What happened to Isaac?

Following the monk hurried back to the dormitory building, the door of Louis' room was knocked open, the window was also opened, and the curtains were blown up by the wind; police officer Andy fell on the chair, and there was an overturned teacup on the desk in hand , the tea in the cup flowed out and formed a puddle on the ground.

Xavier picked up the cup, sniffed it under his nose, sighed, and hurriedly stopped the policeman Dean who was about to pour a basin of cold water on Andy's head.

"Wait until he wakes up on his own," Xavier said.

While waiting for Andy to wake up, Xavier talked to several witnesses separately, namely the dean, Gavin, and the young monk John who was ordered to find Xavier and the others.

"I live next door to Gavin," said Friar John, "and it was Brother Gavin who knocked on my door first. The clock rang two o'clock before he knocked."

It's two o'clock in the afternoon.Police officer Dean dutifully wrote down this time point in his notebook—at around [-]:[-], Xavier had finished questioning Louis and went to the courtyard to find the so-called corpse.

"What did Gavin want from you?" Xavier asked.

"There is a blurred handwriting on his prescription. I want to ask Louis for advice, but I am a little worried that it might be possible to go alone... Although they have a good relationship, after all, Louis is a suspect now, and it is understandable for him to have concerns. So I I went with him."

"What was the situation like?"

"The situation? Well, when we knocked on the door, it was the brown-haired officer who opened the door," Brother John recalled.

[-]:[-] p.m.: Louis and Andy are in the room, and Andy is normal.Constable Dean remembered quickly.

"At around [-]:[-], the dean first knocked on Gavin's door next door, and then the two of them knocked on my door together. The dean told me that the door of Louis' room could not be opened, and there was no answer from inside. I am afraid that something happened. So I hurried to the Louis Gate with them, but no one responded, I knocked open the door, and found that the window was wide open, the brown-haired policeman was sitting on a chair with his eyes closed, and his teacup was upside down; Louie isn't in the room."

"And then you came to me," Xavier said. "Where's the Dean and Gavin?"

"They're waiting where they are."

"You spent back and forth—"

"About ten minutes, sir."

"Thank you so much," Xavier said.

Later, Xavier asked the dean and Gavin separately, and the testimony he got was roughly the same as that of Brother John; Gavin was obviously ashamed and a little panicked when talking about his defense against Louis.

Originally, Xavier wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the police officer Dean: "Andy is awake!"Considering that the basic inquiry was over, Xavier asked Gavin to leave and listen to Andy's testimony instead.

"First, I accompanied Louis to check Gavin's body according to your instructions. I was in the infirmary. Because my personal physical condition is relatively private, I didn't listen. The two of them were in the room, and I was outside the door. I could vaguely hear what was going on inside. Voices, talking about medicine, typhoid, and so on. Then we went back to Louie's room, and I closed the doors and windows, locked them, and I had the key."

"Is it still there?" Xavier asked.

Andy touched his body: "Yes, sir."

pick the lock.Constable Dean records.

"Then," said Andy, "a quarter of an hour later, Gavin and the other monk knocked on the door, and I opened the door. Gavin said there was a medicine that didn't know what it was written on, so Louis explained to him, This happened right under my nose. Then Louis left Gavin for a cup of tea and said, 'This may be the last time we see each other, Gavin. I hope you will think of me later.' Because it was very Strange, I wanted to wait for you to come back and ask you, but I fell unconscious soon after drinking the black tea... Sigh."

"You're too careless!" Dean said.

Andy showed a look of shame, quietly raised his eyes and glanced at Xavier.The originally gentle Xavier didn't comfort him this time, but just sighed heavily: "You really got into trouble, Andy."

Police officer Dean flipped through the notebook and said, "However, looking at it this way, the matter is already clear. Louis's escape was premeditated. He stunned Andy with drugs and then picked the lock to escape from the window. Doesn't this just prove that he Is it the murderer?"

At this time, Isaac, who had been silent since just now, said, "This is the sixth floor, how can he get down?"

An awkward silence followed.

After a while, Xavier said: "Everyone has worked hard, let's go out for now. Also, Isaac, please help me invite Dean Robert."

The three left the room, and the dean walked in.

Dean Robert took a deep look at Xavier at first, with doubts and inquiries in his eyes, and then avoided the meeting of eyes.

"Are you all right?" asked the dean.

