Chapter 18: The Tin Box

"This matter may be related to a case from three years ago," said the photographer, counter-questioning. "Speaking of which, how much do you know about Madame Guo?"

"She was a very gentle and delicate beauty," the detective stroked his chin, his face full of admiration before he added, "However, before she took her own life, there was a period when she became quite mad, which is when I met her."

As a detective well-known far and wide, Detective Gu had worked on many cases. Madame Guo had contacted him three years ago, babbling some strange words, and not long after, she committed suicide.

The photographer paused, "What words?"

The detective spread his hands, "Words like, 'Such a demon should go to hell, but I can't do it.'

After finishing speaking, he appeared somewhat regretful as he sighed and said, "Madame Guo probably wanted to ask me for help at the time, but before I could learn more, she had already taken her own life. Afterwards, Mr. Guo's case broke out, but there was no evidence at all, and Madame Guo did indeed kill herself."

So what exactly was the case?!

The photographer really wanted to ask, but feared that asking directly would break character, which could lead to some penalty by the system.

"However," suddenly, the detective's tone changed, and he said, "A year ago in this mountain, another case similar to the one three years ago occurred, so for the past year, I've been trying to visit the manor, wanting to come in and investigate, but I haven't been successful."

"Come to think of it, the time when Mr. Guo was murdered seems quite close to when that girl went missing," the detective said thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, the photographer blurted out, "Which girl?"

"Huh?" The detective paused, then asked, "Don't you know about the missing case?"

"I've been busy with other things afterwards and haven't paid much attention to this case, I might have missed it," the photographer said casually.

"Is that so." The detective responded nonchalantly, not inquiring further about his business, and took out his phone to open the gallery.

The detective's phone was filled with photos of various deceased and also information on many criminals; he scrolled for quite a while before he found the record from a year ago and handed him a picture of a young woman.

The girl in the photo looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a very sweet smile.

The detective explained amenably, "The girl's name is Zhang Ya; she had just finished her college entrance exams last year and went missing while hiking this mountain with friends. Only her blood traces and personal belongings were found halfway up the slope, but the person herself has never been found to this day."

As he spoke, the detective paused, then offered a mysterious smile, "This mountain is known to consume people."

Even the legends of the mountain consuming people somehow made it more famous, and it led to more tourists coming to visit than before, which, when you think about it, is quite ironic.

The photographer listened quietly, roughly guessing the case from three years ago, then tentatively asked, "Including her, how many people have gone missing these years?"

The detective thought for a moment, "Eight people went missing one after another three years ago, all young women. Then it quieted down until the case resurfaced a year ago; now there are nine people missing. ——I really don't understand what those people see in this mountain. Are they coming to admire the girls' funerary images?"

He finished with a sarcastic remark.

"Do you have photos of the other eight people?" the photographer asked.

"I say, have you come to investigate this case without doing any homework at all? That really isn't like you," the detective suddenly gave him a strange look.

"I received the assignment at the last minute," the photographer remained calm, saying, "I've actually stopped being a detective."

"Is that so, no wonder I seldom see you active nowadays," the detective raised an eyebrow and sent over the photos of the other victims to him.

The photographer looked at the photos of the other missing individuals, but in the end, he focused his attention mainly on the girl called Zhang Ya.

While he was lost in thought, the detective sitting on the girl's bed shook his leg and suddenly felt something hollow beneath it.

He looked down and saw that the long bedsheet was laid all the way to the ground, covering in such a way that it was usually hard to associate it with the possibility of emptiness underneath the bed.

Thinking of this, the detective felt a sudden impulse to bend down and take a look under the bed.

Meanwhile, the photographer, after staring at the photo of the girl for a long while, suddenly had a flash of inspiration pop into his mind. He turned to the detective, eager to share his thoughts, only to see the young man lying on the ground, half his body squeezed under the bed.

He seemed to be dragging something out, his hands reaching inside while slowly shifting his body to crawl out.

"Lend me a hand!"

The photographer squatted down and pulled his legs to drag him out, and out came an iron box along with the detective.

"What's this?" he blinked in surprise.

Equally stunned were the butler, who had just called the maid over, and the maid herself.

Still lying on the floor, the detective looked up, and for a moment, all four people present fell silent.

The maid was the first to react. With a pale face and in a terrified voice, she exclaimed, "Wait! This, this isn't mine, I've never put anything under my bed!"

She knew that because of Mr. Guo's death, the mansion was screening for suspects and suspicious items, and as the maid who served Mr. Guo his utensils at that time, she had already been placed high on the list of prime suspects.

Being already scared because of this, she was now even more frightened as a suspicious item had been found in her room!

On the verge of tears, the maid pleaded, "Butler, you must believe me, this really isn't mine!"

The butler, with a stern face, remained silent, but the coldness in his eyes made the maid shiver with fear.

At that moment, the detective got up and gave her a radiant smile, saying, "Don't worry so much, sister. Whether it is yours or not, we will investigate thoroughly. Now, let me see what's inside this box, is that alright?"

The maid, shrunken, said, "It's not mine... You can look if you want."

The detective smiled, glanced at the lock on the box, his eyes flickering subtly, then opened the box straightaway.

Lying inside was a neatly folded white dress, slightly damp. After taking out the dress, he also saw a pair of white gloves and a long black wig underneath it.

The butler saw these items and paused for a moment. His expression shifted between confusion and contemplation, and finally, he cast a meaningful look at the maid standing beside him.

This look caused the maid to burst into tears, babbling incoherently, "It's really not mine, I don't know where it came from, I really didn't..."

The detective sniffed the dress and detected a faint rotting rose scent.

He mused, "It might indeed not be hers. When I crawled under the bed just now, there was a lot of dust, but only one fresh trail, as if someone had only recently stuffed the item there."

Upon hearing this, the maid breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could fully relax, the detective added, "Of course, we can't rule out that you might have deliberately created this false impression."

At that, the girl's tears fell once again.

The detective, usually fond of teasing girls, didn't look her way this time. He caressed the dress, deep in thought.

If this box really wasn't the maid's, then who put it there?

More importantly, why would someone hide the box in such an obvious place? It was unquestionable that the maid, being the prime suspect, would be searched. Yet, if it was meant to frame her, such a move with many flaws was too shallow.

Unless, the person deliberately placed it there to convey some message to them?