Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1434 8 PM Slot

Triss... Chick?
Upon hearing the name, Christina's heart skipped a beat, as if she had heard of this strange surname before, but could not find any clues in her memory.

Immediately, she realized that this was the strange "witch's" full name, and turned her gaze to the sweet-looking woman who was quietly hiding next to Sheriff Edsack, a woman whose appearance made one want to trust and protect her without thinking.

Not only her, but Dorothy, the Dawns, Alessu, and all the police officers, priests, and believers present did the same. Triss immediately became the focus of everyone's attention, which made her round face blush and shyly shrink behind the sheriff.

Edsack frowned and spoke in an unfriendly tone:

"Sherlock Moriarty, are you letting your personal feelings get in the way of the case? I do have some complaints about you private detectives, but I've always granted your requests to enter crime scenes and investigate on your own. Even when you were reported for following targets or breaking into homes to look for clues, I didn't arrest you..."

"Are you questioning my judgment, or... are you making some kind of targeted attack on Triss?"

Such a skillful way of turning the tables! Could it be that this sheriff really has some special feelings for Ms. Triss and has been blinded by them?
Tina pursed her lips, her face flushing almost as much as Triss's, who was being stared at and suspected. But unlike Triss's shyness, Tina's blush was one of excitement at having caught a whiff of gossip.

Sherlock, who was being accused in return, remained expressionless, slowly walked to the wide aisle in the center of the prayer hall, put his hands in his coat pockets, and said in a natural tone:
"You are the one who is projecting your personal emotions onto the case. Once I explain Ms. Triss's methods of murder, I believe everyone here will be able to make an accurate judgment."

His confident expression changed the attitudes of many believers and priests. Although they had a natural awe of the police's authority, they naturally trusted the resident detective Sherlock Moriarty more than Triss, who had only been in town for a short time.

This subtle attitude made Edsack realize that he couldn't resolve the matter through his status and authority. He first glanced back at Triss behind him, then stared intently at Sherlock and said:
"Then tell me, how did Triss, who only arrived at the church after the incident, kill the archbishop?"

“First, we need to confirm one thing: the scene was ‘closed’ after the incident,” Sherlock said, walking to the altar and up the steps to position himself above everyone else, in the spotlight. “After the archbishop’s body was discovered, the priests immediately sealed off the prayer hall, and all the believers who participated in the sermon had no chance to leave. This has been confirmed by eyewitnesses near all the church entrances and exits.”

As he spoke, he looked at the officers who were collecting testimonies and smiled with satisfaction as they nodded in agreement.

"This means that unless the killer can fly or disappear, he will still be inside the church, among the people in the prayer hall. That's your first mistake, Sheriff Edsack. You think the killer has already fled the scene? Where's the evidence?"

Before Edsack could retort, he added a sentence, effectively shutting down the other party's excuse:

"Are you suggesting that, based on the process of elimination, since there were no suspects at the scene, the murderer must have escaped?"

The sheriff's face turned ashen, then he paused, and sneered:

"Moriarty, are you digging your own grave? If you're so sure the murderer stayed in the church after killing the archbishop, wouldn't Triss be the first one to be cleared of suspicion? Otherwise, you and your assistant, Ms. Watson, who arrived just a minute later than her, would also be suspects."

"Should I arrest you and interrogate you severely as well?"

“That is my second point,” Sherlock said, arms crossed, looking down at Edsack from above the semicircular steps that raised the altar, his imposing presence growing ever stronger. “Triss did not arrive at the scene after the incident; she was inside the church the whole time and never left.”

what?
Tina, who had been watching the two clash with great interest as if she were enjoying a play, was momentarily stunned. She recalled the events of the incident and confirmed that Triss had only appeared at the prayer hall entrance after the police arrived and the commotion of the believers had been forcefully suppressed by the sheriff... Wait!
She suddenly realized the blind spot in her thinking.

Sure enough, Sherlock's next words revealed the answer:
“Triss did appear after you arrived at the scene, but that doesn’t mean she entered the church at that time. I asked several believers who had been staying near the door and the pastor who was guarding the door, and none of them had any recollection of Triss entering the prayer hall through the door. They only had the memory of talking to her and subconsciously believed, based on the content of the conversation, that she came to the scene after learning about the case.”

