Whispering Poems

Whispering Poems Chapter 301

2021-08-31

Chapter 300 Legacy
The end of the exam has slowed down a stressful life a bit, but the next 15 credits of practice, Holy Prayer, almost filling up next week's schedule.

Shade doesn't have time to give himself more opportunities to relax.

Early Sunday morning, after breakfast, Shade went out. After a delay of a whole week, the acceptance of Mrs. Le Maire's estate was finally possible.

This middle-aged woman with little courage, after listening to the appalling rumors from her neighbors, took her children to live in the countryside temporarily after the martial law in the city ended last Friday.

Seeing that nothing else happened in the town of Tobesque, Mrs. Le Maire finally returned to the city and accepted the estate of the dead sailor on Sunday morning, as originally planned. It is her home.

Mrs. Le Maire had an unhappy marriage, her husband left early, and she was raising her two children alone. A family of three lives in a cramped rental apartment in the Northern Part of City. After Shade jumped off the rental carriage and found Silver Ash Lane according to the house number, he was also amazed at the dirty, messy, and rundown living environment here.

This is a slum in the standard sense, and it is the life scene of the bottom citizens of this era. Foreigners from other places, the impression of the slums in the backward era only comes from their own imagination, and they only glanced at them when they passed by. Now that I walk in here in the real sense, I realize that everything is worse than I thought.

Even though it hasn't rained recently, the ground is still muddy. Took a deep breath, and the muddy floor was sprinkled with a strange smell of liquid, which mixed with the smell of the narrow and rugged alley itself, making people nauseous. The damp, dark and even odd alleys are different from the streets of the city, and even the police officers who patrol the Ridwich Field will not easily walk in.

Compared with this prosperous and crazy era, the Tobesque slum area seems to be an abnormal time zone that has lagged behind time by three hundred years. Last night at the Queen Maria Opera House, Shade had seen the best of this era and at this time the worst of it.

"Maybe it's not the worst here, I just can't see those far from the city. What's the soft stuff I just stepped on."

He was glad he was I chose to wear boots today.

Mrs. Le Maire lives in the attic at 6 Silver Ash Lane, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with people from one building. After knocking on the greasy door downstairs, the one who opened the door was a fat woman with a hair cap.

Not allowed to enter after explaining the purpose of his visit, Shade stepped on the narrow stairs, and at the corner of the stairs, he had to wait on his side to avoid the youngster who was wearing a patched clothes with a pile of books.

The first floor is where the landlord's family lives, and the dark and damp second and third floors are divided into more than ten areas for rent to different poor families. Huge gas meters hang from the dimly lit stairs, and rusty gas pipes the size of the wrists climbed the moldy walls to every household on the floor.

This old-fashioned gas meter makes an unusually clear clicking sound every time it beats. Although he knew that this kind of old goods that should have been eliminated long ago are still being used, there is a high probability that the landlord does not have the money to replace them with new ones, but Shade still believes that the beating sound of the old gas meter is also the landlord's warning to the poor living here. Every time they use gas, it means pennies slip out of their hands.

The smell of mold in the air is mixed with a variety of strange smells, and every time you step on the stairs under your feet, there will be a creaking sound.

Even though Shade was only here for the first time, he was pretty sure that this kind of place must be a place with a high incidence of disease and parasites. Not to mention human beings, even animals who are used to living in the wild can hardly survive for too long in a similar environment for a long time.

The simple stairs at the end of the corridor on the third floor lead to the attic. After Shade knocked on the door, it turned out that the door opened was a middle-aged woman whom she hadn't seen for over a week. Seeing that the detective had arrived at the agreed time, she smiled and let Shade in.

Shade arrived ten minutes early tomorrow, didn't expect Lawyer Locke Laurel to arrive earlier than him.

"It's you!"

The lawyer stood up and wanted to say hello, and then recognized the youngster who had played Rhodes with him. He was surprised and immediately thought of that day. Abnormal behavior:
"Wait, you approached me the other day, didn't you come to investigate me?"

"I have the right to keep secrets for my client."

Shade said with a smile, then stepped forward and shook hands with the lawyer:

"But this time, I really came to help Mrs. Le Maire accept the inheritance."

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"I know I also know that you made more money than I made this trip. Is the income of detectives always so good?"

The two shook their arms slightly, Lawyer Laurier didn't mention the money he lost to Shade last time.

Working, Mr. Locke Laurel today is very different from what he looked like in the tavern that morning. At least, he didn't offer to play Shade again after work.

