817: INTERVIEW (XXIII)

INTERVIEW (XXIII)

"THAT bastard…" Mrs. Gilmore muttered under her breath, her expression totally ugly. It was obviously something that she said out of anger. Which meant that it was not 'scripted' like how her other response was earlier. This was how she truly felt.0

Luo Yan pretended not to hear that little comment but he truly wanted to smile at that moment. But he controlled himself. This was already win for him. So, he shouldn't ruin it at the last moment just because he wanted to laugh.

He kept a questioning expression on his face as if he was waiting for the other to explain herself. Of course, he didn't forget to add a bit of 'suspicion' on his expression. This way, it could make the other panic. Thinking that if she didn't explain this properly, she would be suspected of being connected to everything that had happened in this manor since last night. 

He should probably give his thanks to the barbecued Saunders. [Thank you for letting me use your name.]

As he expected, Mrs. Gilmore quickly scrambled to explain to Luo Yan.

"What Mr. Saunders said to you were pure lies. It had no basis whatsoever. It's purely malicious and derogative. He definitely made it up just to incite hate. You shouldn't believe whatever you might have heard from him, detective. Because it would definitely be full of untruths."

She said all that in one breathe. Anyone could see that she was definitely in panic mode. The calmness that she had shown so far was no longer there.

Luo Yan acted like he understood what the other was trying to say. "But why would he say such a thing? Do the two of you have some kind of misunderstanding?"

Mrs. Gilmore scoffed. "No, that Saunders was simply not a good person in general. He's the type who's strong against the weak but weak against the strong. The only one he would respect were those people with money."

What she said seemed to have a double meaning. But that's not what caught Luo Yan's attention most. It's the fact that she was talking about Saunders in the past tense. As if she knew that the other was already dead. 

To think that he would have this kind of breakthrough once he managed to tear the other's prepared 'script' apart. Now, that vague conjecture he had, since quite a while now, was finally starting to take shape. 

Maybe he wasn't really just reaching with that conjecture and that it's not just a product of his overactive imagination. But what he found out from this interview with Mrs. Gilmore still wasn't enough to prove anything. If he didn't find anything much more solid, then everything would just be his own delusion.

Before Mrs. Gilmore could notice anything weird in this conversation and raise her guard up, Luo Yan decided that it's time to end the interview.

"I understand," he said in response to what the other said. He made sure that his eyes were full of understanding. "It must have been tough dealing with that kind of person."

"I tried my best to not interact with him too much."

Luo Yan nodded, as if he was agreeing to Mrs. Gilmore's way of doing things. "Thank you for being so honest with me, Mrs. Gilmore. What you said will definitely be helpful to my investigation."

The other seemed to be relieved hearing that. Her usual calm also finally returned. "May I go now, detective?"

"Of course. And could you please call your son and tell him to go here immediately. I really wanted to finish this interview. It's almost near sunrise, I'm sure all of us needed rest after such a night," he said, showing the other a tired smile at a very timely manner.

The other nodded and walked out of the study. 

Luo Yan didn't have to wait too long because young Gilmore – no, Cian entered the study after almost just a minute of his mother leaving.

"Please, sit," he said to the young man.

Cian seemed to be less energetic. The light that Luo Yan had seen in his eyes when the other greeted him before dinner seemed to have dimmed a lot. He was giving this fragile image right now. As if another blow could break him into pieces. 

This just showed how affected he was by William Harcourt's 'death'. Luo Yan wondered what the other's reaction would be if he found out that his father-figure was actually still alive.

Luo Yan started with the interview. The usual questions were asked first. And although Cian seemed to be a bit lifeless, he still answered Luo Yan's questions very concisely. 

"You did not see Mr. Harcourt after dinner?" he asked.

Cian shook his head. "He told me that he wanted to rest early because his burns—because his burns were hurting him. It's not something unusual. On cold nights, Uncle- Mr. Harcourt's burns usually ached like that. He- he preferred to be alone during such times. That's why none of the servants dared to disturb him." 

He was silent for a few seconds before he continued;

"I shouldn't have left him alone last night. Even if- even if he told me to leave, I- I should have at least stayed outside the room. Then… then maybe—maybe Uncle wouldn't have suffered such injustice!"

The other's voice broke at the end, showing just how upset he was. Even the rims of his eyes were red, water already welling in them. This kid wouldn't suddenly burst into tears, right?

As if he heard what Luo Yan just thought, tears started to fall from Cian's eyes. Then, as if that wasn't enough, the other just bawled his eyes out. Howling worse than a baby.

"Uncle- Uncle *sob* shouldn't have died like that! Being b-burned when he already experienced such a thing before. Can you *sob* can you imagine just painful that was? It's simple t-torture! The one *sob* the one who did this deserves to d-die!"

Luo Yan cringed a bit at that. He wondered if this kid would still think the same once he knew the truth.

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