boyutpedia Chapter 11 Mrs. Noah
Chapter 11 Mrs. Noah
No. 45 Nanning Street.
A classic four-story brick apartment building.
The exterior walls here are made of beige clay bricks, a common feature in Chongqing, and the doors are made of oak wood, painted a dark dark green, and have brass door handles.
Mr. Noah is a meticulous person. He is a university professor, and his family has a lineage three generations back that is a collateral branch of a noble family with insignia, which makes him appreciate this classical aesthetic.
However, when Luo Qiu's vintage car stopped nearby, what Luo Qiu and Smith saw was just a slightly dilapidated gray-black building with some white crystalline mottled marks on the walls, which looked very "historical".
The thick fog in Chongqing carries a lot of smoke and dust.
The exterior walls were shrouded in thick fog for a long time, and over time, even their original color became unrecognizable.
The people around them, however, had long been accustomed to everything here. Amid the noisy car engines, they walked by in their bright clothes, their eyes fixed straight ahead.
"Senior, we've arrived. The file says this house was inherited by Mr. Noah. As a professor, Mr. Noah earned four thousand kronor a month, but after deducting living expenses, there wasn't enough money left to maintain the apartment. Now that Mr. Noah is in trouble, Mrs. Noah must be having a hard time..."
"Smith, if you're trying to say something, you might as well be more explicit."
In the passenger seat, Luo Qiu turned his gaze away from the passing women outside and looked at Smith next to him with some confusion.
His hesitant and stammering manner of speaking and acting was unlike the usual style of this new detective.
"Senior, I'm going to talk to Mrs. Noah later, and I might ask a lot of detailed questions. If I accidentally touch on something that's painful for her..."
"Oh, we're doing this for Mr. Noah's sake, I'm sure Mrs. Noah will understand. Of course, if we really run into some serious trouble, I won't stand idly by."
Luo Qiu nodded, giving his assurance.
He had been busy observing the passersby. There weren't many pedestrians on Nanning Street with red auras, but the woman passing by was one, and fortunately, she didn't seem to be targeting this area.
In addition, two red lights from a clothing store in the distance also caught his attention.
He got out of the car while talking to Smith, took a few seconds to straighten his clothes and hat, and after finding that the two red lights in the distance were not moving, he stopped thinking about it and followed Smith to the front of number 45.
ding dong~
I pressed the doorbell, waited a few seconds, and then I heard sounds coming from inside.
The sound of clattering footsteps and the creaking of prying open the floorboards.
As the sound grew closer, Smith nervously rubbed his hands together.
"Hello, are you here to rent a house... Oh, it's two detectives."
The voice arrived before the person.
However, Mrs. Noah's condition seemed to be beyond Smith's expectations.
The unusually lively voice alone surprised him. When the door opened, Mrs. Noah's attire left him speechless for a moment.
Mrs. Noah was dressed in a dress and high heels. Although the dress was plain, she didn't look like a recently widowed woman, but rather like a lady going to afternoon tea.
The situation became awkward for a moment. Fortunately, Luo Qiu quickly stepped forward to defuse the situation. His experiences from his past and present lives over so many years made him almost unfazed by such situations.
"Mrs. Noah, we've come again regarding Mr. Noah's matter. We'd like to understand the situation in more detail, and also to search for more clues."
"Ah, yes, Mrs. Noah, we came specifically for this purpose."
"...Haven't you already learned everything you needed to know? Alright, come in."
Mrs. Noah seemed quite unwelcoming to Smith and Roche, her tone revealing considerable impatience.
After saying that, without waiting for Smith and Luo Qiu to react, he turned around and walked back on his own.
Smith and Luo Qiu followed in surprise.
"You've come at just the right time. I was preparing to move right after your detective's investigation last time. If you had come a few days later, you might not have seen me at all, and the study might not even be the same as before."
"Is Mrs. Noah moving?"
Luo Qiu made casual conversation, but his mind was on the apartment.
Since entering this room and closing the door, the noise outside has been largely shut out. But at the same time, a damp, cold wind mixed with a strong musty smell hits you.
Smith is quite right; while Mr. Noah maintained a respectable facade, the apartment was indeed lacking in maintenance.
The floor here is in even worse condition than the rented room where Bias lived. It always creaks when you step on it, and you can already find traces of moss in some inconspicuous corners.
The foggy weather is always perfect for these little things to grow. If the exterior walls of this apartment weren't made of clay bricks, it probably wouldn't be so presentable.
"Yes, you've all felt it, haven't you? It's a bit chilly and damp here."
"The house is an old house, and it used to be heated by a fireplace. It's not easy to renovate the pipes, and the exterior walls here are off-limits to damage."
"When Noah was around, I advised him to move out several times, but he disagreed. I know he still cared about his noble title. But these days, nobility isn't that valuable anymore. I've heard that some earls are even selling their castles."
"Now it's great, nobody can stop me from moving out of here. Someone likes living here, and I can make five thousand kronor a month just from rent, more than Noah's monthly salary, hahaha..."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself."
"Uh, it's okay."
Smith was finding Mrs. Noah's emotional outpouring somewhat overwhelming, so he paused briefly and quickly changed the subject:
"Mrs. Noah, may I ask you a few questions about Mr. Noah? I was looking at the case files before, and Mr. Noah's behavior seemed a bit off for a month before the incident. Do you know the specific reasons?"
"You're asking about that?"
"It is indeed a bit strange, Noah was a bit rigid before, but he was usually very gentle."
"One day in late January, he came home later than usual for the first time. I thought something had happened to him, and I was busy cooking, so I didn't pay attention. But when I went to the living room to find him after dinner was ready, I found him locked in his study. When I knocked on the door, he said something inexplicable: 'I understand what nobility means now.'"
"Later, he would lock himself in his study every day and not let anyone disturb him. He used to accompany me to church on Sundays, but he stopped going after that."
"study?"
While Smith was still pondering Mrs. Noah's words, Luo Qiu had already grasped the key point.
He had a premonition that Mr. Noah must have come into contact with the extraordinary.
His absence from worship might stem from a knowledge of what's happening there. As for locking himself in his study, he's likely meditating.
With that in mind, Luo Qiu immediately shifted his focus to the study. He had already checked it and found no trace of extraordinary items in the living room. He figured that if there were any extraordinary items, they must be in the study.
After exchanging glances with Mrs. Noah and receiving her nod, Luo Qiu headed towards the study.
squeak-