Keeper Program

The scene was a mess, with shocking claw marks carved on the wooden signboard suspended by metal chains, the originally crowded but orderly bookshelves churned with black and red blood stains, rickety and scattered, the chaos seemed to be the end of the world.

The entire face of the deceased was torn off, leaving only a piece of bloody flesh: the cheekbones were sunken like shattered, one eyeball was still in its socket, and the other was gone, which could only be distinguished through the clothes—this was Mr. George's body.

This living hell-like scene alone is barely bearable, but the lingering bloody smell unique to death made him unable to help but huddle his five sense organs together.

"Did no one seal off the scene and maintain law and order? Where did the police go?" He pinched his nose and wondered.

"Shh, I'm here." A familiar and urgent voice came from the corner, and then the bloated body came out of the shadows awkwardly.

Ed took a closer look and found that it was Mance, the fat policeman whom Arthur had seen at the police station that day.

"Why are you hiding, Mance, you're on duty tonight?"

It sounds like Miss Quinn is very familiar with the fat cop.

"By the Holy Spirit, the devil knows whether the murderer will come back. The salary of the East District Police Station is not worth my life."

Seeing the two men coming, Mance's voice sounded a little calmer, but the two stubby hands holding the gun were still shaking.Seeing this, Ed couldn't help but stand back a few steps, for fear that the pistol would go off:

"Then why don't you just run away? If the murderer is really a werewolf, you will still be found hiding here."

"I have to stay here to warn others of the danger." He covered his nose with a handkerchief, showing embarrassment: "Although the salary is not worth fighting for, I am still a policeman after all."

"Oh really? Then I have to suggest that the police station award you a medal of equal weight."

Quinn's face was full of disapproval.She bent down, stared at the clues on the floor, dipped her fingers in the blood and sniffed:

"The dead man came in with a key. And the murderer..."

She walked forward slowly and stopped in front of the window.The original glass window is only full of debris, and the glass shards are sprayed radially inward:

"The murderer came in through the window and attacked George."

"Yes, the neighbor's aunt said that she heard the sound of glass breaking, so she went to check the situation. When she opened the door, she found Old George's body lying in a pool of blood. The murderer was nowhere to be seen, so she immediately called the police." Mance added in a low voice. road.

Ed was about to walk over, but he kicked a thick and heavy object, could it be a brick?

He half-knelt down to look at it, and it turned out to be an encyclopedia dictionary, the outer layer was framed in oil-soaked cowhide, and the four corners were also equipped with metal corner protectors.Hardcover dictionaries like this have always been very expensive, costing between £[-] and £[-], enough to buy an outfit or a second-hand high-wheeler.

The murderer took some of the books.He suddenly realized.

The place where the manuscripts of ancient books were originally stored is empty, and all of Mr. George's beloved ancient books are gone.

Could it be that the murderer didn't kill people randomly, but had other plans?

He closed his eyes, recalling the content he had browsed, whether there were any clues worth paying attention to...

"The smell pointed to the basement, and the murderer entered there after the murder." Quinn said.

The door of the semi-basement was open, and the inside was very simple, and there were even cobwebs in the corners.

The three of them walked down the stairs into the semi-basement, where there were wardrobes, washstands... except for the daily necessities, there was only an open curtain, an old bed, and a pile of sacks that were crumbling here and there. It seemed that Mr. George would occasionally live here.

Quinn motioned for the two to retreat, walked up and opened the sack to reveal a corner, and then heaved a sigh of relief and said:

"It contains books."

Book?

Ed leaned over and glanced at it, and the book protruding from the sack turned out to be the copy of "New Moon and Full Moon" he had read before.

"It doesn't look suspicious. If only Eaton was here, his gray eyes can always find key clues." Mance complained in despair.

"Hmph, wouldn't the Bureau handle the case without him? Even if he's not around, I can still solve the case." Quinn said dissatisfied.

Mance continued to mutter in a low voice: "Or Arthur, he's always been very flexible... Where did he go? Why didn't you take him with you..."

"Enough! Shut your mouth and stop talking nonsense!"

Quinn couldn't hold back his gloomy expression any longer, and turned his head to growl at Mance.Suddenly, she turned and raised her head in horror—

A beam of clear moonlight shone through the gaps in the clouds and shone on her face.

All of a sudden, her breathing became heavy and rapid, her dark green pupils dilated terribly, and the whites of her eyes were stained red by tiny bloodshots.

"Hey..." An uncontrollable, suffocated animal growled from Quinn's throat, twisting his neck and trying to look away, but it was as if steel was being pulled by a magnet.

In the basement that was so dark that there was only blue moonlight, there was a faint electric light under the dark gray scarf, crackling.

Ed almost reacted immediately, and quickly rushed to the side window of the basement, using his cane to pull up the curtains to cover up the moonlight.

It was only then that Quinn broke free from the shackles, staggered and fell to the ground, and supported the floor with his hands so as not to fall, the back of his white hands was full of twisted veins.

"I'm sorry Quinn... I, I didn't mean it." Mance looked embarrassed and sweated profusely.

Ed patted Mance's broad shoulders, beckoning him to be quiet, and then walked up to Miss Quinn:

"Are you okay?" He stretched out his palm, trying to pull her up.

"I'm fine..." She pushed Ed away with the back of her hand, and stood up on the ground:

"It's not the first time, and it definitely won't be the last. Rest assured, I can handle this situation."

As Quinn said, she tightened the scarf and walked towards the window where the murderer finally disappeared:

"The murderer should have left from the window on the second floor and climbed up to the opposite eaves. Maybe there will be more victims tonight. I have to follow the trail..."

She pushed away the debris by the window, leaned over and stepped on the window sill, turned her head and told Ed:

"You stay and deal with the scene with Mance, and the report will be handed over to you."

Ed nodded. He didn't have the skills to fly over the wall like this, so he had to stay here.

Quinn jumped out and disappeared in the night without a trace.He shifted his gaze to Mance, and saw the fat policeman looking around, and asked with a little embarrassment:

"Okay, okay. What do we do now, man?"

"Get a carriage and get the body away first—so as not to attract flies...and reporters."

"Okay, I'll go now." Mance let out a sigh of relief, and trotted out in a relatively flexible posture.

Why would Mr. George put such a cherished manuscript in the sack?

He was the only figure left in the room.Ed squeezed his chin, recalling the old man holding a book in his hands and bringing it to him. This is not something he would do.

……

An hour later, the Winter Bookstore.

The streets were empty, and people in the East Side knew what was going on.But they can always endure silently like a flock of sheep, praying that disasters will befall others, while they are lucky enough to survive.

There was a dark, short and thin figure walking down the empty night road with his head down. Suddenly he stopped and looked around.

The moonlight flashed through the gaps in the clouds, reflecting the blood-red whites of the eyes under the bowler hat.

He took out a key from his pocket, opened the door of the study and got in.The door closed quickly again, as if no one had ever been there.

The smell of blood still lingers in the narrow air, covering all the familiar smells: dust, camphor, ink...

He was silent for a moment, then continued to walk straight towards the basement, the curtains were drawn, and the silent basement room was completely dark——

Suddenly, a bunch of flames lit up, reflecting a young and familiar face:

"Good evening, Mr. George."

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