Chapter 19: 19

Evan couldn’t help his sigh, “Don’t say these irrational words, Miss Alia did nothing wrong.”

“Why are you all speaking for that slut!” Mrs Lawrence took a step forward with a little agitation, “I need someone to pay for this!” She glared at Evan and Sheriff Chandler viciously.

Sheriff Chandler’s brows furrowed deeply, “The one who needs to pay is the murderer. Please don’t make trouble without reason.”

When she heard this, Mrs Lawrence trembled with anger, “You sound nice, but you have made no progress in the interrogation so far! Is my little John’s death going to be in vain?”

Sheriff Chandler felt ashamed when he heard this but he could only continue, “Mrs Lawrence, this matter is very complicated but we have already made some progress. Please, don’t worry.”

Mrs Lawrence just sneered and turned to leave.

Watching her leave, Sheriff Chandler murmured, “It seems that I need to talk to the servants of the Lawrence family.”

“Obviously.” Evan’s eyes were filled with interest, “Sheriff, you still have a lot of work to do.”

Sheriff Chandler left and Evan returned to the church. Although Evan had doubts in his heart, he would still need evidence to prove the doubts.

************

The next day was Sunday and Evan, as the priest of the Delanlier Church, needed to preach to the believers. The sermon has already been prepared. Evan has now completely adapted to this kind of life.

That day, basically all the parishioners came. John’s murder had cast a cloud over the town of Delanlier. The town’s people urgently needed a vent to use to soothe their hearts.

Duke Wilson was also there. His face was still cold and he still ignored Evan but he still came to church.

Duke Wilson’s arrival caused a change in the atmosphere of the church. People rushed to greet him, with surprise and excitement on their faces.

Evan strode by the altar and watched Duke Wilson elegantly return everyone’s greetings, but he was secretly thinking about how he would get close to the duke again. There was no need to postpone this, after all, he is more proficient at this than anyone here.

Evan finished the service with sincerity. His emotional speech, extremely sincere demeanour coupled with his blond, blue eyes and extremely handsome appearance soothed the panic the people felt. At the end of the service and after a moment of tranquility, many people came up to him to thank him and kiss the hems of his robe. Evan has received more respect in Delanlier than he could have ever imagined. (Am I the only one who finds it hard to picture Evan as a priest? Considering the kind of person he is)

Duke Wilson stood at the door of the church, watching Evan as he was smiling and talking to the people. An old and trembling gentleman, who could hardly hold the Bible in his hands, came up to Evan. He smiled, held his scrawny hands and spoke to him cordially.

Duke Wilson felt that Evan was dazzling. He didn’t seem bothered by what he heard that day. Neither did he (E) condemn his (DW) actions nor did he (E) explore the meaning behind his (DW) actions. He (E) behaved as if nothing had happened that day and he (E) still treated him (DW) the same as always, still respectful and polite. But, it was this kind of politeness that made the duke even more annoyed.

Frustrated, he turned and left the church.

That afternoon, Sheriff Chandler came to the church very excited. He took out a catskin bag from his coat’s pocket and said with a smile, “I feel so lucky today. The evidence I sent to Scotland Yard a few days ago for testing has been sent back. And they found the remnants of a brooch in ashes from John’s fireplace.”

Evan raised his eyebrows, a brooch? Looking at the distorted thing in front of him, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you really sure it’s a brooch?”

Smiling, Sheriff Chandler rubbed his hands together, “You don’t have to make fun of me, it’s true. It’s a brooch and it’s a very precious brooch, as confirmed by the experts of Scotland Yard. It looks like our murderer is a woman, someone who has such a precious brooch. Reverend, you don’t need me to tell you who it is, right?”

Evan looked down at the wreckage in his hand and pondered for a long time before speaking, “Although we have found this brooch, there is still no evidence to link this brooch to Mrs Lawrence. And for the motive, we don’t have any valid theories either.”

When he heard this, Sheriff Chandler gave a meaningful smile, “I knew you would say this. But the people at Scotland Yard have that this is a unique brooch handcrafted by a shop in London, and there is only one of it in this world. I asked someone to help me find out, and I was told that it was specially customised by Mr Lawrence. Think about it, who else can he give this brooch to?”

Sheriff Chandler spoke with confidence but Evan still frowned as he looked at the brooch. He had never seen Mrs Lawrence wear the brooch.

“Not only that, the blow to the back of John’s head was from the upper right to lower left and the person who did it was identified as left-handed. Mrs Lawrence is left-handed.” Sheriff Chandler had a proud look on his face, “Reverend Bruce, how about that? Is it alright now?”

