Eldritch Horror Theatre

Jones's suggestion undoubtedly drew many eyes to Fu Qian.

He hadn't rushed to get into the car earlier precisely because he'd anticipated this.

Jones wanted to keep him right under his nose, and Fu Qian was just as eager to gather more information.

As it turned out, Jones hadn't just dragged him into the car; he had arranged for a prime suspect like him to sit right next to the victim's husband.

Meeting Harold's blank stare, Fu Qian kept his expression perfectly normal, smiling as he offered a friendly greeting.

...

Jones naturally took all of this in.

The next moment, the sheriff shifted his gaze from the rearview mirror and stared silently out the window.

In the sheriff's eyes, Fu Qian's level of irredeemability had probably just gone up another notch.

The young officer acting as their driver steered entirely according to Jones's directions.

The route Jones had chosen couldn't have been more obvious. After a brief detour past a fast-food restaurant, they drove almost straight toward The Mountain.

'Interesting!'

Fu Qian didn't know how the people in the car behind them were feeling, but he did notice a hint of unnatural stiffness in Mr. Harold's expression.

Was there a hidden story here?

Harold seemed to have a slight, abnormal reaction to Jones heading straight for this place.

Watching the road outside rapidly grow narrow and winding, a very natural scene popped into Fu Qian's mind.

Somewhere along the road up The Mountain, in a corner hidden from passing vehicles, Mr. Harold was quietly hiding to the side, waiting for the right moment.

Then, just as a car sped by fast enough, he shoved a certain semi-conscious someone out into its path with all his might.

It wouldn't be too rare an occurrence. However, while husbands were often the number one killers of their wives, this guy didn't look like he had the guts for it.

Fu Qian didn't stare for long, because Sheriff Jones was already watching him.

At this very moment, the sheriff was observing Harold's reactions out of the corner of his eye, a hint of solemnity creeping into his expression.

This was the man's actual job, after all; it wouldn't be good to overstep and do it for him.

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere, the young officer had stopped making dry jokes shortly after they set out, now driving with a deadpan, serious face.

Finally, amid the stiff atmosphere filling the car, Jones gestured for the driver to keep slowing down until they came to a complete stop at a certain spot.

Looking at the heavy brake marks on the road, Jones couldn't help but glance back into the car.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't see a single trace of guilty panic on Fu Qian's face.

Not only that, but the man had even naturally opened his door and stepped out.

"Heavy, very fresh brake marks. The visibility at this spot is pretty poor, too."

Seemingly oblivious to the shift in Jones's expression, Fu Qian enthusiastically played his role as a volunteer.

"What else?"

The sheriff gave him a deep look.

"Also—"

Fu Qian turned his head, his gaze landing on a spot off to the side.

The vegetation in this area was quite dense, but at one particular spot by the roadside, clearly snapped twigs could be seen.

"Good. We'll wait for the others to come up first."

Jones offered the brief remark and said nothing more.

...

Seeing the leading car unexpectedly stop here, Cartman and the others were visibly hesitant when they got out.

As they gathered around, their eyes couldn't help but drift toward the exact spot Fu Qian had just pointed out.

They really were too young. A thief's worst enemy was a guilty conscience!

Fu Qian also found it hard to understand why the tone of this story had shifted so quickly.

Without a doubt, however, the group's current behavior was textbook.

"We found something suspicious."

Jones didn't give them much time to think. Getting straight to the point, he even made sure to shoot a glance at Harold.

Obviously, if this really was the scene of an accident, the reason for Mrs. Harold's presence here was undoubtedly something worth pondering.

"We need to search the vicinity. Follow me."

Despite saying this, Jones didn't assign any specific tasks to the volunteers. Instead, he simply led the way.

Following him was clearly the true point of his command, especially for Fu Qian.

Even though his performance was worthy of a gold-star volunteer, Jones made it glaringly obvious that he disliked Fu Qian's style and would never let him out of his sight.

...

Heading inward along the suspicious trail, the ground beneath their feet could hardly be called a path.

Yet, amid the dense foliage, Jones soon crouched down and discovered more trampled plants.

Following these tracks, the group moved forward until they found a distinct anomaly several dozen meters away from the road.

It was a small clearing that looked like a collapsed grave, likely quite ancient.

Right now, however, the grave was covered with a large pile of broken branches, and more importantly, the snapped ends were extremely fresh.

"Young people always lack patience."

Jones snorted and gestured for the young officer to remove the covering, all while keeping a close eye on Fu Qian's reaction.

Unfortunately, he quickly realized that Fu Qian merely wore a look of eager anticipation, devoid of any panic.

In contrast, the expressions on the faces of the group trailing behind them were universally spectacular.

Turning his head back in slight disappointment, Jones watched coldly as the branches and leaves were moved aside.

"There's nothing here."

Unexpectedly, as the officer pulled most of the covering away, he shook his head and reported back to Jones.

It was indeed completely empty.

Looking at the final layer of dead leaves being pushed aside to reveal muck that had accumulated for who knew how many years, Jones fell silent for a moment.

Simultaneously, everyone else seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

After standing stunned for a long while, Jones snapped back to reality. Gesturing for the group to stay put, he circled the clearing, refusing to accept what he was seeing.

Regrettably, apart from the direction they had just come from, there were no other traces to be found.

For a time, he just stood there in absolute silence.

Fu Qian could completely understand his mood.

Even though Jones had mocked the youngsters for lacking patience, this seemingly crude cover-up was actually a pretty impressive reaction for a young person who had just encountered a sudden accident.

If a seasoned veteran like Jones hadn't been leading the team, it was hard to imagine anyone finding this spot so quickly.

Even if Fu Qian put himself in their shoes, without any prior knowledge of the surrounding environment, he wouldn't consider this a terrible choice.

However, despite all the suspicious clues pointing to this end, the expected corpse was missing. There wasn't a single trace left behind, which was genuinely quite bizarre.

At the same time, the act itself was difficult to comprehend.

If it wasn't meant to hide a body, it was hard to imagine how this trail of evidence had been made.

A deliberate diversion? That would be far too professional!

Even if Brother Harold had hired a hitman, an assassin this dedicated was something you could wish for but never simply find.

"Looks like we're going to need more volunteers."

The next moment, Fu Qian spoke up, offering a deadpan remark.

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