The Dartmoor Disappearance Case (6)
“Mr. Harold? What happened?”
“Oh, sorry. Originally, the sheep are brought in at this time, but at that time there is noise like this…”
“Hmmm, that’s fine. It’s just a different experience that I haven’t felt in the city.”
“It seems that there is one person who is not okay.”
I said, watching Monty pretending to be cheerful behind me.
Then, Harold smiled lightly and walked away, saying he would go tell the others.
“By the way, the amount looks substantial. Are they all raised here?”
“Yes, there are quite a few swamps around here, so they built a ranch close to the mansion. From what I’ve seen before, it seemed like the stable keeper was taking care of them together.”
“It is peculiar.”
Arthur Conan Doyle took out a notebook and began to jot down related information.
“Even if it looks like that, that is also a considerable asset. In fact, about 30% of my income in this area can be seen as being raised while raising those sheep and horses.”
“Well, it’s an area where farming doesn’t work well, so I guess I’ll have to do some livestock farming.”
Seeing him nod, I suddenly thought of something.
Hmm, I see.
“Because it is in this area, there are many legends like Black dog.”
“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve heard of Black Dog. But this place has a lot of fields. Is there a folktale like that?”
Well, his question was natural.
Because one of the elements that usually comes out of black dog lore is that it appears in places like crossroads and narrow roads.
It’s strange that there aren’t many roads here, let alone crossroads, and most of them are open in all directions.
But the story about this black dog isn’t just that.
I decided to show off my magazine style as an expert on myths and tales recognized by a well-known university.
“Yes, this area is famous for the legend that it appears like lightning on a dark day and takes away human souls. At first glance, they are also called Hellhound.”
“Hell Hound. It’s a bloody name.”
“Well, since there are many ranches in this area, I think the story came about when I met a dog wandering around alone. Wouldn’t you be surprised if a big dog suddenly appeared in front of you on a rainy day?”
“Right. Indeed, come to think of it, you also introduced the legend of Barghest in ＜Peter Perry＞, maybe?”
“Ah, it was. It was actually a story I heard as a reference…”
Originally, the Dartmoor area was a basin terrain, and there were many rocky mountains, so there were many cases where you could hear various sounds like just before.
The occult is the fear of the unknown.
Such things naturally develop into strange ghost stories, and I collected those ghost stories well and used them well when writing.
“It’s foggy in the morning and evening, and as you can see, the sound distorted by the strangely shaped rocks is eerie. Actually, it’s not a big deal when you know it.”
“Hmm, that’s right. It is also interesting to connect with regional characteristics in that way.”
While we were talking about this and that, we reached the front of each room before we knew it.
“Hmm… I can’t seem to catch something. So, let’s see you again tomorrow. Have a good evening.”
“Yes. See you tomorrow.”
We walked away after exchanging such light greetings.
and.
“Hanseul… Oh, are you going to sleep together today? huh?”
Monty grabs the hem of his clothes from behind and speaks cautiously.
aha. Apparently, the sound just made another ghost story believer.
“Well, what should I do?”
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“Ah! do not do that!”
***
The next day, I met Conan Doyle at a restaurant. He must have slept soundly, looking as clean as usual.
It’s different from Monty, who couldn’t sleep all night.
“During the morning, I met with Detective Hopkins to put together the findings of the servants and other guests.”
“How was it?”
“First of all, most of the customers are white. Almost everyone has an alibi, and even those who don’t have no reason to kill Baron Carlisle. As long as there is no separate evidence, it seems like it can be excluded from the investigation.”
“What about the servants?”
“that is······.”
Arthur Conan Doyle wrestled with his outspoken personality with a rare, unsure look.
And, it was worth it.
“It’s very vague.”
“How do you like it?”
“Our awareness was lacking. This house wasn’t just Baron Carlisle’s mansion, it was also a castle.”
Stapleton Manor is close to the two lower towns of Dartmoor Basin.
However, the road was a problem. During the day, it was possible to reach it by walking, but at night, the risk of falling into the swamp is high even if you deviate from the road even a little.
So Baron Carlisle provided lodging and boarding for about twenty of his servants right in the mansion.
Even in that Ashfield, most of the employees commuted from the port town of Torquay, and there were only three or four people living together, including me.
