Black Mist

"Hello, here we are, 45 Luna-Dollar."

"Uh-huh?"

"45 Luna-Dollar."

"OK."

Of course, Karen can't carry her small coffers with her, but she still carries a few hundred Luna-Dollars in her pocket. Handing over a 50 Luna-Dollar, the driver accepted it and said with a smile, "Thank you for your generosity."

"Huh?" Karen could only nod, accepting the fact that "5 Luna-Dollar" became a tip that could not be recovered. After getting out of the car, the taxi drove away. This taxi fare is really expensive. 50 Luna-Dollar is enough for a family of four for a day, and it provides at least the basics for breakfast, lunch, and dinner .

It's not too far from the Crown Ballroom to Mink Street. At this moment, Karen recalled the feeling she had when she took a taxi in college, staring at the red numbers on the meter and jumping up from the starting price step by step. The Imle's hearse was not parked on the roadside at the door, which proved that uncle and the others had not returned yet.

"Alas..." Looking at the building called "home" in front of her, Karen felt a lot more complicated.

"Police station, report, accident, not a strange demon..." The key words in the words of the woman in the gray skirt kept echoing in Karen's mind. Two people came to the dance hall where an accident had just occurred. They could receive a notification from the police, which meant that they had some kind of official status. In the end, the "strange demon" was involved.

This world seems to be very normal . At least, normal conclusions can be drawn from newspapers and books. But this is not the case. People have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Before the taxi stopped, Karen's only thought was to leave this home and live a normal life. Of course, this life must gradually become a normal life through her own efforts. "Wealth" and "Elegancy".

But now, he suddenly realized that there was indeed an undercurrent under the surface of this seemingly normal world. The grandfather at home has been weighing whether to kill him or not, but so far, the actual actions he has taken are nothing more than "confining himself". As long as he does not take the initiative to escape from "Luojia City", he will not touch the taboo. But outside, it's like a "ghost hunt" world.

"How could you not be a strange devil! How could you not be a strange devil!" Mr. Hoffen's roar on the hospital bed was still ringing in his ears. Clench your left hand tightly again . Although Karen didn't know the detail concept of "different demons", her status as a "resurrected corpse" knocked away his confidence from the beginning.

Because he clearly knew that he was not the original product. So, outside, is it still worth going out? Compared with the unknown dangerous outside, it seems that Grandpa's image suddenly became... much kinder. The most appropriate time to kill yourself was in the days after you woke up.

In those few days, grandpa did not kill himself. It seemed that he was hesitating and weighing. But as time goes by, people will reconcile with themselves, and at the same time, they will gradually "adapt" and "get used to" . After all, Karen does not act like an ignorant naughty child who rolls around at home every day or looks sullen as if everyone owes her 10,000 Luna-Dollars, but is sensible, obedient, and well-behaved.

Grandpa's "anger" and "murder motivation" will gradually decrease as time goes by. In fact, the longer he lives in this home, the safer he will become.

At this time, Karen saw the figure of Dis walking from the west, wearing the clothes of a priest. Karen just looked at him, staring at him intently. Until Dis had a look of confusion on his face and stopped in front of Karen.

"Grandpa, you are back."

"Yeah." Karen opened the door and entered home with her grandfather.

"Father, you are back."

"Yes." Aunt Mary then looked at Karen and said, "Your uncle called back from the hospital and asked me to keep an eye on you to see if you were back. He said that hearses from other funeral societies had also arrived at that time. In order to prevent interception, Shan, he drove to the hospital without waiting for you.

I will scold him well when he comes back. There was an accident on that street and someone died. It must be very chaotic. How could he leave you there alone? "

On weekdays, Aunt Mary was sharp-tongued and mean-spirited towards Karen , but when in front of her grandpa, her mouth turned into soft-spoken words.

"Aunt, I'm an adult now. How can an adult not know how to get back home? No matter where I am, I can always follow the taste of home."

Dis walked over to the sofa and sat down, asking, "What happened?"

Aunt Mary patted Karen's shoulder lightly and then went to the kitchen on the second floor to prepare tea. Karen sat down on the sofa opposite Dis and told Grandpa about the Crown Ballroom . When it came to finding the body hidden under the stage, Aunt Mary, who had just placed the refreshments, couldn't help but cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

This is not because Aunt Mary deliberately wanted to show her female side in front of her father-in-law, but she has grown into an excellent embalmer, but this does not mean that her courage suddenly became bolder.

She is not afraid of those corpses because she has regarded them as another kind of "customers" of hers. After getting familiar with them, she no longer feels afraid of corpses; just like a snake owner is not afraid of snakes.

But who can be sure that this kind of perverted serial killer will not take action against him or that he will become a "guest" in his home one day?

