The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 319: Completion and Strangeness

The sea wind blew across the cliff.

Withered trees shielded the cave entrance, keeping the wind from gusting inside. As evening approached, the sounds of labor died down.

The Jones brothers piled the last of the rubble near the cave entrance. Flushed from their labor, they watched as Lu Li stepped inside to inspect their work.

Deep inside the cave, at Lu Li's request, a relatively level space had been carved out. The walls revealed layers of stone and clay. With the furniture and other belongings stacked near the entrance, the cave was finally beginning to look like a home.

In one corner, the dark opening of a small cellar, no more than two cubic meters in volume, was visible.

Lu Li had originally planned for a ten-cubic-meter cellar, but completing that much work in just a few days was impossible. Two cubic meters would suffice for now; it could always be expanded later.

Lu Li examined the walls. The current space was large enough to be lined with a ten-centimeter layer of Deep Sea Stone. But if he wanted to make the walls a meter thick, he would have to expand the cave's height and length as well.

There were two facts, neither good nor bad. Lu Li couldn't afford meter-thick walls of Deep Sea Stone, and even a ten-centimeter layer was a costly luxury.

The inspection was complete. The Jones brothers breathed a sigh of relief, collected their tools, and headed back to the cart.

Before they left, Lu Li picked up an empty tin can Barton had left behind. He asked Anna to go down to the base of the cliff and fill it with seawater. Then Lu Li walked over to the cart and, once Anna returned, took the can from her and climbed aboard.— I'll need a stonemason, — Lu Li said, taking the book Anna had been reading. He steered the horse away from the cliff, toward the edge of the forest.

The Jones brothers glanced at each other. The eldest spoke up, — We can handle stonework and carpentry... If the job isn't too complicated, you can hire us.

A client who didn't haggle, didn't find fault, and paid well was every worker's dream.

— I need the cave walls lined with the stone from those crates, — Lu Li's voice drifted from beneath the cart's canopy.

The four brothers remembered the uniform stone blocks. The eldest paused for a moment before nodding. — Lining the walls? That's not too difficult.

— That's right, lining the walls, — Lu Li repeated.

— All of them? — the eldest asked, taken aback.

— Yes.

— Alright... You can hire two of us, and we'll have it done in a day. Or all four of us—we'd be finished in half a day. It'll cost you forty shillings.

— It's a deal.

The eldest glanced back, but he could only see his brothers and the rear of the cart. After a moment's thought, he said to Lu Li, — Should we head back to the cave and take a look? I don't think there's enough stone.

Lu Li answered curtly, — No, tomorrow.

It was getting late, and if they lingered, they wouldn't make it out of the Elm Forest before nightfall.

Although the forest had grown somewhat friendlier toward him, there was no guarantee it would remain so after sunset.

...

Elm Street. At twilight, the cart emerged slowly from the gloomy forest.

The dim glow of oil lamps began to appear in the windows of houses along the street. Lu Li dropped the Jones brothers off at their home, returned the cart near Sailor Street, and then walked back to his own.

Lu Li walked past the market. Most of the vendors had already closed their stalls. The few that remained were asking prices so high you'd think the shilling had suddenly lost its value.

Still, Lu Li bought a few things. The prices were steep, but it was still more economical than buying canned food.

Back at the detective agency, Anna wound up the radio and the alarm clock. With the radio playing softly, she went into the kitchen to warm up dinner.

From the kitchen came the sounds of cooking and Anna talking to her doll. Soon, the scent of woodsmoke filled the apartment.

Half an hour later, Anna set a dish of reheated pork and potatoes on the table, along with bread that had soaked up the juices and become soft again.

Just as Anna was about to put out the fire in the stove, Lu Li stopped her. He picked up the can of seawater and the distiller and went into the kitchen.

Anna knew what he was planning. She walked over to the table, picked up the telephone, and, as she usually did, called her friend Daisy.

Soon, Anna's bright voice could be heard from the living room.

At times like these, her mood always brightened, becoming more animated, as if she were once again the living girl Lu Li had never known.

Though the phone calls were expensive, Lu Li never forbade her from making them.

He knew it helped keep Anna from sinking into an abyss of despair, from becoming a soulless, cold entity.

Lu Li set the half-full can on the hot stove. He then positioned the distiller over the can and placed a wooden bowl beneath the outlet tube.

After a short while, the murky seawater in the can began to boil. Steam rose, carrying the scent of the sea, and most of it flowed into the distiller.

The distillation process was slow. It wasn't until several minutes after the water boiled that the first drop of distillate fell into the bowl, followed by a second, then a third...

About fifteen minutes later, the water in the can had nearly boiled away, and a small amount of distilled water had collected in the bowl. Lu Li took the can off the stove and, after waiting for the last drops to drain from the distiller, examined the contents of the bowl.

In the lamplight, the water looked quite pure. Lu Li sniffed it—there was no smell of rust, and the color was normal.

The old craftsman had made sure the distiller wouldn't rust.

Lu Li took a small sip. The warm water had a slightly bitter taste and a faint, lingering scent of the sea.

In the face of the apocalypse, what more could one ask for than clean, safe drinking water?

The water problem was solved.

— Hmm... I should ask Lu Li, he knows everything, — Anna's voice drifted from the living room.

Lu Li put the distiller away and stepped out of the kitchen. Anna was walking toward him.

— I think Daisy's in trouble, — she said with a frown, and quickly explained her friend's situation to Lu Li.

Daisy was a student at the Mesel Academy of Music. A few days ago, her professor had shown his students an ancient book. He claimed it was the valuable diary of a bard who had lived several centuries ago, detailing his life. But since the diary was written in a different language, the professor was still working on the translation.

He had invited several interested students to help him decipher the text.

Thanks to her friendship with a ghost, Daisy had a feeling something was wrong. So when Anna called, Daisy shared her misgivings.

After hearing Anna out, Lu Li walked to the table, took the receiver, and spoke to Daisy. — Stay away from that professor and anyone he associates with. If you notice him acting strangely, call the police.

— Hello, Lu Li. The police? — Daisy repeated, surprised, barely having had a chance to greet him.

— Yes. They'll know who to call.

Just then, his attention was caught by a sudden burst of static from the radio.