Servants thus resided at the Stapleton Manor, tending not only the manor, but also the baron’s personal ranch and woods.
I heard that you were in charge of turning on the streetlights on the road leading to the village, but then you are actually a civil servant.
“It’s sort of like a small town.”
“yes. Besides, haven’t there been flocks of sheep you’ve seen on the way? It also belongs to Baron Carlisle. The asset of £970,000 did not come out of nowhere. I mean, he had enough wealth.”
“wow······.”
Monty admired from the side, but I smiled and stroked his head.
Do you know how much money I will inherit?
“So they have no alibi to claim their innocence. They are practically like family, and their bond to each other is strong.”
“Because Baron Carlisle had a good reputation in his lifetime.”
“Hmm… that’s subtle again.”
“yes?”
The nobleman I saw was just a good-natured local retainer?
As Monty and I were shocked, Arthur Conan Doyle folded his arms and said bitterly.
“Relatively young people had a good opinion of the baron like you. But the older people who have served him since he was a child, especially the butler, remember him as a great playboy in his youth.”
“Huh.”
“Well, it’s not a big deal, but when I was young, I heard that I was drunk with my success and went around dabbling here and there. I think that’s why the women’s problem didn’t end.”
That good philanthropist had such a past? You don’t know the world. Somehow, there was no mention of getting married at that age.
It was an unexpected side.
Anyway, if that’s the case…
“You mean it could be the work of villagers with a grudge.”
“Well, in that case, I don’t really have an answer.”
Arthur Conan Doyle licked his lips and said so.
Well, in this narrow closed society, if you try to bury someone, it’s possible to bury them forever.
“Oh, hey. The auction was tonight, right?”
“yes. So it seems difficult to join the investigation from this evening.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I was thinking of going out to investigate today anyway.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Well, there’s something blurry there, so I’m thinking of checking that out. Detective Hopkins agreed to go with you.”
“You’re having a lot of trouble like this.”
“hahahaha, are you the only one? Anyway, let’s finish our business and see each other.”
“All right.”
I held the hand of Arthur Conan Doyle. So, we prayed for each other’s health and headed to our respective battlefields.
***
“Then, until the last eighth of the ＜Waterfall＞ woodblock print series by this unknown author! Bid for Ashfield for £100!”
“thank you!”
I smiled and shook my head. I didn’t think much of it, but I got something better than I thought.
A small unknown? How could Anglo-Saxon ignorance be so helpful, getting this for such a bargain?
Monty, who was next to me, asked, puzzled by my appearance.
“Hanseul, is this a good picture? To me, it just looks like a picture of a waterfall with a lot of strange colors, right? There is no sense of dimension.”
“well?”
“Eh?”
“Bocchan, it’s not about whether or not this is originally beautiful.”
I said confidently.
“Do you want it or not?”
It reminds me of Mr. Miller from the time I bought the previous Monk’s painting, guess who isn’t rich.
At that time, Monty was making the same expression Mr. Miller was making.
I smirked and explained in a more understandable way.
Of course, keep your voice down for others to hear.
“Auctioneers from rural villages who are not yet familiar with oriental painting may not know, but this painting is a woodblock print by the same artist as ＜The Great Wave off Kanagawa＞, which is currently hitting the continental art world.”
“Oh, yes?”
Monty’s eyes light up.
Yes, that’s enough. Originally, in the art world, an enormous premium is attached just for being a series by the same artist.
Even more so, this is a ‘series work’.
Its value rises just because it is the same series.
If you take this to Paris, where related paintings are in vogue right now, the price will increase several dozen times.
“Congratulations, Hanseul. It was a good deal today.”
“hahahaha, thanks for conceding. Didn’t Mr. Carstairs also get the statue at a decent price?”
“Well, there are a lot of people looking for Greek-style sculptures like this. Baron Carlisle has a keen eye and is of good quality… I’m thinking of putting one in my house this time too.”
Aha, I was also a fan of both sides. There was nothing different about me.
In the meantime, the auction gradually began to move to jewellery.
There were no items that were famous because they were collected by rural nobles, but at least there were occasional items whose cut or size were unusual.
hmm. He’s also Baron Carlisle. Collectibles aren’t normal either… Wait a minute.
“······hmm?”
“Hanseul?”
“Why, you?”
While Monty and Mr. Carstairs were puzzled, I began to take a closer look at the jewels being sold.
