The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 200: Saint Eileen

Reys's behavior made Lu Li sense that something was amiss.

He paused to think, first ruling out the possibility that this was a trick of the door, and then dismissing the idea of an illusion.

If the problem wasn't with him...

Lu Li briefly recounted what had happened between the bookshelves.

After listening, Reys took a deep breath and yanked a lever on the alarm mechanism beneath the counter.

WREEEEE—! An unbearably sharp, piercing wail suddenly shattered the silence of the True Library.

Standing closest to the source of the sound, Lu Li took the brunt of the assault. A sudden frown creased his brow, a clear sign of his discomfort.

Thud!

Amid the cacophony, a loud bang echoed. A secret door, previously indistinguishable from the wall, suddenly swung open. Another thud followed, and a second door appeared.

Accompanied by the shrieking alarm, more and more hidden doors opened in the walls.Reys stood up and shouted, “Anomaly breach! Everyone evacuate the library immediately through the exits!”

The people in the hall, who had been looking around in confusion at the sudden alarm, dropped their books and scrambled for the exits.

Reys looked at Lu Li, his eyes behind their spectacles, once dimmed by age, suddenly sharp again. “There are no book ghosts here! Anomalies are strictly forbidden in the True Library, which is owned by the three organizations. Thank you for the information, young man. This is a serious matter, you need to leave at once!”

“What about you?” Lu Li asked.

“The noise can briefly restrain the anomaly. Use this chance and go,” Reys replied, pulling a second lever under the counter.

A black chasm suddenly yawned open directly beneath his feet. Reys leaped into it without hesitation, and the opening vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

In an instant, Lu Li was the only one left in the library.

Lu Li turned and walked toward the only open exit, which, by coincidence, was the same one he had used that morning.

He walked at a measured pace. With an anomaly lurking somewhere in the shadows, his ordinary walking speed would have made any observer anxious, desperate to shove him forward.

Lu Li was thinking about the “book ghost.”

He hadn't sensed any malice from it, no aura, no intent to harm him.

When he reached the small door set into the base of the massive church gates, Lu Li paused and, as if sensing something, turned back.

Between the seventh and eighth bookshelves stood a translucent, almost invisible figure in a long dress. Its face, as before, was distorted, evoking a deep-seated fear and revulsion.

The noise seemed to have no effect on it. The figure raised a hand and slowly waved at Lu Li, as if bidding him farewell.

“Thank you,” a faint, ethereal voice whispered, cutting through the din to reach his ears.

Lu Li’s pupils contracted sharply. He stared at the figure in silence for a few seconds, then gave a slight nod and walked out of the library.

Thud!

The secret door slammed shut behind him, cutting off the soul-shattering wail, like the scream of a banshee, that echoed from within the library.

...

Eileen worked in the service industry, or to be more direct... she was a woman of the night.

There was no shame in it. In Belfast, many women from the lower classes with a bit of looks chose this profession.

They were usually coerced by gangs, or they simply didn't want to toil all day for pennies that barely covered kerosene and black bread.

Eileen was no different, but she considered herself a cut above the rest. For instance... she catered to a more “upscale” clientele.

At least, a month ago she had been working the big and small taverns of the Rom Quarter. But after two incidents rocked the taverns one after another, especially after what happened to her foolish sister... she no longer dared to set foot in a bar. Instead, like the aging women who had lost their looks, she rented a room in an alley and beckoned to the foul-smelling, leering men who passed by.

Though Eileen had recently heard that the murderer and his gang had all died horrible deaths, fear kept her from leaving. To be honest, aside from being a little grimy, poor, and prone to haggling, these clients had no other faults. At least they didn’t beat her like the drunks in the taverns, and there were no gangsters extorting her for “protection” money.

Speaking of which, that woman and her sister had been so unlucky. One was drowned in the sea, and the other had her face slashed before being hanged from a lamppost...

Shivering from the cold, Eileen leaned against her door, her thoughts wandering. The men passing by failed to spark any desire in her to call out to them.

Considering herself smarter than the others, she could tell who had no money and who was just looking for a free ride. She wasn't like those brainless, aging women who threw themselves at every man, letting them have their way without getting a single shilling.

Just then, her eyes landed on a slender figure that had suddenly appeared in her line of sight. Eileen froze, her train of thought instantly derailed.

The man’s unusual black hair and black eyes held an irresistible mystery, and his striking features made him stand out like a black diamond in a pile of rubble.

Eileen shook her head sharply. Noticing several of her “colleagues” already eyeing the stranger with greedy looks, she hastily gathered the hem of her skirt and ran toward him.

Being the closest, Eileen was the first to wrap her arms around his. She shot a triumphant look at the other women and asked coquettishly, “Hello, handsome. Looking for some fun?”

The man, though he didn't slow his pace, didn't flinch away or push her off. Eileen knew she had a chance!

She was about to press her advantage when the man suddenly quickened his pace. Cursing under her breath, she had to clatter along in her uncomfortable high-heeled shoes just to keep up.

“Don’t... don’t walk so fast... my feet are killing me...” Eileen stammered, stumbling as she struggled to stay with him.

She wanted to pull away but found her arm firmly pinned between the man's arm and his body.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of running, the man whom Eileen had already cursed a thousand times in her head came to a stop.

They were standing at the edge of the alley, with a view of the bustling street beyond.

The man released Eileen and said in a calm, polite voice, “That should do it. Thank you.”

Winded and full of complaints, Eileen was momentarily stunned. “What do you mean, ‘that should do it’?!”

“Shook off some trouble.”

With those words, the man pulled a wad of shillings from his pocket. He selected a 10-shilling note, paused to reconsider, and put it back, replacing it with a 5-shilling note that he handed to Eileen.

“Goodbye.”

He turned and walked out onto the street, disappearing around the corner.

“You stingy bastard!” Eileen spat in his direction and stomped her foot in fury. She immediately cried out in pain and limped back toward her room.

Ignoring the jeers of the other women, the exhausted Eileen decided to rest for a bit. She stepped into her dark room and closed the door.

The noise of the street was shut out. Eileen let out a breath and relaxed. She turned around and suddenly saw a translucent figure in a long dress, standing with its back to her.

Eileen froze and involuntarily whispered, “Sister...?”