The bells, jingling and clanging, swayed continuously as they were pulled by the rope, their sound echoing throughout the spacious but relatively empty living room.
Klein, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper and researching investment opportunities, stood up. He was wearing a white shirt and black vest, but no bow tie, giving him a casual, homey look.
My first case in my Detective career? But I can't always just wait at home for cases to come to me. Hmm... I need to get a guestbook to hang on the door, with a fountain pen, so customers can write down when they'll come back and I can prepare in advance... But for a new Detective with no reputation, that basically means there won't be a next time... Sigh, I'll just have to take the trouble of Divination every morning to see if I have any cases that day, and roughly what time of day, to plan accordingly... Of course, this might cause me to miss cases where the client is a powerful Beyonder. Well, missing them is probably a good thing...
As Klein walked to the door, his mind naturally conjuring up the image of the visitor outside, even without looking through the peephole:
One was an elderly woman wearing a black woolen hat. Her back was slightly hunched, her face was deeply wrinkled, and her skin was dry and yellowish, but her dark dress was formal and appropriate, making her look very neat.
Her temples were completely white, but her blue eyes were quite bright. She was looking at the young man beside her, gesturing for him to ring the doorbell again.
The young man was in his early twenties, with eyes similar to the old woman's. Despite the increasingly chilly weather, he wore a black double-breasted tuxedo popular among the gentlemen of Backlund, a half-high silk top hat, and a bow tie befitting a banquet. It seemed that he would never relax his self-discipline at any time or in any situation.
Using the " Clown's" premonition, before the bell rang again, Klein turned the handle, opened the door, and greeted the doorman with a smile:
Good morning, madam and sir. Today is a good day; I've already seen the Sun for five minutes.
He spoke of the weather in a slightly exaggerated manner, a common greeting in Backlund that had been popular for over a century.
"Yes, it usually hides shyly behind the fog and clouds, refusing to come out." The old lady nodded in agreement.
The young man then asked:
"Are you Sherlock Moriarty, the Detective?"
"Yes, what can I do for you? Excuse me, please come in, let's talk over there on the sofa." Klein stepped aside to make way and gestured to the reception area.
"No, no need," the old woman said in a slightly shrill voice. "I don't want to waste a single moment. My poor Brody is still waiting for me to rescue him!"
"It?" Klein noticed the most important pronoun and suddenly had a bad feeling.
The very formally dressed young man nodded in agreement:
" Brody is my grandmother Doris's cat. It went missing last night, and I hope you can help us find it. We live at the end of this street. I'm willing to pay 5 Soli for this service. Of course, if you can prove that you've spent more time and effort than that, I'll compensate you extra."
Looking for a cat? The reason they asked me is because it's on the same street, very convenient... Klein felt this wasn't the Detective career he had imagined.
This makes me look like Clown... Well, I can't turn down Door Opening first sale, that's the Seer's opinion... He paused for a few seconds and said:
Could you describe it in more detail?
Before the young man could speak, the old lady Doris, said:
" Brody is a lovely, lively black cat. She's very healthy, has beautiful green eyes, and loves cooked chicken breast. Oh my god, she just ran away last night! No, she must be lost. I put lots of chicken breast in her bowl, but she wouldn't even come back to look at it."
... Klein's lips curled up as he said:
"I am very satisfied with your description, Doris. Doris."
"I accept this commission. Okay, I'll go to your house now. I need to find clues and traces. You should know very well that the key to deduction lies in the details."
Without consulting her grandson, Mrs. Doris immediately nodded and said:
"You're the most proactive Detective I've ever met, deal!"
Klein put on his coat, hat, and cane, and followed Ms. Doris and her grandson into the street.
Unlike Tingen, many roads in Backlund have been repaved with cement or asphalt, so they are not as muddy even in rainy weather.
Taking advantage of the old lady's quick pace as she led the way, his grandson leaned close to Klein and whispered:
I hope you will do your best to find Brody.
"Since my grandfather and parents passed away, it has become one of the Pillar of my grandmother's life."
"After Brody went missing, my grandmother developed mental health issues and even started hallucinating. She would always tell me that she heard poor Brody screaming."
Klein nodded solemnly and said:
"I'll do my best. By the way, I still don't know how to address you?"
