Chapter 3 Tea brewer (3)

'He sits up straight and faces the tea like he is facing a criminal.'

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"Did the man leave?"

A voice spoke in the room behind the Salvation Tea house. The strange man nodded once as a signal to the person who had just spoken up. The girl entered and gently sat down on the purple bench. A black cat suddenly appeared in the dark and jumped on the man. It found a soft spot and lay down. It was still looking at the girl with its head holds high. The actions of the black cat did not surprise the girl. Her face was still cold to the bone. The man gently put the teacup on the table, a small smile on his lips, and said.

"Now, it's just us here. What can I do for you, Jenny?"

Lance in the car still could not think. He looked at the small tea box in his hand. That strange man gave him a cold feeling that came from death. Lance shook his head, maybe he should go back to find more evidence before jumping to conclusions.

People spent the afternoon going to the victims' homes to find more evidence. Patrick asked the parents of the first victim to get into her room. After observing for a while, Patrick still could not find anything suspicious, so he had to return disappointed. However, when he stepped out of the girl's bedroom, Patrick saw her mother clutching the sweater she used to caress and remembered the deceased. Inadvertently, a small piece of paper in the pocket of her sweater was revealed.

"Can I borrow the sweater for a while?" - Patrick quickly approached and said.

The heartbroken victim's mother gave the sweater to Patrick. Patrick took a tissue to wrap the small piece of paper in the victim's pocket. That piece of paper was the business card of a tea shop called Salvation. Patrick felt glad, maybe he just found what he was looking for. He comforted the victim's family and quickly went to the headquarters.

When Patrick returned to the special team to investigate and prevent crime, everyone including boss Lance was there. Everyone had a disappointed face because they did not get any more news. Patrick quickly entered and handed Lance the tea shop business car.

"I went to the first victim's house and found this in the victim's coat pocket. Maybe this is the killer's workplace."

Lance and the others were quite excited as if they have found new hope. They all looked at the business card Patrick had given them.

"Salvation tea shop?" - Lance frowned slightly.

"What's up, boss? Do you know this tea shop?"

Lance then nodded, surprising everyone and wondering when did their boss switch to tea. Lance took the business card and said.

"Everyone goes to investigate whether this tea shop has anything to do with the other four victims?"

"Yes, Boss."

After giving instructions, Lance went into his room. He sat down in a chair and began to examine the business card. Its black color made him feel the same when faced with the murky atmosphere of the tea shop and its owners. Lance looked over at the tea, which he had just brewed, was smoking. He sat up straight and faced the cup of tea like he was facing a criminal. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. The bitter taste of the tea rushed into his mouth, fortunately, he often used bitter coffee to help keep his mind awake, so this taste still could not make him difficult. After a while, the slight sweetness in his mouth made him quite amused. However, this could not captivate him. Could it be that the strange man was hiding another kind of tea?

A knock on the door woke Lance from his thoughts. Daisy walked in and reported her discovery.

"I sent the information through your computer. According to the area camera, all five girls had appeared at Salvation tea shop once and stayed there for about half an hour before leaving."

Lance looked at the area camera shot of the moment the victims entered the tea shop. He thought for a moment, then stood up.

"Get everyone ready. We're going to Salvation tea shop to invite the owner over to talk."

"Yes, Boss."

At the direction of boss Lance, everyone quickly prepared their supplies and climbed into the car. Everyone was in a low mood because they thought maybe this was the only new clue to help them end this tragic murder. The car arrived in front of the tea shop ten minutes later. A team of five stepped down and headed inside.

The sound of the door creaking again alarmed the people inside the tea shop. Without keeping the five of them waiting for long, the strange man once again lifted the red curtain to come out. He was stunned for the first time when he saw such a crowded shop, but when he saw a familiar face among them, he calmed down.

"Welcome to our tea shop. You were the guest in the morning. You want to buy more tea, right?" - He walked over to the table and said.

At this moment, the four people behind Lance glanced at each other. It turned out that this was their boss's familiar place to buy tea, so when he saw the business card, he was a bit surprised. The four of them seemed to have understood their boss's feelings and become empathetic, who would want to arrest their acquaintance.

Lance had no idea what his subordinates were thinking behind his back. He seriously stepped back to stand in front of the man and used his strong voice to suppress the person in front of him.

"We are the police. We suspect you have something to do with the recent murder of five girls. We invite you to come with us to the police station to take statements. Every word you say is evidence in court. You have the right to remain silent and ask for a lawyer."

Dai quickly came up and handcuffed the man. The man looked down at his hands and up at the five of them with a strangely calm face, he still had not quite understood what was going on. Suddenly, a black cat jumped onto the table near where the man was standing.

"Meowwww!" - The black cat howled and ruffled its fur as if protecting its owner from strangers.

"Pheland, be good. This is not a way to greet customers. I'm fine. I will be back soon. You stay here obediently and watch over the tea shop." - The man clicked his tongue and said.

The black cat seemed to understand its owner's voice. It sat down and watched silently as its master was led away by strangers. At this time, the red curtain was lifted again to reveal the face of a girl identical to Jenny.

"He'll be okay, won't he? It's all my fault..."

A person and a cat watched as the figure of the car gradually disappeared into the crowd.

In the criminal interrogation room, Daisy and Patrick were taking statements from the man who had just been arrested.

"What's your name?"

"Joel Clifford."

"What is your job?"

"Can be said to be the tea brewer."

"Do you know these five girls?" - Patrick showed a picture of the five victims in the case and asked.

Joel looked at the five pictures and nodded.

"Yes, I know them. They used to come into my tea shop."

"How can you remember them so quickly? Are you close to them?"

Joel shook his head.

"No. All of you have also come to my tea shop and also realize that the tea shop is extremely empty. Probably less than five people a month. Oh no, this month doesn't count. So I can remember my customers very clearly."

"They only came to buy tea?"

"They didn't come to buy tea."

Patrick then stole Joel's words.

"Right. They came because you were the guy who seduced their feelings. After capturing them, you ruthlessly killed them and turned them into your creation."

Joel frowned slightly but calmly replied.

"I mean, they didn't come to buy tea because they went to the wrong place."

"Wrong place?"

"Yes, they mistook my tea shop for another tea shop."

"Then why did they stay in your tea shop for half an hour before coming out?"

"... This I cannot say."

Joel's silence made Daisy and Patrick choke. Lance stood behind the glass and witnessed it all. Joel had a calm that was beyond Lance's understanding. One was that Joel was innocent, so he could keep his composure like that. Second, Joel was a criminal with a high both IQ and EQ. Lance quickly contacted Patrick and told the two of them to get out. He wanted to try talking to Joel alone.

Lance sat across from Joel. The two were silent for about twenty minutes when Lance broke the silence.

"You seem so calm, don't you?"

"Well, it's just a habit."

"Habit of murder or habit of being in front of the police."

"You guys are wasting your time with me. I don't kill people. You can check my timing. I both had an alibi when those girls were killed." - Joel looked into Lance's eyes in silence, then seriously said. Lance did not hesitate to face Joel.

"We will investigate this. Temporarily, you will be locked up for 48 hours."

Lance stood up and was about to leave the interrogation room when he heard what Joel said.

"Maybe you should learn more about the victim's appearance than just focusing on their personality. Maybe you'll find a clue."

Lance did not turn around but left directly. After hearing Joel's words, he decided to go back and reviewed the pictures of the victims. Half an hour passed, and Lance put down the pictures on the table.

"If he's not the killer, how does he know these things?" - Lance wondered.