"Miss Adele, Miss Maria's death message seems to point to you. What do you have to say about this?"
Standing in the washroom, Captain Douglas asked Adele, who was standing by the washroom door, directly. Adele placed her hand on her chest and calmly replied.
"I have nothing to say, Officer. This is a complete slander. The despicable murderer wants to use poor Maria's death to frame me."
"So you mean to deny it, but such a clear death message is very unfavorable to you, Miss Adele, unless you can provide an alibi to prove your innocence."
Douglas said this, then he thought for a moment and continued.
"You just said that Miss Maria was still performing on stage before. So what was the last program she performed, or when was the last time you saw her?"
Douglas asked the relevant personnel around him. A theater attendant scratched his head while thinking and spoke.
"Maria's last performance was the 'Crimson Mother' dance with Miss Adele. That was also the last time we saw Maria. The time the program ended was probably..."
The theater attendant thought doubtfully, and at this moment, another voice answered for him.
"'Crimson Mother' ended at 7:05, Mr."
Standing aside, Ed spoke up, and the attendant also clapped his hands in response.
"Ah! Yes! 'Crimson Mother' finished around a little after seven. This Detective is right!" The theater attendant said directly, and after Douglas looked at Ed again, he continued.
"So who found the body first? And when was it discovered?"
"Uh... it was me. I was going to use the restroom, and when I opened the door, I saw what was inside. But I was scared stiff at the time. I need to think about the exact time. It seemed to be around seven something or seven twenty..."
Listening to Douglas's words, the old woman who first discovered the body said in a trembling voice. She then tried to recall the time the body was found, but this time Ed spoke first again.
"This Madam's scream was at 7:23. I was nearby at the time, so I heard it."
Listening to Ed's words, Douglas frowned and then said.
"Are you looking at your watch all the time, Detective kid?"
"No, no, Officer. I just have a good memory and a relatively accurate sense of time. Of course, I also often check my watch to calibrate my sense of time, roughly every ten minutes or so."
As he spoke, Ed smiled and took out his pocket watch, opened it for a look, and then continued.
"After all, as a Detective, I think control over time is necessary."
"..."
Looking at Ed's confident expression, Douglas was silent for a moment, then he turned his head to look at Adele and began to ask again.
"So, it can now be confirmed that the deceased's time of death was around early seven to seven twenty, right? So where were you during these twenty minutes, Miss Adele?"
"Since Maria suddenly disappeared, after I finished the performance, I arranged for people to search for Maria, and then I also went to look myself. We mainly searched the backstage area and some related areas nearby, but we didn't expect Maria to be murdered here. This is the audience area, far from backstage."
Adele replied, and Douglas pondered for a moment before continuing.
"So, did you have anyone with you when you were looking for her?"
"No."
"No? In other words... no one can prove you were not at the scene during these twenty minutes, right?" Douglas raised an eyebrow and continued to ask, and Adele also nodded gently.
"Yes, Officer, but I did not kill Maria."
"Although you say so, the situation at the scene is very unfavorable to you, Miss Adele, you know? As things stand, you are the biggest suspect. If no other suspects are found, and according to our usual practice, we could already take you back to the police station for questioning." Douglas said seriously, and at this point, the theater manager immediately stepped forward nervously and said.
"You can't take Adele away! If Adele's matter is known by the media, everything will be over!" The theater manager said in panic. He could already imagine how much coverage tomorrow's headlines would have if the media knew about this incident. This would be a fatal blow to a star's image.
"Don't jump to conclusions too early, Officer. I think there is still a lot of strangeness about this matter. Miss Adele should have been framed and wronged."
At this time, Ed, who was nearby, continued to speak. Listening to Ed's words, Douglas turned his face back and said seriously.
"You think? Why do you think so?"
"Based on the clothes Miss Adele is wearing. Please look carefully inside the washroom, Officer. The deceased was stabbed many times before death, and blood splashed everywhere. There are bloodstains on the floor and walls. If the person was really killed by Miss Adele, she would definitely be covered in a lot of bloodstains, but there are no bloodstains on Miss Adele's clothes at this time. This is very unreasonable, isn't it?"
Pointing to the bloody washroom, Ed analyzed directly. Douglas couldn't help but pause slightly after listening to Ed's analysis. After thinking for a moment, he continued.
"It's also possible that Adele changed her clothes and wiped off the bloodstains after killing someone. This is a theater, and Adele is a performer. It should be normal to have several identical sets of costumes, right?"
Douglas stated his point of view, and Ed also continued.
"What about the makeup? The bloodstains on the body can be wiped off, but the makeup on the face, once wiped, cannot be quickly reapplied. Officer, look, the height of the blood splattered on the wall is already as high as Miss Adele's height, right? If blood splattered on her face, wiping it off would also wipe off the makeup on her face. It would take a lot of time to completely reapply Miss Adele's delicate makeup, wouldn't it?
