Chapter 14 The Plan

Just as Feng Bujue and the two police officers were passing through the hall, preparing to meet the officer in charge of the questioning, the sound of a car arriving came from outside the villa's front door.

Hearing this, the three of them naturally stopped and turned their eyes toward the door. Schofield and Dempidi both looked suspicious, while Feng Bujue remained calm and collected, as if Mount Tai were collapsing before him without changing his expression.

As mentioned earlier, Feng Bujue had a certain understanding of footsteps. Therefore, when the visitor in the car got out and approached the door while taking out their keys, Brother Jue already had many deductions in his mind.

He immediately said, "Female, between twenty and thirty years old, well-proportioned, wearing long riding boots, and at this moment... slightly anxious."

Before he finished speaking, the door opened. A beautiful woman with blond hair and blue eyes, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, appeared at the door. She was wearing a jacket and jeans, and indeed, a pair of leather riding boots.

"Miss Nancy?" Feng Bujue asked tentatively.

"Yes... yes, who are you?" Nancy replied, glancing at Dempidi in his uniform. "What happened?"

"Indeed... something terrible has happened." Feng Bujue extended his hand and introduced the two people next to him, "This is Detective Schofield from the town; this is Officer Dempidi."

The two police officers respectfully touched the brims of their hats and greeted the lady.

"I'm Feng Bujue, a detective," Feng Bujue continued.

"Police... detective..." Nancy showed a worried expression.

Feng Bujue used the word "terrible" to prepare the other party psychologically and to test the waters. After seeing the other party's reaction, Brother Jue added, "I think... it would be more appropriate for your family to tell you this terrible news." He turned to the side and gestured towards the second floor, "They're in the study on the second floor, with another police officer. We can go there together."

Nancy hesitated for a few seconds, then looked Feng Bujue and the others up and down. Ignoring her luggage still in the car, she quickly walked towards the second floor.

Feng Bujue and the other two followed behind, but because Nancy was walking so fast, she quickly outpaced them, leaving the three men far behind.

"Incredible," Dempidi said at this moment. "Mr. Feng, how did you know what the person outside the door looked like? And you even knew her name?"

"By listening to the sound of the boots on the steps, the frequency and weight of the footsteps, you can basically guess the gender, weight, and age of the person," Feng Bujue replied. "As for the name... because I had already learned a little about the Lovecraft family, I knew that Korston also had a daughter who would come to the villa. So, after seeing her, I deduced that she was Nancy based on her hair color, facial contours, age, attire, and temperament.

"Of course... even before the door was opened, I guessed it was her. After all, this is a remote place, and there aren't many visitors. If it were a..." He paused, almost saying "delivery," but stopped himself in time and changed his words. "If this family ordered goods somewhere and had the store deliver daily necessities on a regular basis, then it should be a strong man who came, which doesn't match the sound of the footsteps just now."

Schofield looked at Brother Jue with admiration and praised, "As expected of a great detective, you can think of so much in an instant!"

"What's with this NPC... is he possessed by Zeng Tai (a character in *Detective Dee*)..." Feng Bujue complained inwardly. "It seems like it wouldn't make a difference if you changed all your lines into Zeng Tai's common sayings...

"Like, 'Teacher is truly a god!' 'Do you mean...' 'Flawless!' 'Makes sense!' 'Teacher is absolutely right!' 'What did you think of?' 'How did you think of that?' and so on... It'd be all set if you just changed the title to 'Mr. Feng' and said it!

"This kind of seemingly useless, but actually indispensable promoter character in detective movies... is simply a nightmare in this story that's only fourteen chapters long! If you keep doing this... in order to maintain my wise image, I will inevitably reveal the truth quickly!"

Feng Bujue finally couldn't help but mutter softly, "No... I can't keep going like this. Appropriate unreasonable behavior is imperative... Even if I'm treated like a madman, it doesn't matter, as long as I solve the case in the end, no one will have anything to say."

"Huh? What did you say, Mr. Feng?" Schofield asked.

"Ah? Ah... no... nothing." Feng Bujue changed the subject. "I suddenly thought of an idea that could help us find the murderer more effectively." He waved his hand, signaling Schofield and Dempidi to come closer.

The two police officers didn't think much of it and immediately walked a few steps closer to Brother Jue, looking like they were all ears.

"My plan is..." Feng Bujue lowered his voice and whispered to the two of them.

A minute later, he finished speaking. Schofield and Dempidi straightened up, looked at each other, and then looked at Feng Bujue. After a few seconds, Schofield said with a serious face, "That's a really good idea!"

"Oh? Really?" Feng Bujue didn't expect the other party to agree so readily to his inexplicable strategy.

"Actually, when I was a detective in a big city, I often used this trick on those stubborn gangsters and drug dealers," Schofield said. "They're all old hands, and it won't work if you don't use some tricks." He paused for a moment. "But... the people in this villa are all important figures. I'm also the town's detective, and it doesn't seem appropriate to play this trick on them..."

"And it would be much easier for you, the detective, to come forward," Dempidi interjected. "We, the police, don't need to be responsible for what you say."

"That's great, a win-win situation." Feng Bujue smiled.

While the three were talking, they had arrived at the door of the second-floor reception room. Before entering, they heard Nancy's surprised cry from inside, "Oh! God! This can't be true!" The second half of the sentence was already tearful.

"Don't be too sad, sister, no one wants to see this happen," Jack replied.

At this moment, Feng Bujue and the three of them entered the room. Scanning the room, they could see: on the sofa, the questioning officer, Mark, was taking a statement from Mrs. Carol; Mrs. Odetta was sitting next to Carol, comforting her softly; not far away on a chair, sat Mr. Korston, his face furrowed in sorrow, talking to Dr. Powell beside him; Barton was alone in the other corner of the room, looking restless; and Jack was standing not far from the door, with Nancy crying in his arms.

"Officer, could you come over here for a moment, please?" Feng Bujue said to Mark.

Mark turned his head, first looked at Schofield's face, and after seeing his superior nod, he walked over and said to Brother Jue, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes..." Feng Bujue made a conscious eye contact with everyone in the room, and then deliberately raised his voice slightly, "Could I have a word with you?"