testified for her.

Seventh place:

Olga Marie Yasmirette Animsfia a British citizen.

Motive: The disappearance of the deceased may be related to the previous head of household of the Animsfia family.