Chapter 4825

"Run... run! Hurry up and run!!!"

The sheriff's voice trembled as he staggered and turned, walking toward the outside of the manor. The policemen following him were confused, but could only follow him out. Still, some were unwilling and turned back to look at this strange, out-of-place manor.

Many of them gradually stopped in their tracks. The last officer's gaze fell on the window of the manor's second floor; he narrowed his eyes, his face turned fearful, and in the end he simply turned and ran.

The police arrived quickly and left just as fast. The patrol cars sped recklessly, as if they wanted to charge straight down the mountain road like descending stairs. Within minutes they had completely vanished from everyone's sight.

"Really, it's haunted." Strange said.

"Exactly, they definitely saw a ghost." Stark let out a breath, "Look, living in a haunted house has its perks. As long as you're not afraid of ghosts, everyone will be afraid of your house."

Greed and Pride also returned. Natasha walked to the island counter, poured herself a cup of ice water and drank it down. Pride stood on the other side of the island counter watching her and said, "Tell me in detail, miss."

"I will, Detective." Natasha wiped her mouth and said, "The banquet was held on the front lawn. About ten minutes after it started, a maid ran across the manor to the front lawn, saying she had found a body in the backyard. Everyone went over. Manas was found hanging from a branch of the maple tree in the backyard, about three meters or more above the ground."

"Whose house is it?" Steve asked.

"The bride's family." Strange said, "The groom's family is also fairly well-off, but not as well-off as my patient. So they held the wedding at the bride's home."

"A branch over three meters high..." Coulson was the first to notice this, he said, "Miss Manas probably couldn't climb a tree, right?"

"No." Natasha said firmly, "Because she's lame, she usually sits in a wheelchair. A tree that high is absolutely impossible for her to climb, and it would also be very difficult to hang herself from the tip of a branch."

"Exactly." Pride nodded and said, "The maple tree's branches aren't strong enough to withstand the sudden gravitational load when a person hangs and drops."

Everyone could understand his meaning. If someone else had steadily hoisted the body up from below, it might be possible to maintain balance. But if she had climbed onto the branch herself, tied a noose around her neck, and jumped down, that sudden force would very likely snap the branch.

After recalling, Natasha nodded and said, "Indeed, that branch could hardly bear the sudden fall of a living person. The body must have been hung up afterward."

"But." Natasha shifted her tone, "When they took the body down from the branch, I went over and took a look. There was no obvious external injury, but the ligature mark on the neck was very clear. I suspect she was first strangled, then hung up."

"Then what?" Pride asked again.

"The bride's father expressed extreme grief, demanding that no one leave without permission and that the police must catch the killer. At that moment, someone stood up and asked Natasha where she had been when the banquet first started. They said she had disappeared for a few minutes, and thus concluded she was the murderer, wanting to detain her." Strange explained.

"A man beside Natasha lunged at her—I think he was just using the excuse to take advantage—Natasha stabbed him in the thigh with a dinner knife. Blood spattered both of us. The crowd erupted, everyone was stunned. We two took advantage of the chaos and ran."

"A very effective self-defense move." Pride commented, "Choosing the thigh artery, because compared to the carotid artery it's not as deadly, but the blood spurts out a lot and high. Most people who haven't seen real bloody scenes would certainly be intimidated. You'd then have a chance to escape."

Natasha stood at the other end of the island counter and raised her cup toward Pride in affirmation. Coulson praised, "Ms. Romanoff's 'Crisis Response for Good Agents' course has always been popular at S. H. I. E. L. D. She is truly the master."

"So you really left the banquet scene before it started?"

"Of course not." Natasha said, "From the moment I entered the manor, I stayed by the champagne tower. First I drank some champagne, then took a glass of dry red from a server, then immediately had a pre-dinner drink, then Italian citrus wine and San Marino..."

"Indeed. Our Lady Romanoff behaved just like a drunkard who accidentally wandered into an upper-class banquet." Strange couldn't help but complain, "From the moment she entered until the incident, she never stopped drinking."

"Because S. H. I. E. L. D.'s cafeteria doesn't serve alcohol." Coulson explained from the side, "And she's the one who established this rule. With unlimited drinking, we're all afraid she'd drink herself to death."

"Indeed so." Pride said.

"Yeah. Russians drinking heavily really isn't a stereotype." Greed sighed.

"I'm saying, this lady really is just a temporary scapegoat they found on the spot, and even their fabricated excuse is this clumsy." Pride paused for a moment before saying, "If she were merely a temporary female companion brought by a doctor, no one would have been watching her since the banquet began, noting whether she had disappeared for a few minutes. This is a lie full of holes, but obviously they couldn't come up with a more reasonable one."

