Tuesday morning was characterized by the typical chilly and overcast weather of the season.
Klein tightened the collar of his wool coat, put on his hat, and opened the door.
He was on his way to mail a letter to Detective Stuart at the mailbox at the end of the street. The journey wasn't actually that far, so there was no need to dress so neatly and heavily. However, Klein had just recovered from a cold, so just to be on the safe side, he wrapped himself up tightly.
Perhaps due to the strong winds that blew all night, the air in Backlund was surprisingly fresh. Klein subconsciously slowed his pace, enjoying this rare morning.
As he Jurgen house, he heard the creaking sound of the bay window opening and instinctively turned his head to look.
Standing at the window was Mrs. Doris, wearing a black woolen hat and a thick gray-blue scarf. Compared to before, her complexion was worse, and her figure was more hunched.
"Good morning, Detective Moriarty. Thank you for taking care of Brody all this time. He says you're a good person, right, Brody?" Old Mrs. Doris bent down and picked up the black cat with emerald green eyes.
Brody struggled in her arms with all four legs, and finally jumped down, landing lightly on the windowsill.
But it didn't leave. Instead, it circled around there, nuzzling Mrs. Doris with its head and body, without even glancing at Klein.
"Was this a friend-zoned guy from a cat?" Klein quipped, genuinely laughing.
"This is a happy thing, and what's even more gratifying is that Doris. Doris has finally recovered and been discharged from the hospital."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, he said goodbye and continued walking towards the end of the street with a smile.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard Doris. Doris call out from behind:
" Jurgen returns, I'll have him give you the payment!"
"Do I look like I only took this mission for the money?" Klein's smile suddenly froze. He could only turn halfway around and wave his hand to indicate that he understood.
Once they were far from Jurgen's house, his expression gradually became serious, with a hint of sighing.
He had just used his Spirit Vision to examine Doris. Doris's aura and found that the situation was not good. This was partly due to her advanced age, and partly due to the cold, damp climate and poor air quality in Backlund, which had a very negative impact on lung diseases.
Mrs. Doris should be able to get through this late autumn and winter, but the next one, and the one after that, is hard to say... If she wants to live a few more years, she'll probably have to move south, to the area around Desi Bay... It's a pity, Lawyer Jurgen probably doesn't have the means yet... I haven't even been to Desi Bay... Klein muttered a few words, found the mailbox, and stuffed the letter in.
This will be the prelude to the performance.
This evening, he will also visit the Harvest Church as Detective to complete the remaining preparations.
After buying a Desi pie for breakfast, Klein returned the way he came, quite leisurely.
Before he even got close to his house, he saw an elegantly decorated carriage parked outside. Two ladies wearing black hats with ribbons were anxiously ringing the doorbell, while maids and bodyguards were scattered around, as if on guard against something.
Mrs. Starling... Mrs. Mary... They have something to ask of you? It seems urgent... Klein, holding the paper bag containing Desi pies, leaned closer and chuckled:
"Ladies, it should be breakfast time."
Turning around and seeing it was Detective Sherlock Moriarty, Lady Mary visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
" Detective, you have to help me."
In Klein's Spirit Vision, the other person's anxiety, tension, and fear were completely genuine, so he nodded and pointed to the door, saying:
"Let's talk inside."
As he spoke, he glanced at his landlady, Starling, and noticed that her demeanor was completely different from the previous two days. She had become very depressed and listless, seemingly uninterested in anything.
What happened? The landlady may be a bit of a show-off, but she still loves life... Klein took out his key and opened the door.
After entering, before even settling in, Mrs. Mary eagerly said:
" Detective Moriarty, I've received a threatening letter!"
Threatening letter? Klein put down the Desi pie, clasped his hands and said:
What is the content of the letter?
Mrs. Mary glanced at Mrs. Starling, and seeing that she wasn't as enthusiastic as usual, she carefully considered her words and said:
"That letter demanded that I treat factory fumes fairly when conducting air pollution investigations, acknowledging their contribution; otherwise, I would be treated like the doll that was sent with the letter..."
"The doll's head was removed, and its arms and legs were broken."
Mrs. Mary seemed to recall the feeling of opening the letter, and said in a slightly trembling voice:
"This is the first time I've encountered something like this. I don't know if it will become a reality. I didn't know that being a member of the investigation committee would involve this kind of thing. I didn't know..."
"Madam," said Emperor Roselle, "Perhaps there's something to it: the deepest hatred between people boils down to two things: murdering someone's parents or ruining someone's chance to make money..." Klein nodded seriously.
