Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 108 The Prisoner is Locked In
"Please catch the criminal as soon as possible."

Compared to the others, Mr. Bourne entered with a much more imposing presence. He sat in his chair with his chin held high, staring intently at Levi.

“We are currently conducting an investigation.”

However, Mr. Bourne's trick did not change Levi's attitude; he remained seated, looking lazy and bored.

"Please explain the situation; this will help us solve the case as soon as possible."

"of course."

Mr. Bourne nodded.

“I was preparing in the living room yesterday when I saw the young lady walk in. She was in a very bad mood and told me to leave when she saw me. So I left the living room as she asked. I was going to find Miss Chris when I saw her chasing after the young lady to the bedroom, so I left.”

"You just left?"

“Yes, as a servant, it is not appropriate for me to be here. Miss Chris grew up with the young lady and is also a woman; she is more suited to this occasion.”

"And after that?"

"Chris gave the young lady a drink, and then, seeing that she was feeling better, I went back to my room to rest. I think at this moment, the last thing the young lady wanted was to be disturbed."

"You didn't hear anything after that?"

"I'm sorry, I'm old and I sleep very soundly."

Mr. Byrne shook his head, while Mr. Howard chuckled.

“I really envy you, Mr. Byrne. At my age, it’s not easy to get a good night’s sleep. Once I finally fall asleep, I’m woken up by the slightest noise. Sigh… I’m really getting old and useless.”

"You flatter me, Mr. Howard."

Mr. Byrne's eye twitched slightly, and he answered with neither humility nor arrogance.

What are your thoughts on Ms. Porto's marriage?

"I don't have any opinion."

When asked by Levi, Mr. Bourne replied expressionlessly.

“Serving one’s master is a servant’s duty, and I have no opinion on that.”

Often, this is simply a perspective.

"I'm curious, why did you choose to notify the chief inspector first instead of me when you discovered the body?"

Li Wei narrowed his eyes and stared at Mr. Bourne, who remained expressionless.

“From a management perspective, I think the law enforcement officers on this ship should be informed of the situation first.”

"That's not entirely wrong..."

Li Wei chuckled, staring at Mr. Bourne, who remained silent, his expression unchanged. Old Mr. Howard stroked his beard, watching the scene with amusement, also saying nothing. Only the head inspector seemed somewhat bewildered, but he knew the situation seemed a little off, so he didn't interrupt.

"last question."

Li Wei casually fiddled with the teacup in his hand.

"There was supposed to be a gun in Ms. Porto's handbag, where did it go?"

"I don't know, the owner usually keeps it in the bag."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

After asking the question, Levi took the record Anne had typed out and looked at it. He then had Mr. Bourne sign and put his fingerprint on it before asking him to leave.

"You suspect he's the murderer?"

After Mr. Bourne left, the inspector asked curiously. When questioning others, the atmosphere was pleasant and like chatting, but when facing Mr. Bourne, Levi changed from his previous calmness and even became quite aggressive, making the atmosphere tense and awkward.

"It's not certain yet, but he definitely knows something."

"Yes."

Mr. Howard nodded as well.

"At our age, how lucky we are to be able to sleep soundly until dawn."

“Taking medicine is fine, but I think that as a competent butler, he obviously shouldn’t take sleeping pills to help his master sleep on a night when his emotions are unstable.”

Li Wei added a sentence, and then looked at the records of the others.

"Next is the last one... Well, strictly speaking, this one is quite suspicious."

"You mean Miss Porto? The victim's sister?"

"Ah."

Li Wei nodded in response to the chief inspector's question.

"Ms. Porto must have inherited a large fortune from her parents. I wonder how much her sister will get..."

As he spoke, Li Wei glanced at Mr. Howard, who chuckled.

"If it were me, I would probably consider their abilities, but in any case, even if they leave a will, it should be enough for them to live a comfortable life."

"But if she kills her sister, then all of Porto's assets will be hers."

Li Wei shrugged.

"Please come in, miss."

Compared to her sister, Selena Porto is clearly the other extreme.

Li Wei still remembers Rosalie Porto's appearance at the ball last night. With her long blonde hair and beautiful, elegant dress, she looked every bit the lady of high society.

The woman in front of him, Selena Porto, had her hair all frizzy, wore black lipstick and eyeshadow. Looking at her, Li Wei was reminded of those non-mainstream girls in KTVs who danced wildly, with earrings and lip piercings.

The latter strode over, grabbed a chair, sat down, and then lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

"So, my older sister still died. I warned her a long time ago, but she didn't take it seriously at all. I knew things would turn out this way."

With a cigarette dangling from her lips, Selena spoke listlessly, while Levi stared at her. Noticing Levi's gaze, she chuckled and raised her cigarette.

"Detective, want one?"

"No, thank you. I don't smoke."

Li Wei shook his head.

"Doesn't smoke? Are there men who don't smoke?"

"Because smoking is harmful to health."

Levi stared at Selena.

"So you'd better smoke less, Miss Porto."

"Hmm...that's a good point."

Noticing Levi's gaze, Selena froze for a moment before taking the cigarette and placing it in the ashtray next to her.

"If anyone smokes in front of me again, that's what I'll say to them."

"Do you mind telling me about what just happened?"

"of course."

Selena nodded casually.

“I told my sister a long time ago that if she kept going like this, she’d get taken care of sooner or later. See, here it is.” “Sooner or later? Why?”

"Because that's just the kind of person she is."

Selena sighed as she spoke.

