Chapter 540 Invitation

When she came to the door of Duanmuhuai's apartment again, Mary seemed a little nervous, but she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"who?"

"It's me, Mr. Duanmu, Mary Clarissa."

"Oh, come in."

Soon, the door opened, and Mary saw a maid with long brown hair standing there, bowing to herself. She didn't know much about this maid, and she only remembered that she was responsible for flying the plane to send them out when she was in Antarctica—of course, at that time, Mary focused on her best friend, but now, she is also respectful to her. The maid gave a salute, and the latter welcomed Mary in. When she led the maid to the living room, Mary could see Duanmuhuai sitting on the sofa, flipping through a large pile of letters in her hand in boredom.

"Yo."

Seeing Mary, Duanmuhuai waved at her without a gentleman's demeanor, and then threw the letters aside.

"There are many things to do in the old continent. What era is this? Tea parties, dinners, dinners... Do you think these people have nothing to do?"

"Is this an invitation to you?"

Hearing Duanmuhuai's complaints, Mary somewhat understood. Although she had two noble ladies, Xia Li and Aselika, as friends, she was only a middle-class student. Even if she had learned similar banquet etiquette, she didn't want to I will use it myself. What's more, generally this kind of banquet is only attended by noble ladies in the social world. Girls like Mary who think about work after graduation instead of getting married and having children don't need to care about this connection.

"Just looking at me as a diorama... By the way, how about your friend?"

"Ah, everything is fine for Xia Li, and she is recuperating in the sanatorium. She also wrote to me before..."

"Oh, all right."

Duanmu Huai nodded, and then began to flip through the letters in his hand. Looking at Duanmuhuai, Mary suddenly felt a little nervous, which is normal. Although Xiali lost her memory and Aselika didn't know his existence, Mary knew that her friends could resume their familiar daily life Life is all thanks to this kind gentleman. Not to mention that he spent a lot of money for all of this—although Miss Lorena told Mary that this was the responsibility of the court, Mary was not the kind of girl who didn't know how to repay her kindness.

Therefore, she also hopes to introduce Duanmuhuai to her two friends, so what identity is better?

At this time, Mary suddenly realized that the identities of herself and Duanmuhuai seemed a little unclear.

Logically speaking, he should be regarded as his client in the first place? But in fact, as a client, Mary did not give Duanmuhuai any reward. On the contrary, Duanmuhuai spent a lot of money for her and Xia Li, which was an astronomical sum. So that it is not clear who is the client.

friend? If it's a friend, then...

"Tea, please."

Just when Mary was thinking about this, the arrival of the maid interrupted her thoughts. The latter took the teacup, nodded to the maid, and then looked at Duanmuhuai again.

"Mr. Duanmu."

"Um?"

"That's right... how should I put it..."

Although she knew that Duanmuhuai didn't care about these etiquettes, Mary was still cautious and spoke as politely as possible.

"It's going to be a holiday soon, Axie and I...Ashielika is going to visit Xiali in the sanatorium. Ashielika will go with her fiancé, Mr. Howard. If you have time, would you like to go together... ..."

Speaking of this, Mary also felt that her logic was a bit confused. Indeed, Mr. Howard is Aselika's fiancé, and it is reasonable for him to meet Charlie. But the relationship between me and Duanmuhuai doesn't seem to be that kind of relationship...

As expected, Duanmuhuai didn't seem to be very interested in this.

"You girls party, I won't join in the fun, just have fun."

"It is good."

Hearing Duanmuhuai's answer, Mary also silently sighed inwardly, but at this moment, Duanmuhuai suddenly let out a "doubt".

"Baskerville? That's interesting."

"Why?"

"Ever heard the name, Mary?"

"Ah, yes."

Hearing Duanmuhuai's question, Mary nodded.

"The Baskerville family is one of the very famous upper-class families. I have heard of it..."

"No, no, I didn't mean that..."

"Ah, you mean the magic dog of the Baskerville family?"

As a native of Wudu, it is certainly impossible for Mary not to have read the documentary novel of the great detective, let alone forget it—in fact, the reason why she is familiar with the Baskerville family is precisely because of this story. In other words, this story is known to everyone in the upper and middle layers of Fog City.

