Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 192 Door

"Good heavens, this is really..."

Li Wei was speechless as he stared at the female lawyer's corpse.

Li Wei had anticipated trouble here; in fact, he had made preparations. For example, he sent the black cat puppet to follow the two detectives and hid the bird puppet in the hallway outside his room. He also ordered them to notify him immediately if anything unexpected happened.

Unexpectedly, the first to encounter trouble wasn't the two detectives or even himself, but the female lawyer…

Is this a curse?

"Probably not."

The tall, thin detective shook his head.

"The cause of death is clearly homicide. Look here... um..."

"I don't think so."

The short, stout detective frowned.

"If this is murder, I really doubt the killer's mental state."

Li Wei understood why they said that, because the state of the corpse was truly horrific. The most obvious wound was that the victim's abdomen had been completely ruptured, with his internal organs spilling out onto the ground.

Not only that, but what's even more bizarre is that the female lawyer's face was gone.

All that remained of his face was bloody muscle, with his eyes bulging out of their sockets, making him look like a mannequin placed in a modern school biology lab.

Clearly, this was a rather painful way to die.

"The body was found at the front gate?"

"That's right, but it must have been thrown from above."

"I see..."

Li Wei glanced at the bodies again, nodded, and stepped back. The tall, thin detective stepped forward and covered the female lawyer's body with a sheet.

"I never expected that she would be the first victim."

"Me too... Speaking of which, why was she the first to die?"

Everyone was baffled, because the female lawyer was only sent to verify the execution of the will—a task that wasn't actually that important, just a formality. Even if the female lawyer died, the firm could simply send someone else to confirm it; it would be the same thing.

"Speaking of which, she seems to be quite concerned about this inheritance."

The short, chubby detective patted his head.

“I remember that when the two of us were discussing this, this lady tried to get involved several times. Maybe she was planning to find the door with us.”

"So, she also wants a share of the inheritance?"

"Maybe, after all, it's not a small number. But she is a lawyer, and she was assigned to work on proving wills. If we let her join in, things could get complicated. So we didn't agree."

This is normal; once a lawyer becomes a stakeholder, the credibility of the estate determination will inevitably be compromised.

The short, stout detective said, glancing at Levi.

Didn't she come to see you?

"No."

Li Wei shook his head, while the short, stout detective glanced at him, then at Katie standing at the door, curiously peering in their direction, and chuckled.

"That's right, if she goes to find you, she'll just be asking for trouble."

"Alright, let's leave the discussion of the dead here and move on to the living."

Li Wei immediately changed the subject.

After discovering the body, the two detectives immediately called the others.

However, there were only two exceptions.

That was George and his wife.

Strictly speaking, they weren't even in the room.

This is what is known as disappearance.

One person was killed and two people went missing.

The situation immediately became tricky.

How likely is it that George and his wife conspired to kill the victim?

The tall, thin detective frowned.

"I can only say that the possibility is not small."

But what about the motivation?

The three people present were all professional detectives, and they immediately began to discuss the matter in a few words.

"Is it possible that the female lawyer stumbled upon some conspiracy between them, and was therefore murdered to silence her?"

"But the problem is, is it really necessary to go through all this trouble? Wouldn't it have been easier to just use a rope or a knife? I can't even imagine what caused this kind of wound."

The short, stout detective glanced at the female lawyer's corpse with a look of pity. Indeed, murder can be difficult or easy; one could simply pick up a rock and smash it over her head.

However, peeling off someone's face and then killing them with some incomprehensible weapon is, for a detective, extremely inefficient.

"But speaking of which, can you be sure this is that lawyer lady?"

"At least they were dressed the same."

"But Mr. George's wife is about the same height and build as the lawyer, isn't she?"

We're all detectives, and to be honest, the eldest brother can tell the second brother that the act of disfiguring the face is likely to be done to conceal the true identity of the corpse.

The problem is that they don't know each other, so even if the female lawyer has some distinctive features, they wouldn't know.

Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the body is not that of the female lawyer, but rather that of Mr. George's wife.