"But she was actually already in the prayer hall, participating in the last sermon, and returned here after killing the archbishop. She quietly hid in the shadows by the door until you, who had feelings for her, arrived with the police. Then she pretended to have just appeared and used her conversation with you to establish her alibi!"
“Ms. Triss, if you deny this, could you tell me and Sheriff Edsack, from whom did you learn of Archbishop Utravsky’s murder?”
"I believe that the kind person who slipped out of the church and notified you immediately after the incident will be willing to come forward and testify, right?"

After a brief silence, everyone looked at Triss.

The latter lowered her head, pursed her lips, and half-closed her eyes, as if tears were falling from them, which made most of the men present feel heartbroken.

This naturally included Sheriff Edsack, who, after a moment of surprise, immediately found a point of attack, suppressing his anger as he retorted:
"Where is the murder weapon? The preliminary examination can determine that the archbishop died from spinal cord injury and massive bleeding caused by a sharp object wound to the back of his neck. However, the police searched the scene and checked everyone, but found no weapon used to commit the crime. The candlesticks and knife used in the ceremony were also checked one by one, and none were missing or had any bloodstains."

"You said the murderer is inside the church, it's Triss, so how did she hide the murder weapon?"

"Of course it's ice."

Sherlock's brief answer made Edsack and Triss both turn pale.

"The murderer only needed to use a sharp weapon made of solid ice to commit the crime. Afterwards, he left the ice weapon at the scene, under the archbishop. In the tropical afternoon temperature, with the help of the deceased's still-warm body temperature, the ice would melt into the blood before the police arrived. This is why the archbishop, who was injured on the back of his neck and should not have bled so much, was lying in a pool of blood."

"As for how to bring the murder weapon into the church, I think Ms. Triss, who is wearing a heavy dress in the summer, should have her own way of doing it."

Wow, the missing murder weapon has reappeared! Could this Sherlock Moriarty really be the inspiration for the detective and his nemesis in the novel? Could the author of that novel be Mr. Alessandro from earlier...? So he wasn't lying when he said he was a bestselling author?

Tina became increasingly excited, thinking of various similar scenes in "Sherlock Holmes".

She glanced at her sister beside her and saw that Dorothy was also listening intently, clutching the Mirror of Arodes to her chest, as if she wanted this living, sealed artifact to also enjoy the detective's live performance of solving the case.

But unlike their jubilant mood, Edsack, as if he himself were the accused murderer, struggled to defend himself, saying:

"Then... what was the motive? How could Triss defeat Utravsky, who weighed more than twice her weight and was a full half meter taller? Aren't the others suspects? Anyone could have brought an ice weapon to the scene, anyone could have killed the archbishop after the sermon..."

Edsack's voice grew louder and his expression more agitated, but a sigh interrupted him.

“Enough, Edsack…” Triss stepped out from behind him, raising her head which had been lowered, revealing a smile that was both gentle and stubborn. “I killed him, and the method was consistent with this detective’s speculation.”

“Triss…”

The usually aggressive sheriff opened his mouth, but ultimately just shook his head in dejection.

“Looks like you’ve had suspicions about her all along? I told you not to let personal feelings get into the case,” Sherlock chuckled, returning the sheriff’s earlier reprimand verbatim, before turning to Triss. “I want to know why. Indeed, as Edsack said, you lack sufficient motive… Of course, if you don’t want to say it in public, you can wait until we get to the police station and just tell this heartbroken sheriff.”

“No, I’m going to say it here, so that you won’t make wild guesses, so that you won’t… treat this archbishop as a victim.”

Triss raised her head, chin up, and surveyed her surroundings with a cold gaze before speaking in an icy tone.

"I think some of you already know that before converting to the 'Church of Fools,' Utravsky spent many years at sea, working as an adventurer and a pirate, his hands stained with the blood of many... I was one of the victims."

"The passenger ship I was on was intercepted by Utravsky's raiding ship in the deep sea between the northern and southern continents. His men stole all the valuables, but did not kill anyone. Instead, they left only enough food and water for half the people, saying it was the 'survival of the fittest' of nature..."

"After they left, unsurprisingly, a struggle for survival broke out. In the end, the passengers who advocated for the equal distribution of resources and the guarantee of everyone's right to survival, inspired and led by a boy, defeated the other half who wanted to seize food by force. But when it was all over, only one-third of the people on the ship survived... And I, that naive me, also died completely on that day."

