Ed stared at the door in front of him, a straight, tall, translucent double door made of some kind of hedron, his lips closed, his eyes glazed. The last time he was here, he felt like it was some kind of work of art in itself, and he still thinks so.

He reached out and pushed the door open and walked into the room inside. The studio was still the same, spacious and empty, obviously only for the existence of the only figure, but it seemed to be crowded with intricate eyes, squeezing Ed in unison, trying to push him out of the room.

However, it was different from the last time I came here, it was noon outside, and the thick curtains of the studio were all opened, and the bright light shone on the whole studio, which looked like a wedding hall, so that even the darkest people in their hearts could suddenly become enlightened, and even giggle and dance a chicken tango dance on the spot.

Ed glanced at the paintings on the wall across from the window that he didn't really appreciate, and he knew that any one he could take out would make him a windfall on the spot, and he wouldn't have to deal with any silly and annoying clients for a long, long time. He thought he should be intrigued, and then remembered that he hadn't had that thing for a long time.

He walked towards the inside of the room, and walked until he reached the center of the studio, until he had stopped where he had been called to a halt last time, his hands in the pockets of his suit trousers, his head slightly bowed, and his eyes calmly looking at the figure.

There she was. She's still there. She seems to have been on her barstool until the end of the world, volcanic eruptions, whales at the bottom of the sea, and a large number of whales turning their white bellies to perform a fire ring.

Lilith. The Witch of Obdolon, one of Stuttgar's most famous and gifted artists, faces away from Ed, faces the wall, and faces the giant drawing board. She didn't paint anymore, and her work seemed to be fully finished.

"Detective." The girl didn't look back, her voice was still like the whisper of nature itself, empty and light, "detective...... Ed. ”

"It's me." Ed nodded.

"You're late."

"It's a little late."

"It's too late, it's too late."

"I've been busy with some other things lately...... Originally, I didn't want to come today, I didn't want to stand here again. But I think I'd better come back. Ed lowered his voice and swept his gaze down the girl's hair, like a comb from the beginning to the end, "There are some things I still need to make clear to you personally, after all, you are my client." ”

"It used to be. Now our employment relationship is over. Lilith didn't move, "What are you going to say to me." ”

"He's gone." Ed said, "Tommy — the guy who doesn't know whether to say lucky or unlucky. His kidnappers and Mubagh have been dealt with by the police, while his other half-brother, Joey, was shot and killed by him during a fight with him. The judge acquitted him. He came to his hometown in Bahar and was the family lawyer who got the news. Now that Joey is dead, he is the sole heir to the family fortune, including Joey's share. He is now being taken back to his hometown to inherit the estate. I think the next time he goes to the casino, he will probably roll the dice with a luxury car. ”

“…… I know this. Lilith was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth, "He came and said goodbye to me. ”

"Say goodbye, right?" Ed smiled. If it weren't for the fact that he was in a place like this, he would have liked to light himself a cigarette and "never go back." ”

“……”

"So that's what you want." Ed asked calmly, looking at the back of the art with half-open eyes, "You designed all this, manipulated everyone from behind, and arranged all the plot developments, just to watch your gentle fool prince plump and soar into the sky?!" ”

In the face of Ed's sudden stern tone, Lilith suddenly laughed, and the laughter was as nice as a bird.

"It's fun." She snorted with a smile. Shrinking back, "Detective, what's going on in your head is fun. ”

“…… I don't think it's funny. And it's not something I came up with out of nowhere. Ed frowned and took a deep breath, "On that day, on the day of everything that damn happened, the people in the police station, based on Mubag's confession, followed the clues and began to find out the source of the money that hired them to kidnap Tommy, and finally found the head of a shell holding company. The name of the registrant of the company is David, 'Davisto'. And he's been dead for two years. ”

“……”

"Do you remember the name?" Ed smiled, "I think you should remember. I remember it too. When I first came to this art gallery, your brother happened to talk to me about him. He was a little obsessed with him. ”

……

"I still miss Davy."

"Who is David?"

"Davisto, George's predecessor, spent 10 years at the gallery and did a pretty good job."

"Where did he go?"

"Two years ago he had an accident."

……

"Besides," Ed continued, unemotionally, "Joey had made a phone call before he was killed by Tommy. The police didn't know who he was calling, but of course it was impossible to let go of the lead. The final search for the number was a surprise, and the owner of the number was a native of Stuttgard, a staff member of another art gallery, and an assistant to the director. He was overwhelmed by the arrival of the police and had no idea what was happening. According to his own words, he has a total of two mobile phones in his hands, one for business and one for private affairs, and the private one was lost some time ago I don't know where to go, but I didn't rush to deal with it because I was too busy with work recently. The reason why he has been so busy lately is that his art museum and another art museum are going to have an unprecedented and historic joint exhibition to be held. ”

“……”

"The other art gallery that works with them is called 'Obdolon.'" Ed's voice slowed down at this point, "And the reason for the opening of the exhibition is because of the unprecedented initiative of the director's sister, Stuttgar's premier genius artist. I remember him saying it was 'I don't know if she's crazy'. ”

……

"She never likes to show her head and rarely uses her work for commercial purposes, but this time — I don't know if she's crazy — she moved all her stash out and used it to make this joint exhibition happen."

……

"I don't think the assistant curator would have dreamed that the master of the arts, whom he feared like a god, would steal his phone when he wasn't looking."

"Alright, detective." Lilith interrupted Eddard, her voice seemed to have some kind of magic, quiet and scared, "You really are a very good detective, Mr. Eddard. ”

Ed shook his head. "It's not me who is good. I didn't do anything, all this technical work was done by the police. ”

"But your role in that is crucial. Maybe you don't realize this yourself clearly. ”

"Maybe." Ed looked down and licked his lips with his tongue, pondering the words. “…… Why," he asked, in a dry tone, "is it worth it?" ”

"Is it worth it?" Lilith chuckled softly, as touching as a witch, "That's a funny question, detective, it's not like a word that could come out of the mouth of someone as smart as you." ”

“……”

"You ask if it's worth it," Lilith turned around on the barstool and looked at Ed head-on for the first time, "Of course those who think it's worth it, and those who don't think it's worth it." It's that simple, isn't it? ”