Chapter 299 — Snapping Fingers
9 min read ·
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
West Borough, Grimm Garden Street
Klein, with a quite a stubble around his mouth, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses while carrying a top hat and a black cane. He followed Rogo Colloman into a spacious and bright living room.
There was a huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The walls, corners, and tables were decorated with all kinds of golden carvings and ornaments. The entire area looked gorgeous, exquisite, and luxurious.
As expected of a jewelry businessman, a businessman staying in West Borough...Klein scanned the oil paintings by the side and sighed.
With every step Rogo took, the fat on his body quivered. It left people maliciously wondering when his clothes and pants would snap.
However, as a jewelry businessman, he had enough money to buy clothes of the best quality.
“Detective Moriarty, this is my son, Adol.” Logo stopped at the edge of a carpet and pointed to a boy that was 15 or 16 years old and was sitting on a single sofa.
As all the fireplaces in the house were lit, and there were metallic pipes to conduct the heat around, the living room was rather warm. It even made Klein feel like taking off his clothes until he only had a shirt and a pair of trousers left. However, the boy was wrapped in a thick fur coat and had a blanket that looked burning hot on his legs.
At that moment, he had his head low, tightly hugging himself as he shivered nonstop. His dark blue hair seemed to have lost its luster.
Rogo looked at him with concern and raised his voice slightly, “Adol, this is Detective Moriarty. He will be protecting you for today and tomorrow.”
At these words, Adol raised his head, revealing his pale face, his bluish lips, and his unfocused eyes.
“Protect me, protect me... They’re going to kill me! They want to kill me!” His voice became sharper and sharper. In the end, he covered his ears with his hands and screamed.
After a few seconds, he gradually calmed down.
During this process, Klein had already tapped his molars and secretly activated his Spirit Vision.
Huh... He held back the shock that had crept up to his mouth and carefully examined him again.
He saw that the color of Adol’s aura had been dyed with a deep blackish-green sheen!
This is a sign of being haunted by wraiths, a sign of possible possession!
Adol’s bad friends are already taking revenge on him... Or perhaps, there were no such things as “bad company” at all... Klein quietly reached out, held Mr. Azik’s copper whistle, and allowed his spirituality to spread. Then, he thoughtfully looked away from Adol and looked at the others inside the living room.
By the oriel window stood a man in a black coat. He was tall and sturdy, not smiling, and his waist was bulging as if he were hiding a gun.
This should be one of the six bodyguards... Klein was about to size up another person when Rogo Colloman introduced, “Detective Kaslana; her assistant, Lydia.
“Detective Stuart.”
At this point, Rogo turned around and pointed at Klein.
“This is Detective Sherlock Moriarty.”
Kaslana was in her thirties, had black hair and blue eyes, and thick eyebrows. She was probably a beauty when she was young, but now, because of the sagging muscles on her cheeks, she didn’t seem very amiable.
Lydia, her assistant, was a red-haired lady of about twenty years of age. Her figure was excellent, but she had an average appearance.
Both women wore something similar to what aristocratic riders wore. The white shirts they wore were tight at the waist which matched the more tight-fitting trousers that facilitated movement. The pleats were the only thing that distinguished their clothes from men.
In addition, they provided no concealment for the two revolvers around their waists.
This reminded Klein of a saying from Lawyer Jurgen that illegal possession of a gun was a sure thing for a private investigator. This was because—unless one was a noble, a Member of Parliament, or a senior civil servant—it was very difficult to obtain an all-purpose weapon permit.
Stuart sat opposite to Kaslana and Lydia. He had a lean face, but he grew a bushy beard. His light green eyes were unusually lively.
He was about the same age as Lydia, and almost as tall as Klein, a little over 1.7m and weighing 140lb.
Stuart had an armpit holster, and in it, there was obviously a specially designed revolver.
After exchanging pleasantries, Klein took off his coat, took off his hat, and handed it to the maidservant next to him.
“Put it somewhere I can retrieve it quickly from. There are some important items inside.”
In fact, he had already transferred the paper figurines, notes, charms, a matchbox, etc to his trouser pockets. The only thing left in his coat was herbal powder, extract essence, keys, and his wallet. There were a total of 206 pounds in paper bills in his wallet.
Stuart, who was sitting there, turned his head to size Klein up and chuckled. “You didn’t bring a gun?”
“Gun? This is my gun.” Klein smiled and raised his cane.
At the same time, he puffed out his cheeks to stimulate a sound.
Bang!
The sound of a gunshot rang out, and without thinking, Stuart rolled over, while Kaslana and Lydia quickly got off the sofa, each finding a place to hide.
