Butler Peg brought a few cups of black tea and let everyone rest for a while.

However, everyone didn't seem to be in the mood.

"According to Mr. Pasteur, it is indeed possible to delay the clotting of Mr. Atwood's blood." Officer Christopher said, "But how can the gunshots be explained if Mr. Atwood was dead before?"

It is clear that the two are contradictory. In other words, the time when the gunshot is remembered should be the time when the crime occurred. Otherwise, there must be some way to create a gunshot without people.

Could it be that some special device was used to imitate it?

No, even if there was such a device, it was unlikely that it would have been carried out, for Mr. Atwood's pistol had indeed been fired shortly before.

There is only one gunshot, that is, it is certain that the sound made by this pistol is used.

However, the room was sealed, and only Butler Peg had the backup key. And when the gunshot rang out, Butler Peg was downstairs, staying with everyone, and it was impossible for him to go upstairs to commit a crime. And if someone shoots from a window into the room, how do you put the gun in the room?

Either way, there are things that don't make sense.

Could it be, Mr. Atwood, really a suicide?

Even if we do not consider whether Mr. Atwood himself has such thoughts, it is difficult to fully explain the traces left on the scene, even from a technical point of view.

The contradiction between the mortis and the blood, the gunpowder remaining on the glass, the unnatural candlesticks, the stains on Monsieur Pasteur's papers...... These seem to imply something.

"What the hell is going on......" Officer Christopher pondered.

It feels as if you've been led into a dead end.

"Huh? Bella, what are you doing?" Elena asked curiously.

Bella leaned over to look inside the fireplace.

"Found it." Bella said lightly.

There was also some black powder residue on the floor in the fireplace.

"Found it? What did you find?" Elena was even more puzzled, "Do you know who the murderer is?"

"Hmm...... Pretty much." Bella replied.

"Huh? Does Miss Carlos know the identity of the murderer?" Officer Christopher asked impatiently.

"Let's leave this alone," Bella said, "let's experiment first."

As she spoke, she picked up the flintlock pistol on the ground.

"Officer Christopher, could you please help me reload?"

"This ......" Officer Christopher didn't know what to do, but when he saw Bella's serious expression, he nodded and took the pistol.

He took the ammunition out of the drawer on his desk and reloaded it professionally.

This flintlock musket is front-loading and requires special methods and tools, otherwise the effect of bullet firing will be affected.

"Just put it up." Bella said, "Don't load."

It didn't take long for Officer Christopher to get it done.

"What do you want to do with it?" The officer said, handing the loaded pistol to Bella.

Bella took the pistol, took it to the fireplace, found a suitable spot, and leaned against the wall.

Then she rummaged under the table again, found a lead, and placed one end of it in place of the fire hole, and the other end on top of the fireplace.

Immediately afterward, Bella lit the candle on the candlestick, and then took the candlestick into the fireplace and placed it next to the lead.

The height of the flame was slightly higher than the lead, so the lead was not ignited.

"The officer should know about arquebuses, right?" Bella asked.

"Hmm." Officer Christopher replied, "Before the flintlock pistol came along, it used to be the primary firearm."

The arquebus is a firearm born in the 14th century, which needs to be fired by a burning arquebus to ignite the gunpowder, so it is very unstable and cumbersome to load and fire. Although it has been continuously improved, it is still not very convenient. It was not until the middle of the 16th century that the flintlock was invented to ignite gunpowder with a spark from the impact of a flint, based on the revolver musket, and the flintlock pistol was born.

"The arquebus is lit by a fuse, and the flintlock pistol is lit by a spark from the flint. But at the end of the day, gunpowder and bullets are separated." Bella said, "If you use a fire hole to ignite the gunpowder......

Speaking of which, the candle in the fireplace had burned some height, and the flame gradually went down, and then lit the lead next to it. The sparks continued to move along the lead and came to the pistol's fire hole.

I heard a loud "bang", and a bullet flew out and disappeared into the chimney.

The pistol also bounced off the ground, and the remnants of the gunpowder burst out and splashed onto the ground and the candle holder.

"I see," Officer Christopher finally understood, "anyone can set it to fire automatically this way."

"Bella, how did you find out?" Elena asked curiously.

"Well, it's actually very simple." Bella said.

"Hey, every time you say it's simple, the result is very simple." Elena rolled her eyes.

"As long as we look at the situation at the scene, we should guess that the murderer must have used some method to interfere with our normal train of thought." "Generally speaking, it is natural to think that the time when Mr. Atwood was killed," Bella said. So, the person who had an alibi at that time cleared the suspicion."

This is a preconceived notion.

"But there was only one gunshot, the room was sealed, and the pistol next to Mr. Atwood's body was in a state where it had just been fired, which was reminiscent of suicide." Bella continued, "So, whatever judgment the officer makes, it will be in the murderer's favor."

