Part 1 The Joker Chapter 88 – Report
”What is it?” Benson asked casually.
Melissa, on the other hand, looked at her brother intently, as she thought Klein was acting equally odd tonight, only a little better than Elizabeth and later Selena.
Klein had thought of something to say and grinned:
”There’s a mistake in one of the descriptions of a document and I’ve instructed a colleague to submit it as soon as I arrive at the office tomorrow morning, so it’s either drop by now and correct it, or get up at least half an hour early tomorrow, and there’s no doubt I’m going to go with the former.”
”I always thought you weren’t concentrating enough on your poker game, turns out you were thinking about work.” Benson dawned on him and whirled around to laugh, “No, I apologize, I should have said that, playing cards helps with thinking.”
”Okay, we’ll be waiting for you.” Melissa withdrew her measuring gaze and raised a hand to straighten the ruffles of her leg of mutton sleeves.
Since it was long past the operating hours of the public carriages with and without rails, the three siblings excused themselves and headed out the door, so they had to hire the nearest rental carriage for 2 Sule 45 minutes.
”I’ve heard that every driver of a hired carriage raises their prices recklessly.” Benson grumbled in a lowered voice after paying out most of his winnings heartily.
Klein chuckled:
”I think it’s acceptable, it’s almost eleven o’clock.”
”I’m just kidding, my current thinking is that we could actually co-employ, along with the other guests, and get to a lot of places in 45 minutes.” Benson said as he looked out the window at the people hiring carriages one after another.
I get it, carpooling …… Klein rubbed the silver encrusted pattern on the top of his cane and said:
”We don’t have a problem with that, but the other guests do, Benson, haven’t you noticed? They’re all very conscious of their image, very concerned about the whole ‘decency’ thing, I think that might be a commonality among the middle class.”
”Hmm.” Benson nodded seriously, “The Woods are also more extravagant than I expected, and yet old Wood’s salary is only four pounds a week …… Heh, decency is perhaps the biggest difference between some middle-class people and curly-haired baboons.”
Curly-haired baboon beckons you …… Crane narrowly failed to stifle his laughter.
Melissa didn’t join in their discussion and took her seat, every now and then scowling at Klein, looking at him with a slight twinge in her heart.
The lightweight two-wheeled carriage sped through the quiet, bleak streets, arriving at Zotland Street in only twelve minutes.
”You guys wait here for me, five minutes, no more, and I’ll be back.” Klein emphasized, put on his bowler hat, grabbed his cane, and stepped out of the carriage.
Since it was a calculation of time, not distance, the coachman had no problem with waiting.
Moving up the stairs, Klein arrived outside Blackthorn Security and knocked on the front door.
In less than ten seconds, the door swung back and Leonard Mitchell, clad in a vest and shirt, appeared in front of him.
”You’re not on duty tonight.” Leonard emphasized with slight surprise.
Klein only had to work the Charnis Gate one day a week, and the rest of the time he was able to maintain his normal routine, leaving the nighttime emergencies to the night-loving Sleepless Ones.
But sleeping only two or three hours a day can cause hair loss and memory loss …… Whenever he thought about it, Klein couldn’t help but flirtatiously bellyache about Captain Dunn Smith.
”I have something to report.” He said simply.
”A mission?” Leonard asked casually as he gave way to the doorway.
Klein had just walked into the reception hall when he saw Dunn come out clad in a black trench coat, his gray eyes as dark as ever.
”Captain, I’ve come across a transcendental incident.”
”Specifics.” Dunn asked directly.
Klein told the original story of what happened before and his own handling of it:
”…… So, I think it’s necessary to launch an investigation into Hainas Vansant.”
At that time, he thought that since the Evil Thing invited by the “Magic Mirror Divination” had not yet created a tragedy and had not yet alerted himself to the extreme danger, it indicated that the other party might still need time and was not willing to awaken or take control of Selene in advance, so as long as he did not directly reveal his own purpose, the Evil Thing would definitely prioritize the option of waiting and watching. In such a situation, it wasn’t too difficult for Elizabeth to trick Selene to the bedroom door.
”You handled the situation well, seizing the moment when the evil spirit had not yet completely descended and possessed itself.” Dunn nodded gently, “We’ll leave the rest of the investigation to us, so you can go back to resting.”
Klein sighed in relief and laughed:
”I thought that you, Captain, would make this matter my entry task and leave me alone.”
From the spell provided by Elizabeth, it seems that Hainas Vansant has a certain degree of danger ……
”That’s because you already have your initiation task.” The loose and casual Leonard laughed softly beside him.
”What?” Klein was startled.
The corners of Dunn’s mouth turned up and his voice mellowed as he explained:
”We took in a case transferred from the police department just after seven p.m. Initially, we confirmed that it was nothing dangerous or urgent, so we’re going to let you go through it alone tomorrow.”
”Well, don’t ask what case it is, get a good night’s sleep tonight, and move your rest day to Tuesday or Wednesday.”
Captain, you like this, I can’t sleep even more OK …… And, Monday afternoon is the date of the tarot party …… Do we have to give “Justice” and ” Inverted Hanging Man” to send a delayed “message”? Klein shook his head and laughed bitterly, saying goodbye and leaving.
