"There are extraordinary factors involved..." Klein's eyes returned to normal, and he turned to look at Leonard and Frye.
Leonard suddenly laughed:
"Very professional, no wonder you're Seer."
You seem to be Psychological Suggestion something... Klein muttered silently.
Frye opened the briefcase, took out a silver knife and other items, paused for a few seconds, and said:
"The body tells me she did indeed die from a sudden heart attack... Do you have a way to Divination more details?"
Klein nodded seriously and said:
"I can try combining ' Spirit Channeling ' rituals with ' Dream Divination,' hoping to gain something from Mrs. Louwise's remaining Spirituality."
Frye maintained his cold and reserved demeanor, taking two steps back and saying:
"You try it first."
He glanced at Klein, then suddenly remarked in a flat tone, "You're getting more and more used to these kinds of occasions."
I didn't want this either... Klein felt like crying. He took out the hydrosols, essential oils, and herbal powders he needed one by one and quickly completed the setup for the " Spirit Channeling " ritual.
He stood in the center of the Wall of Spirituality, silently reciting the name of the Evernight Goddess, and made a request in Hermes.
Soon, a whirlwind began to swirl around him, and the light grew dimmer.
Klein eyes were now completely black, seized the opportunity and repeatedly recited the Divination phrases:
"The cause of Mrs. Louwise's death."
"The cause of Mrs. Louwise's death."
He entered the dream standing up and "saw" a transparent spirit lingering in the blur, hovering around the corpse.
Then, he stretched out his illusory right hand and touched the remaining Spirituality of Mrs. Louwise.
In an instant, light and shadow exploded before his eyes, and images Blink by.
It was a thin, sallow-faced woman, dressed in tattered clothes, busily pasting matchboxes;
She suddenly stopped and clutched her chest;
She was talking to her two children;
She swayed slightly, panting heavily;
She was suddenly patted on the shoulder when she went to buy black bread.
Those were signs that she was having heart problems, time and time again.
She felt very tired, lay down on the bed, but never woke up again.
Klein carefully observed every detail, trying to find traces of the existence of extraordinary factors.
But even after everything was over, he still hadn't obtained enough clear clues.
The blur and haze shattered, and Klein exited the dream and returned to reality.
He dismantled the Wall of Spirituality and said to Frye, who was waiting, and Leonard, who was watching the show:
"There are no direct symbols; most of the images suggest that Mrs. Louwise suffered from heart disease for a long time. Only one image is different from the others: Mrs. Louwise was patted on the back, and the hand was fair and slender, seemingly belonging to a woman."
"For families like these, they won't easily go to the Doctor unless it's absolutely necessary. Even just waiting in line at a free charitable medical organization is too time-consuming; if they don't work for a day, they might not have any food the next day," Leonard sighed with a poet's melancholy tone.
Frye then glanced at the corpse on the bed and let out a soft sigh.
Before Klein could speak, Leonard quickly switched gears, seemingly deep in thought, and said:
"You mean, the extraordinary element that existed in the moment Mrs. Louwise was patted came from that lady or woman with the delicate hands?"
Klein nodded in reply:
"Yes, but that's just my interpretation; Divination is often vague."
He and Leonard stopped discussing the matter and each moved to the other side of the floor mat, allowing Frye to retrieve the auxiliary instruments and materials from the suitcase undisturbed for further examination.
They waited a moment, Frye finished packing his things, cleaning and concealing them, then turned and said:
"The cause of death was natural heart disease, there is no doubt about that."
Upon hearing this conclusion, Leonard paced back and forth a few times, even walking to the door, before finally speaking after a long pause:
"Let's stop here for now. We'll go to the West Borough Almshouse to see if we can find any other clues, or if the two deaths can be connected."
"Yes, that's the only way." Klein, suppressing his doubts, agreed.
Frye loaded his suitcase and half-walked, half-hopped over the two makeshift beds, making sure not to step on anyone else's blankets.
Leonard opened the door and went out first, saying to Louwise and the tenant:
"You can go home now."
Klein thought for a moment and added:
"Don't rush to bury the body. Wait another day; there might be another thorough examination."
"Okay, okay, officer." Louwise bowed slightly and answered hastily, then said, half numb and half bewildered, "Actually, actually I don't have the money for her burial right now. I need to save up for a few more days, a few more days. Luckily, luckily the weather has cooled down recently."
Klein blurted out in surprise:
"You plan to leave the body in the room for several days?"
Louwise forced a smile and said:
"Well, thankfully the weather's been cooler lately, so we can leave the body on the table at night and carry her to bed when we eat..."
Before he could finish speaking, Frye suddenly interrupted:
"I've set aside money for your wife's funeral."
Then, uttering this bland remark, he ignored Louwise's astonished expression and subsequent gratitude, and strode towards the apartment door.
Klein followed closely behind, pondering a question:
If the weather remained as hot as June or July, how would Louwise treat his wife's body?
On a dark and windy night, secretly dump the body into the Tussock River or River Hoy? Or just dig a hole somewhere and bury it?
