The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 97: Baroness Joseph

An unbearable stench hung in the cold, dust-filled room. It was the smell of rotting meat, of flesh left to decay for far too long, yet its source was impossible to pinpoint—the foul odor was everywhere. Perhaps the cause of the miasma had already been removed, or perhaps it had vanished on its own.

A few footprints were scattered haphazardly across the old, faded floor, leading between the living room and the door. Whoever left them had clearly been moving with purpose.

Lu Li found similar footprints and the same subtle scent of decay in apartment number six, across the hall. Yes, there was a smell of rot in the sixth apartment as well. The window had been left open, and it seemed that a long airing had largely dissipated the odor. Had Lu Li gone there directly from the other flat, he might easily have overlooked the stench entirely.

By this point, the situation had become perfectly clear. Even Anna, who wasn't one for deep contemplation, had begun to suspect something.

Aging and decay. Those two words were enough to connect all the clues Lu Li had gathered.

This method of resurrection—possessing the body of a living person—was not without consequences.

First, Lu Li had learned from Hall that when one seized a living person's body, one also seized their memories. It was as if the memories of two people had been crammed into a single vessel.

Setting aside the question of who a person with two intertwined sets of memories truly becomes—Hall or Brian—and the risk of a split personality, the fusion process itself could hardly be painless. The abrupt shift in Hall's character was proof enough. His love and tenderness toward Brian's wife likely stemmed from Brian's own memories. Yet, away from her, he reverted to being Hall.

O'Connor himself had revealed the other side effect. At the moment of possession, the host body is already dead: it no longer breathes, the blood doesn't circulate, cells begin to die, oxidation ceases, and bacteria multiply. The body, like any corpse, begins to decompose. That was why O'Connor and his room reeked of rot, and why he appeared so old. He was rotting.

The host body had disappeared on the 13th and returned on the 15th; today was the 21st of June. Six days was more than enough time for a corpse to reach an advanced state of decomposition—which explained why O'Connor had appeared somewhat swollen.Hall had suffered from the same problem: he hadn't been breathing and had carried the distinct smell of disinfectant, a detail Lu Li only registered in hindsight.

Anna was still struggling to grasp the situation when Lu Li laid out the answer for her.

"If they're rotting... ugh..." Anna wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. "Does that mean they'll die once they've completely rotted away?"

"Perhaps not..."

Some of the tenants had begun to grow suspicious, so Lu Li and Anna left the building and returned to their carriage before anyone came out.

"There are two possibilities. The first is that Richard deceived them, deliberately omitting the fact that their bodies would rot. But that's unlikely. If that were the case, Hall and O'Connor would be hunting for Richard even more frantically than we are."

"And the second?" Anna asked.

"The second... is that they know they're going to rot, and they're prepared for what comes next."

"'Prepared...'" Anna echoed softly, vaguely sensing a sinister implication.

Lu Li's dark eyes gazed at the misty streets in the distance as he said calmly, "For instance, finding a new body."

Before night fell completely, the carriage slowly departed from the Sentry Post and started down the road to Belfast.

Lu Li now faced a very serious problem. It had nothing to do with Richard, but it was no less vexing. He was running out of money.

Money was important, but like most things, Lu Li was rather indifferent to it. He never gave much thought to saving, preferring to operate with maximum efficiency. This was precisely why he had spent a thousand shillings just to get answers to a few questions.

Still, there was time. While O'Connor searched for a new victim, Lu Li could take on a few cases to earn some cash. Or figure something else out.

For example, Lu Li considered contacting Anna's family to try and secure some funds. Or he could approach Baroness Joseph, who, despite her questionable reputation, had shown an interest in him. He could try asking her for money.

These thoughts occupied him until the carriage returned to Sailor Street.

A carriage was parked in front of the detective agency, surrounded by a crowd of curious neighbors. Dusk was settling in, the rain had temporarily stopped, and a gathering of this size was unusual for this time of day.

Shy around people, Anna slipped through the wall and back into the agency. Lu Li halted the carriage near the building and stepped out onto the street.

"It's Detective Lu Li!"

"Mr. Lu Li is back!"

Someone shouted, and dozens of curious eyes fixed on him. The crowd instinctively parted, creating a path.

Lu Li saw a carriage filled to the brim with golden tulips. The expressions on the faces around him told him everything he needed to know, and he walked directly toward it.

"Do these flowers have something to do with me?"

The fragrance of the flowers washed over him. It was so intense it was almost sharp, even unpleasant, but still a vast improvement over the stench of rot.

"I am the manager of Stephen's Delivery Service. Baroness Joseph instructed me to deliver these tulips to you. You are Mr. Lu Li, I presume?" the elegant, tailcoated manager asked with a slight bow.

Stephen's Delivery Service catered exclusively to the aristocracy.

"Yes, I am," Lu Li said, his gaze shifting from the manager to the carriage. "So, all these flowers are mine?"

"Precisely. By order of Baroness Joseph, these flowers are now yours."

Hearing the answer, Lu Li gave a slight nod.

"In that case, do me a favor. Sell these flowers, and ten percent of the proceeds are yours."

The manager smiled.

"Mr. Lu Li, these flowers are from Baroness Joseph..."

"Twenty percent."

The manager's smile remained.

"I apologize, but we are professionals. Whatever..."

"Thirty percent. If you don't agree, I'll find someone else to handle it."

The manager took a deep breath, and his smile widened considerably.

"Very well. You are our client, and your wishes are our command. We will deliver the remaining seventy percent, after deducting our fee, to you this evening."

"Hmph," Lu Li nodded, gave a wave to his greeting neighbors, and went back inside.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious, ornately carved carriage parked not far from the flower cart...

"He's worthy of my attention, I'll give him that. Such a romantic gesture didn't move him in the slightest," a languid voice remarked. "He likes money, does he not? Arrange for a carriage full of flowers made from banknotes to be delivered to him tomorrow."

"But, Baroness, even using ten-shilling notes, that would require several tens of thousands... Perhaps we could start with just a bouquet for now?"

"Isn't that a bit petty?" the languid voice replied with a hint of displeasure.

"It is the sentiment that matters. I believe Mr. Lu Li will appreciate your sincere desire to win his heart, rather than a pile of foul-smelling money."