harleyscars Chapter 209 Lorne: I'm asking you to investigate me
Chapter 209 Lorne: I'm asking you to investigate me
Chapter 209 Lorne: I'm asking you to investigate me
Hugh Deercha was standing in front of the full-length mirror, packing his things for the trip.
For the past two days since returning from Mr. A's extraordinary party, she has been living in a state of constant fear.
Although everything seemed calm, and the so-called "evil god" appeared to have truly been driven away by the mysterious purifier, the words that person had spoken before leaving still made her somewhat uneasy. Frankly, she really didn't want to go out these past few days. However, the masked man who approached her at the gathering gave her a new task.
Ask her to help investigate some unusual developments in the East District recently, and also keep an eye on the recent activities of the "Truth Guild".
Considering that the other party possesses the potion recipes for the "Arbitrator" pathway, and that this is the first official mission, it's worth noting that they have the necessary resources.
It wouldn't be appropriate to refuse outright. So, no matter how unwilling she was, Hugh had no choice but to force herself to go out.
"Hugh, are you going out?"
Seeing her friend getting ready to leave, Fors, who was sitting on the sofa lost in thought, asked with some concern.
"It's alright," Hugh said, turning around to comfort him. "I'm just going to take a look around the East District. Don't worry about me."
Looking at Fors's somewhat haggard face, she couldn't help but joke, "But you, stop wearing that long face all the time. You've been thinking about your pen pal you've never met every day lately, and you haven't looked well at all."
"Shut up! What did you say?!" Fors's cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
"Alright, I'm leaving now."
After Xiu left, Fors was left alone in the room. She looked at the gray sky outside the window and sighed softly. Besides the matter of her pen pal that made her worry, there was another thing that was giving her a headache recently.
"Throat...it's almost a full moon again—"
She picked up a cigarette and lit it.
"Eating language has become—more and more serious."
1
Minsk Street.
With his normal spirituality and not being an extraordinary being, Lorne still wore that gentle smile on his face, while subtly observing the overly enthusiastic lady in front of him.
"Madam, are you a noblewoman?" Lorne asked with a smile.
"Oh, no." Mrs. Summer shook her head, but her face revealed an undisguised delight. "Do you—do you think I resemble a true nobleman?"
"Is that not true?" Lorne subtly expressed a hint of surprise. "Your demeanor is exactly the same as that of the noble ladies I've seen in some salons."
"Really? You have excellent taste!" Mrs. Summer was delighted by his words, and her smile became even brighter.
She seemed to enjoy Lorne's compliment and started chatting with him.
During this time, Lorne also took the opportunity to praise the other party's elegant dressing style and unique taste.
Mrs. Summer was pleased to share some information with him about the detective Sherlock Moriarty.
"Mr. Moriarty is quite the detective. A friend of mine once asked him to investigate her husband, and he solved the case in just two days—."
Investigating her husband? That's practically catching him in the act!
Although you didn't mention that friend's name, you've already said quite a lot.
Enthusiastic, not particularly scheming, and a bit of a show-off—she shouldn't be a dangerous person. Lorne made a preliminary assessment of this woman in his mind.
"By the way, ma'am," Lorne asked again, "Does Detective Moriarty live alone? Does he—have a family?"
"No, Detective Moriarty is still single." Mrs. Summer thought for a few seconds, then added, "However—I do seem to recall seeing other ladies visit his home."
Mrs. Lorne silently noted this information down. Then, Mrs. Summer sent her maid home with the things, while she herself enthusiastically insisted on accompanying Lorne to find the detective Moriarty.
Lorne then took the opportunity to thank the other party.
Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived at the door of No. 15 Minsk Street, chatting and laughing.
Mrs. Summer stepped forward and rang the doorbell.
My premonition of "disaster" didn't come true. There shouldn't be any danger.
After waiting for about ten seconds, the door opened from the inside. A man wearing glasses and with a bit of stubble, who looked to be around thirty years old, opened the door.
"Mrs. Summer, what brings you here?" Klein looked at his landlady, who had suddenly arrived, and the somewhat unfamiliar young man beside her with a hint of surprise. "And this is—"
"Mr. Moriarty, I'm here to introduce you to some business." Mrs. Summer's words trailed off midway, then she suddenly realized that she had been so engrossed in listening to Lorne's compliments that she had forgotten to ask his name.
"James Scott." Lorne gave the other person a slight bow, a very standard greeting, and at the same time glanced at him.
...Have I seen him somewhere before?
He inexplicably felt that the detective in front of him looked somewhat familiar.
"Mr. Scott, I have a request for you," Mrs. Summer said.
Upon hearing that business had come to them, Klein did not hesitate and immediately invited the two into the house.
Coffee or black tea?
Upon entering the living room, Lorne had barely sat down when he heard the other person's question.
"A cup of coffee, please."
"I'd like a cup of black tea," Mrs. Summer said, finding a comfortable spot to sit down.
Klein got up and went to the kitchen to make two cups of coffee and a cup of black tea. At the same time, he was also subtly observing the unfamiliar client.
He was well-dressed and had good manners. He looked like a wealthy young man from a well-to-do family.
"Mr. Scott," Klein said, handing Lorne the brewed coffee and casually asking, "Are you a friend of Mrs. Summer's?"
No, that's not it.
No? All my recent commissions have been accepted through the guild. Why would they come directly to my home address unless introduced by someone I know?