After Karen described the details of the body, she revealed the contents of her "dialog analysis" with Sheriff Duke. Originally, he would keep details because he wanted to secretly develop some relationships and connections, but after meeting the man and woman getting off the taxi, Karen changed her mind.

Grandpa, you see, your grandson can not only cook, provide psychological counseling, but also help the police solve crimes.

"Oh my God, Karen, did you come up with all this?" Aunt Mary exclaimed from the side, with a look of confusion on her face, "How did you do it?"

"To put it simply, just put it in." Karen tried her best to simplify complex things, not only to explain to her aunt, but also to her grandfather;

After all, it is impossible for Dis to ask like an aunt: Oh my God, how did you do that, my grandson?

"Put yourself into the murderer's position and based on the clues and details left by the murderer, deduce the... psychological reasons why the murderer did what he did."

Dis drank the red tea and said calmly: "Can you easily act like the murderer?"

"..." Karen's words can easily be aligned with "birds of a feather flock together".

Karen immediately explained: "Grandpa, aunt, it's actually like this. Generally speaking, the more you feel that you are the murderer of an artist, the easier it is to guess what he is thinking, and the easier it is to predict it. Some people will feel that they are the murderer of the artist. Very special: For example, I like to be alone and don't like to socialize. But more than 90% of people don't like to socialize. Among the remaining 10% of people who are very social, most of them also like to be alone and quiet if they have the choice. .For example, being sentimental, full of melancholy, easily empathizing with people and things, and always having a desire to talk in the heart, wanting to record and leave it behind. But most people in their thirties who have accomplished nothing, regardless of men or women, mistakenly think that they are Born writers. The more they pursue high-profile, the more they pursue specialness, and the more they think they should be high-profile and special, the more ordinary they become. Therefore, their thinking is easy to substitute. When they break through the prison of human nature, they begin to When they kill people for pleasure, they have transformed from humans into beasts. How many beasts are really smart?"

Karen explained a lot in one breath. After finishing speaking, she took a big sip of tea. Dis heard this and said thoughtfully, "It's a very novel theory."

"So, the movies and novels I used to read, all of which contained very powerful bad guys, were all lies to me?" Aunt Mary asked.

"There are exceptions to everything, Auntie, but in order to highlight the drama and conflict, literary and artistic works generally describe the bad guys in that way." Karen picked up the teapot, half stood up, and first refilled her grandfather's tea, then continued:

"A truly wise man will know how to refrain from killing."

Aunt Mary patted her chest and said, "Yes, yes, they must be the smartest among the good people."

The phone at home rang, and Aunt Mary walked over and answered the phone: "Okay, okay, I know, I know, um." After hanging up the phone, Aunt Mary's face was filled with a smile, but she saw her father-in-law still sitting there. , she began to try her best to control her smile, but it was difficult to completely control the joy from her heart, which caused Aunt Mary's expression to become a little stiff.

"Father, Maissen just called again from the hospital. The injured person who was sent for rescue failed to save his life and died. His family has agreed that we will handle the funeral. Maissen and the others will bring the body back in the evening. "

"So late?" Dis asked.

"Because we were still waiting for the family members of another deceased person to come over, one whose head was cut off in half. When the hospital contacted his wife, his wife still firmly believed that her husband was in Wien on business at the moment. Maissen wanted Wait for her in the hospital and finalize this deal."

When a person dies, the brains of the loved ones around them are usually a little "numb", as if they suddenly become "puppets on strings" and lose the ability to think . Furthermore, there is a tendency to allow the deceased to complete a decent funeral as early as possible so that he can be laid to rest. Therefore, basically whichever funeral agency can get in touch first at this time is likely to be able to take the order.

Dis nodded and said, "Okay, get ready."

"Okay, Father." Aunt Mary went to the basement and started to prepare for the guests. Seeing Dis still sitting on the sofa, Karen hesitated and didn't dare to leave.

"Aren't you scared?" Dis asked, "seeing that scene."

"I'm not very scared." Karen replied, "I'm getting used to it these days."

"You seem to have something else to say?"

"No, grandpa, there is nothing else you and I can't say."

"Oh." Dis stood up, "I'm going back to the study."

"Okay, Grandpa." Karen stood up and watched Dis' figure disappear up the stairs before sitting back on the sofa. In fact, he really wanted to ask Dis about the strange demons before, and by the way, he also asked about the man and woman in the taxi. But then I thought about it and felt it was not the right time . Some window paper, even if it is so thin that it is almost transparent, still plays an extremely important role.

Karen was very worried. After she asked straight to the point, her grandfather patiently explained the concept of "different demons" to her, carefully introduced to herself another side of the world that ordinary people didn't know, and then helped her analyze the affiliation of the man and woman. What organization do you belong to, what responsibilities do you assume, and what rights do you have .

After the explanation was over, Grandpa sighed and stood up: "Now that the words have been spoken, I will no longer deceive myself, strange devil, and suffer death."

