Chapter 18: 18

Regardless of the state of the relationship between Evan and Duke Wilson, Sheriff Chandler still turned the focus of the investigation to Miss Catherine.

Miss Catherine is a true lady. Her father is the son of an earl and is currently serving in the House of Lords. In this way, her background is much better than that of the doctor’s daughter, Alia.

Miss Catherine lodged at the Drew Hotel located on the seaside of Delanlier. The scenery there is very beautiful. Sheriff Chandler didn’t want to face this noble lady alone, so he decided to go with Evan.

Evan was quite dumbfounded. Since he met Sheriff Chandler, his own job has lagged behind. Deacon George gave Evan a look that can only be described as a look of sadness.

“Good boy.” Sheriff Chandler patted George on the shoulder. “You can lend me the good Reverend for a while and he’ll do these ledgers later. You know, what I’m doing now is an event related to the whole town of Delanlier.”

George had no room to speak in front of Sheriff Chandler, he wasn’t as authoritative as Mrs Sanders, and he finally nodded with a bitter look on his face.

Sheriff Chandler and Evan took a carriage to the Drew Hotel, which is a newly opened hotel in Delanlier. It is gorgeously decorated, beautiful and comfortable. It is currently the best hotel in Delanlier.

Sheriff Chandler asked the hotel manager for Miss Catherine’s room number and went straight to her room. For the sheriff, this is probably the last chance he had to prove his reasoning.

When Miss Catherine opened the door after Sheriff Chandler knocked, there was a look of surprise on her face.

“Sheriff? Reverend Bruce? Are you…? What’s the matter?” Miss Catherine’s pretty face had a look of hesitation.

Evan smiled and didn’t speak so Sheriff Chandler had to speak, “We want to ask you about John.”

A complicated look flashed across Catherine’s face, it was neither sad nor resentful.

“Please, come in.” Catherine stepped aside and let Evan and the sheriff in.

Miss Catherine’s room is the best room in the Drew Hotel. The three suites are luxurious and exquisite, not looking like a hotel room but like a beautifully decorated apartment.

Miss Catherine invited Evan and the sheriff to have a seat and she poured tea for both of them. The mellow black tea left a fragrant aftertaste on the tongue.

“Miss Catherine.” Sheriff Chandler didn’t appreciate the black tea and immediately spoke after taking a sip, “I heard that you had a very close relationship with John, do you know anything about his situation?”

Suddenly, there was a look of anger in Catherine’s eyes when she heard this question, “I don’t know where you heard the rumours. John and I were just friends, and I came to his funeral just to do my best duty as a friend.”

Sheriff Chandler had a sharp look, “Miss Catherine, I advise you to not lie to me. You must know that I’m a policeman and you should stop struggling with some things.”

Gently biting her lower lip, Catherine looked at the sheriff resentfully, her hands trembling slightly, “Since you already know but you’re still asking me, John rejected our engagement. Do you still expect me to be close to him?”

“Why did you come to his funeral if you hated him so much?” Sheriff Chandler quickly caught the loophole in Catherine’s words.

Miss Catherine’s expression finally collapsed. She stood up and turned around. She took out a cigarette and lit it with trembling fingers. As an old-fashioned British man, Sheriff Chandler was stunned to see this.

Miss Catherine was already in tears when she turned back to face them.

“Okay, since you want to ask me why, then I’ll tell you.” Miss Catherine raised her hand and roughly wiped the tears on her face, “Because I love him! I love him! Are you satisfied!” She hysterically shouted at Sheriff Chandler.

“I’ve known him since he was in Cambridge and it’s an insult to me that he’d rather be with the daughter of a doctor who came out of nowhere! I’ll never forgive him!” Catherine’s fingers were trembling and she could barely hold the cigarette, the expression on her face was grim.

Sheriff Chandler was stunned for a moment. He didn’t know that these ladies, who are gentle and noble on the surface, would have such a side.

After a long moment of silence, Sheriff Chandler finally spoke in a somewhat embarrassed tone, “You…….don’t get agitated. I can understand how you’re feeling but John is dead now, don’t you have anything to say?”

Catherine finally calmed down, she put down the cigarette butt in the ashtray with trembling fingers and sat down with her arms folded.

“What do you want to ask? Just say it.” Catherine looked away and said coldly.

Sheriff Chandler turned to look at Evan but Evan lowered his head without speaking. So the sheriff had to continue, “Do you know what happened to John? His fall was because of what?”