“Don’t let her seemingly capable and assertive exterior fool you; she actually has a vulnerable side. You could say she’s like a vine, needing someone else to support her. Before, Dad supported her, but after his accident, she was quite lost and disoriented. Then she met John… Hey, I told you, John isn’t Dad. If you keep clinging to him like this, you might just kill him.”

As she spoke, Selena crossed her legs and swung them around.

“I think John is really unlucky. He has no status at home after getting married. He does whatever his sister tells him to do. Sometimes I get anxious watching him. Can’t you, a grown man, muster up the courage to say something tough? Why are you just obediently being my sister’s slave? If that’s the case, why did she get married? There are plenty of people who would listen to her… Mr. Byrne likes my sister very much. He thinks she is decisive and resolute, a role model for the Porto family. But… a woman always needs someone to rely on, doesn’t she?”

Selina shook her head.

"Who do you think killed your sister?"

Upon hearing this, Li Wei asked a question, while Selena pondered for a moment.

"John... he's a man, being bossed around by my sister, acting like a spineless coward. Oh, Elaine might be one too; I always felt her feelings for my sister weren't quite right..."

"you sure?"

"I'm sure. When I first met her, she looked at me like I was her mortal enemy. I was completely baffled, having no idea what I'd done to offend this little girl. And guess what she said to me? She said someone like me didn't deserve to be her sister's sister, that only she was worthy… At that moment, this little girl was baring her teeth and claws at me, looking like she was going to kill me and take my place. It almost scared me to death. I immediately felt that this little girl's feelings for her older sister were abnormal…"

"Um……………"

Li Wei and the head of the police force exchanged a glance.

After the questioning just now, they really couldn't say that Miss Elaine was a normal person.

"And Miss Chris, she's had a tough time too."

"Huh? What do you say?"

"Miss Chris had actually planned to get married, but her older sister wouldn't allow it. She's a very sentimental person, or rather, someone who's not used to change. Miss Chris grew up with her sister as her personal maid, and her sister was used to her presence. Now that Miss Chris is getting married, she'll definitely have to leave her sister, so her sister refused Miss Chris's request and even went to her fiancé... I don't know what they talked about, but anyway, he broke off the engagement. Miss Chris didn't say anything, but she's definitely unhappy with her sister. After all, she's already this age, and if she doesn't get married soon, she'll become an old maid."

Selena said, pursing her lips.

"Actually, my sister's personality is a bit strange. She only thinks about herself; other people and things don't matter to her. Well, or rather..."

Selena remained silent for a moment.

"If you ask me, she doesn't actually love anyone; she only loves herself. The people around her are all projections of her sister's love for her. Of course, I don't have a good relationship with her, so just take this as me saying bad things about her."

Why don't you two get along?

“Like I said, she wants everything to go her way. She wants me to always be like I was when I was little, following behind her and being the obedient little sister. But I grow up too, and I have my own thoughts. Childhood is childhood, and things have to change when you grow up. She still gives me teddy bears for my birthday and says that teddy bears are my favorite thing—but that was when I was three or four years old! I'm over twenty now, do you expect me to sleep with a teddy bear?”

As she spoke, Selena also started to complain.

"So, it seems you also had a motive to kill your sister?"

Li Wei crossed his arms and stared at Selena, who was taken aback.

"Why? I do find her annoying, but..."

"But you two sisters are heirs to the Porto family. Now that your sister is dead, you will also have a share of the Porto family's assets."

“……………………………”

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, Selena was stunned for a moment, then slapped her forehead.

"Oh, right, I'd forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. It's true, this is really troublesome..."

"Do you not like it?"

"Of course I don't like it. Only my sister would like this kind of life. I'd rather be a spendthrift who just eats and waits to die, traveling and having fun, than deal with such a huge mess. I might as well sell it all and find somewhere to live a leisurely life."

"Do you really think so?"

"Women who are too rich don't have a good time. Just look at my sister."

Selena gave a soft hum.

"Besides, if we're going to talk about it that way, John is the most suspicious one. After all, as the husband, he definitely got more than me."

"Indeed, but only as a suspect."

Li Wei waved his hand.

Can you tell me what you were doing from last night to this morning?

"Me? I was drinking with people at the banquet, and I don't remember anything after that. I think someone brought me back. Then I slept until dawn before you woke me up. That's it."

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please sign and affix your fingerprint after confirming that everything is correct."

After Selena signed and left, Levi glanced at everyone's statements again.

"It's quite interesting, and also quite complicated."

Li Wei sighed.

"This case is going to be difficult to judge."

"Is it difficult, Mr. Levi?"

The head inspector was starting to feel uneasy.

"It's difficult in some ways, but not difficult in others."

Li Wei stared at the testimonies, sorted them out, and casually remarked.

"Actually, I already knew who the murderer was."

"Hey?"

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, both the inspector and Mr. Howard were taken aback, and even Annie looked up at him in surprise.

"You knew all along? Then why didn't you arrest him immediately...?"

"No need to rush. These questions aren't a waste of time. After all, we still need to know the motive. Hmm... that's about it. Now we just wait..."

"Dong dong dong."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a sailor walked into the room.

"Gentlemen, we've found the murder weapon!"

"oh?!"

Upon hearing the sailor's report, the inspector and Mr. Howard's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Yes, as Mr. Li Wei requested, we gathered all the suspects in the coffee shop and then conducted a thorough search of their rooms, which ultimately led to the discovery of the murder weapon!"

"Whose room was it found in?"

“Mr. Linton Bourne!”

"It's him?"

Upon hearing this answer, everyone was taken aback, except for Li Wei, who remained quite calm. He stood up and stretched.

"Alright, notify everyone to assemble at the crime scene, and then prepare to close the case."

Then, he spoke.

(End of this chapter)