"Could the person who first framed Natasha be suspicious?" Steve asked, "Perhaps he's guilty as a thief and wants to frame an innocent, powerless nobody."

But he quickly realized. Because Natasha had said that when the body was first discovered, the manor owner demanded everyone stay. This shows that even before Natasha could be pointed at, things had already started to go wrong. Demanding everyone stay at the crime scene is not the kind of decision a competent businessman would make. This would surely offend everyone present.

Even if he loved his daughter. His little daughter died, his elder daughter still lives. Keeping everyone around, what if the killer still wanted to harm his elder daughter? This makes no sense. In other words, the manor owner's suspicion is also significant. The person who first framed her might merely be acting under his orders.

"You said they were also panicking." Pride looked toward Natasha again.

"Yes, I couldn't have been mistaken. At the moment I saw the body, the bride's father was also shocked and somewhat flustered, and that doesn't look like an act. Something unexpected must have happened."

"I understand." Stark said, "His daughter died, he realized who the killer was, but he couldn't accuse that killer. So he thought quickly, wanted to detain everyone, then frame someone else."

"The person who framed you might also know who the killer is, but he also can't accuse the killer, so he thought of picking on you, easy to bully, fabricated a reason to frame you, and wanted to detain you first, then force you to confess. By the time the police arrive, the case can be closed and buried."

Natasha thought for a moment and said, "It really does seem that way, but there's one point that doesn't make sense. That Augustus—that is, the bride's father—who would he fear? He looks like the most powerful and influential among them."

"Indeed so." Strange said, "Augustus's family is a pharmaceutical giant, and also has deep ties with the Presbyterian Hospital. If not, I wouldn't have attended."

After he said that, everyone understood the weight of this family. Strange isn't someone with nothing to do. On the contrary, he's busy to death—he's a surgeon, a Sorcerer Supreme, and the chairman of the Interstellar Council. Simply put, his personal, Earth's, and the universe's safety rests on him. Being able to take time to attend this wedding must mean it's very important. Even not attending would mean a certain identity couldn't get by.

Being able to make Strange wary to this extent, there really aren't many in this world who could silence him. Pride had long had a guess in mind, and this matter made him more certain.

"How did Manas's leg become lame?" Pride suddenly asked, and everyone fell silent again. This topic shifted too quickly; many were caught off guard and couldn't quite follow Pride's train of thought.

Stark thought for a moment and said, "Augustus is from my father's generation. His eldest daughter is about my age, but we didn't go to the same school, so we're not very familiar. His younger daughter is more than ten years younger than me; when she was born, I might have already left home, so I don't really know her. Moreover, such families value privacy greatly. If it were an accident or some scandal, they would never speak of it outwardly, impossible to have news reports. Probably no one knows the condition of that younger daughter."

"Where is the body?" Pride asked.

Everyone turned to look at him in unison. Stark suddenly realized: "If Manas's death is abnormal, they definitely wouldn't let anyone take the body to the police morgue; they'd very likely destroy it on the spot. Even if the police were bribed by them, they couldn't stop it—we need to intercept them."

Several people immediately sprang into action, grabbing equipment and hastily preparing to run out. Greed hurriedly stopped them: "You can't just go snatching corpses like that, or you'll definitely be seen as perverts. Stephen, I'm afraid it's up to you."

"Not really a bother." Strange lightly shook his head and said, "It's within my duties."

He opened a portal, his figure disappearing inside. After waiting about ten or so minutes, Strange returned alone and then said, "I think I can't move the body without leaving traces. So if anyone wants to go look, I can take you there."

Pride walked over without changing expression. The others didn't have this idea, because they actually couldn't see anything either. Thus Strange took Pride and left.

"You know what's going on, right?" Pride asked.

Strange remained silent, and Pride didn't press further. They arrived at a cellar, where Manas's body was placed on a table. Pride first glanced at her neck, then focused on her legs. He didn't reach out to touch, only observed.

When the two returned, everyone looked at Pride. Pride said, "The degree of muscle atrophy indicates it should be congenital paralysis. The leg muscles haven't developed much, proving she has never left her wheelchair since birth."

"Who would kill someone like this?" Hawkeye felt some doubt, "If she's always been in a wheelchair and rarely goes out, it should be hard to make enemies, right? Could it be someone from her own family?"

"I think it's unlikely. His family isn't ordinary people, yet they couldn't even support a paralyzed daughter?" Natasha said, "Besides, I know he's lame because before the banquet started, his family was gathered together talking. Looking at their expressions and behavior, they don't seem like people with grudges. Their feelings seem quite good."

Everyone believed Natasha's judgment. The female agent's eyes have always been sharp, and it's not easy to deceive her. Especially when she's unprepared. Since she said that, the possibility of internal family feud-murder is very low.