“In summary, Mr. Barton, or rather… Mr. John Lovecraft’s motive is now clear.” Feng Bujue looked at Jack and Nancy and said, “Your brother is stronger than you two and Dennis combined in terms of temperament, ability, and experience. In his twenties, he was already a remarkable thief. After ten years in prison, he undoubtedly became an even more ruthless person.

Now he is patient, determined, and inscrutable. When such a person makes up his mind to kill, his execution is amazing. What would take an ordinary person at least a few days to prepare and hesitate over, he can do immediately.

So… before he even came down from the tree, Mr. Barton was already acting. He immediately used the pruning shears in his hand to cut off a wire tied to a branch (a common method in landscape design to make trees grow in a predetermined shape), that is, the murder weapon, and took it back to the house with him.”

Feng Bujue leaned back in his chair and looked up. “After the shooting incident, Barton seized the opportunity when Dennis was alone in the room and knocked on the door. Dennis had no idea that the previous threatening conversation had been overheard, and he thought Barton was still in the dark. Barton naturally pretended to know nothing, saying that he was just coming in to do some chores, such as removing insects from the bonsai in the corner.”

“In that case… even if Mr. Barton was wearing gloves when he entered the room, Dennis wouldn’t find it strange,” Schofield interjected. This police detective, who had accompanied Jue-ge throughout the investigation and reasoning process, still had some detective skills; at least he hadn’t forgotten these details of the case.

“Very correct, Detective.” Feng Bujue nodded. “So, there was… Dennis smoking a cigarette on the sofa chair, while Barton was busy in his blind spot. Then… the next scene was a murder.” He looked at Barton. “Just like you stood up silently just now and tried to approach me… At the time of the crime, you quietly and quickly approached Dennis from behind, and took out the murder weapon from your pocket and strangled him.

Originally, everything went smoothly, but just as you were about to escape, someone knocked on the door.”

“Mrs. Odette was worried that the focus of her husband and Dennis’ argument was due to herself, so she wanted to talk to the latter. Little did she know that a murder had just taken place in the guest room.”

“Hmph…” Feng Bujue sneered and continued to say to Barton, “As I have been emphasizing, you are not an ordinary person, Mr. Barton, you are very powerful. An ordinary person might be flustered in this situation, but you… were as calm as ever and came up with a plan.

At that time, the door of the guest room was locked. You weren’t worried that Odette would find you; you just had to keep quiet and calmly escape through the window. But for you, that wasn’t enough… Since a murder had occurred, there must be a murderer, and Mrs. Odette was the perfect scapegoat.

She had a motive, and she also had the ability to commit the crime. The key is… she was indeed at the scene when the murder occurred.”

Feng Bujue tilted his head and smiled, “I remember every word you said, Mr. Barton…” He repeated, “‘Dennis and I are about the same age, and I actually understand him quite well. If I also had a rich father and wanted to marry a stepmother who was five or six years younger than me, I would also object.’” He smiled again. “Obviously, you said this with feeling. You came to this mansion eight years ago, and Mrs. Odette married into the Lovecraft family seven years ago. I think… back then, you and Dennis had the same attitude. You both strongly opposed your father marrying Odette, but one was in the open, and the other was in the dark.

Undoubtedly, you wanted Corston’s inheritance more than Dennis did, didn’t you? Because he owed you, his heartlessness killed your mother, and his alienation and denial of you led you astray. Even though you finally came to this house after many years, you were still a gardener, not the owner.

So… at least after he died, let him use his family property to pay it back.

Now that Dennis is dead, if Mrs. Odette is convicted of murder… then in a few years, when Corston kicks the bucket and the contents of the will are made public… you, John Lovecraft, can rightfully inherit most of his family property and become the head of this family.”

“What a dangerous guy…” Schofield couldn’t help but turn his head and stare at Barton’s face as he muttered.

Feng Bujue turned back and said to everyone, “Therefore… Mr. Barton didn’t plan to escape through the window. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision because there was someone outside the door. He locked the window with a wire and arranged it as a locked room to leave a backup plan. Because he knew that a case like this would be difficult for a local town’s police force to solve in the short term. As long as he temporarily confused the public, there would be plenty of opportunities to frame someone later. For example, making a spare key and throwing it in the corner of Mrs. Odette’s room… It would be easy for him.”

Jue-ge paused and then continued, “After killing, Barton disposed of the murder weapon and quickly returned to the villa. If it were someone else, they would probably return to their room and anxiously wait for the body to be discovered. But he… came to my room as quickly as possible and cleverly put on a rather interesting performance in front of me.

That speech was half true and half false, and it was quite deceptive. The only thing I couldn’t understand at the time was… what was the point of him telling me this? Did he really want me, an outsider, to persuade this family not to do anything stupid?

But not long after the murder, I realized his intention… Barton was subtly instilling in my mind the idea that ‘if anyone would kill Dennis, it would definitely be Mrs. Odette’ before the body was discovered. He was indeed very clever, because when he fabricated the conversation between Corston and Dennis, he made it sound like Dennis was going to kill Odette. The actual situation was the opposite, but it seemed logical.”

“Heh…” Feng Bujue sneered and turned his gaze to Barton again, “Because I said that ‘I’m a detective, after all’ in the corridor, you specifically made this move after committing the crime. Your idea was… even if your statement couldn’t mislead me, it wouldn’t matter. Anyway, you were with me, the detective, when the body was discovered. Psychologically, I would most likely directly exclude you from the suspects.”

