This is a search warrant, allowing entry and search within the premises, covering the entire street. The stamp was indeed not dry yet, smeared by water into a red patch, but the reason for that was vaguely written as just "search."
Search for what? That girl? Lin Ke looked on impassively, as if to confirm its authenticity.
Well, since there is a search warrant, he is not foolish enough to openly confront the police. If he doesn't let him in, his suspicion will undoubtedly increase.
"Oh, alright, Mr. Jones - for the sake of the Holy Church, I'll make an exception and stay open a bit longer. Come in." The young man tilted his head, grumbling discontentedly, "Just this once, next time no search warrant will work, you can't force me to operate out of hours."
"Okay, okay, I heard you, law-abiding young doctor." The officer immediately stepped into the tea shop.
"Being law-abiding is a quality that a qualified resident should have."
"Ah, in short, thank you, Dr. Lin. Look, I'm about to catch a cold."
Jones turned and closed the door.
Lin Ke took a step back.
If he guessed correctly, the other party has already become suspicious, and the murderer is likely related to him. As for the purpose of looking for the girl, it is very likely that it is required by a superior. If the speculation is established, the person searching for the girl is indeed not simple.
So now, let's act on the premise that Jones is the enemy side.
The only time bomb is the girl next to the stairway, hoping that the big towel is warm enough. If the girl coughs or something, Lin Ke is going to be in big trouble tonight.
Must find a way to solve...
On his own.
The young man made way: "Mr. Jones, let me get you a towel, wait a moment, I..." he smiled embarrassedly, "I'm a bit of a clean freak, look at this clean floor..."
Jones looked at himself, looking like a white feathered chicken just fished out of the river, covered in mud that stained the floor at the door. He smiled embarrassedly, casually threw the umbrella at the door, and waited.
"You're right, I'll wait at the door." Jones took off his coat, opened the door again, and wrung the water outside.
The moment the young man went into the storage room, Jones's eyes calmed down, his body stopped shivering, and he quickly took out the holy water from the church and dropped it into his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he squinted, and just as he was about to make a move, the sound of footsteps rang out.
"Mr. Jones, it's been a long time." In his sight, a towel was handed over, and the young man was polite.
"May the Holy Church bless you." Jones took the towel with a grateful expression, scrubbing his head vigorously, the rainwater all over his body making him extremely uncomfortable, the clothes clinging to his body making it hard to breathe. He walked into the room, took off his coat, and put it in front of the fireplace to dry, pulled up a stool and sat down.
"Come on, have some hot tea." Lin Ke moved over a table, placing the tea and cakes that were on the counter before, "There are some pastries too – my treat."
"Oh, dear Dr. Lin, thank you for your kindness." Jones enjoyed the warm fireplace in front of him, took a sip of the tea – although the tea was cold, it was still warm compared to his lower body temperature.
"Why are you still open at this time?" He suddenly exclaimed, "Doctor! It's 4 a.m."
"Today is... special."
In fact, he stays up late every day, but today the light was not turned off in time and was seen... unlucky.
"Special... hmm, right." Jones said casually, "I saw a chair in front of the counter when I came in, with tea and cakes... interesting, can you tell me why? What guest are you waiting for?" He said confidently, "You are preparing food for someone, right? Maybe... a woman?"
Jones stared into the young man's eyes, trying to see something from them.
The young man replied a bit embarrassedly: "A woman? Actually, it's a man. Officer Jones, you know, I thought of old Brown tonight... and tomorrow is a working day, so I stayed up late to chat with old Brown, just like before." He pointed to the tea on the table, "You see, the tea is cold, if it was just prepared, the tea should be hot."
"Goodness me!"
Old Brown was the old doctor's name, and Jones knew it too. Before the church hospital was established at the head of the street, he had been to the clinic many times and was taken care of by old Brown.
"Ah, um... I'm really sorry, I miss Mr. Brown too, he cured my illness, he was a highly respected and good doctor, I'm very sorry for his passing, I still vaguely remember that funeral, there were so many people..." Jones said, "But staying up so late, won't it affect your business tomorrow?"
"Not many customers usually, if there is any urgent matter, they would have gone to the new church hospital early, instead of coming to my unpopular clinic." The young man said, "You know, two months ago when the church hospital was established, I didn't have much business."
There was a hint of loss.
"Is it... that's a pity, may the Bright Deity bless you." Jones didn't care about these things, he had already become much more comfortable, stood up and stretched a bit.
"So, Officer Jones, what's the matter for being so late today?" The young man probed, his eyes full of interest, "Still working at this time, the boss should pay overtime, right."
"Ah, don't ask about the matters above." Jones's eyes narrowed slightly, and he started walking, "But I can tell you. It's about chasing a murderer, there was an explosion in a place on the fourth street, many people died, and the culprit is a white-haired woman."
Lin Ke nodded silently, if the girl is really a criminal, he would deliver her to the police station himself. After all, he is not human, what can the other party do to him?
"She fled to this area, and I am looking for her..." Jones's speech became faster and faster.
"And she..." Jones suddenly sped up, quickly approaching the last sofa, the one against the wall, closest to the stairs, he finally saw the sofa, and his voice became louder, "She must be here! Ugh..."
The sound suddenly stopped, and his movements also suddenly stopped.
Nothing.
He couldn't believe it and touched it, the dry, comfortable feeling came, he looked at the young man in front of him with a scrutinizing look, there was no color, plain, just like other residents, and there was still a faint red at the door of the store, and looking at the stairs, there was no color either.
Did she not enter the store and just lingered at the door for a while? Then why is there a very faint ether energy on the sofa? Wait, could it be that some kind of prop made it stick to a bit of ether here?
Such meticulous thinking?
D*mn it! I didn't expect to be tricked by a recidivist! He straightened up, his face gloomy.