"And now it seems that Miss Adele's makeup is still so beautiful... Miss Adele only had twenty minutes to commit the crime. After killing someone and changing clothes, would she still have time to reapply her makeup?"
Ed continued, and as he spoke, he smiled and looked at Adele's made-up face. Because she was performing on stage, her makeup was a bit heavy, so it was easy to see if it was damaged.
Listening to the unintentional praise in Ed's reasoning, Adele gently bowed in response.
"Thank you for your compliment, Detective."
Listening to Adele's words, Douglas frowned, and then immediately said to Ed.
"What you said are just assumptions, assumptions based on the premise that Miss Adele had bloodstains on her face. What if she was lucky and no blood splattered on her face? The height of the bloodstains on the wall doesn't prove anything."
"Then we can also confirm the number of costumes. Miss Adele's original blood-stained dance dress must have been dealt with, so there should be one less dance dress of the same type stored in the theater. As long as the number of dance dresses has not decreased, Miss Adele's innocence can still be guaranteed."
Ed continued to speak, and Douglas, after glancing at the people in the theater, continued.
"What you said makes some sense, but whether there are more or fewer dance dresses is completely up to the theater. Adele is of great value to the theater, and it's hard to guarantee that they won't specifically say there are no fewer in order to protect Adele. The testimony of interested parties needs to be treated with a high degree of reservation."
Douglas said in a neutral tone. After he finished speaking, everyone immediately turned their attention to Ed. Ed walked calmly to Adele's side, examining the bright red dress she was wearing and said.
"Miss Adele, this dance dress you are wearing... the material seems to be very precious, and it's quite expensive, isn't it?"
"The Detective has a good eye. This dance dress of mine was specially custom-made for today's performance at the Silver Moon Star clothing store at a high price. It is woven with Yun Sang silk. A total of two were custom-made, one spare and one I am wearing. The spare one is still in the wardrobe backstage and can be taken out at any time if needed."
Adele replied softly, and after listening to Adele's answer, Ed raised his eyebrows slightly, turned around, and said to Douglas.
"I presume you heard that too, Officer. Miss Adele's dance dress was custom-made outside. You can find out how many were custom-made by asking the custom tailor. As long as Miss Adele can produce the corresponding number of intact dresses, then there should be no problem, right?"
Ed said this. The reason he could tell at a glance that Adele's clothes were unusual was actually thanks to Naifnis. When Dorothy and Naifnis sat together watching Adele's performance before, Naifnis, who was very interested in various fashion items, immediately recognized that Adele's clothes were expensive and extraordinary. She had excitedly explained it to Dorothy while watching.
"Hmm..."
Listening to Ed's words, Douglas pondered for a moment, then nodded as well.
"What you said makes some sense. We will immediately verify the relevant information. However, for high-end clothing stores like Silver Moon Star, they might be closed now, so verification will likely have to wait until tomorrow. Before that, Miss Adele is still the prime suspect. To prevent her from escaping, we still need to detain her at the police station first."
"No need for such trouble, Miss Adele doesn't need to go anywhere today."
Responding to Douglas, Ed continued to speak confidently, while Douglas frowned as he looked at him, then spoke with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"What are you trying to say, Detective?"
"My point is, Officer, your investigative methods are slightly flawed. In my opinion, the possibility of Miss Adele being the murderer is minimal. Our key now is not to argue whether Miss Adele is the murderer, but to take advantage of the fact that the performance has not yet ended, and we still have a legitimate reason to keep these thousands of audience members here. While the real culprit is still among them, we should quickly find him."
Dorothy, controlling Ed, spoke seriously, while Douglas, after listening to Ed's words, let out a slightly contemptuous laugh.
"How arrogant, Detective. Leaving aside the fact that Adele's suspicion has not been cleared yet, even if she is not the real culprit, and the real culprit is among the audience in this theater, how can you find him in such a short time?"
"If I remember correctly, Adele's performance lasts from six o'clock to nine-twenty, right? It's already seven-fifty now, and the performance will end in another hour and a half. By then, there will be no reason to keep so many people here. I don't think we can solve this murder case in just an hour and a half, so it's better to take it step by step."
Douglas said frankly. His words were based on his past experience, so there was nothing wrong with them. Ed, after hearing them, smiled slightly.
"I don't think so, Officer. Personally, as long as all the police officers and theater staff cooperate with me sufficiently, I can guarantee that I will find the truth within a little over an hour."
Ed said confidently. After hearing his words, everyone, including Douglas, showed a look of disbelief, and Douglas spoke directly.
"Find the real culprit within an hour and a half? Heh, I admit you have some ability, but saying something like that is still a bit too arrogant."
