Gou learns witchcraft in another world

Chapter 60 Edmund's Confession

After leaving the room, they returned to the rest room at the crime scene.

At this time, Smith was still investigating.

Since he suspected that Derek's death was caused by poisoning, he immediately identified the other man's personal belongings.

A mug, a coat, and a pair of old leather shoes.

The mug is the biggest source of suspicion. There are some coffee stains inside, indicating that Derek used the mug recently, and it cannot be ruled out that something was put inside it.

However, Smith had no means to test for food toxicity. There were no cats, dogs, or rats nearby, so he couldn't verify the toxicity of the coffee stains. Besides, even if there were, there weren't many coffee stains.

At this stage of the investigation, aside from waiting for the coroner's verification, the main focus will be on questioning.

Among them, two of Derek's teammates were the first to be questioned.

In one of the rooms, Luo Qiu chose to take matters into his own hands.

"Name."

"Edmund Winter. Agent..."

"I'll ask, you answer. Don't talk much the rest of the time, understand?"

"Okay...okay." Edmund swallowed hard.

"Now, I need you to tell me exactly what happened after you went to work last night. Ideally, you should be able to tell me the exact time you were at work and what you did. Is that alright?"

"Ah, I..."

"Remember, I'll ask the same question to other people too. If you're lying, it'll be easy to spot."

"Yes." Edmund broke out in a cold sweat.

"Well, last night, I went to work as usual, arriving around 8:20. When I arrived, Caspian was already there, but Derek hadn't. Supervisor Mr. Carter was also there; since it was almost time for shift change, Mr. Carter asked about Derek..."

"I was just about to speak when Derek arrived, and then the handover began, with him checking the jewelry."

"At nine o'clock, we were going to inspect the exhibition hall... There was no problem at that time. The three of us were together then, and Derek hardly spoke."

"Isn't Derek usually quite talkative?" Smith interrupted abruptly halfway through his note-taking.

"Yes, he used to be talkative, but he hasn't been lately. I don't know the specific reason. I've seen him argue with Caspian a few times, and I suspected there was a conflict between them, but when I talked to Derek privately, he said nothing had happened."

"Okay, continue. What happens after the patrol at nine o'clock?"

"Later, later... around 10 o'clock, the alarm went off, and I... went to the lobby to check, but there was nothing unusual."

"Wait, who did you go with?" Luo Qiu narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

Luo Qiu had just noticed that Edmund seemed very nervous when she said she would ask other people. Now, when talking about what happened around 10 o'clock, he was even more vague and was trembling uncontrollably with nervousness.

There's absolutely no way this could be explained without something fishy going on.

In response, Luo Qiu leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the table, and said in a tone that was both threatening and warning:

"Tell the truth, or else..."

"Yes, that's right. I went to check by myself. Actually, it wasn't just me... I mean, everyone did it. Everyone did... everyone did..."

Startled, Edmund stammered and could barely speak, sweat pouring down his face.

This showed that he knew what he was saying was serious, but he had no choice but to say it. As he spoke, Edmund also glanced cautiously at Smith.

Smith was stunned when he realized what Edmund was saying.

"You're saying that after the alarm went off, you went to patrol the exhibition hall alone? And Derek and the others did the same? You took turns?"

"Yes... but there's a reason for that. Those damn alarms are going off too often, every half hour or so. Every time we just sit back down, another one goes off..."

"Alright, let's talk about this later."

At this point, Luo Qiu stopped Edmund from continuing his explanation.

He had suspected the lax discipline after learning of the jewelry theft, so he wasn't too surprised at the moment.

To study this phenomenon, it cannot be explained in just a few words; we must find the records from the control room and conduct a comprehensive analysis.

Therefore, you cannot break your previous rhythm at this time.

"Now, let's continue with what happened after the inspection."

"Yes." Edmund wiped the sweat from his brow. Having skipped that topic, his speech became more organized, and he continued:

"When I got back to the lounge, Caspian was resting. Derek didn't talk to me, so I just sat there eating cookies by myself... In the meantime, Derek went to get two more coffees, and I went on patrol three times, and he went on patrol three times, until 1 a.m.."

"Later, after 1 a.m., I asked Derek if he wanted to rest first, and he said he had just finished drinking coffee and wasn't sleepy, so I rested first."

"Until around 4 a.m."

"Hmm, what happened next?"

"Later, it was Derek's turn to rest. I... I remember it very clearly. When I woke up, Derek had just come back with a cup of coffee, and I saw that he was very excited... Yes, very excited, as if something happy had happened."

"At that time, Caspian had just gone out, so I wanted to ask Derek what had happened. Derek said: Nothing happened, I just saw Mr. Carter get burned by his coffee."

"I didn't think much of it and asked Derek if he wanted to rest. Derek said he wasn't sleepy yet and that the job would be over soon, so he could go home and rest then."

"After that, I ignored it. The alarm went off again soon, so I went on patrol."

"Around 5 a.m., when I came back from my second patrol, I saw Derek lying in bed. Caspian said that while I was away, Derek finished a cup of coffee, but now he's suddenly able to fall asleep."

"At that time, I didn't think anything was wrong with Derek, so I didn't pay attention. I just sat at the table and continued eating my cookies, while Caspian was reading a magazine next to me..."

"Then, about ten minutes later, the alarm went off again, and Kaspian went on patrol. When he returned, Kaspian took the opportunity to get a large cup of coffee. Because it was too full, he accidentally spilled a few drops on Derek when he came back. Kaspian took a towel to wipe it off, and then he saw..."

At this point, Edmund swallowed hard, as if he had thought of something unpleasant.

"What did you see? Derek is dead?"

"Yes." Edmund nodded, looked at Luo Qiu, and fell silent.

Luo Qiu also looked at Edmund. In the silence, he could see a trace of confusion, fear, and even more so, an intention to get away from this as soon as possible.

Nodding, Luo Qiu leaned back in his chair and said:

"Edmund, there's one last question. You can leave now after you've finished."

"You just recounted a lot about Caspian, his argument with Derek, and how he was the first to discover Derek's death. Regardless of how true that is, if Derek had ultimately discovered he'd been murdered, wouldn't you suspect Caspian was responsible?"

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