Part 2 the faceless man chapter ix the first commission
Tinkling, the bell pulled by the rope kept swinging, spreading the sound all over the spacious but relatively empty living room.
Klein, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper and studying those investment opportunities, stood up, his white shirt with black vest was untied with a bow tie, very much at home and casual.
The first commission of my detective career? However, I can not always wait at home, waiting for the task to come to the door, well …… I have to get a guestbook to hang on the door, with a water-absorbent pen, so that the customer can write down the time of the re-visit, so that I can prepare in advance …… But this is for the new entry into the profession But for a new detective with little reputation, it’s basically the same as not having a next time. …… Hey, it’s only a little bit of a hassle for now, so I can make arrangements by divining early in the morning whether there will be a commission for that day, and roughly at what time of day. …… Of course, this may miss the commissioner is a powerful The task of the commissioner is a powerful extraordinary person, well, just miss it, the probability is a good thing ……
Klein thought as he walked to the door, and without needing to pass through the cat’s eye, an image of the visitors outside naturally appeared within his mind:
One was an elderly woman wearing a black plush fedora, her back was slightly stooped, her face deeply wrinkled, her skin dry and yellowed, but her dark colored dress was formal and proper, and she looked very neat.
Her temples were all gray, but her blue eyes were quite expressive, and she was looking at the young man next to her, signaling him to pull the doorbell again.
The young man was in his late twenties, with eyes similar to the old woman’s, and in the increasingly chilly weather, dressed in the black double-breasted tuxedo fashionable among the Birkeland gentry, with a half-height silk hat and a party bowtie, he seemed to be at all times and in all situations to be in no way less demanding of himself.
With the premonitory powers of the Joker, and before the bell could be rung again, Klein turned the knob and opened the door, smiling a greeting:
”Good morning, ma’am, sir, it’s a good day, and I’ve seen the sun for five minutes so far.”
He spoke of the weather in a slightly exaggerated manner, a pleasantry that had been popular in Birkeland for hundreds of years.
”Yes, it’s always been shy in the past, hiding behind the fog and overcast clouds, and has refused to come out.” The old woman nodded approvingly.
And the young man spoke up and asked:
”Are you Detective Sherlock Moriarty?”
”Yes, what is it that you need to commission? Excuse me, please come in, we’ll talk more over at the couch.” Klein sidestepped his body and moved out of the way, gesturing to the waiting area.
”No, not necessary.” The old woman said in a slightly shrill voice, “I don’t want to waste a moment, my poor Brody is still waiting for me to free it!”
”It?” Klein noticed that all-important pronoun and suddenly had a bad feeling.
The very formally dressed young man nodded affirmatively:
”Brody is a cat owned by my grandmother, Ms. Doris, and he got lost last night, and I would like you to help us find him, we live at the end of this street, and I’m willing to pay 5 Soules for that, of course, if you can prove in the end that you spent more time and effort than that, I’ll reimburse you additionally.”
Looking for a cat? I was commissioned because it was conveniently located on the same street …… Klein felt that this was not the detective career he had imagined.
This makes me look like a clown …… Well, you can’t put off the first business at the door, that’s the view from a soothsayer …… He pondered for a few seconds and said:
”Can you describe it in detail?”
The old lady, Doris, said before the young man could speak:
”Brodie is a lovely, lively black cat, he’s very healthy, has beautiful green eyes, and his favorite food is boiled chicken breasts, Goddess, he went out like that last night, no, he must have gotten lost, I put so many chicken breasts in his bowl he wouldn’t come back to take a second look.”
…… Klein said with the corners of his mouth turned up:
”I’m pleased with your description, Mrs. Doris.”
”I accept the commission, well, go to your home now, I need to look for clues and discover traces, as you should be well aware, the heart of reasoning is in the details.”
Mrs. Doris didn’t consult her grandson and nodded instantly:
”You’re the most action-oriented detective I’ve ever seen, deal!”
Klein put on his coat and hat, grabbed his cane, and followed Mrs. Doris and her grandson out into the street.
Unlike Tingen, the roads in many districts of Birkeland had been rebuilt with concrete or asphalt, making them less muddy, even when hit with rainy weather.
Taking advantage of the old woman’s quick steps to lead the way in front of her, his grandson came up to Klein and lowered his voice:
”I want you to do your best to find Brody.”
”He’s been one of the pillars of my grandmother’s life since my grandfather and parents passed away.”
”After Brody was lost, my grandmother had mental problems and even developed hallucinations, always telling me that she heard poor Brody screaming in agony.”
