Chapter 96 "Suicide"
They did not go directly to the crime scene on the boulevard. There was not even a bullet shell or bloodstain left there, and there were people coming and going during the day, so it was not suitable for divination.
Leonard was experienced in field work, and he took the two rookies to the intersection of Boulevard and Field Street, where the police station that covered several nearby blocks was located.
After several people showed their inspector badges and explained their purpose, the police officer on duty took them to a small room next to the evidence room. After waiting for a while, another police officer, about 30 years old, with two V-shaped stripes on his epaulettes, came in holding a small cardboard box.
Seeing that the three people in the room were all wearing inspector badges, the police officer quickly put down the cardboard box and saluted, with a look of surprise and uneasiness on his face.
"Hello, I'm Inspector Leonard Mitchell, and this is Miss Granger and Mr. Moretti. We're here to retrieve evidence from the Boulevard suicide case on July 21st, and to hear the testimony of the investigating officers."
"Sir!" The officer saluted before continuing, "I was the first officer to arrive at the scene. You can call me Dean. I've brought the evidence with me."
Dean said, picked up the box and handed it to Leonard.
"Very good. Could you please repeat the circumstances of the incident in detail?"
Leonard took the box, opened it, and placed the contents on the table. The box was small, and contained only three pieces of evidence: a brand-new brass revolver, three small-caliber bullet casings, and a scroll with what appeared to be something written on it.
He flipped through the pages while Dean continued.
"OK."
Dean swallowed, took a few seconds to organize his words, and began to describe what happened.
"On the morning of July 21st, Saturday, it was actually almost noon. I was patrolling Field Street. When I reached the intersection with the boulevard, I heard a gunshot and then a woman screaming from the direction of the boulevard..."
Dean was attracted by the screams and thought that a vicious robbery had occurred on the street, so he immediately ran towards the boulevard. After walking about 200 meters, he saw the dead body of Lawrence surrounded by passers-by.
He was lying on the ground with a big hole in the back of his head, red and yellow liquid scattered all over the ground, and a brand new revolver in his hand.
There were panicked ladies all around, men pretending to be calm, and children being taken away from the scene by their parents with their eyes covered. Everyone had a look of panic and innocence on their faces.
"You knew his name was Lawrence at the time. Did you know him?" Leonard asked curiously. He was listening and looking through the evidence with gloves on.
"No, I didn't recognize the deceased, but a passerby recognized him and introduced him to me. He was the founder of the Tingen Second Steel Plant, which went bankrupt last month due to poor management and heavy debts."
"The owner of a bankrupt company... I understand. Please continue."
Leonard nodded and handed the revolver to Angel, who also put on the cloth gloves provided by the evidence room and took the revolver to examine it.
Small caliber, single-action, the lubricating oil in the bolt is still clean, and the rifling is not worn, it looks like it was bought new... There is a little blood on the muzzle, which is because it was fired against the upper jaw... The cylinder can hold six rounds, but there are only three shells. One was used in suicide. Were the rest used for practice with the new gun?
Angel carefully examined the revolver that Lawrence used to commit suicide. Seeing that Leonard stopped asking questions, Dean continued to explain the case.
"According to people at the scene, Lawrence shouted loudly before his death, attracting passers-by. He displayed a banner he was carrying and denounced the mayor... Former Mayor Dennis had not kept his promise to him, leaving him with a huge debt after bankruptcy. He then pulled the revolver from his pocket, put it in his mouth without hesitation, and shot himself dead."
Klein unfolded the banner from the evidence on the table. It was a paper banner about 1.5 meters long with words like "liar" and "die with the fraudsters" written in large blood-red letters. In the middle was the name of former mayor Dennis, with a large cross drawn on it.
"Based on the circumstances, do you think Lawrence was sane? Did you smell any alcohol or drugs?"
Klein rolled up the banner and asked casually.
"I didn't smell any of that around the body. According to people who knew Lawrence, he was conscious, despite being a little agitated. He even recognized someone he knew and told him to take the child and leave quickly."
"A man who committed suicide out of despair after bankruptcy, would he even care about these things?" Klein murmured. "What about his family? What about his children? Are there any clues?"
"A week before Lawrence committed suicide, he sent his wife and daughter back to the countryside of Wintershire. Their house in Tingen was also taken away by the bank. Wintershire is conducting further investigations, but no results have been received yet."
"Does the police have any information about his interactions or grudges with the former mayor?"
After checking the pistol, Angel joined the conversation and asked Dean.
The police officer shook his head, but did not deny it: "I don't know either. The higher-ups said they would investigate, but they have been..."
Several Night Watchmen looked at each other.
"Okay, we understand. Now, please go out and wait at the door for a moment. We need to discuss the case and will call you in if necessary."
Seeing that the other two had no other questions to ask, Leonard ordered Dean to leave. After the other party saluted and left, he immediately locked the door.
"What do you think?"
He returned to the table, glanced over several pieces of evidence one by one, and asked in a low voice.
"The pistol is very new, recently purchased. Only one shot was fired at the scene, but there are three shell casings. Lawrence must have tried it before his death and understood the weapon's power." Angel answered first. "I used my psychic vision to check it, and it's just an ordinary revolver. But we can consider starting the investigation at the place where the gun was purchased."
"He asked the children at the scene to leave before committing suicide, perhaps to avoid scaring them. This shows that Lawrence was still rational at the time and was not acting impulsively. He didn't want to take revenge on society, but simply wanted to kill himself and deal a blow to the former mayor's public opinion. We can start from the source of hatred and investigate whether the steel mill's bankruptcy was related to the former mayor."
Klein took over the conversation, stroking his chin. Unfortunately, he didn't have a beard, which made his behavior seem a bit artificial.
"You really think of yourselves as detectives..." Leonard said with a wry smile. "I'm asking if there's any supernatural influence. I didn't ask you here to follow the clues and investigate the mayor's corruption case."
"Unless a Beyonder could remotely control him to perform these actions, how could someone so conscious commit suicide in the street, and even have his wife and daughter settled in advance?" Klein asked, not knowing whether he was asking others or himself.
But he didn't hesitate, instead he took out a copper penny from his pocket.
"It seems we can only ask the amazing King George III."
The fortune teller muttered to himself, "Lawrence's death was influenced by supernatural factors," and tossed the coin upwards with his eyes half closed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