Triss recounted her past in a captivating tone, and even Sherlock stopped laughing and listened attentively.

“Pirates like him who don’t kill people directly are not even ranked in the Five Seas. There are no bounties, and no one would hunt them down. So I never thought about revenge… It wasn’t until I came to this city and into the church that I discovered that the former pirate had become an archbishop, preaching God’s mercy and compassion, and believing that sincere repentance could wash away all sins.”

“I’d been planning this for a long time, but I couldn’t make up my mind. It wasn’t until this sermon ended, when he went to the back of the church alone, that I found my chance. I caught up with him, questioned him about his actions back then, and then there was a confrontation and an argument… After that, just like the detective said, I killed Utravsky, dissolved the murder weapon in my blood, and then used Edsack, who would inevitably come to investigate the case, to create an alibi… Once I left the scene, I would fly far away and never come back here again, it’s a pity…”

She sighed, put her arms together and stretched them out to Edsack, signaling him to handcuff her and take her back to the police station to await trial.

“But…” The sheriff took a step back as if waking from a dream, as if avoiding Triss’s hands. “Utravsky became the archbishop of this church more than ten years ago. He’s been a believer in the Fools for even longer. How old were you back then?

Hearing this inexplicable question, Triss scoffed, looking at Edsack as if he were an idiot, and said:

"What, do you think I'm still some clueless little girl? Actually, I'm about your age, maybe even older than you... I only got close to you to prepare for killing Utravsky, and to protect you..."

You don't actually think I've fallen in love with you, do you?

Edsack was speechless as he watched the two officers handcuff Triss's slender, fair hands. Suddenly, he pulled out a revolver from his waist.

"...I'll personally escort her back to the police station. You guys clean up the scene and record the conversation we just had." He pressed a pistol against Triss's back, abandoning his previous gentleness and favoritism, and forcefully ordered her to walk towards the door.

Just then, Sherlock lowered his voice and said in a tone that could only be heard by a few people nearby:

“Archbishop Utravsky’s physique is far too different from yours. If he were to resist, you would have no chance of succeeding… Perhaps he has long felt guilty and, upon seeing you, is even more willing to pay for his sins with his life, which is why he has turned his back on you.”

Triss paused for a moment, then left the church without stopping.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Only after the prayer hall returned to its bustling state, and the worshippers left one by one after registering, did Tina come to her senses and let out a satisfied sigh:

"Wow, it's just like an ethical drama on Tingen Radio after 8 p.m."

Murder, suspense, plot twists, love and hate... it perfectly fulfilled all her imaginations of a perplexing case. Not to mention that she could personally participate in it, almost being mistaken for a suspect, and watching the detective's performance and the criminal's confession from the best distance, as if she were sitting in the first row of the theater.

If I weren't in such a hurry to break the seal on the genie, I would have liked to stay a little longer and see how the other "spectators" reacted... She muttered to herself. Seeing that the priests and pastors were busy comforting the other believers and collecting the archbishop's body, and that there was no one around the altar, she slipped over and secretly placed the "wishing lamp" on it, mixing it with the other golden candlesticks and offering containers.

Just then, she noticed a gaze falling upon her. Turning around, she saw it was Merlin, the magician who had been observing the scene from the corner like a bystander, and who was also Alesu's first suspect.

Oh no, he seems to have seen what I did, but he doesn't seem to have any intention of telling the other priests... Tina was startled and quickly put the golden lamp back and stuffed it into her handbag.

Fortunately, the placement at that moment had already lifted the penultimate seal on the "Wishing Lamp," and the location of the final destination, conveyed by the genie, had appeared in her mind.

That's way too far... Why didn't the Genie go there after Backlund?
She silently complained and was about to leave the church with Dorothy when she discovered that the magician Merlin had arrived at the altar with his assistant, blocking the way to the main entrance.

"Hello?"

Tina gave a stiff smile and greeted them, clutching her handbag tightly.

"Hello, young ladies from afar," Merlin said with a bright smile. "I am Merlin Hermes, a magician who used to wander but has now settled here. This is my assistant, Vivian."

"I'd like to ask you what your thoughts are on that farce just now, um, your real thoughts."

