Half a day had passed since Zhang Heng and Decius met for the first time. The two had traveled around the city of Rome, from the Binota Mine to the southeast city, and then to Claus's apartment. They did not stop along the way.
As the investigation continued to deepen, the truth behind the mine's shutdown was gradually emerging.
Amidio, the man with the red birthmark on his face, was the key to all this. As the middleman, he met Cobb and finally facilitated the whole thing. Finding him meant finding the mastermind behind all this.
And now, Zhang Heng and Decius were standing under Amidio's apartment.
The sun was about to set.
Amidio's residence was much more remote than Klaus'. Although it was not as chaotic as the southeast city, it was still considered a slum. Most of the people who lived here were short-term tenants, and they had to pay the rent once a week. If they couldn't pay the rent, they would be driven away. Amidio was a lobbyist for the Senate. Although he was not as famous as Klaus, he would not end up like this.
With his income, he could afford a better residence. There was only one reason why he chose to live here, and that was to keep a low profile.
Obviously, he also knew that the things he usually did should not be exposed, and he wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Zhang Heng guessed that he did not stay here for long, and he would probably move to another place every once in a while.
Decius did not like the atmosphere on the street very much. At the same time, his stomach was growling, reminding him that it was time for dinner. In the past, he would have finished his work at this time, returned home, and sat at the table, waiting for the servants to serve the steaming food.
However, he knew that they were at a critical juncture in the investigation, and it was no longer a matter of losing his job. It was about the future of his family. So, he did not complain. Instead, he asked Zhang Heng worriedly, "Should we call some guards over? I don't think that guy will cooperate with us. "
With Klaus as a lesson, Decius already understood that it was not easy to make these lobbyists cooperate with him, especially when it came to betraying their employer.
"To tell you the truth, I just became a consultant not long ago. I haven't figured out how to deploy guards and so on. But it doesn't matter. I have you by my side. You are like my Watson," Zhang Heng said.
"What do I look like to you?" Decius did not understand.
"Watson … don't take it to heart, I was just saying." Zhang Heng stood downstairs, craning his neck to look at the approximate location of Amidio's room. The house here was obviously meant for the poor. There was no balcony on the second floor, only a small window that was tightly shut. He couldn't see what was inside, and the wall was full of potholes. Apparently, it hadn't been maintained for a long time.
Zhang Heng patted Decius on the shoulder, "Let's go. Let's go upstairs and meet Mr. Amidio."
"Oh, oh." Decius tried to recall again, confirming that he had never heard of Watson before. After that, he took a step forward and followed Zhang Heng up the stairs.
The two of them passed through the dark corridor and arrived outside Amidio's house.
Decius reached out and knocked on the door. Following Zhang Heng's instructions, he said, "We are the landlord's men. We are here to collect the rent."
However, there was no movement in Amidio's house. The door of the room next to him opened first, and a man walked out of it in surprise. "You are collecting the rent again? Didn't you collect it two days ago?"
Decius looked at Zhang Heng with an awkward expression when he heard what he said. The latter said calmly, "The rent has gone up. I'm paying it now."
"But it just went up last month." The man looked incredulous. "How many days has it been?!"
The man's voice wasn't soft, and the people in the other rooms poked their heads out. Everyone was concerned about the rent increase, and Zhang Heng knew that he couldn't hide it any longer. Besides, Amidio's house was a little too quiet. So, he winked at Decius on the side, asking the latter to step aside. After that, he kicked the door open.
"Oh my god, it can't be. He just didn't pay the rent once, and the rent has gone up. You guys …" The man in the next room suddenly stopped talking, and his eyes widened.
The scene in front of him made him take a deep breath. He saw a thin man lying motionless on a round table. His clothes were covered in blood, and the blood was still dripping to the floor.
Seeing this scene, everyone subconsciously took a few steps back. Only Zhang Heng's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he stepped forward and walked into the room.
He had seen similar scenes many times when he was Sherlock Holmes's assistant. Hence, he didn't feel anything. Zhang Heng walked directly to the round table, reached out, and touched the man's nose to confirm that he was no longer breathing. After that, he turned the body over. First, he looked at the dagger in his chest. After that, he moved his gaze up and saw the red birthmark on the body's face.
"Ha, it seems that this is the person we are looking for," Zhang Heng said to Decius.
"He … he … he … is he dead?" Decius's face turned pale.
"Yes, and the time of death should have been a few minutes ago." Zhang Heng looked at the blood, and there was hardly any coagulated blood. "It seems that someone came to visit the person we are looking for before us. We might have passed by the murderer on the stairs earlier."
"Huh?" Decius tried his best to recall the person he met on the stairs, but he couldn't remember anything. Now, his mind was blank, and the only thing he could think of was that he was involved in something big.
However, what he couldn't figure out was that he was just a nobody who was responsible for casting a bronze statue for the emperor. Why would someone target him and kill him?
At this time, the man in the next room finally came to his senses and shouted, "There has been a murder. We should go and find the patrol team!"
"Good idea. Thank you for the trouble." Zhang Heng nodded and then said to the others, "I am the emperor's advisor. In case the murderer is still upstairs, I suggest that everyone return to their rooms and wait for the patrol team to come and investigate."
Everyone dispersed when they heard Zhang Heng's words, leaving only Decius standing at the door.
Zhang Heng waved at him, "What are you waiting for? Come in. We don't have much time. The patrol team should be here soon."
"What do you mean we don't have much time?" Decius wondered, "Amidio is dead. What else can we ask him?"
"People like Amidio have been working in the dark, and he knows too many secrets. He will definitely guard against assassinations. The murderer was obviously not prepared this time. I checked the body, and he was killed with a single stab. Other than that, there were no other scars. This shows that the murderer didn't have time to find and interrogate Amidio. If we are lucky, we can find out what we want to know without Amidio saying anything."
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