Percival had never intended to summon Richard, but since Baron wanted Richard there, he had no objections.

The tale of his grandparents and Baron was something he had heard since he was a child. His grandmother had been pivotal to both men.

If they wanted to settle old scores, Percival was willing to let them.

Upon hearing that Percival had unearthed the murderer of the dear old lady, Richard dropped everything and bolted over to the Brooks Mansion.

Bursting through the door, he was brimming with urgency. “Percival! Baron just told me over the phone that you found out who killed your grandma. Is it true?”

With a nod and a knowing glance at Thomas, Percival affirmed, “Yeah. Take a seat. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Thomas dragged over a chair, and Richard plopped down eagerly. “Alright! Let’s see who murdered your grandma. Just give me a name, and I’ll break their damn kneecaps!”

His gaze purposefully swept towards Judith.

Baron had hinted over the phone that Judith was tied up in this mess.

Richard settled in, but Baron did not have anyone to fetch him a chair. So, he grabbed one himself and sat down.

Percival scanned the room, pulled out his smartphone, and handed it to Thomas. “Project this.”

His phone had a built-in projector, a feature Thomas had used countless times. He quickly set it up.

“Open this photo,” Percival instructed Thomas, then turned to Judith. “After the tragedy with my grandma, the police locked down the scene. You, being her close friend, were interrogated. This was your statement from back then.”

The statement seemed clear-cut, leaving no room for suspicion.

to Judith having

crowd was puzzled, turning to Percival, wondering what a flawless statement could possibly

their confusion, Percival spoke calmly, “This statement is

lifted, locking onto Judith, “In your testimony, you said you hadn’t left your home for three days around the time of Grandma’s dinner

to

Judith went pale.

How could this be?

covered her tracks perfectly. How had Percival

through the crowd, their

“You sneaky witch, Judith!

but Thomas was quick to intercept. “Calm down.

forced herself to remain composed, countering, “What does this photo prove? I was

to believe you traveled over a hundred miles to some podunk town for shopping? What business does a lady of your

of the incident nearly sent Richard over

and craved something new. Somehow, they settled on this little town with a rumored fantastic hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Richard had questioned the choice, having never heard of the

the internet era, newspapers were their source of information. After verifying the restaurant’s reputation and learning about a nearby church said to be powerful, they booked their visit on the fourteenth, planning to stay overnight and visit the church on the fifteenth. Dahlia was quite superstitious, so she was very interested in attending

nanny for safety, and

assuring their safety did he

tragedy struck that evening – a fire

the time Richard arrived, Dahlia, her friends,

The devastation was incomprehensible.

it was intentional arson.

and the pain was as fresh as

dining? They didn’t even invite me!”

an octave, his eyes narrowing. “And what about

switched to the next

a call from Judith’s family landline to Dahlia, made

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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