Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 794: Chapter 38: Murder and Visitations

The sound of panting.

As if the ears had been covered, yet through the resonance of the skull, she could hear the labored breathing clearly with every effort.

And the sound of a heartbeat.

It was dark all around, uncertain if it was dawn or dusk.

She was running, occasionally glancing back, her expression was panicked.

Barefoot, yet the ground was not soft, lacking in lush green grass, it was a dirt path, uneven at that.

She looked back again, as if something terrifying was chasing her.

Later, she fell to the ground but immediately got back up. She ignored her injured knee, continuing to run amidst the sounds of her labored breathing.

Finally, she seemed to crash into something, soft, warm, gentle.

“Don’t be afraid, Caroline.”

“Daddy, the dog… the fierce dog… chased me…”

“Don’t be afraid, Caroline, I’m here.”

I’m here. I’m here.

I’m here…

I…

…

A sharp inhale.

The irises, beautiful like pigment patterns blooming in water, suddenly appeared, dispelling all darkness. Caroline first saw the slowly spinning blades of the ceiling fan.

She was drenched all over, not knowing when the sweat started, it made her feel uncomfortable all over. Sunlight streamed in from outside, somewhat dazzling.

She should still be lying on the couch in the living room of Livia’s boyfriend Arno’s home. Caroline closed her eyes again, trying to clear her mind.

Seems like she overslept, originally planned to leave early in the morning.

Caroline opened her eyes again, feeling somewhat better, also realizing that her hand hanging down from the couch seemed to be holding something. She instinctively loosened her grip and heard a ‘clang’.

Seemed like metal?

Caroline tilted her head to look under the couch, her vision clearing from blurry. Then, she saw a knife — more accurately, a small knife meant for peeling fruit.

The silver blade’s tip had a smear of bright red, making it easy to associate it with blood on the blade.

A few seconds later, realizing something, Caroline abruptly sat up, stood up, and tried to call out Livia’s name, “Livia? Livia? Livi… ah!”

She tried to look toward Livia and her boyfriend’s room, but saw Livia sitting at the dining table.

Facing the chair, her chin rested on the back of the chair, her eyes open wide staring at Caroline. Her hands naturally hung down, the floor beneath the chair, a sizable pool of dark red substance.

Caroline could even see blood trailing down the white plastic chair’s legs.

“Livia!!!”

Caroline rushed to the chair, terrified, tremblingly patting Livia’s shoulders, seemingly trying to ‘wake’ her up, hoping she would tell her this is just a joke.

The body… but so stiff, even a bit cold, completely lacking the softness of a woman’s skin.

“Ah—!”

Caroline screamed in horror.

The corpse, the blood… the blood-stained knife… In an instant, Caroline seemed to realize something: this house is eerily quiet, clearly missing one person!

Livia’s boyfriend, the man currently in college: Arno.

“Calm, calm… calm.”

Caroline forced herself to calm down. She tried to remember what happened last night.

Last night due to the heat in the small room, she quietly snuck out in the middle of the night, took a cold shower, then lay on the living room sofa and must’ve unknowingly fallen asleep — until she woke.

Then she held a blood-stained knife, Livia was dead, Arno was missing. Since she fell asleep, naturally she wouldn’t and couldn’t do it, then it’s… Arno?

He killed Livia and left in a hurry, because he was scared, he even placed the murder weapon in her hand, trying to frame her?

But… why would Arno kill Livia?

Can’t understand, completely can’t understand, Caroline only felt her mind was a mess. She didn’t know what to do… Maybe calling the police would be the right thing to do at this time?

She just instinctively thought to find some people – find some people who could help her.

Phone… she returned to the sofa to look for her phone, while noticing her bag fell on the other side of the coffee table. Caroline suddenly had a bad feeling.

She quickly picked up her bag, frantically searching through it.

No… no!

She even emptied her bag’s contents, makeup mirror, lipstick, keys, tissues… a pile of miscellaneous items scattered on the floor, Caroline even shook the now empty bag forcefully, however…

Still nothing!