Miss Catherine’s face twitched for a moment but she calmed down again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sheriff Chandler was a little irritated, “Miss Catherine, I’d like to remind you to not go around in circles with me. Otherwise, I can invite you to the police station, no matter who your father is.”

Catherine’s eyes instantly widened, “You can’t do this to me! It’s all his fault! If he didn’t humiliate me like that, I wouldn’t have done that!”

Miss Catherine obviously misunderstood Sheriff Chandler’s words. Sheriff Chandler’s eyes lit up and he quickly said, “I don’t care about this kind of thing. Now that John is dead, my task is to arrest the murderer. Miss Catherine, you’re a lady and you wouldn’t want to go to prison, right?”

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Catherine had a painful expression, she lowered her head and put her hand on her forehead. After a long silence, she finally spoke, “I’ll tell you everything I know, but John’s death really doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Sheriff Chandler was overjoyed but he pretended to be serious, “That’s also true. It depends on what you say.”

“You will be satisfied.” Catherine raised her head and said dryly, “John rejected my father’s proposal and I was very upset at that time. I went to ask him for a reason and he told me that the person he liked was Alia. I couldn’t accept such a result so I found someone to lure him into entering an opium den and he…got addicted to opium.”

“What!” Sheriff Chandler almost jumped up in surprise, “Little John was addicted to opium?! That’s impossible. His parents would have killed him!”

Sheriff Chandler shut his mouth as if his neck was being strangled and he stared at Catherine in horror. Evan was also really surprised. He didn’t expect that Sheriff Chandler’s guess would be partly correct. This Miss Catherine is really not a good person.

“Didn’t you know?” Catherine looked at Sheriff Chandler with some doubt.

The sheriff gave a dry laugh, “I only know that John may have fallen into some trouble but I didn’t know this part…..”

At this time, Catherine realised that Sheriff Chandler had tricked her, but it was too late to lament about it now. She could only give him a look of annoyance, “You are really not an honest person!”

Sheriff Chandler’s expression turned solemn, “I’m trying to catch John’s murderer and find some clues. Is there anything wrong with lying? As for you, was it noble of you to ruin John’s life by doing what you did?”

Catherine’s expression was stiff but she had a stubborn look in her eyes, “He ruined my life so I ruined his! Because of him, I became a joke in the social circle of London. Didn’t he need to take responsibility?”

Sheriff Chandler sighed, some things are really unclear to outsiders.

Sheriff Chandler and Evan left the Drew Hotel after saying goodbye to Miss Catherine.

Sheriff Chandler had a look of indignation. He quickly took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and took a deep breath, “I really felt suffocated in there.”

Evan stood calmly in the wind, and asked solemnly, “What do you think of this Miss Catherine?”

Sheriff Chandler sighed, “This young lady is really amazing. Just because little John refused to be engaged to her, she did such a cruel thing to him. Mr and Mrs Lawrence… alas!” He sighed again.

Evan lowered his head and fiddled with his cuffs, he spoke in a low voice, “Now you should believe what I said about the suspects. The Lawrence couple are now the most suspicious. You should overcome the inherent impression you have of them and investigate this matter objectively.”

Sheriff Chandler threw the cigarette butt away with a dejected look, “I know, Reverend Bruce, I was too subjective before. Thank you for your help.”

Evan smiled and gave Sheriff Chandler a pat on the shoulder without saying anything.

Sheriff Chandler sent Evan back to the church. Deacon George was waiting anxiously at the door of the church. When he saw Evan return, he hurried up to meet him.

“Reverend Bruce, Mrs Lawrence is here.”

Both Evan and Sheriff Chandler, who was about to say goodbye to him, froze.

“What’s the matter with her?” Evan asked hesitantly.

“She…..seems to want to ask you to expel the Hester family from the parish….” George replied.

“Nonsense!” Evan was angry, he didn’t expect that Mrs Lawrence would be so unreasonable.

“Dr. Hester and Miss Alia are both devout believers, how can I expel the believers of God!”

As soon as Evan finished speaking, Mrs Lawrence walked out of the church at the sound of Evan’s voice, “Reverend Bruce, John is dead and it’s all Alia’s fault. I must make her pay!”

“It’s all the fault of the murderer, how can you blame Miss Alia?” Sheriff Chandler told the truth.

Mrs Lawrence’s face flushed and she couldn’t say a word.

 

 

 

 

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