svetikya Chapter 279 The Scarlet Shelf
Chapter 279 The Scarlet Shelf
"There is a murderer among us..."
With a cold gaze sweeping over the crowd gathered before her, Officer Jenny slowly removed the gloves stained crimson during the autopsy, tossed them into a black trash bag beside the round table in the hall, and then solemnly announced—
"Sigh, I really want to say that line, but it doesn't apply to the current situation. In fact, the Forest Mansion we're in right now is a semi-enclosed space that can hardly be called a 'snow-covered villa.' Not only is communication readily available and people can come and go freely, but there's also a Sinnoh Champion present. If this is considered dangerous, then there's no safe place in the world. The 'enclosed' elements are also pitifully few, especially the small room on the rooftop where Ms. Sina witnessed the tragedy. It's completely unlocked, just like a Shellder after using the 'Hatch' move. Not only can outsiders freely reach the rooftop of the mansion from the sky, but even the dense forest that originally sealed off the mansion had been largely cleared earlier today. The windows of the Forest Mansion are difficult to clean because they're close to the dense forest, and dust accumulates on the outside year-round, making it even harder for those inside to notice anything happening outside." There's no need for a special Pokémon with flying abilities; any ordinary human with some rock climbing experience could easily climb up the window frames and exterior walls to the top of the mansion. Therefore, considering all of the above, we cannot rule out the possibility that an outsider committed the crime.
The night was deep, and it was well past dinnertime, but none of the people present had any interest in enjoying the feast. Naturally, the dishes that Giant Vine had prepared in the kitchen were not set on the table; they were all sealed in plastic wrap and left for another day.
Everyone listened quietly to the police officer's speech on an empty stomach, but their eyes were not on Officer Jenny, who was giving the speech. Instead, they couldn't help but look frequently at a certain object that had a strong presence next to Officer Jenny.
The object was placed on a chair, resting on a hastily found bath towel, which was now stained with a dark red stain.
"Of course, besides the reasons mentioned above, there is another, even more important reason why I say there is no murderer among us..."
Officer Jenny unabashedly raised her hand and placed her ungloved hand directly on the bloody object. Many people present felt their eyelids twitch in disbelief.
"The more important reason is—well, the thing Zina found on the attic food shelf wasn't a real human head."
.
Let's rewind a few quarters of an hour.
At that time, the maid Zina went up to the rooftop attic to find what the giant vine needed in order to replenish the kitchen's ingredients.
As soon as she opened the unlocked door to the attic, she immediately smelled an ominous, pungent, and rusty odor.
At first, Zina thought something in the storage room had rotted and spoiled, so she quickly turned on the attic light and followed the smell. Then, she saw the thing on the wooden shelf and screamed in fright.
Head!
A bloody, grotesque human head was silently placed in a dark corner of the attic!
On the single-layer shelf, the seasonings that were usually stored there had been pushed aside, revealing a bloodied head with its eyes wide open, placed among a collection of bottles and jars of varying heights. In the pale light, the wide-open, cloudy eyes resembled those of a vengeful ghost who died with its eyes wide open.
Is this a prank? It must be a prank! Someone must have put this wax head here to scare people... Just as this hope rose in Zina's heart, it was instantly extinguished by the cold water of reality.
Without realizing it, Zina inexplicably reached out her hand towards that terrifying thing—
The head was incredibly lifelike, yet clearly beyond dead. Touching the cheek with my fingertips, the skin felt icy cold, and I could almost feel the pores—this was real human skin! It was a material that could never be simulated by a wax figure or any other model!
Looking down, the wooden frame beneath the head, and the ground below, was now a dark red, emanating a chilling stench of blood. No amount of red paint or artificial blood could simulate such a terrifying stench. In fact, it was this pool of blood that drew Miss Zina's attention to the strangeness in the attic as soon as she entered.
Anyone who witnessed this horrific scene would immediately imagine the brutal image of blood flowing from the severed neck, pooling into a large, blood-red puddle directly beneath the wooden frame.
But when Zina discovered the scene, the dark red puddle was almost dry, and the blood on the ground was somewhere between a viscous liquid and a semi-solidified gelatinous mass.
The maid was so struck by this because the moment she realized it was a living human head, she was so frightened that she fell down on her backside right next to the bloodstain, almost touching the horrible liquid.
