Tianjin people will never lose SAN

Chapter 251 Unexpected Gunshots

"I...I don't know, and I don't want to guess. Anyway, I'm going to close the shop now, sir."

The boss said this, but he didn't dare move his hands and his eyes were avoiding.

"no no."

Bastoli shook his head, opened his pocket watch and checked the time:
"You have to guess quickly, Boss. If you take too long, our little game will be meaningless."

"What happens if I guess wrong? I need to know ahead of time."

"You shouldn't have guessed. You knew the answer, so you told me you were closing for dinner, didn't you? Now tell me, what time is it?"

The boss could have just waved to the customers as usual, turned around, pulled down the window of the shop with the pole he leaned against the corner, piled up the boards, and went back to the house to eat his cheese sandwich, just like sending away the children in the town.

But he knew he couldn't do that. Having lived for most of his life, he could feel what danger was.

Bastoli ate the maltose on the counter and looked down at his pocket watch from time to time. He did not urge the boss. His long silence was equivalent to giving up, but it was also an answer.

"The saint's mercy shines on the earth. I don't want to cause trouble. Sir, please change places."

The boss' tone was almost begging. He wanted to use the saint's teachings to persuade the madman in front of him.

Bastoli still had the same expression. He shook his head slightly and looked at the boss with a smile. He was unmoved. Even if the boss mentioned the Saint's Pie in front of him, he could not get angry.

The game has already started, so there must be a result. This is the rule. Just like time, it keeps running forward, and you can't stop it even if you make a fuss.

"Mr. Bradley, are you still not closing up for lunch? Give me a piece of hazelnut toffee."

As the two men were confronting each other, a little boy stood on tiptoe and placed two copper pennies on the counter.

"Boy, take the money and go home."

The boss didn't dare to go see the neighbor's child. For the child's safety, he just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"Little boy, does the boss usually close the shop at this time?"

"Yes, it's almost 12 o'clock. I finished my meal and then asked my mother for pocket money to buy candy."

Bastoli nodded and looked at his boss with interest.

"Looks like you really should eat. I'm leaving, boss. No need to give him the change. Give him two more pieces of toffee. Give him more. This kid followed the rules and answered the questions for you."

After saying this, Bastoli put on his bronze box, rubbed the child's head, turned around and left the town.

The boss heaved a long sigh of relief, and quickly found a chair to sit down. The confrontation just now seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

……

At the same time, Old Hoss and his assistant found another body in a ditch beside the road. The scene was the same as the one in the wheat field before.

The death happened not long ago, and the cause was horrible, still the work of that madman.

The assistant rode back with the undertaker from the surrounding village, while old Hoss stood there checking the documents and personal belongings of the deceased.

"Sir, should we continue investigating? There are no witnesses around."

The assistant hoped that Hoss would take him back as soon as possible. No one wanted to track down such a devil who killed people indiscriminately in broad daylight. Among the two of them, only Hoss had a small pistol in his pocket, and he himself had a baton on his waist.

"We are not far from him."

Hoss looked at the blood-stained letters one by one in his hand. The deceased this time was a postman.

"These two letters showed signs of being opened, and the recipient was Rodwell Company."

Old Hoss handed the two selected letters to his assistant, then looked up into the distance:
"The town ahead is not far from Novidon. Three of the four people he killed were related to Rodwell Company. And they were right next to the avenue. He was intentionally hunting this group of people."

"Sir, could it be related to the Continental Expo? Should we go back and report to the higher-ups first?"

"It's too late. It's too far to go back. There's a town ahead. If I'm right, the madman is in the town now. If we can't find him, we can just follow the main road to Novedon and notify the others by phone there."

In the hot afternoon sun, two skinny horses carried two sheriffs to the town. Before dusk, they finally found the carriage in front of the town's restaurant. Old Hoss scooped up the dirt from the wheel hub of the carriage and smelled it. There was a faint smell of blood inside.

"When you go in later, quietly inform the owner and waiters in the restaurant to leave through the back door, and leave the rest to me."

"Sir, is everything okay? That lunatic killed four people in a row."

"Don't worry, I have experience."

Old Hoss took off his hat, patted it, and put it back on his sparsely haired head:

"Besides, I have been in charge of this area east of Calder County for 30 years. I will retire next year. If I back down now, my life will be wasted."

Hoss took out his pistol and hid it in his pocket, then went into the restaurant with his assistant.

It was a small place in the countryside and there weren't many people. He could tell from the carriages outside that there was at most one other table of guests. The locals were all struggling farmers who didn't have the extra money to spend in a restaurant.

As expected, there were only two tables of people sitting in the hall.

Sitting at a table by the window were a handsome young man from a wealthy family, a rude coachman, a reckless servant boy, and an old butler with a very strange face.

There were a lot of food on the table. The servant boy turned his head from time to time to look in the direction of the kitchen, as if waiting for the food. The coachman kept his head down and ate heartily.

The old butler was being attentive to the young master, but the young master seemed to be in a bad mood and turned his head away in a sulky manner.

The other table was at the back of the hall, where only a middle-aged man with black hair, blue eyes and a ridiculous hairstyle sat. He ate very simply, with only a plate and a drink in front of him.

The huge brass box mentioned by the previous witness was placed next to him.

Old Hoss winked at his assistant, then grabbed two bottles of beer from the bar before walking straight toward the suspect.

"Good afternoon, sir, doing business in Caldershire?"

Hoss was wearing a sheriff's uniform with a badge on his jacket pocket. He went straight to the point, his cloudy old eyes fixed on the strange man in front of him.

The weirdo didn't answer. He lowered his head and used a wooden spoon to pick up potato and wheat rice and put it into his mouth. He ate it slowly, mouthful by mouthful. Then he wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at old Hoss who was sitting opposite him.

Then he looked around the empty restaurant, meaning, why do you want to sit with me when there are so many empty tables.

"Going to Novedon?"

Old Hoss had already taken out a pistol from his pocket, and his right hand under the table was sweating slightly.

"Well, Novedon."

Bastoli nodded, took out his pocket watch and checked the time, but Hoss's pupils shrank suddenly when he saw the strange watch chain.

"You recognize this?"

Bastoli pointed to his pocket watch, but Hoss said nothing.

"I am going to Novidon to find Nicholas of Rodwell."

After saying this, Old Hoss suddenly pushed forward with his left hand, trying to overturn the table and smash it towards the madman opposite him. The other party told him his destination fearlessly and it was obvious that he was not prepared to let him leave alive.

Bastoli was prepared. His left arm held the table firmly, and his right hand reached under the table to grab Hoss's gun-holding hand.

The two of them looked like they were sitting at opposite ends of the table and chatting politely, but in fact they were already wrestling with each other.

The two men stared at each other. Old Hoss felt his strength slipping away, and the fingers of his right hand under the table had been deformed by the madman opposite him.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out! A hole was made on the side of Bastoli's head, towards his temple.

Let’s continue today, thank you all for waiting.

But I have been a little confused recently, so I may need two or three days to adjust. Please bear with me.

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(End of this chapter)