Mr. Albert’s suggestion is quite good. If the fortune teller Shade is looking for really possesses an unknowable relic, it will definitely be impossible to divine him. But if he can rely on the well-connected local magicians to inquire,
It is indeed much more convenient than Shade finding it himself.
But the phrase "female soothsayer" aroused Shade's vigilance, so he asked again while holding a glass of wine:
"That Amethyst lady, does she have any quirks?"
"Basically she doesn't do divination for men, it's not that she doesn't do it, it's very rare. Over the years, I've almost never heard of her choosing a man as a divination target."
Shade blinked, feeling that he had probably guessed who the "Amethyst Lady" in the Moon Bay area was.
The vampire, who is a coroner by profession, has lived in the local area for nearly ten years and knows a lot about the situation of the local ring warlocks. He didn't know that Shade had made up his mind not to see him, so he kindly recommended that Shade go to Yuewan.
Take a walk near the city hall, it is said that you are more likely to see the "Amethyst Lady" there.
"I came here for the relics, not the witch."
While picking up the cup and drinking, Shade kept thinking silently in his heart.
If you really want to get to know the great witch of destiny, it is better to wait until witches like Miss Aurora or Miss Bernice arrive locally, and then be introduced through them.
The coroner's job was probably very easy, at least it was very easy today. It was approaching noon, and Mr. Albert had no intention of going back to work. He simply ordered lunch at the Spider Hotel and met Mr. Bernhardt and his new friend John Walter.
We had lunch together.
During lunch, in addition to discussing the basic situation of the local ring wizards, the work of Mr. Albert was naturally also discussed. Although this topic was not suitable to be mentioned at the lunch table, the three people present were not ordinary people, so no one was too
mind.
"There haven't been many murders in the city recently, but there have been a few corpses with strange deaths in the lower city."
As he stirred his salad greens with a fork, he explained to Schade and Bernhardt:
"You also know that the plague has been prevalent in various parts of the Old World in recent months, and the Yuewan City City Hall is of course also vigilant. Therefore, we coroners are asked to pay more attention to the corpses with strange deaths recently."
He lowered his voice slightly:
"Typical plague victims have not yet appeared, but headless corpses have appeared in the city for two consecutive weeks. This matter is now making a fuss. Fortunately, most of the corpses are concentrated in Xiacheng District, so among the nobles and businessmen of Yuewan City,
It didn’t cause too much tension. As for the headless corpses, they had pretty neat cuts on their necks.”
He even touched his neck to indicate their position:
"But the strange thing is that if someone really cuts off the victim's head with a sharp weapon, the splattered blood and the large amount of blood on the taken away head will also be sensed by our racial talent.
But after the cadavers brought two such victims here, I went to the scene to check the situation, but I found no clues at all."
"The handiwork of a ring wizard?"
Mr. Bernhardt also lowered his voice and asked. Mr. Albert shook his head slightly:
"It's hard to say now, and we can't underestimate ordinary people. Maybe it's a method we didn't expect. But the church should take over this matter, and it has little to do with us. Armand, I want to meet you in the autopsy room today.
Actually it’s for another corpse.”
"Have there been other strange corpses in Yuewan recently? Oh, please continue."
Shade said, and the coroner, who was still wearing his robe, continued to introduce:
"I have been doing this job for many years, and I have seen all kinds of strange things in the local area. The night before yesterday, the corpse bearer delivered an unclaimed and unnamed female body. Judging from the physical characteristics, I guessed that it should be in Xiacheng District.
She was a prostitute. The cause of death was excessive blood loss and there were teeth marks on her neck."
The conversation between the three fell silent for a while. Mr. Bernhardt blinked, turned to Shade and said:
"Don't draw any conclusions yet, even though I myself suspect that he is a fellow Ptolemy, you can continue talking."
"I initially came to the same conclusion as you. But an in-depth autopsy found that the blood loss of the corpse was not external blood loss, but that most of the blood was taken away by things that once existed in the stomach. No, she was not pregnant. I was in the body
An abnormality was found in the abdomen of the corpse with scars all over the body, and then it was discovered that there was something that did not belong to the human body in her stomach, but it is gone now. I am not sure whether it was a creature like a blood-sucking monster insect, or something else. But it can be
I’m sure that thing was the real cause of her death.”
"What about the tooth marks?"
Shade asked again, and the coroner answered affirmatively:
"After inspection, it was confirmed that the marks were made before and after death. I used the unique secret technique of the race, and the teeth marks were definitely not the cause of death."
"Mr. Watson, you can trust Ptolemy's honesty, I will vouch for this. So, someone wants to put the blame on a vampire?"
