Chapter 176

Detective

In the aisle of the first-class carriage, Edric was confronting Kim, with the train attendants and the conductor as witnesses. Edric pointed his g*n at Kim while he began to list his crimes.

“You are a greedy thief. Because you saw Mr. Sodod sleeping in his cabin with the door unlocked, you had evil intentions and went in to steal. But who could have anticipated that Mr. Sodod would wake up during this process and get into a dispute with you in the cabin. During this altercation, you brutally killed him. Am I not right?”

“…You are right. If that guy had just stayed quiet, he wouldn’t have died. It was his own fault!” Kim replied from the ground, his words revealing a hint of malevolence. His statement convinced everyone present that Kim was the murderer, and an especially vicious one!

“Surrender, you won’t escape. You need to pay for your misdeeds, Mr. Kim.”

“Paying the price? Hmph! Not yet!”

Kim snorted coldly, glaring fiercely at the train attendants and the conductor. Then, he pulled out a small kn*fe from his pocket and stood up, rushing towards them as if intending to take a hostage or drag someone along.

Kim, with a hideous face, brandished his kn*fe at the train attendants and conductor. Seeing this, the attendants panicked, but the conductor remained calm. Facing the attack, he pulled out a pistol from his waist and aimed it at Kim. Just as he was about to fire, another gunshot rang out behind Kim.

“Bang!”

Edric shot Kim, interrupting his assault. Kim fell to the ground, lifeless. The train attendants and conductor turned their attention to Edric.

“I’m sorry, it seems the law cannot judge him now. Protecting everyone’s safety is more important than any legal proceedings. Regarding Mr. Kim’s d*ath, please inform the police later.”

“Of course, Sir Detective, your justice and marksmanship are admirable.”

The conductor put away his pistol and spoke to Edric.

…

After the attendants calmed the frightened passengers and cleaned up Kim’s body, the curious conductor found Edric smoking by the window.

“Respected Detective, thank you for helping us catch this vicious criminal. But I am also very curious—how did you find him among all those tickets? Could you share your reasoning?”

The conductor asked curiously, and Edric, after flicking ash out the window, replied with a smile.

“Of course, sir conductor. Please come with me to the scene of the crime.”

Saying so, Edric headed to the “scene of the crime,” the cabin where Sodod was found dead, though his body had been removed, leaving only bloodstains on the floor.

Inside the cabin, Edric squatted down and pointed to a corner near the wall.

“Conductor, look at this bloodstain here. Isn’t it strange?”

Following Edric’s guidance, the conductor looked over and noticed something unusual about the bloodstain.

Most of the bloodstain was in its normal liquid spray pattern, but one corner was square-shaped, with a tiny red dot in the center, looking unnatural.

“This is…”

“The reason this bloodstain appears this way is because the bl**d dripped onto something else before hitting the ground. Part of it landed on the floor, while the other part landed on that object. When the object was removed, the remaining bl**d on the ground formed this pattern.

“Judging from the traces on the ground, this object is a piece of paper with square edges and a small hole in the middle. What does this remind you of, Conductor?”

Edric smiled and asked, and the conductor suddenly understood.

“A small piece of paper with a hole… This is a ticket! The hole is a mark left by the ticket checker! The killer dropped the ticket when struggling with the victim, and the victim’s bl**d splattered onto it. Afterward, the killer took the ticket, creating this bloodstain.

“That’s why you collected those tickets—to verify the bloodstains.”

The conductor said knowingly, and Edric nodded with a smile.

“Yes, since a ticket is needed to exit, he had to retrieve it. He believed he could cover up the bloodstains, but bl**d is hard to completely remove. As a detective, I carry chemical solutions to detect if an object has been stained with bl**d.”

Edric explained, and the conductor continued to nod in admiration.

“Oh, I see. To observe such detailed clues and make connections, finally uncovering the truth, Mr. Ed truly lives up to his reputation as a detective.”

‘Nonsense, the entire crime scene was set up by me, including the bloodstains. How could I miss noticing such details?’

Inside her cabin, Dorothy, controlling a puppet, thought to herself. This “m*rder scene” was entirely arranged by her, creating these traces to answer the conductor’s questions.

“But why didn’t you notify us directly and apprehend the killer? Instead, you questioned each passenger individually, bringing the killer last?” the conductor asked next, and Dorothy had prepared her response through Edric.

“This is because the killer was extremely dangerous and was in a crowded second-class carriage. I feared that going straight for him might cause him to panic and harm other passengers. To avoid unnecessary casualties, I chose this method to bring him in, questioning other passengers to lower his guard.”

Edric finished speaking, and the conductor’s eyes gleamed with admiration.

“Oh, I understand now. You even considered the safety of other innocent passengers? Truly remarkable!”

“Mr. Ed, your keen observation, wisdom, and heart for justice and compassion have opened my eyes today. You are indeed an excellent detective. I believe your fame will grow one day. By the time we reach Tivyán, reporters will be interested in tonight’s events on the train.”

The conductor generously praised Edric, and Edric responded with a smile, gracefully.

“I seek no fame, only to pursue the truth and uphold justice.”

When reaching this point, Dorothy wanted Edric to take out a small pipe and smoke, but finding none on him, she gave up.

…

After explaining the case to the conductor, Edric said he needed to rest. He claimed his original cabin’s table was unsuitable and suggested moving to the cabin where the interrogation took place. The conductor agreed readily, even skipping the ticket check.

Thus, Edric successfully avoided paying for a ticket.

Then, Dorothy locked Edric in the cabin and planned to retrieve him later. She sat at her own cabin’s table and began sorting through the spoils of her “detective game.”