Cold Body, Sealed Lips
Clement’s attention was entirely on Elise’s silver needle. He was so caught up in it that he didn’t respond
in time. For a typical man, that couldn’t have been more normal; but for a robotic man, who only
responded to orders from their masters, as he was, his daze was significantly notable. It wasn’t until
every eye in the room turned to him did he regain his senses and carried Jackson out of the room.
“What do we do with this guy?” Claude pointed at Reuben’s corpse.
“Just leave it be.” Elise tranquilly stated, “I’ll have an expert examine his body tomorrow.” Returning to
her room, she logged onto SK System and published a request announcement.
‘Emergency forensic wanted. Requirements: proficient, tacit, confidential. Price doubled.’
Shortly after, a user named “guiltypleasure” sent her a private message. ‘Where.’
Elise swiftly replied, ‘Athesea, Tissote. When?’
The user, guiltypleasure, answered, ‘Tomorrow night. Address.’
After Elise sent over the address, the user logged off.
Very soon, it was already the next day.
Three at dawn, Elise walked out of the courtyard house. After waiting for some time at the gates, she
saw a figure slowly approaching from the alley. Then, the figure revealed itself under the streetlight and
stopped before Elise.
Recognizing the person’s face, Elise squinted her eyes. “It’s you?” He’s the forensic officer who was
responsible at the crime scene back in the university!
“How fateful. We meet again,” Bartholomew greeted with an uncontrollable grin. His forensics pass was
still hanging around his neck while he carried a simple toolbox on his back. Obviously, he just came over
from the Forensic Science Division.
“Why are you here?” Elise scowled.
“To solve your problems, of course.” Bartholomew introduced himself, “guiltypleasure, at your service.”
Elise was at a loss for words. Guy’s from the Forensic Science Division, so he’s at least half a cop.
Things’ll get troublesome if I were to let him in.
“Too late to regret now.” Bartholomew read her mind and suspiciously uttered, “You’re looking for a
forensic scientist, which means someone here has died to unknown causes, and the chances of it being
a murder is high. It’s pretty obvious.”
“Are you planning to report this?” Elise remained still on the outside as a pair of silver needles slid into
her palm.
“Hehehe!” Bartholomew stared at her hand and knowingly clarified, “No worries. I’m here as
guiltypleasure, not a forensic officer. Even if you don’t trust me, you should trust in SK’s security
measures. They wouldn’t let a cop who’d disrupt the system’s equilibrium into the system, would they?”
Hearing that, Elise turned a tad relieved. Bartholomew was right. SK was able to stand this long without
falling mainly because of its insanely strict security measures. Basically, even operating in a gray area
had its rules, and anyone who went against the rules meant declaring a war against the entire group. SK
had members of different professions all around the world. One could only anticipate death once they
had broken even one rule of the system, and no one would be so dumb to oppose the entire world solely
to make some extra cash.
“Okay.” Elise sheathed her needles and turned around into Alexander’s courtyard. “Follow me.”
Bartholomew, with his hands in his pockets, followed steadily behind Elise. Walking past the courtyard,
he caught a glimpse of Jackson sitting on a chair in the guest room, looking at him, begging for his help
with his eyes and a sincere expression.
He halted his steps to contemplate. Under everyone’s attention, he went to the door of the room that was
containing Jackson. Right when Jackson was thinking that he was about to get rescued, Bartholomew
swiftly extended his arm and grabbed the door handle before slamming the door shut. Turning around,
he revealed a harmless smirk. “You’re not exactly giving me a way out here.” Since Bartholomew was
working for the police force, his identity was exposed the moment Jackson caught him hanging around
Elise and her gang.
“Apologies.” Indeed, Elise had overlooked some details. She promised, “Don’t worry. I assure you he
won’t expose you.”
“And how do you do that?” Looking sullen, he remarked, “Only cold bodies have sealed lips.” His speech
was not emphasized, but it was still highly unnerving. He seemed so gentle, but one couldn’t help but
feel wary of him, as if he would stab them in the back when they had their guard down. After he said that,
the courtyard was filled with nothing but silence. Nobody in the entire premises ever had the idea of
killing off Jackson.
“Based on what you said, we should kill him first, then you, to be extra cautious, yes?” Elise questioned,
her tone cryptic.
Hearing that, Bartholomew shrugged his shoulders and reverted to his mischievous demeanor. “Just
kidding, heh.”
“Highly unfunny.” Elise apathetically ordered, “Come in. The body’s inside.”
The entire corpse inspection process was public. Although there were only Elise and Bartholomew in the
room, the others gathered outside the room and observed the inspection.
Shortly after, Bartholomew came to a conclusion. “Suicide. Tongue bite. No other possible cause.”
Outside the door, Claude shot a logical inquiry. “He should still live for a brief moment after he bit his
tongue, but he died instantly. You sure there’s no other cause?”
In response, Bartholomew turned to him, feigning the arrogance he once did to Jackson. He took off his
gloves. “Wanna see for yourself?”
“Tsk.” Claude rolled his eyes. We’re all doctors here. Who do you think you are, being so cocky, huh?
After contemplating for a bit, Elise commanded, “Check his lungs.”
“No need.” Bartholomew clapped his gloves. “There were no signs of poisoning. Dissection will only be a
waste of time.”
“You’ve accepted the job, so it’s your obligation to satisfy your client. You know that, right?” Elise coldly
replied.
Bartholomew turned around and met her piercing gaze. After a moment of silence, he re-equipped his
gloves as he claimed, “I do not want the presence of anybody while I’m dissecting the body, and that
includes the client herself.”
“Fine.” Without debating more, Elise exited the room and shut the door.
Once the door was shut, Claude immediately ranted, “God damn. You could’ve told me if you wanted a
corpse inspection. Why do we have to take punches from him?”
Ignoring him, Elise wordlessly stood still.
About one hour later, the door was opened from the inside. Bartholomew took off his mask and declared,
“It was as you said. The lungs’ nerves deteriorated quickly under the effect of a certain drug. The
moment he bit his tongue, his breathing stopped, and the two combined caused his instant death.”
“Can you determine what kind of drug it is?” Elise inquired.
“I’ll need a further look in the lab.” After saying that calmly, he looked at her. With an inexplicable tone, he
questioned, “This is not your first corpse inspection, is it, Miss Sinclair?”
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