Detective Org, seeing this, was furious.
Only one minute separated him from knowing the identity of the culprit, but at least he knew that the killer was frail and short.
He closed the Ether Sightings piece, held it in his hands, feeling its warm texture, then pulled out a small wallet and returned it to its place among the other Ether Sightings.
"So, we have to get into the details of the investigation into the culprit... This Ether Sightings piece hasn't revealed the killer."
Geeshi spoke miserably, sadness clearly etched on his face.
"No, not quite.
At least we know that the killer is frail and short.
We will resume the investigation toward every strong or tall person, but we will not remove them from the list of suspects in this crime."
Org replied calmly
Despite his anger at the bad timing, he thought that if he had arrived just one minute earlier, he might have discovered the killer's identity.
But that was fate.
And now, all that remained was to delve into the tedious details of an investigation.
This wasn't what Orgh disliked; he was used to investigating crimes.
What was really weighing on him... was the timing itself.
Orgh moved and went straight to the desk near Overd's body.
He began pulling out drawers, accompanied by the scraping of wood.
He opened the first drawer, which was filled with several papers, mostly slave papers.
But one paper caught his eye...
A new debt note had been placed there.
Orgh took the paper and began to read it:
A debt contract between Leeward Kshin, Overd Cantem Monoth...
Oweing three kilograms of silver...
The contract was signed with a bloody imprint and sealed with O'Ferd's signature.
This paper is still new...
Bring Leeward Cashin here.
"You mean the one who was only freed this morning?
He was O'Ferd's slave.
And I don't think his profile fits the murderer, Detective Org; he's a robust man, not a short one."
Mayor DuVell replied confidently, remembering Leeward's features.
That one eye he had, and the other pierced by an old, crooked scar...
It made his image and voice clear in DuVell's mind.
You say he was O'Ferd's slave and was only freed today?
That alone makes him a suspect in this crime...
We must seize him now!"
Geshie blurted out, convinced that Leeward was the murderer.
"Calm down, Geshie.
If he really was free, and he was the murderer,
then why didn't he take the debt note with him after killing O'Verd?
That would have worked in his favor, clearing him of any debts."
Orgh wasn't a shallow thinker.
He dug a bit deeper, and deduced it quickly.
As Mayor DuVill said, he's robust, not short.
That doesn't take him completely off the hook, but it just keeps him in the realm of suspects in this case.
"He also admitted to being free as if it were perfectly normal.
That made me suspicious, and at the same time, he held back...
He's a strange fellow."
DuVille added, crossing his arms.
Silence fell over the desk for a moment
Everyone was deep in thought when an alarm sounded in the room.
A figure rushed into the office, as if pursued by something, or as if bearing momentous news.
It was Augie.
He finally arrived at the office to deliver the order he had been given by the Fair Morse.
Everyone was startled by his speed, his ragged breath, and the apocalypse etched on his face.
"Mayor...
One of the Charmin Fair Morse army commanders
has arrived in the village of Morge, with a group of soldiers...
and carrying a large number of warriors' bodies."
His words struck everyone like a thunderbolt.
They hadn't even begun investigating O'Verd's murder long before this shocking and unexpected news hit them.
"What?"
"What?
What are you talking about?
Fair Morse... and a bunch of soldiers?"
The mayor looked surprised, but tried to take in the situation even though he didn't understand what was happening.
Soldiers of Clan Charmen.....
This happened at the worst possible time... Damn it."
Org cursed the rapid escalation of events.
Geeshy, however, didn't seem to care much about the situation, but began to think about his brother Overd's funeral, and burying him before his body decomposed.
"Detective Org
I suppose that's all you need of my brother's body, isn't it?"
"Not exactly....
But I can generalize and say yes.
"Then I'll start preparing my brother's funeral...."
"Yes, yes, you're right."
But I want you to prepare fifteen graves, along with your brother's or Verd's...
The number of soldiers' bodies is large.
Augie said this hastily.
The mayor slapped his forehead at that moment, at the rudeness of what Augie had said.
"What do you take me for?
A servant to this person? Whatever his position,
let him prepare his soldiers' graves himself.
I will do what is necessary for my brother only, and the rest is none of my business."
Geeshy's anger was clearly visible on his face.
"Oh yes, I am sorry... I spoke a little too hastily. I am sorry, Mr. Geeshy, for this..."
Augie clasped his hands and respectfully asked Geeshy for forgiveness, then sighed deeply, trying to calm himself a little.
"I am leaving now, Detective Org. Please keep me informed of any developments in the case..."
Jesh left the office to begin making arrangements for his brother's funeral, his heart heavy with resentment. His steps were slow, burdened with a profound misery that weighed him down with every movement.
"That slave, Leward Cashin... it seems he had a hand in my brother's murder. I'll make sure he never gets away with it. He must have threatened my brother with death until he granted him his freedom..."
In his mind, a completely different scenario was playing out from the one in Orgh's.
He thought that Leward had threatened Opherd with death if he didn't grant him his freedom, and that Opherd had complied with the threat. After Leward left, Opherd had written the note of debt to later attach to it. Then Leward had hired an assassin and ordered him to kill Opherd, but he didn't know that Opherd had already signed the note of debt, so the assassin Leward had left that note there
His thinking seemed logical to him, but he wasn't entirely sure. He still harbored some suspicion toward Haygü, and this intensified his hatred and darkened his gaze.
Deep hatred for Haygü... and Leeward.
I'll make sure they both die in the worst possible way...
His hatred for Haygü was an inherited one; Haygü had always been the only competitor in the market who rivaled Overward
And sometimes even surpasses him, especially after news spread that O'Ferd had started building his own danning arena.
Geeshi thought that Haighy had killed O'Ferd to prevent competition in this field... the field of danning.
At the headquarters of the legal authority
Rishi, O'Ferd's wife, sat on the wooden benches with a hot cup of coffee in her hands, sipping it slowly to calm her nerves after the latest stressful events.
Her weak hands were prominent, and her entire thin body was clearly visible beneath her beautiful robe.
"I'm scared... my husband is dead, and I don't know what to do now. There's no one to stand with me anymore..."
She showed some sadness, and Jonky, the superintendent, couldn't tell if her expression was genuine or feigned.
But he tried to stand with her despite his confusion, and began to comfort her, saying, "Don't worry, Mrs. Rishi, you're not alone. The entire Cantom Monoth family is with you, and I'm sure they won't leave you to suffer alone in this harsh life..."
Everything will be alright, we just have to be optimistic about fate, for it is written and will never change. Remember that no one really knows what the next step in this life will be, for everything is unpredictable...
He looked at her gently and spoke in a quiet voice, then continued: "And the simplest example is the death of Owerd himself. No one expected him to die today, for he was in good health. No one knows when he will die."
Slap!
Rishi slapped him hard across the face, knocking the wooden coffee cup onto her robe, staining it with coffee and ruining its beautiful color.
She felt the heat of the coffee on her thighs and winced, while her features became as sharp as hell.
"How dare you say that this is fate and that it was already written?! Owerd wasn't destined to die, but was murdered!"
She screamed loudly. The word "fate" that Jonki had spoken felt like a blow to her very core. She didn't want to believe it and rejected it completely.
As if she felt that she had done something on purpose, and that everything that had happened had been written for her to do
Meanwhile, Jonkie's gaze had turned completely dark as he thought: "As they say... treat them well and you'll get a slap in the face."