The legend of the magic dog, the curse of the Baskerville family, the story of the great famous detective and the conspiracy behind it, not to mention the fact that it was specially compiled into a book and published as a masterpiece...

"That's right, the magic dog of the Baskerville family."

Duanmuhuai raised the envelope and shook it at Mary.

"It seems that the famous detective at the beginning didn't seem to be able to completely solve this trouble, and now it has fallen into my hands."

"Well…………………"

Hearing this, Mary frowned.

"I remember... At the end of the novel, Mr. Holmes and his assistant Watson should have caught the prisoner. In fact, the Baskerville family did not suffer any curse, and the so-called magic dog was just a slightly larger Some hounds. The whole thing is really a case made by the criminals who coveted the property of the Baskerville family, and deliberately made use of that rumor, isn't it?"

"Fiction is like this, but reality looks stranger than fiction..."

Duanmuhuai opened the letter and read it carefully.

"It seems that I have something to do, do you want to come together?"

"Uh... this..."

It is impossible to say that Mary is not moved at all, she is a loyal reader of that book, among other things, just being invited by the legendary Baskerville family has already made her quite happy. Not to mention, from the current point of view, this incident seems to have some inexplicable relationship with the legend of the magic dog.

But in the end, the longing for my friend still overwhelmed the joy in my heart.

"Feel sorry……………"

"Well, it's actually understandable."

Duanmuhuai shook his head.

Sure enough, there are a lot of things going on here on the old road, and it's quite romantic. After all, this is a case that Holmes once took action... Although judging from the current situation, he may have overturned?

Of course, maybe not?

In any case, I am still a D-level personnel at present, although the Antarctic matter is very troublesome, but because Duanmuhuai destroyed most of the evidence, the Foundation did not give him enough upgrade authority. From the current point of view, this case is more suitable for me. Maybe after solving this trouble, I can be promoted to C level?

In this way, there is only one step away from the reality anchor.

When Duan Muhuai was about to investigate the matter of Baskerville's magic dog, Mary had already taken the train with her friend and embarked on the road to visit Xia Li in the resting place.

"Boom... Boom... Boom..."

Sitting on the train, listening to the rhythmic sound of the track, Mary sighed silently. To be honest, as a student of the Department of History, Mary is not without her own ideals. Although she also thought about becoming an archaeologist excavating ruins like her mother, she now has some new ideas. In fact, when Duanmuhuai invited Mary to join the trial court, such an idea once appeared in Mary's mind.

Maybe... I and Mr. Duanmu will be like Watson and Holmes?

In Fog City, the birthplace of Sherlock Holmes, legends and stories about him are naturally widely circulated. It’s just that besides Sherlock Holmes, Watson’s existence is also quite sought after by everyone—in fact, for many people, although they all aspire to become Sherlock Holmes, if they really have to choose, Watson is obviously a safer object .

Following Sherlock Holmes, recording the cases he has experienced, and publishing them in a book is also the romance deep in the hearts of many young people.

only……………

Holmes...

Thinking of this, Mary showed a wry smile. Having been with Duanmuhuai for so long, she also found that although Duanmuhuai was pretending to be a detective, he was actually completely different from the famous detective who seemed to know almost everything. Indeed, he also knows a lot of knowledge that others don't know, but compared with Sherlock Holmes, how should I put it... That gentleman doesn't seem to care much about knowledge. On the contrary, he often prefers to confront the other party directly, and then Destroy it completely with violence.

This is completely different from Sherlock Holmes...

If I were Watson, how should I describe the story about him?

You can't write about him smashing other people's heads with a cane......

But that seems interesting too?

"Woo........."

However, Mary, who was immersed in thinking, didn't notice that right beside her, her best friend, the petite Aselika was puffing up her cheeks and looking at her with dissatisfaction.

Mary's expression...does it really have something to do with men? !

Seeing her friend's blushing cheeks, and looking out of the window with a smile on her face, Aselika couldn't sit still. Although she is indeed the youngest of the three, compared to Xia Li and Mary, Aselika has already been engaged to a trader in the New World and is currently in love. From this point of view Said that although she is the youngest, she has far more experience in love than Mary and Xia Li.

but……………

I'm so upset......!

Looking at Mary's profile, Aselika silently clenched her fists.

