231 Losses (1/2)

Klein met Jurgen Cooper in an office at the Rice Police Station. This young senior solicitor was still dressed formally as though he was always ready to go to a posh dinner party.

He wore a black double-breasted attire, a white shirt with a stiff collar, a huge bow tie, and bright leather boots, which made the policemen act very polite to him.

Jurgen held his half top hat and looked at Klein with his blue eyes while saying, ”The formalities are over. You can leave if you pay the bail of ten pounds.”

”Thank you.” Klein didn't say anything more, but followed the good-looking but seemingly old-fashioned Jurgen to the police station's financial affairs office that was nearby, where he fished out his wallet and pulled out two five-pound notes.

He was grateful that he had all his cash—95 pounds—on him, or else he might've had to borrow it from his good neighbor, Jurgen.

Of course, the worst-case scenario would be if he had left the money at home. Klein wasn't certain how much of that would be left after the police searched the scene. Yet, he couldn't put it in the world above the gray fog, because it was possible that he needed to offer bribes to free himself.

At present, many newspapers and magazines were discrediting the police as being unsupervised, violent, corrupt, extortionary, and vicious. Klein didn't dare to believe it fully, but neither did he dare to doubt it. After all, Meursault's money could very well end up in the pockets of someone in the police station.

After paying the bail, Klein followed Jurgen out of the police station and shivered when hit by the humid, cold wind.

”After the case is closed, your bail will be returned to you. Of course, you can't expect them to voluntarily notify you. Yes… In a week, if no one notifies you that your presence is required back at the station, you can come here and ask for your bail to be returned. In theory, you could still get appropriate compensation, if any, from the other party's estate.” Jurgen walked over to a carriage parked nearby.

The rain that had poured down during the entire day had finally come to a stop, but the crimson moon remained hidden by the dark clouds. The only light that could be seen on the street was from the gas lamps.

”Alright.” Klein almost believed that he would have to part with the ten pounds forever.

He couldn't help but calculate how much it cost him to take up Ian's job. He had been paid five pounds, but many pieces of furniture and tea sets were destroyed at his home. He either had to buy new ones or get someone to repair them for him. With the materials used, the cost of the carriage, and the cost of mending his clothes, the math seemed to imply that he would be losing money…

If I don't manage to get back the ten pounds worth of bail money, this would be a great loss! Well… the Beyonder characteristic left behind by Meursault is actually worth quite a bit of money… Klein got into the carriage and frowned slightly.

He had always thought that the private detectives who used their own residences as offices would, at most, not be entrusted with anything and wouldn't suffer any losses, but in the end…

Klein turned his head to look at Jurgen, who was sitting up straight, and he said with sincerity, ”Thank you. Thank you for coming to bail me out. How much should I pay you?”

Jurgen nodded very formally and said, ”This one's pro bono.

”I heard from Sergeant Faxine that you were involved in an incident. I believe that we'll have many opportunities to work together in the future.”

There will be many opportunities to work together in the future… Klein couldn't help but laugh as he said, ”Lawyer Jurgen, are you cursing me?”

Jurgen shook his head solemnly and said, ”No, it's not what you think. It's very common for a private detective to have a fixed lawyer he works with.”

Sir, you sure lack a sense of humor… even though you look rather young… Klein lampooned before saying with a smile, ”Coincidentally, I'm in need of a lawyer to help me draw up an investment contract.”

”Investment contract?” Jurgen asked in a slightly stunned tone.

”I know that this isn't part of the work of a private detective, but I happened to chance upon a good investment opportunity,” Klein explained simply. ”Lawyer Jurgen, how much would a contract cost according to your usual fees?”

”Generally, it's based on the total amount of the contract and the level of ease,” Jurgen answered seriously.

”The total amount is one hundred pounds, the terms needed are…” Klein described his needs in detail, including a preemptive right, veto rights, and so on.

Jurgen thought hard for a few minutes before saying, ”Two pounds. I'll give it to you Monday morning.”

”Alright,” Klein said no more regarding the matter. Instead, he began asking Jurgen information about the case that night.

On the way back to Minsk Street, Klein took the initiative to pay the carriage's fare of 3 soli. After bidding farewell to the young but serious lawyer, he walked back to his house.

He opened the door and when he saw the messy scene, his heart winced.

He never expected that he would start his detective business with a loss.

Just as Klein took off his coat and began working on cleaning up the mess, the doorbell rang.

He opened the door in puzzlement and saw Julianne, the maid from next door in a black-and-white skirt.

”Good evening, Mr. Moriarty. Mr. and Mrs. Sammer wish to invite you over to discuss something,” Julianne said with a tone that had traces of fear.

Here it comes… the problem regarding compensation… Klein revealed a smile and said, ”Alright.”

He changed into a clean coat and followed the maidservant next door. Luke Sammer and his wife, Stelyn Sammer were sitting on a sofa in the living room.

The stout Luke, with a pencil-thin mustache, stood up and extended his hand as he said with a chuckle, ”Good evening, Mr. Moriarty. I only just learned that you were a private detective. That's quite unbecoming as a neighbor.”

”No, it was my fault. I didn't know if I was suited for this career and might find other jobs at any moment,” Klein said as he shook the hand of the male master. ”I'm very sorry for what happened tonight. I'll compensate you.”

”It's just an accident,” Luke said reassuringly.