Chapter 32 Case File 1: Botanical Garden Mystery (End)

The skeleton's empty brain 'dinged': "The murderer... No, someone wants Holland's body to be discovered?"

Andre nodded in agreement. "Then we're back to the motive. Who would want to kill a six-year-old? Who would want his death to be publicized?"

He glanced at the sisters Pertmin and Perlamin, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "There are many kinds of motives... For a wealthy family like Axe, a family property dispute is undoubtedly the most easily thought of one.

"But Holland is only six years old and has never been exposed to planting or family affairs. You haven't even let him touch the magic vessel... Who can a child like this stand in the way of?

"Rather than killing him directly, it would be more logical to get rid of Holly, who was about to turn 16. In fact, after Holland's body was found, Holly was indeed arrested as a criminal.

"Think about it. If I hadn't joined, the servants wouldn't have realized they were drugged, and Pertmin, Perlamin, and Whipson had insisted no one was out that night... then Holland and Holly would have been the only two people in the botanical garden that night. With just a little bit of temptation, someone would have agreed to go along with it and quickly closed the case."

Captain Peru kicked Vice Captain Huipa on the butt and kicked him out: "It's him! Huipa! He accepted Pertmin's bribe! He treated Holly as a criminal and hastily closed the case!"

He added with full energy, "I had no idea about this before! It was only just now that I followed the deputy captain's lead and dug out the termite in this team! The deputy captain is brilliant!"

"Wow!" Jiang You whispered to Jericho, "Sacrificing a pawn to save the king, so clean and smooth."

"It's come to this, there's no other way but to sacrifice the pawns to save the king," Jericho remarked quietly. "Confessing honestly might be considered meritorious service... but if the young master catches me, I'll just have to spend the rest of my life in jail."

Jiang You nodded. She walked to the first scene surrounded by ropes, squatted down and took a look at the soil that had changed color due to absorbing blood.

She sniffed her nonexistent nose: "...Huh? Is this the smell of cream of mushroom soup?"

-------

The shifty-looking Huipa Fadila's face turned pale, but he did not struggle desperately.

He looked up at Captain Perru, then at the Winchester clerk standing beside him, as if accepting his fate. He finally admitted with a resigned heart, "It was me. I accepted a bribe from Mrs. Pertmin. She told me to take Holly away as a prisoner and put an end to the case."

Andre snapped his fingers. "Okay, let's deal with this bribery case first. Captain Perru, Winchester Clerk, please take the gray handkerchief into custody."

He turned to the lady standing beside him with a dignified and cool manner. "Mrs. Pertmin, do you have anything else to explain? Perhaps you would like to reveal the real murderer and your reason for moving the body to the flower bed?"

Andrei's question was so sudden and swift that it took the onlookers several seconds to react, and they all gasped. Pertmin, in the center of the storm, remained remarkably calm, unwavering and even offering a faint smile.

"You seem to have placed too many unrealistic expectations on me," Pertmin said with a cold, hypocritical smile. "I'm just a vulgar woman who wants to quickly resolve this case that has brought pain and rumors to our family... The knight clearly misunderstood my meaning."

"She gave me five gold bars. I don't think this is a misunderstanding." Huipa said angrily, "Don't try to put all the blame on me!"

"Madam, at this point, there's no need to deny it," Andre said. "With all the evidence, your guilt of bribing the kingdom's knights is established. If you're willing to redeem yourself and provide clues about Holland's murder, you can save yourself a few years of punishment.

"Besides, the people who committed the murder are the ones who started all this. If they hadn't committed the crime, you wouldn't have bothered to bribe the knights investigating the case."

The smile on Andre's face grew wider. "Are you really willing to keep the murderer's secret and go to jail yourself, while they live out their days living in luxury, this mansion, and spending the money you earn?"

Pertmin's beautiful face, like a porcelain doll, distorted for a moment. She took a deep breath and said, "I really don't want to. But unfortunately, I don't know who killed Holland."

"Just tell me what you know," André continued to tempt. "For example, who put the drug in your sweet soup?"

Pertmin's gaze shifted to her sister. She didn't say anything, but the look said it all.

"Ms. Peramine," Andrei followed her gaze. The new deputy captain of the kingdom's knights smiled mischievously. "Why did you drug your sister's sweet soup?"

Peramin screamed, fell to the ground, and sobbed softly. Peramin, however, seemed to have made up her mind. She no longer looked at her sister, but stated the facts in a cold, bystander tone: "The reason is simple. She wants me to fall into a deep sleep. That way, she and my husband... Whipson can date together... undisturbed."

"Wow!" This explosive news made the crowd agitated for a moment. The gossipy Aunt Wolf couldn't help but widen her eyes, Holly let out a sharp bang, and Jiangyou let out a "bang!" and took out a cocoa-flavored curious soul fire from his ribs.

The knights of the first brigade couldn't help but look at the dignified and beautiful woman, then at the obviously plain-looking sister on the ground, and then looked at Whipson with a puzzled look in their eyes, "What are you trying to do?"

Whipson seemed to be burned by those glaring eyes. He instantly flew into a rage as if someone had stepped on his sore spot. "You have no idea! You have no idea! Living with this woman is such a painful thing! She is beautiful, but she has no heart!"

His eyes were bloodshot with anger, and he gasped, "She doesn't love me at all. She's only interested in the wealth of the Axe family! In her eyes, I'm not even as good as a pig! She despises my looks, my incompetence, and everything about me!

"Only Peramine, she understands me, she cares for me... she... loves me!"

Jiangyou sniffed the scent wafting from Pertmin and Perlamin and shook his head: "No, it's this younger sister who really dislikes you. The older sister did have some vague feelings for you... Alas, that's gone now~!"

This was the last straw that broke the camel's back for Whipson. He howled, covering his face and crying bitterly: "It was me, I killed Holland. It was a complete accident! An accident! He followed us out and saw everything! I can't let him leave alive. I can't let him tell everyone about this scandal!!"