Chapter 294

Chapter 270: m*rder Case

Afterwards, the gatekeeper opened the main gate and led Douglas along with his police team into the theater. Upon entering, they heard melodious music still playing inside. Hearing this sound, Douglas frowned.

“What’s going on? Don’t you stop the performance even after a m*rder has occurred?”

Douglas sternly addressed the gatekeeper, who responded nervously.

“Officer sir, because a detective requested… we did not stop the performance. Additionally, he asked us to monitor every corridor by the window, saying it was to prevent the murderer from escaping.”

“A detective?”

Listening to the gatekeeper’s words, Douglas pondered for a moment, then continued speaking.

“Continue leading us.”

Following Douglas’s instructions, the gatekeeper led them up the stairs and to the third floor, where they had not entered the auditorium. Here, in one of the corridors, he saw several theater ushers on guard, blocking unauthorized individuals from passing through.

Upon seeing the police, the ushers immediately let them through. Following the gatekeeper’s guidance, Douglas arrived at the bathroom door. At this point, a large group of people related to the theater had gathered here. They all looked solemn, and a few dancers still wearing their costumes were quietly sobbing.

“It’s inside, sir,” the gatekeeper pointed to the bathroom door and said to Douglas. After instructing his subordinates to take over the ushers’ surveillance duties, Douglas entered the bathroom. Seeing the bl**d and bloodstains everywhere, his heart tightened. Just as he looked at the corpse, he noticed another figure crouching beside it, holding a black necklace around the dead woman’s neck, seemingly checking something.

“Who are you, boy! What are you doing! Let go of your hand and don’t touch anything randomly!”

Seeing the figure next to the corpse, Douglas shouted loudly. After hearing Douglas’s words, that figure stood up and smiled at him.

“Hello, officer sir. My name is Ed, a detective. I took over here early since I discovered this m*rder case early and have been conducting preliminary investigations while waiting for your arrival.”

The man named Ed removed his white gloves and walked over with a smile, extending his hand to shake hands with Douglas, but Douglas coldly snorted in response.

“Hmph, so they were talking about you, boy. When there’s a m*rder, you still let the theater continue the performance. What is the purpose of this?”

“Of course, it’s to prevent panic from spreading, rumors to increase, and influence to decrease. Also, it prevents the murderer from escaping. That’s all, officer sir.” Ed replied easily, and Douglas immediately responded.

“How do you know the murderer hasn’t escaped?”

“Because there’s no place to escape. The theater is currently hosting a performance. To prevent people from entering without tickets, all doors are guarded. For soundproofing, all windows are locked, except for a small ventilation window which is open.

“Before you came, I questioned all the gatekeepers, and no one has left. I also checked all the locked windows, and none were damaged. Therefore, I conclude that the murderer is still in the theater, very likely watching the performance in the audience.”

Ed calmly stated. After listening to Ed’s words, Douglas was slightly stunned, then continued speaking.

“Even if the murderer is still in the theater, shouldn’t the performance be stopped! Monitor and control all the audience members. Isn’t it dangerous to have such a murderer mixed in the audience? What if he takes advantage of the opportunity to harm other unsuspecting innocent people?”

Douglas spoke sternly, and Ed continued to answer calmly.

“Monitor and control all the audience members? Officer sir… There are thousands of audience members here. Not counting the theater staff, even you and your subordinates can’t control so many people. If so many audience members knew someone had died and caused panic, no one could control it. It might even lead to serious accidents and terrible consequences. It’s better to let them stay quiet and continue for a while longer. If we can’t determine the murderer in the short term, we’ll release them.”

“Then don’t tell them the truth.”

“Then the imagined truth might be even more terrifying…”

Ed said silently. Douglas wanted to refute further, but after thinking, he felt what the other person said was indeed reasonable, so he didn’t refute it. However, he was still very dissatisfied with this somewhat arrogant young man. He spoke up.

“Alright… You have some reason. But detective boy, now that we’re here, you’re no longer needed here. Get out.”

Douglas urged Ed to leave, but Ed had no intention of leaving. He continued to speak calmly.

“Officer sir, I believe I can assist you in solving this case.”

“Assist us in solving the case? Hmph, why should we?” Douglas snorted. At this moment, a pleasant voice slowly sounded.

“Because he is Detective Ed, who solved a train m*rder case within one night.”

Hearing this voice, everyone looked towards its source. Standing at the bathroom door, a beautiful woman in a red dress with long golden hair appeared. Everyone present knew her name—Adele Briouze.

Seeing Adele appear, everyone was slightly startled. An elderly theater manager quickly stepped forward and said.

“Adele… Why are you here? Didn’t you say that the situation here is very…”

“I know, Uncle Jack, but Maria was brutally murdered here. How could I hide away?” Adele responded to the elder, her words filled with sorrow. Seeing Adele, Douglas couldn’t help but stare.

“It’s Miss Adele. Ah… I express my condolences for the tragedy that occurred during your performance.”

Douglas immediately complimented Adele, who softly replied.

“Thank you for your kind words, officer sir. However, I think the way to alleviate the grief of the tragedy is to catch the real culprit as soon as possible. I read the newspaper before, and this Mr. Ed seems to be a very capable detective. You might as well let him help.”

Adele addressed Douglas, who nodded after hearing this. Then, he looked at Ed again and spoke.

“So, you are the Ed mentioned in the newspapers a few months ago. If what the newspapers say is true, you should have some ability. In that case, just watch from the side.”

“Thank you, officer sir. Thank you, Miss Adele.”

Ed thanked Douglas and Adele one by one. Looking at Adele, he saw a faint smile on her lips. Douglas continued speaking.

“Well, since you’ve been investigating here for so long, what have you found?”

Ed answered straightforwardly.

“I found quite a few clues. The deceased’s name is Maria Dokana, 18 years old, a dancer, a member of the Flying Theater’s Flying Dance Troupe. She had a performance today and had recently danced with Miss Adele on stage.

“The cause of d*ath can currently be judged as being stabbed with a kn*fe, causing massive bl**d loss. Seven stab wounds were found in the abdomen, a cut on the cheek, and one eye gouged out. The murderer’s methods were extremely cruel. Rigor mortis has not yet set in, so the time of d*ath is within an hour.”

After finishing, Ed paused slightly. Just as Douglas thought this boy might have some skills, Ed continued.

“The deceased seemed to have left a message in bl**d before d*ath, indicating the murderer’s name.”

“bl**d message? Why didn’t you mention it earlier? With a bl**d message, wouldn’t it be simple? Let me see who the deceased identified as the murderer?”

Listening to Ed’s statement, Douglas hurriedly entered the bathroom and carefully examined the scene for the first time. When he saw the bl**d message in front of the corpse, he froze.

“Miss Adele…”

After reading the bl**d message, Douglas turned around, his expression becoming stern and severe as he looked at Adele outside the door, then continued speaking.

“Miss Maria’s bl**d message seems to point to you. Do you have anything to say about this?”