Chapter 173: Chapter 173

"No, the knife didn't hit any internal organs. We've already sent him to the hospital. The man's lucky; he had just enough money on him to cover the doctor's fees. Nolan Public Hospital No. 5 isn't cheap."

Jenkins and Pops were only asked a few questions before being allowed to leave. No one searched them, nor did anyone ask why they were there so early in the morning.

"Pops, you have connections at the police station? Oh, right, you're a consultant."

Pushing open the shop door, Jenkins flipped the cardboard sign to "Open" before he asked his question.

"You'll never guess how capable I am, kid. Besides, it's not surprising for the Orthodox Churches to have people in the police department. Our luck wasn't too bad today. We went out together and only stumbled upon a murder that had little to do with us. I was so on edge, carrying all that stuff with us. Come on, help me in the back warehouse. Let's get yesterday's shipment set up. I have a feeling we're going to make a huge sale today!"

Pops headed to the back, full of excitement, but a thought struck Jenkins.

Earlier this week, he had used Disease Curse on two men who tried to swindle the antique shop. Although he had dispelled the curse after just one night, the two men were supposed to be suffering from the flu for a while.

The man who was attacked, Robert Kumbu, was clearly not one of the two men he'd seen before; his build and appearance were completely different. Besides, all three were ordinary people. But they were all con artists, and they all had the flu. Was it a coincidence?

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Jenkins decided he had to make sure.

His master, Viscount Augustus, needed a collection of antiques to decorate his estate, so he purchased all of Pops's new inventory in one go.

It was the largest transaction Jenkins had witnessed since becoming an apprentice at the antique shop. The butler was an impressive man, not only in his spending but also in his negotiation tactics.

But even after taking off his white gloves and haggling with Pops all morning, he still bought the entire lot for more than double the purchase price.

From what Jenkins knew of the business, this was about the normal market price for such goods. It was truly a lucrative industry.

In the evening, after finishing his work for the day, Jenkins first went home to soothe his grumpy cat, then brought it with him to Stilwell Yard. An officer recognized Jenkins and quickly led him to Chief Inspector Black. After hearing Jenkins's reason for visiting, the chief inspector didn't give him any trouble and told him the hospital address of the assault victim, Robert Kumbu.

Of course, this was because Jenkins had "accidentally" picked up a five-pound note that Chief Inspector Black had dropped. It definitely wasn't a bribe.

He arrived at the familiar Nolan Public Hospital No. 5. The incident with the malevolent spirit hadn't left much of a lasting impact, and even the discovery of the female corpse had been kept from the public.

He easily found the five-person ward. Kumbu, still unconscious, was being watched by a rookie officer and two auxiliaries. Since the attack happened at a busy intersection, the story was bound to be in the next day's Nolan Daily. Stilwell Yard couldn't afford for anything to happen to him now.

Since his target was still unconscious, Jenkins didn't bother making trouble for himself by approaching the three officers. He waited by the door to the ward for a moment, flagged down a passing doctor, and for the price of three shillings, was allowed to look at the admission records.

The chart only listed the patient's name and injuries, with no mention of things like the flu. But that wasn't a problem. A hospital was never short of doctors, and Jenkins had plenty of money.

After some more effort, he finally confirmed it: Robert Kumbu was indeed suffering from the flu. But his symptoms had started three weeks ago. Jenkins found the doctor who had diagnosed him back then. After bloodletting and herbal remedies proved ineffective, Kumbu hadn't returned to the hospital, but the record of his visit remained.

"The timing's wrong. So I really was just being paranoid."

Walking out of the hospital, Jenkins shook his head slightly, finally feeling relieved. He had conducted this investigation using his real identity, since there was nothing about the matter that needed to be concealed from start to finish.

Once Kumbu woke up, Chief Inspector Black would question him again, which would be an opportunity to find out if he had any accomplices. Although these swindlers were just ordinary people, Jenkins hadn't forgotten about the cultists who worshiped the Prince of Lies. A number of them were still in the city.

Stay cautious. Always stay cautious.

Things took a turn the next day. Pops tasked Jenkins with delivering the antiques purchased by Viscount Augustus to his estate in the suburbs and collecting the final payment. Pops had packed the antiques into two large crates, and it took a great deal of effort to load them onto the carriage.

The Church was still dealing with the aftermath of the demon incident. They had discovered that a special item, cataloged as B-06-5-7340 and named the Brave's Colosseum, had made its way to young Wellington through the black market about two months ago. However, the current search had failed to turn up any trace of the item. Pops said they should stay away from the black market this week. Because of this, he worried that unregistered Enchanters would be acting more cautiously for a while.

The hired driver looked a bit displeased. He'd realized how heavy the crates were while helping load them onto the carriage. He was probably worried this trip would exhaust his horse.

The driver's displeasure was directed only at Pops; he was still quite happy to chat with Jenkins. Since he could read a little, their conversation turned to the morning's newspaper, which naturally led them to the topic of last night's murder.

"I heard it was a bloody scene," the driver said, his tone exaggerated. "Blood all over the street. The paper said the victim only had superficial wounds, but that's got to be a lie."

If he and Pops hadn't witnessed the murder firsthand yesterday, Jenkins might have actually believed the driver. But he had no desire to explain in detail; encountering a murder wasn't exactly a lucky event. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novèlfire.net

"The paper didn't seem to mention a motive," the driver continued, "but anyone who'd attack someone in the middle of the street can't be a decent citizen. A lot has been happening in Nolan these past six months, sir. Thankfully, the gentlemen at the police station don't think it's a serial killer, just an isolated case."