As for her motives, they're easy to guess. The female lawyer seems like a very ambitious person, and she's also quite attractive. It's possible that she's secretly having an affair with George for the sake of this inheritance. After all, if she marries George, she'll naturally get a share of the inheritance.

Under the female lawyer's seduction, George became obsessed and conspired with her to kill his wife, then changed his clothes and disposed of her as a disguise.

After all, we're all detectives; we've seen plenty of grudges and feuds caused by inheritances, so it's nothing new to us.

When it comes to money and emotions, anything can happen.

The question is, what does it mean that these two people are missing?
"And we don't know where this lawyer went before; she probably didn't go back to her room."

"This is indeed a problem."

"That, that..."

Just as the three were pondering, the freckled maid timidly raised her hand and whispered.

“I, I know where the lawyer went.”

"Oh?"

Hearing the maid's words, the three of them turned to look at her.

"How to say?"

"She said she wanted to investigate this mansion, so I gave her the key to the west wing."

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately changed their expressions.

"We'll go check out the west building. You guys stay in the lounge!"

"Katie, they're all in your hands now."

Li Wei also gestured to Katie, who nodded vigorously and waved her little fist.

"Leave it to me, Mr. Levi!"

After that, everyone left the room. Li Wei was the last to leave. As he walked out the door, he turned back to look into the room again—it was also a guest room converted from a prison cell. Two detectives had brought the body here before, since it was still raining heavily outside and leaving it there was not a good decision.

Now, the body lies on the ground, covered with a white sheet, and not much blood has flowed out—because most of the blood has already been washed away by the rain.

"Lock the door."

Li Wei withdrew his gaze, and the tall, thin detective stepped forward, closed the door, and then turned the key, locking the door with a "click."

"Then the key..."

"I'll leave it to the maid." "Ah, okay, okay."

Hearing her name called, the freckled maid felt a little uneasy, but she still stepped forward, took the key, and carefully put it away.

Then the servants went to the lounge, while Levi and the other two detectives went to the west wing.

Passing through the lounge and watchtower, the entrance to the west wing is just ahead.

The tall, thin detective stepped forward and then gave him a push.

"Squeak—"

With a soft click, the door slowly opened.

"It's not locked."

The tall, thin detective turned around and said something to the short, fat detective and Levi, who nodded and then simultaneously drew his gun.

When I opened the door, it was pitch black inside.

"Is there no light?"

"The maid said the line was broken and there wasn't time to fix it."

The short, stout detective spoke up, and Li Wei shook his head helplessly.

After all, it's a house that hasn't been cleaned in over fifty years; everything is a mess. Perhaps it's because it's not used, so there's no need for repairs for the time being.

Fortunately, the three of them were prepared and entered the west building after turning on the gas lamps.

"Da da da………"

Footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor. All around were identical rooms, and the dim atmosphere only added to the ambiance…

"It felt like being in prison."

The short, stout detective couldn't help but sigh, while the tall, thin detective looked around.

"This place was originally a prison."

"And it's a prison for serious offenders."

Li Wei silently added a comment.

"I really don't know what rich people are thinking."

The short, stout detective sighed.

"Rich people are not necessarily crazy, but artists definitely are."

Li Wei observed the ground as he casually remarked.

"But speaking of which, everyone says Jim Rogers is an artist, but what kind of art does he actually do?"

Perhaps to break the ominous atmosphere, the short, stout detective asked an inappropriate question.

"This... I really don't know, is it a painter?"

"Doesn't seem like it. Maybe they're in the music business?"

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that while Jim Rogers was known as a famous artist, no one could actually answer what kind of art he was involved in. Although he was considered a "famous" artist, it seemed that he had no paintings, musical pieces, novels, sculptures, or other works of art that had survived to this day.

Or even if it were to be passed down, it wouldn't be very famous.

Li Wei thought about it carefully. It seemed that everyone knew Jim Rogers because this guy liked to cause trouble and was often in the news—was this guy someone who specialized in abstract art?