" Jurgen, Jurgen Cooper, a senior Lawyer," the young man replied.
Soon, they arrived at 58 Minsk Street and entered the somber-colored house.
"This is Brody's bowl, and this is his favorite box. He always sleeps in it." Doris's wrinkled face was filled with both worry and anticipation.
Klein crouched down and pulled several black cat hairs out of the box.
He straightened up and grasped the silver-inlaid cane with the hand that had been holding the cat's fur.
Klein's eyes darkened, and he pretended to look around while silently reciting Divination phrases.
His hand quietly left the top of the cane, but not completely, so that neither Jurgen nor Doris noticed that the cane was standing upright on its own.
Immediately afterwards, the black cane inlaid with silver tilted slightly to the side, the tilting speed and amplitude being very slow.
Klein gripped the cane head again, looked in that direction, and observed carefully for more than ten seconds.
Then he strode over and came to an old cabinet.
"Have you found any trace of Brody's departure?" Jurgen Doris, the old lady, was also waiting for an answer.
Klein didn't answer, but crouched down and opened the bottom door of the cupboard.
Awooo!
A black cat darted out from inside, its tail held high as it ran towards its bowl.
" Brody... when did you get into the cupboard? How did you end up locked in there?" Mrs. Doris exclaimed, both surprised and confused.
Jurgen turned his head in surprise and glanced at Klein:
How did you know it was in the cupboard?
Klein smiled and replied in a low voice:
"That's reasoning."
Having gained the friendship of Mrs. Doris and Lawyer Jurgen, and received a payment of 5 Soli, Klein returned to his rented apartment at 15 Minsk Street under the gloomy sky.
Before he even got close, he saw a figure lingering at his door.
Another new business opportunity? Klein stared intently and saw that the visitor was a boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing an old-fashioned coat that didn't suit his age and a Round Tower hat.
Klein immediately recognized the man as the tall boy he had met on the Steam subway when he first arrived in Backlund, the one being chased.
His maturity and composure at the time left a deep impression on Klein.
"What could you possibly be asking me to do..." Klein muttered, walking over and smiling.
"Excuse me, are you here to see me?"
The boy was startled and hurriedly turned around, his bright red eyes filled with undisguised fear.
He composed himself, and hesitantly began to speak:
"Are you Sherlock Moriarty, the Detective?"
"Yes," Klein said, glancing around. "Let's go inside and talk about it."
"Okay." The boy didn't refuse.
Once inside, Klein didn't take off his coat, but simply removed his hat and put away his cane.
He led the older boy to the reception area and pointed to the long sofa, saying:
"Please sit down. What should I call you? What can I do for you?"
"You can call me Ian." The young man looked around, paused for several seconds, and then said, "I was previously employed by another Detective, Zerrell Victor Lee, to help him gather information and intelligence."
Klein sat down, clasped his hands together, and said:
"Is your client involved with your former employer?"
"Hmm." Ian nodded solemnly. "A few days ago, I suddenly realized I was being followed, followed with malicious intent. So I figured out a way to shake them off. Um... I think Mr. Moriarty, you must have witnessed this. As soon as I saw you, I recognized you as the gentleman who had glanced at me several times on the subway that day."
... This observational ability is not much worse than that of the " Spectator "... Could it be that he was born with a special type? Or is he just Beyonder? Klein activated his Spirit Vision and glanced at Ian a few times, but did not find anything strange.
He nodded and answered frankly:
"Your response impressed me."
Ian didn't dwell on the matter and continued:
"I suspected my ordeal was related to Mr. Zerrell, so I went to visit him at his residence. I found that although the place seemed normal, many hidden mechanisms that hinted at someone breaking in had been triggered."
"I haven't seen Mr. Zerrell since that day, and I suspect something happened to him."
"I tried to call the police, but he hadn't been missing for the required number of days. I tried asking other Detective I knew for help, but they all turned me down, saying they had just seen Mr. Zerrell at a gathering of colleagues."
"This surprised me greatly, because I tried to contact Mr. Zerrell using the agreed-upon method but received no response whatsoever."
"I still stand by my judgment and intend to ask Detective that Mr. Zerrell doesn't know for help. Well, that means I don't know any either, and I don't know who to ask. I can only find out through the newspapers, and that's how I came to you, Mr. Sherlock Moriarty." (8)