Karen is professional when it comes to manipulating people's hearts. He doesn't want to personally dismantle the baffle that Dis wants to kill him for his own curiosity . This is much more dangerous than the last time he went to the basement to have a "heart-to-heart" with Mr. Mossanen . . Karen could still tell the difference between seeking death and seeking death.

"Meow..." Karen lowered her head and found Puer crawling beside the sofa at some point. In the past few days, Puer has looked weak, as if he was ill. Karen reached out and picked up Puer . Puer did not resist, and no longer had the arrogant attitude before, but instead had a sense of resignation and decadence.

In Karen's impression, this cat's expression has always been very rich.

"Woo..." In the corner of the living room door, the golden retriever put his chin on the floor tiles, showing an envious look. Mr. Hoffen has not yet been discharged from the hospital, and he still lives at the Imles family. However, the adults and children at home don't seem to be very enthusiastic about the pet. They can't be said to hate it, but they are too lazy to pet it. Karen, for her part, takes some time every day to take it for a walk around the neighborhood.

Karen waved to the golden retriever, who immediately stood up, came over happily with his tongue out, and took the initiative to put his head under Karen's palm. The cat is on his lap, the dog is leaning next to him, and the fragrance of black tea lingers on the coffee table in front of him. The location he is in is his own large single-family villa. Karen suddenly felt that such a day seemed not bad.

Although I have no ability to change the objective reality, reality is kind and at least allows me to choose a comfortable sleeping position...

Karen suddenly sat up. Puer , who was originally lying on Karen's lap, raised his head in confusion. The golden retriever, who had lost the treatment of being petted, also came closer, put his head under the palm of his hand again, and pushed it.

Jeff's dream,

  Mr. Mossanen 's crying, does he also have the ability to make the victim below the stage react in some way? If he could say something, could the murderer be directly identified?

There has always been a popular comment about the forensic medicine industry, that is, they can make victims "speak." And if the victim can really speak in a practical sense, it will definitely be the nightmare of every murderer in the world!

But...

Karen looked at the palm of his left hand again. He had forgotten that this was the first time he had looked at the scar today. Let's not mention that I haven't figured out this "ability" yet. Even if I really have and mastered this ability, would I use this ability to help the police solve the case and catch the murderer?

"Police station, report, accident, not a strange demon..."

Crazy, haha.

"Karen."

"Aunt?" Aunt Mary came up from the basement again, holding a box in her hand and handing it to Karen while keeping her eyes on the stairs.

"What is this?" Karen took the box, opened it, and found a watch. The brand was "Monroe." It was not a luxury item, but the price was not low either. The price was around two thousand rupees. White-collar workers who work in office buildings like to wear this watch.

"Thank you, Auntie." Karen thought her aunt bought a watch for her, but unexpectedly, her aunt shook her head and said, "I didn't give it to you, Mrs. Hughes asked someone to send it to you by name."

Mrs. Hughes? The proprietress of the cremation house. Aunt Mary lowered her voice again and said, "Although I have a very good relationship with Mrs. Hughes..."

Karen could see this that day. Mrs. Hughes teased Uncle Maissen to her face because he fell over another woman's window sill. This was actually a warning to her husband for her best friend.

"But I still have to remind you that Mrs. Hughes is a bit...somewhat philanthropic. You should not have too much contact with her, you know?" Aunt Mary, like Uncle Maissen, is worried that the young and energetic Karen will Mrs. Hughes hooked her finger and fished it away. Maybe for Mrs. Hughes, this is a way to kill boredom and relieve loneliness, but for boys, it is the price of being played with.

After all, Karen is fifteen years old, an age where she can stand up to the iron plate . How many boys at this age can resist the temptation of a young woman? Aunt Mary did not hesitate to speak bad words of her best friend because of her nephew. Because Karen came back with Dis, Aunt Mary didn't dare to take out her watch in front of Dis.

"I know, Auntie."

That Mrs. Hughes took herself as a trap. "Then please ask Auntie to ask someone to return this watch to me?"

"There's no need to return the watch, just accept it. Just be clear in your mind. I'll be responsible for returning the gift. It's just a gift between us sisters. But you'd better call me now to say thank you and be polite."

"Okay, Auntie."

"There are telephone number in the directory."

"knew."

Karen picked up the phone and opened the phone book next to it . Because she had business dealings, the number of Hughes Cremation Society was at the top and she found it easily.

I dialed the phone and waited for a while, but no one answered. Maybe you are busy? Karen hung up the phone and dialed the number again .

"Click..." This time, it was answered quickly. Karen deliberately asked in a serious and serious tone: "Hello, hello, is this the Hughes Cremation Society?" There was a voice on the other end of the phone, but no one spoke.

Karen asked again: "Hello, how are you?"

"You disturbed my artistic creation..."