"Whether it's arrogant or not, won't we know if we try? Anyway, an hour and a half isn't long, so just let me try." After Ed finished speaking, he silently looked at Douglas. Douglas looked back at Ed for a moment, then spoke.
"Alright, since it's not long, I can let you try, Detective. During this time, we will cooperate with your investigation as you wish, considering it an acknowledgment of the little ability you've shown before. But don't try any tricks with me, I'll be watching you."
Douglas said, staring at Ed, while Ed spoke with a light chuckle.
"Thank Captain for your support, Officer. I will not fail the mission."
Listening to Douglas's words, Dorothy, who was controlling the Corpse Puppet in the audience, also smiled slightly. Now that she had the cooperation of the theater staff and the police, and with sufficient resources allocated, she could finally go all out to catch the murderer.
After officially obtaining the right to investigate, Dorothy immediately set to work on the case. She controlled Ed and spoke to a theater manager nearby.
"Excuse me, Mr., do you keep the floor plan of this theater here?"
"Floor plan? Let me think... Oh, yes, yes, the building's floor plan should be in my office. I've kept it ever since this place was completed." The old theater manager replied to Ed, and Ed immediately responded.
"That's great. Now please take me to your office. Could you please find those blueprints? I need them."
"Alright, Detective, please follow me."
Saying this, the old manager walked towards the distance, and Ed immediately followed behind him. Facing this situation, many people present were puzzled, especially Douglas, who frowned even more.
"What does this kid want the floor plan for? Is he doing construction or solving a case?"
Ignoring the puzzled looks behind him, Ed followed the old manager all the way to his office and saw him pull out several large, folded blueprints from a drawer and spread them out on the floor.
These were the floor plans of this theater, several sheets in total. They marked every floor, every corridor, every room, and even every audience seat in the main hall. Seeing the level of detail in the floor plans before him, Ed nodded.
"They're all here, Detective. Do you need anything else?" After spreading out all the blueprints, the old manager said, and Ed replied.
"Very good, thank you. Now I need to borrow your office for a bit. When I'm deducing, I like to stay alone in a quiet room."
"Alright, Detective."
After a simple response, the theater manager left his office. Now Ed... or rather, Dorothy, finally had ample space to deduce.
Of course... if ordinary deduction could solve such a case...
Obviously, this kind of case could not be solved by ordinary deduction. On the surface, it was a common murder case, but in reality, it involved secrets and the extraordinary on a deeper level.
Douglas would never believe that the deceased had most likely stabbed herself seven times, gouged out her own eyes, and created the entire murder scene herself.
He also wouldn't believe that the deceased's real time of death was not between seven-oh-five and seven-twenty-three, but earlier. It was between the Flying Dance Troupe's first performance and the performance of "Crimson Mother". Maria was still alive during the troupe's first performance, but after a choir performance in between and going on stage again, Maria had already turned into a Corpse Puppet.
She was murdered during the time between these two performances, and then the murderer hung a """Shadow""" necklace on her, helping to conceal her Corpse Puppet characteristics, allowing her to assassinate Adele during "Crimson Mother".
'Cases committed using extraordinary means require equally extraordinary means to solve.'
Dorothy thought this, then she controlled Ed to take out a golden coin and a crystal pendant from his pocket, along with a piece of paper printed with a divination array.
That's right, Dorothy was now going to use her strongest method for solving cases: divination.
After Dorothy was promoted to Erudite of the Mimic Puppeteers, her control over spirit threads greatly improved. She could now not only use Corpse Puppets for simple rituals, but also make her Spirituality vision effective through the Corpse Puppet's eyes. It was precisely by using the Corpse Puppet's Spirituality vision just now that she saw the black necklace Maria was wearing around her neck was a """Shadow""" extraordinary item.
Now Dorothy was going to use the pendulum divination method to divine the location of the real culprit.
Placing the coin on the array on the paper, Dorothy made Ed crouch in front of the theater's floor plan, let the crystal pendant in his hand hang down, and then silently chanted the divination words in her heart.
'The location of the real culprit who killed Maria Dokana tonight...'
After silently chanting, Dorothy began to swing the crystal pendant. As the golden coin's luster dimmed, the crystal pendant began to swing on the paper of the floor plan.
Then, during the swinging process, using Ed's sense of touch, Dorothy did not feel the pulling force at the head of the pendant until the swinging pendant completely stopped, perfectly vertical to the paper, landing outside the boundary of the floor plan, in a place where the direction could not be determined at all.
When this happened, Dorothy knew very clearly that this was the result of her divination being blocked.
"It's useless. Those guys probably allocated a lot of anti-divination resources for this operation. Don't think you can find them using divination, Detective."
At this moment, a familiar, soft voice sounded in the office. Dorothy controlled Ed to look towards the source of the sound, and saw Adele. Brillez, dressed in red, leaning against the doorframe, holding a thin cigarette in her hand, looking at Ed in the center of the room.