Just as Zina was feeling dizzy and disoriented, a white-gloved hand helped her up from the ground. It was Officer Jenny, who was wearing a police uniform.
Behind the policewoman were the other people in the building who also looked surprised—Mei Dan, Hayden, and Manager Aying were not present; the rest of the people had all been drawn to the roof by the girl's scream.
"Don't call the police yet, something's strange about this."
When facing the murder case, Miss Officer Jenny, who was supporting Zina, displayed a calmness worthy of her uniform.
But at this moment, the first words she uttered puzzled the maid greatly.
That was a gruesome, ferocious, and blood-soaked human head!
Behind every bleeding head lies a pair of empty shoulders, inevitably signaling the occurrence of a murder.
There should be absolutely no reason for them to hide anything from the police!
And it was at this moment that the policewoman gave her reason—
"The head shows no signs of long-term decomposition, and the bloodstains on the ground are not completely dry, indicating that the murder occurred not long ago. However, compared to the amount of blood that would result from cutting off a person's head while they are still alive, this attic is far too clean. Clearly, this is not the place where the murder was committed or where the person was beheaded after death. Therefore, the most reasonable explanation at this moment is that someone killed this person somewhere outside the attic, cut off his head, and then carried it to the roof of the Forest Mansion and placed it on this wooden frame."
"Then why...why did he do that?"
Neil asked in a trembling, low voice, as if talking to himself. It was unclear whether he was asking about the criminal's motive or wondering why the perpetrator had placed the head in the Mori Mansion after committing the crime.
“Generally speaking, such a brutal beheading is likely intended as a demonstration. But if it were meant to display ferocity, the perpetrator would have chosen a more conspicuous location… such as the main hall on the first floor or the center of the entrance connecting the roof to the second floor. Hmm… hanging the head from a rope in front of the window is also a very effective deterrent. But the perpetrator didn’t do that; instead, they placed the head in the corner of the dark storage room. Miss Zina, judging from the signs of use in this attic, you probably haven’t used this storage room much, have you?”
Upon suddenly hearing her name called, the maid, who had just gotten up from the floor, trembled and stammered for a long time before finally answering—
"Most of the food is stored in the refrigerator in the kitchen. We only come here to get the stored amount when it's almost used up. Normally, we come here about once a week."
“Yes, that’s about what I expected.” Officer Jenny nodded. “If the head is placed in this attic, it’s very likely that no one will notice anything unusual until a week later, which is too inefficient for a demonstration. And if we rule out the possibility that the murderer placed the head there to show off their power, then why would the culprit secretly hide the head in the attic of the Forest Mansion?”
Zina, Neil, and Vinnie looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Framing, framing, or a diversionary tactic,” Champion Zhu Lan said calmly. “No matter which one it is, calling the police center in Baidai City is not a perfect option.”
“That being said, there was also a personal reason why I told you not to call the police,” Officer Jenny suddenly said.
"Although I also do intelligence gathering and similar work, the department I work for is different from the police in the ordinary sense. The reason I came to this Forest Mansion is because I am carrying out a certain order from the department."
Officer Jenny, who had always been referred to as Miss Officer, pointed to the bloody human head.
"I already told you, Miss Maid, that my job is to investigate the relationship between this Forest Mansion and Team Galactic, the evil organization that once ravaged the Sinnoh region."
Everyone followed Officer Jenny's finger and looked back at the victim's head. Because the head had been severed above the neck, the Adam's apple was not visible, and the grotesque face lacked distinct gender features, making it impossible to determine the victim's sex. However, on that bloody severed head, there was a head of somewhat rustic, straight bangs.
Miss Officer Jenny's calm voice rang out, tinged with a hint of self-deprecation—
"Coincidentally, it's the same hair color as mine. But, doesn't this dark green hair paired with Ralts-style bangs and short hair look a bit familiar to you all?"
How could they not look familiar? It's just that everyone was so shocked by the bloody scenes of killing and beheading that they didn't immediately make that connection.
At this moment, Officer Jenny's words revealed the truth, and everyone was immediately startled. Vinnie, who had remained silent until now, exclaimed first, blurting out her suspicions—
"Could this deceased person be a member of that evil organization, Group Galactic?"