Mr. Death in the Steam World

The middle-aged woman put down her newspaper and looked him up and down.

"What is it?"

Moen took Lily's photo out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.

"This girl went missing at the amusement park three days ago. Do you have any records of her there?"

The middle-aged woman picked up the photo and glanced at it, her expression changing slightly.

"Are you... a police officer?"

"A private investigator," Moen said. "He was hired by the girl's mother to investigate."

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, then pulled a folder out of the drawer.

"There have indeed been several lost children recently."

She opened the folder, which contained several forms.

"Last Wednesday, an eight-year-old boy got lost near the maze, but found his way out on his own two hours later."

"Last Friday, a seven-year-old girl got lost in the same place and also found her way out on her own."

"And yesterday, a nine-year-old boy..."

She flipped through the forms, her tone indifferent, as if these things were commonplace.

Moen frowned.

"Have all the lost children been found?"

"Yeah, so it's no big deal, since it was all found in the end anyway."

The middle-aged woman acted as if it were perfectly normal.

"but……"

"But what?"

The middle-aged woman lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard.

"However, after those children were found, they all said some strange things."

"What did you say?"

"They would say things like 'I went to a really fun place,' or 'Mr. Rabbit gave me a pocket watch.'"

The middle-aged woman shook her head.

"Kids have vivid imaginations. Maybe they got lost in the maze and were scared, so they made it up themselves."

Moen did not respond.

He thought for a while and asked again:

Where is the nine-year-old boy who went missing yesterday?

"He's already been picked up by his parents." The middle-aged woman closed the folder. "You're looking for him?"

"Could you give me his address?"

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, then pulled a piece of paper from the folder and handed it to him.

"Here's the registration information. Take a look for yourself. Don't tell anyone I gave it to you."

Moen took the note, glanced at the address on it, and put it in his pocket.

"One last question."

"you say."

"Has anything unusual happened in that mirror maze lately?"

The middle-aged woman paused for a moment.

"Abnormal... what does that mean?"

"It's just that it's different from before."

The middle-aged woman remained silent for a few seconds, then shook her head.

"I don't know, I'm just a receptionist."

Her tone became noticeably harsher.

Seeing that the receptionist was unwilling to say more, Moen left the visitor center and took out a piece of paper to look at the address.

It's located in the eastern part of Kansas City, not far from the park.

The carriage stopped at an intersection in the East District, and Moen jumped out. He was going to ask the boy who had returned.

The boy's home was on the third floor of an old apartment building. Moen knocked on the door, and an elderly woman with gray hair opened it.

Who are you looking for?

"Hello, I am private investigator Mohn Marcus."

Mohn showed the detective license that Professor Pip had helped him obtain.

"I'd like to speak with your grandson for a few minutes about his getting lost at Wonderland."

The old lady's expression changed, and after hesitating for a moment, she opened the door.

"Tommy's in the room, but... he's been acting a bit strange lately."

"Something's not right?"

The old lady sighed.

"Ever since we came back from the amusement park that day, he's been talking about Mr. Rabbit and saying that Wonderland is much more fun than this place."

"We thought he was talking nonsense, but..."

She lowered her voice.

"Last night, I heard him talking to himself in his room, saying that he wanted to go back to find Mr. Rabbit."

Moen frowned.

"Can I talk to him?"

The old lady nodded, led him to a door, and knocked on it.

"Tommy, someone's here to see you."

A rustling sound came from the room, followed by a boy's voice:

"Oh, come in!"

Moen pushed open the door and went inside. The room was dark, and the curtains were drawn tightly shut.

A boy of about nine years old sat on the edge of the bed, holding a pocket watch in his hand—no, it was a toy pocket watch with a rabbit pattern on the dial.

"Hello, Tommy."

Moen crouched down, bringing his line of sight to the boy's.

"My name is Moen, and I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Tommy looked up at him, his eyes holding an indescribable expression.

That wasn't the look a nine-year-old boy should have; it was too...lifeless.

"You want to ask about Wonderland?" Tommy said.

This surprised Moen. How did he know?

"Yes, can you tell me what you saw in Wonderland?"

Tommy lowered his head and looked at the pocket watch in his hand.

"It's a lot of fun there. There are talking rabbits, the Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts."

"They were very kind to me. Mr. Rabbit gave me a pocket watch and said I could go back anytime I wanted."

He looked up and smiled.

"I plan to go back tonight."

Moen's heart sank.

He reached out and took the pocket watch from Tommy's hand, turning it over to take a look.

On the back was a line of small print: "It's almost time to keep my appointment."

The handwriting is exactly the same as the one on Lily's playing card.

"Tommy, who gave you this pocket watch?"

"Mr. Rabbit," Tommy said, "He said it's an invitation, and only those who receive an invitation can go to Wonderland."

"What about Lily? Did she receive an invitation too?"

"Lily? Oh, you mean that little girl?"

Tommy shook his head.

"Mr. Rabbit didn't invite her; she was invited by the Queen of Hearts."

"She said she was going to take Lily to see Mr. Rabbit, and Lily went with her."

He seemed to be deep in thought, then returned the pocket watch to Tommy.

"Thank you, Tommy."

8:30 p.m., eastern suburbs of Kansas City.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, and the park was pitch black, with only the spire of the Queen of Hearts Castle faintly visible in the night.

Moen had already scouted the location during the day.

He took a deep breath, pushed off with his feet, and lightly flipped over the fence, landing almost silently.

"The Swiftness of a Cat" is fully unleashed at night.

Instead of rushing to the mirror maze, he first took a stroll around the amusement park.

The amusement park rides that were bustling during the day become eerily strange at night. The carousel stands still, and the colorful horses cast distorted shadows in the moonlight.

The Mad Hatter's tea area was deserted, with dozens of round tables neatly arranged, their teapots and teacups resembling a group of silent spectators.

Moen quickened his pace and walked through the path of red roses to the mirror maze.

To his surprise, Phils was already waiting for him at the door.

For people of this era, making a lady wait is not considered polite.