Carstairs is a drawing expert like me, and Demetrius is strangely withdrawn.
Thus, in jewelry, Shellman and Fernsby were competing.
“120 pounds!”
“125 pounds.”
“I’ll pay you £135!”
“150.”
Currently, the competition is dominated by Fernsby.
And, this… was extremely strange to me.
‘why?’
While I’m struggling, the jewels start to be auctioned off one by one.
One Fernsby, one Shellman, another Fernsby, and again…
‘······aha.’
The moment I realized the identity of the strange feeling from earlier, there was only one thing I had to do.
You should check it out.
“200! 200 pounds…”
“Hmph, then I’ll pay 210 pounds!”
Squeeze between the two shrimp.
“Five hundred pounds.”
“·······?!”
“Hanseul?!”
“Five hundred pounds. I will bid on this spot.”
“Hanseul, what do you mean!?”
“Mister Monty, I’m doing this at my own expense, so don’t worry.”
Even when I thought about it, I said coldly, without even turning my head to Monty.
Then, the bank teller who was in charge of the auction resumed the auction with a bright expression.
“Come on, five hundred pounds! Would you like more, two?”
“No, what the hell are you talking about!?”
Shellman protested. It’s worth it, because I was beaten by that dog at the dinner table, but I broke the rules and came in.
Besides, 500 pounds (about 100 million won) for 2.5 carats was an outrageous price for even the finest ruby from Myanmar.
“Now, are you avenging yesterday?”
Shellman shakes his hand as if the fan he is holding is about to break. But I had no intention of responding to such trifles now.
“Wait, what’s the case now…!”
Fernsby, who belatedly figured out the situation, also protested.
“Auctioneer. Please proceed.”
I ignored it and proceeded with the auction.
“Ah, I see. 500 pounds! 500 pounds came out! Are there any more?”
“Ugh… 510 pounds!”
Patrick Fernsby screams. Sweat was pouring down his face.
“Mr. Fernsby, is that 510 pounds?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“okay. All right.”
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I turned my head.
The auctioneer looked dumbfounded, but he kept his expression as hard as possible like a professional.
I spoke calmly to him.
“Six hundred pounds.”
“her······!”
“6,625 pounds!!”
Fernsby immediately follows.
Of course this too.
“I’ll pay you £700.”
“Hey, wait…!”
“If you want to fight me over money, feel free.”
I can pay that much with my personal money.
Then, unable to overcome my cold glare, Fernsby slowly lowered her gaze.
“······Myanmar ruby, 2.5 carats. It was awarded to Ashfield.”
“okay. Then, from now on, that ruby is mine, right?”
“If you pay the winning bid.”
“Then I’ll write the check right away.”
I went up to the podium.
Then I handed the newly scribbled check to the auctioneer and saw the ruby that had just been awarded to me.
and smile coldly
“Uh, uh uh!?”
“no!”
knocked it to the floor
Clink!!
“oh my god! 700 pounds… what the…!”
A ruby that shatters like pieces of glass.
At the sight of me crushing 700 pounds of powder right in front of their eyes, everyone turned their gazes in this direction, dumbfounded, but I didn’t even blink, I just stared at one spot.
“Did you see it?”
“What, what…”
“Did you see the ruby break just now?”
“Uh, huh?”
Ruby refers to corundum. Kang (鋼) is also used for adamantine and diamonds, and its actual hardness is also 9. It is a gem worthy of its name.
That is, it is incredibly rigid.
Even if this is not corundum but a similar spinel (Red spinel), it is comparable to hardness 8.
Of course, hardness and strength are different, but they are generally proportional. Anyway, the important thing is that a proper ruby won’t shatter like glass if you just drop it on a marble floor.
therefore.
“I’m going.”
That is a fact well known even in countries that do not specialize in jewelry.
And, this person doesn’t know what I know.
“Mr. Fernsby.”
A person who is superior to me in terms of jewels in this position.
“ha ha ha······.”
“You obviously said it was 510 pounds.”
I asked him coldly, sprinkling the remaining imitation ruby powder on my hand.
“Is this really, 510 pounds worth?”
A fake, or a yawn that is hardly believed to have been from the collection of Baron Carlisle.
Do you intentionally buy just that?
“What kind of plan are you up to?”