The bank card!

Bathroom… nothing.

The storeroom spent last night… nothing.

Arno’s room… nothing!

Everywhere, everywhere she frantically searched everything she could see in the house—nothing!

Nothing.

Caroline collapsed to the floor weakly… What to do? What to do?

Just then, knocks came from outside the house, followed by a woman’s voice, “Did something happen? Is anyone in there?”

Continued knocking sound.

A terrified Caroline quickly rushed to the door, peeking through the peephole, seeing a middle-aged woman outside, holding a bag of trash… seemed to be a resident of this building.

“Is anyone there? I just heard a scream? Hey? Is anyone there?”

I…

Caroline instinctively called out softly but quickly covered her mouth — seeking help from this woman?

Clearly unrealistic.

“Arno, you’re back?”

The woman outside suddenly turned around, looking toward the stairs. Caroline listened to the woman’s words outside, her expression changed slightly, she brought her eyes closer to the peephole again, faintly hearing a man’s voice outside… is it Arno?

“Mrs. Riley, good morning, I just got back from university. Did something happen?”

The middle-aged woman… Mrs. Riley smiled and said, “Pulling another all-nighter at school again, huh? You’re so hardworking, but you should take care of your body too.”

“I know, it’s just that there’s an important exam coming up, so I have to put in extra effort.”

“Good kid. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Why don’t you come over to my house for something to eat?” Mrs. Riley smiled.

Caroline still couldn’t see the man’s face speaking, but the voice… Even though it was a bit muffled through the door, she could still recognize it. It seemed to be Arno’s voice—she had seen Arno last night, although they hadn’t spoken much.

“Sure, I’ll trouble you again, Mrs. Riley. By the way, let me put my things away first… Oh, why are you standing in front of my house?”

“Oh, I was just taking the trash out downstairs and suddenly heard a woman’s scream coming from your house…” Mrs. Riley raised her eyebrows and winked, “Arno, is it your girlfriend? Don’t hide her, I’ve seen a beautiful woman coming out of your house a few times. You should introduce me.”

“Where would I have a girlfriend? Mrs. Riley, don’t say things like that,” the man’s expression shifted almost imperceptibly, then quickly said, “I’m focusing on my studies right now.”

Saying this, he took out his key, aiming it at the door.

Wearing a baseball cap, head lowered, about to open the door, only his chin was visible.

Caroline finally couldn’t make out the man’s appearance… Although he was in the room all night, she’d only seen him once or twice, but having the key naturally confirmed it was indeed Arno.

But he actually…

The moment the key entered the lock, time seemed to slow down instantly, Caroline’s eyes widened, her heart raced!

This man… killed someone and went out, then returned, pretending she was the murderer. Once they opened the door and saw the scene… how should she argue?

“Mrs. Riley, wait for me a moment, I’ll be quick.”

Arno spoke as he opened the house door. The place was small, opening the door revealed the entirety inside… Arno suddenly froze, not understanding.

Mrs. Riley found it odd and asked promptly, “Arno?”

Arno turned stiffly, his face horrified, “Mrs. Riley, I think… we should call the police. There’s a dead person in my house!”

“What!” Mrs. Riley exclaimed, hurriedly squeezing into the house, immediately seeing a woman sitting lifelessly on a chair—Livia!

Mrs. Riley was so scared she couldn’t steady the trash bag in her hand. Arno meanwhile dashed towards the balcony, shouting loudly, “Someone jumped and ran away!”

Mrs. Riley rushed to the balcony, looking up outside. The house wasn’t tall, only on the second floor, Mrs. Riley saw a figure rushing away.

“It’s a woman!”

Both spoke in unison.

…

…

The house by the sea was only two stories high, but obviously not cheap—intended for vacation rentals.

The door number was correct.

Song Haoran adjusted his clothes, demonstrating a gentleman’s basic quality—while holding a bouquet of fresh flowers.

He pressed the doorbell and waited quietly, the salty sea breeze blowing by, evidently not comfortable in the hot weather. But he didn’t sweat, appearing very composed.

