Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 191 Twelve O'Clock
"Da da da."

The crisp sound of footsteps rang out as the female lawyer, carrying a gas lamp, walked alone down the deserted corridor.

Since the person who solves the puzzle gets the inheritance, so can I!

The female lawyer looked around as she pondered the clues she had gleaned from the note.

In fact, she had long harbored ambitions regarding this inheritance. After all, given these specific conditions, she, as a lawyer, could also fulfill them. Even simply discovering a clue should be enough to secure a portion of the inheritance.

Initially, the female lawyer hoped to team up with someone else for the investigation, such as the young detective, but unfortunately, he already had an assistant.

As for the other two... the female lawyer had tried, but they completely ignored her, which infuriated her, so she ultimately decided to act alone.

Anyway, it's not impossible for me to find the secret door by myself!
The female lawyer was also full of confidence. She studied law in college, but had also minored in architecture. Therefore, she had her own methods for selecting and judging locked rooms.

That means analyzing it from an architectural perspective!
First, the floors above the first floor can be ruled out. Before the banquet began, the female lawyer had already briefly walked through the entire second floor. She ultimately determined that there wasn't enough space upstairs to create a secret room. Therefore, the secret room must be on the first floor. The possibility of a basement has also been ruled out, as drainage and rain protection must be considered. Furthermore, this is in the middle of a lake, so underground construction and excavation would also involve considerations of external pressure.

In this way, there aren't actually many locations where it's safe to build a secret room.

If I were an architect, where would I build the secret room?

Walking down the cold, dark corridor, the female lawyer frowned, beginning to carefully consider the problem. Assuming this secret room was built during the prison era, it must have been kept secret from the prisoners. Prisoners have very limited mobility; evading them would actually be quite easy.

As long as the work is done in a place where the prisoners would never go, it's fine.

Therefore, the watchtowers located at the four corners are actually the most likely entrances. Because of the building's structure, although there are windows, it's impossible for anyone to see outside through them. The watchtowers were used to monitor prisoners and were also where the guards rested; it's said that there used to be an armory there.

It's easy to imagine that prisoners would never be allowed to enter such a place.

No, that's not right.

The female lawyer slowed her pace and shook her head.

Conversely, since the locked room is a secret, it's highly likely that the prison guards wouldn't be allowed to dig it up, because it's difficult for them to keep it a secret. But… the prisoners are a different story!

Those imprisoned here are all death row inmates, meaning they'll be executed sooner or later. Using them to excavate the secret chamber means we don't have to worry about anyone informing on us! Because none of them will ever leave alive!

Thinking of this, the female lawyer stopped in her tracks. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she thought she had just heard footsteps behind her.

but……………

"…………………"

The corridor was deathly silent, without a sound.

The female lawyer turned her head, picked up the gas lamp, and cautiously looked around. Under the light, the cells on both sides were clearly visible.

The prison cells here weren't like the barred cells in the police station outside; instead, they resembled wards in a mental hospital, with only a heavy iron door, an observation window, and a food delivery window. This reminded the female lawyer of her own hotel room, which, although luxuriously furnished inside, looked the same on the outside.

It felt like being in prison.

The female lawyer shook her head, banishing the ominous feeling from her mind, and continued walking forward.

She walked through the corridor to a room on the other side, and then went around a corner.

Judging from the terrain and water flow, this should be the most suitable place to excavate the secret chamber.

As she pondered this, the female lawyer looked up at the small window on the wall. The downpour continued unabated.

Thanks to the torrential rain, she was able to observe the water flow and terrain elevation from the entrance; otherwise, things might not have gone so smoothly.

With that thought in mind, the female lawyer pushed aside the storage box next to her and then picked up the gas lamp.

Then, a clear silhouette appeared in the female lawyer's eyes under the light.

really!

At that moment, the female lawyer was overjoyed.

Just by finding this door, I am already qualified to inherit the estate!

That's enough; I found the door before those detectives did!
The female lawyer was in high spirits, which was enough for her. What she needed to do now was go back and find the others to tell them about her discovery—the door obviously required a special mechanism to open, but the female lawyer felt that this was not something she was good at.

Let's leave it to the detectives to solve the mystery.

Thinking this, the lawyer reached out and tidied her hair, then turned to retrace her steps. She was already imagining the expressions on the faces of those arrogant detectives when they heard the news. Would they, like the old-fashioned guys in the firm, show anger and resentment?
Or will they praise their own intelligence and talent?
Hmm, perhaps I could tell Mr. Li Wei first, but...

