Trafford’s Trading Club - Chapter 887

Volume 10 – Chapter 38: Murder & Visit
Gasping.

It is as if her ears were covered, but through the resonance of the skull, the heavy breaths were clear.

There was also the sound of racing heartbeats.

The surroundings were dim. It was impossible to discern whether it was at dawn or sunset.

She was running, looking back from time to time, with a panic expression on her face.

Barefoot, but the ground wasn’t soft. There was no grass; it was muddy and even uneven.

She looked back again, and something terrifying seemed to be chasing after her.

Later, she fell to the ground but immediately got up. She ignored her injured knee and continued to run in a panting sound.

Finally, she seemed to hit something soft and gentle.

“Don’t be afraid, Caroline.”

“Dad, dog… A fierce dog… is chasing me…”

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

I’m here. I’m here.

I’m here…

I…

…

After a deep breath, the pupils, beautiful as paint patterns blooming in the water, appeared and broke away all darkness. The first thing Caroline saw was the blades of the ceiling fan that was slowly rotating.

She was wet all over, and she felt uncomfortable with her sweating. The sunlight came in from the outside, a little dazzling.

She should still be lying on the sofa in the living room of Livia’s boyfriend, Arnold’s house. Caroline closed her eyes again, allowing her consciousness to become clearer.

It seems that I overslept. I originally planned to leave early in the morning.

Caroline opened her eyes again, feeling a lot more comfortable. At the same time, she felt that her hand hanging under the sofa seemed to be holding something. She let go of her hand subconsciously and then heard the sound of ‘Dang.’

That sounds like metal?

Caroline tilted her head and looked under the sofa. Her gaze changed from blurry to clear. Then, she saw a knife—to be precise, the typical knife to peel fruits.

The front end of the silver blade had a bright red tint that easily brought the impression of blood.

A few seconds later, Caroline, who seemed to realize something, suddenly sat up. She stood up and tried to call Livia, “Livia? Livia? Liv… Ah!“

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

She was sitting facing the chair. Her chin knocked on the back of the chair, and she looked at Caroline with wide eyes. Her hands hung down naturally, and the floor under the chair was a large pool of dark red substance.

Caroline could even see the dried bloodstains where the blood dripped off the white plastic chair.

“Livia!”

Caroline rushed to the front of the chair, shaking her palms in horror, and patted Livia on the shoulder. She tried to wake Livia up, hoping that Livia would say this was all a prank.

The body was so stiff, even a little cold, losing the tenderness of a woman’s skin.

“Ah!” Caroline screamed in horror.

The corpse, the blood… the blood-stained knife… Immediately, Caroline realized something: The room is terribly quiet now, and one person is missing!

Livia’s boyfriend, the man who is still in college: Arnold.

“Calm down, calm down… calm down.” Caroline forced herself to calm down. She tried to make herself recall what happened last night.

Last night because it was too hot in the small room, she came out quietly in the middle of the night. After taking a cold shower, she lay down on the sofa in the living room. She then fell asleep until she woke up just now.

Then, she held the blood-stained saber in her hand. Livia is dead, and Arnold is gone. Since I am asleep, I didn’t do it, so it’s…Arnold?

Arnold killed Livia and then left in a hurry. Because of fear, he even put the murder weapon in my hand, trying to put the blame on me?

But why did Arnold kill Livia?

This doesn’t make sense at all. Caroline just found her mind messy at the moment. She didn’t know what to do. Maybe calling the police is the right thing to do at this time?

She instinctively thought that she needed to find someone who could help her.

My phone… She went back to the sofa and looked for her phone. At the same time, she saw her bag drop on the other side of the coffee table. Immediately, Caroline had a bad premonition.

She picked up her bag all of a sudden and looked through it quickly.

Nothing!

She even poured out everything in the bag, makeup mirror, lipstick, keys, tissues… a lot of messy things were scattered on the ground. Caroline even shook the empty bag vigorously, but…

Nothing!?

That bank card!

The restroom… No, it isn’t there.

The utility room I stayed in last night. Nothing.

Arnold’s room. No, it’s not here!