"However, both of these cases have been ruled out, right?" Elena said.

"That's right, because both explanations are fine. That is, the clues in the field can support both views. Isn't that weird? At this point, all the bases for judgment become contradictory evidence."

"I see, as long as one is accepted, then the relevant evidence in support of the other is confusing."

"Yes, especially after listening to Mr. Pasteur's introduction, I am even more sure of the suspicions. And you see, Mr. Atwood's blood on the floor hasn't fully solidified yet, has it?"

Bella said, gesturing to the blood stains on the ground.

"Really!" Elena noticed this time.

At least half an hour has passed since everyone first came up, and the blood is still fluid.

"And how did you know about this device?" Elena asked.

"Once the question of time is settled, all that's left is how to sound the gunshots." Bella continued, "Because Mr. Atwood's pistol still has residual warmth, I think the sound at that time must have come from this flintlock pistol. But there is one thing I have never figured out, how exactly to pull the trigger. It wasn't until later, when Mr. Pasteur came in looking for the papers, that I noticed that the candlestick on the table was unnatural. It was daytime, but he put the candle on the table, and the base was stained with gunpowder."

"So you thought that you could just use the flame to ignite?"

"That's right. Because of the characteristics of this flintlock pistol, it can be fired as long as the gunpowder is ignited, but there is a very important problem with this."

"What's the problem?"

"That's the recoil of the gun. If you put it anywhere casually, then the scene caused by the shooting will definitely be very obvious. So, you have to find a place that is not easy for people to notice. And this place, the fireplace is the best choice."

"I see."

"However, the house was only completed a short time ago, but the fireplace is only used in winter, so the inside should be very clean, but when I checked it just now, there was already some gunpowder residue inside, and combined with the gunpowder on this candlestick, I probably guessed the other party's method."

"So, everyone could commit murder, right?"

"Nope." Bella shook her head, "Anyone can use this technique, but you still have to deal with the scene after the gunshots, at least take the pistol and the candlestick out of the fireplace and put them in different places. The only person who can do this is Mr. Pegg, the butler who can come to the scene as soon as possible with the backup key in hand."

Everyone looked at the gentleman with the tray in his hand in amazement.

The butler was silent.

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Atwood was dead before we got here." "When he saw our carriage approaching, Mr. Peg set up the scene and went downstairs to meet us. According to the method just now, just grasp the time, let the gunfire go off in time, and then you will come up alone to investigate. According to the servants, Mr. Atwood did not like to be disturbed when he was working, so he did not dare to knock on the door. After dealing with the scene, you will immediately return to the drop, and then bring everyone up to inspect it. Bullet holes in the glass, visual blind spots outside the window and ladders in the warehouse can easily create a confusing effect, making the officer mistakenly believe that the prisoner is shooting from the outside. And since you were downstairs when the gunshots rang out, you were naturally cleared of suspicion."

"Mr. Pegg, is it really you?" Miss Margaret asked, "Did you kill Uncle Atwood?"

"That's right, it's me." Mr. Peg said calmly.

"Why?" Miss Margaret was incredulous.

"You may not know, Miss Margaret." "My father was also a seaman. He and Mr. Atwood have worked together as sailors, and have sailed with your grandfather, so they are friends in our adversity. However, just a few years ago, when I returned from a sea trip, my father was nowhere to be seen, and he was the only one who came back, carrying with him a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry. It is rumored that he killed my father and then took the treasure for himself. I hid out of fear, and when I heard that he was relying on that wealth and was gradually making his fortune in the water, I sneaked into him incognito and disguised myself as a housekeeper. Later, I used a conversation to subtly ask him how he got started. He told me that it was a good friend back then who sacrificed himself to give him what he is today."

"So, you're looking for revenge?"

"I just want justice for my father."

"You're wrong." Officer Christopher said, "Mr. Peg, you're really mistaken. Ling Zun was not killed by Mr. Atwood."

"What do you mean?" Peg asked, "He confessed it himself."

"That time they caught a storm at sea and drifted to a desert island. At that time, Ling Zun was very sick with scarlet fever, and he decided to leave food and fresh water for Mr. Atwood alone. That's why Mr. Atwood said that Ling Zun sacrificed himself." Officer Christopher said, "Later, the police went to that island to see Ling Zun's body, and it was true that he died of disease."

"W-how is this possible?"

"And Mr. Atwood didn't take the treasure to himself. He knows you're still alive, and for so many years, he's been asking the police to look around. And that half of the treasure, as Ling Zun's inheritance, has been kept in the bank of Paris and has never been touched. I'm here to report to him on the latest progress of the investigation." Officer Christopher said, taking a document from his bag and handing it to Mr. Peg, "I haven't been able to find out who you are, but I've been sure that you're in the vicinity of Paris."