Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 187 Kuroki Mansion
After a series of investigations, Li Wei finally understood the cause and effect of the matter—Frank Law Firm began to check the outdated wills in its filing cabinet, then discovered Jim Rogers' will, and then they contacted his relatives to ask if they wanted to inherit the estate.

Currently, George Rogers appears to be facing financial difficulties, and this unexpected inheritance is a godsend for him. However, there is a problem with the will: according to its contents, it was originally prepared by Jim Rogers as the "legal basis" for the banquet he hosted fifty years ago. This means that, according to the law, unless George Rogers can hold the banquet according to the will and solve the mystery, he will not be able to inherit the estate.

So he chose to place an advertisement in the newspaper, inviting the detectives to the banquet and promising half of his inheritance as a reward.

Yes, that's pretty much the situation.

Li Wei wasn't entirely uninterested in the inheritance, but what intrigued him most was the ghost—what was her connection to this matter? What did she want from him?
On the appointed day, Li Wei drove Katie to the Blackwood Mansion.

At first, Li Wei thought that the Blackwood Mansion was just an ordinary villa, but when he arrived at his destination, he found that it was not just a villa at all—in fact, the Blackwood Mansion was located on a small island in the middle of a lake next to the Fog City.

"So, we have to get there by boat?"

Standing on the dock, looking at the small boat in front of him, Li Wei was speechless.

"If I had known this would happen, I probably should have brought a fishing rod... Oh well, let's go."

The small boat was piloted by an old fisherman who gave Levi and Katie a lukewarm greeting, glanced at their invitation, and then steered the boat toward the center of the lake.

"You detectives really have nothing better to do."

While navigating the boat, the old fisherman couldn't help but complain.

"That incident happened so long ago, and you still want to go and seek your own deaths. I really don't know what you're thinking."

"Because I have free time."

Li Wei sighed silently.

"Grandpa, have you always been here transporting guests to the island?"

“I know what you want to ask. The detective who came before you asked the same question. I can only say that when that incident happened, my father was responsible for taking the guests to the island. I originally thought that by my generation, all I had to do was fish around here…”

"oh……………"

Li Wei remained silent, instead glancing around. This place might have once been a remote, untouched forest, but with the development of Fog City, it now resembled a forest park on the city's outskirts. Judging by the land itself, it must be quite valuable; meaning that even without any gold or silver, inheriting this land and then selling it would yield a substantial sum.

It's basically no different from becoming a millionaire through land expropriation.

Gradually, on the other side, the silhouette of a building began to emerge. Li Wei squinted as he looked, and then…

"Why does that not look like a house to me?"

Although they were still quite far away, Li Wei was certain that it didn't look like an ordinary villa; it resembled more of a fortress. Upon hearing his question, the old fisherman chuckled.

"Because it wasn't an ordinary house to begin with; in fact, it was a prison before that."

Katie was stunned by the old fisherman's reply.

"……………prison?"

“That’s right. I heard it was used to imprison serious criminals a long time ago. As you can see, this island is surrounded by lakes, and the only way to leave is by boat. The prisoners couldn’t escape at all, so this was the prison originally built on this island.”

At this point, the old fisherman snorted coldly.

"Later I heard that something happened and the prison was abandoned. Then I don't know what got into that nobleman, he bought the abandoned prison and used it as his residence. I really don't know what these rich people are thinking, buying a prison as a residence, it's amazing that he could come up with such a thing."

"………………………"

No wonder he's an artist; he probably has a serious mental illness.

Li Wei also couldn't understand why Jim Rogers would choose to buy a prison as a villa. Did he think his life wasn't exciting enough?
Although many times artists are essentially mentally ill without ever being admitted to a mental hospital…

As they spoke, the group approached the island, and the building gradually came into focus. It looked like an ordinary fortress, with cylindrical watchtowers at each of the four corners, surrounded by thick, square walls. To be honest, just looking at it, you couldn't tell it was a place ordinary people could live in.

It seems that Jim Rogers isn't a normal person either.

The old fisherman took the two to the island's dock, then decisively returned the way he came.

"I will come over tomorrow at noon. I hope you will still be alive by then."

The old fisherman waved to the two of them, then turned and sailed away. Levi watched helplessly as the old fisherman's figure disappeared into the distance, before glancing at Katie beside him.

