Part 1. The Joker Chapter 101 An Unexpected Clue
The Howells neighborhood, the Divination Club.
Klein pressed the half-height silk bowler hat on top of his head and walked down the stairs, step by step, towards the front door.
He was no longer dressed in his usual formal attire, but a white shirt with a light vest and a knee-length thin black trench coat over it, adding a bit of a smart aura to his whole person.
This set of combat-friendly clothing only cost him 1 pound, including the handmade allowance for sewing a small pocket on the inside, and compared to the tuxedo formal wear, it was so cheap that it made people want to shed tears.
Touching the revolver in his underarm pouch and the metal vials in the inner pockets, Klein pulled out the portrait and walked into the Divination Club.
Without surprise, he saw Angelica, the pretty lady in charge of reception.
”Good afternoon, Mr. Moretti, I had originally thought that you would come a few days apart.” Angelica was stunned at first, then sketched out a bright smile.
Klein took off his hat and sighed softly:
”Good afternoon, Miss Angelica, I had a dream at noon about Mr. Hyannis Vansant and something related to him, you know, as a diviner, one should never ignore every dream, that might be a revelation from the gods.”
Mesmerized by the words full of diviner’s temperament, Angelica nodded thoughtfully and asked curiously:
”What did you dream about?”
”I dreamed that Hyannis Vansant was arguing with this man.” Klein handed over the folded paper in his hand.
Taking advantage of Angelica’s buried head to unfold the portrait, he pinched his brow and watched the color of the other man’s emotions.
”This person ……” Angelica looked at the portrait that seemed like a photograph and fell into deep thought.
In Klein’s eyes, her emotional aura appeared to be “thinking blue”, which was a normal reaction.
”This person ……” Angelica whispered again and slowly raised her head, “I’ve seen him before.”
Klein’s spirit lifted, and he immediately asked in return:
”When?”
”I can’t recall the exact date, it must have been about a month ago, when I saw him escorting Mr. Vansant to the door, talking in a low voice about something, because of his thick and straggly eyebrows, because of Mr. Vansant’s rare smile, I was very impressed.” Angelica described as she recalled, “Yes, he had gray-blue eyes, and his hair was like most men of his age, not much left.”
”Did you ever see him again after, or before?” Klein asked mildly.
Angelica shook her head:
”No, definitely not, I don’t even know what his name was, and honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I would suspect that the person who came up with the portrait was the police officer investigating Mr. Vansant’s death, heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if you gained some sort of revelation, you’re a true soothsayer.”
I’m sorry, I’m just a cop …… Klein spat out a silent sigh:
”A true diviner will understand the insignificance of oneself and the greatness of destiny, that we can only ever see the blurry corner, can only ever gain revelations rather than answers, and that we must always reflect, remain in awe, and be cautious in our interpretations, and not see ourselves as wise men in control of our destinies.”
Finishing his insights from this period of time in a summarizing manner, Klein suddenly found his own aura vision a few points clearer, and vaguely could even distinguish certain details of Angelica’s aura colors.
This instant, he was like a myopic patient wearing glasses with the right prescription.
This …… my “Diviner” magic potion began to appear obvious signs of digestion? Klein was stunned there for a moment in disbelief.
”I didn’t realize that a soothsayer like you could still maintain the fear of fate, it’s really admirable.” Angelica said sincerely.
She had seen too many, too many people at the club who had just learned a few methods of divination and claimed to peer into the truth and change fate.
Klein withdrew his gaze and smiled lowly:
”The more you know, the more you realize your own insignificance.”
As he spoke, he examined his own state and past experiences, and roughly grasped that the essence of the “Act of Playing” was to “act in accordance with the name of the magic potion, realize the hidden laws, and strictly require oneself to do so”.
Only in this way could I adjust my body, mind, and spirit to be close to the spirit remaining inside the magic potion and gradually digest it.
The recognition of the status of “diviner” by others is only a superficial factor, and the reason why it can make one’s own spirit feel lighter is because this feedback reinforces one’s confirmation of certain divinatory behaviors, which together constitute the “diviner’s code” that allows the magic potion to be digested. “.
”Helping others to interpret revelations and guiding them in a good direction, but one must always remain in awe of fate, not inflated, not arrogant, not blindly trusting in one’s own interpretations …… This is the code I’ve summarized so far, and it’s also the next step in the ‘playing of the ‘ essence, and if it does continue to be effective, it will not take me six months, perhaps two or three months, perhaps two or three weeks, to completely digest the magic potion.”
”…… The signs just now are very obvious, no wonder that mysterious Mr. Charatu said that when the magic potion is thoroughly digested, the extraordinary person himself can clearly experience it, without being taught by others, yes is, no is not …… just like Right now, although my spiritual vision has improved a little bit, I know very well that this is just the node of digestion, not the end.”
Thinking of this, Klein couldn’t help but thank that tuxedo clown again, who had educated himself with his life!
If it wasn’t for him, he would have needed to spend several months in the Divination Club before he could summarize the “Diviner’s Code” through one good or bad case after another, and begin to strictly “play the role”.
”Mr. Moretti, there are times when I even feel that you are a philosopher.” Hearing Klein’s answer, Angelica sighed.
