Chapter 553: The Corpse Theft Case

Because Miss Gao De's hometown was a coastal town in the east of the Old Continent, the distance from Tobeisk was really too far. In order to let the client receive the reply as soon as possible, Xia De wrote the letter and immediately went to the Tobeisk Post Office.

The reason he didn't throw it into the mailbox at the street corner of St. Deran Square was because he wanted to go to the post office to order some magazines. Having gotten rid of the embarrassment of not having much money in his pocket when he first came to this world, Xia De also wanted to improve his quality of life.

Because there was nothing to do today, Xia De went to the Dawn Church with Mia after mailing the letter and listened to Bishop Owen's lecture with Priest Ao Gu Si.

After eating lunch at the church, he went home. He originally planned to borrow Priest Ao Gu Si's magic potion workshop in the afternoon to prepare the magic potion that could change hair color introduced in the second-year curriculum, but he didn't expect to see Yin Yi Yi Lu Na standing in front of the door just as he walked to St. Deran Square.

She was wearing a brown coat over that white lady's shirt with lotus-leaf cuffs, a simple black skirt on the lower body, and that pair of black leather shoes she usually wore on her feet.

"Did something happen?"

Xia De hurriedly walked over. Yin Yi Yi Lu Na shook her head and waved the cowhide paper document bag in her hand at Xia De:

"Detective, do you mind if I take up an afternoon of your time to complete a commission together?"

The seventeen-year-old young lady asked.

"What commission?"

Xia De asked while taking out the key to open the door. The two walked into the door together, and Mia darted off Xia De's shoulder happily and jumped onto the stairs.

"Find a missing corpse."

The Black Stone Security Company could always receive strange tasks from the church, and besides the church's tasks, the tasks entrusted by ordinary citizens were also always full of all kinds of strange content.

After Dac Nisi died, Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, who had temporarily broken away from the aftermath, finally submitted all her reports on "The God-Caller and Feilian" and completed the search mission for the area where the dark domain had once descended.

Returning to her workplace, which was the Black Stone Security Company, on the first day, she was handed this commission by the captain.

"I see you've been busy lately. Since you just came back, handle this matter yourself first. Two-day deadline. After handling it, you can freely arrange the remaining time."

That is to say, this was equivalent to giving Yin Yi Yi Lu Na a vacation. This commission had already been proven to have nothing to do with mysticism, and Yin Yi Yi Lu Na could close the case after a little investigation.

"Find a corpse?"

Xia De nodded in surprise:

"I can certainly help, but are you sure this matter really has nothing to do with mysticism?"

"Our squad has investigated, and it absolutely has nothing to do with it."

"That's good. However, I want to see the materials first. Speaking of which, why not let the police from the Ridgewich Field handle this kind of thing? In Delarion, stealing corpses is a felony."

"It's precisely because the police can't find them that they entrust such private security companies as ours to handle it."

Those who steal corpses in this era are not just Ringed Shushi. Mad scientists, doctors who need experimental materials, weirdos with special hobbies, or ordinary people exploring mysticism will all entrust corpse thieves or commit such crimes themselves.

This kind of thing can even be said to be very common, which is why the cremation of corpses before burial, which wasn't originally popular, has become popular in the last few decades. For example, Sparrow Hamilton—his corpse was cremated, so there was absolutely no worry about someone opening the coffin for examination.

The client looking for the corpse was Mr. Hank Fennell, who lived in the Chengxi. The corpse he was looking for was his wife, Peggy Fennell. Mr. Fennell worked at the Golden Gear Steam Engine Manufacturing Factory and was a famous mechanical engineer in the Chengxi.

Half a month ago, his wife passed away due to illness and was buried in the No. 3 tomb area of the Tobeisk Public Cemetery. A week ago, which was the ninth day after that poor woman was buried, the No. 3 tomb area encountered grave robbers, and three corpses were dug up and stolen from the graves.

The police from the Ridgewich Field immediately launched an investigation, but there was no news for a long time. Mr. Fennell therefore found the Black Stone Security Company for a commission through a friend, hoping to find traces of his wife's corpse.

The Black Stone Security Company confirmed that this matter had nothing to do with Ringed Shushi because local Ringed Shushi would absolutely not use corpses dug up locally as materials. And foreign Ringed Shushi, because of Dac Nisi's matter, were being strictly monitored and investigated by the Orthodox Church, and currently, no one had been found buying those three corpses from local grave robbers, so it was judged to be a grave robbery case committed by ordinary people.

"It seems there's no problem. However, I want to confirm whether you are sure this isn't a case committed by Mr. Fennell himself?"

Xia De sat on the sofa and flipped through the documents. In his hand was the case file Yin Yi Yi Lu Na got directly from the Ridgewich Field.

