This is an unnamed bookstore...because the sign is covered with a black tarp, making it impossible to tell its name.
Hitzfeld also used this place and Daryl as an example at the time, and she was impressed by the store.
If I remember correctly, the scene I saw through the glass window at that time, in addition to some bookshelves, there was also a piece of cloth with a letter hanging on the bar near the door.
It is a thick piece of cloth with dozens of small pockets of moderate depth cut on the surface. Some letterheads that are inconvenient to write addresses on will eventually be sent to the bookstore and inserted in these small pockets, specifically for nearby residents to come in and check and claim when they pass by.
Yes, just like on Earth where mail and express delivery are delivered to the supermarket at your doorstep, there are similar customs here.
Xia Yibing had also thought of what Hitzfeld had thought of. The girl watched the thinking process and had already returned to the car to look for tools.
It was a lock-picking bar.
Let’s ignore for now why the detectives carried this kind of tool in their car. Anyway... after more than ten minutes, they brute-force broke all the door locks and finally got into the bookstore.
"Do you think there will be letters they won't have time to receive?"
Xia Yibing asked while holding a gun in one hand and a crowbar in the other, watching the shadow of the bookcase vigilantly.
With her protection, Hitzfeld devoted all his energy to searching for the letters.
But she wasn't sure.
"…Let's try our luck."
The Ross gold crown was stolen, there must be someone watching nearby.
Not only the Security Bureau, but also those newspaper reporters. The other party may not dare to come in and gain trust, she can only hope.
I hope there are one or two more letters that weren't taken away in time.
It's like they missed a shipping record, right?
Alfred's death was sudden, and perhaps they were not prepared.
Chapter 32: Newspaper in the Letter
Alfred's suicide, and the theft of Ross's golden crown jewels.
Judging these two cases that are showing signs of merging from a purely objective and neutral perspective, Hitzfeld believes that the murderer's actions were not actually very clever.
No matter how he or they did it, bringing such a heavy threat to an old agent who was already under tremendous mental pressure, they should have considered the possibility of his suicide when doing so.
Alfred committed suicide at around eight o'clock, and there were several hours between eight o'clock and when they rushed back to the post office to check the only remaining record. If they really had a plan for this, the only remaining record of mailing should not have existed.
There was also forged handwriting… It was invisible to the post office employees, but it was too obvious to professionals. The other party was not a professional in forging handwriting. Coupled with various factors and her inner intuition, she always felt that the murderer behind it was not a very cunning person.
With such a mentality and hope, when she really found a piece of letter paper with the words "No. 306 Yong'en Road" written on it from a pile of yellowed envelopes, her heart trembled violently and her other hand clenched tightly.
"Found it?" Leon had been either staring at Daryl or looking at her since just now. Seeing that she had started to open the letter, there was a hint of surprise in his voice.
Hitzfeld didn't say anything. She could not hear any sound from the outside world and all her attention was focused on the letter.
When she got the envelope, her first impression was that it was very thick - as if there were a lot of banknotes hidden inside. The fluffy feel of stacked paper and the concave feel when pinched all proved this point.
But she soon realized that it couldn't possibly contain money, because from the remaining envelopes, it could be inferred that Alfred had been doing this for a long time. If he kept sending money, and blatantly placed it in this position, there would definitely be greedy people who would come to the bookstore to claim it without asking.
The fact was just as she thought. After opening the letter, the first thing that caught her eye was not the money, but a stack of neatly cut and folded newspapers.
Li Ang whistled: "At least we found where the newspaper went."
"That doesn't prove anything." Looking at him sinisterly, Xia Yibing seemed to be trying to help him hone his ability to investigate cases. "You are the captain now, Cornerel, how do you think we should confirm the next step?"
"Uh..." Li Ang opened his mouth.
He actually wanted to answer reflexively and detain all the suspects and interrogate them one by one, but he soon realized that this was no longer in Aisha Continent.
This is not the Elsa continent. They are not carrying out a sacred mission and can't ignore some sacrifices, such as treating people as non-human beings... This is Icarolin, Sara, and Wayne Port. There is not enough police force here to support him in doing such things.
At this time, his past experience began to play a role. He quickly thought of something and said excitedly, "Can we go find the bookstore owner?"