”In my circle, philosopher is a curse word.” Klein’s mood became good.
After saying that, he made a bow, put on his hat, and excused himself to go out.
Although Angelica didn’t know the name and identity of the gentleman in the portrait, Klein wasn’t frustrated at all, such a gain was enough for him to carry out his next plan.
……
36 Zotland Street, inside Blackthorn Security.
Dunn’s gray eyes looked deep into the portrait in his hand and said:
”You want to find this person by means of a lineup?”
”Yes.” Klein had long since organized his words, “Captain, didn’t I say earlier that I would go to the Divination Club to observe the members’ reactions to the sudden death of Hainas Vansant? I didn’t find out yesterday, but today I accidentally learned that the person in the portrait had once appeared together with Hayneth Vansant and was secretly talking about something, and I just went through the squad’s investigation records and found that there was no record of a similar person.”
There was nothing wrong with his description, even if Dunn Smith took the portrait to the Divination Club right now, he would get confirmation from Angelica.
Dunn took his eyes off the portrait and smiled:
”Looks like that grant wasn’t wasted.”
…… Captain, aren’t you having a bad memory, why are you remembering the funding at this time …… Klein kept his smile and didn’t say anything.
”Did you draw this?” Dunn asked casually.
”Well, I drew it with the help of ritual magic.” Klein replied with one hundred percent truth.
Of course, telling the truth and telling the whole truth were two different things.
Dunn nodded gently:
”You ask Old Neil to get a few more copies, I’ll have Coenley and Loyo and the others track it down later and ask for the police department’s assistance, if this clue is indeed useful, you’ll have made another credit.”
”The Goddess protects us.” Klein nodded four times on his chest in an unusually reverent manner.
It was enough for him that Dunn and the others could find out the name and identity of the gentleman in the portrait, and he could divine the whereabouts above the gray mist!
……
After leaving the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein, who was on his day off, did not go home immediately, but took a public carriage to the Docklands and arrived at the entrance of the “Dragon Bar”.
He had considered that although “Diviners” lacked direct means of defeating the enemy and did not have quick spells, but battles were divided into many types and not all of them belonged to encounters, as long as there was enough time to prepare, “Diviners” could also use ritual magic to As long as there is enough time to prepare, “Diviner” can also use ritual magic to deal with the enemy, just like he solved the magic mirror divination incident in Selene’s house.
This means that the “diviner” is better to carry some herbs, essential oils and small candles with him, so that he will not be unable to get the materials when needed, and can only wait for death, after all, not everyone is like Selene, who has put a pile of occult items in her house, which can just be used.
As for the ones that applied down, Klein had practiced too often and had already used almost all of them, and one of the small pockets on the inside of his clothes was holding the remainder.
He touched the bills in his pocket, pushed open the heavy door of the Dragon Bar, and stepped inside.
It was the middle of the afternoon, and the bar wasn’t crowded with patrons. There were no dog-and-mouse races, no boxing matches, and it seemed rather cold and uninviting.
Klein glanced over at the two tables of customers drinking and playing cards, and prepared to walk towards the pool room that led to the underground trading market.
Just then he saw a portly old man in a tattered naval officer’s jacket come out.
”You’re the friend old Neil brought last time?” The blue-eyed old man with messy brown hair and a strong odor of alcohol took a look at Klein and spoke with a smile.
Klein vaguely guessed the identity of the other party, took off his hat and saluted:
”Yes, I don’t know what to call you?”
”Old Neil should have mentioned me to you, I’m the boss here, Svein.” The old blue-eyed man had thick, muscular arms and an officer’s demeanor.
The former captain of the “Substitute Punisher” squad in Tingen City …… was said to have once been a member of the Royal Navy …… Klein responded politely:
”Yes.”
”If you’re temporarily short of money, you can come to me.” Svein mentioned with a smile and prepared to walk towards the bar.
Just then, Klein’s heart fluttered and he hastily shouted:
”Wait, Mr. Svein, I have something I want to ask you.”
Svein stopped in his tracks, half-turned around, and said with a smile:
”You and your, well, your chief are so much alike.”
No, I don’t have a memory problem …… Klein’s mouth twitched as he bluntly pulled out the portrait and said:
”Have you ever seen this gentleman?”
It just suddenly occurred to him that Selene should have been led into this underground trading market by Hayneth Vansant, and along with that, let Elizabeth also know about the Evil Dragon Bar, so could this gentleman on the portrait who had some relationship with Hayneth Vansant have also been here before?
Svein took a closer look and answered affirmatively:
”I remember him, he came to me and asked if there were any literature and items related to the main peak of Hornachis.”
Hornachis Main Peak related literature and items? Klein froze for a moment and suddenly associated it with another matter:
When I borrowed the Hornerchies Main Peak related journals and magazines at the Devereux Library, the administrator casually mentioned that someone had just returned them, so he remembered them clearly and didn’t need to flip through the cards to confirm whether they existed or not.
Could it be that the person who borrowed those journals and magazines before me was the gentleman in the portrait?
The gentleman who witnessed the transaction of the Antigonus Notes?