"Well, please take care," said Xavier, "it might be better off without communion."

"……I do not understand what you mean."

Xavier said: "Let me tell you straight, Dean Robert. You, Brother Gavin, and Brother John found Louis' empty house. Brother John immediately ran to find us. You and Gavin waited in place. One point, you two can testify to each other."

"Yes, what's the problem?"

Xavier said: "You need to know that in this case, the only valid testimony exists between two unrelated people, such as a father and son's mutual alibi, which is very difficult to adopt."

"...I don't understand, Mr. Xavier," said the Abbot, "what are you talking about?"

Xavier said: "In fact, I kept thinking afterwards, how familiar is it for an elderly person who is somewhat visually impaired to recognize the person on the other side of the corridor from the back?"

"..."

"You have a better attitude towards Louis and Gavin than other ordinary monks. You trust the former more, but you are always worried about Gavin."

"Indeed," said the Dean, "after all Gavin is so young, almost a child."

"Gavin was a good boy," Xavier said. "You couldn't find a few young men who were as obedient as he was."

The dean didn't answer.

"Gavin lied. On the evening before Douglas died, he saw you walking into the confession room. This is my conclusion," Xavier said, "Gavin was too eager to excuse you and directly erased your existence. Make his testimony look suspicious. Brother Douglas would not have confessed to the empty house, and most importantly, I noticed when I visited the library for the first time that Gavin would adjust his position to the window according to the outdoor lighting conditions—— On each table was a little of his scribing implements and personal effects. So, in the evening, when he sat by the window, it was easy enough to see downstairs.

"Let's go back further. Do you still remember Sergeant Davis who fell to his death? On the left and right sides of his room, one is Louis and the other is Gavin. The former claimed that he didn't hear any movement, and the latter said that the footsteps could only enter. Out—neither of them told the truth. Perhaps in fact, both Louis and Gavin heard the footsteps clearly, and Louis dared not admit it, but his lie was relatively credible; as for Gavin, he wanted to lead the police Think that the footsteps belong to David himself, so as to control the case and define it as an accident, so as to get rid of your suspicion."

"Wait..." said the dean.

Xavier didn't give him a chance to finish, so he changed the subject directly:

"During the period when I went home to recuperate, I checked the information of a few people I was more concerned about, including you. There is a hardware store next to the clinic you often go to, which sells a small 7p One end is a sharp pickaxe, and the other end can be used as a small hammer. Fingerprints can hardly be left on the rough-polished hammer handle. However, the boss has a famous memory and can accurately recall a certain day and time. Who buys what, especially when the buyer buys something that doesn’t quite fit with him.”

"It's ridiculous to say that," said the abbot, "you're deceiving me."

Xavier said: "Yes. I hope you will plead guilty directly, Mr. Robert. Otherwise, what I say next may embarrass you even more."

The dean looked at him coldly.

Xavier said, "Excuse me," and stood up, pulling up his sleeves forcibly—Dean Robert struggled violently.

It was beyond Xavier's expectation that an old man had such great strength. However, he still couldn't twist a young man. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing the red pinhole on his forearm.

"Unfortunately, Dean Robert," said Xavier, "not only you, but the monastery's financial situation cannot withstand careful investigation. Who is behind that false name?"

Xavier let go of Robert's arm, and the latter withdrew his hand in a daze, his complexion grayed layer by layer.

"It's not me," he murmured, "I'm just billing the guy...just..."

"Money laundering." Xavier completed the rest of the sentence for him.

The dean fell silent, and after a while he made up his mind and said:

"Gavin has no blood relationship with me, he is just an abandoned child. If I confess to you, can you let him go?"

"... Gavin's illness is a bottomless pit," seeing that Xavier did not answer, he said eagerly, "Of course I know that we are called back to God and should be happy, but how can I see him...?"

Inevitably, Xavier's expression was touched for a moment.Then, he nodded and looked directly at the pinhole on Robert's forearm: "How are you going to explain this?"

The dean looked down at his skinny hands, showing pain and struggle.

"That man," he said, "was worried that when Gavin was healed, I would cross rivers and tear down bridges. But if Gavin could be healed, why would I be here? . , maybe not yet, and I hope you never will. I just... Actually, I've seen this coming; we're bound to suffer the consequences of what we do, sooner or later. I I have always had this feeling, especially when I saw you for the first time—for me, judgment will come soon."