Guidebook for the Dark Duke

Chapter 69 - The Truth Comes Out

“Mr Rael, what’s wrong with you?” Evan looked at Rael, who was stiff and asked with concern.

Rael wanted to force a smile, but he failed woefully in the end. He just raised the corners of his lips slightly and replied, “I’m fine. Is that tramp still at the police station?”

Evan looked at Rael and suddenly smiled, “I’m afraid it’s not good for him, after all, he’s the one who killed Mr Johnson.”

Evan’s sudden change of topic made Rael stunned for a moment, before he finally nodded, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Evan couldn’t help sighing when he heard this, “You have also been wronged a lot in this matter. Why don’t we do it like this? I will tell Sheriff Chandler to allow you to participate in tomorrow’s events.”

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Rael looked at Evan with a look of doubt.

Evan nodded, “Tomorrow, Sheriff Chandler will take the homeless man to get the portrait painted. Because the previous painter got ill, they decided to hire another painter and go to Sheriff Chandler’s house for the painting. Do you want to go and have a look?”

Rael only felt his heart beating fast, such a thing…such a thing…it was really…

“Okay, okay.” Rael only felt that his lips were dry.

Evan smiled reassuringly, “I’m glad to have you join in, I believe things will develop further in a good direction tomorrow.”

Rael smiled reluctantly, and then immediately took the letter and left Evan’s office.

Looking at Rael’s anxious back, Evan smiled meaningfully, I’m afraid this matter will come to an end tomorrow.

*******

The next morning, Evan went to Sheriff Chandler’s house early. Sheriff Chandler had just woken up at this time and he was still a little sleepy.

“Oh my God, Reverend Bruce, why are you here so early?” Sheriff Chandler’s hair was messy, the bread was still in his mouth, and his words were muffled.

Evan turned his face away, unable to bear to look at the sheriff directly, and said succinctly, “I’m afraid there will be something wrong with your arrangements, so I decided to come over and take a look.”

Sheriff Chandler smiled, “You can rest assured, everything will go according to your arrangement. Mrs Johnson will come over on time at nine o’clock and the tramp will also be brought over after everyone arrives. The development of the matter will depend on your predictions.”

Evan listened and nodded slightly. “Very good.”

Speaking of which, Sheriff Chandler couldn’t help looking at Evan curiously as he asked, “But, will things really develop as you expect them to?”

Evan sneered in his heart, but he still had a soft look on his face, “Please rest assured, as long as a sinful person in this world has committed a crime, he will no longer fear the majesty of the law. In order to protect his secret, he will definitely take action.”

Sheriff Chandler was a little confused by what Evan said, but he still nodded and said nothing more.

When the clock reached nine o’clock, Mrs Johnson arrived at Sheriff Chandler’s house on time. This time, Mrs Johnson looked different from the previous times. Although she was still a little pale this time, her complexion seemed to be much better than it was the last time, and when she saw Evan, a smile appeared on her face.

“Oh, Reverend Bruce, you are here too.” Mrs Johnson looked at Evan with a very friendly smile.

Evan slightly curved his lips and said softly, “Thanks to Sheriff Chandler’s invitation. How are you doing, Madam?”

“I’m fine.” Mrs Johnson smiled, “I just really hope this is the end of this case. This terrible thing has to end quickly. Fortunately, now that Sheriff Chandler has caught the criminal, this terrible time can finally get over.”

Evan looked at Mrs Johnson, nodded and said nothing.

A moment later, Sheriff Chandler’s door was knocked on again. Evan’s expression changed and he glanced at Sheriff Chandler. The sheriff immediately went to open the door but when he saw Rael standing at the door, his whole person was still stunned.

“This…” He looked at Evan in confusion.

At this time, Evan seemed to finally remember and he immediately explained, “I happened to talk about this with Mr Rael yesterday, so I invited Mr Rael by the way.” Here, he turned his head to look at Mrs Johnson, whose face had instantly turned cold and severe when she saw Rael, and asked softly, “Ma’am, would you mind?”

Mrs Johnson seemed to want to stop herself from being aggressive so she wanted to smile to ease the atmosphere, but she still failed in the end. She realized that when she faced this person, she really couldn’t smile at all.

“No, I don’t mind.” Mrs Johnson said stiffly.

Evan didn’t seem to feel the awkward atmosphere, and still smiled very contentedly, “It’s fine if you don’t mind.”

Rael walked in nervously. Although Sheriff Chandler didn’t like him at all, he wouldn’t behave in a rude way, so he still asked Rael to sit in the living room.

The few of them waited for another ten minutes before there was another knock on the door. Sheriff Chandler stood up excitedly this time and said with a smile, “It’s finally here.”

He rushed to the door to open it, but Evan still stood in one place as his eyes swept over Mrs Johnson and Rael. Mrs Johnson clenched the fan in her hand tightly with sharp eyes, while Rael was only silently standing there, not saying a word.

