It must be said that America’s East Coast these days is, in a sense, truly a paradise for criminals.
Even for murder cases that occur indoors, most crime scenes usually do not have the conditions for "long-term preservation."
As soon as the police investigation is complete, Landlords or new owners will often quickly clean up and refurbish the place.
Unless the house is still being used by the victim's family, trying to go back months later to find concrete clues is basically like "dreaming."
After all, in well-developed towns, real estate like houses requires annual property tax payments, and if this money isn't shared by tenants, then the Landlord has to pay out of his own pocket.
It's not easy for an ordinary house to become a "notorious murder house" in a town on America's East Coast.
Either the location has to be sufficiently remote—like the Detective Agency’s base of operations—where idle costs are low and market demand is small.
Or the premium has to drop sufficiently low—like a manor or abandoned mansion—where the owner selling would result in a significant book loss, so they can only wait for someone fated to buy it.
Under normal circumstances, people would certainly prioritize "living."
So what if someone died there? Tenants come and go, and after a while, no one will know. Even if someone occasionally does know, it's just a matter of "if you mind too much, don't live here; if you don't mind too much, we'll give you a small discount."
Compared to the case itself, Wayne was actually more curious about the motive of the potential "mastermind" behind it, but his curiosity was only slight.
Although Inessa's investigation was already meticulous enough, and she even went to the library to consult all the newspaper reports from that time, because the primary clues had almost vanished and the tenants who had lived at the murder scene had already changed three times, she could basically only "mostly guess."
Wayne thought it over and felt the whole thing was a bit helpless:
"Richmond’s City Hall, during our recent investigation into the assassination case, should be considered on our ‘friend’ side. And we just received a $1,500 bounty from the Police Station; now we’re going to start digging into their old cases. If this gets out, both publicly and privately, I feel it will affect our Detective Agency’s reputation…"
"Will it?" Inessa was quite rational about such matters. "But if this case truly has issues, wouldn't it be a good thing if we could uncover the truth and help them correct their mistakes?"
"That principle is indeed correct, but ‘reopening a case’ and ‘investigating a case’ are actually quite different; it might involve accountability… At least the original investigators might be publicly condemned by some people, and if not handled well, some people’s careers might be significantly affected."
America legally follows the path of the Windsor Kingdom, adopting the system of "jury plus case law."
The police are responsible for collecting clues and evidence, the jury decides "guilty" or "not guilty," and only then does the judge determine the specific sentence.
Since the jury—the so-called "public opinion"—cannot be wrong, and the overall professional authority of the court is not allowed to be questioned,
Therefore, to overturn a murder case, there are usually only two paths.
Either say "the killer was very cunning," deceiving the police or the jury, or you can only say "there were problems with the investigation process," "procedural flaws," or "missing evidence," and so on.
In short,
In present-day America, the blame for "wrongful judgment" is basically only allowed to be placed on the "local police."
And it's quite normal for some members of the public to feel angry when they learn that "public opinion" was actually deceived or misled.
Normal people won't prioritize "blaming themselves," so the conclusion some of the public draw about the local police is often either that they are "stupid" or "bad"; in any case, it certainly won't be anything good.
Regardless of whether the potential shady dealings behind this matter are related to the police, the mere act of "wanting to overturn the case" already implies "finding fault with the police."
Although "investigating wrongful cases" is a form of justice no matter how you look at it, this kind of thing doesn't offend the broader "police force."
But… it could still offend the specific "incumbents" and "officials" who are held accountable—they aren't necessarily bad people; perhaps they are just ordinary workers with different professions, and anyone would be unhappy if they were treated this way.
Furthermore, from a "personality profile" perspective, "Southerners" are generally more concerned with saving face than "Northerners."
Leaving aside Sheriff William, who feels a bit off, just speaking broadly, the local police have already provided assistance and money, yet the Detective Agency is pulling a stunt like this. If it causes problems in public opinion, it will appear somewhat "dishonorable."
No wonder Father Tyrrell dared to send all these lists at once, and he had said such words before, hinting at a request for the Detective Agency to treat matters "impartially."
If all these things are true, then in the hands of ordinary people, they would probably be called "conspiracy theories"; in the hands of those in the know, they are called "hot potatoes."
They are the kind of things that "look bad when brought to the table" and are suitable for "private negotiation and handling."
It seems that if these dark secrets are uncovered one by one, offending people overtly and covertly everywhere, the Detective Agency might eventually be forced to be "impartial," even if it doesn't want to.
That old codger, so this is where he was waiting?
The Detective Agency has probably already offended the local intelligence organization; if it offends the local police now, then it might as well go ahead and offend the military tomorrow too.
At least gather all the violent agencies together, and then engrave them on the tombstone; it would look more impressive…
However, Wayne could also understand Inessa's thoughts. Regardless of whether it was just or reasonable enough, from the Hunter Association’s tenet that she recognized, the core of "order" probably lies in "not being double standards."
This can be seen in some details, for example, hunters believe that no matter how sad and heartbroken they are, once an Extraordinary Person completely loses control, the best way to deal with it is to "eliminate" them, rather than secretly raising a "monster" that has completely lost its humanity—even if the person who lost control is themselves.
It is truly difficult to achieve this, and many times it can seem a bit heartless, even somewhat "unrealistic."
But ultimately… "adhering to principles" is not a "mistake."
"So, should we continue to investigate these matters? At least from this case, the previous killer was wrongly accused."
After hearing Wayne's words, Inessa looked up from her notes and asked, her expression appearing somewhat hesitant.
It's interesting to note that Wayne felt Inessa's personality was actually quite "straightforward," but she didn't appear assertive in her daily life.
The Parrot in the Detective Agency used to like flying to the window and squawking early in the morning. Wayne once saw Inessa, even after being woken up, patiently and softly squatting there, persuading the Parrot not to do that anymore, saying it could fly a bit farther in the morning, and so on.
Perhaps it's like how she doesn't endorse the Church's ideology, yet she is still willing to peacefully accept the "constraints" of the Exorcist Association.
On matters not involving major principles, she is actually quite easygoing, which is another form of "adapting to order."
However, for a "knight-errant" like her, if she "didn't know," then so be it. But if she sees injustice and can't help, she'll probably either end up working alone or eventually develop inner demons.
Moreover, compared to Inessa's "persistence" and "adaptability," Wayne, though more "worldly," felt that he was actually more rebellious at heart. Since Inessa was interested…
Wayne smiled, "Since we already suspect there's a problem, let's keep investigating. Problems can always be solved."
