Previously
Ash visits Rosaline to return her parents' scorched belongings, prompting a genuine emotional breakdown from her. During tea, Rosaline warns Ash that the recent child disappearances are likely human trafficking, drawing from her traumatic past with the Mulberry troupe.
I couldn't help them then, but maybe I can be of some help this time.
Ash seemed to be pondering something for a moment before asking.
Thanks to that, Gale’s ‘business’ was always booming. That devilish bastard. If there were a God, He wouldn't have let a man like that live this long.
Ash, who had been listening to my explanation, wrote something more in his notebook and nodded.
He left in a bit of a hurry, as if he really intended to move immediately.
Watching his retreating figure, I tightly gripped the handkerchief in my hand.
Though this is a world where things like God or justice are dead, I still hoped my earnest wish would become a source of strength and help that man's investigation.
Upon returning to the police station, Ash immediately instructed Louis to go to Schroeder and Turner. While checking Ensurf would be good, with time being tight, he felt he should first look at the records of the geographically closer areas.
Louis tilted his head in confusion but didn't pry further, immediately packing a small bag and heading for the train station.
In the meantime, Ash met with the parents of the missing children one by one.
If there had been someone among them who had sold their child, he might have found a clue to solve the case, but fortunately or unfortunately, there was no such person.
However, testimonies that strengthened the suspicion of kidnapping continued to pour in.
The children had all disappeared near their homes—more precisely, somewhere in the poor neighborhoods.
There was no reason for them to have gone near the river for them to have been swept away by the current.
The problem, however, was that there were as many as three witnesses who claimed to have seen the missing children around the Timber River.
‘There is definitely something related to the case at the Timber River.’
By the time he had finished the seven interviews and organized the details without missing a single point, Louis returned with a weary face.
He handed Ash the summaries of the case files he had brought from Schroeder and Turner.
The contents were appalling.
His breath hitched.
He felt a surge of self-loathing for having looked at this case so dryly until now.
Lives that hadn't even blossomed yet were being trampled by the greed and primal desires of filthy humans, and he wondered if the royal family even knew about this.
A sense of mission surged through Ash's spine.
As if sensing his grim determination, Louis also took off his coat, hung it up, and dove into the work.
They examined the contents of the files and discussed how the trafficking ring might have hidden and smuggled the children. They continued their deduction, speaking whatever came to mind—the culprits' routes, means of transportation, and where they might have confined the children.
He felt anxious even as they spoke, worried that something might be happening to the children at this very moment.
As they were talking, Louis suddenly looked behind Ash, his eyes widening. At the same time, a familiar voice came from behind him.
Despite the noise around them, that voice caught his attention at once. When he turned his head, a neatly dressed woman was standing there, holding a large paper bag.
It was so unexpected that he couldn't speak properly.
But Rosaline smiled nonchalantly and placed the bag, from which the fragrant scent of bread wafted, onto his desk.
When he gave her a look asking what this was, she pulled out the handkerchief he had lent her from her bosom and held it out.
The curve of her smiling eyes was truly mysterious.
It felt too simple to be a smile meant to seduce someone, yet it seemed to have a bit of intent to be called pure….
But to be honest, whatever her intention for visiting was, he was glad to see her. It felt like a change of pace.
Ash pulled over a spare chair and placed it beside him.
He held her back with a joke, but it seemed Rosaline hadn't intended to leave right away either, seeing as she readily chose to stay amidst the commotion.
Ash opened the bag Rosaline had brought, took out the bread inside, shared some with those around him, including Louis, and took a large bite himself. Of course, he had handed one to Rosaline first.
The three of them remained silent for a while, chewing on the bread that had been baked to a perfect crisp on the outside.
‘By now, she must have skimmed the contents on the corkboard.’
Ash, who had deliberately let her gaze sweep over the wall behind him, finished chewing the last piece of bread, swallowed it with some cold coffee, and spoke.
Rosaline looked at him with slightly surprised eyes, as if she hadn't expected him to ask for her opinion.
But soon, she looked back at the corkboard and said,
Ash nodded for her to continue, and Rosaline didn't stop, though she hesitated.