Romany opened the safe, which was divided into three layers. The bottom layer held two wooden boxes side by side; the middle layer contained some documents and several small cloth bags; and on the top layer, where a tray now sat empty, next to it was placed a Russian doll. Judging by the horizontal line in the middle of its body, it appeared to be a Matryoshka doll, roughly the size of an adult's palm, less than ten centimeters wide and likely under twenty centimeters tall.

Romany pointed to the tray, "The necklace used to be placed right here on this tray. I'm usually very careful and generally wouldn't move it."

Jimmy, "May I check it?"

Romany stepped away from the safe, and Jimmy stepped forward, took out a flashlight, and shone it on the tray, observing it carefully. Beneath the tray was a layer of dark red velvet, which, likely due to having been in place for some time, had the impression of a necklace pressed into its pile. Jimmy saw no other indentations on the velvet.

He gently lifted the tray, which had a very slight residue of dust underneath. The safe was not opened often, so even a little bit of dust would settle, though not obviously. Still, comparing the position of the tray and the marks below, it looked like the tray hadn't been moved for quite some time; otherwise, there would be at least some drag marks.

Jimmy, "Anything else missing from the safe? Does anyone else have access to open this safe?"

Romany shook his head, "No, my family isn't in New York, and they wouldn't come here. This safe should be accessible only by me."

Jimmy, "I didn't bring fingerprint powder this time, so I temporarily can't determine if someone else has opened your safe. Moreover, if it were a professional, they definitely would have used gloves, typically leaving no obvious fingerprints. It's just a routine inspection method, the effectiveness of which entirely depends on the operator's skill.

However, from the tray itself, it seems like no one has touched it. Look at this velvet pile, if someone had taken the necklace, there should be a slight indentation here, but as you can see, there's nothing abnormal.

This indicates that the person who took the necklace was very careful to lift it from above. Honestly speaking, your average thief wouldn't bother with such a painstaking task without reward. Whoever did this must be an experienced and habitual offender."

Jimmy stepped back from the safe, and Romany came over to close it.

Jimmy, "Next time I come, I will bring fingerprint powder, hoping to find something. Besides, Romany, do you have surveillance here?"

Romany shook his head, "I can't use surveillance here. Besides the old items left by my ancestors, there's nothing else of value in this house."

Jimmy, "Does anyone else come into this study normally?"

Romany, "Only the maid Daria. She comes to clean every few days. I came back the day before yesterday and found the necklace missing yesterday. We've already searched Daria's room; nothing was there."

Jimmy knocked on the wall beside the safe, "Can we take a look at the room behind this one?"

Romany led Jimmy out of the study to the room next door. Although it seemed like just two rooms, the wall between them had a trick to it. The safe was hidden between the two walls, and from this room, it was impossible to discern whether there was anything unusual with the safe's position.

Jimmy approached the wall and touched it lightly, then pressed his whole palm against the wall. He reached out his left hand and touched a spot well away from the safe. There was a noticeable difference in temperature, with the wall behind the safe being distinctly cooler.

Jimmy had already looked around downstairs. The villa's exterior looked similar to those around it, with three floors, but it also had two basements and some walls that seemed to hide spaces behind them. One of the concealed compartments was where the safe was located. The compartment ran through the second-floor flooring, and right below on the first floor, the compartment continued, with one of the basements directly beneath it.

Jimmy carefully examined the inside of the compartment with Heart Eye Observation but did not discover anything significant. He turned and walked towards the door, intending to check the first floor. Romany watched Jimmy's actions, completely baffled, and followed him downstairs.

Comparing locations, Jimmy reached the room below on the first floor and looked up towards the position of the safe on the second floor. He walked to the spot directly underneath the safe and touched the wall; like on the second floor, the wall below the safe was very cool, while the rest of the wall was at a normal temperature.

Jimmy looked down towards the basement, only able to vaguely see a square space. However, it seemed as if there was something like smoke obscuring his vision.

Earlier on the second floor, possibly due to the distance or because he had not scrutinized the basement thoroughly, he had not seen it clearly or noticed the smoky phenomenon. Now that he was looking down just over two meters below, it was blatantly obvious.

The problem was, even though Jimmy could see something was wrong, he couldn't mention it, as he had only seen this smoky substance once before, during the exorcism at the small church in Si City. What Priest Royte had expelled from that person's body was exactly like this smoke...

Confronted with the scene before him, Jimmy discarded his initial theory of a thief entering the study and opening the safe to steal the necklace. It seemed there was something off here. If there really was the same entity he had seen in Si City in the basement below, the fact that everything else remained undisturbed and only the necklace was taken suggested it was not your ordinary theft. There might be some very troublesome matters involved.

Getting mixed up in such things was something Jimmy was very reluctant to do. Although the exorcism he witnessed last time looked straightforward, Priest Royte was not here this time, and if he got involved and ended up paying with his own life, it would be a significant loss.

Jimmy turned to Romany and said, "I'd like to check a few more rooms, but it can wait until daytime. I still need to go back for the fingerprint powder. It's best if everyone in this villa stays put before I return, to avoid any unpleasant incidents."

Jimmy removed his disposable gloves and put them in his pocket. After Romany nodded, Jimmy prepared to leave.

Romany escorted Jimmy to the door and glanced at the front of the villa, noting the absence of a parked car, "Jerry, did you drive here?"

Jimmy, "No, I took a taxi. Driving isn't convenient."

Romany, "Then let me arrange a ride for you."

Jimmy, "No need to be so polite. I'll take a taxi back. See you tomorrow, Romany."

Jimmy stepped away from the villa and walked down the street, pulling out his cellphone to call a taxi company and order a cab. He didn't dare accept a ride from Romany; although Justin hadn't made it clear, Romany was definitely not as harmless as he seemed. Being able to trace a connection to Justin, Romany must be a figure in the underworld, so caution was prudent.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.