How dare you take action against Axie's most important Mary...! Absolutely no way to forgive!

Aselika knew that this was not groundless, after all, the other party had told her this before when she met a child living on the street.

"Sister Mary, she has become a lover for a very special boss!"

To be honest, if possible, Aselika would not believe such nonsense, but the other party was also Mary's friend, and she vowed to see Mary and a man on the street late at night. At that time, Aselika was very worried. She had been wondering whether some despicable and shameless man had sneaked in to tease Mary when she was distressed by Charlie's unconsciousness.

Originally, Aselika also planned to find time to talk to Mary in detail, but then, Xia Li, who was originally in a coma, suddenly disappeared and regained consciousness after returning. It was too late for a series of things to make Aselika happy. The individual is back in the same relationship as before, so she puts it behind her for the time being.

But now on the train like this, seeing her friend showing the expression of a girl in love always makes her feel uncomfortable!

Who is it! The "man of obsession" who actually sneaked in on the fragile girl and despicably approached her!

Obviously Mary is not interested in such and such things between men and women, but she uses her like a lost child to play with her!

This kind of man! Absolutely can not forgive! ! ! !

"...Ah Choo!!!"

Duanmu Huai sneezed heavily and rubbed his nose.

"Are you all right, Lord Knight?"

Hearing the sneeze, Lorena poked her head out to look at him, while Duanmuhuai shook her head.

"It's okay, maybe someone is talking about me."

While talking, Duanmu Huai looked at Lorena.

"Have you finished reading?"

"Ah, yes, it's over."

Hearing Duanmuhuai's question, Lorena put down the book "The Hound of Baskervilles" in her hand and nodded.

"Judging from the content of the book, the illegitimate son wanted to fight for the family property, so he took advantage of the crimes committed by the legend of the magic dog of the Baskerville family, and at the end of the novel, the criminal was also caught?"

"That's right, the police are also investigating from this angle this time."

Duanmu Huai tapped on the file in front of him.

Since the incident of "The Magic Dog of Baskervilles", the Baskerville family has become famous in the fog city, and in the long series of events after that, the so-called curse seems to have completely disappeared because of the appearance of this novel. But just a few years ago, similar things happened again in the Baskerville family.

To put it simply, the people of the Baskerville family were attacked by a dark, huge magic dog in the manor, and several people died because of it. These include the previous Patriarch of Baskerville, his eldest son and wife, and then his eldest grandson... At that time, after receiving the report, the police also followed the description in similar novels to investigate to see if someone deliberately raised hounds to kill people. And the local police also set up a siege, and together with the guards of the Baskerville family, tried to catch the black dog.

That's the problem.

Their encirclement was successful, and then... heavy casualties.

According to the survivors of the police and guards who were present at the time, what they encountered was a black hound that looked bigger than a person. It was invulnerable to guns and guns. Crash and die. Just this night alone, thirteen or four policemen and guards fell under the claws of the black dog. Because of this, they specifically asked the Wudu police for help, and then Sergeant Lestrade turned the case over to Introduced to Duanmuhuai.

This is also the reason why Duanmuhuai received an invitation from the Baskerville family.

"But it doesn't matter, and if it's a criminal case, it doesn't matter to us."

Duanmu Huai categorically denied the possibility of any real event—the existence of the Tribunal is not to deal with ordinary murder cases.

"Let's go back to the cause of the Baskerville family's magic dog incident. You should have read it in the book."

"Well, according to the records, the legend of the Baskerville family about the magic dog originated from a ridiculous ancestor. They kidnapped a girl and tried to rape her. Then the girl ran away in fear, and the ancestor who found the girl ran was furious. They sent hounds to chase them, and they also chased them on horseback. Finally, people found the bodies of the girl and the ancestor of Baskerville beside a strange altar. At that time, some people saw a terrible black dog biting the ancestor. Afterwards, it was rumored that the evil deeds done by the ancestors of Baskerville brought curses and punishments..."

"Except for the useless literary and artistic processing here, what do you think?"

"Um…………………"

Facing Duanmuhuai's question, Lorena thought for a moment.

"Perhaps the ancestor of the Baskerville family wanted to perform some kind of cult ritual, and that girl was a sacrifice?"

"Yes, I thought so too."