As he spoke, he pointed to the church door where Edsack had escorted Triss away.

Tina pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said:

"Ms. Triss seems to have a reason to kill the Archbishop, but she is also the murderer, somewhat hateful, somewhat pitiful..."

Upon hearing this, Merlin looked at Dorothy beside him, waiting for her reply.

The latter carefully considered his answer and replied:
“I believe that what lies beneath this revenge is a battle of the extraordinary. ‘The witch’ Triss can conjure frost to create daggers, so she doesn’t need to bring the murder weapon into the church, nor does she need to destroy the evidence. Her ability to hide herself in the shadows allows her to pretend she just arrived, and her anti-divination ability can prevent other extraordinary beings from tracking her… It’s just that Mr. Sherlock explained everything from the perspective of an ordinary person, which also happens to reveal the truth.”

Merlin nodded, but instead of saying whether he was satisfied with the answer, he asked in return:
"Don't you guys think this sounds like a staged play?"

"It does look a bit like it..." Tina muttered to herself, but noticing the magician's expectant look, she shook her head somewhat rebelliously.

"If this were a stage play, wouldn't a magician like you, who can use throwing cards as weapons, be more suited to be the murderer?"

While Dorothy's answer did not surprise the other party, Tina had already guessed that this magician was also an extraordinary person, and most likely a real "magician".

"If I were the murderer, how could I have made the sheriff fall in love and made the final scene so dramatic?"

Merlin laughed again and replied meaningfully.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a gunshot rang out outside the church. Several police officers and the priest rushed over in a panic and returned to the scene a moment later.

From their conversation, Tina learned that the gunshots came from the sheriff who was escorting the criminals, and that the unfortunate sheriff had been knocked unconscious and left in the alley, while Triss had disappeared.

I'm not surprised at all; this is just like the ending of those love-hate relationships in novels… She glanced at Merlin, the “magician,” who was smiling, and asked:

"You foresaw, no, you predicted everything?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know that skill. It might just be part of the 'witch's' act... As a wandering magician, I only have two performances: one is granting people's wishes, which costs money, and the other is fortune-telling with a magic mirror, which is free, but you have to answer the questions the mirror poses."

Merlin replied with that formulaic smile, like a waiter on duty.

A magic mirror for divination, and you even have to answer questions—isn't this Arodes...? Fulfilling wishes is the function of the "Wishing Lamp"... Tina was startled, feeling that all her and Dorothy's secrets had been seen through by the other party.

I will not answer questions.

To avoid the magician pulling out a mirror and answering her question, she quickly refused.

"So you want to grant my wish?" Merlin pressed immediately, like a cunning merchant forcing customers to buy. "Depending on the difficulty of the wish, the fee ranges from 1 penny to 1 gold pound."

"Could you be even more powerful than the Genie...?" Tina remained silent, while Dorothy beside her asked with interest:
"If we wanted to travel to a distant place immediately, such as a location thousands of miles away, could that also be done?"

Merlin nodded and said in a teasing tone:

"Compared to bringing the dead back to life, causing your boss to suddenly fall ill, or making someone fall in love with you for no reason, this wish is relatively simple. I think one penny is enough."

Without hesitation, Dorothy immediately took out a copper coin and placed it on Merlin's outstretched palm. Then she nudged Tina's waist, signaling her to tell him the destination.

"No way, you actually believe this magician..." Tina glanced at her sister, her eyes thoughtful as she looked at her sister's serious expression.

She thought this was someone "arranged" to take us to the final destination? Even if we fail, this is the Church of the Fools; there won't be any danger... Guessing Dorothy's thoughts, Tina slowly exhaled and said:

“We want to go to Trier, the capital of Intis.”

That was the last location indicated by the "wishing lamp," and it would also be the end of their journey today.

Upon hearing this, Merlin quickly flipped his fingers, hiding his reward—a small coin—and pinched it between his thumb and middle finger, saying:

"I hope your wishes will come true."

He snapped his fingers.

The next second, the two foreign girls in the church vanished without a trace.

At the same instant, everyone who was talking and walking out of the church, including the clergy and believers of the Church of Fools, as well as the panicked police officers, stopped what they were doing.

They all looked this way, displaying identical, standard smiles that showed all eight teeth.

(End of this chapter)