Clown Game
Chapter 189 - 189 177 Story Five

Chapter 189: Chapter 177 Story Five Chapter 189: Chapter 177 Story Five Indeed… Chief Paine’s character seems a bit different from what he’s shown during his appearances. Given his violent temperament and his tendency for forceful law enforcement, how could he possibly tolerate an irresponsible, ambitionless third-rate detective meddling in his cases…

“Good, this is a point of doubt… And that bastard across doesn’t have a clue~” Yuto thought to himself, keeping his face emotionless.

The story continues…

The camera was still focused on Chief Paine sitting beside the tavern table, having just swallowed a shot of strong liquor, the spiciness contorting his features involuntarily.

The view continues to pull back… It turns out that there’s another person sitting beside Paine’s table…

Over 40, but the skin on his face made him look at least 10 years older than he actually was, his hair was unkempt, probably self-cut in front of a mirror, his cotton coat was full of creases, long unwashed, with layers of dust accumulated, now covering the surface of his clothing, making it seem somewhat shiny.

Clearly, he was another homeless man, at the moment, in front of him also a bottle of liquor and a cup. However, the cup clearly didn’t match his demeanor, as he gripped the bottle and inserted it directly into his mouth, the depth suggesting the bottle’s neck had nearly reached his throat… “Glug glug~” a series of clear swallowing sounds followed, then he contentedly pulled the bottle from his mouth, making a disgusting “pop” sound as it left his lips… Naturally followed by a “belch”.

Chief Paine casually glanced at the man and said, “You’re lucky enough to be sitting here, could you please not make such disgusting noises~”

The homeless man flushed, his eyes hazy, exuding a sense of happiness incomprehensible to the average person: “Chief… *hic*… I am the only eyewitness, you see… should we talk about…” he wobbled his fingers, obviously hinting at the word “money”.

But Chief Paine was undoubtedly a seasoned street veteran, dealing with this kind of price-gouging was a no-brainer for him, so he sighed helplessly and in a profound tone said to the man, “Listen, you’ve been wandering around this block for a while, you must know what kind of man I am. Take what you deserve and be a good boy… or I’m willing to bet the booze money for the rest of my life that you’ll regret the words you just said…”

“Ah… I get it~” The homeless man sulkily spread his hands, signaling “you’re the boss, what you say goes”.

Just then, the sound of a door being pushed open came from off-camera, and both men at the table looked in its direction, followed by Chief Paine waving his hand.

Soon, Mr. Andrew wobbled into the frame.

“Who’s this?” he asked impolitely and then sat down at the table, his hair messy and eyes bleary. He casually grabbed the bottle in front of Chief Paine and poured himself a drink…

Under this rude behavior, Chief Paine didn’t say much, just shrugged helplessly and replied calmly, “As you can see, this man is a homeless person. His name, what he did before — none of it’s important, I didn’t bother asking. What’s important is… yesterday morning, he saw someone coming out of that alley. That person is most likely the killer.”

“Ah?” Andrew blinked, a little sobered by this news: “How do you know that man is the killer?”

The homeless man quickly interjected, “Because I went into the alley right after, and then… I saw the body!”

Andrew pondered momentarily and quickly reverted back to his languid demeanor, took a sip of his drink, and asked, “Oh? What time did you see this?”

“Let me think…” The homeless man recalled: “Around 3 a.m., I reckon.”

Andrew casually set down his cup…: “I see, someone coming out of an alley with a body in it at dawn… That does sound highly suspicious.” He went on, but then changed tack: “But what interests me more is why you saw the body and didn’t call the police?” He squinted at the man, drilling him with the question.

This certainly warrants a question. As I mentioned before, the first person to report the incident was a waiter coming out of the bar, but the homeless man discovered the body clearly much earlier than the waiter did.

As for the homeless man… he seemed to have been waiting for this question, answering quickly and matter-of-factly, “At the time, I thought it better to mind my own business, so I didn’t call the police.”

After hearing this, Andrew pointed with his chin at Chief Paine sitting opposite: “So, you’ve had a change of heart?”

The homeless man nodded, “Yeah, I thought about it afterwards and realized that pretending I hadn’t seen anything might lead to more trouble later on, so I decided it was better to contribute to society.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chief Paine took over the conversation: “At 7 a.m. this morning, he came to the station to report the incident. Since I’m in charge of the case, I… brought him out.” He spoke in a hushed voice, “No one knows about this!”

Andrew’s eyes lit up slightly: “Are you saying no one knows he saw the suspect?… This clue is only known to me?”

“Yes…! Only you know, and I paid him for this information!” the Chief said seriously: “So if you mess this up again, it’s not my fault!”

Having sole knowledge of such an important eyewitness was undoubtedly a huge advantage. A murder case was no small matter; if he could resolve the case before the police found the killer, it would certainly be a great help to the precinct. Private detectives with the ability to crack cases usually had their names listed with the local police force, maintaining a long-term cooperative relationship. Future cases, big and small, were sure to involve the detective, and of course, the profits from such endeavors were not insignificant.

Yet, oddly enough… after Andrew heard what Chief Paine had said, he didn’t immediately chime in but seemed hesitant before finally speaking… “Uh, alright, I’ve got it. Let’s continue to ask about the case.”

Saying this, he turned his head, casting his gaze back to the homeless man. Throughout their conversation, the homeless man didn’t seem to care much about what he and the Chief were discussing, continuing to drink on his own…

“Hey~ I say,” Andrew interrupted the homeless man’s “self-drowning” drinking behavior: “If it’s really as you said, then I’m a bit curious, why were you wandering the streets at that time?”

The homeless man reluctantly pulled the bottle from his throat: “Burp… I wasn’t wandering, I had just gotten up to pee.”

Andrew nodded: “Then after you finished peeing, why did you go into that alley instead of going back to sleep?”

The homeless man glared with slightly drunk eyes: “I saw that person in a panic, so out of curiosity, I took a look.”

After hearing the man’s response, Andrew pondered for a bit, finding it fairly plausible, then continued to ask, “Oh… okay, so now tell me what that person looked like, the more detailed, the better.”

The homeless man, likely feeling the effects of the alcohol, looked a bit dizzy, so he vigorously shook his head, then put on a thoughtful expression: “A man, wearing a beige coat, not very tall, came out of the alley in a rush… and he seemed to be carrying something in his hand.”

“What thing?” Andrew naturally had to inquire further.

The homeless man furrowed his brow with effort, though it didn’t seem to make him any more lucid… and he mumbled hazily, “Ah… to be honest, I didn’t see it clearly. But judging from the state of the body, it could have been a knife.”

Hearing this, Andrew seemed to think of something and ceased to ask further… “The murder weapon? A knife?” he muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, his mind seemingly preoccupied. The camera focused on his thoughtful eyes, zooming in swiftly until it plunged into his pupils, and the screen went black…