Duanmuhuai snapped his fingers, which is why he brought Lorena with him. What they are investigating now is not an ordinary homicide case, let alone a criminal case——as Duanmuhuai said, criminal homicide The case has nothing to do with them. What the trial court is more concerned about is the evil hidden behind it.

Just let Holmes solve the mere inheritance murder or something, and it has nothing to do with them.

"So, do you think the ceremony was a success or a failure?"

"At present... I suspect that the ceremony has failed."

Lorena opened the novel in her hand again.

"Maybe there is a problem with the steps, or there may be something wrong, causing the summoned monster to bite itself..."

"Yeah, these cultists have no other skills, the ability to kill is first-class."

Duanmu Huai curled his lips. Basically, the magic in the Cthulhu world is like this. No matter what kind of magic you use, basically the first thing to do is to kill the summoner.

Like the cultist they met in the manor at the beginning, he summoned a fear snake, and then they turned around and swallowed the cultist who summoned him first.

There are basically countless similar things, so seeing this, the first reaction of Duanmuhuai and Lorena is not difficult to understand.

"All in all, that's the information at the moment."

Duanmuhuai stretched out his hand and touched the black cat and white rabbit with their heads sticking out of their pockets.

"As for the rest, I think we will know when we get there."

After that, Duanmuhuai and Lorena came to the police station in Devon and reported their identities, and then they were taken to the morgue where the corpses were stored.

"Frankly, I'm not a person who believes in myths and legends."

The fat forensic doctor, wearing a white coat, walked in front of Duanmuhuai, and said while struggling to move his steps.

"But to be honest, what I saw this time, really freaked me out."

"You also participated in the siege that night?"

"No, of course not."

The fat forensic doctor shook his head.

"With my body, I just went to deliver meat to the other party. But the people in Devonshire can't forget what happened that night, the gunshots, the screams, the shouts... To be honest, this peaceful place is still alive." It's never been this noisy. When I get called by an emergency call, it's already like this..."

"Then, do you have anything to offer about the Baskervilles? Including the first few victims?"

"Oh, of course."

The fat forensic doctor came to the desk, then stood on tiptoe with difficulty, opened the top of the filing cabinet, and took out several autopsy reports.

"Come in order, first of all is the old Baskerville, he is a very respected doctor, and he is also a very decent person. He was found lying on the path outside his manor in the early morning, and his body was not injured. , the result of the examination was a heart attack—for an old man in his eighties, this is actually not an accident.”

"So it was filed by accident?"

"Of course, the police conducted an investigation and concluded that the old Baskerville went out for a walk, suddenly fell ill on the way back, and then fell down just like that... Ordinary is ordinary, so it is not surprising."

As he spoke, the fat forensic doctor took out another file.

"Next was his son, Mr. Childs, who died in the evening, after dinner, and according to the testimony, he and his wife went out for a walk after dinner and never came back. As it got dark, the others Worried, they went out to search and found the bodies of two people - their necks were ripped open, the bodies were horrific, obviously attacked by some kind of large animal. However, as you know, there is nothing in this place Large animals, not even wolves."

Having said this, the fat forensic doctor took a breath.

"Then there was their son Fred. He was very angry and sad about the death of his parents. He believed that it was the work of wild beasts. So he took the hounds, gathered a team and a large number of hounds to go up the mountain, and vowed to find the murderers. His parents' beast."

"Then he sent himself away too?"

"Yes."

The fat forensic doctor sighed helplessly.

"His head was shot straight into a meat paste. The autopsy results showed that he must have been smashed by a bear. God, I never knew there were bears in Devonshire!"

"Then it seems that this has nothing to do with the magic dog."

"Oh, that's right, but many people who went up the mountain at that time proved that they did not see a bear, but a terrifying black hound that was taller than a person, and then we set a trap and tried to capture it. That beast......"

Having said this, the fat forensic doctor paused and took a breath.

"Okay, facts speak louder than words, you will know after reading it."

As he spoke, the fat forensic doctor came to the mortuary cabinet and opened the cabinet door.

Let’s change it once a day. I’d better have a good rest and sleep. I’m still coughing and my tongue is burning. I’ve taken a lot of medicine and my stomach is not feeling well... I need to take less medicine...