Chapter 2569 Dear Mr. Detective 20
In the winter garden next to the cemetery, the evergreen plants are particularly lush and green after being washed by rain.
John stood without an umbrella under the tall laurel tree, looking into the distance towards the church, as if listening to the faint sounds of prayer coming from there.
Hearing Jinchen's approaching footsteps, he didn't turn around and expressed his gratitude quietly.
"Thank you, Mr. Cyril. You didn't tell anyone about...what happened that night."
Jinchen stopped one step behind him.
"You are not the real murderer, and my duty is to find out the truth. I have no need and no reason to do that."
John then turned to face him.
In just two days, he seemed to have become thinner, his eyes were sunken, and loneliness and sadness were about to overflow.
"Do you now... suspect Joshua as much as Sheriff Bruce does?"
Jinchen didn't answer directly, but simply said, "I've never ruled out my suspicions about him. After the funeral, I'll have a private conversation with him."
John nodded and pulled something out of his suit pocket.
A boxwood book-turning cane inlaid with tiny mother-of-pearls was clearly a valuable personal item.
"This is the Christmas gift I gave to Vincent last year..."
John's voice dropped, his pain barely concealed. "Last night... I couldn't help but sort through some of his belongings, wanting to keep a memory of him."
"Found this in the crack of the sofa in the small living room where he and Joshua often hang out."
Jinchen: "..."
This is a big deal.
He took the turning stick silently.
[How miserable.] Ling Gungun sighed softly again in his mind.
"Are you giving this to me as evidence to identify Joshua?" Jin Chen asked, looking at the book-turning stick.
John looked at Jinchen and said, "You may not know this yet... Vincent never read The Divine Comedy during his lifetime."
"His faith in Catholicism is far less devout than the outside world thinks. The book spread out before him..."
He took a deep breath. "Joshua Crane gave it to him on his birthday."
Jinchen stroked the smooth wooden staff thoughtfully.
Suddenly, he looked at John's suit jacket, which was slightly open at the collar. A dark gold brooch was pinned on the collar of the vest inside.
Jinchen's gaze lingered on the brooch for a moment, and he asked with a hint of confusion.
"Mr. John, why do you wear your brooch inside your suit? It doesn't seem very common."
John was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously touched the brooch, with a mixture of tenderness and pain flashing in his eyes.
"This is the last gift...from Vincent," he whispered.
Jinchen: “?”
and many more……
He recalled what Alric had said to Miss Eleanor that day.
——There is a secret compartment under Vincent’s desk, which contains a gold brooch.
——He would give the gold brooch to the one he truly loved.
[Good boy!] Ling Gungun was shocked.
Jinchen's expression became a little complicated.
He looked at John and asked cautiously, "When did you... specifically receive this brooch?"
John was puzzled. "About half a month ago, he gave it to me in his study...privately."
He noticed the change in Jinchen's expression and asked, "Mr. Cyril, is there something wrong with this brooch?"
Jinchen hesitated for a moment.
He couldn't determine whether this dark golden brooch was the one Alric mentioned, and hastily speaking out his inference about the "beloved" seemed too cruel and inappropriate at this moment.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Jinchen chose to conceal it for the time being. "Once I confirm some details, it might be more appropriate to tell you in a couple of days."
He paused and changed the subject. "If you don't mind, could you tell me more about Master Vincent's past? Any little thing might help to reveal the truth."
After the memorial service, the crowd began to disperse slowly.
Jinchen just returned to the main hall of the church from the garden, but found that Alric was not there.
He asked the church deacon who was packing up the instruments nearby.
The deacon replied respectfully, “Mr. Cyril, Inspector Alric was invited by Count Olga to the main hall of the manor for a talk and he just left.
-
Alric came out of the main hall of the manor and walked down the short steps in front of the door, looking for a familiar figure.
His eyes swept across the lawn and stopped at the flower stand not far away.
Jinchen sat on the white bench under the flower stand with his head slightly lowered.
He had a notebook spread out on his knees, a pencil between his fingers, concentrating on writing and drawing on a page.
On a gloomy rainy day, the young man sat quietly in the gaps between the layers of vines. He looked so beautiful that he looked like an angel walking out of an ancient myth book. People couldn't bear to disturb him.
Alric also noticed that not far away, there were several young maids pretending to wipe the glass in the corridor, but they looked in the direction of the flower stand from time to time.
The subtle feeling of concern in his heart unconsciously emerged again.
Alric walked towards the flower stand. Perhaps hearing the footsteps, Jinchen raised his head and turned to look at him.
When he saw it was Alric, his blue eyes were filled with warmth and affection, and the corners of his lips curved into a gentle arc.
"Alric," he said quietly, closing the book on his lap, "I'll be waiting here for you."
Alric walked up to him and held out his hand.
Jinchen held it, buried his soft face in it, and kissed the palm of his hand again.
"What does John want you to do?" Alric asked, his tone softening.
When John was mentioned, Jinchen remembered the important matter.
He pulled Alric to sit beside him. The bench under the flower stand was not spacious, so their arms and thighs inevitably touched each other.
"By the way, I was just about to talk to you about him," Jinchen's tone became serious. "Alric, John is not the murderer. I can guarantee that. He came to me today and provided some clues that I think are very valuable."
"Can you promise?" Alric narrowed his green eyes slightly, and the gentlemanly gentleness he had to maintain was almost lost.
How could Cyril trust John Olga so firmly after only a few meetings?
This trust made him feel inexplicably unhappy and even anxious.
He leaned slightly closer to Jinchen, closing the distance between them. His voice was tense: "Really? When did you and him... become friends who could trust each other and talk privately, Cyril?"
Jinchen hummed in confusion, raised his eyes and met Alrick's eyes. Suddenly he understood something and the corners of his lips curved up meaningfully.
"Why not, Alric?"