Out of the stairway, he suddenly realized, looked up to the carriage hired by the family, only to see Melissa is through the window, quietly surveying himself.
The line of sight made contact, and Melissa twisted her head at once and sat upright.
The corners of Klein’s mouth twitched, and he walked up to the carriage as if nothing had happened.
Under the scarlet moon and pure night sky, the two-wheeled carriage traveled briskly through street after street.
Back at home, Klein told Benson to take a bath first, and went to Melissa’s bedroom door himself, raising his hand and knocking twice.
Melissa, who was planning to go to the other washroom, squeaked open the door and looked at her brother quizzically.
”Melissa, is there something you want to ask? I know you do.” Klein spoke directly.
Don’t always look in the dark ……
Melissa opened and closed her lips a few times and frowned slightly:
”Klein, what exactly did you do to Elizabeth? I feel like something is very wrong with her?”
”Also, Selena became very strange afterward.”
Klein asked rhetorically, having been prepared for this:
”Did you know that Elizabeth and Selena are occultists?”
”…… knew that, but I didn’t like it, and I don’t think there’s anything in this world that can’t be understood.” Melissa froze and replied seriously, “All the lack of understanding is just because we don’t have enough knowledge.”
”Well, that’s what I think too.” Klein echoed sheepishly.
Once I did think so, until the death-defying success ……
He coughed lightly and continued:
”The occult encompasses Hermetic script, which was used exclusively for rituals and prayers in ancient times, and Elizabeth, knowing that I specialize in it, heck, it’s a historian’s field, after all, asked me for advice on a few pronunciations of the corresponding words and their exact meanings.”
Melissa nodded slightly, accepting this explanation from her brother as it fit with what she knew about both parties.
”As for why Elizabeth and Selena became odd later on, I’m not sure exactly why.” Klein said after clearing himself first, “But I can take a guess.”
”You can guess?” Melissa took off in surprise.
Klein raised his hand and pestled his mouth:
”I guessed from what Elizabeth asked me to teach her, those Hermetic texts she said were related to divination, to some evil sacrificial objects, well, when Selene performed the Magic Mirror Divination, did she chant Hermetic texts?”
He took it upon himself to mention this, just to make his sister wary of similar things in the future, and if he could stay away from Selene and Elizabeth, so much the better.
”Yes ……” Melissa replied hesitantly, “I think I understand Elizabeth and Selena’s eccentricities …… ”
At that point, Klein deliberately asked rhetorically:
”Because Selena’s magic mirror divination involves evil, illegal beliefs, Elizabeth, after figuring out the exact meaning of the corresponding Hermetic text from me, looked for an opportunity to accuse the other party and correct their mistake?”
”I think so.” Melissa had no doubt about this conclusion, as she had reasoned it out herself.
Seeing that her baiting had worked, Klein said with a sigh of relief:
”You should also caution Selene more in the future to bring her back to the right path of faith.”
As he said this, he nodded his chest four times in a very pastoral manner.
”Well, I will!” Melissa replied in a firm tone.
”And don’t tell Elizabeth and Selena about our speculations, about what I’ve said, I originally promised Elizabeth I wouldn’t tell you.” Klein finally emphasized.
”Uh-huh.” Melissa nodded lightly.
……
Monday morning, eight o’clock, Blackthorn Security.
Klein removed his hat, said hello to Roxanne and Brett, and after exchanging pleasantries about the weather, entered Captain Dunn Smith’s office.
He pushed open the door to the room and looked up, suddenly startled as Dunn’s face was quite pale and his gray eyes were slightly cloudy, losing their usual ethereal depth.
”Is something wrong? Hayneth Vansant?” Klein asked, surprised and concerned.
Dunn rubbed his forehead, took a sip of his coffee, and smiled bitterly:
”Linus Vansant is dead.”
”Killed early by whom?” Klein took his cane and sat down across from Dunn.
Without answering directly, Dunn sighed:
”Leonard and I went looking for Hayneth Vansant last night, and since he usually showed no signs of abnormality, and there was nothing odd about his home, I decided to go into his dreams first to look for clues.”
”In his dreams, in his dreams ……”
Dunn repeated twice, his eyes unconsciously dripping with awe as he said:
”In his dream, I saw a cross, a huge cross, a cross that held up the sky, and on top of this cross, nailed with black iron nails, was a naked man, his arms spread wide, his feet on top, his head hanging down like a pendant, and his body with one blood stain after another.”
”At the first sight of such an image, I fainted and left the dream world of Hyannis Vansant, and when I awoke, Leonard told me that Hyannis had died in his sleep.”
”Huge cross, upside down, bloodstained man …… It’s a bit like the real Creator that several hidden organizations believe in, but it’s very different ……” Klein speculated suspiciously The man is a bit like the Real Creator, but very different,” Klein speculated suspiciously.
The main hidden organizations that believed in the True Creator were the ones that had appeared in the last two to three hundred years, such as the Aurora Society and the Iron Blood Cross, but the similar images had never disappeared in the previous thousand years or so.
Dunn rubbed his forehead again:
”We’ll follow up, you go ahead and finish your initiation now.”