"Alfred's mailing cycle should be quite long. Whether those letters are sent here or to other places, we can just call the boss and find out!"
This does make sense, because that time was undoubtedly before the jewelry theft. The bookstore was still open at that time, and the owner of the bookstore - or employee, as long as he stood behind the bar, should have an impression of the people who came to pick up the mail or even check it.
Letters were even more so. It wasn't that they were asking too much for the other party to remember the insignificant field "No. 306 Yong'en Road" from a pile of letters, but these letters were really special enough - if Alfred stuffed a pile of newspapers into every letter like this one.
"Our team should be here soon. I'll go find them!" Li Ang put the gun back into his pocket and raised his hand to press in the air. "If you find anything, you must wait for me!"
"Promise me you won't go to the turret first!"
It seemed that he was worried about their safety. But as someone who had experienced the war of gods together, Daryl, who was also a bystander, knew that this man's fighting ability was not very good.
It was she who easily subdued him and brought him back for interrogation. Daryl was very sure that Leon was far inferior to his own prince and his lover in terms of fighting ability.
From this point of view, he was not worried about safety. Instead, it was as if... she didn't know if her description was correct... it was as if he encountered something interesting and didn't want his friends to abandon him and go on an adventure.
While Hitzfeld was studying the contents of the newspaper in the envelope, Xia Yibing took the opportunity to "interrogate" Duolei.
Her tone was relatively gentle, but given her status... plus the effect of the accumulated power over this period of time, to Duo Lei, this was just torture.
"How long have you lived with him?"
"Almost two months."
"Was it two months straight or two months on and off?"
"The latter... because sometimes he would unreasonably drive me out, for the reason I mentioned before. He thought that if I got too close to him, disaster would happen."
"Is he an alcoholic?"
"I haven't seen any. I've never smelled alcohol in that house."
"Do you think he's an alcoholic?"
"I..." Duolei took a breath, "I don't think he could hide the alcohol in the house from me in that state."
"If you are so confident, why didn't you notice his abnormalities before?" Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes, "For example, the envelope under the sofa, and the newspapers that disappeared inexplicably in the house."
"I should have noticed it." Duo Lei said guiltily, "Sometimes I would see him writing letters... but it's normal for a man of his age to have a few old friends, so I didn't pay too much attention to it."
"His age?" Xia Yibing frowned. "Do you think there are many agents his age?"
Even if they don't become director, the average lifespan of an ordinary agent is not very long.
Not even 55 years old, which is relatively low nowadays... If some specific items are added, it may be necessary to deduct another seven or eight years. There are indeed not many people who have the chance to die of old age like Alfred.
This also means that he won't have many friends, at least those friends who would definitely have common topics with him have almost all died in the past years.
Duo Lei was very flustered by her questioning, and kept wringing her hands and apologizing.
She blamed herself.
Even though - Alfred appeared to have committed suicide, and even if it was finally discovered that there was outside interference causing him to do so, the whole thing had nothing to do with her.
But as a junior who has lived with the old agent for more than two months, how can she say that she can remain indifferent?
She felt extremely guilty and was convinced that she was absolutely responsible for this.
If only she had noticed Alfred's abnormality earlier.
If she could only find those envelopes.
If she had been more careful and paid attention to the process of him sending the letter...
Unfortunately, there is no such thing.
There's no use regretting anything now.
"What does he like to do in his daily life?" Seeing her like this, Xia Yibing decided to relax the pressure on her and changed the subject naturally.
"He smokes," Dole recalled. "He's a heavy smoker... and he won't listen to me. I told him that my grandfather's throat was ruined by smoking, and he almost lost the ability to speak in the end - but he didn't listen and continued to smoke."
"Except smoking."
"Then we can only water the flowers and grow the grass." Duo Lei pursed her lips, "That is, the flowers and plants you saw, the attic, and those in the yard."
"He also planted flowers and plants in the yard?"
"Yes."
"I didn't pay attention outside...but since he has a special place to grow these things, why did he take the flowers and plants out and put them upstairs?" Xia Yibing asked again, "Wouldn't it make the floor look damp, and it would be easy for insects to breed. It would be inconvenient for him to go upstairs at his age."
"Uh... I've never thought about that."
What a newbie.
Xia Yibing sighed in her heart.
