novelraw Chapter 108 : The Culprit Locked On
Chapter 108 : The Culprit Locked On
Chapter 108: The Culprit Locked On
“Please catch the culprit as soon as possible.”
Compared to the others, Mr. Byrne entered with a strong presence. He lifted his chin, sat down on the chair, and fixed his gaze on Levi.
“We are currently conducting an investigation.”
However, Mr. Byrne’s little act did not make Levi change in the slightest. He remained seated in his chair, looking lazy and utterly uninterested.
“Please explain the situation. This will help us solve the case sooner.”
“Of course.”
Mr. Byrne nodded.
“Yesterday, I was preparing things in the living room, when the young lady entered. Her mood was very bad. Upon seeing me, she told me to leave. So, I did as she asked and left the living room. I had intended to find Miss Chris, but at that moment, I saw that she was already following the young lady into the bedroom. So I left.”
“You just left?”
“Yes. As a servant, it was not my place to be there. Miss Chris grew up with the young lady and, as a fellow woman, she was more suitable for that situation.”
“And after that?”
“Chris brought the young lady a glass of wine. Seeing the situation stabilize, I returned to my room to rest. At that time, I thought the last thing the young lady wanted was to be disturbed.”
“And you heard nothing afterward?”
“Apologies, I’m old. I sleep very soundly.”
Mr. Byrne shook his head, while old Mr. Howard chuckled.
“Well, I truly envy you, Mr. Byrne. At my age, a sound sleep is hard to come by. When I finally do fall asleep, the slightest noise wakes me. Ah… growing old really is useless.”
“You flatter me, Mr. Howard.”
Mr. Byrne twitched slightly at the corner of his eye but replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
“What do you think of Miss Porto’s marriage?”
“I have no opinion.”
Facing Levi’s inquiry, Mr. Byrne answered expressionlessly.
“To serve one’s master is a servant’s duty. I have no opinion.”
Often, that in itself was an opinion.
“I’m curious—why, upon discovering the body, did you first notify the provost and not me?”
Levi narrowed his eyes, staring at Mr. Byrne. The latter’s face remained blank.
“I thought, from a management perspective, it was proper to inform the enforcer of this ship first.”
“That’s not entirely wrong…”
Levi chuckled, still staring at Mr. Byrne, who remained silent and unchanged in expression. Old Mr. Howard stroked his beard, grinning as he watched the scene without comment. Only the provost seemed bewildered, sensing that something was off, but he wisely kept his silence.
“One last question.”
Levi idly toyed with the teacup in his hand.
“In Miss Porto’s handbag, there was originally a pistol. Where did it go?”
“I don’t know. The mistress usually kept it in her bag.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
After asking that, Levi took the notes Annie had written, glanced through them, and had Mr. Byrne sign before dismissing him.
“You suspect him as the murderer?”
Once Mr. Byrne had left, the provost asked curiously. During the questioning of the others, the atmosphere had been easy and almost conversational. Only with Mr. Byrne did Levi abandon his usual calmness and even turn somewhat aggressive, making the air tense and awkward.
“At the moment, it’s uncertain. But he definitely knows something.”
“Indeed.”
Old Mr. Howard also nodded.
“At our age, to sleep all the way until morning would be quite the luck.”
“Medicine can help, but I think that as a competent butler, he certainly shouldn’t be taking sleeping pills on the very night his mistress was emotionally unstable.”
Levi added, before glancing once more at the others’ records.
“Next is the last one… strictly speaking, this person’s suspicion is rather large.”
“You mean Miss Porto? The victim’s younger sister?”
“Yes.”
Levi nodded at the provost’s inquiry.
“Miss Porto inherited a large fortune from her parents. Who knows how much her sister would receive…”
As he spoke, Levi looked toward old Mr. Howard, who chuckled.
“If it were me, it would depend on capability. But regardless, even with a will, the other party would still live a wealthy life.”
“But if she killed her elder sister, then the entire Porto fortune would be hers.”
Levi shrugged.
“Please let the young lady in.”
Compared to her sister, Selena Porto was clearly the other extreme.
Levi still remembered last night at the ball when Rosalie Porto had made her entrance—golden hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a beautiful and elegant gown, the very picture of a noble lady.
But Selena Porto, sitting before him now, had messy hair, black lipstick, and dark eyeshadow. Her appearance reminded Levi of those rebellious girls in karaoke halls, dancing wildly with piercings in their ears and lips.
She strode in with her long legs, yanked a chair over, sat down, and immediately lit a cigarette, clamping it between her lips.
“So, the old lady’s dead after all. I warned her, but she never took it seriously. I knew it would come to this.”
With the cigarette dangling from her mouth, Selena spoke lazily. Levi stared at her, and when she noticed his gaze, she chuckled, raising her cigarette.
“Detective, want one?”
“No, I don’t smoke.”
Levi shook his head.
“Don’t smoke? A man who doesn’t smoke?”
“Because smoking is harmful to health.”
Levi stared at Selena.
“So, you’d better smoke less as well, Miss Porto.”
“Mm… that’s not a bad way to put it.”
Sensing Levi’s gaze, Selena’s movements stiffened for a moment, then she put the cigarette out in the ashtray.
“Next time someone smokes in front of me, that’s exactly what I’ll say to them.”
“Would you mind talking about what just happened?”
“Of course.”
Selena nodded casually.
“I told my sister long ago, if she kept going like this, sooner or later someone would take her out. And here we are.”
