Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 106 There's More Than One Truth

Here, I'd like to first explain the layout of the entire first-class cabin.

Although both were first class, there were differences between the first class cabin that Levi stayed in and the first class cabin that Rosalie stayed in.

Rosalie's first-class cabin was one of the two most luxurious cabins, known as the ultra-luxury royal suite. It had a living room, two bedrooms with separate dressing rooms, two bathrooms, and a 15-meter-long private promenade.

The living room is located in the middle, with the bedrooms and bathrooms at opposite ends, connected to a walkway.

The problem is that this suite doesn't have just one entrance. Instead, there's an entrance for each bedroom and the living room. In other words, there are two bedrooms and a living room connected by doors in the hallway.

The reason for this design is quite simple. According to the designer, it's to facilitate dividing the space for sale. After all, not everyone can afford an ultra-luxurious palatial suite, so if no one is willing to pay a high price, they can simply partition it in half.

In this way, this ultra-luxury suite can be divided into two luxury suites for use.

Well... all I can say is that it truly lives up to its reputation as capitalism.

But this raises a big question: how did the murderer get in?

According to the maid, she lived in the servants' quarters across the street and went to check on the mistress in the morning. She then went into the room, crossed the living room, went to bedroom A, knocked on the door, and when no one answered, she opened the door and found the mistress's body.

As for the door lock... Li Wei didn't even need to consider that question, because the door didn't have a lock at all.

Yes, it's unlocked (shrugs).

This means that anyone could enter the room and shoot Rosali in the head. But this is first class, and the people staying here are all of high status, respectable and polite. No one would think that any vicious criminal would appear here... Well, it seems that this is not the case.

This means that the murderer could go directly from the hallway to Rosalie's room, or possibly go through bedroom B, across the living room to bedroom A, or even from bedroom B, across the living room, and then walk down the hallway to bedroom A.

By the way, the walkway is completely enclosed; even if you could scale walls, you couldn't climb in from the outside.

Furthermore, on the starboard side where the luxury suites were located, two security guards stood watch on both staircases to prevent second-class passengers from entering first class. They testified that from evening until morning, no one went in or out of the building.

This means that the murderer could only be a passenger in the cabin on the starboard side.

Coincidentally, all the passengers in the starboard cabin were members of the Porto family.

Yes, that's very interesting.

Li Wei extracted some fingerprints from the doorknob, and at that moment the doctor's test report came out.

"The time of death was between midnight and 2 a.m. last night. It was a single shot. The gun was .22 caliber... Hmm, this should be a women's gun."

Li Wei looked at the report, then glanced at the people around him, and soon old Howard nodded.

"Oh, yes, that's right. It's a self-defense gun for women. At least most women I've seen carry it with them. For them, it's almost like carrying jewelry."

"Um……………"

Upon hearing Howard Sr.'s answer, Li Wei pondered for a moment.

"all in all……………"

"all in all?"

"Let's eat first."

Faced with the curious gazes of the crowd, Li Wei calmly gave his answer.

"After breakfast, I'll question everyone one by one, and it would be best if you could find me a recorder..."

"this……………"

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the inspector paused for a moment, while Howard chuckled.

"In that case, I do have someone I'd like to recommend to you."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"You'll know then."

Mr. Howard kept everyone in suspense, smiling but saying nothing.

Soon, Li Wei understood why Mr. Howard hadn't told him.

When he finished breakfast and returned to the meeting room to meet everyone, he saw the white-haired, clueless Miss Anne Branson.

“Miss Branson is an elite member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and I’ve heard she’s very good at typing, so she should be able to help you.”

Seeing Mr. Howard's smiling face, Li Wei was speechless.

I'm on the same side, why are you watching the drama unfold?

That's fine, though. At least Levi had done a background check on Anne Branson, and her cabin was on the port side of deck B. There was no suspicion against her, so having her in charge of recording things was a good choice.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Miss Branson."

"…………………"

Anne looked at Levi, nodded faintly, and said nothing.

