The meeting continued, and another detective stood up and said, "We've already interrogated the gunman we arrested last night, and his testimony is a bit... strange."
"How is it strange?" Carlo asked.
The detective opened the notebook. " Jacob Hamil, eighteen years old, a helper at Dorn Hospital, responsible for moving corpses and cleaning the morgue. His information has been reviewed by you."
" Hamil claims to have been hired, but his testimony is contradictory in several ways. He initially said his employer ordered him to kill someone, but later changed his story, saying he only wanted to scare them. His descriptions of his employer's appearance are inconsistent. We searched his residence but didn't find any large sums of cash, though we did find some books related to the Ghoul Cult."
" Hamil claimed ignorance of the Ghoul Cult's scriptures in his residence, but his demeanor didn't seem overly surprised, suggesting a lie. Furthermore, he feigned composure during interrogation, but became extremely anxious and restless once no one was asking him questions."
Carlo shook his head. "That's so amateurish."
"Regarding the Shroud-Wrapped Walking Corpse, Section One has conducted an analysis," Morris continued. "It has been confirmed that Jacob Hamil is the controller, and his spirituality matches the zombie's contract. Furthermore, the zombie's physical characteristics match the body stolen from Dorn Hospital a month ago."
"However, the crafting technique was crude; the stitching and wrapping of the shroud were not done properly, and the runes were inscribed with several errors, unlike what a professional would do."
Carlo raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. A young man working at a hospital, somehow got his hands on some books from the Ghoul Cult, became an amateur assassin, and, armed with a crude zombie, went to shoot a bank manager in the middle of the night?"
After a few more reports, Morris finalized the investigation arrangements—excluding Carlo, of course—and the meeting adjourned.
The attendees rose and left. The City Police Force inspector, notebook tucked under his arm, strode out of the meeting room, seemingly in a hurry to give a heads-up. Morris packed up his documents and went straight out the door. Rano, however, twitched his face as he stood up, looking like he wanted to rub his butt but was too embarrassed to do it in public...
Isaac looked away, stretched his shoulders, and followed Carlo out of the conference room.
"That gunman..." Isaac gathered his thoughts, "If it really was the Ghoul Cult trying to silence us, they wouldn't have sent such an amateurish gunman. The Shroud-Wrapped Walking Corpse was crudely made, his marksmanship was mediocre, and even his performance during the interrogation was full of holes..."
"That's right, the Ghoul Cult shouldn't be so incapable of sending out a decent assassin," Carlo said. "Then what do you think is going on?"
"I think... it might have been Jacob Hamil did it himself."
How so?
"If the Ghoul Cult really wanted to silence him, there would be no need to hire an amateur hospital helper, give him scriptures, and teach him how to create walking corpses. They have their own connections and manpower."
" Hamil's ability to control walkers and the presence of Ghoul Cult in his home suggest he's not entirely an outsider. He may have learned something from those books and set his sights on that ring. Sherwood happened to buy the ring, so it makes sense that he followed him to Sherwood's house; he just didn't expect us to arrive first."
"Then let's just ask him directly. Anyway, Morris didn't assign us any tasks."
The two turned onto the road leading to the detention area, and Isaac suddenly remembered something else. "Oh right, that maggot I summoned earlier, uh, that Foul Spirit, it disintegrated under the Joint Investigation Bureau's supervision..."
"It's probably Patch's," Carlo said.
Isaac was taken aback. " Patch?"
"Cats just love to cause trouble," Carlo shrugged. "They somehow ended up in the shelter, saw a huge clump of maggots, and maybe got the urge to scratch them apart."
Isaac thought to himself, "What the hell? A cat managed to get into the shelter and even dismantle the Foul Spirit? Are the shelter's locks just for show?"
Entering the Joint Investigation Bureau detention area, the corridor had several interrogation rooms and temporary cells on both sides. At the end was an iron door with an observation window. A duty agent was sitting behind a table by the door. Seeing the two approaching, he quickly stood up. "Mr. Schuster, are you here to see the one we arrested last night?"
"Otherwise, could it be that I missed you and came to see you?"
"Haha..." the detective chuckled dryly, "He's in cell number three. I'll take you there."
The detective led the two to cell number three, took out a key and opened it. Inside the cell was only a bed fixed to the wall, and a chamber pot in the corner.
Jacob Hamil was curled up in bed, fidgeting anxiously. Hearing the door open, he sat bolt upright, screaming, "I was wrong! I really won't do it again! Let me go..."
The detective shouted sternly, "Stand still!"
Hamil immediately sprang out of bed, standing ramrod straight with his feet together.
Carlo glanced at him a few times, then gestured with his chin towards the agent. "You can leave now."
The detective paused for a moment. "Shouldn't we move them to the interrogation room first?"
"That would require taking a statement, which is so inconvenient." Carlo waved his hand. "I was just asking."
The detective nodded, left the cell, and closed the door behind him.
Carlo raised his chin. "Go, go, stand against the wall, at attention."
Hamil obediently did as he was told, standing close to the wall on the other side of the cell, while Isaac stood by the door with his arms crossed, watching.
Carlo walked to the bedside and sat down. "What's your name?"
" Jacob Hamil."
"Tell me, what happened last night?"
Hamil swallowed hard. "I just... I just acted impulsively. Someone gave me money to go and scare that gentleman..."
What's the name of the person you're trying to scare?
"Give up, give up virtue?"
"You didn't even remember the target's name? Are you sure someone instructed you to do this?"
"Well..."
Carlo took out the dice, flipped them in his hand, and Hamil's gaze was drawn to them, but he forced himself to look away.
" Jacob Hamil," Carlo began, "You lost both your parents at a young age, grew up in the Saint Martha Orphanage, left at sixteen to support yourself, and have no criminal record."
"Your neighbors say you're quiet but not a troublemaker. However, in the last few months, your personality has changed a lot. You've become much more cheerful, but you seem a bit slow-witted, often asking strange questions, including common sense ones."
Hamil swallowed hard, his eyes darting around.
"It's interesting how a taciturn person can become so talkative and outgoing in just a few months, yet lack common sense." Carlo twirled the dice between his fingers. "It's like a different person inside a different shell, isn't it?"
"Then let Jacob Hamil say his current other name, check value 80."