Lestrade faltered for a mont, but the eyes that had been slightly clouded from his all-nighter quickly regained their sparkle.
"So, this was deliberately left behind by the killer to fra Moriarty?!"
"Isn't that the most plausible explanation?" Charlotte countered with a question. "The perpetrator was driven into a desperate situation for so reason and had no choice but to seek help from Hanigan."
The exact content of the request for assistance was unknown, so they could ignore it for now. All they needed to know was that the conversation had undoubtedly failed and the relationship between the two had been completely severed.
The man flew into a rage, stabbed Hanigan to death with the dagger he carried, dropped the weapon, stole the money, and fled.
"If we can lift fingerprints from the murder weapon, could we identify the culprit?"
"In theory, perhaps. But my investigators believe the killer was carrying the weapon and left it at the scene, so he wouldn't be foolish enough to leave his own fingerprints. Otherwise, we could just examine the wine glass. Unless sothing unexpected happened, he would have been wearing gloves the whole ti."
"But wouldn't wearing gloves during a eting make him look suspicious?" Lestrade asked.
"With the temperature dropping lately, if he really is so desperate criminal, Hanigan probably wouldn't have been too surprised if he kept his gloves on to maintain body heat," Charlotte replied.
"Let's try it first. We won't know if it works until we do."
"Understood." Lestrade nodded and ordered the wine glass and dagger to be collected for forensic examination.
Charlotte summoned the maid who had discovered the body first.
"Please describe the situation at the ti."
"As usual, I went to wake the master at seven…" The maid spoke haltingly, her tone still sounding shocked. "But no matter how long I knocked, there was no answer. Then… then I noticed the study light was still on…"
"Was the study door locked?" Charlotte asked.
"No, it was just latched," the maid shook her head. "I knocked, but there was no reply, so I gathered my courage and opened it… and there was the master…"
Her words were cut off by sobs. She had clearly recalled the horrifying scene.
"After opening the door, did you touch anything inside the room?" Charlotte continued.
"No! Absolutely not!" The maid shook her head vigorously. "I was terrified. I scread and imdiately ran to call the police!"
"So, did Hanigan tell you beforehand that a guest was coming and to stay away?" Charlotte asked again.
"No…" The maid shook her head. "I received no such ssage, and I had no idea the master was entertaining a visitor."
"At that ti, did you hear any loud noises, like an argunt?" Charlotte asked once more, but the maid shook her head again.
"No…"
Hearing this, Charlotte frowned slightly but nodded lightly and signaled for the maid to leave.
"Do you think the culprit entered through the front door?" Lestrade asked.
"I think the answer to that can be found by looking at the soil near the windowsill," Charlotte said.
She walked over to the window as she spoke and gently opened it.
"But if he killed soone and escaped through the window, why is Moriarty's card here?" Lestrade looked puzzled.
"If Moriarty obtained the card and used it to fra him, the murder must have happened after Moriarty left," Charlotte said, then walked toward the door.
"The fact that Moriarty left his card ans he must have succeeded."
Hanigan had been waiting for his guest in the study and never left the room all night, so it would have been impossible for Moriarty to sneak into the study.
Therefore—
Charlotte walked over to the door of Hanigan's bedroom.
"In fact, this is where Moriarty visited last night."
When Charlotte pushed open the door to Hanigan's bedroom, a faint scent of cigar smoke and cologne wafted out. The room was tidy and spotless, with no signs of disturbance.
"Here?" Lestrade followed her inside, looking around in confusion. "There's no trace of anyone having been here."
"Doesn't this precisely demonstrate Moriarty's ability to appear and disappear at unpredictable tis?" Charlotte said, sweeping her gaze across the entire bedroom before finally settling on the painting above the bed.
She stepped forward, removed the fra, and imdiately revealed an empty storage space.
"This… is a hidden compartnt."
"The hidden compartnt itself isn't important," Charlotte said. "What Moriarty stole doesn't matter at all. Unless sothing unexpected happens, it will be in tomorrow's morning papers."
As she spoke, she took out a flashlight and shone it around the room.
"What are you looking for…?"
"Of course, I'm looking for the card," Charlotte replied, placing the flashlight on the bedroom desk.
The bright beam illuminated a thick layer of dust on the desk, revealing a distinctly cleaner square patch compared to the rest of the surface.
"Found it."
As Charlotte spoke, Lestrade leaned in to look. After managing to make out the square outline, his expression quickly showed realization.
"Next, we must find the culprit."
Charlotte turned off the flashlight and headed toward the bedroom door.
"How will we find him?" Lestrade asked, following behind.
"The culprit is a wanted man who was in the Southwark area last night. He is cunning, and arrest will not be easy."
Taking these points into account, please investigate Hanigan's social connections and ask the surrounding residents to help screen for individuals matching the criteria.
"Why bother teaching others what Watson already knows?" Charlotte said with irritation. "I'm returning to Baker Street. I still have a lot of docunts to go through."
"Then I'll call a carriage and take you ho," Lestrade said imdiately.
After the murder suspicion against Moriarty was cleared, he seed far more energetic than before.
Charlotte did not refuse. The mont she got into the carriage, however, she turned back as if rembering sothing.
"By the way, if you don't want trouble from Moriarty, keep your subordinates quiet."
She reminded him.
"It seems quite a few people have various opinions about that thief."
Hearing this, Lestrade unconsciously glanced around before nodding.
"Don't worry, I understand."
"Mm." Charlotte replied, boarded the carriage, and returned to Baker Street.
…
The next morning, she stared at the morning paper in her hands, lost in deep thought.
Midnight Phantom Bares Its Fangs: Moriarty Suspected of Murder!
…
…
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