Chapter 269 Face-to-face questioning

As Mr. Fool announced that today's Tarot Club was over, the members stood up and saluted before disappearing one by one in the crimson light. Only Klein Moretti, the Fool, remained at the head of the long table, and the "world" across from him.

With a thought, the hooded man controlled by the "All-Black Eye" also disappeared into the gray fog.

With a long sigh, Klein looked to his left. He saw the seat where "Queen" Angel had been sitting. When she announced the end of the meeting, she kept looking at him with undisguised curiosity, making him feel as if his secrets were about to be exposed.

He knew that Angel must have had some doubts about the Hanged Man's words and guessed that Sherlock Moriarty, the Tarot Club, and the Fool were related.

In order to demonstrate his own power, the Fool took the initiative to admit that his followers were involved in the Kapin case, but this had an unexpected negative effect.

Fortunately, he had already made the corresponding preparations. He used the contaminated Beyonder characteristic of the Puppet Master, the "All-Black Eye", to create an avatar of himself at the Tarot Conference. This identity could be used when necessary, giving him the greatest protection.

The most Angel suspected was Moriarty's relationship with "the world".

The question is, how should I, or Sherlock Moriarty, face the other party?

With a hint of hope and hesitation, Klein used the Blasphemy Card "Black Emperor" to strengthen his spirit and returned to 15 Minsk Street. He looked at the investigation report on Emlyn White on the table, then wrapped it up and returned to the gray fog, preparing to use the Blasphemy Card's anti-divination and anti-prophecy properties, as well as the mysterious nature of the gray fog, to prevent the report from being traced by divination.

Although he had mocked her claims of being a "divination expert" several times, Klein knew Angel's tactical abilities as a former Nighthawk. If he wasn't careful, her true colors might be exposed. He had to prepare a story in advance. She might come the next day... no, she might even come tonight.

————

The crimson faded, and Angel's eyes appeared the square window facing the study, and the sun was obviously setting further to the west. The hand of the pocket watch on the table also pointed to four o'clock, indicating that the time she had just spent in the gray fog was not an illusion.

"Mysterious Mr. World, Miss Magician eager for promotion, the mysterious land where the sun resides, and the strange Amon family..."

Angel recalled everything he had seen and heard at the Tarot Club, and felt sorry for not having attended the meeting for nearly two months. Fortunately, he had returned to the Bronze Table, and he would definitely not miss it again in the future.

"Miss Magician said she'll initiate a deal as soon as possible to buy the formula for the 'Master of Magic'. Add to that the 1,600 pounds I earned from selling the Beyonder properties to the 'Eye of Wisdom'. That'll give me almost 3,500 pounds in cash. I can even consider buying the revolver that Ms. Kavi mentioned... Hmm, but that would leave me penniless, so I need to think it over carefully..."

A satisfied smile appeared on her face, as if the 450 pounds promised by the magician had already gone into her pocket, but then she remembered the words of the Hanged Man and the Fool's "favored ones", and the smile gradually disappeared from her face.

"It's true that only Moriarty and I participated in the battle at Capin's mansion. At first, I thought he had me scatter the tarot cards as some kind of status ritual. But considering what the Hanged Man said, the Fool's 'Followers' also played a role in the Capin case, it's reasonable to suspect that Moriarty is also a follower of the Fool..."

"Could it be that Moriarty is in front of the Fool's Seat, a member using a tarot card as a codename? But Mr. Sun, who is of the same gender, is clearly not in Backlund. The Hanged Man's tone doesn't sound like he's talking about himself, and his hairstyle and vague hair color are different. Mr. 'World'... I don't know him well enough, but he didn't react at all when we talked about this, so it couldn't be him either."

After such an analysis, she actually ruled out all the members of the Tarot Club.

"But there's another possibility. Like Klein, Moriarty also believes in The Fool, but he hasn't joined the Tarot Club. That's why Mr. Fool said that those who killed Capin were his 'favored ones,' not Tarot Club members..."

As long as one's vision wasn't limited to the Tarot Club, the possibilities of Moriarty's identity instantly became more diverse. Thinking of Vice Admiral Hurricane who died inexplicably in Backlund, and the High-Sequence Favored One of the Fool who killed Qilingos, Angel began to understand Moriarty's identity.

Of course, Moriarty must not be that High-Sequence Expert. Otherwise, there would be no need to cooperate with her. She could just walk into Kapin's mansion with a swagger and snap her fingers, and this human trafficker and those Beyonders would be on the headlines of the next day's newspapers, just like Qilingos.

