Chapter 232 Sherlock Moriarty
Taking a hired carriage, Angel arrived at Minsk Street in the Cherwood district.
This was a small street in a residential area. Both sides were similar to the Red Rose Street where she lived. To be more precise, they were similar to the side of Red Rose Street facing the Tussock River. They were both two-story townhouses with bay windows of the same style on both sides of the first floor, and a large balcony on the second floor.
There is a small mailbox at the door of No. 15 Minsk Street, with a notepad and pencil hanging next to it, probably so that the detective would not miss any commissions when he goes out.
Angel knocked on the door first, but there seemed to be no movement behind the door. She sighed to herself that she had bad luck and picked up the note next to the mailbox to leave a message.
At this moment, the door opened, and a man with a thick beard, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that did not match his rough beard, a short-brimmed hat on his head, a white shirt and a black vest, stuck his head out and looked curiously at Angel who was holding a note and a pencil at the bottom of the main entrance steps.
The latter was surprised to find that he had seen the detective before.
Rather, I have seen it many times.
"Mr. Sherlock Moriarty?"
"It's me," said the lucky guy who had appeared at the Eye of Wisdom gatherings many times and claimed to have defeated mid-level enemies with only 400 pounds. "What can I do for you?"
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Angel entered the living room at the invitation of Mr. Moriarty and quickly looked around the interior furnishings. The house didn't look big from the outside, but since the length from front to back was greater than the width, the actual area was not small. The living room and dining room had excellent lighting, and there was a kitchen, bathroom and guest room at the back. Judging from the area on the second floor, there were at least three or four bedrooms, and there was also a large balcony that could be seen from the street.
Assessing the financial resources and income of the private detective, Angel came to a corner of the living room and sat down on the single sofa by the bay window at Moriarty's invitation. The other party brought a teapot and teacups and sat opposite her.
After a brief self-introduction and greetings, the two quickly got down to business.
"Ms. Irene, please tell me your commission."
He politely poured a cup of tea for the guest, took off his short-brimmed hat, revealing the short black hair underneath, and looked at Angel with curiosity and inquiry in his eyes and asked.
He looks vaguely familiar... Well, if his hairline receded a bit and he shaved off his beard, he'd look a lot like Mr. Benson. They have the same hair and eye color, and the same curvature of their cheeks...
After a few seconds, Angel realized that it was impolite to stare at the other person, so he looked away and looked at the tea in his hand and replied:
"Actually, I'm here looking for one of your customers. Do you remember Mr. O'Neill? Jason O'Neill, looking for his daughter, Emily."
O'Neill, Emily.
Moriarty muttered the two names, recalled for a few seconds with an unfocused look in his eyes, and nodded. The gold-rimmed glasses that didn't fit his face well swayed so much that Angel almost thought they would fall into the teacup below.
"I remember him, Jason O'Neill, who asked me to find his kidnapped daughter. On the evening of October 5, this gentleman found me through someone's introduction. I then went with him to investigate several locations he provided where he confirmed the kidnapper had passed."
As he spoke, the detective stood up and walked quickly to the bookshelf that separated the living room and the dining room. He found a map, returned to the bay window, and handed it to Angel.
The latter immediately recognized that this was the same map of Backlund on which O'Neill had noted the kidnapping route when she sought divination help.
"After analyzing the relevant clues, I quickly determined the kidnappers' ultimate hideout and located the gang members guarding Mr. O'Neal's daughter, Emily. Since Mr. O'Neal was worried that calling the police would trigger their retaliation, I used some negotiation skills to convince them to let Emily go. Of course, I still called the police afterwards, as that's my duty as a law-abiding citizen."
When talking about "negotiation skills", Moriarty grinned behind his beard, which reminded Angel of the other party's meaningless smile at the "Eye of Wisdom" party.
I almost forgot that after seeking help at the "Eye of Wisdom" gathering and miraculously resolving a huge crisis, this detective is now a Beyonder. His so-called negotiation skills are likely due to his use of violence or Beyonder abilities to defeat the gangs and rescue Emily, which is consistent with what Mr. O'Neill said...
I just don't know if he still remembers the first time we met at the party. Although I was wearing a hood and had crazy rings that made it easy to forget my appearance, my height and hair color easily exposed my identity.
With these thoughts quickly running through his mind, Angel nodded and replied, "Thank you. Could you tell me where you found Emily?"
"Why? Sorry, I don't mean to embarrass you, but this is the privacy of the previous client."
Although I held onto a tiny bit of hope, this detective is indeed quite professional...
Angel sighed and told the inquisitive detective about his part-time job at the Fortune Telling Club, O'Neill's request for help, and how he had determined the location and route of the kidnapping through analysis.
Of course, she glossed over the parts involving extraordinary abilities by saying "I concluded it through analysis."
Then, she took out the newspaper she had with her and handed him the page with the O'Neill family's obituary, watching his face change from curiosity to seriousness and a hint of anger.
"Do you think this is a normal suicide?"
Putting down the newspaper, Moriarty's tone was completely different from before.
"Of course not. I just met Mr. O'Neill last weekend. He gave me a large sum of extra money and said he was planning to leave Backlund and move his family to Jianhai County for a few years. Leaving this familiar environment that scares my daughter, I don't think that's something someone planning suicide would do."
"Extra compensation... well, that's not the point. You're right, his death was suspicious," Moriarty replied with a frown. "It's impossible for someone who just rescued their daughter and was planning to move out of Backlund to commit suicide by jumping into the river with their entire family, unless... someone coerced them, or simply 'did it for them.'"
"But the police should investigate this kind of thing. I saw in the obituary that the family left a suicide note. If the handwriting was forged and there were problems at the suicide scene, the police should have discovered it. Since the obituary has already been issued, it proves that the police also believe it was suicide."
The detective looked at Angel with a searching look.
Alas, do you, a private investigator, really trust Sivella's abilities so much? Or have you recognized me and are trying to trick me?
After staring at him for a few seconds, Angel smiled.
"Alright, I guess you recognize me. Since we're all Beyonders and have all attended the Eye of Wisdom gathering, let's stop beating around the bush and trying to test each other. I've determined through divination that the O'Neill family committed suicide, but this is the biggest problem. Some Beyonders are using their abilities to hide the truth, perhaps for revenge or to silence them."
Moriarty first looked at Angel with surprise, and then a smile flashed in his eyes behind his glasses.
"Yes, 'Dog Mask Lady', um, that's what the pharmacist called you. I did recognize you at the door, but I didn't know why you were there, so I didn't point it out. Sorry."
Looking at the somewhat familiar brown eyes, Angel was stunned for a moment, and then he felt unhappy because of the other party's address.
"By the way, when you said 'confirmed through divination', did you mean the kind of divination in the mystical sense?" As if sensing Angel's emotions, Moriarty quickly changed the subject. "I thought the divination club you were talking about was just an ordinary fan club."
"The club is indeed a common one, but I..."
Angel was wearing a less conspicuous Ruenese-style dress today, with long sleeves covering her wrists. At this moment, she pulled up the sleeves of her leg of mutton, revealing the citrine pendant on her right wrist.
“…But he’s a master of divination.”
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