In his own world, aren't there those crazy people in the West who don't wear clothes, sit on the street eating grass, obstruct traffic, and claim they're doing it for environmental protection and public welfare? Maybe Jim Rogers is one of those idiots.
The kind that calls itself "performance art".

"here!"

Just then, the tall, thin detective seemed to notice something and quickened his pace, walking forward. The other two followed him and found a gas lamp lying on the ground.

"This must be the gas lamp that the lawyer was holding."

"It should be right."

The tall, thin detective crouched down, picked up the gas lamp, and examined it closely.

"There are cracks in the glass, which shows that it fell to the ground. That means the lawyer was attacked here and the gas lamp she was holding fell to the ground."

"And she did struggle."

Li Wei raised the gas lamp in his hand, illuminating the wall next to him, where a woman's shoe lay askew on the ground.

"Then she was dragged away."

The short, stout detective stared at the ground—a clear drag mark on the dust-covered surface.

The three men exchanged a glance, raised their guns, and followed the trail forward.

“Da…Da…Da…”

Soon, following the trail, the three of them passed through the corridor and arrived at the watchtower on the other side, and then... the trail disappeared there.

"really weird."

The tall, thin detective raised his gas lamp and carefully surveyed his surroundings. The watchtower was a circular room, empty except for a spiral staircase along one wall. However, the drag marks had led into the room, reached its center, and then disappeared.

"The perpetrator attacked the lawyer, dragged her here, and then... disappeared?"

The short, stout detective looked up at the dark spiral above him and frowned.

"Does the prisoner think he can fly?"

"It might also go underground..."

Li Wei squinted, staring at the ground beneath his feet. At first glance, the ground here seemed no different from anywhere else, just bricks everywhere. But Li Wei sensed something strange. Moreover, through [trace analysis], Li Wei keenly detected barely perceptible footprints here, meaning that the lawyer had been here and discovered something.

So what exactly did she discover?
Li Wei followed the footprints forward and came to the steps next to him. He walked up the steps, looked down, and then... Li Wei squinted his eyes.

"Both of you."

"Ok?"

"Put the gas lamp down and come over here to take a look."

"what happened?"

Hearing Li Wei's words, the two detectives were somewhat surprised, but they still put down their gas lamps, went up the stairs, and came to Li Wei's side. Then Li Wei stretched out his hand and pointed down.

The two looked down and were then—greatly surprised.

Before them, the ground had transformed into a different shape—the blue bricks laid on the ground were arranged in an arc, looking from above just like a whirlpool in the sea!
Wait, a vortex...?
"Could this be the door?!"

Staring at the ground before them, the two detectives were dumbfounded. They never expected to find clues about the secret door under such circumstances.

Indeed, if it is a vortex, then it is normal to call it a door. Moreover, the drag marks just now disappeared in the middle of the floor, which means that the other party may have led the lawyer into the secret room!

But... why was she thrown off the roof?
"If this is a door, then there must be a mechanism nearby! The murderer couldn't possibly drag someone while trying to open a secret door in a distance!"

The tall, thin detective also became excited.

"The agency must be located nearby..."

However, before the tall, thin detective could finish speaking, his body suddenly vanished!
"———————!"

In the blink of an eye, almost at the same time, Li Wei made his move!

Death Eyes!
Time seemed to slow rapidly around him. Li Wei looked up and saw a pale arm hanging down from the top of the stairs, gripping the tall, thin detective's collar tightly, lifting him up. The detective instinctively reached out to grab his neck, trying to struggle.

At the same time, Li Wei raised the gun in his hand!

"boom!!"

The bullet flew out and shot directly at the thin, pale arm that was holding the tall, thin detective.

Then, the passage of time returned to normal.

"ah------!"

With a piercing scream, the white arm abruptly retracted, and the tall, thin detective fell heavily to the ground. Looking up, Li Wei saw a white figure darting like a monkey through the spiral staircase, disappearing in an instant.

really.

Upon seeing this, Li Wei's eyes narrowed.

I knew it wouldn't be that simple.

(End of this chapter)