Ivo paused, his gaze falling to the other end of the hallway.

"Hey, what's that guy doing?"

He lowered his voice and said coldly.

Isaac followed his line of sight, and Anna was talking to a pale woman in a black robe.

The moment he saw the woman, Aisak's eyes suddenly turned a lot colder.

"Madeleine......

Word by word, he coldly said the woman's name.

Isaac had no affection for Madeleine. Of course, you could say it's anger – but it really started that night. Calvin's slightest concern for Madeleine led to an irreparable situation. Moreover, the reason why the Adventists are so pressing on Calvin is probably because of Madeleine's informing.

Madeleine looked much older than her actual age, and she wasn't as radiant as a prostitute, but she was far better than she was now. She has also become a full-fledged Christian, as evidenced by her all-black robe and the peculiar shape of the cross that hangs from her chest. Her hands were folded in front of her lower abdomen, and her wizened fingers were covered with two rings that were conspicuous and somewhat pompous, one of which was set with amethysts and the other with rubies. According to the information he had learned beforehand, he knew that in Adventism it represented "godly servant" and "reverence to the Lord." When Asaac noticed this, his wariness and suspicion of Madeleine suddenly rose to a climax - only a cultist of a fairly high status, at least someone who already had some contribution in a small group like the House of Sanctuary, could wear such a ring.

He vaguely remembered that not so long ago, Madeleine was just an ordinary believer who had not yet joined the Confession. In a short period of time, she must have done something to make it possible to have those two rings that represented status.

"You know the woman?" Woy looked over to Isaac.

Aisaac nodded hastily, "She worked in a bar under Redbeard's territory. "He didn't mention Calvin," ...... It was her daughter who roamed the streets before...... Is Anna asking her?"

"That's right, she's the discoverer of the body, and she's about to go to Imogin's room to show her allegiance — I'm talking about cleaning. ”

"Tsk. ”

Isaac let out a disdainful stumbling sound. He walked over to Madeleine, and stood next to her for about a minute or two, as if Madeleine had seen Isaac. Her face was gray, her eyelids drooped to cover half of her pupils, and her whole face drooped downward.

When Isaac came into her field of vision, she squeezed her eyes hard, not opening them completely.

"Oh my God, Mr. Isak. ”

She quickly recognized Isaac.

Isaac had expected Madeleine to behave harshly and sharply as usual, but to his surprise, Madeleine treated him with a disgustingly sweet flattery.

Isaac nodded at Anna and motioned for him to begin the questioning.

Anna quickly stepped aside, but Asaac knew that the woman would be watching Madeleine and his every move for the rest of the day.

Aisaac exhaled silently.

"Hey, Madeleine, I'm sorry I might have to make you remember what happened this morning. I need to know ......"

"Hey, I've told this lady as much as I can think of it. Madeleine quickly interrupted him, "I wish I could help you, Priest Imogen is a good man, he is the most devout servant of God you can imagine, it is too hard to believe that anyone could do such a thing to him......

There was a faint hint of helplessness on Anna's face: almost half of her questioning with Madeleine had been spent listening to Madeleine sing the praises of Imogin.

Compared to Anna, Isaac had a natural expression, his expression was indifferent, and his eyes were sharp at Madeleine.

"How's the wound on your neck?

Instead of asking directly about the Imogen massacre, he suddenly asked about Madeleine's wound, which was still wrapped in a piece of duct tape. Madeleine's shoulders shuddered, and the smile on her face cracked. Not surprisingly, Isaac accepted Madeleine's resentment, unease, and, of course, panic.

This woman is hiding something.

Aisaac understood this immediately, and he secretly exchanged a look with Voy and Anna.

"By God's grace, my wounds are close to Da'an. ”

Madeleine said dryly, her eyes rolling beneath her drooping eyelids.

"That's good, otherwise Isha should be worried again, she has always loved you very much, otherwise she wouldn't have made the oolong incident a few days ago. Oh, and that was the alarm that night. Speaking of this, Isaac sighed deliberately, and under the disguise, his tone was unusually gentle, like the reminiscence of old friends, "Ah, by the way, how is Isa? ”

Isaac originally just wanted to use Isha as an entry point to start the next level of conversation, but he didn't expect that the moment his daughter's name was mentioned, Madeleine's aura suddenly changed significantly.

"She's fine! When such a terrible thing happens, she will naturally stay in her room, and pray sincerely to be taken care of by God, away from darkness and bad luck. ”

Madeleine glared at Isaac viciously, word for word.

Isaac was stunned.

However, in the next second, it seemed that Madeleine herself realized the sudden change in attitude, and she squeezed out a fake smile.

