Chapter 194: Infiltration

"Madam Sharon?" Dunn obviously knew of Baron Khoy's widow, a famous

socialite in Tingen.

Maynard's wife turned her head to shoot a glance at the scrawny lady who

came with her to the Blackthorn Security Company, but she didn't speak

for herself.

The scrawny lady in the black dress and hat weighed her words before she

spoke.

"Yes, Madam Sharon, the wife of the deceased Baron Khoy. She, she..."

She stammered, then suddenly spat in anger, "She's a b\*tch!"

Upon hearing her curse, Klein suddenly recalled the porno that he had

seen and Madam Sharon's behavior which appeared nervous on the surface

but was calm deep down. That made him believe the rumors about her, and

he felt sorry for the deceased old baron.

*It's not like Madam Sharon can't remarry. But her loose behavior...

really makes the old baron's grave a perfect nesting ground for

cuckoos...*

Dunn didn't have much of a change in his facial expression. He sat on

the sofa opposite and said with his mellow voice, "But that doesn't make

her a criminal.

"You know clearly, and I know it clearly too. Madam Sharon is very

influential in Tingen. If we were to follow her and monitor her, there

could be very serious consequences for us."

"She's a criminal!" the scrawny lady said angrily. "She caused my

brother's death, but those lovers of hers pressured the police

department and made them pronounce that my brother died of excessive

drinking and continuous indulgence in sexual pleasure. Th-they are all

criminals!"

Those... Klein realized that the scrawny lady was Maynard's

sister while feeling sorry for the old baron once again.

*That's right, for such a scandal, she would definitely not send a

maidservant here. It's better if the request is made by

family...* He nodded his head in enlightenment.

Mrs. Maynard patted the back of the scrawny woman's hand and added with

a deep yet cold voice, "She's a criminal! If you suffer any damages

because of this, I will compensate you for your losses."

*That tone... She lives up to her identity as the daughter of the New

Party's head. If the police department wasn't very confident with the

result of my mediumship ritual, I'm afraid they would've submitted under

her pressure...* Klein lampooned inwardly.

Dunn was silent for nearly twenty seconds before he said, "Alright... I

have another question. Why do you seem to be so certain that we would

find something?"

The scrawny lady nodded and said, "The tobacco merchant, Vickroy,

introduced us here. He said that you're the cream of the crop in this

industry and can complete missions that others aren't capable of

completing."

The tobacco merchant Vickroy... Who's he? Klein looked at

Captain subconsciously and noticed that Dunn Smith looked really

confused.

*I'm so silly, why did I hope for Captain to remember something like

this... After all, even I don't quite remember...* He sighed.

The scrawny lady saw that the two elite mercenaries looked confused, so

she added, "You saved his kidnapped son."

*Oh, him... That kidnap case led me to the discovery of the Antigonus

family's notebook...* Klein was suddenly enlightened.

Dunn nodded slightly and said, "I understand."

Upon seeing this, the scrawny woman laid out her offer, "You are to tail

and monitor th-that b\*tch for two weeks. Even if you don't find any

evidence of her crime, you have to take note of who visited her and who

she visited. We will pay fifty pounds for this.

"And if you find evidence of her crimes, we would pay another additional

two hundred pounds."

That's a large sum of money... When Klein suddenly recalled

that he had only spent seven pounds to hire Detective Henry to gather so

much information about red chimney houses, he became a little ashamed.

Dunn thought for a moment before saying, "No problem, we can sign the

contract now. You'll have to pay a deposit of twenty pounds up front."

*Captain, we're really lacking in manpower right now. There's the huge

case regarding Lanevus...* Klein didn't expect Dunn Smith to

accept the mission although he, himself, was quite keen on accepting it.

Mrs. Maynard nodded slightly and said, "No problem. I believe in you.

Please don't disappoint me."

Dunn smiled but kept quiet. He turned his head and told Rozanne, "Please

write up a contract."

When the contract was signed and the deposit was paid, Dunn watched Mrs.

Maynard and the scrawny lady leave the Blackthorn Security Company. He

then looked sideways at Klein and said, "This mission will be yours."

"Huh?" Klein looked confused.

Dunn smiled and said, "Didn't you want to learn tailing techniques and

monitoring skills? This is a great opportunity. It also turns out that

you're done with your part in the Lanevus case."

"Alright..." Klein didn't reject the assignment.

Just as he accepted, his mind began whirling quickly.

*According to the rules, half of the mission's commission is handed to

Mrs. Orianna as additional funding for the team. The remaining would be

split among the involved members. However, it seems like I'm the only

one handling the case...*

*Regardless of whether the investigation succeeds, there will be at

least twenty-five pounds of income. On top of that, I'll receive my

usual weekly pay... If I really could find some clues, I could even

receive a hundred and twenty-five pounds!*

Captain is a wise man!