Klein nodded solemnly:
”I’ll do my best, by the way, I still don’t know how to call you?”
”Jürgen, Jürgen Cooper, a senior solicitor.” The young man replied.
Soon they came to 58 Minsk Street and entered the house of grayish hue.
”This is Brodie’s bowl, it’s his favorite crate and he always sleeps in it.” Doris’s wrinkled face was filled with both worry and anticipation.
Klein squatted down and retrieved several black cat hairs from the box.
He straightened up and gripped the silver-encrusted cane in the hand that was pinching the cat hairs.
Klein’s eyes turned deep, pretending to look around as he recited a silent divination statement under his breath.
His hand crept away from the staff but did not disengage completely, preventing either Jürgen or Doris from noticing the fact that the cane was standing on its own.
Immediately afterward, the black, silver-encrusted cane tilted to the side and forward, tipping slowly and minimally.
Klein gripped the staff again and looked in that direction for a good ten seconds or so.
Then he stepped away and walked over to an outdated cabinet.
”Any sign of Brody’s exit?” Jürgen asked with concern, and the old woman, Doris, waited for an answer.
Without answering, Klein half crouched down and pulled open the door at the bottom of the cupboard.
Ouch!
A black cat scurried out of it and ran to its bowl with its tail in the air.
”Brody …… when did you get into the cupboard? How did you get in the cupboard?” Mrs. Doris exclaimed in surprise and confusion.
Jürgen looked sideways in shock and glanced at Klein:
”How did you know it was in the cupboard?”
Klein smiled and replied in a low voice:
”That’s deduction.”
……
Klein, who had gained the friendship of Mrs. Doris and Lawyer Jürgen, and the payment of five Soules, was returning in the gloom towards his rented house at 15 Minsk Street.
Before he could approach, he saw a figure hovering at his door.
Some new business? Crane stared and saw that the visitor, dressed in an old, age-appropriate overcoat and a yarmulke, was a boy of fifteen or sixteen.
Him? Klein instantly recognized him as the older boy he had met on the steam subway the day he first came to Birkeland, being chased by someone.
The maturity and calmness he showed at that time left quite a deep impression on Klein.
What could have been entrusted …… grunted, Klein walked over and smiled:
”Excuse me, are you here to see me?”
The older boy was startled and turned around in a panic, his bright red eyes holding a fear that he couldn’t hide.
He settled down and spoke hesitantly:
”Are you Detective Sherlock Moriarty?”
”Yes.” Klein looked around and said, “If there’s anything, let’s talk inside.”
”Okay.” The older boy didn’t refuse.
Once inside, Crane didn’t take off his coat, just removed his hat and placed his cane.
He led the older boy to the waiting area and pointed to the long couch:
”Have a seat, what shall I call you? What is it you wish to delegate?”
”You may call me Ian.” The older boy examined all around and after several seconds of silence said, “I was previously hired by another detective, Mr. Zerrill Victor Lee, to help him gather some information and intelligence.”
Klein sat down and crossed his arms:
”Your commission was related to your former employer?”
”Uh-huh.” Ian nodded solemnly, “I suddenly found myself being followed, unsuspectingly, a few days ago, and figured out a way to shake them off, er …… I think you witnessed this Mr. Moriarty, and as soon as I saw you, I recognized you as the gentleman who had sized me up several times on the subway that day. ”
…… This kind of observation is not much worse than the “audience” ah …… Is it born with a special type? Or is it an extraordinary person? Klein opened his psychic vision and looked at Ian for a few moments, but did not find anything strange.
He nodded his head and answered frankly:
”I’m impressed by your response.”
Ian didn’t dwell on the matter and continued:
”Suspecting that what happened to me had something to do with Mr. Zeruel, I visited him at his place and found that it looked normal, but many of the little hidden mechanisms that hinted at someone’s infiltration had been triggered.”
”I haven’t seen Mr. Zerrill since that day, and I suspected something had happened to him.”
”I tried to call the police, but the number of days he’d been missing hadn’t reached the required number, and I tried to ask for help from other detectives I knew, but they all rebuffed me on the grounds that they’d just met Mr. Zerrill, at a gathering of their peers.”
”This surprised me greatly, as I contacted Mr. Zerrill in the agreed upon way without getting the slightest response.”
”Still standing by my judgment, I intended to enlist the help of a detective not known to Mr. Zerrill, well, in that case, I didn’t know any either, and didn’t know who to call, so I had to find out through the newspapers, and found you, Mr. Sherlock Moriarty.”