Chapter 295

Chapter 271 Investigation

“Miss Adele, the message of Miss Maria’s d*ath seems to point towards you. Do you have anything to say about this?”

Standing in the washroom, Sheriff Douglas directly asked Adele, who was standing at the entrance of the washroom. Adele placed her hand on her chest and calmly replied.

“I have nothing to say, Officer. This is a complete slander. A despicable murderer wants to use the unfortunate d*ath of poor Maria to defame me.”

“Are you denying it? But such clear evidence is very detrimental to you, Miss Adele. Unless you can provide an alibi to prove your innocence.”

Douglas said this, then thought for a moment and continued.

“You just mentioned that Miss Maria was performing on stage before. So when was the last time you saw her perform or when was the last time you saw her?”

Douglas asked all the relevant people around him. One of the theater ushers scratched his head and spoke while thinking.

“Maria’s last performance was a dance with Miss Adele called ‘Crimson Mother.’ That was also the last time we saw Maria. The show ended around…”

The usher pondered doubtfully, and another voice answered for him.

“The curtain fell at 7:05 PM, sir.”

Ed, standing aside, spoke up, and the usher clapped his hand in agreement.

“Oh yes! The performance of ‘Crimson Mother’ ended around seven o’clock. What the detective said is correct!” The usher said frankly. After glancing at Ed again, Douglas continued.

“So who discovered the body first? And when was it discovered?”

“Well… It was me. I was preparing to go to the restroom and saw the situation inside when I opened the door. But at that time, I was so scared. I need to think about the exact time, but it seemed to be around 7:10 or 7:20.”

Listening to Douglas, the old woman who had found the body spoke with a trembling voice. She tried to recall the time, but this time Ed spoke up first again.

“The lady’s scream was at 7:23 PM. I was nearby at the time, so I heard it.”

Hearing Ed’s words, Douglas frowned and said,

“Are you checking the time every minute, boy detective?”

“No, no, no, Officer. I just have a good memory and a good sense of time. Of course, I often check my watch to calibrate my sense of time, maybe every ten minutes or so.”

As he spoke, Ed smiled and took out his pocket watch, opened it, and looked at it, then continued.

“After all, as a detective, I believe it’s necessary to control time accurately.”

“…”

Looking at Ed’s confident expression, Douglas remained silent for a moment, then turned to Adele and asked again.

“So now we can confirm that the victim died between 7:00 and 7:20 PM. Where were you during those twenty minutes, Miss Adele?”

“Since Maria suddenly disappeared, after finishing the performance, I arranged for people to search for Maria. I also went myself. We mainly searched the backstage area and some nearby regions, but we didn’t expect Maria to be murdered here. This is the audience area, quite far from the backstage.”

Adele responded, and after Douglas pondered for a moment, he continued.

“Did you have anyone with you while searching?”

“No.”

“No? That means… No one can vouch for your whereabouts during those twenty minutes?” Douglas raised his eyebrows and continued questioning. Adele nodded gently.

“Yes, Officer, but I did not k*ll Maria.”

“Even though you say so, the scene is very detrimental to you, Miss Adele. Do you know, based on the current situation, your suspicion is the greatest. If no other suspects are found, according to our usual practice, we could already bring you back to the police bureau for further questioning,” Douglas said seriously. At this moment, the theater manager immediately stepped forward, looking nervous.

“You cannot take Adele away! If the media finds out about this, everything will be ruined!” the theater manager exclaimed, already imagining the extensive coverage the media would give to this event, which would be devastating for a star’s image.

“Do not jump to conclusions too quickly, Officer. I believe there is still much mystery in this case. Miss Adele should be wrongfully accused.”

At this moment, Ed continued speaking, and hearing his words, Douglas turned to him sternly.

“What makes you think so? On what basis?”

“Based on Miss Adele’s clothes. Please look carefully inside the washroom, Officer. The victim was stabbed many times before d*ath, bl**d splattered everywhere, and there are bloodstains on the ground and walls. If Adele really killed her, she would surely be covered in bl**d. However, there are no bloodstains on Adele’s clothes right now. Isn’t that inconsistent?”

Pointing to the bloody washroom, Ed analyzed straightforwardly. After listening to Ed’s analysis, Douglas couldn’t help but pause for a moment, then continued.

“It’s also possible that Adele changed her clothes after killing someone and wiped off the bl**d. This is a theater, and Adele is an actor. Having a few identical costumes should be normal, right?”

Douglas explained his viewpoint, and Ed continued.

“What about makeup? Bloodstains can be wiped off, but makeup takes time to redo. Look at the height of the bl**d splatter on the wall. It reaches Adele’s height, doesn’t it? If her face was splashed with bl**d, wiping it off would ruin her makeup. Adele’s makeup is so delicate. It would take a considerable amount of time to redo it properly.”

“As it stands now, Adele’s makeup is still beautiful… With only twenty minutes to act, did she have enough time to retouch her makeup after killing and changing clothes?”

Ed continued, smiling as he looked at Adele’s makeup-covered face. Because of the stage performance, her makeup was rather heavy, and any damage would be easily noticeable.

Hearing Ed’s unintentional praise, Adele bowed slightly in response.

“Thank you for your compliment, Detective.”

Hearing Adele’s words, Douglas frowned and immediately turned to Ed.

“What you’re saying is just speculation, based on the assumption that Adele’s face was splattered with bl**d. What if her luck was good, and no bl**d splattered on her face? The height of the bloodstain on the wall doesn’t prove anything.”

“We can also confirm the number of costumes. If Adele’s bloodied dress must be disposed of, then the theater should have one less of the same type of dress. As long as the number of dresses hasn’t decreased, Adele’s innocence can still be guaranteed.”

Ed continued, and after glancing at everyone present in the theater, Douglas continued.

“You make a reasonable point, but whether there are more or fewer dresses is entirely up to the theater. Adele has immense value to the theater, so they might lie to protect her. We need to be highly cautious about the testimony of interested parties.”

Douglas said in a neutral tone. After he finished, everyone’s eyes turned to Ed. Calmly, Ed walked over to Adele and examined her red dress.

“Miss Adele, this dress… seems quite precious and expensive, doesn’t it?”

“Detective, you have a good eye. This dress was specially custom-made by Silver Moon Star Clothing Store for today’s performance. It’s made of Yun Sang silk, and two were made—one backup and one for me. The backup is still in the dressing room backstage. If needed, it can be taken out at any time.”

Adele replied softly. After hearing Adele’s answer, Ed’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and he turned to Douglas.

“I assume you heard that, Officer. Miss Adele’s dress was custom-made outside. The number of dresses can be confirmed by asking the tailor. As long as Miss Adele can produce the corresponding number of undamaged dresses, there shouldn’t be a problem, right.”