"Do you think it wasn't a monster that broke into Vincent's house last night?" Anne asked after they left Billy's house.
"When I first heard his description, I thought it was something from the ghost ship. But after visiting his house, I'm more inclined to believe it."
Zhang Heng passed the shell in his hand to her.
"What's wrong?" Anne took it and looked at it for a long time, but she couldn't see anything noteworthy about it.
"This kind of shell is from the nearby sea. It's very common on the beaches of Nassau."
"Well, now that you mention it, I think I have an impression of it. Harry seemed to have picked up a bunch of these things. I don't think I can understand his hobby," Anne said.
"And this scale." Zhang Heng passed the scale to her. "This is the scale of a golden barracuda. It's also one of the fish that fishermen often catch in this area."
"How do you know about this kind of thing?" Anne exclaimed.
"Uh, I used to study fish. That's not the point." At the end of the first quest, Bell taught Zhang Heng some common edible fish. After he went back, he did some research on the internet. Now, he could identify more than two hundred types of fish.
"But isn't that ship always wandering around? It's not impossible for it to appear nearby."
"You're right," Zhang Heng said. "That's why I went to check Vincent's yard. He said he watered it once a week. The last time Nettie watered it for him was five days ago. I asked Nettie, and it hasn't rained on the island recently. The soil in his yard also proves it. However, there's an exception."
"Huh?"
"After I saw Vincent's house, I kept thinking about what he said before. He said that when he saw that thing, it looked like it had just been fished out of the water. Its clothes were dripping with water. However, Vincent's house isn't that close to the coastline. If that thing really came from the depths of the sea, it must have taken a lot of risks to walk all the way from the beach, even at night. Most importantly, it should not have brought much seawater with it after such a long distance."
"This kind of thing can't be judged with common sense. Is it possible that it's cursed to stay in a state of drowning forever? I think I've heard some stories like this when I was young." Annie shrugged.
"I've considered the possibility that you mentioned. If that's the case, then the water droplets on his body should be dripping at the same rate, but in fact, there is a corner of the garden where the soil is different from the rest. It's very wet."
"You suspect that someone went there and deliberately wet themselves, then stuck shells and scales on their bodies, disguised themselves as monsters, and crawled into Vincent's bedroom to look for the three notebooks? But why? Why would he do that? "
"You're asking why he's looking for the notebook, or why he's pretending to be like this. If it's the former, I don't know the answer, but the latter question is obviously because he's worried about exposing his identity." Zhang Heng said, "I should have thought of it. I checked everything we brought back from that ship, and I found nothing unusual. But when we came back, we encountered a storm. Only now do I know what I left behind."
"What?"
"That box of silverware and rings and necklaces isn't everything we brought back."
Anne raised an eyebrow.
"There were seven people on the ship, including me. Someone took something else without the others knowing. He was also the one who snuck into Vincent's room to steal the three notebooks," Zhang Heng said.
"Is that why you didn't say this out loud when we were at Billy's house?" Zhang Heng nodded.
"Last night, the two of us were together, so we can rule it out. The remaining five people could be the culprit. I don't doubt his loyalty, but that person might not have realized how dangerous the item he took was. There was no one on the carrack at the end of the day, so it's very likely that it had something to do with that item. Fortunately, we've narrowed the scope of our investigation to a minimum. We just need to investigate them one by one."
"Maybe we don't have to go through all that trouble," Anne said. "I think I know who that person is."
"Hmm?"
"At that time, there were basically two people working on the ship. It's not easy to hide something from another person. Seth and I were checking the warehouse one floor below you. When I heard you banging on the door, I thought you were in danger. So, I ran up to you. Seth was alone at that time. If someone could hide something from the others, it could only be him."
"And when I saw him on the deck, he seemed to be in a trance. But since everyone was in a bad state, I didn't think too much about it."
"What was he doing when we encountered the storm on the way back?" Zhang Heng asked.
"I didn't see him. It was his turn to rest, and he wasn't on the deck. But now that you mention it, I remember. When I saw him during dinner that night, I saw a bruise on his face. I asked him what happened, and he told me that he accidentally fell," Anne said.
"Fighting is prohibited on the ship, but I've heard that some people don't follow the rules. After all, we're a new ship, and we've only recently recruited people. Every time we dock, we'll add a new batch of people. Some of them know each other, and sometimes, they have a grudge against each other even before they boarded the ship. Seth … Seth was one of the first batch of people to board the ship. He just got married not long ago, and he rescued his wife from a brothel. I heard that they're close, but it's inevitable that some people will gossip about him."
"Do you know where he lives?"
"I don't know, but I know someone who definitely knows."
Anne found another pirate named Sean, who worked as a cannoneer on the Jackdaw. He had a good relationship with Seth, and they used to work together on the same ship. They often went to the island to have fun together. Sean knew where Seth lived, and he led the two to it. When they arrived, they saw a pile of furniture inside and outside the door.
Seth poked his head out from behind a wardrobe and was surprised to see the three of them. When he saw Zhang Heng, a hint of panic flashed across his eyes, but he quickly hid it. "I'm sorry. I'm preparing to move."
"Not bad. You just got married, and you're moving to a new place. Why didn't you ask me for help?"
"I don't have much stuff anyway, so I didn't want to trouble you," Seth said. He then looked at Zhang Heng and Anne. "It might be a little inconvenient for me today. Captain, can you come back tomorrow?"
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