She ran through everything she could see in the house fanatically. Nothing!

There’s nothing.

Caroline fell to her knees weakly. What should I do? What should I do?

At this moment, the sound of knocking on the door came from outside the house. Then, there came the voice of a woman, “Has something happened? Is anyone there?”

The sound of knocking on the door continued.

Panicked, Caroline rushed to the door quickly. Through the peephole on the door, she saw a middle-aged woman with a bag of garbage in her hand. She seemed to be a resident of this building.

“Is there anyone? I just heard the screaming? Hey? Is there anyone?”

I…

Caroline responded instinctively, but the volume was soft. She immediately covered her mouth. Should I ask this woman for help?

That’s not realistic.

“Arnold, you’re back?”

The woman outside the door suddenly turned her head and looked in the direction of the stairs. Caroline’s face changed slightly as she heard the woman outside the door. She brought her eyes closer to the peephole again. At the same time, she vaguely heard the voice of a man talking. Is it Arnold?

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

The middle-aged woman… Mrs. Riley smiled and said at this time, “You stayed up all night at school again? You’re too hardworking, but you have to pay attention to your health.”

“I know. It’s just that there’s an important exam recently, so I have to work harder.”

“Good boy. You haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Would you like to have something to eat at my house?” Mrs. Riley smiled.

Caroline still couldn’t see the appearance of the talking man, but this voice… Even if it became a little unclear through the door, she still recognized it. It seemed that it was Arnold’s voice. She met Arnold last night and exchanged a couple of words.

“Okay, I’m bothering you again today, Mrs. Riley. By the way, could you wait for me to put things away first? Oh, by the way, why do you stand in front of my house?”

“Oh, it’s like this. When I just went downstairs to take out the trash, I suddenly heard a scream from your house. It’s a woman.” Mrs. Riley winked at this time, “Arnold, is it your girlfriend? Don’t hide it. I saw a beautiful woman in your house come out. Tell me about it.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend. Stop joking with me, Mrs. Riley.” The man’s face changed slightly, and then he said immediately, “I’m focusing on my study now.”

With that, he took out the key and faced the door.

He had a baseball cap. He opened the door with his head down, only revealing his chin.

Caroline couldn’t see the man’s face. Although she had been in the room last night without many encounters with him, the person was practically Arnold since he had the key to open the door.

But he actually…

The moment the key was inserted into the keyhole, time seemed to slow down suddenly. Caroline’s eyes opened wide with her heartbeat racing!

This man killed someone, then went out and came back. He tried to frame me as the murderer. Once they opened the door and saw this, I would have no way to argue this?

“Mrs. Riley, wait for me. I will be ready soon.”

Arnold opened the door of the house while talking. The room was small. As soon as he opened the door, he could see everything in it. Arnold was stunned on the spot.

Mrs. Riley was baffled, and she asked immediately, “Arnold?”

Arnold turned around stiffly, his face frightened, “Mrs. Riley, I think…we need to call the police. Someone… someone is dead in my house!”

“What!?” Mrs. Riley was taken aback and hurriedly squeezed into the house. What caught her eyes first was the dead woman sitting on the stool, Livia!

Mrs. Riley was so scared that she couldn’t even hold the garbage bag in her hand. Arnold rushed towards the balcony and shouted, “Someone jumped off the building!”

Mrs. Riley hurried forward and looked from the balcony. The house wasn’t tall. It was on the second floor. Mrs. Riley just saw a figure running away.

“It’s a woman!” The two said in unison.

…

At a house by the sea, only two stories high, but the price wasn’t cheap. This was an apartment for those who were on vacation to rent.

The house number was correct.

Song Haoran tidied up his clothes. This was the basic quality of a gentleman. At the same time, he had a bunch of flowers in his hand.

After pressing the doorbell, Song Haoran waited quietly. The salty sea breeze was blowing at him. It felt uncomfortable on a hot day. But he didn’t sweat and seemed very calm.

Soon after, the apartment door opened.

Song Haoran gave a bright smile, “Hello, I’m pleased to see you again, Ms. You Ye.”