Thinking of the girl who was with Li Wei, the female lawyer couldn't help but frown.

Forget it, let's go find the other two people instead.

After making her decision, the female lawyer walked forward.

However, at that moment, a hand suddenly appeared from behind the female lawyer and covered her mouth and nose.

"Whoa—!!" The female lawyer shuddered, and the gas lamp she was holding fell to the ground with a dull thud. However, the sound only echoed in the silent corridor for a moment before disappearing completely into the patter of the downpour.

"Whoosh—!—!"

The gas lamp fell to the ground, its dim light illuminating the surroundings. The female lawyer's upper body was now completely swallowed by darkness, while her long, beautiful legs, encased in black stockings, swung up and down incessantly as she struggled desperately, even throwing her shoes aside.

Then, in the dim light, the legs frantically stomped on the ground, rubbing and twisting forcefully. But then, suddenly, they began to tremble violently, the feet swinging up and down incessantly, slamming against the ground with loud thuds, like a fish that had been pulled ashore.

After a while, the female lawyer's legs gradually lost strength, her tense and arched feet gradually relaxed, and her struggles became slower and slower until finally—she stopped moving altogether.

A moment later, accompanied by a rustling sound, even the legs gradually disappeared, completely swallowed up by the darkness deep in the corridor.

The gas lamps went out quietly at that moment.

The rain is still falling.

The short, stout detective straightened up and looked at his colleague beside him, who shook his head helplessly.

"not here."

"It seems our thinking was wrong."

The short, stout detective gave a wry smile and looked around. They were currently in the warden's room, which had been converted into a game room after renovations. The two had initially thought they might find some clues here, but unfortunately, after searching almost the entire game room, they found nothing.

"Are we going to conduct a thorough search?"

"One night isn't enough, and we don't have that many people."

The tall, thin detective shook his head, rejecting the short, stout detective's suggestion.

"Why don't we ask others to help with the search? After all... it'll be safer that way, won't it?"

The short, stout detective offered another suggestion, to which the tall, thin detective merely raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

He understood why the short, stout detective said that; on the surface, the fewer people who solved the mystery, the larger their share of the inheritance would be.

But as detectives, they've seen plenty of murders committed over inheritance disputes.

While it's true that the fewer people who solve the mystery, the larger the inheritance, the fewer people who know the truth, the easier it is to silence them.

If only one person finds the secret door, then all you need to do is kill that person.

Conversely, if someone like the short, stout detective turns most people into stakeholders, then it becomes much more difficult to commit murder.

The three servants were hired through an intermediary and had no direct financial relationship with the master of the house. Even a small portion of the inheritance would be enough to completely change their lives.

And then there's the female lawyer. She was initially very eager to get involved, but both of them felt it wasn't appropriate to include her as a party at this time. After all, she's responsible for verifying the will, and if she becomes a interested party, the impartiality would be difficult to guarantee, potentially causing problems with inheritance matters…

As detectives, they are all too familiar with the various issues that may arise when courts handle inheritance disputes.

"clang-----!"

Just then, a loud bell rang, startling the two men. They turned around and saw that the grandfather clock in the center of the recreation room was swinging back and forth.

It's already midnight.

"Yes, time really flies..."

After dinner, it was around 8 PM. Everyone stayed in the lounge until 10 PM before Levi and Katie went back to rest. This meant that the two of them had spent two hours in the recreation room without finding any useful clues.

"Anyway, let's go find someone else..."

"ah-------!"

Suddenly, a shrill scream rang out. Even in the rainy night, the scream was incredibly piercing. Upon hearing the sound, both of them were immediately stunned.

"It's a cry!"

"Where did that come from!?"

The two of them practically sprinted out of the entertainment room and ran desperately down the corridor. They had initially wanted to figure out where the sound was coming from, but they soon realized it was no longer necessary.

In the lobby, the doors, which should have been tightly closed, were wide open. In the dim light, a woman could be seen lying on the ground outside the door, her limbs twisted in the pouring rain.

Her clothes were torn to shreds, her eyes were wide open, and her face was contorted.

That was the body of the female lawyer—Emma Batra.

　I'm begging for monthly votes at the very last minute before the end of the month! I'm offering sacrifices in exchange for monthly votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)