The Bizarre Detective Agency Chapter 55

Lu Li turned his head, watching a mail carriage rattle past. A fine drizzle misted the air, a stark contrast to the heavy clouds overhead, which were laced with silent flashes of lightning. Droplets clung to the carriage lamps, blurring their light into a hazy glow.

Lu Li reached into his coat, pulled out an umbrella, and opened it with a crisp snap, shielding himself from the drizzle. The edge of the carriage curtain lifted, and Anna, hugging her knees, sat quietly on the edge of the seat behind him, craning her neck with curiosity.

Lu Li retrieved the folder of medical records and opened it. A fine layer of dust sifted from between the pages. Noticing it, Lu Li reached out from under the umbrella and brushed away the dust that had settled on the carriage frame. Pulling the folder back, he scanned the lines of text.

Lu Li's reading speed prompted a question from Anna.

"You read so fast... Are you memorizing everything?" she asked, a note of doubt in her voice.

"I just need to find Edward's name," Lu Li replied without looking up.

The country road was rough and the print on the page was small, otherwise Lu Li would have read even faster. Just as the Sentry Post came into view, he found the entry for the key figure in his investigation: Edward.

Edward Ben, a native of Belfast. Diagnosed with delusional disorder and committed to the Sixth Psychiatric Hospital. Subsequently, his condition deteriorated, leading to an assault on medical staff and an escape attempt. After escaping, he committed an act of violence against a hapless cow and was killed by its owner. His family was not notified due to a change of address, and the case was closed. It remained so until his cousin recalled having a brother in a psychiatric hospital and hired a detective to investigate.

Lu Li tore the page with Edward's information from the folder, folded it, and tucked it inside his coat. He tossed the folder itself back into the carriage. It might be useful later; if not, it would serve as kindling.

"Tell me what happened when you went there, and how you got that wound on the back of your head," Anna asked impatiently, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.

"I was knocked out," Lu Li answered.

Anna was taken aback. "What? You were knocked out?"

"Yes. I thought I was dealing with something supernatural, but it turned out to be the work of a living person." Lu Li briefly described what had happened when he went to the hospital alone.

"Hmph. It's a psychiatric hospital. Couldn't you have guessed there might be crazies hiding in there?" Anna quipped, with a rare sense of superiority.

Lu Li didn't argue, admitting his mistake. "You're right. The fault is mine. I still haven't grown accustomed to distinguishing between the world of ordinary people and the world of an exorcist."

His thinking had become somewhat biased. Perhaps because he was constantly dealing with ghosts, Lu Li subconsciously attributed all strange phenomena to them, rather than to people.

If Lu Li hadn't been dealing with ghosts, if he weren't an exorcist, he would have assumed from the start that this was the work of a human. And he would have been very close to the truth: a madman plotting something in an abandoned psychiatric hospital.

All in all, this case had exposed a major flaw in his approach. But fortunately, he now had a chance to correct it.

"I think I heard the police officers say we're in danger. Is that true?" Anna asked.

"The unknown is more frightening than what's right in front of you," Lu Li nodded. "An enemy is most dangerous not when he is strong, but when he is hidden in the shadows."

But, thankfully, he had Anna at the detective agency. She might seem like a useless good-luck charm, but her presence alone could scare some people away. Of course, Anna didn't need to know that—at least, not the second part.

"Hmm... Was Asina's husband on the patient list?" Anna still remembered the unfortunate woman and child from the gallery.

"No. Her husband had no mental health issues, and he was never a patient," Lu Li replied, recalling his conversation with Officer Vincent.

...

"You should head back. It'll be bad if this rain gets any heavier," Officer Vincent said, squinting up at the sky. He looked away and added, "We'll keep you informed about the case. And we hope you'll be wary of the killer."

"I will," Lu Li nodded, taking off the blanket and placing it in the back of the carriage. "One more thing—have many people gone missing around here recently?"

"Yes," Officer Vincent confirmed, sending the junior officer who was taking notes to help the others. He stayed behind to explain. "There have been more than ten disappearances here recently. We're currently matching the data with the bodies we've found, and it's highly likely the killer is Richard. If it weren't for your help, there would have been far more victims among the residents of the Sentry Post and the travelers passing through. Thank you for your assistance to the Sentry Post police."

"Don't mention it."

...

In Asina's story, Bill Eddy was also among the missing. The only difference was that he had returned home a few days later.

Lightly tapping his fingers on the wooden floor of the carriage, Lu Li pieced together all the clues he had gathered, arranging them in his mind.

[Disappearances around the psychiatric hospital] [Abduction of living people for experiments] [Experiments using the human body as a vessel] [Disappearance of Bill Eddy] [Return of Bill Eddy after several days] [Murder of Asina shortly after Bill Eddy's return] [Second disappearance of Bill Eddy] [Bill Eddy went missing somewhere near the psychiatric hospital]

Lu Li realized he was close to the truth. After Bill Eddy's first disappearance and return... was the husband Asina saw truly her husband? Or was another soul hiding beneath that familiar shell?

The big picture was becoming clearer, but some questions remained unanswered. For instance, why did Bill Eddy, while attacking Asina, claim that she had killed him?

Fortunately, however, Lu Li was in no hurry to find the whole truth.

"Have you figured something out?" Anna asked, tilting her head.

"Yes." Lu Li shared with Anna the terrifying truth he had pieced together.

"Someone is trying to resurrect the dead... and it seems they've succeeded."

...

The hospital, basement level. The operating room. Several figures crowded around a breach in the wall, their raised oil lamps and torches illuminating a figure sprawled on the floor. A police officer, leaning into the hole, was struggling to pull something out.

During their search, the police had easily discovered the conspicuous hole in the operating room wall. After searching every other room, the officers gathered together to find out what lay inside.

Deep inside the opening, they saw something. The officer with the longest arms was asked to retrieve it. His thin clothes snagged on the sharp edges of the stones. With a muffled grunt, the officer pulled what was hidden in the depths of the hole out into the open.

The pupils of Officer Vincent, who was standing nearby, contracted sharply.

"What... in the hell... is that...?"