“Sooner or later? Why?”
“Because that’s just the kind of person she was.”
Selena sighed as she spoke.
“You might think my sister looked decisive and capable on the outside, but in truth she had a weak side. She was like a vine, always needing someone else to lean on. Before, it was Father who supported her. After Father’s accident, she was completely lost for a time. Then she met John… but I told her, John wasn’t Father. If she clung to him like that, she’d smother him.”
As she spoke, Selena crossed her legs and swung them idly.
“I think John was really unlucky. After marriage, he had no standing in the house. Whatever my sister told him to do, he did. Sometimes it made me anxious just to watch. A grown man, and he couldn’t even bring himself to speak a few harsh words? Just obediently being her slave? If that’s the case, why get married at all? There were plenty of others who obeyed her every word… Mr. Byrne, for example, admired her decisiveness and thought she was the model of the Porto family. But… in the end, every woman still needs someone to rely on, don’t they?”
Selena shook her head.
“Who do you think killed your sister?”
Levi asked, and Selena thought for a moment.
“John, maybe… A man like him, ordered around by my sister, living like a useless wretch. Oh, it could also be Elaine. I always thought her feelings toward my sister weren’t quite normal…”
“Are you certain?”
“I am. When I first met her, she looked at me like I’d killed her parents. I had no idea what I’d done to offend her. And do you know what she told me? That someone like me wasn’t fit to be my sister’s sister—that she was the one who deserved it. That little brat even bared her fangs at me, like she was about to kill me and take my place. Scared me half to death. I thought back then her feelings for my sister weren’t normal at all…”
“Hmm…”
Levi exchanged a glance with the provost.
After their earlier questioning, they truly couldn’t say Miss Elaine was a normal person.
“And then there’s Miss Chris. She’s pitiful too.”
“Oh? How so?”
“Miss Chris actually planned to get married, but my sister wouldn’t allow it. She was someone very attached to the past, someone who couldn’t handle change. Miss Chris grew up with her as a personal maid, and my sister got used to her presence. If she married, she’d have to leave. So my sister refused and even went to her fiancé… I don’t know what she said, but in the end the man broke off the engagement. Miss Chris never said anything, but in her heart, she must have resented my sister. After all, she’s already at that age—if she doesn’t marry soon, she’ll end up an old maid.”
Selena curled her lips.
“My sister’s personality was strange. She only thought of herself. Other people, other things—none of it mattered to her. Or perhaps…”
Selena fell silent for a moment.
“In truth, she didn’t love anyone. She only loved herself. The people around her were just projections of that self-love. Of course, my relationship with her wasn’t good, so you can just take this as me speaking ill of her.”
“Why wasn’t your relationship good?”
“As I said, she wanted everything her way. She wanted me to always stay like a child, following obediently behind her. But I grew up. I had my own thoughts. Childhood is childhood—when you grow up, you change. Even on her birthday, she gave me a teddy bear and said I loved them most. But that was when I was three or four years old! I’m in my twenties now—am I supposed to sleep with a teddy bear?”
As she spoke, Selena began to complain.
“So in that sense, you also had a motive to kill your sister?”
Levi clasped his hands, staring at her. She froze.
“Why? Sure, I found her annoying, but…”
“But you and your sister are the Porto heirs. Now that she’s dead, the Porto fortune falls partly to you.”
“… … … … …”
Selena froze at his words, then slapped her forehead.
“Oh, right. I forgot about that. What a pain…”
“You don’t like it?”
“Of course not. Only my sister enjoyed that kind of life. I’d rather waste away, travel around, and squander money than handle such a mess. I’d sell it all and live somewhere carefree.”
“Is that truly how you think?”
“Being too rich never ends well for a woman. Just look at my sister.”
Selena snorted.
“And in that case, John is the most suspicious. As her husband, he’d get much more than me.”
“True. But suspicion alone isn’t proof.”
Levi waved his hand.
“Tell me what you did from last night to this morning.”
“Me? At the banquet, I was drinking. I don’t remember much after a while—someone must have sent me back. Then I slept until morning when you called me. That’s all.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. Please confirm and sign.”
Selena signed and left. Levi once again reviewed all the testimonies.
“Quite interesting. And complicated.”
He sighed.
“This case won’t be easy to judge.”
“Is it difficult, Mr. Levi?”
The provost was growing uneasy.
“Difficult, yet not. Not, yet difficult.”
Levi stared at the statements, organizing them as he spoke casually.
“In fact, I already know who the murderer is.”
“Huh?”
At his words, both the provost and old Mr. Howard were stunned, and even Annie looked up in surprise.
“You already knew? Then why not arrest them immediately…”
“No need to rush. These interviews weren’t wasted time. We still need to understand the motives. Yes… just about ready. Now, we just wait…”
“Knock, knock, knock.”
At that moment, there came a knock at the door, and a sailor entered.
“Gentlemen, we’ve found the murder weapon!”
“Oh?!”
At the sailor’s report, both the provost and old Mr. Howard’s eyes lit up.
“Truly?”
“Yes. As Mr. Levi instructed, we gathered all suspects in the café and searched their rooms thoroughly. At last, we found the weapon!”
“In whose room?”
“Mr. Linton Byrne’s!”
“Him?”
The answer shocked everyone—everyone except Levi, who remained calm. He stood, stretched lazily, and said:
“Alright. Notify everyone to gather at the crime scene. It’s time to close the case.”