"Perhaps, I should test them and confirm their identity. Or, like I did with Miss Justice, I shouldn't expose their identities and just cooperate appropriately to avoid exposing both parties..."

After checking his pocket watch and confirming the current time, Angel decided to visit the detective in Cherwood District as soon as possible and get the results of the investigation into the vampire Emlyn White, which had been delayed for a few days.

"Besides this matter, we must also pay attention to what Miss Justice mentioned, regarding the impoverished people of the East District and the docks, as well as the covert spread of the evil god faith. We must also pay attention to the human trafficking case that the Hanged Man is tracking... Since he is so concerned about this matter, he must be a Beyonder from a Orthodox Church. Considering his path, the possibility of him being a Mandated Punisher is not low..."

Returning to the Tarot Club, her gradually increasing knowledge of the occult gave her a new perspective on the identities of the members of the Tarot Club. In the interval of thinking, Angel left the study and prepared to prepare dinner for herself in advance to save precious time in the evening.

————

When we left the subway station and entered Minsk Street, the sky had already darkened completely. Above the layers of haze, the light from the crimson moon was scattered, covering almost half of the sky.

Angel carefully knocked on the door of No. 15 Minsk Street. Although the soft light coming from the bay window next to her confirmed that Moriarty was at home, her purpose of coming here was not pure, so she felt a little uneasy at this moment.

“Squeak—”

The door was opened with the sound of loose leaves rubbing against each other. Moriarty, who was wearing gold-rimmed glasses, opened the door. He seemed to have expected Angel's arrival. Instead of being surprised, he smiled and invited him in.

"I presume you're here to get the investigative report?"

Moriarty looked like he had just finished dinner. The aroma of fried eggs wafted from the kitchen. His windbreaker and vest were hanging by the door. He was only wearing a tight-fitting shirt. Seeing that Angel had automatically walked to the bay window and sat down, he turned back to the study and took out a document of only a few pages and handed it to the other party.

The latter flipped through it casually and found that the detective had already thoroughly investigated the vampire who was imprisoned in the Harvest Church and called himself Emlyn White.

Living at 48 Riverbend Avenue, the first address provided by Emlyn, is Dr. White's family. Judging from his age, Emlyn White is the son of these two doctors. He is a handsome but somewhat arrogant young man.

Although they were not sociable and did not like going out, Dr. White and his family were considered kind and law-abiding by their neighbors. Unfortunately, they hurriedly moved out of Riverbend Avenue a month ago, leaving behind only untidy rooms and confused neighbors.

"A puppet?"

Seeing the description of Emlyn White's room, Angel looked up curiously at Moriarty, who was sitting opposite and pouring coffee into a cup.

The latter responded with a half-smile: "Yes, the whole room is full of well-made girl dolls, and the price is probably not cheap."

"Are they not, uh, 'puppets' made from real human limbs?"

Angel asked cautiously, not quite believing that a vampire would collect these things.

"No, they're all ordinary puppets. The smallest is only the size of a palm, and the largest is about the size of you. And I've confirmed with divination that no one has died in the past ten years at 48 Riverbend Avenue, where the White family lives. The police files also don't show any anomalies. They may indeed be a family of vampires, but they don't appear to be evil. Well, perhaps using bloodletting to trap the patient's blood is a minor evil, but the patient received effective treatment."

Bloodletting... probably to satisfy their thirst for blood. But seeing as how Emlyn would rather steal blood from the hospital than harm ordinary people, they are considered outliers among vampires. And his habit...

Angel nodded and put down the report. These investigations confirmed to her that Emlyn and his parents were not bad people. Perhaps she could go to the Harvest Church and persuade the fanatical Father Utravsky to release him and reunite him with his family.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the other party obtains the recognition of the priest. Otherwise, he may have to fight in the church of the Mother Earth Goddess with a fanatical priest who has gotten rid of his mental block and possesses the strength of a Sequence 6 Dawn Knight and the identity of a Mother Earth Goddess believer. This is not an easy task.

After taking a sip of the slightly hot coffee, Angel put down the coffee cup, took out the 20-pound note he had prepared, handed it to Moriarty, and said:

"Thank you, Detective. This is the balance of the investigation commission." Seeing Moriarty smiling and reaching out to take the bill, she suddenly changed the subject. "Also, I have a small question. Do you know 'The Fool'?"

The other party's hand that was taking the money paused in the air.