Chapter 298: Foreshadowing, all foreshadowing

Sunday, September 9nd.

In a slightly gloomy and dim house in the Hillston district of Backlund, more than a dozen detectives gathered together, all of them with joy on their faces, because Great Detective Isengard had informed everyone that today was the day to offer a reward for the serial murder case!
Leonard and Peiman were among them. On the 20th, they went to Tingen to deliver a letter, and just yesterday morning they took the steam train to escape from that strange place. On the way, they were shocked to learn from the newspaper that the serial killer "Jack" was caught red-handed by Sivellas and shot dead on the spot!

This... If I say it's just a coincidence, I might be overly flattering myself, but if I say it has nothing to do with the two of them, then it feels a little wrong... Especially the commission from the Punisher, Old Blue, seems so coincidental...

But it's good, at least Backlund won't have any new victims... Leonard and Peiman came to the same conclusion, and then came to Detective Isengard's place to meet. At this time, a detective they had met but never talked to came over and chatted:

"I am very impressed with you two. Compared with your deductions, my work is worthless! I think you should get a lot of the bounty!"

"Uh..." Leonard obviously didn't remember who this person was. He was pondering when Peiman next to him replied:
"Detective Zreal, you are too polite. I personally feel that your investigation work is truly indispensable. Detective Isengard will definitely see your contribution!"

Zreal, who had short brown hair, was obviously pleased and said:

"I'm glad you still remember me. It's my honor. I hope we can work together sometime in the future. Well, I'm going to go talk to other detectives and I won't bother you anymore."

Leonard was stunned for a moment. Why did he feel like this person was performing a drama? No, was he deliberately trying to strike up a conversation? Was he trying to show off his presence?

"That guy just now was quite hypocritical. We shouldn't have anything to do with him in the future!" Peiman leaned close to Leonard's ear and whispered.

"Yeah... I feel it too. I'll listen to you." Leonard replied softly.

After a while, Detective Isengard, with graying temples and a thin, angular face, came to the center of the living room and sat down. He took a puff of his pipe and smiled:

"ladies and gentlemen.

"I just came back from the Backlund Police Department. They were very satisfied with being able to solve the serial murder case within a week and recognized our contribution.

“Although we did not participate in the subsequent round-up, we were still able to get most of the reward. I confirmed the amount, it was a huge sum of 800 pounds!

“That means we will share 800 pounds in cash!
“The biggest contribution this time was made by the detective duo Sherlock and Watson. The ideas and thoughts they provided helped us find clues and get on the right track. They are veritable reasoning experts!
"I declare that the reward for Sherlock and Watson is 200 pounds!"

Boom! The detectives were talking to each other, and the tawny-haired Detective Zreal was the first to speak loudly:

"I'm telling you, they are truly worthy of the title of Great Detective, second only to Mr. Isengard! Let's applaud them!"

There was a burst of applause, not very neatly and not very loudly, which made Leonard and Peiman very embarrassed. They had to stand up and bow to the detectives in return.

Then Isengard distributed the bounties one by one, the smallest of which was 10 pounds. The detectives all seemed very satisfied. One of them, a thin-faced detective with a light beard, walked up to the two and started a conversation:

"Hello, I'm Detective Stuart. Your talents are truly admirable.

“It’s like this. Last week, I took on a difficult mission to find someone. I accepted it because the reward was good, but I didn’t expect that the target person seemed to have completely disappeared.

"I was at my wit's end. For the sake of my detective's credibility, I decided to ask for help one last time, otherwise the other party would have to ask the police for help.

"And you must have a huge network of contacts, so I would like to ask for your help. As long as you find someone, I am willing to give up most of the 50 pounds reward. What do you think?"

Peiman frowned and asked, "Finding a missing person in Backlund is like finding a needle in the ocean. Who is the missing person? Is it a girl? Is she related to the kidnapping case that had a big impact a while ago? Also, why don't you ask Detective Isengard for help?" Stuart smiled bitterly, took out a black and white photo from his pocket and handed it over, saying:

"If I ask Mr. Stanton for help, I might have to pay a lot of money...

"No, not a girl, but a young man who should have just come of age. His parents believe that this young man is still alive and is somewhere in Backlund... His name is Emlyn White."

……

“The good news is, we have money!
"The bad news is that we still have to work hard!" Peiman threw herself on the sofa and muttered:

"Let's count how many commissions we have. Let's not talk about the Dwayne Dantès case. He is obviously a forged identity with unknown purpose... The fact that he hasn't shown up until now explains a lot.

"Lord Jacob Kelly's commissioned investigation...

"At least I've completed the letter delivery to Tingen...

“Searching for lost young people…

“What a busy life!”

Leonard sat at the end of the couch and nodded in agreement:

"Fortunately, the investigation into the serial murder case has ended. With the case solved, that extraordinary party will be held tonight. Do you want to go and have a look? In case the potion formula I need appears, I can buy it. It's also a good opportunity to relax."

"Okay! I'll go!" Peiman crawled to Leonard's side, pulled back a strand of hair, stood up and lay down beside his ear and said in a seductive tone:
"Want a drink after the party? No, want to get drunk?"

……

At seven o'clock in the evening, Klein and Fors arrived at the house where the "Eye of Wisdom" gathering was held on time. They had already disguised themselves and were about to ring the secret signal when they suddenly discovered that two people in black robes were walking towards them not far away. Klein immediately pulled Fors out of the way to show caution.

The two visitors seemed stunned as well. They walked forward carefully and knocked on the door according to the code on the newspaper. Then they walked in somewhat inexplicably. Before entering, they glanced at the two people who overreacted.

Fors leaned close to Klein's ear and asked:

"Is there something wrong with them? Are they dangerous? Why such a big reaction?"

Klein frowned slightly and replied softly:
"Maybe. My inspiration was triggered just now, but it didn't come from those two people, and it didn't seem to have any malicious intent. I'm not sure. There may be someone hiding in the dark...

"That feeling disappeared in the blink of an eye. If my body hadn't reacted instinctively, I might have thought it was an illusion."

Fors also became a little nervous and said:
"Then let's not go, safety is the most important!"

Klein smiled, took out a pen and paper from his pocket, quickly wrote a note, then took out the silver bell and shook it a few times. Soon, the note disappeared. He said confidently:

"It's okay. Old Blue said before that we should remember to invite him to the party..."

(End of this chapter)