Late at Night

Hook was dead.

Qin Ran was not surprised to hear the news.

By his reckoning, there had been more than a fifty-percent chance that Hook would be killed to keep him quiet.

Unlike the other three Pawns, who knew nothing,

Hook had definitely known something.

That meant he was bound to be silenced.

But as for who had done it...

Qin Ran regarded Police Chief Kalkin with an impassive gaze.

Under Qin Ran's stare, sweat poured down Kalkin's face.

"I didn't kill him!"

"He was already dead when I went to find him!"

"If I'd done it, I'd have run by now!"

Kalkin tried to explain.

Qin Ran's first instinct was not to believe him.

Kalkin had come back to see him, but that could all be an act, a way to clear himself of suspicion.

Of course, Kalkin might also be telling the truth. Perhaps he had not done it.

Someone else might have killed Hook to keep him quiet.

And proving that would not be difficult.

"Wait here."

With that, Qin Ran walked over to Herbert.

Herbert had finished his notes just as Kalkin's carriage arrived. The scholar had been watching them the whole time.

When Qin Ran approached, Herbert immediately guessed what he had in mind.

"You want to examine the scene?"

"Go ahead. Don't worry about me!"

"With Harold and the two coachmen here, I'll be safe enough!"

"Besides, whoever just killed that man to keep him quiet won't want to complicate matters!"

Herbert said with a smile.

"You can never be too careful!"

After that reminder, Qin Ran looked at Harold and Jonna. "I need to leave for a while. You can have your servants take out their weapons now."

When Qin Ran had first met Harold and Jonna, he had noticed that their coachmen