The London Police Station was peaceful as evening approached. There were only a few people in the huge oval-shaped office hall.
A smiling clerk was responding to an old lady's question, and his legs were shaking impatiently under the table.
At this time, the police officers who were supposed to be in the police station were out, and those who were supposed to be eating were eating. The drunken troublemakers and petty thieves were all locked in cages. The cleaners were yawning as they cleaned the marble floor. Only a few trainee police officers were hurrying along the corridor on the second floor.
"Knock knock." Someone knocked on an office door.
"Please come in." Officer Perlis, who was holding a cup of tea, turned a page of documents.
"Oh!
Officer, I found something — "The door was opened, and a young policeman in a white shirt came in, holding a folder.
"Swoosh —" A pile of papers slipped from the opening of the folder and scattered all over the floor.
The young policeman hurriedly squatted down to clean up. "I'm so sorry!"
Officer Perlis helplessly pinched his nose and took a sip of tea. "Of course it's okay, Karres. We're used to it."
He coughed twice. "So — what did you find?"
Karlez blushed as he placed the documents on the table. The pages that he had carefully arranged earlier were now completely unrecognizable. He searched through the messy documents, his movements becoming more and more frantic. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Officer Perlis frowning.
"Here, I've re-read all the witnesses' … testimonies recorded in the Dragon Elementary School incident." He finally found the piece of paper. Officer Perlis raised his eyebrows. "There's also the surveillance video at that time. There's no … conclusive evidence to prove that Rachel is the mastermind of this incident …"
"So, you didn't find anything?"
Officer Perlis put down the teacup in his hand and looked at Karres' eyes for the first time since he came in.
"Erm, no … I'm trying to say that Rachel might be innocent …" Under Officer Perlis's stare, Karres's already weak aura was getting weaker and weaker, but he still insisted on finishing his sentence. "I think Lisa's boyfriend is a little … suspicious …"
"Very well, Karres." Officer Perlis walked to the door and closed it. "I didn't expect you to be able to find this out. After all, you're so …" He paused for a moment and thought of a less aggressive word. "Young."
"What?" The blush on Karres' face gradually faded. He didn't quite understand what the officer meant.
"Have you investigated Rachel's family background?"
"Yes." Kalleth rummaged through a pile of papers, and this time he found it quickly. "She has a sister named Troy who is studying at Dragon Elementary School. Their biological mother passed away after giving birth to Troy..."
"The victim, Lisa, was her half-sister. The three girls lived with their father in a double-storey apartment on Oxford Road …"
"Who owns the apartment on Oxford Road?" Officer Perlis suddenly asked a question that Karres didn't think was important.
"Hmm …" Calleth tried to recall, but he could not recall anything. He could only reply hesitantly, "Officer, I don't know …"
'I'll tell you, 'said Sergeant Perlis, returning to his chair and taking up his cup of tea,' that house is Liza's, or rather Liza's, mother's, in a prime position in Oxford Street — '
"Lisa's biological mother recently passed away due to illness. Lisa, who 'longed for kinship,' brought her biological father to the apartment along with her two half-sisters." Officer Perlis sneered. "She's really a philanthropist."
"What's wrong?" Kalleth scratched his head. He was really confused.
"Of course not." Officer Perlis glanced at him. "If it were you, would you bring a heartless man who abandoned you and your mother into your home?
Plus his children?
I learned that Lisa's attitude towards her father was terrible. "
"Then how —"
"It's because of Lisa's boyfriend, Glass Edmund Pate."
Perlis poured himself another cup of tea and drank it slowly, completely ignoring Kalleth's widened eyes. "It should be his plan, and the ultimate target is Rachel."
"Pa!" Kalleth slammed the table in agitation. "What?
You know it!
Then why are you still looking for Rachel?! "
"Calm down, young man. We can't touch Edmund Pate, the 'only heir of the Byder Group.' Just this title alone is enough to make you suffer."
"Then we can only wait for our doom?!
Looking for an innocent girl? "Kalleth began to think about the meaning of becoming a police officer.
"Of course not." Perlis began to see some light in the young man, although it was very faint. "Who says we are waiting for our doom?
We are looking for Rachel because — "
"Knock knock!" A series of rapid knocks on the door interrupted what Perlis was about to say. A voice shouted, "Officer, someone called the police and claimed to have seen Rachel at Tottenham Court Road Underground Station near Oxford Street!"
"Let's go." Officer Perlis took his coat and urged Kalleth, who was still stunned at the table. "It's best to be one step ahead of him."
"Him?"
Red and blue police lights flashed behind them, and sirens continued to wail. The front passenger seat had no door, and the wind blew so wildly that Hermione couldn't open her eyes. "Too fast, Anna!
Too fast!
It must be speeding! "
"Come on, Hermione!
