16 Crime Scene (1/2)
The trio then took a carriage to the vicinity of Garett's apartment; while there were carriages for hire in Lhûn, the price was only affordable to rich tycoons, noblemen, and companies. Of course, the church's hunters belonged to the third category.
The idea of public transportation wasn't too prevalent in the city, with the only example of it being the usage of the train to move from one end of the city to the other. As one would eventually figure, it just wasn't worth to take the train, as the city was only so large; that is, there was also the train to the nearby port city, and this one was undoubtedly worth it. But this voyage in specific happened once a day, at the break of dawn, rushing the time to avoid the nighttime, when the world outside of the walls was dangerous and unpredictable.
Upon arriving at the vicinity, the trio didn't alight from the carriage and requested the coachman to circle around the block. The experienced hunters used this opportunity to observe the surroundings and take note of anything unusual.
If they discovered anything, Garett wasn't informed.
I don't think there's anything to see; if my hypothesis is correct, and the ones monitoring me are people related to the College of Irmwrynn, they should be smart enough to use more inconspicuous methods... Garett reasoned while also trying to recognize anything unusual in the streets only to be met with frustration.
”That's enough.” Said Dante, tapping at the carriage's window, and hinting the coachman of his intention to disembark.
”Ayo~” The coachman's nasal voice was heard, as he commanded the horses to stop at one side of the road.
”Okay, Garett,” Dante began to explain the basic procedures of an investigation. He continued with utmost care as if he was bent on using the opportunity to teach his recruit how to proceed. ”We circled the neighborhood a few times, taking note of anything that can be accounted for as abnormal, did you pick on something?”
”Huh... No, sir. Everything seemed pretty normal to me, and I'm very familiar with the vicinity. I live here, after all, sir.” He replied, understanding that Dante was using the opportunity to train him.
”It is difficult to notice this kind of things at first, but let me show you,” He then pointed at the building where Garett lived, the carriage had just stopped, but none of the veteran hunters seemed interested in moving. ”There are a few potential buildings one can use to monitor the place where you live, can you point those out from here?”
A few buildings? Those should be the three buildings right at the other side of the street, but It seems too obvious though... Garett analyzed the area. Never he would have thought of analyzing so intently the place where he lived, as this was something that never crossed a normal people's mind.
”The three buildings right across the street, right? It seems just obvious to use them, as they directly face my windows.”
”Yes, that's the most obvious approach,” Dante nodded in agreement while he took the time to put his hat before opening the carriage's door. ”However, that is the approach taken when one's objective is to observe. And the objective from those who invaded your place was a lot more direct; their only objective was to wait for you to leave before entering your place and search.”
”And the best place to do this is the building you live.” Alice chipped in, complementing the captain's words.
That makes sense; if they occupied an apartment right next to mine, just waiting for me to leave before entering my place would be very easy... Garett concurred as he noticed an incongruency in the ransacker's motives.
”Why yesterday, though? I left the place many times in the last few days, so why wait for yesterday?” He posed the question, not really expecting to elicit an answer from the duo.
”Something happened, something that made them lose patience or made then feel a sense of urgency,” Dante responded while nodding at the recruit's acumen. ”It could be that they realized you joined us, or maybe you did some other thing that provoked them.”
Provoked them? Maybe... they noticed me using the powers to deal with those drunks! That is very probable, as it would make them feel restless once they realized I already completed the ritual... Garett remarked inwardly, his ideas bursting with information as he pieced them together.
”So you're saying that they moved in to become my neighbors? But I don't remember anyone moving in recently...” He added, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
”It would be surprising if you remembered, after all, they wouldn't be so obvious about it. And there's also the factor of your memory loss.” Dante complemented, filling the gaps in Garett's reasoning.[
That's right! I can't remember anything starting from the period after my acceptance in the College, and if they are behind the memory loss from the start, so it would be simple for them to use this period of time to infiltrate the building... Garett nodded, having an inkling of the methods employed by his observers.
”Should we start by asking if anyone moved to the building recently? The other neighbors would remember something like that...” Garett asked, a little unsure of how to proceed with the investigation.
”Not for now, the assailants wouldn't stay here after last night's fiasco. So we have time to scan your place for clues, and if we indeed find something that points to one of your neighbors, then we can expand our search.” Dante proposed the most usual course of action as he paid the coachman and walked towards the building, eliciting the remaining duo to hurry after him.