Chapter 69 Two Guests
Lin Qi was a little confused. He just paid the advertising fee to the Investigator yesterday. In theory, it cannot be published in the newspaper today, and it will not be published in the newspaper until at least tomorrow.
So Lynch has no plans to pick up customers these days. According to his estimate, it will take at least five or six days before any customers come to his door.
But when he saw the customer brought by Mrs. Maggie, he immediately understood the reason. He knew the customer, the old woman from the Plaza Bakery, Mrs. Sterling.
I must have reported my address when I bought bread in the morning. Mrs. Maggie was asked when she went to buy groceries just now, and then she spread her profession.
That’s fine, it’s just free advertising. Unfortunately, the people who spread it are hard to describe.
The financial situation of the customers in the King's District is really not worth looking forward to, and I have just made up my mind to make more money... Forget it, the first customer to come to the door, there is no way to promote it, let's listen to the content first.
Mrs. Sterling is a thin black woman in her fifties, wearing a long coarse cloth skirt and a yellowing white apron. Her whole body is filled with the aroma of baking bread. At this time, she is completely different from where she used to be The momentum behind the van, sitting on the sofa very reservedly.
Since it was decided to receive her normally, there was no need to show disgust. Lynch poured the black tea for the old woman himself, then sat opposite and opened his notebook and turned to a new page.
May 17, 1399, 17:00, Mrs. Sterling.
“So, Mrs. Stirling, please relax a little. If you really feel too nervous sitting here, we can go down to your van and stand and talk. I think it will make it easier for you there. Hahaha, that’s fine, then you should relax a bit, have a cup of tea, and then talk to me about your granddaughter’s name..."
"Janet, her name is little Janet Sterling." The old woman's nervousness eased a lot and she whispered, "I am thirteen years old and still studying in elementary education school."
The citizens of the Rand Kingdom still value education, especially in recent decades. A high proportion of people have received four years of primary education. However, the age varies. Some children do not receive primary education until they are ten years old. This child Janet must be one of these students who entered school late.
“Which one?”
“Huiwu District Municipal Elementary School.”
The old woman straightened her back proudly. Lin Qi remembered that the municipal elementary school had a good reputation. In his hometown, it should be considered a key elementary school.
"Well, please continue, what's wrong with her?"
"She was fine before, but in the past five or six days, after coming home from get off work, she often sits at the door in a daze, sometimes as if she was frightened She shrank into a ball as if something was broken, but when I asked her, she said she was fine. Her parents and I didn't pay attention, thinking it was just a child's mind, and it was just a daze. But slowly, the situation became more and more serious, not only at night. Sometimes I sleepwalk, draw some strange patterns, and my body becomes thinner and thinner.”
"Wait a minute, what did you just say she did? Go home from get off work?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
Mrs. Sterling's confident answer made Lynch realize that he had subconsciously applied his previous habits to this world. Now at most, in the eighteenth century in my hometown, it was common for children from poor families to enter factories at the age of twelve or thirteen. They went to school in the morning and worked in the afternoon, and they were not considered child laborers at this age.
“So, you want me to investigate what happened to this child?”
“Yes, Mr. Detective, Janet is the smartest child in the Sterling family, so nothing can happen to her. We are worried about her, but you know...no one in the King's District is willing to help us. Mrs. Hudson mentioned your identity just now, so I wanted to try to find you."
Lynch frowned and nodded, writing down the description in detail. Judging from his experience on paper, in fact, the child is probably just too stressed and has a mental breakdown. Just like the mustache in the classic Modern Era, it has nothing to do with the mysterious incident. This is because he specializes in taking over cases related to the mystery. expectations are not met.
I always felt that it would be a big loss. Lynch secretly sighed, but still said: "It's hard to say what happened to little Janet now. Maybe she is just sick. That is not within the scope of my entrustment. , I suggest you go find the priests and nuns at the Hall of Misery, but... let's take her here tomorrow afternoon and let me see her. If it's not convenient, I can come to see her. There are some things that must be done. Only after I meet him can I judge whether it can be solved."
Mrs. Sterling's face was full of joy, she thanked her repeatedly, rubbed her hands and said with a smile: "Mr. Detective, the reward..."
"Let's check with the person tomorrow and make sure I can solve the problem before we talk about remuneration." Lynch was about to close the note when he suddenly remembered a question and asked, "Which factory does she work in?"
"Grant Screws Factory." "Oh." Lynch jotted down and suddenly stopped writing and raised his head, "What factory? Grant Screw Factory?"
"Yes, Mr. Detective, that's the name."
"The factory owned by Speaker Grant of the House of Commons?"
"Yes, you know it, it is a very famous big factory." Mrs. Sterling's smile widened and she seemed honored.
"I understand, then bring the children over tomorrow."
After quietly recording all Mrs. Sterling's information, Lynch closed the notebook and politely sent the old woman out of the living room. Returning to the window, he watched her push the van and disappear into the evening crowd.
The original contempt has been completely torn apart by the name Grant Screw Factory.
The appearance of Mrs. Sterling made Lynch realize that he had overlooked an important point. If he wanted to investigate the relationship between Speaker Grant and the railroad case, he did not necessarily have to contact the speaker step by step from the railroad incident. A reverse investigation was also a method. ideas, and the screw factory is naturally the best breakthrough point, and we can just take advantage of this commission to investigate.
Would you like to ask Officer Natalie to help?
Lin Qi hesitated for a while and decided not to inform her yet. He had to learn to face the mysterious world independently and could not always hide behind her.
The chance that this commission will be connected to a mystery is too small, and it is just suitable for me who has little combat ability to practice independent investigation. Even if I do encounter a mystery, my ability is best for quietly escaping.
Then let’s go to the next step... huh?
There was another knock on the door behind me. When I turned around, I saw Mrs. Maggie standing at the door with a strange expression: "Mr. Leviev, there is a letter from you. It was sent."
Lin Qi's heart tightened, and he immediately thought of the letter that the man behind the scenes sent to his former landlord: "Huh? Who sent it?"
"I don't know, I slipped it in through the crack in the door. I didn't see anyone when I opened the door."
Lin Qi frowned, put on his gloves and opened the envelope.
It's a very high-end letter paper with a faint lavender aroma, which makes people feel good.
Opening the letter paper, a blue theater ticket fell, and a few lines of pleasing small characters in floral fonts appeared in front of Lin Qi's eyes. The fonts were beautiful, and at first glance, it was written by an elegant lady.
Mr. Lynch Leviv
At 21:00 on the evening of the 18th, Box 204 of the Black Cat Theater is waiting for you.
Countess Hathaway.
Lynch didn’t recognize the name, but he recognized what was underneath it.
Below the name is a pair of lifelike cat eyes, and next to it is a cat's paw drawn in a simple style.
Lin Qi's heart moved and he turned to look out the window.
A black cat was lying on the building across the street, licking its paws at Lynch, stretching, and lazily disappearing into the crowd.
Am I so excited that all the cats in this world can write letters?
(End of this chapter)