Evan had not seen John’s wound and it was the first he heard about the perpetrator being left-handed. Thinking about it, Mrs Lawrence was indeed left-handed.

“You still have to be careful. There is no direct evidence.” Evan said bitterly.

Sheriff Chandler was determined to win the debate, “Reverend Bruce, even you can’t refute the evidence this time. As long as she has these things, she can’t deny it in front of the judge.”

The rules of this era’s justice system are not as strict as the rules of the later eras. At this time, as long as there is circumstantial evidence, one can be sent to the gallows*.

Evan frowned but Sheriff Chandler was still very excited, “I think I have to go and talk to the servants of the Lawrence family, to find out about the relationship between Mrs Lawrence and John.”

Evan sent off Sheriff Chandler, who had a triumphant look on his face, with a complicated look. Could the murderer really be Mrs Lawrence? The image of the thin but hot-tempered woman flashed through his mind. If it is true that such a person could kill, then Mrs Lawrence is very impressive.

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Worried, Evan walked back into the church. For the first time, he devoutly knelt in front of the statue of Jesus and prayed with his hands folded. In the morning, he had given the residents of Delanlier a moment of tranquility and now, he also needs that tranquility.

************

Sheriff Chandler went to Woolwich Manor with great satisfaction. It was time for the servants to prepare dinner when he got there. Mrs Lawrence was even more indifferent to Sheriff Chandler and didn’t cooperate at all.

“If you need to ask anything, just go and ask. It’s just that the servants are working now so you’d better hurry up.” Mockingly, Mrs Lawrence gave the sheriff a look of schadenfreude**.

Sheriff Chandler was very annoyed that Mr Lawrence was away from home today, so he could only face Mrs Lawrence directly.

“Then, Madam, please forgive my intrusion.” Sheriff Chandler also felt impatient to deal with Mrs Lawrence. In his heart, he had already identified Mrs Lawrence as guilty, so he unceremoniously called Mrs Lawrence’s maid out.

Seeing Sheriff Chandler’s rude look, Mrs Lawrence turned pale with anger but she didn’t say a word.

Laura, Mrs Lawrence’s maid, looked at Sheriff Chandler timidly, twisting the corners of her skirt with her hands.

Sheriff Chandler stared at Laura with eagle-like eyes and said sternly, “Whatever I ask you now, you must tell me the truth. If I find out that there is a lie, I will arrest you immediately. And if you go to prison, you will never be able to get out.”

“Yes….sir,” Laura answered as she trembled, “I will not tell a lie, please don’t arrest me. Sheriff, I will not tell a lie, I will tell you the truth.”

Sheriff Chandler nodded with satisfaction, such intimidation was a common thing for him to do and he felt no burden at all.

“I ask you, how was the relationship between Mrs Lawrence and John?”

“Mrs and the young master?” Laura looked puzzled.

“Yes! What’s the relationship like between them?” Sheriff Chandler’s eyes were burning.

“The relationship between the lady and the young master was very good. The lady loves master John very much.” Laura said with some hesitation.

Her hesitation did not escape Sheriff Chandler’s eyes, “What else are you hiding? Say it!”

Laura shook, “I….I really don’t know….” She waved her hands in a panic.

Seeing her like this, Sheriff Chandler lit up and he pressured her, “Laura, you’d better not lie to me. Your father owes so much in gambling debts so you tell me, what should I do with him?” (That’s low, bro)

Panicked, Laura’s eyes were filled with tears, “Oh, Sheriff, please don’t do anything to my father, he…he…”

“Then tell me the truth!” Sheriff Chandler didn’t let up.

Laura sobbed deeply, “Oh, I can’t….I’m going to lose my job…”

This time, Sheriff Chandler started persuading her gently, “Oh, good girl, you don’t need to be afraid about this matter. Don’t worry, I will be the only one to know about this. I won’t tell anyone about what you said, don’t worry.”

Laura continued sobbing and Sheriff Chandler started feeling impatient. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, handed it to her and spoke in a low voice, “Okay, wipe your tears, you can leave when you’re done.”

Laura took the handkerchief and blew her nose loudly. Sheriff Chandler frowned.

“I…I saw it before.” She looked at the sheriff timidly, “I saw Mrs Lawrence quarrelling with master John, and she beat master John…. I know this. Sheriff, please don’t embarrass my father.”

Sheriff Chandler almost jumped up with excitement, “Really? When did it happen? Why?”

Laura didn’t understand the reason for the sheriff’s excitement, “Yes…it was a few days ago but I don’t know why. But Mrs Lawrence was very angry and she said that she would cut ties with master John..”

 

1 *A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging. 2 **Schadenfreude : pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.

 

 

 

1 *A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging.2 **Schadenfreude : pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.

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