Chapter 224 Case File 3: Twin Butterflies Dance at Rose Villa (12)
The bad thing about being a lich is that the good guys and the bad guys are like an open book in front of Jiangyou, and they can be seen at a glance... or rather, at a "smell".
Only a royal descendant like Andrei, enshrined in the royal family tree and blessed by the priests with the "Moon Goddess" magic, could hide his abilities from Takumi. However, according to Andrei, this defensive magic didn't flow in the "royal bloodline," but was instead cast by a team of five or more high priests upon reaching adulthood. Illegitimate children not enshrined in the family tree couldn't enjoy this special benefit.
Jiang You chatted with the other guests for a few moments before heading back as if nothing had happened. But when she looked up, she fell silent. "Where's Andre? Where's that big Andre? And Winston, Vivian... How did this detective team disappear in the blink of an eye?!?"
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Winston and his companions hadn't vanished without cause; they had been hurriedly summoned by the butler, whose excuse they couldn't refuse—another guest had died, none other than Victor, who hadn't ordered breakfast.
Andrei was standing in Victor's room, using his crystal camera to record the crime scene: Victor's body was hanging from the beam, the hemp rope wrapped around his neck clearly the cause of death. There was an overturned stool at his feet, and a letter on the carpet – a suicide note.
In this suicide note, Victor admitted that he had a dispute with Baron Chandler and, knowing that Baron Chandler had a severe nut allergy, he killed him with almond powder. He claimed that he could not sleep or eat after killing him, so he wrote down his sins and ended his life with a piece of hemp rope.
After Crystal recorded everything at the scene, Andre and Winston put the body down. Victor's eyes were wide open, and there were several grooves on his neck from the friction of the rope. There was blood under his fingernails.
The housekeeper stood trembling at the door, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief. "Another dead! This is unlucky, so unlucky! This is Madame Butterfly's party!"
He muttered, looking at them hopefully: "Did he commit suicide? Did he kill Baron Chandler and then commit suicide out of fear of punishment?"
"Madame Butterfly would have loved to see this result," said Winston. "But I'm sorry, this isn't suicide, it's murder."
Andre pointed to the corpse's neck. "Although the strangulation marks on the neck are obscured by the rope marks, they are still visible. The rope mark at the bottom shows even force, roughly perpendicular to Victor's neck. This indicates that Victor didn't simply jump from the chair after being roped. Instead, he was strangled from behind. The murderer must have been slightly taller than Victor. Only when force is applied can such a mark be left."
"No... Victor got in using my cover letter. Why would the murderer want to kill him?" Vivian couldn't understand. "Isn't he just a fool who came to join in the fun? Could it be that Baron Neumann knows some royal secrets?"
The butler sighed deeply. "It's over! Two guests died in two days. This party will definitely become notorious... If this gets out, the lady's good reputation will be ruined!"
"By the way, where is Madame Butterfly?" Andre asked.
"I don't know. I haven't seen the lady since this morning." The housekeeper was worried. "Could something have happened to her?"
‘We’ll examine the scene,’ said Winston. ‘You go and fetch Madame Butterfly. And get us a canvas bag for the body.’
Every ship sailing out to sea always has canvas bags for wrapping corpses. After Baron Chandler got into trouble yesterday, the butler had a lot of them brought from the ship, and they can still be used now.
——Although it is hellish, it can indeed be considered a precautionary measure.
Andre and Winston are both professionals who are used to being on site. One of them checks and the other records, and they work in perfect harmony.
"This is not the first crime scene. The room is too tidy. The murderer must have killed someone and then moved the body here." Winston said.
"There's no remaining magic, and the murderer is quite strong. Considering the rope marks, the murderer is taller than Victor... So, the only person who meets the requirements is Valentine."
Andre analyzed, "In the first case, Valentine was the biggest suspect. He took defective almond cookies from Jiangyou and claimed that while he was bathing alone in the hot springs, he could have entered the secret passage, changed into women's clothing, and disguised himself as Madame Butterfly, leaving through the secret passage near the flower pavilion to meet Baron Chandler.
"Moreover, with his wealth, he could easily come up with 600,000 gold in national debt."
"The only question is, how did Valentine get into the secret passage? And how did he get involved in this incident? His invitation was from Countess Durand de Canberra, so he shouldn't have been on the list for this gathering. Why did he buy Baron Chandler's notes, and why did he suddenly decide to kill him? And what about Victor? What role does he play?"
There were still too many unanswered questions. They collected the body in a canvas bag provided by the butler and then split up. Winston and his puppet servant took the body to a natural ice cellar in an underground cave, while Andre, posing as a knight of the kingdom, arrested and interrogated Valentine...
The only problem is, Andre couldn't find Valentine.
On his way to the living room, he encountered a flustered Jiang You. As soon as Xiao Gutou saw him, he rushed over excitedly: "Valentine! The criminal is Valentine, I smell the spicy soup on him!"
Andre: "..." Huh? What is spicy soup?
"We figured that out, too." He paused for a second before replying, "I'm on my way to arrest him."
"Oh, you guys already know it?" He was not the only one who knew the answer. Jiang You was a little disappointed but also a little relieved at the same time - Andre was really reliable~!
"Well, although some details are still unclear, it's basically the same." Andre said as he pushed the door open and walked into the living room, but surprisingly did not see Valentine.
"Where is Lord Valentine de Rosewood?" he asked.
"Hey, he was just here."
"After you and the Skeleton Chef left, he went out too. Why, you weren't together?"
The guests talked about it a lot, but no one knew Valentine's whereabouts until that night, when a burning corpse fell from the roof into the garden in the front yard like an immortal meteor.
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