"what do you think?"

"Me......"

Katie looked at the enormous stone prison in front of her and stuck out her tongue.

"Now I don't think it's particularly strange that Mr. Rogers died here."

"That's not surprising at all."

Li Wei silently grumbled, "Anyone with weird hobbies probably doesn't live long. Even if this guy doesn't die here, he'll probably die somewhere else; it's just a matter of time."

Chatting as they walked toward the Kuroki Mansion with their suitcases.

The island wasn't very big to begin with, and the Blackwood Mansion occupied about three-quarters of its area. After Levi and Katie walked out of the dock, it only took them a few minutes to reach the front door. Then Levi went up and knocked on the door.

"Dong dong dong."

After a moment, the door opened, and a butler came out. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and looked quite smart, appearing to be in his fifties. "Ah."

The butler opened the door and saw Levi and Katie, and smiled slightly.

"You two must be the famous detective Mr. Levi and his assistant, Miss Katie?"

"Yes."

"Welcome, please come in."

As he spoke, the butler opened the door, and then Levi and Katie went inside.

Stepping through the gate, Li Wei curiously surveyed the entrance hall. Most villas or mansions prioritize ample natural light. But this prison was entirely different. In fact, just from the outside, Li Wei could tell it was indeed a prison; aside from two small windows in the entrance hall, the rest of the buildings had only small, tall windows.

Clearly, this was done to prevent prisoners from escaping through the windows, which is why the windows were built so high and small.

One can imagine that such a building would have virtually no natural light. Fortunately, the artist, Jim Rogers, was somewhat aware of this. The huge crystal chandelier in the foyer and the wall lamps along the corridors dispelled the darkness of the entire house; otherwise, without the lights, this place would probably be no different from a cellar.

Where is Mr. Rogers?

"The master and madam are resting in their room."

How many people came today?

"So far, nine people."

The butler stood ramrod straight, as if he had received military training, and reported to Li Wei.

"Besides the master and mistress, there is Mr. Gray, the will lawyer, and Mrs. Bremen, the cook, who has been preparing for the banquet since early morning. Her daughter, Miss Bremen, will serve as a dutiful maid. Then there are the two of them and Detective Fred."

Mr. and Mrs. George, the lawyer, the cook and the maid and butler, himself and Katie, another detective…

"Who else hasn't arrived yet?"

“Mr. Brest, he is also a detective.”

Okay, I've never heard of it.

Li Wei also knew that he didn't really have any connections with the detective circle, and he had never met any other detectives.

"I think we should take a rest first."

"Then please follow me."

Led by the old butler, Levi and Katie arrived at the guest room on the second floor—unsurprisingly, it was a converted prison cell. Of course, to be fair, the original occupant had at least made some alterations; he had combined the cramped cell into two rooms, one serving as a bedroom and study, and the other as a bathroom.

At least in terms of decor, it's not bad.

As for that small window above his head—well, Li Wei could only say that it was fortunate there were no bars outside, otherwise it would have been no different from being in prison.

"I still can't understand why anyone would like to live in such a awful place."

After putting down his luggage, Levi started complaining to Katie, and Katie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, this place feels so gloomy... It's not comfortable at all. If someone invited me to come here for a vacation, I would definitely refuse."

"And here you are now, aren't you?"

"I... I'm not here for vacation, I'm here to solve a case."

After teasing Katie, Levi chuckled and returned to his room. He could now understand why nine people had died here in one go. This place was inconvenient to enter or leave; even if something was discovered, escape was impossible. Hmm… but this might explain Jim Rogers' disappearance. Perhaps he panicked and tried to escape, fell into the lake, and drowned.

If that's the case, it's not surprising that the body couldn't be found.

After all, it's impossible to drain the lake completely, right?

Li Wei packed his luggage, then lay down on the bed to rest for a while. Then there was a knock on the door, followed by Katie's voice from outside.

"Mr. Li Wei, it seems everyone has arrived. Shall we go and take a look?"

They're all here? That's pretty fast.

Li Wei sat up in bed and stretched.

"Then go and have a look."

"Boom!"

However, before Li Wei could finish speaking, a clap of thunder suddenly came from outside. Li Wei turned to look, but the window was too high and he couldn't see anything.

"…………………"

Is it going to rain?

This is not a good sign.

(End of this chapter)