Next, Li Wei found a nearby reading and writing room—originally a place for ladies to relax and write letters, but now it had been turned into an interrogation room.

The next step, naturally, was to investigate the passengers who were on the starboard side at the time.

According to the passenger registration form provided by the inspector, in addition to the victim, the following passengers were on the starboard side.

The victim's newlywed husband—John Porto.

The victim's personal maid—Elisa Chris.

The victim's butler—Linton Byrne.

The victim's friend—Eleanor Declone.

The victim's sister—Selena Porto.

And the security guards A, B, C, and D who are responsible for guarding the corridors on both sides.

Li Wei first inquired with the security guard on duty at the time.

"What time did Ms. Lori Porto return to her room?"

"Eleven o'clock, sir."

"you sure?"

"Of course, it was during our shift change. We were just changing shifts when we saw that lady come back angrily. We didn't dare to offend her, so we didn't say anything and let her go upstairs."

Was she alone at the time?

Alone.

"Her husband isn't around?"

"No."

"After that, who came back?"

"Mrs. Porto's maid rushed up shortly after Mrs. Porto went up. Mrs. Porto's sister, who looked like she had drunk too much, was brought back by another gentleman."

"You let them go up?"

"Of course not. We took Miss Porto and brought her back to her room. She was completely drunk... and fell asleep very quickly after we got back."

"you sure?"

"Of course, the pungent smell of alcohol is still lingering around my nose. I have no idea how much this lady drank."

"Ms. Porto's husband hasn't returned either?"

“I’m quite certain, sir. Of course, it’s possible he went back before our shift ended, I wouldn’t know.” “Thank you.”

After questioning the security guard, Li Wei pondered for a moment, then summoned the head of the police force.

"Let Miss Chris in."

Soon, Mrs. Porto's personal maid entered, her eyes red and her face pale, as if she had just had a good cry. Even sitting in a chair, the maid's face was filled with sorrow and pain.

"Oh, detective, this is terrible! Why, why would anyone do such a cruel and vicious thing!"

"That's exactly why we're investigating, Miss. Would you mind explaining what happened last night?"

"Of course."

The maid wiped her eyes, then spoke through gritted teeth.

"I believe Mr. John killed Miss, it was definitely him!"

"Can you tell me more about that?"

Li Wei leaned back in his chair, adopting a comfortable posture.

After all, it's time to enjoy the show.

"Of course, actually I never approved of Miss's marriage from the very beginning. That man has no money, no status, and no ability. All he has is a likable face and a bunch of deceitful lies. Besides, he wasn't actually Miss's husband at first! He was Miss Elaine's boyfriend!"

Well, this is interesting.

Li Wei immediately perked up and then went through his interpersonal relationships in his mind.

“Miss Elaine…I remember she’s a good friend of Ms. Porto?”

"Yes, they were classmates at a girls' school. Miss Elaine was a year younger than the eldest young lady, and she always treated the eldest young lady like an older sister. The eldest young lady also doted on her like her own younger sister. Therefore, even after graduation, the two maintained a very good relationship. When the eldest young lady was being pursued, Miss Elaine also brought her boyfriend to visit—that boyfriend was Mr. John."

"But he's now married to Ms. Porto?"

"Yes!"

The maid nodded vigorously.

"At first, he behaved impeccably, like a good person. But gradually, the young lady became infatuated with him, which caused her great distress. Because Miss Elaine was her friend, she shouldn't have any feelings for Miss Elaine's boyfriend, but that guy later found the young lady and told her that he had fallen in love with her the moment he saw her, and although he knew it was wrong, he couldn't help it—and so the young lady was deceived by his sweet words!"

"So, what was Miss Elaine's reaction at the time?"

"Of course she was heartbroken, angry, and in pain. But the young lady even knelt down and begged her, and in the end, perhaps her feelings for the young lady prevailed. Miss Elaine chose to forgive the young lady and Mr. John. Of course, after that, on the surface, the young lady and Miss Elaine were as good as new, and the young lady even invited her to join her on her honeymoon..."

