Madam paused in thought. “The purchasing for this establishment has always been managed solely by me. Please wait a moment, everyone.”

She left the crowd and didn’t return to the hall for about a quarter of an hour. When she came back, her expression was rather strange. “Just yesterday, three hundred jin of saltpeter was brought into the building. But when I just checked the accounts, the inventory is short by thirty-five jin.”

Henry Thompson’s spirits lifted. “Thirty-five jin of saltpeter, combined with well water, is already enough to make a fairly large block of ice. If you then carve the ice into the shape of a palm and press it against the back of the deceased for a long time, it could create that red palm-shaped mark on the corpse. I was just wondering earlier—the shape of that palm print was off, there were no traces of knuckles or finger joints at all, which shows this was a frame-up! And even if my guess is wrong, who’s to say there isn’t someone else in this building skilled in cold-based palm techniques?”

As soon as he finished speaking, both Richard Palmer and Thomas Bolton beside him visibly relaxed, their faces clearing. But after that, they both looked at Henry Thompson with a hint of surprise, as if finding it hard to believe. The Henry Thompson and Robert Thompson they remembered certainly didn’t have such abilities.

Edward Sutton’s eyes, however, remained icy cold. “Let’s say you have a point, but you’re still a suspect. It’s hard to say you didn’t do this on purpose to muddy the waters.”

“What do you mean, muddy the waters? I think you’re just being unreasonable!” Grace Johnson shot him an annoyed look. “Say one more word and I’ll cut you down where you stand.”

Edward Sutton’s jaw clenched, and the look he gave Grace Johnson was almost predatory, but in the end he held back, cupping his fists toward her. “Then I’ll just wait for you, Captain, to find the real culprit.”

“Don’t just stand there—better behave yourself.” Grace Johnson snorted, then turned to Henry Thompson with a bright smile. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. Let’s just investigate and catch the murderer.”

“At your command!” Henry Thompson bowed, but then sensed something was off. “Captain, may I ask when the rest of our Six Paths Division will arrive?”

But Grace Johnson shook her head, her voice soft and gentle. “There’s no one else. Just the two of us. Just now, more than half the people from Vermilion Bird Hall were transferred to the river—they said there’s a major case today and they have to conduct a dragnet search on the water.”

Henry Thompson was dumbfounded. If it was just the two of them, how were they supposed to handle the case?

He, Henry Thompson, had only been a forensic doctor in his previous life, and his superior was only famous for her martial prowess—he’d never heard she was any good at solving cases.

As for the public officials from the Ying Tian Prefecture standing nearby, it would be a miracle if they didn’t cause trouble.

Then Henry Thompson thought of something and glanced at Grace Johnson’s shoulder, thinking, no way, right?

“Don’t worry, this case is simple—easy to solve!”

Sure enough, Grace Johnson took the three-tailed spirit fox from her shoulder and pointed at Samuel Clark’s corpse with one hand, commanding, “Go!”

But then Grace Johnson’s willow brows furrowed slightly, because the three-tailed spirit fox didn’t react at all. It lazily curled itself into a ball, leisurely swaying its three little tails.

Henry Thompson was speechless. Out of the corner of his eye, he even saw Edward Sutton watching the two of them with great interest.

“You little glutton!” Grace Johnson sighed, then took a red pill from her sleeve and held it to the spirit fox’s mouth. “Eat this and get to work—don’t be lazy.”

But the three-tailed spirit fox remained as aloof as ever, not moving an inch.

“Uh—” Grace Johnson was first puzzled, then frowned, and the cracks in the floor beneath her feet continued to widen with a ‘crack’ sound.

“I advise you not to push it, Little Lei Lei. So many people are watching—at least give me some face.”

“My lady!” Henry Thompson couldn’t take it anymore. He quietly leaned in to the silver-armored girl’s ear. “This corpse has been soaking in water for two or three hours. Even though your spirit pet is a descendant of the divine beast Bai Ze, I’m afraid it won’t be able to smell anything.”

Grace Johnson froze at once, her eyes blank, her face turning pale and then green.

After about thirty breaths, the silver-armored girl nonchalantly put the spirit fox back on her shoulder, then smiled sweetly and whispered to Henry Thompson, “Inspector Li, let me test you. According to standard procedure, what should we do at this point?”

“Well—”

Henry Thompson felt a bit lost. “If our Six Paths Division really doesn’t have enough people, my lady, why not request assistance from the Nanjing Ministry of Justice? Have them send someone—”

But Henry Thompson wisely swallowed the rest of his words, for he saw a terrifying murderous intent in Grace Johnson’s eyes.

Henry Thompson’s scalp tingled. “How about we start by taking statements? We need to know everyone’s whereabouts at the time of the crime, their movements, alibis, even eyewitnesses. And as for the missing saltpeter, who exactly stole it? Also, it would be best if we could perform an autopsy.”

Previously, his examination of the corpse had only covered the external parts of Samuel Clark. If they wanted to open up the body, they would need permission from the immediate family.

Henry Thompson figured the Cui family wouldn’t agree, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

As far as Henry Thompson knew, Samuel Clark’s mother, the Lady of Boping, lived in the capital year-round, and his father, Andrew Clark, seemed to be away on official business and not in Nanjing.