Chapter 325: Chapter 237: There is only one truth!_3
The person in charge had made his plans and immediately took action.
I carry the heavy responsibility of rescuing Hamlet from the hands of those outsiders. These outsiders can no longer be allowed to cause chaos; Hamlet has its own established ways here, and how could we possibly foster development alongside such Insect-beasts!
「...」
"My Lord, we’ve found him!"
A sheriff brought a man in. William scrutinized the ordinary fellow, who shrank back in fear.
"Your misdeeds have been discovered. Just speak up; don’t waste any more time."
Even the foreman had been arrested, so this man, having no significant background, quickly confessed everything.
The matter was straightforward. All the positions had been filled during recruitment. However, he couldn’t resist the job’s salary, so he approached the foreman and agreed to buy a spot for one silver coin.
Naturally, someone had to be replaced, and it was clear the injured party was this unlucky fellow.
Based on his testimony, William generally understood the ins and outs of the whole affair—it was simply a bribery transaction, exposed only because of the victim’s resistance.
But how did the foreman manage to alter the list without leaving any trace of amendment?
He took out the list again and examined it closely, flipping back and forth through the three pages. His gaze returned to the end of the second sheet, settling upon that specific number.
Earlier, the sun hadn’t fully risen, but now it was broad daylight, and the light was abundant. William soon noticed something amiss.
"I’ve got it!" William exclaimed, immediately standing up to fetch a sheet of paper and a pitcher of water.
He was so excited because he had noticed a discrepancy in the shade of the paper used for the list, and it felt a bit stiff to the touch.
After all, these supplies were all uniformly procured by the Lord from Totnes. They were of mature craftsmanship and from the same batch, so there shouldn’t be much variation.
The sheriffs under him didn’t understand why their Sheriff suddenly got so excited. But then they saw him immerse the freshly written, not-yet-completely-dry sheet into the water. The water soaked in and slowly diffused the ink.
Then, pulling it out, William carefully blotted it dry with his clothes. He didn’t mind at all that the ink stained his garment and immersed the paper back into the water again.
With the right technique, after a few repetitions, the target writing could be washed off, while the text above it on the page remained unaffected.
Having cracked the technique, he now understood why this particular victim had been chosen. He also realized the means by which the foreman had managed to make amendments without leaving any obvious traces.
It was because the victim’s registration happened to be at the very end of the second sheet.
Whether it was writing or fingerprinting, it was all done with ordinary ink. By clamping the sheet and soaking just the bottom edge in water, the marks could be quickly erased. Then, the paper could be dried and rewritten upon.
"Now, if we go to the foreman’s house, we should be able to find the corresponding tools; there will definitely be traces." William seemed quite proud of himself for uncovering this key clue in solving the case.
Just at that moment, however, violent barking suddenly erupted outside. The next second, a sheriff rushed in to report.
"Sheriff! A large crowd has suddenly gathered outside and surrounded us!"
"What!" William sensed something was wrong. He quickly moved to the window to look out; indeed, more and more people were gathering.
The sheriff’s team had detained so many people, and as time passed, news of this had already spread throughout the town. Why had there been no trouble before, yet now they suddenly surged forward as if by prior agreement?
William had a feeling he had landed himself in some kind of trouble...