What happened last night?

Li Wei took a sip of tea, bringing the topic, which had strayed far off course, back on track. The maid, meanwhile, clenched her teeth, gripping the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands.

“Last night… Actually, it was Mr. John’s birthday yesterday, and Miss Elaine prepared a birthday present for him, wanting to give him a surprise. So after the ball, she went to find Mr. John. I saw her go to the next room, and then a moment later she stormed out, leaving before I could even react. Then I saw Mr. John and Miss Elaine run out behind her, and that’s when I understood everything!”

The maid twisted the hem of her skirt with her right hand, as if she were twisting someone's skin.

"Mr. John and Miss Elaine must have been trying to do something shameless in private, and then the young lady saw them! And because they were afraid of being exposed, they killed the young lady! That's absolutely it!"

"Are you so sure?"

"Of course, the young lady is a woman of her word, and she wouldn't allow herself to be insulted like that. And Mr. John is just a poor boy; without the Porto family's wealth, he's nothing! Now that they're married, the Porto family's assets belong to Mr. John. If the young lady wants a divorce, then he will continue to be penniless and have nothing! So he killed the young lady! That must be it!"

"Hmm... I understand. Calm down. I hope you can explain what you did after that."

"Me? I... After that, I hurriedly followed the young lady back home. Then the young lady locked herself in her room and cried. I knocked on the door for a long time before she finally opened it."

"Then?"

"Then she said she wanted to calm down and asked me for a glass of brandy, which I gave her. After drinking it, she calmed down and then said she needed to be alone for a while and told me to go back to my room to rest..."

"You're going back already?"

“If I stay there, the young lady will only get angrier, so I’m leaving.”

Was the door locked at the time?

"this……………"

When Li Wei asked her question, the maid paused for a moment, then frowned.

"I remember closing the door when I put the wine glass away, but... I don't think I locked it? Sorry, I can't remember either."

"And after that?"

"I was panicked when I got back, and I fell asleep in bed without realizing it until the alarm clock woke me up. Then I went to call the young lady, and then... oh my god... I saw the young lady..."

At this point, the maid covered her face with her hands, unable to continue.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please sign and affix your fingerprint to this record to confirm your confirmation, and then you may leave."

Li Wei glanced at Annie, who was typing beside him. The latter nodded slightly to him, took the note paper from the typewriter, and upon hearing Li Wei's words, the maid wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, stood up, walked to the table, looked through the notes, signed her name, pressed her fingerprint, and then turned and walked towards the door.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Li Wei stared at the maid's retreating figure and suddenly asked a question. The maid paused for a moment, then turned around.

"What is it, Detective?"

Does Ms. Porto have a gun?

"She carried a rose-colored decorative gun with her at all times, but never used it."

Where is that gun usually kept?

"It was in her handbag. She said her husband told her that in business, you have to be prepared."

"Is that gun still there?"

"This... I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Okay, thank you, you can go now."

Li Wei gestured for the maid to leave, then looked at the chief inspector, who immediately nodded.

"I'll go and have someone bring the bag."

Soon, a sailor hurriedly left, while Mr. Howard stretched and yawned as he looked at the inspector and Li Wei beside him.

"What do you think?"

"I don't have any opinion."

Li Wei took a sip of tea, while the chief inspector shrugged.

"If my ex-girlfriend invited me to her and her husband's honeymoon, I'd probably have to consider whether to kill them both. I really don't know what Ms. Porto is thinking, what benefit she gets from this?"

"Maybe it's just to put my mind at ease, who knows?"

Li Wei shook his head and gave a soft hum.

Just then, the sailor returned with a handbag. Li Wei took the handbag, opened it, and looked inside.

"How about it?"

"As expected, there was none. Now we can identify the murder weapon."

Li Wei showed his handbag to the inspector and Mr. Howard. Inside were banknotes, some jewelry, and cosmetics, but he didn't find any guns.

"Now, let's hear what Miss Elaine has to say about this."

(End of this chapter)