The living conditions are similar to those of all the residents in the neighborhood. The house of Mrs. Le Maire, whose family is crowded in the attic, is equally dilapidated. Even because the ceiling of the attic is low, Shade subconsciously lowered the door when he entered. head, and then realized that she would be at least one Mia's height before she could be touched by the ceiling.

The children were away now, and Mrs. Le Maire entertained the detective and the lawyer with a well-washed teacup.

Three people sat down at the dining table with the legs of the old newspaper padded. The three chairs have nothing common with each other, and there is reason to believe that they are all used goods.

The house was cleaned up very cleanly, and maybe the family's life was very embarrassing, but this middle-aged woman maintained an optimistic attitude. The sun shines through the attic windows, and the stains on the floor that cannot be removed all the year round are reasonably covered by the furniture. The attic is not divided into rooms, the entrance is the dining table, and then there are two mattresses placed directly on the ground.

The family needs money, and while it's a cruel idea, the crew member who died for provoking the mermaid statue came at the right time.

Everything on the table has been taken away, and although there is still a pungent rancid smell, at least it looks neat. The lawyer took out the kraft paper document bag from his briefcase, and took out the documents inside solemnly. Hand it to Mrs. Le Maire first, and Mrs. Le Maire handed it to Shade.

She is not very literate, and neighbors read to her the advertisement of Hamilton Detective Agency.

The document is the text of the will, handwritten in blue ink, and the date of signing is one year ago. The crew who want to come to sea often have long thought that sooner or later they will encounter an accident one day.

"If there is no problem with the will, the transfer of the estate will begin now."

Laurier's lawyer said, Shade asked him to wait for a while, then read it carefully:
"No problem."

Mrs. Le Maire was pleased with the detective's seriousness.

"The estate is divided into three parts, the first is the cash part. Mr. Jonathan Le Maire kept £53 and 4 shillings in cash with a friend, because there is estate duty involved in the notarization of the estate, so you can Get 49 pounds, 16 shillings and 7 pence."

The lawyer pushed the envelope containing the money and the tax return to the middle-aged woman on the other side of the table, she took the envelope at a loss and counted the amount of money inside. , Shade took the tax bill and read it.

If the estate is only transferred privately, then of course no tax declaration is involved, but this kind of estate notarized by the city hall must be taxed. It's not the war years anymore, so the tax rate is not very high. The inheritance tax of about 5% is actually mainly due to the transfer of property in different places.

"No problem."

Shade whispered to his employer, who was nervously nodded, and the banknotes in front of him had been sorted and stacked according to the denomination, which was indeed the number.

"The second part of the heritage is the personal collection of Mr. Jonathan Le Maire, mainly memorabilia from the new continent, as well as things obtained from sea voyages. The value of these items is very difficult It is estimated that because most of them are worthless, it does not involve the issue of tax payment. In addition, Mr. Le Maire did not leave a manifest to record what he had. These were handed over to me directly by his friends, so I cannot guarantee all of them. Everything is here."

The lawyer said, bending down and carrying a black suitcase at his feet onto the table. After a few clicks, the lock was opened, the lid of the box was opened, and then it was pushed hard to Madame Le Maire. The suitcase is marked with red's ink, but the contents are placed together in a random manner, not neatly arranged:
"By the way, this case is also a relic, not provided by me."

The lawyer added that presumably the box itself may be worth more than its contents.

The crew has a very rich collection, such as dark minerals, fish specimens, colorful masks with weird smiles, indecipherable badges, anchor-shaped pendants, wooden toys, etc. Wait, it looks like it's all junk, but if it's a travel souvenir, it's acceptable.

Shade was worried that there might be something dangerous inside the relic, and even the mermaid statue that belonged to the crew was sent to Tobesque. But he didn't feel any Whisper element until the box appeared in front of him.

With Mrs. Le Maire's permission, she took out the items in the box and checked them one by one. When she touched them with her hands, the voice in her head didn't give any hints.

"Sure enough, where is it so easy to encounter [relic]."

The keywords "distant relatives", "seamen who died in shipwrecks" and "legacy" are combined together , looks like the opening scene of a classic horror novel, but it looks like it's working fine this time at least, so Shade gestures for the lawyer to read the end of the estate.

"The third part of the legacy is Jonathan Le Maire's personal items. He went to sea all the year round and left some personal items with his friends, which are roughly diaries, clothes and some books. This part Relics are also exempt from tax, but there is also no list."

He laboriously lifted the last suitcase onto the table, opened it, and pushed it to Madame Le Maire.

(end of this chapter)