The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 262: Mery's House

The Terraces District.

Identical white Gothic buildings stood shoulder to shoulder. In the twilight, under a drizzling rain, the streetlamps cast a dim glow.

The street was nearly empty, save for the occasional passing carriage.

One such carriage rounded a corner and pulled to a stop before the building numbered 66 on this affluent street.

"We're here," a woman's voice called from within the carriage. The curtain was drawn aside, and a woman in a long black dress stepped out.

"The carriage depot is on Wayne Street, in the next block. You can leave it there," she said, addressing someone inside.

The figure behind the curtain remained silent, merely giving a light tug on the reins before the carriage rolled onward.

Mery watched the carriage depart, then called out softly, "Anna, are you here?"

There was no reply, only the patter of rain on the pavement.

Mery pressed her lips together and waited under the awning. As the sky darkened until only the silhouettes of distant rooftops were visible, she spotted a tall figure approaching with an umbrella and a travel bag.Lu Li approached Mery, and as he did, another figure materialized beside him.

"Please, come in." Mery pushed open the door and stepped into the darkened house.

A figure in the darkness approached the dining table and pulled something. A soft click sounded, and electric light, several times brighter than that of a kerosene lamp, filled the room.

The light banished the fear of the dark.

If it weren't for his plans for the shelter, Lu Li might have considered installing electric lighting in his own detective agency.

Anna glanced around, a mixture of curiosity and nostalgia in her eyes.

Mery left the living room and proceeded to switch on the electric lights upstairs and in every other room, letting the brilliant glow penetrate every corner. Then, she returned to the living room holding a lit kerosene lamp.

Anna gave Mery a puzzled look. She understood the need to turn on all the lights, but she couldn't fathom why Mery would also light an old-fashioned lamp.

Mery smiled gently. "Anna, spending so much time with an investigator, you must know more about the darkness than I do."

Anna nodded uncertainly. As a ghost, she didn't experience what living people faced in the dark.

Mery set the lamp on the table. Her gaze softened as she looked at Anna. "Do you remember? You were here for your fifteenth birthday."

Anna nodded.

Mery's expression grew even more tender. She turned to Lu Li. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Anything is fine."

Mery nodded, her gaze shifting to Lu Li's travel bag. "I'll show you to the guest room."

The room Mery led Lu Li to was upstairs, its windows overlooking the main street of the Terraces District. Lu Li set his bag down by the bed and walked to the window to look outside. He noticed dark figures emerging on the street below, gathering under the streetlamps and rigging tarps to shelter from the rain.

The city's destitute—scavengers and vagrants, people living at the very bottom of society. With the coming of night, they flocked to the light like moths to a flame.

Before the Night Calamity, they had managed to survive, despite the hardships. But now, almost every night, another one of them perished after being caught in the dark.

After showing Lu Li to his room, Mery went back downstairs to prepare dinner.

Lu Li watched the figures on the street in silence for a few moments before drawing the curtains, shutting out the world outside.

"Do you want to help them?" Anna asked, drawing near.

Although Lu Li showed no outward emotion, Anna could tell.

"Yes."

But there was nothing Lu Li could do. For now, he could only rely on the shelter to protect himself. Helping others would have to come later.

An hour later, dinner was ready. Mery emerged from the kitchen carrying the last dish, a bowl of mashed potatoes. She hadn't changed out of her dress, having simply put an apron on over it.

Mery removed her apron and sat down at the laden table. She asked Anna hesitantly, "Can you taste food?"

Anna shook her head softly.

If she could, she wouldn't have made such awful meals.

"It's alright, you can still..." Mery trailed off, stopping herself before saying 'keep us company.' The words would have sounded too cruel.

Mery was in high spirits, but she ate little, choosing instead to talk with Anna throughout the meal.

Lu Li, in contrast, said little and ate as much as he could. Times were growing harder, and the chance to eat a full meal was becoming a rarity.

After dinner, it was nearly eight o'clock, a time when most people were preparing for bed. Mery cleared the table and then asked Anna, "Anna, would you like to come with me and talk for a while?"

Anna didn't answer, glancing uncertainly toward Lu Li.

She didn't want to leave Lu Li's side, but she also wanted to spend time with her mother's best friend.

"Go on, spend some time with her," Lu Li said.

Ever since their arrival in Khimfast, Anna's disposition had begun to change.

She had grown more reserved, showing less emotion, and only her reliance on Lu Li remained unchanged.

But Lu Li did nothing to intervene; he simply stood back and silently observed how things unfolded.

He had his reasons.

Compared to the price she might have paid for increased power, Anna's current changes seemed more akin to simply growing up.

She was shedding her youthful naivety and stepping into the world of adults.

Watching until Anna and Mery had disappeared into the bedroom, Lu Li went upstairs to his own room and locked the door.

He sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

At some point, a rapping sound came from the window.

Lu Li's hand went to his waist. He drew back the edge of the curtain and saw a shadow outside the window—a shape blacker than darkness itself, with obsidian eyes staring back at him.

A Black Crow?

Lu Li took a small, tightly sealed wooden box from his pocket. The item was still inside.

It hadn't been drawn by the scent, so why had it appeared at his window?

...

The Red Sea Bar.

With a clatter, a man reeking of alcohol stumbled out of the doors.

The drizzling rain and cold air sobered him slightly. He lit the lamp in his hand, got his bearings, and began to trudge home.

As he neared a dark alley, he was startled by the sound of hurried footsteps and a desperate cry for help from within.

Drawn by the sounds, the man peered into the alley. The sight of a woman with disheveled hair and a blood-streaked face stumbling into the edge of his lamplight shocked him sober.

An instant later, several hands shot out and dragged her back into the darkness.

The man hesitated for a moment, then clenched his jaw and stepped into the alley. A huge, distorted face with a savage expression suddenly loomed before him in the lamplight. "Hey, pal," it rasped, "looking to get involved?"

His newfound courage evaporated like smoke. The man stammered in a trembling voice, "I... no... n-nothing... Nothing at all..."

He hastily turned to leave and took a step...

Clatter.

The lamp fell to the ground. Silence descended upon the alley.

The silence didn't last long. A woman's whisper slithered out of the darkness: "Why didn't you help me?"

Then another voice, thick with terror: "I was going to help! Please, no... aaaaaah!"

The scream cut off abruptly. In the dark alley, only the wet, muffled sounds of chewing remained, and a slowly rising whisper:

"Why didn't you help me..."