The sheriff and Shade met on the temporarily deserted staircase to keep anyone from seeing Shade. The lean, sharp-looking middle-aged man took Shade's identification, examined it, and immediately snapped to attention:
"May I ask what brings you here? How can we assist you?"
Military Intelligence Section Six was part of the Royal Army and did not belong to the same system as the police. But when MI6 agents were carrying out operations, lower-ranking police officers had to cooperate. Although the sheriff ranked above ordinary officers, he was still considered low-ranking police.
"This murder case is connected to something I'm investigating. I need to learn more about this case and identify the killer as soon as possible before I can proceed with the next stage."
Shade spoke, and the sheriff looked somewhat troubled:
"The case isn't complicated. We originally suspected it was part of the recent serial murders involving stolen organs, which was why we brought so many people. But the corpse is intact, with only a gunshot wound and a knife wound. It probably isn't related to that recent case."
The state of public safety in Middlesburg was truly worrying.
"However, there are too many tenants on the Fourth Floor. So far, we've only conducted a basic screening of those who might have committed the crime and identified twenty-one possible suspects. If you want this done quickly—"
"Where is the crime scene?"
Shade asked directly. This decisive manner only deepened the sheriff's trust in him:
"In the victim's room."
"Take me there. Also, clear everyone else out for now. I don't want too many people seeing me."
"Understood."
The sheriff had the police take the twenty-one suspicious tenants to another room to wait. He then led Shade to a room with a metal plaque marked "11."
The third floor of