Chapter 821: FALLEN BODY
Chapter 821: FALLEN BODY
LUO YAN and 'Sofia' looked at each other before they both walked out of the study and rushed to where the voice was coming from. It led the two of them outside. It was only then that Luo Yan noticed that the sun was already high up. It's probably about afternoon inside this virtual world.
He must have slept for quite a while. Or at least his brain gave him that illusion. No wonder he felt so refreshed. Now that the sun was high above the sky, he could clearly see the situation below.
A lot of trees were burned down, a ton of soil slid down the mountain causing a landslide. He was actually quite surprised that those explosions from last night didn't burn the whole mountain down. Oh well, maybe the game devs didn't take that into consideration. After all, they just needed a situation where everyone in this manor would be isolated from the outside world.
Anyway, back to that scream just now. Based on his experience reading and watching murder mysteries, a scream like that could only mean one thing. Somebody just died.
Instead of being worried, he was just curious. He wondered who would it be? He had a feeling that the identity of the person who died would help Luo Yan further solidify the conjecture that he already had. Or at least made it a bit clearer.
He and 'Sofia' continued to rush towards the direction where the scream came from until they finally reached the back garden near the left wing of the manor. Everyone seemed to be there except for them.
The others were standing in a semi-circle, as if surrounding something or someone. One of them finally noticed Luo Yan's arrival and called out to him. The rest then turned towards him. This caused the circle to part and reveal what they were huddling over for.
There at the middle was a body of a woman. She was wearing a nightgown and was lying face first on the ground. Her body was contorted in abnormal angles. Her neck in particular was tilted abnormally to the side that there's no doubt that it was broken. Because of how the body was positioned and how her scattered was even covering her side face, Luo Yan couldn't immediately tell who this was.
But the fact that Daphne was kneeling beside the body, shaking and in a state of shock. He already knew the identity of this body.
It's Catherine.
He crouched down and touched the other's pulse. Feeling no beating sound, he knew that the other was already dead. This result was pretty unexpected. He didn't expect that the first one to go down was actually Catherine.
"D-detective… is my mother… is my mother--?" Daphne said in a quivering voice.
Luo Yan shook his head with a sad expression, confirming that Catherine was indeed dead. Daphne covered her face with her hands and started sobbing uncontrollably.
He stood up and whispered to 'Sofia' – who was just standing beside him as if 'she' was ready to receive any orders at any time.
"Please, take the young lady inside. It would also be helpful if you can ask her what happened here."
The other gave him a serious nod. "Okay, I'll do that," 'she' whispered back to him before walking towards Daphne. 'She' held the other's shoulder and pulled her up. "Let's get you a warm cup of tea inside."
Daphne didn't object and just let 'Sofia' bring her along.
Luo Yan finally looked at the people standing around him. That's when he noticed that not everyone was actually there. Three people were missing – excluding 'Sofia', Daphne, and the already dead Catherine. The fake Sorcha, Edward, and George were not there.
It's really not weird for some to be missing. After all, it was such a huge manor. The possibility of not hearing that scream just now was pretty high. But the fact that George, the husband of the victim, was not here made him feel like there's something fishy happening.
Wait- could it be--?
He crouched down again beside the body and turned it over. The face was smashed and beyond recognition. All Luo Yan could see were a bloody face with almost no distinct facial features. So, why did Daphne assume that this was her mother? He stared at the body from head to foot. Could it be the clothes?
That's when he heard someone retching, completely interrupting his concentration. He sighed. That must be young Harry.
"Is- is that really Cathy?" asked by a trembling voice from behind.
Luo Yan stood up and turned to look at Charles. The other's face was completely ashen while staring at his sister's unrecognizable face.
"It seemed to be so," he said.
"Bloody hell," Charles cursed. "Why did this happen?" he said, asking no one in particular. But everyone there could hear the frustration and sadness in his voice.
Luo Yan raised his brow. It seemed that Charles still cared for his sister despite the other probably not feeling the same. If their situation was reversed, she would definitely not show the same reaction. In that regard, Charles was definitely much better compared to his other living siblings.
He looked up and quickly saw that one of the windows on the fourth floor was open. And it just happened to be one just above where the body was lying. The windows in this manor were big enough for one adult to get through. And considering the state of the body, it's enough to assume that she must have jump from there. Or she could have been pushed by someone.
If one would consider Catherine's character, it would definitely be the latter. Because there's no way this kind of woman would just jump down and take her own life.
But before jumping to conclusions, he must make sure first whether this body was indeed Catherine and no other.
"Who found the body?" he asked the remaining people there.
But before anyone could answer, they saw a figure near the open window. The figure had their back on them but they were pretty sure that it was that of a man.