If I had decided to obey the traffic rules, I wouldn't have been sitting in this seat in the first place! "
"If you're going to be locked up for stealing a Nate, you might as well rob Gringotts!"
Jenny concluded with Rachel in her arms. "The consequences are almost the same, so you might as well go all out and do it. You might not even get caught!"
"Makes sense!"
Anna cheered for Jenny. "Look at our ruthless Jenny. She usually doesn't speak, but when she does, she's full of wonderful quatrains."
"Heavens!" Hermione exclaimed as Anna successfully dodged one car after another. The system's indication of her high reaction speed wasn't just for show.
"Do you wizards all drive so wildly?!"
"You're a wizard too, Hermione. Don't stay out of this. Help me open the blue cloth bag on my waist!"
Anna took out her wand from her sleeve and pointed it at Hermione's open cloth bag. "'Basic Spells for the Busy and Restless', fly over here!"
The name really suits the occasion.
Hermione swore she heard a crackling sound coming from the cloth bag. A book flew out of the bag, and Hermione hurriedly caught it.
An indescribable smell began to fill the air.
"Oh, dung egg —" Hermione thought that dung egg was a colloquialism in the magic world. "Forget it — quickly open the book. There's a chapter called … uh … anyway, it's the chapter after the Hard Tongue Spell."
Hermione swallowed her saliva. She had opened so many books, but she had never felt this way. She could see the pictures in the book moving, which was both strange and interesting.
"Found it!
This chapter is called 'Give Some Privacy'! "Hermione opened the book and showed it to Anna." And then? "
Anna threw her wand to Hermione. "Learn it!
Learn this spell! "
“？”
Hermione thought that the wind was too strong and she didn't hear it clearly. But out of habit, her straight-A student nature made her want to read the book line by line.
'… According to the Smoke Spell invented by a wizard. (That thing is useless in a duel!
Who would release a smoke in a face-to-face duel so that they can't see where the enemy is?
Think thrice!
The author has personally experienced it!)
Modified 'Hidden Fog Spell'. This spell removes the defensive effect of the Smoke Spell and focuses on increasing the density of the smoke, as well as the accuracy of the release and withdrawal … '
'… This spell is suitable for: escaping after losing a duel, getting rid of annoying pursuers, adding annoyance to the Quidditch game, etc.; very suitable for: adding ambience to the bathroom to prevent annoying Muggles from peeping. (Because the old gentleman next door doesn't go out in the fog, I modified this spell so that he won't peep and give me some privacy. I'm already annoyed enough!)
'…'
'… If you're ready to protect your privacy, please wave your wand along with the picture and read after the stressed sign: Clouds and Mist …'
Would it really work?
Hermione waved her wand dubiously. "Clouds and Mist!"
She felt a cool feeling gather in her palm and then spread to her fingertips. Mist began to pour out from the tip of the wand in an endless stream.
"Wow!" Jenny reached out and grabbed a handful. The air was moist.
Hermione was shocked by her own magic. She looked at the short wooden wand in her hand. It looked so ordinary.
All the cars on the road had stopped. The sudden fog had slowed down the entire area.
In a police car that was stuck in traffic, Karlis was holding his head in shock. He had been in this position for a while.
Officer Perlis looked at him helplessly. "Young man —"
"That's a little girl no more than ten years old!
She's driving!
Oh my God! "
Karlis screamed. "The girl holding Rachel in the back seat is greeting me!"
"Uh, I'm busy driving. Maybe I can't understand your surprise …"
Officer Perlis turned on the car radio. "Are you sure?
How can a ten-year-old girl drive through traffic?
That kind of driving skill, at least a tattooed brawny man. "
"Maybe I'm wrong." Karlis nodded to himself. "Maybe I'm crazy."
"… This is news. A sudden fog has paralyzed traffic in the West End of London. The mysterious fog came without warning, but experts claim that it's just a normal phenomenon of nature …"
"It seems that we can't find Rachel. But if what you said is true, that she's not tied to Edmund Pade and suffering, then that's good news." Perlis looked out of the window. He could only see the dim lights of other cars in the fog.
"Good news?" Karlis was stunned. "I thought you wanted to catch this innocent girl as soon as possible!"
"Oh, young man," Officer Perlis sneered. "I hope to find evidence of Edmund Spade's crimes through Rachel. We've been keeping an eye on this scumbag for a long time. We planned to tell Rachel about this when she was detained, but she ran away..."
"We can only keep an eye on her in the name of a wanted criminal. Without alerting the enemy, we have to find a way to protect her."
"What?"
Looking at Karlis's confused face, Perlis was amused. "You think you've found the inside story of the London Police Department's corruption?
You want to be a lone hero in a movie? "
Karlis's face instantly turned red. He stammered, "I've never … thought of that!"
"Believe in this profession." Officer Perlis lit a cigarette and turned the car radio to music. "At least most of the time, they're reliable."