2000 pounds? This is enough to drive all bounty hunters and private detectives in Backlund crazy! This is nothing like "Hurricane Admiral" Zilingus who spends long periods at sea with a bunch of subordinates, a type that can be reached out and touched...
Well, a great pirate with combat power comparable to Sequence 5 is worth 10,000 pounds, a Sequence 6 criminal should be offered three to four thousand pounds to be reasonable... Could it be that the Nighthawks and Punishers judged the murderer as a Sequence 7 "Serial Killer", rather than a quasi-strong about to advance to Sequence 5, so 2000 pounds is quite a premium...
Very likely, "The Sun" said that ritual is quite ancient, perhaps after the Cataclysm it rarely appeared again, and the major churches and military have no similar records... There is a problem here: the Church of the Goddess, the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, and the Royal Augustus family can be said to have risen after the Cataclysm and do not understand the past, but the Church of Storms has always claimed to be one of the oldest... Could it be that this "oldest" is still after the demons returned to the abyss?
Hearing Isengard Stanton's words, the first thing that flashed through Klein's mind was an evaluation of the bounty amount, then his thoughts scattered, associating with many things.
"What is your opinion?" Isengard, seeing that Sherlock Moriarty seemed a bit distracted, pressed further.
My opinion? Klein was momentarily troubled.
A normal private detective would definitely agree, both because of the generous bounty and because the other party is a famous great detective—building a friendship with Isengard would bring great benefits in the circle.
But the problem is that Klein is not a normal private detective; he worries that while investigating clues, he might encounter the Nighthawk in charge of this matter.
Although I have grown a beard, put on glasses, and changed my hairstyle, a Nighthawk who has only seen me a few times definitely wouldn't recognize me, but what if I run into Miss Daly? Not agreeing is also wrong, it would seem strange and suspicious... Moreover, I also hope to catch that demon sooner, otherwise I don't know how many more innocent girls will fall victim... Klein deliberated for a few seconds and smiled slightly:
"I've recently taken on a very troublesome case, I'm afraid I don't have much free time."
Before Isengard Stanton could speak, he added:
"I can participate in discussions, help look through materials, and analyze clues, but I probably won't conduct specific investigations."
I'll do a divination later; if there's indeed a problem, then during the discussion I'll even save my speech and be a pure audience... While speaking, Klein quickly formed a concrete idea.
Isengard, holding a black cane, pondered for a moment and said:
"No problem."
"This time I've gathered over a dozen detectives, with enough manpower for investigations, and what I admire most about you is your excellent reasoning and analytical abilities; without having as many resources as I do, you actually found the East Bylan Dockyard, found the Dockworkers' Union."
"If we can catch the criminal and secure the bounty, I will reasonably distribute the reward based on each person's contribution. Trust me, I still have some credibility in this profession."
"Alright, happy cooperation." Klein proactively extended his right hand and shook with the other, and felt the dryness and warmth of Isengard's palm.
For a middle-aged gentleman in his forties or fifties, to maintain such a feeling in the deep autumn of Backlund is quite difficult, and Klein thereby suspected even more that Isengard was a Beyonder.
"Happy cooperation." Isengard nodded with a smile.
At this moment, Klein realized he was a bit rude and quickly put on a smile and said:
"Sorry, I forgot to invite you in. How about we have a good chat over coffee and black tea?"
"No need to be polite. I have arranged for those detectives to come to my home at nine in the morning to discuss the case. My assistant is there waiting for them." Isengard took out a silver pocket watch with complex engravings and a mechanical aesthetic, opened it and glanced: "We need to go meet them. No problem, right?"
"No problem. I'll go to the bathroom, change clothes and leave right away." At this moment, Klein suddenly regained the feeling of fighting crime, maintaining order, and protecting the people from when he was a Nighthawk.
In the bathroom, Klein went above the gray fog, using divination to get an acceptable answer, then quickly returned to the real world, put on his coat, hat, and cane, followed Isengard to a rental carriage, and sat on opposite sides.
Isengard glanced at him and asked as if thinking:
"I'm curious, how did you discover the connection between Hiber's murder case and the East Bylan Dockyard and the Dockworkers' Association?"
I didn't discover it at all... That was a misunderstanding... Klein seriously thought about how to fabricate a lie.
He held a smile and answered somewhat vaguely:
"Mainly, I first judged that Hiber's death was due to copycat crime, and with the help of reporter Mike Joseph, I confirmed this. Then based on Hiber's route back to the Golden Rose and some other clues, I came up with a corresponding speculation, so I disguised as a reporter to investigate."
Isengard nodded lightly and didn't waste more time on this topic, turning instead to introduce the details of the serial murder case, which was more detailed than the newspaper descriptions, especially the latest one.
Time passed quickly in discussion and exchange, and the carriage arrived at a slightly old building in Hillston District.
This house didn't have very good lighting; even though Backlund had no fog today, it appeared quite dim. Isengard Stanton led Klein through the moderately spacious living room into the drawing room where the fireplace was already lit.
Klein looked around and saw fifteen or sixteen detectives, filling every seat in the drawing room.
"Sherlock?" A surprised voice rang out, seeming very familiar with Klein.
Who? Klein looked over in slight astonishment and found that Detective Stuart, who had parted with him just yesterday, had actually appeared here.
He looked more carefully and also recognized Detective Kaslana and her assistant Lydia, who had been responsible for protecting Aturu earlier.
"What a coincidence." Klein curled his lips and approached Stuart with a smile.