Morris turned to the inspector. "Because no other clues were found at the scene. As previously stated, last night, when Carlo Schuster and Isaac Lessing arrived at Handel Baker's house, Baker was already dead on the sofa."
" Schuster used... his ability to unlock the door. The lock was intact before, there were no signs of forced entry, the body had no external injuries or signs of poisoning, and there were no signs of struggle or ransacking inside the house."
"Due to the lack of traceable physical evidence at the scene, and considering that the optimal time for Spirit Mediumship is within 6 hours of death, in accordance with Article 17 of the Regulations on the Handling of Anomalous Incidents, we have the right to take unconventional evidence-gathering measures."
The inspector frowned, but didn't press the matter further. He had only spoken out because he disapproved of the Joint Investigation Bureau's "disrespectful behavior," but the regulations were there, and there was no point in arguing any further.
"So the only outcome of the Spirit Mediumship encounter was that Baker accepted the ring, gave it to his mother-in-law, his mother-in-law died suddenly, and he sold it on the black market?" another attendee asked.
"Yes." Morris nodded. " Baker's soul was manipulated; it's incomplete. The most vivid part of his memories from before his death is missing. We can only access fragments of his memories related to that ring through keyword stimulation."
"Regarding the origin of that ring—the man who initially pawned it to Baker —no clear facial features could be extracted from my Spirit Mediumship memories."
"What happened to the pawn tickets you left behind?"
"The ticket was found in Baker's shop, but the signature on it was verified to be counterfeit."
The City Police Force inspector then asked, "Where is that ring now?"
The group exchanged glances, then Carlo said casually, "It's with me."
"Evidence should be properly preserved..."
"It will be well preserved in my possession."
The inspector scoffed, "That's hardly convincing. After all, the corrupted Foul Spirit that attacked the Oak Club wasn't 'properly preserved' by the Joint Investigation Bureau Joint Investigation Bureau, and now they're telling us that it ' Foul Spirit ' disintegrated yesterday."
The group's gazes turned to Morris at the other end of the long table. Morris remained expressionless. "There are indeed signs of intrusion at the scene. We are still investigating who exactly did it and how they did it."
Isaac sat in the audience, thinking that the disintegration of that Foul Spirit was probably not as simple as Morris had made it out to be.
When he was there the day before yesterday, the Foul Spirit was fine. But not long after Morris took it away to complete the handover procedures, the Foul Spirit "disintegrated on its own." He, the summoner, didn't even notice anything unusual. It was only when he came to the Joint Investigation Bureau that he was told this.
The inspector was clearly dissatisfied with the answer, " The Foul Spirit under your Joint Investigation Bureau have disintegrated on their own. Now, Schuster, what do you plan to do with this ring?"
No comment.
The inspector's face twitched. Rano, the head of the Section Two, who was in charge of curse-related matters, coughed, stood up, and laid an examination report flat on the table.
"We conducted an examination of Handel Baker's body," Rano said. "There are remnants of a curse on the body, the specific type of which cannot be identified at this time, but this curse may be the direct cause of Baker's death."
Rano's words were clearly more of a way to smooth things over and get the room's attention back to the report on the table than to report a nonsensical curse.
After briefly reporting the test results, Rano asked, "How's the situation with George Sherwood?"
The agent sitting diagonally opposite replied, "Mr. Sherwood is currently in the Joint Investigation Bureau protective custody, but he has repeatedly requested that he wait for his lawyer to arrive before disclosing any further information regarding the gathering."
Sherwood clearly knew that attending such a gathering would lead to consequences, and now that the threat from last night was gone, he naturally wanted to consider how to minimize his own responsibility.
The City Police Force inspector continued, " Vista Industrial Bank has expressed their concern to us. They are unhappy with the Joint Investigation Bureau's detention of George Sherwood and want an explanation as soon as possible. Sherwood is the head of the bank's credit department, and the bank says he has important business to attend to."
The inspector cleared his throat. "The bank hopes that Sherwood can work normally, provided his personal safety is ensured."
"It means don't detain him, but give him some bodyguards."
The inspector did not deny it, and picked up his teacup to take a sip.
Morris said, " The Joint Investigation Bureau is currently short-staffed and can't spare a team to guard Sherwood 24 hours a day. It's safer for Sherwood to stay with the Joint Investigation Bureau."
He wasn't making excuses; right now, there's the Ghoul Cult, the Oak Club attack, and the new ring and gathering that surfaced last night—each line of investigation requires separate teams.
The inspector immediately followed up, " The City Police Force can provide manpower. Mr. Sherwood is a prominent figure in Vista, and ensuring his safety is within the City Police Force's purview. As long as the Joint Investigation Bureau agrees to release him, we can arrange a team to provide him with daily security."
"Tsk tsk, are your men capable of handling attacks involving supernatural powers?" Carlo said. "The ones who went to Sherwood's house last night weren't ordinary robbers, they were Shroud-Wrapped Walking Corpse. If you encounter something like that again, or something even more dangerous, how do you plan to deal with it? Are you going to go up there with batons and beat them up?"
The inspector's tone was firmer than before. " Schuster, I understand your concerns. But Mr. Sherwood's position is of great importance. If the banking operations are halted due to the Joint Investigation Bureau's protective detention, who will bear the responsibility?"
"So what you're worried about isn't Sherwood's life, but rather offending the financial backers of certain leaders." Carlo nodded.
The inspector, his face darkening after being exposed, asked, "What suggestions does the Joint Investigation Bureau have?"
"Let Sherwood stay in the Joint Investigation Bureau's protective custody. If the bank has any objections, let them talk to Parker directly, instead of going through the City Police Force to lobby them."
The inspector didn't say anything more, but lowered his head and made a few notes in his notebook.
Isaac had roughly pieced together the chain of events. The message from the City Police Force inspector relaying the bank's message clearly conveyed the implication that "the Joint Investigation Bureau shouldn't get in the way of what's going on above."
Sherwood was the head of Vista Industrial Bank. The bank didn't want him to be delayed in his work because of his detention, so they approached some leaders in the City Police Force, hoping to "make an exception" and get the Joint Investigation Bureau to release him.
No wonder the Grand Duke found the City Police Force difficult to manage. It wasn't just because of the stubbornness of that old-fashioned nobleman, Byrne; he was just one person. The City Police Force as a whole was even more difficult to manage.
The City Police Force in Vista has long established intricate connections with various sectors of society, from the nobility and banks to chambers of commerce and factories. Each party has its own demands, which often permeate every aspect of their work.
In this situation, Sherwood's personal safety became a secondary consideration. What mattered most was the attitude of the bank behind him, and ensuring that certain members of the City Police Force wouldn't lose face in front of their financial backer.