"Oh, sorry...... You know that children are always curious about such terrible things, and I am angry about this, knowing that it was the death of Priest Imogen Payne...... It's really horrible. ”

She said intermittently, her face showing true love for Isa, but for some reason, Isaac looked at Madeleine, but there was an inexplicable chill behind her.

He was always a little distracted by the rest of the question, but Madeleine didn't seem to know much.

She went to Imogin's room at 2:50 a.m. with a bucket and rag to tidy up (Isaac was a little shocked by this time, but it is said that in Adventists, getting up at 2 a.m. and praying to the angels for morning service is very normal), she knocked on the door several times, but received no response from Imogin, and at the same time, a steady stream of foul odors came from the cracks in the door.

Trembling, Madeleine pushed open the door and found the wall of blood and the unidentified objects in the toilet.

She didn't realize it was a corpse at the time, she simply felt that something was wrong, and at about five o'clock in the morning, the first police officers arrived at the scene after receiving the alarm and found Imogin's body in the toilet. This is quite typical of Red Deer's modus operandi, and soon the entire police station was put into operation, and then it was the arrival of Isaac and others......

"Wait, you noticed something was wrong at 2:50 in the morning, so why did you call the police almost two hours later?"

Isaac couldn't help but ask.

Madeleine's eyes lowered, she looked a little shaky.

"This is my ...... My mistakes...... I've already told the lady and I really didn't realize it was in the toilet...... It turned out to be Priest Imogin. It was so dim that the smell of the filthy blood made me faint, and by the time I woke up, two hours had passed. God, I'm going to let Priest Imogen ...... like that."

Tears rolled down Madeleine's dry cheeks.

Isaac eventually had to end the questioning early, as several other Adventists approached and helped Madeleine away, and forcefully informed the officers in a manner of considerable hostility that the Madeleines were exhausted and needed to rest.

After Madeleine left, Isaac took Anna's previous record, and his face was very gloomy.

"There's a problem. He said briefly.

Anna nodded silently.

"She's trying to hide something......"

"No, I think the Adventists are hiding something. At some point, Ivo came up behind Isaac and Anna, his eyes falling on the Advent members downstairs, and as he spoke, you could barely see the movement of his lips.

"The two hours between the discovery of Imogin's body and the time when the police were reported were too suspicious—I would never believe anyone could faint for two hours with that smell. ”

Anna added.

"One of the things that made people care more than that was the phrase she said, 'Filthy Blood', as you should have noticed, she almost blurted out the phrase and didn't show any confusion about the stench, she looked ...... It's even a little habitual. ”

Isaac's fingers tapped against the railing.

"Well, here's the problem," he said, turning his head abruptly, glancing at Voy and Anna, "first, who is going to take advantage of that two-hour time difference. Second, what exactly is the so-called 'unclean blood'. ”

On the first floor of the shelter house, Madeleine, who was being helped slowly through the living room, lowered her voice and spoke.

"How's it going? I'm supposed to be doing well, right?

In the black robe, her cheeks were red from some kind of intense excitement, and her eyes were shining, as if she were haggard in front of Isaac and the others.

"Yes, thank you, Madeleine. ”

The man holding her whispered, fingers gripping Madeleine's thin arm like iron hoops.

He spoke in a calm tone, without a hint of heaving, sounding like some robot in human skin.

However, after receiving his affirmation, Madeleine quickly became happy and cheerful like a six-year-old child who had been praised.

"Oh, that's great...... It's really good. A reassuring smile slowly appeared on her face, "So, my dear daughter Isa, she should be able to be selected, she should be able to enter the ranks of holiness and be a candidate, right?" I know her hair is still a little dull, but I swear it's just malnutrition, and if she can be selected, she will be the most suitable one, she really is the smartest and purest child!" I really can't watch her sink in the filthy world of mortals, and I want her to enjoy the glory of God and the love of God with me...... Or, to go one step further than I am, to become the truly holy One......"

Perhaps with an affirmative answer, Madeleine became a little rambling.

"Even if Priest Imojin leaves, that selection will continue, right? My little Isa will definitely be able to ......."

"Yes, she can. Because of your piety and selflessness, she has this precious opportunity. The man who was holding her patted her hand and said calmly, "You are a good mother, and she will appreciate you." ”

"Oh my God......"

Madeleine's eyes filled with tears, but this time her tears flowed with utter joy.

"Thank the Lord, thank you to our exalted angels, our children of light – I am grateful, I am grateful, I am moved. ”

She muttered the phrase as the people around her slowly pulled her into the long, dark hallway.

In the painting above the fireplace in the living room, the corners of the mouth of the angel who Isaac thought were dead turned slightly, and he looked as if he was staring at Madeleine's back.

Little by little, the thin shadow sank into the darkness.

And the "angels" are just silent. 166 Reading Network