“Hoo…” Barton sighed deeply. “Looking back now, coming to you… was a huge mistake.” He smiled bitterly. “I underestimated you…”

“From your life experience, you must have a high opinion of yourself, and you wouldn’t take ordinary detectives seriously at all.” Feng Bujue raised one corner of his mouth and smiled. “Using this so-called detective to achieve your purpose… Such an ironic and interesting thing, I would try it if I were me.”

Jue-ge said this, stood up, and stretched lazily. “Actually, if you had changed the date and used a different method to make it look like a suicide or an accident, you might have succeeded.” He yawned. “I really want to say ‘try harder next time,’ but with your first-degree murder and your second time in prison, even if you don’t get the death penalty, you’ll never have a chance to get out in this lifetime… I can only offer my sincerest wishes, wishing you a successful prison break one day.”

“Uh… Mr. Feng, the police are here, and saying ‘successful prison break’ out loud…” Schofield wiped his sweat and advised.

“You immediately responded when I said prison break…” Feng Bujue said, “Are you forcing me to make fun of your name (Schofield, i.e., scofield)…?”

After Feng Bujue casually said this, he walked towards Barton without any warning and whispered something in his ear.

No one heard what Jue-ge said except for Barton. After he finished speaking, Feng Bujue turned around and walked towards the door, laughing as he walked… a malicious laugh…

“Where are you going?” Jack asked.

“Can’t I go to the toilet?” Feng Bujue tilted his body and replied arrogantly, “If someone still wants to arrest me for theft when I come back, put the handcuffs on me again.”

Of course, Jue-ge wasn’t really going to the toilet; he heard the system prompt and was going to find a deserted place to teleport.

…………

It was another late autumn, and the gray wilderness had no trace of green, exposed nakedly under the sky.

In this place where valleys and hills intermingled, the road and telephone poles seemed out of place.

My name is Schofield, Greck Schofield, the sheriff of a remote town.

The bright moonlight gently sprinkled on the earth, illuminating my path. Driving through such a scene always evokes some memories.

Several years ago, around this time of year, I came to the Lovecraft mansion in these mountains to handle a murder case.

There was a detective who solved the mystery and found the real culprit in less than half a day.

Strangely, I mistook him for another famous detective at the time, but later when I saw a photo of that famous detective in the newspaper, I found that they were not the same person…

Later, reports about this murder case did not appear in any mainstream media. Even Dennis Lovecraft’s obituary was not published in any newspaper. Presumably… some big shots stepped in and quietly suppressed the matter.

In April of the following year, John Barton, also known as John Lovecraft, was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court. And his father, Mr. Corston, suddenly died in a hotel room two weeks before the sentencing.

The cause of death remains a mystery to this day…

In the end, 80% of the Lovecraft family’s property was equally divided between the second son, Jack, and the third daughter, Nancy. I heard that Jack used his money to open a large record company in the United States, and their slogan is thought-provoking—to support young and dreamy musicians.

The remaining 20% of the property, as well as the real estate, were inherited by Corston’s third wife, Mrs. Odette. After her husband’s death, the lady donated the property in the mountains to the government. It is said that she has now moved to a winery in southeastern France.

Henderson, the butler who had served the Lovecraft family for many years, the family doctor Powell, the maids Oliver and Martha, including the lawyer who handled the will, did not receive a penny. Obviously, my judgment that Corston was “very humane” was wrong; he was just a selfish and hypocritical jerk. Fortunately, his daughter did not inherit his bad qualities. A month after her father’s death, Miss Nancy voluntarily gave these people a severance fee that they deserved.

As for that eccentric detective… I never saw him again. The back view of him walking out of the restaurant that day is still vivid in my mind, but he seemed to have disappeared around the corner outside the door and never came back.

Afterwards, I also tried to inquire about information about this person, but I didn’t get anything. He seemed to be a ghost and didn’t exist in this world at all…

There have been many bizarre legends on this land in front of me. Perhaps… he is one of them.

…………

March 1986, Asari capital, Lane City First Detention Center.

One gloomy afternoon, Barton, wearing prison clothes, handcuffs, and shackles, was led by a prison guard to the visiting room. Across the glass in front of him sat a gorgeously dressed woman.

The two picked up their phones, remained silent for a few seconds, and then Barton spoke first, “Long time no see, Carol.”

Carol did not respond. She was wearing a large hat, with the brim pressed very low, and there was a layer of veil in front of the brim.

“It seems you have found out… Hmph… Now you should understand why I said ‘you will thank me’.” Barton sneered, “In a sense, he and Corston are really alike. I investigated him several years ago, and I knew back then that he would kill you, the pathetic woman, sooner or later, and use the inheritance he received from you to fly away with his lover.” Barton said in a deep voice, “Even if it wasn’t for myself… I don’t regret killing that kind of man at all.”

“The things you told me to do…” Carol’s voice was also cold; she seemed like a walking corpse. “Someone has already gone to do it, and there will be results soon.”

“Heh… Thank you,” Barton said with a smile.

“Is it really necessary to go this far?” Carol asked, “He is still your father after all, and with his physical condition, he wouldn’t have lived for many more years anyway, right?”

“That’s none of your business.” Barton said this and suddenly laughed, “You are a very good person, Carol. There are some things that people like you will never understand…” He paused, “But there are also some people who are not so kind, and they will say, ‘Since you can’t use his property as compensation, then let him pay something else’.”

After Barton finished speaking, he hung up the phone and laughed wildly.