Perhaps this kind of thinking is a bit dark, but Xia De still hoped to rule out a possibility first.

"At least from the case data obtained from the Ridgewich Field, there is no mention of any abnormality in the client. And, if it were really him, the police couldn't find clues, so shouldn't he be even happier? Why would he entrust us?"

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na said, then asked curiously while holding the reluctant Mia:

"When you receive a commission, do you always suspect your client first? I thought detectives always investigated cases without any subjective views."

"Where did you see this kind of statement?"

"The 'Hamilton Detective Story Collection' serialized in the Steam Bird Daily."

Yin Yi Yi Lu Na said with a smile, and then teased Xia De:

"I heard from Luweiya that the author is your friend? Oh, Detective, this time you must show your detective skills well."

After Xia De sorted out the materials, he set off with Yin Yi Yi Lu Na, first heading to the public cemetery in the East City for on-site investigation and inquiry.

The No. 3 tomb area where the case occurred—Xia De had been here once two months ago and witnessed the conclusion of a family feud that had lasted for half a century, and even played a game of Rod Cards with a ghost. Returning to this place two months later, he didn't expect it to still be related to a commission.

The arrival of autumn brought the temperature to a point where one had to add layers when going out. Today, the city was still shrouded in mist, and even the cemetery located in the eastern suburbs was the same.

After getting off the carriage, the two walked along the gravel path toward the iron fence gate at the entrance of the cemetery. Xia De was still holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand; he intended to first visit Detective Sparrow, who rested here, to inform him that the fifth day of the Harvest Moon was coming, which could be considered giving Sparrow Hamilton some closure.

The seventeen-year-old girl looked at the cemetery that was getting closer and closer, moved imperceptibly closer to Xia De, and whispered:

"I am not a timid person, but I always dislike coming to the cemetery."

"Why?"

Xia De felt curious about this. Iluna had only been assigned to this parish after finishing her studies at the Holy See in the first half of this year, so she should not have any deceased friends in the Tobesk Public Cemetery.

"I hate death. No, it's not fear of death, but rather hating the sorrow brought about by death."

She whispered to Xia De. The two passed through the cemetery entrance together, entering the burial grounds through the iron fence gate decorated with iron thorns on both sides. Whether it was an illusion or not, the temperature inside the cemetery was slightly lower than outside.

"That is normal. Being affected by the sorrow of strangers shows that you are a person who easily empathizes with others."

Xia De commented.

Hearing that Xia De wanted to visit Sparrow Hamilton, Iluna was also happy to accompany him. Thus, the two chatted while entering Burial Zone No. 2. After placing the bouquet of white daisies in front of the tombstone embedded in the ground, Xia De sighed and thought of the time when he had first arrived in this world.

Passing through the fence gate between the two burial zones and looking up at the lingering mist, it was easy to see the small white chapel standing in the center of the cemetery:

"Iluna, the gravedigger's hut is right next to the chapel. If we are lucky, we might be able to find the gravedigger chatting with the priest. However, in what capacity should we inquire about the situation?"

"Don't forget, I am Iluna Beias, a nominal police officer of the Ridgewich Field."

Iluna reminded him, searching for her credentials in her handbag:

"Look, wasn't this the identity I used when I first visited St. Teresa Square?"

On Tuesday afternoon, the priest was taking a nap in the chapel, but at the chapel entrance, the two encountered the old gravedigger who was carrying a toolbox, humming a tune, and preparing to prune the trees in the burial zone with his apprentice.

The old gravedigger wore one-piece work clothes. Seeing two people walking in the mist, he hesitated and stopped. After Iluna produced her credentials and explained their purpose, the old gravedigger looked at Iluna's overly young face with great suspicion, but still gave his help slowly:

"We don't have any clues here either. I was the one who discovered the corpses had been stolen. Because I had encountered similar things before, I immediately found someone to notify the police. No one heard any abnormal sounds the night before, and we didn't find any carriage tracks from moving the bodies, though there were indeed abnormal footprints, but it was impossible to track them based on the footprints. If you want to find clues, you can go take a look at the graves that were dug up."

"A week has passed; haven't the graves been refilled?"

Xia De asked. The old gravedigger nodded and glanced at Xia De, seemingly recognizing the detective who had visited during midsummer:

"After finding the bodies, they still need to be reburied, so they haven't been refilled. Those are recently opened graves, and there are no other burials nearby, so there is no need to worry about others protesting."

"Alright."

Iluna recorded these things in a small notebook and then asked:

"Is the frequency of grave robbery cases high in this park?"

"Of course not. This is the third one since the beginning of the year. Do you think I'm just sitting around doing nothing?"

The old gravedigger said with some displeasure. Iluna also realized she had said the wrong thing and smiled apologetically.