It was true that after spending more time with Aisuen, she unconsciously raised her standards for people. But in fact, this was what an agent of this age should do.
They need experience and need to grow.
Not everyone has a talent for solving crimes.
Meanwhile she wondered to herself why Alfred had flowers in the attic.
It's not convenient to grow flowers in the attic, but it's a good cover. It's like he didn't tell anyone his secret but left some newspapers to pad the flower pots. Maybe he hoped... someone would find it on their own initiative.
This was not her imagination, because human beings are very complex creatures, and this complexity is reflected in their contradictory emotions.
A person has both good and bad sides. He may want to do something in the last second and regret it the next.
Alfred's concealment does not conflict with his desire to be discovered, which may be the result of his guilt and shame working together.
He was too embarrassed to talk about this matter, and he couldn't say it even if someone asked him to. But if someone found out and enlightened him, perhaps his attitude would be very different.
It’s just like he chose to find Aisuen before committing suicide, right?
He did want to confess, otherwise he wouldn't have kept it a secret for so long.
"I almost know."
Suddenly, there was a noise coming from the bar - that is, from Hitzfeld.
“It’s called a newspaper, but it’s still money.”
Chapter 33 Gretzer's Bookstore
"How to say?"
With Daryl on guard, Xia Yibing put down his arm, walked over with the pistol in hand, and put his head on the girl's shoulder to read the newspapers.
They have been unfolded, and from this angle you can see the zigzag square fields and several obvious graffiti marks in the gaps in the middle of the newspapers - one of which contains a string of numbers.
Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes. Even for a rookie, this hint was obvious enough. Anyone who had received professional training would have thought that there was a secret code hidden here when seeing these things.
There are patterns in the graffiti or the string of numbers, and the patterns can be used to retrieve the letter symbols in the newspaper. When the corresponding letter symbols are picked out and assembled according to the correct pattern and order, the meaning of the ciphertext is cracked.
That is the real content of the letter, and Hitzfeld just said that there is still money here. Could it be that -
"He used the 'five-section character,'" Hitzfeld said. "53668789... It starts with the five-section character, and the second character is the number of times the five-section character is used. After three times, it changes to the six-section character, and then changes again after six times."
"So easy?" Xia Yibing was a little surprised. She was also a little shocked at first that Hitzfeld deciphered the ciphertext so quickly, but if it was so easy, she could do it too.
"I've always thought those people might not be professional, and this further confirms my idea." Hitzfeld sighed, "Otherwise he wouldn't have used such a simple cipher. He could actually write something more complicated."
Xia Yibing knew what she meant: Alfred had a more difficult ciphertext but didn't use it. It wasn't that he didn't want to use it, but there was a high possibility that he was worried that if he used it, the recipient would not be able to decipher it.
This is a bit scary. Who is he working with in secret?
By criminal standards, these people's literacy and professionalism are relatively low...
"All the characters are extracted like this." Hitzfeld pulled a pencil from the pen holder on the bar and circled the characters one by one according to the pattern she said. "I'll draw them all out so they look better."
"I don't understand." Daryl was also reading the newspaper at this time, her brows furrowed, "Are these words still meaningless?"
"It makes sense, but it has to be arranged in a regular pattern." The girl pointed to the last circle. "Did you see this? At the end... the word used here is 'concert', so we should arrange it in the same way as musical notation."
She wrote as she spoke, scribbling several lines fluently in the blank space above the newspaper title.
Others came over and stared at it, and found that the line of words finally formed into something like [Pruettlodge, expires October 10].
That's why she said "it's still money".
Xia Yibing took a deep breath and asked, "Then shall we go to Prudential now?"
She had already realized that - according to Aisuen's speculation, the people who cooperated with Alfred were not of high quality. In order to make it as convenient as possible for these people to withdraw money, there was a high probability that there was a Prudential Store nearby.
Plikin's is also an old brand. Although it is not as good as the ones opened by some nobles and royal families, it is also a familiar word. They tend to do more business with the middle and lower classes. After all, they are professional and should not be tampered with by a group of thieves.
In other words, as long as they find the gold bank where the money was withdrawn, they can use the records and time to find out how many letters Alfred sent and how much money he transferred.
"I do want to." Hitzfeld smiled bitterly, "But don't you see what time it is? They must not be open yet."
