Chapter 814 INTERVIEW (XIX)　　WHY did he think that the corpse was Saunders? The corpse, although not really burned at the time they found it, was fresh enough to say that it was burned at least sometime in the evening. 

Since Luo Yan realized that and since he confirmed that the corpse didn’t belong to William Harcourt, he had been wondering about its identity. He first thought that it could be some poor sod who was simply in the wrong place and in the wrong time. Maybe it was some stranger who got lost in this mountain and William’s partner or partners abducted, killed, and burned them. 

But somehow, Luo Yan doubted if William Harcourt would actually resort to nonsensical murder just for revenge. If he went along with that idea, then that meant that the corpse would be one of the people the old man wanted to take revenge on. 

Considering what the maid said about the relationship about the head maid and Saunders, it’s clear that the latter must have done something that should make him feel ashamed. But the fact that Saunders was called back here despite whatever he had done meant that William was planning something for him. In this case, being a barbecued meat.

But in this case, Luo Yan couldn’t help but wonder just what exactly did Saunders do? To warrant such an end, it definitely must be connected to what happened 20 years ago. 

Luo Yan then heard a couple of notifications inside his head, confirming his conjectures. He smiled a bit. This detective talent was really convenient.

He let the maid go and asked her to call the footman. 

His interview with the footman was quite short. Just like the maid, the footman wasn’t really privy to whatever was happening here. He was also kind of, well, slow. Luo Yan just couldn’t believe the other had the mental capacity to be part of this whole conspiracy. Even more so because he’s an NPC. Which meant that his personality was programmed that way.

When the footman left, the next one was the head maid. After he asked the other the basic questions, he then proceeded to the important ones.

”Mrs. Green, may I ask what your opinion is of Mr. Saunders?” 

The head maid frowned. “Detective, why are you asking about him? Is he related to what happened to Mr. Harcourt?” Before Luo Yan could answer, she already gone off to a tirade. “I knew it! I knew that bugger couldn’t be trusted? What did he do, detective? I told Mr. Harcourt that he shouldn’t bring that Saunders here. But Mr. Harcourt had always been kind and sentimental. Oh, poor Mr. Harcourt.”

Then, the older woman picked up the neckline of the robe she’s wearing and started wiping tears. Luo Yan took out the handkerchief on his suit pocket and gave it to Mrs. Green. The other thankfully accepted it and used it to wipe her tears.

”I- I really can’t understand how could someone hurt Mr. Harcourt. He’s the kindest of man. He did have a bit of temper, but who doesn’t? Who would do something like this to him? I- oh, I can’t…”

The older woman went into another wave of sobbing. 

Luo Yan didn’t expect that the other would be this emotional. Hearing how strict she was, he thought that she would have more control over her emotion. But it seemed like he underestimated her relationship with her employer. 

”Have you known Mr. Harcourt for a long time?” he asked.

”Oh, yes. I’ve been working under the Harcourt family since I was a wee girl. I started as a scullery maid until I worked my way up and became the head maid. I was there when Mr. Harcourt moved to the original Magnolia Manor.”

”That means Mrs. Green must have seen a lot of things happening within the family,” Luo Yan said in a tone that was obviously trying to get the other to speak more. Of course, in a not so obvious way. He just felt that the other was the type to have a loose tongue whenever her emotion got the better of her.

Sure enough, the head maid didn’t notice anything wrong and started talking;

”I witnessed a lot of things. Some, I’d rather not. But I was there through a lot of the major events in the manor and in the family.”

”This must include the death of Madame Harcourt, right?” Luo Yan said, still in the same tone.

”Oh yes. That was such a sad day,” Mrs. Green said as if reminiscing about it. “Even to this day, I still couldn’t believe that Madame would leave us so suddenly like that.”

Luo Yan caught the important part from what the other said. “I heard she died from heart attack. Did she not show any signs of having a weak heart?”

”Not at all. The Madame was very healthy. That’s why it was such a shock. But the doctor diagnosed it at that, so, who am I, as a small person, to say anything?”

”Then, do you trust the doctor’s diagnosis?”

”Yes, of course. Doctor Blake was a long-time doctor of the family. There’s no reason for him to give a wrong diagnosis.”

Was? Past tense? “Is he no longer with us, this Doctor Blake?”

”Oh, he died just recently. A couple of months ago. Just after the master’s return here. If not for that, he would be the one here instead of that Doctor Baker.”

Luo Yan fell into a deep thought. With the addition of this information, a lot of options to the truth suddenly opened up. He just hoped that the information ‘Sofia’ would get from Edward would elaborate on this. 

”What you said earlier about Mr. Saunders, can you elaborate on it?” he asked. He made himself look serious, as if the other’s answer would be a very vital part of his investigation. Well, in a way, it really was. 

It seemed that what he said ignited Mrs. Green’s sense of justice. She finally stopped crying and told everything that she knew about Saunders.

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