The maid, who was dressed in casual clothes, showed a surprised expression. Her unexpected face made Song Haoran feel a little proud. He knew that he was a bit playful to have this enjoyment: For example, he liked to see the surprised look of others.

“Mr. Song, is it you?”

“Is Luo Qiu there?” Song Haoran smiled slightly, “I’m here to answer the invitation. I hope you didn’t forget about the promise for a meal.”

“No way that would happen!” You Ye welcomed Song Haoran quickly into the apartment.

Song Haoran gave out the flowers in his hand and smiled, “This is for you, lisianthus flowers. They represent sincere and unchanging love. I hope you will like them.”

“Thank you.” You Ye was startled slightly, then smiled and took it from Song Haoran’s hand.

“Who is here?” At this time, a figure walked out of the kitchen. It was the new boss of a certain club. The boss was still wearing an apron and holding a long wooden ladle.

“Mr. Song!” Luo Qiu was equally surprised, then put down what was in his hand and walked out while unbuttoning his apron, “It’s really you!”

Song Haoran moved his nose. He smelled the food’s fragrance and said happily, “It seems that I came timely. Didn’t you say that you want to treat me to a meal?”

He blinked as if joking, “Don’t tell me you have forgotten about that?”

“Why would I? You’re welcome here.” Luo Qiu smiled calmly but said resignedly, “Unfortunately, I couldn’t prepare braised lion’s head today.”

“It’s fine.” Song Haoran quipped, “If you manage to make this dish today, then I will be shocked.”

While chatting, Song Haoran walked into the house. You Ye quickly greeted him with tea. Luo Qiu walked into the kitchen and turned off the seafood soup that was being cooked.

Luo Qiu sat down and looked at Song Haoran, “Mr. Song, I’m relieved to see that you are safe. I was following the news last night, but the report was a little less detailed. I heard that what happened later was an intense gunfight.”

“That’s true. There were quite some casualties during the event.” Song Haoran said in a relaxed tone, “But in this country, it is typical to see the news of people being killed.”

Song Haoran looked at an atlas on the coffee table. He took it curiously and flipped a few pages. He realized that it was a colorful atlas introducing the world’s paleontology. There were rare animal and plant species that were uncommon.

Song Haoran said suddenly, “Do you like this kind of thing?”

Luo Qiu said casually, “I’m a paleontology student. Last time, Mr. Song mentioned the strange black python in your adventure story back in the restaurant. I was a bit curious, so I wanted to check to see if I could find some clues.”

“Wow, you still remember that story?” Song Haoran smiled, “I actually made it up.”

Boss Luo just smiled and said nothing.

At this time, You Ye put on the apron that the boss took off and walked into the kitchen. She planned to take over and finish the dishes. Song Haoran took a glance, then smiled and said, “This daughter-in-law seems like the best candidate!”

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

Under Song Haoran’s curious gaze, Luo Qiu walked upstairs and soon walked down holding a box. He walked in front of Song Haoran, opened the box, and said sternly, “Mr. Song, I think I should return this to you.”

“Oh?” Song Haoran was interested. He took out the item inside the box and then fiddled with it a few times. This was one of the equipment he got from the gangster in the theater last night: A pistol.

Song Haoran opened up the magazine skillfully, took a casual look, and asked, “You didn’t even use a single bullet?”

Luo Qiu shook his head, “I don’t need this kind of thing.”

Song Haoran said, “This is a handy tool.”

With that said, Song Haoran seemed to have thought of something, “Luo Qiu, I came here this time because there is something I want you to take a look at.”

“Show it to me.”

Song Haoran took out his phone, tapped on the screen, and opened the gallery. Finally, he put it in front of Luo Qiu and said calmly, “Do you have any impression of this person?”

In the phone album, there was a yellowed photo. Due to the aging process, there were many white spots on the black-and-white image.

The color had faded. The feature of the person in the photo was barely discernible.

He was young, wearing a military uniform, holding a rifle with a bayonet. Song Haoran looked at Luo Qiu’s expression at this time, “This is my uncle, Song Tianyin.”