Shortly, the apartment door opened.

Song Haoran showed a bright smile, “Hello, Ms. You Ye, it’s good to see you again.”

The maid in simple casual clothes displayed a surprised expression. Song Haoran felt a bit smug about her unexpected reaction—aware of his guilty pleasure, like enjoying the surprise on others’ faces.

“Mr. Song, it’s you?”

“Is Luo Qiu here?” Song Haoran smiled slightly, “I came at his invitation. You haven’t forgotten about inviting me for a meal, right?”

“Of course not!” You Ye quickly welcomed Song Haoran into the apartment.

Song Haoran presented the flowers, smiling, “These are for you, Chinese bellflowers, a symbol of sincere and unchanging love. I hope you like them.”

“Thank you.” You Ye hesitated slightly, then smiled and took them from Song Haoran.

“Did someone arrive?”

A figure emerged from the kitchen, it was the club’s new boss—still wearing an apron, holding a long wooden stirring spoon.

“Mr. Song!” Luo Qiu was equally surprised, then put down what was in his hand, taking off the apron and walking over, “It’s really you!”

Song Haoran moved his nose subtly, detecting a waft of food aroma, he cheerfully said, “Looks like I’ve come at just the right time… Didn’t you say you’d treat me to a meal?”

He winked like joking, “Did you forget it?”

“Of course not, you’re absolutely welcome.” Luo Qiu smiled calmly but said helplessly, “Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare braised lion head today.”

“No problem.” Song Haoran joked, “If you’d made it today, I’d be surprised.”

With that, Song Haoran entered the house, You Ye quickly brought tea to greet him, while Luo Qiu returned to the kitchen to turn off the simmering seafood stew.

Luo Qiu sat down, looking at Song Haoran, “Mr. Song, seeing you safe reassures me. I’ve been following last night’s news, but reports were vague. Heard there was a fierce gunfight later?”

“Indeed, some people died.” Song Haoran spoke casually, “Though in this country, deaths aren’t uncommon.”

He curiously picked up an illustrated book on the coffee table, flipping through a few pages, discovering it was a color picture book introducing prehistoric creatures, featuring some rare species.

Song Haoran suddenly asked, “Are you interested in this kind of stuff?”

Luo Qiu replied casually, “I’m actually a paleontology student. Last time in the restaurant, your adventure story mentioned a strange black boa, piquing my interest, so I’ve been searching for clues.”

“You remembered that story?” Song Haoran chuckled, winking, “Actually, I made it up.”

Boss Luo just smiled without saying anything.

At this moment, You Ye wore the apron she took off the boss, stepped into the kitchen to finish cooking. Song Haoran glanced over, cheerfully commenting, “A nice wife you have!”

Luo Qiu suddenly said, “Please wait a moment.”

Under Song Haoran’s curious gaze, Luo Qiu went upstairs, soon returning with a box. He walked to Song Haoran, opened it, seriously speaking, “Mr. Song, I believe this should be returned to you.”

“Oh?” Song Haoran showed interest, taking the item from the box, examining it carefully—it was a pistol, one of the equipments from last night’s theater incident, taken from the attackers.

Song Haoran skillfully unloaded the magazine, glancing at it randomly, suddenly asked Luo Qiu, “Didn’t use a single bullet?”

Luo Qiu shook his head, “I don’t need such things.”

Song Haoran remarked, “It’s a good item…”

Speaking, Song Haoran seemed to recall something, suddenly said, “Luo Qiu, I’m actually here with something I’d like you to see.”

“Let’s see.”

Song Haoran took out his phone, tapped the screen, opened the gallery, placing it before Luo Qiu, calmly asked, “Do you recognize this person?”

The phone gallery contained a yellowed photo—due to its age, the black-and-white image was marked with many white stains.

It had faded, allowing only the faint outline of the person in the photo to be seen.

It was a youthful portrait, wearing an unmarked military uniform, holding a homemade bayonet rifle… Song Haoran watched Luo Qiu’s expression, softly saying, “This is my uncle, Song Tianyin.”