Dunn stole a glance at him and said, "Learn the tailing techniques and

monitoring skills from Leonard and Frye in the morning, and put your

combat training on hold for this week. Yes... I think you're quite

well-trained already, so I'll send someone to inform Gawain."

*Learn tailing techniques and monitoring skills from Leonard and Frye?

That doesn't seem very reliable...* Klein was stunned. He could

imagine Leonard using only one method which was playing his Feynapotter

lute while singing melodious poetry. Then, he would probably seduce

Madam Sharon to bed in order to "monitor her up close." As for Frye, he

had a unique air to him. He was cold and gloomy, so no matter where he

went, he would catch the attention of others. How could such people make

good spies?

As his thoughts churned, Klein replied seriously, "Alright."

Dunn nodded slightly and walked towards the partition. Suddenly, he

paused, turned around, and hesitated before he spoke.

"Do you remember the tobacco merchant? What's was the kidnapping about?"

*...So you didn't remember anything or understood anything... Why were

you acting so staid and confident!?* Klein facepalmed.

Based on Leonard's guidance, Klein wasn't in a hurry to tail Madam

Sharon, even though he knew that she stayed on Osna Street in the East

Borough.

*"Until you know the target's routine, you can't tail your target

recklessly. Plus, monitoring alone makes it difficult to take note of

everything. Unless you don't eat, drink, sleep, and go home,"*

Leonard had said. Hence, Klein followed his suggestion and found one of

the mob bosses in the Hound Pub and spent five pounds to get his

underlings to monitor Madam Sharon and record her daily routine.

*Luckily, this can be reimbursed... Why does it feel like I'm

subcontracting...* On Friday afternoon, Klein received the

investigation report from the mob boss.

Calling it an investigation report was an obvious insult to professional

detectives. Not one of the mob boss's underlings was literate. They

relied on drawings and symbols, which was then interpreted and organized

by their semi-literate boss who had attended Sunday School for a year.

Klein got a headache just from reading it and took quite a while to

finish reading the report.

*According to the surveillance, Madam Sharon seldom leaves her place

recently. There aren't many guests who visit either... She might be

affected by Maynard's death... Those mob underlings are quite

capable. They even gathered information from Madam Sharon's

maidservant... Hmm, she will be attending the Conservative Party's

banquet tonight. She might return home quite late, or maybe not

return... This is an opportunity for me to put theory into

practice.* Klein quickly decided to sneak into Madam Sharon's

house and search through it.

With his duties regarding the Lanevus case over, the temporary

suspension of combat training, and the end of the Qilangos incident,

Klein only had two matters on hand. One was to investigate the red

chimney houses, and the second was following and monitoring Madam

Sharon. In other words, he was relatively free.

Two days ago, he had received Mr. Azik's reply. There was only one

sentence on the letter.

"I obtained the Creeping Hunger and recalled something."

Klein had finally confirmed that it was Mr. Azik who killed Qilangos and

that this amnesiac teacher of his who had a long life was a

High-Sequence Beyonder. However, he didn't dare ask him what he had

recalled with the aid of the Creeping Hunger. Azik obviously didn't want

to talk about it. If he was willing to share, he would've described it

directly in the letter.

In Klein's reply, he only reminded Mr. Azik that the Creeping Hunger

yearned for the flesh, blood, and soul of living humans. He had to find

a safe sealing method.

In addition, Justice and The Hanged Man had yet to pray to him, but

Klein wasn't worried. He understood that both members were afraid of

being monitored, so they didn't recite his name recklessly.

Gas street lamps illuminated the straight Osna Street at night while the

crimson moon hung high above.

Klein, who had sneaked out with the Clown's balance and agility, leaped

over the outer wall of Madam Sharon's house quietly.

Passing through the garden, he arrived by the side of the house. He

climbed up the water pipe and slipped onto the balcony on the second

floor.

Klein had never even climbed a tree successfully when he was young, so

it was quite a monumental event.

He took out a tarot card from the pocket of his black trench coat,

slotted it into the gap of the balcony door, lifted it lightly, and

unlocked the door.

*The servants are so careless... They didn't use an additional lock.

Otherwise, I'd have to try entering by climbing through the

window...* Klein muttered silently and entered the house.

Based on the information provided by the mob boss, he found Madam

Sharon's bedroom easily. He turned the knob and stepped into the room.

He closed the door carefully and suddenly smelled a faint fragrance. It

reminded him of the fragrance of a woman that caused the blood vessels

of other people to swell.

Klein felt a little faint, and he even felt his body reacting.

He immediately calmed down with Cogitation and made a self-deprecating

comment, "She's using an aphrodisiac as perfume?"