My suggestion is to call the police.
In his view, Lady Mary is now a member of the Kingdom Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Commission, and her status is completely different from before. The police department will certainly not take the intimidation she has suffered lightly.
Moreover, this involves the formulation of important kingdom policies, which is no ordinary matter. Therefore, the police department will most likely transfer the case to the Church's Beyonder Organization in order to solve the case as soon as possible.
Given their status as devotees of the goddess Lady Mary, the choice of Nighthawks was inevitable.
In this way, even if Klein wanted to get some extra pay, he wouldn't get involved.
"I've already done that, but it doesn't put my mind at ease," Mrs. Mary said, pursing her lips. "Do you know what they said? That the threatening letter was pieced together from newspaper clippings, and the doll was the kind you can buy anywhere, making it difficult to trace the sender in a short time! And they only planned to send one policeman to protect me! My God, is this how they treat a helpless citizen pleading for help?"
Mrs. Mary paused, then looked earnestly at Klein and said:
" Detective Moriarty, I believe you can help me, not only because of your performance in that case, but also because of Mike's approval, Allen's praise, and Talym's commendation. And I know you made an outstanding contribution to that serial murder case as well. Don't worry, I will pay you a very generous reward."
Your words make me happy, but something seems a little off...
Unless the police department has been bribed, they would likely transfer the case to the Nighthawks. With extraordinary means like Divination, a letter pieced together from newspaper words would have no chance of evading investigation. The sender would either have been caught or have found a way to interfere with the Divination ... and the latter would lead to a formal, large-scale intervention by the Nighthawks ...
In either case, the approach would be quite different from what's being done now...
Klein did not answer Mrs. Mary immediately, but began to carefully analyze the unusual nature of the matter.
The living room fell unusually quiet, and the silence made Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Starling feel inexplicably uneasy.
Klein pulled out a coin at some point and let it bounce and roll between his fingers, seemingly a habitual action when he was concentrating on thinking.
Suddenly, the coin flew up, then landed steadily in the palm of my hand, tails up.
Klein was surprised; he had Divination whether there was any danger in the matter, and the result was no.
If such a threat truly existed, even if the sender possessed virtually no power, it could still pose a certain danger; it wouldn't be entirely without risk... just a simple intimidation? Or... Klein suddenly thought of another possibility and smiled, saying:
"Mrs. Mary, don't be nervous. Go back home with peace of mind. If anyone approaches you in the next couple of days to discuss publishing this matter in the newspaper, letting the public see the true colors of those factory owners, and igniting public anger, then you will be fine."
Klein's initial thought was that the threatening letter incident was a setup, a scheme orchestrated by his own people to incite public anger and exploit their fury, thereby facilitating the air pollution investigation and ensuring that subsequent legislation would benefit them.
This explains why the police department is reacting this way.
"... Why do you say that?" Mrs. Mary asked, frowning.
Klein smiled and replied:
"This is my reasoning."
"What if what you said doesn't happen within two days?" Mrs. Mary pressed.
Klein said sincerely:
"Then I will provide protection."
Anyway, there's no danger... he added to himself.
After comforting Mrs. Mary, he went above the Gray Fog to check and received the same result as before.
By this time, his Desi pie had gone cold...
Mrs. Mary returned home somewhat nervously and uneasily, wondering whether she should invite Starling to stay with her for a few days.
Just then, her butler told her that Mr. Hibbert Hall, the eldest son of the Earl Hall and chief secretary of the Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Commission, was visiting.
After they entered the living room, before Mrs. Mary could even speak, the handsome, blond gentleman spoke first:
"Madam Mary, I have heard of what happened to you. This is a disgrace to Backlund, and indeed to the entire kingdom. I am deeply sorry and sympathetic to you."
"Don't worry, everyone on the committee will stand with you!"
"Thank you for your concern," Mrs. Mary replied gratefully.
Hibbert Hall considered for a moment and said:
"Madam, I want to find a reporter to cover this matter, to tell everyone what happened to you, to tell everyone about that despicable act, and to let the people see how rampant those who polluted the air of Backlund are! They show no remorse whatsoever!"
Please grant my request.
This... is exactly as Detective Moriarty described... Lady Mary was speechless for a moment.
After having breakfast and resting for a while, Klein, having nothing else to do, went above the Gray Fog to Divination the origin of the Biotoxin Bottle.
This time, he did not delay at all.