Hua Hua Liao

Chapter 1567: Cooperating with the Operation

Chapter 1567: Chapter 1567: Cooperating with the Operation


The group sat back down.


Ruth Frazer appeared sad, her eyes red as she said, "Since last year, he’s been acting strangely, disappearing for uncertain lengths of time. Either we don’t see each other for a month or two, or we argue as soon as we meet... I don’t come back often, and when I do, I find there are fewer servants at home. He said he had another property that needed tending, so I had to hire new ones. But after a while, the ones I hire get taken away by him again!"


"Do you know where he takes them?" Aria Jackson asked.


Ruth shook her head, "I really don’t know. Our relationship has been deteriorating since last year. We hardly see each other throughout the year, and moreover..."


She sighed, giving a bitter smile. "He’s a master-level painter. Whatever he says or does, I can’t interfere."


"Do you know why he changed? What triggered it?" Aria said. "Even speculation is fine. The more clues we have during this case review phase, the easier it is for us to investigate."


Ruth lowered her eyes, silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "If there was a trigger... it should be that painting of his."


A painting?


Aria subconsciously glanced at Gavin Graves.


"Last year, he became obsessed with the Maurya Dynasty, and he made many sketches but wasn’t satisfied with any." Ruth said quietly with sadness, "Later, he acquired an ancient pottery jar on the black market. It’s said the jar contained the remains of a witch from the Kalinga Kingdom... After the king burned the witch, a kind soul collected her remains and the cursed magic water the witch had presented to the king, and buried it together in the pottery jar underground."


Cherry snuggled up to Gavin Graves, whispering, "That’s so disgusting..."


"Are you saying that after he bought the jar, he started acting strangely?" Aria furrowed her brow in confusion, "In what way was he abnormal specifically?"


Ruth bowed her head further and spoke in an even lower voice, "He... he opened the jar. Inside was half-filled with oil, very clear in color, with black sediment at the bottom. He thought... it must be the witch’s corpse oil, and if mixed into the painting oil, it would definitely have a different effect in painting..."


Afterward, he became obsessed as if possessed and shut himself in his room, painting day and night, one painting after another... When I advised him to return to his room and rest, he blamed me for disrupting his creative inspiration. Whenever we met, we argued. Finally, one day... he disappeared."


Ruth paused here, taking a long breath, covering her face with both hands, filled with exhaustion, "He became someone I didn’t recognize, someone I feared. I considered divorce, but I couldn’t reach him..."


The living room fell into a silence; no one spoke.


Aria thought for a moment and asked her, "How long typically passed before Mr. Moissanite would reappear after disappearing each time?"


"There’s no pattern; sometimes it’s two weeks, sometimes a month," Ruth replied.


"Does he drive?"


"No..."


Aria pondered for a while and said, "According to the list we have, there are at least 37 missing persons. Mr. Moissanite is now a major suspect. We’ll arrange for a few officers to stay in your house undercover as servants. You just need to live as usual, try not to alert him, and when Moissanite appears, we’ll issue the next instructions."


Ruth nodded slowly, "I understand; I will cooperate with your operation..."


She looked up at Gavin Graves, her expression panicked and fragile, seeming so pitiful and helplessly entrenched in her predicament, "Gavin... could you stay today? I know it may be a bit presumptuous, but... even if it’s just for a day, I... I’m really scared..."