Rogo and the servant beside him were both surprised and confused about what was happening. Adol continued keeping his head low as he shivered.
When they saw that Klein was only holding onto a black cane and realized that nothing had happened, Kaslana and company calmed down. They frowned and asked, “What just happened?”
“Ever since I handed a revolver I picked up to the police, I’ve been learning how to imitate its sound. It seems to be quite effective,” Klein replied half-jokingly.
“That’s not funny, Detective Moriarty,” Kaslana said in a deep voice.
I just wanted to perform some magic for you... Klein lampooned. He handed his cane to the maidservant and solemnly nodded.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Stuart, who was in the most pathetic state a moment ago, didn’t seem to be angry at all. He patted his clothes with great interest, got up and asked, “Why haven’t I heard of you, Mr. Moriarty? I mean, I know a lot of people in the detective business, but I’ve not heard about you in the past.”
“I only came to Backlund in early September,” Klein briefly explained.
“Is that so...” Stuart laughed and said, “Tonight, the two of us will pair up. We’ll be in charge of everything from midnight until tomorrow morning. Will that be a problem?”
“Nope,” Klein responded with the same smile.
“Okay, after dinner, you guys have some rest and take over your shifts in the early morning,” Kaslana added.
Klein took a long look at the trembling Adol and nodded seriously.
...
Nothing happened throughout the afternoon, and the worried male and female hosts prepared a hearty dinner for the detectives and the bodyguards, but no alcoholic beverages were provided.
After eating and drinking to his heart’s content, Klein and Stuart, a young man with a full beard, went to their rooms on the second floor.
Seeing that no one was around, Stuart shook his head and said, “Sherlock, you should’ve noticed that the problem with Adol isn’t something regarding revenge.”
Bro, you sure are affable... Klein’s expression didn’t change as he asked, “Why do you say that?”
“He looks more like he has a mental problem, or, according to the countryside, he’s been haunted by ghosts and evil spirits. Frankly, I’m afraid of that.” Stuart sighed. “Mr. Colloman should take him to a psychiatrist, and if that doesn’t work, get the priests from the Lord of Storms to sprinkle some holy water and perform a ritual.”
“You can suggest it to him,” Klein said objectively.
“If Adol doesn’t get better, I’ll consider it in about a couple of days.” Stuart glanced sideways at Klein.
Klein laughed and replied, “That’s up to you. My mission will be over tomorrow.”
At that moment, the two of them had arrived at their destination and entered their respective rooms.
...
One in the morning, inside Adol’s bedroom.
Klein sat in a rocking chair, holding onto Azik’s copper whistle, quietly watching his ward. Stuart sipped his coffee at his desk.
The two of them didn’t speak, afraid that they would wake the sleeping Adol.
As time passed, a cold chill swept through the room.
Adol sat up and opened his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Stuart asked somewhat nervously.
“To... the washroom...” Adol replied in a soft, dreamy voice.
His face seemed paler, and his lips were turning purple.
Stuart was about to speak when he saw Sherlock Moriarty stand up and nod at him.
“I’ll follow him.”
“Alright.” Stuart let out a sigh of relief.
Putting his hands into his pockets, Klein stayed one step behind Adol and followed him to the entrance of the washroom two rooms away.
Just as Adol was about to close the door behind him, he saw a figure flash in.
“I can’t let you out of my sight. Heh, do whatever you have to do, and pretend that I don’t exist.” Klein smiled and leaned against the wall.
Adol remained silent, his eyes unfocused as he looked into the mirror.
He turned on the faucet and let the water flow.
At this moment, Klein took out a box of matches and lit a matchstick, as though he wanted to smoke.
However, he didn’t do so. He blew on the air and allowed the match to go out.
Pa!
Klein casually threw the match in front of him and took out another item.
Adol, whose back was facing him, suddenly straightened up. The figure in the mirror was so pale that it looked like a corpse.
Whoosh! In the washroom, a cold wind howled. While keeping his lower body fixed, Adol turned around and glared at Klein’s left hand, at the delicate copper whistle that was being tossed up and down.
Whoosh!
A gust of cold wind blew across Klein’s face.
He continued smiling and snapped his fingers.
With a loud bang, a flame rose from the ground, igniting an invisible figure.
The figure struggled for a few moments before completely dispersing. The flames extinguished as a result.
Klein put away Azik’s copper whistle and looked calmly at Adol, whose eyes were beginning to focus.
Adol appeared to have finally awoken from a long nightmare.
He saw a young man standing a few steps away. The man was wearing a white shirt, dark trousers, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was leaning against the wall with a smile on his face.
Then, he heard a gentle voice.
“What happened to you?”