Mr. Bernhard also understood, and the coroner nodded:
"Yes, the body will be taken away by the church soon. Although I believe that the church can also detect the real cause of death, I also believe that the church will still suspect that this matter is related to us. So, Armand
, I need your help. I want to investigate the true origin of this body and who is her murderer. When the news is spread to the black market, the church will also understand that we are proving our innocence."
His idea was correct. Even if it was confirmed that the tooth mark was a frame-up, it was impossible for the church not to investigate the local vampires. It was either that the vampires had sucked the blood or that the vampires were conducting experiments. Once the investigation was launched,
Those vampires who have settled in the local area may be facing big changes in their lives.
"Who else have you told this?"
Herr Bernhardt asked again, and the coroner replied:
"It's just you two outsiders for the time being. Armand, we have been old friends for many years, and you are also the strongest local fellow I know."
Seven-ring vampires are already strong enough. There must be high-ring vampires in Yuewan City, but those people are hard to find.
"I understand what you mean. I am a foreigner. Mr. Watson can tell at a glance that I am a resident of Delrayon. It is unlikely that this matter is related to the two of us. The tooth marks are a frame-up, but are the local people of the same race
It can be trusted, but it’s hard to tell.”
Mr. Bernhardt looked at Shade again and saw that Shade also showed an interested expression, so he nodded to the coroner:
"After lunch, please take us to see the body."
If Shade hadn't interrupted just now, they would have checked before lunch.
Shade then also said:
"Although I have other things to do locally, I am still willing to help."
This is not to be nosy, but past experience shows that after arriving in a new city, being exposed to more weird things is beneficial to the progress of major investigation tasks that have no clue at the moment.
"Of course you can, but don't eat too much for lunch, or the scene will not be pretty later."
After the three of them had lunch, they returned to the corridor with the two coroner guards who were playing Rhodes. After the latter two learned that Schade and Mr. Bernhardt were friends of the coroner, they didn't mind them at all.
Entering and exiting such a controlled facility at will, it can be seen that Ptolemy Albert was very popular.
Entering the corridor behind the iron fence, the three doors after turning at a right angle are all autopsy rooms. Of course, they also serve as morgues. There are four coroners working here, but due to the special nature of the work place and
Regarding remuneration, Mr. Ptolemy Albert usually spends the longest time here.
He opened the door on the left, then took out the burqas for the three of them to change into. The space behind the door was quite vast. After walking down the slope of about three steps, the underground space surrounded by stone walls was dimly lit.
Under gas lighting, about thirty iron-framed beds were placed against the wall, but most of them were blocked and separated by curtains, so it was not easy to see whether they all contained corpses.
In the center of the room is a square area protruding from the ground with a step. Three relatively professional metal operating tables are placed on the high platform. High-power gas lamps are hung above for lighting. This should be the place where the autopsy is performed.
The air was filled with a strange smell mixed with the smell of corpses and preservatives. The cold feeling after entering here was even worse than outside. After putting on masks, hats, goggles and gloves, Mr. Schad and Mr. Bernhardt watched.
Mr. Albert used the slope on the side of the central platform to push the corpse on the iron bed in the southeast corner to the side of the operating table, and then used a spell to float the corpse covered in white cloth to the operating table.
Schade and Mr. Bernhardt gathered around. The coroner repeatedly made sure that they were mentally prepared, and then lifted the white cloth.
"Tsk tsk, this is really true"
The female corpse has a strange shriveled posture due to the loss of a large amount of body fluids. Her eyes are closed, her cheeks are sunken, and her withered yellow hair is as messy as weeds. She looks to be older than 25 but no more than 30 years old, with skin all over her body.
There were marks of whip marks, binding and candle oil burns, and lacerated wounds could be seen in sensitive areas.
There are traces of sharp cuts on the abdomen, but only one of them was made by Mr. Albert.
The coroner explained the overall process of the autopsy in detail to the two gentlemen beside him, and deduced the living conditions of the corpse from fingernails, hair color, eyelids, foot marks, and finger marks.
Then he asked the two of them to hold their breath, and then opened the stomach of the corpse and took out the contents for inspection to explain the living condition of the corpse. This was also the first time that Mr. Albert opened the stomach of a corpse, but there were no food residues.
There were no noteworthy foreign objects in the body, which only shows that the deceased had a quite sumptuous meal before his death.
There are not only pasta and desserts that are not easy to digest, but also expensive ingredients such as lobster and caviar. Because the death took so long, some food residues are really difficult to distinguish, but it can also be judged that such a meal is not consistent with the identity of the corpse.