The atmosphere grew taut.

Some people recoiled from Bai Youwei’s gaze with irritation. Others met it with unabashed boldness.

Several of the men, finding themselves under suspicion, wore expressions of open indignation.

The women, meanwhile, stood apart from it all, every one of them silent.

It was then that the Inspector spoke up abruptly: “Precisely so! If the person acted in haste, there would have been no time to select a spot! This paper must have been stuck up carelessly, right where the person’s hand landed — and if they could reach this height at a glance, it means the one who put it there could not have been particularly short!”

The Inspector fixed a severe gaze on the men and demanded: “Which of you stuck this paper to the wall?”

Of course, no one admitted to it.

“Don’t try to be clever.” The Inspector’s face was grave and expressionless. “I know the culprit is among you. I have made note of this suspicious point. From this moment on, I will be watching your movements closely. If I discover any further irregularities, I will not hesitate to arrest you.”

The men’s faces all darkened.

Bai Youwei was lost in thought: So it seemed that simply providing the Inspector with clues would cause him to automatically record them as suspicious points. And once enough suspicious points accumulated, the Inspector would determine there were grounds for arrest.

The reason Yan Qingwen and Lin Kui had been arrested was precisely the compounding weight of accumulated suspicion:

First, they had been witnessed making contact with the body. Second, blood stains covered their door and the area outside it. Third, the guest in Room 405 had directly accused them of committing the murder.

…

Robert said: “Since we have no leads at the moment, we might as well return to the dining room for breakfast. This place only serves two meals a day, and the next one won’t come until six in the evening — so it’s best we eat our fill while we can.”

At that, everyone began drifting back toward the dining room one by one.

Bai Youwei lingered at the back and asked the Inspector: “Inspector, would you allow me to copy down what’s on this paper?”

The Inspector looked down at Bai Youwei from his greater height. “By all means. In fact, I intend to leave the paper right where it is and see what that shadowy troublemaker is truly planning. My dear young lady — are you intending to uncover the killer’s scheme? That is no easy task.”

Bai Youwei smiled faintly. “Worth a try~”

The Inspector’s handlebar moustache gave a slight lift. “Beautiful young lady, I cannot tell yet whether you are out of your depth or genuinely clever. Either way, I look forward to receiving answers from you — this is a most vexing case, and if someone could help me with it, that would be more than welcome.”

Bai Youwei smiled, borrowed a pen and paper from the front desk, and carefully copied down the strange information from the paper exactly as it appeared.

When she returned to the dining room, everyone was eating breakfast.

No one cared about the taste — food was food, and it filled the stomach. Each person sat with their head down, eating in silence. The only sounds in the dining room were the crisp clinking of cutlery against plates.

Bai Youwei didn’t touch her utensils. Instead she spread a sheaf of papers across the table and worked a pen across them — pausing to think at times, then seeming to hit on something and scratching away again in quick, light strokes.

Mr. Robert, seated diagonally across from her, smiled and asked: “You’ve been studying those Chinese characters all this time — have you found a lead?”

“Not yet.” Bai Youwei replied. “I have no lead to speak of, but I still want to try working through it — because I’m genuinely curious…”

She looked up at Robert, and at the people seated near him, and asked:

“Aren’t any of you curious? I would think only the killer wouldn’t be.”

The words stirred a flicker of irritation around the table.

But Robert didn’t take offence. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said: “You have a great sense of humour, young lady.”

“I don’t~” Bai Youwei said with a modest smile. “I really mean it. Because only the killer already knows what this information means, doesn’t it? The killer doesn’t need to rack their brain thinking it through the way I do — and they certainly wouldn’t be curious about what’s written on the paper. Mr. Robert, when you look at those characters — don’t you wonder what they mean?”

—