GBP Chapter 129 The Shadow of London
Chapter 129 The Shadow of London
"The deceased was a prop master working on a film set, a 35-year-old Latino American named Juan Castro. Is this information correct?"
The FBI officer who came to investigate, Anderson Carmel, straightened his ill-fitting hat, rubbed his unkempt stubble, and asked in a deep voice.
"Director? Mr. Coryne Wolfe, did you hear me?!"
After being called a few times, Corinne snapped out of his daze and quickly replied under the officer's suspicious gaze, "Yes, you're right!"
Unconsciously clenching their teeth, tightening their eyelids, and raising and furrowing their eyebrows—these facial details reflect the person's anxiety, mixed with fear.
This is so strange! Twenty minutes have passed since the incident. As a director who has produced many suspense films, it's impossible for him to still be so terrified, unless this emotion has some other source...
Following the direction of his gaze, Officer Carmel looked at the mixed-race man standing behind him, wiping the cheek of a child star.
Judging from his slightly soft facial features, Carmel speculated that he might have Asian ancestry. He seemed to be under twenty years old, but his demeanor was as calm and composed as many important figures he had met.
His slicked-back brown hair added a touch of composure, while the dark green turtleneck sweater paired with a beige long leather coat gave him a very casual look, completely different from the classic business style in Hollywood.
"And then you are Ms. Sharon Vineyard, the first eyewitness at the crime scene, and her agent..."
"Malfoy".
Kuromon Haruya's skills in disguise and voice changing were only intermediate, but they were sufficient to conceal some of her original appearance and pretend to be her relatives.
"I am Abraxas Malfoy, the current head of the Hogwarts Film Company, and this child's direct agent."
Upon hearing his self-introduction, the eyes that had been watching him for a long time began to dilate in shock.
Malfoy, he also has the surname Malfoy!
Feeling a tightness in his chest, the director gripped his tie and tentatively asked, "What is your relationship with Mr. Lucius?"
“I am Mr. Lucius’s nephew.”
The young man smiled, revealing a curve similar to the one he remembered.
Director Corinne felt a sudden shudder run through his body, and his consciousness began to drift away: !!! !!! !!! !
Just as I expected! Anything related to that man could never be good!
In a daze, Corinne recalled that afternoon she deeply regretted.
At the time, he was researching for his next film about Jack the Ripper, looking for interesting stories on the streets, when he was drawn to a recent real-life story.
Legend has it that a strange man wearing a raven mask appears every day on Baker Street in London. He is dressed in a classic suit or trench coat, or a shirt when the weather is slightly warmer. He will arrive at the outdoor seating area of a random café during afternoon tea time, order a cup of coffee and tiramisu, and sit quietly for the entire afternoon.
As a highly skilled and daring artist, the director naturally accepted the offer.
Around that time, Yoruichi Kuromon had just finished driving his Raven and taking down all the animals around London. He was just lamenting how lonely it is to be invincible when this director with his quirky ideas came up to him.
Thus, the two hit it off immediately. Kuromon Haruya would act as his tour guide, introducing London to tourists, while Corinne would tell him about the paranormal events she encountered during her research trip.
—Then I witnessed the local customs and practices of a small killing every four days, a large killing every seven days, and two other serial killings in a single month.
Ah!! A murder has indeed occurred! It's like death itself has come to pass!
Ignoring the director, who was lost in his own mind screaming, Officer Carmel picked up his pen, ready to ask, "According to eyewitnesses, Miss Sharon was on stage at the time of the incident..."
"Shh." Softening his tone, Kuromon Haruya raised a finger to pause the conversation.
He poured bottled water onto a handkerchief and wiped Sharon's cheeks while holding her close to shield her from scrutinizing gazes: "If there's anything you need to ask, I can help you communicate it. That scene just now terrified Sharon, please don't upset her."
As he spoke, Sharon, who was being held in his arms, buried her head even deeper and let out a few whimpers in perfect cooperation: "Waaaaah, so scary!"
The director gave him a hesitant look.
The two calmest people at the crime scene were the big one and the little one. The little Mr. Malfoy's reaction to seeing the corpse was not as strong as his reaction to seeing the actor wiping his snot on the little Sharon's skirt.
This clearly contradicted the testimonies of other witnesses, but considering the constraints of child protection laws, Officer Carmel shrugged, tore off a piece of paper, and wrote a few questions on it:
"Did you notice anything amiss during the performance? What were the audience's reactions backstage after the incident? Were there any suspects? What were their movements before the incident?"
He handed the note to Sharon, and under the cover of his coat, Heimen Yaoye whispered to Sharon:
"So, have you decided what to have for tonight's celebration dinner?"
“There are still a few hours before lunchtime, boss, let me think about it some more…” Sharon, having been led astray by Haruya Kuromon yet again, was now able to smoothly transition, “I did hear a collision sound from the catwalk above during the performance, but I just assumed it was due to aging equipment. What should we do next?”
Raising his hand to poke her mature-looking face, Kuromon Haruya winked and pointed to Camel, who was consulting someone in the distance: "It's enough that you're alright. The rest can be left to the police or detectives who are responsible for their duties."
Scotland Yard officers are much more approachable; back in London, they can watch a case being investigated while eating cake. The FBI in the US just didn't click with them at first glance!
"Hollywood is really dangerous, isn't it? How many murders have we encountered this month?"
Blackgate thought that with the powerful FBI, the security situation in the United States would be at least half as good as in London. He didn't expect that the father and son were equally bad in both places, which could be described as "Baker Street with its simple folk customs and Hollywood with its outstanding people".
It's just missing a horizontal scroll to connect the dots.
Sharon counted on his fingers, recalling, "It should be the seventh one?"
Back in Italy, she thought the tragedies reported in the newspapers caused by Mafia conflicts were horrifying enough. But after traveling through Europe and America with her boss these past few months, she realized...
—No wonder the Mafia only has a presence in Italy; they're too conservative.
Meanwhile, Officer Carmel, having gathered the necessary clues, reported to the team leader:
"Captain, the investigation has confirmed that the modus operandi and the remaining evidence are the same as in the previous cases—it's a serial murder. Since this particular incident was improvised by the director, we can finally deduce the time of the crime!"
Unlike the jubilant team members, Agent Jack Stairyn looked around, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, threw the cigarette butt, which was almost burning her fingers, on the ground, and crushed the sparks.
"I just don't know how many of these entrepreneurs preparing for the exam are willing to tell the truth."
Carmel scratched the back of his head, his smile fading, and pointed to Kuromon Haruya: "The young girl who witnessed this belongs to an unknown small company. We can get some clues out of them."
Jack Stairs sneered and shook his head: "You're wrong to think that way."
A year ago, when he visited his detective friend in London, he was told a lot about the rumors surrounding Lucius Malfoy: businessmen usually called him a cursed villain, and detectives treated him as a suspect without evidence.
Scotland Yard assigned him a special code name – “The Shadow of London”.