"I came here by chance after seeing a GG ad." Lorne took a folded old newspaper out of his pocket and handed it over. "I got lost around here. As it turned out, the kind Mrs. Summer helped me."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Summer immediately nodded in agreement.
So it was—the GG I posted when I first arrived in Backlund—Klein looked at the old newspaper article and accepted the other person's statement.
"So, Mr. Scott, what would you like to commission?" Klein asked, turning his gaze to Mrs. Summer, who was eagerly anticipating the story.
"Should I excuse myself?" Mrs. Summer finally realized that she seemed a bit superfluous and quickly asked.
"No need." Lorne shook his head slightly. "I believe that someone as warm-hearted as Mrs. Summer would never spread her guests' private matters."
"Yes." Mrs. Summer nodded with a smile.
"It's like this," Lorne said, looking at Klein with his prepared statement, "a friend of mine has apparently gone missing."
Therefore, I would like to ask for your help in finding his whereabouts.
"Why not go to the police?" Klein asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't you go to the police for something like this?"
Lorne shook his head and explained, "His family went bankrupt recently, so the situation is a bit complicated. He went into hiding for a while to avoid trouble, so it's not a good idea to call the police."
Is bankruptcy because you're afraid of being sued by creditors? — Klein pondered to himself.
"If you can find him, I can offer a reward of 30 pounds."
£30?! That's not cheap! Looks like I can make some extra money again.
Klein picked up his coffee and took a small sip. Just when he thought it was just a routine request to find someone, he heard the young man across from him say:
"My friend's name is Lorne Disenke."
"Pfft—cough cough cough!"
If it weren't for the "Joker's" ability, which was forcibly controlling his facial muscles, Klein would have almost spat out the coffee in his mouth!
What?! Another one looking for Lorne Disenke?!
His thoughts froze for a moment.
Lorne carefully observed the change in the other man's expression for that brief moment before asking, "Mr. Moriarty, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing." Klein quickly recovered and asked, "Are you sure your friend is in Backlund right now? If he's not here, it'll be very difficult for me to find him."
After all, he's probably still adrift at sea right now—Klein silently added to himself.
“I’m sure,” Lorne said. “We’ve been corresponding. In a previous letter, he clearly stated that he had returned to Backlund.”
"We had arranged to meet. But I didn't see him. And after that, I couldn't contact him anymore." As he spoke, Lorne handed over some letters he had forged.
Revealing that he might have returned to Backlund was indeed risky, but time was of the essence—and he could bear some of the risks. That's what he told himself.
Klein took the letter and glanced at it carefully.
To make his character more compelling, Lorne continued, "There are still some issues between him and me regarding shares that need to be discussed in person. I had already bought some of his shares in the arms factories and had given him a large deposit in advance. But now he's just suddenly disappeared—"
Upon hearing this, Lorne deliberately feigned a look of disappointment.
"He and I have been friends for many years. We were classmates in school, and he used to be a very generous person."
Although his business ran into trouble, we've never lost contact. I don't think he would deliberately lie to me for such a small amount of money. So, I think he must be in some kind of trouble. But I can't rule out...
"I never expected it to be like this—" Mrs. Summer, who was standing nearby, immediately comforted Lorne after hearing everything. "Mr. Scott, you don't need to be too sad. Maybe your friend really had some unavoidable difficulties."
Lorne returned a grateful smile before turning his gaze back to Klein and saying:
"In short, I would like to ask you to help me find him."
The arms factory shares were indeed real. Klein recalled some documents he'd seen when he broke into that house. Mr. Scott's story sounded plausible. But the sudden appearance of someone looking for Lorndison was still somewhat suspicious.
Lorne Disenk, just how many people are eyeing you?!
First a lady asked me to find you, and now a gentleman who seems very sentimental has asked me to find you.
Is our fate really that deep?
To be honest, Klein wasn't really keen on taking this mission. He had just recently gone to the other party's house to investigate, only to be discovered, and in the end, he only managed to escape with Irene's help.
For the time being, he really didn't want to have anything to do with Lorne Disenke anymore.
Moreover, while Mr. Scott's story seemed plausible and he didn't appear to be a bad person, the fact that he had coincidentally found him was still somewhat suspicious!
But then again, a reward of 30 pounds is indeed very tempting!
Furthermore, there are letters testifying that Lorne Disenke returned to Backlund, and he also wanted to find out the truth about Tingen—
However, Lorne Disenker was no ordinary person; he had already learned this the hard way before.
Just as Klein was hesitating, Mrs. Summer suddenly said, "Mr. Moriarty, you are a very capable detective. I believe you can definitely help Mr. Scott, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lorne immediately gave him a pleading look.
The reason he specifically kept Mrs. Summer was to deal with this situation. With his landlady present, even if Sherlock Moriarty really didn't want to take on the commission, he couldn't refuse it outright in front of his landlady.
Lorne's request sounded perfectly reasonable. If he refused outright, it would be tantamount to disrespecting his landlord.
"I can add another 10 pounds for the commission," Lorne added fuel to the fire at the opportune moment.
Logically, Klein should now make an excuse to go to the restroom and check on the situation.
But seeing Mrs. Summer's eager gaze and hearing Lorne's demand for a hefty 40 pounds, he gritted his teeth and, in a moment of impulsiveness, said:
"Okay. I'll take this commission."