After a while, the homeless man walked in under the escort of the police officers. Because of the small size of the room, Rael retreated to the corridor. Mrs Johnson also walked into the kitchen because she did not want to be in the same room with a homeless man, watching the people in the house through the glass.

The tramp looked a little sluggish at this time, his messy beard covered most of his cheeks and there was an unpleasant smell on his body, which made everyone in the room frown.

“Mr Goode.” Sheriff Chandler reluctantly asked, “Can you really help us find the murderer?”

“Please believe me!” When it came to this, the homeless man suddenly became energetic, “I definitely didn’t do it. I am very grateful for Mr Johnson’s generosity. How could I do something to hurt him? I will definitely help you paint a good portrait!”

Sheriff Chandler nodded reluctantly, “Very good.”

Because the painter had not arrived yet, everyone had to sit quietly as they waited for the arrival of the painter. Sheriff Chandler clenched his hands impatiently, it’s so weird that he hasn’t gotten here.

“Go outside and see if the painter is here.” Sheriff Chandler waved to a police officer.

The police officer went out to check immediately, but Evan suddenly asked, “Who is the painter you hired?”

Sheriff Chandler frowned slightly but before he had time to answer, there was suddenly a loud noise in the garden, like something exploded, and everyone in the room panicked immediately. Mrs Johnson’s sharp voice came from the kitchen. The kitchen was the closest place to the garden. Sheriff Chandler responded the fastest and ran out of the door immediately. Evan also ran out with Sheriff Chandler.

At this time, only the homeless man was left in the room, handcuffed and sitting on a chair in front of the fireplace. He stared at the scene in front of him in a stunned manner, and he couldn’t react.

A man took a thin needle and walked towards him step by step. The homeless man stared at the man, speaking almost incoherently, “Yes…it’s you…”

The man’s face showed a hideous expression, with a smile as the needle in his hand glowed with a cold light.

The homeless man wanted to avoid it and shout, but the loud noise outside had already covered his shouting. It seemed like a bomb had exploded outside, and there were human voices and screams everywhere.

At this time, the tramp really had no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth, and the color of despair spread on his face.

The man got closer and closer to the homeless man until that the tip of his needle had touched the homeless man’s cheek, when suddenly there was a burst of laughter behind him, “Mr Rael, I have to say, the explosion you caused today is something I didn’t think about.”

It turned out that the man holding the needle was Rael. He turned his head quickly, looked at Evan’s slightly smiling face, and Sheriff Chandler’s frown. His face instantly turned pale.

“You…you…you designed this?” Rael’s voice trembled.

Evan looked back at Sheriff Chandler, and the sheriff nodded, “Mr Rael, I really didn’t expect you to do this.”

Rael was almost broken at this time. Facing this current scene, he couldn’t think of a way to get out of here. Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered something. He immediately clenched the needle in his hand and turned around, trying to grab the homeless man, who was still helpless just now.

It’s just that when he turned around, the homeless man had already removed the beard from his face, even the tightly handcuffed hands were now free and he looked like a most respectable young man. The young man stood in front of Rael, nodding slightly, “Mr Rael, I’m Constable Pete.”

It turned out that this homeless man was actually a police officer in disguise.

Rael was really desperate at this time, the needle in his hand slipped down his fingertips. He looked at Sheriff Chandler and Evan, his lips trembling uncontrollably: “You…who are you? How do you know it’s me?”

Sheriff Chandler was obviously still confused at this time but Evan looked confident. He waved at the policeman at the door, who had gone out earlier to investigate whether the painter came or not. The police officer went out and he came in with a lady.

“Sheriff, Reverend Bruce, this is the woman who threw the explosives into your garden!” The policeman looked obviously excited, he was also the most important part of this plan.

Rael looked at the woman being pulled in by the police officer, and there was a momentary look of relief on his face.

“Is it because of her?” Rael’s tone was very low.

Evan smiled softly, “Mr Rael, I have to say that this trick of yours is really interesting. At first, you put yourself in the most suspicious place and even didn’t hesitate to destroy your reputation, and then when the police are most suspicious, you find someone to prove your innocence. Although your reversal is very good, it will completely divert everyone’s attention from you. But I have to say that the collaborator you chose is really the biggest loophole in this case.”

Evan looked at the lady with her head down and said, “Miss Blair, the most famous old lady in Delanlier. Although she will easily be confused, her yearning for love and her uncontrollable desire to show off completely ruined your plan.”

Evan did not look at Miss Blair, who was trembling all over, but looked at Rael again, whose eyes were gloomy.

“You told me that you were going to leave Delanlier and it was also at this time that Miss Blair, who testified for you, sold the ancestral house she had inherited for many years in preparation to leave Delanlier, and was pregnant with the happiness of wanting to get married. This kind of coincidence, I believe only happens once in a hundred years, right? Mr Rael?”

Evan’s eyes finally had a hint of sarcasm at this time. At this moment, Rael completely lost his composure.

T/N – Honestly, Evan should have been a detective in this novel 🤔. He would have become very famous, and that status and class issue he was so worried about might have been easily solved. He’s just so good.