Klein knew that "burial in the cemetery" was a law enacted more than a thousand years ago, at the end of the last era, by the seven major churches and royal families of various countries to reduce and eliminate Water Ghost, zombies, and Wraith spirits.
The specific implementation method involves each country providing free land, with each church responsible for guarding or inspecting it, charging only a small fee for cremation and burial to cover the necessary labor costs.
Even so, the truly poor still find it difficult to afford.
After leaving 134 Lower Street Iron Cross Street, the three Nighthawks parted ways with Bic Mountbatten and silently turned toward the West Borough Workhouse, located on a nearby street.
As Klein approached, he saw a long queue stretching out before him, just like the crowds at popular food stalls in the food-loving nation on Earth—people packed shoulder to shoulder.
"There are over a hundred, no, almost two hundred people." He murmured in surprise, noticing that the people in line were all dressed in tattered clothes, with blank expressions, only occasionally glancing anxiously at the entrance of the workhouse.
Frye slowed his pace, his demeanor cold and somber as he spoke:
"Each workhouse has a limited number of homeless people it can accept each day, and they can only be selected according to the order of their queue. Of course, the workhouse will screen them and not allow those who do not meet the criteria to enter."
"This is also partly due to the recent economic downturn..." Leonard remarked.
"Those who didn't get a spot have to find their own way?" Klein asked instinctively.
"They could try their luck at other workhouses. The Door Opening times are different for each workhouse, but there will always be a long line. Some people are already waiting as early as 2 PM," Frye paused. "The rest will likely go hungry for a day, thus losing their ability to find work and falling into a vicious cycle that leads straight to death. Those who can't bear it will give up their commitment to kindness..."
Klein remained silent for a few seconds, then exhaled and said:
"Newspapers never publish these things... Mr. Frye, I rarely hear you say so much."
"I used to be a pastor at the Goddess's workhouse." Frye remained as cold as ever.
The three well-dressed individuals arrived smoothly at the entrance of the West Borough Poorhouse, showed their identification to the Pride Gatekeeper who was scrutinizing those in line, and were then led inside the poorhouse.
This workhouse was converted from an old church. The mass hall was filled with cushions and hammocks, and the strong smell of sweat mixed with foot odor filled every corner.
Inside and outside the hall, there were many homeless poor people, some swinging hammers to smash stones, others picking thin cotton from old ropes, and not a single person was idle.
"To prevent the poor from becoming dependent on relief and turning into scoundrels, the Poor Law of 1336 stipulated that each poor person could only stay in the workhouse for a maximum of five days; if they exceeded that, they would be expelled. During those five days, they also had to work, such as breaking stones or carrying ropes, which was also a mandatory task for the Criminal in the prison." Frye introduced these two sentences to Klein and Leonard without any emotion.
Leonard opened his mouth, but ultimately said, whether sarcastically or declaratively, "Leaving this workhouse, you can go to another one, though of course, you might not be able to stay there again... Ha, perhaps in some people's eyes, the poor are equal to Criminal."
"... Picking up the rope?" Klein was silent for a moment, then asked, unsure of what to ask.
"The fibers from the old rope are excellent material for filling gaps in the ship." Frye stopped and found the charred marks on the ground.
They waited a few minutes, and then the director of the workhouse and the pastor arrived; both were men in their forties.
" Sols set fire to this place, and ended up burning himself to death?" Leonard said, pointing to the clump of fire on the ground.
The director of the workhouse was a man with a broad, slightly protruding forehead. He scanned the direction Inspector Mitchell was pointing with his blue eyes and nodded affirmatively:
"Yes."
"Has Sols exhibited any unusual behavior before this?" Klein added.
The director of the workhouse thought for a moment and said:
According to the person sleeping next to him, Sols kept muttering things like "The Lord has abandoned me," "This world is so filthy and disgusting," and "I have nothing left," filled with resentment and despair. But no one expected that he would actually plan to smash all the kerosene lamps and set the place on fire while everyone was asleep. Thank God, someone discovered and stopped his evil deed in time.
Klein and Leonard then approached several poor people who had slept next to Sols the previous night, as well as the guards who had prevented the tragedy, but received only answers that were no different from those in the documents.
Of course, they secretly used methods such as Spirit Vision and Divination to confirm whether the other party was lying.
"It seems that Sols has long harbored thoughts of revenge and self-destruction. It's a case that seems quite normal," Leonard said, dismissing the dean and the pastor before offering his opinion.
Klein said after careful consideration:
"My Divination also tells me that there are no supernatural factors involved in this case."
"We'll rule out the Sols arson case for now," Leonard concluded.
Just then, Frye suddenly spoke up:
"No, perhaps there's another possibility. For example, Sols might have been instigated by someone else, someone who is Beyonder but didn't use supernatural means."
Klein's eyes lit up, and he immediately chimed in:
"Possibly, for example, the Instigator from before!"
" Instigator " Tris!
But this has nothing to do with Mrs. Louwise's death... he thought with a slight frown.