Chapter 815 INTERVIEW (XX) "MR. Saunders is a shameless man who took advantage of Mr. Harcourt's kindness," Mrs. Green said with indignation. "He started working at the manor since he's a young lad. Mr. Harcourt saw that was hardworking enough, so he let the kid learn how to drive. Saunders then became the family's chauffer. One would think that he should be incredibly grateful for the opportunity. After all, not many kids who grew up in the slum could rise up in such a position."
Luo Yan cringed inside as he listened to what the head maid was saying. It seemed that this NPC was programmed to have a very great awareness towards social classes. The rich should be respected and the poor should know their place. That's the kind of mentality the other had.
This also meant that she had an inherent prejudice against Saunders. He just hoped that her statements would be close to the truth and not be laced too much by that prejudice.
"But do you know what he did as to pay back that kindness? During that tragedy 20 years ago, he was the one who brought back Master Charles here without the permission of Mr. Harcourt. None of us knew that Master Charles would be returning that day. We all thought he was safely tuck in school. Imagine all our surprise when we saw him just a few feet away from the burning manor, unconscious as if he had been blown away.
"There were a lot of confusion that night. Everyone was panicking because of the sudden explosion. Some of the servants were caught in the fire and weren't able to leave, perishing there forever. While others were either wounded or too scared to even move. It took a while before any of us even noticed Master Charles!
"It was only later that I found out that it was that Saunders who brought Master Charles back at the manor. If the car they were in didn't break down at the middle, Master Charles would have been in the manor during dinner. Do you know what that means, detective? If Master Charles was there during dinner, he would have gone to his room. Then, maybe it wouldn't be just Master Richard and his son who died that night."
What caught Luo Yan's attention most was the last bit that the other said. Because this showed that Charles' room was most likely in the right wing. He didn't ask about it when he was interviewing Charles earlier. Because he thought that it wasn't that important.
But now, what Mrs. Green was telling him clearly changed things. Because if Saunders really had some kind of involvement in what happened 20 years ago, then that meant that Richard was not the only intended target.
The head maid said that if Charles arrived at the manor by dinner that evening, he would have been killed alongside Richard and his son. What Luo Yan could take from this was the fact that Charles' room was in the right wing.
If that's true, then money being the main motive wouldn't fly anymore. Unless the culprit or culprits knew that the will leaving everything to Richard was fake. So, by killing both Richard and Charles, they could have the bulk of their father's inheritance.
Yes, Luo Yan was now operating under the assumption that either Edward or Catherine was the mastermind of what happened 20 years ago. He actually already had a culprit in mind. But he still needed more information about what happened back then so he could recreate everything perfectly in his mind.
"But with Mr. Harcourt being in the hospital and all that, I couldn't exactly say the matter about Saunders. And then, we were all let go. Of course, with a generous compensation. But because of that, the matter with Saunders was completely forgotten. To tell you the truth, I have a feeling that he had something to do with those bombs."
"What makes you say that?" Luo Yan asked.
"That day, I saw him skulking around the manor. Who knows what he had been doing? Maybe he was leaving all those bombs for all we knew," Mrs. Green said, in a tone as if she couldn't wait to punch Saunders or something. "I told that to Mr. Harcourt when I found out that he's planning to also hire back that Saunders. But he only said that it must surely be just a coincidence. Oh, what a good man Mr. Harcourt was."
Luo Yan raised his brow at that. "Mr. Harcourt wasn't surprised or whatsoever by what you said about Saunders?"
"Oh no, not at all. Mr. Harcourt was simply not the type to make assumptions like that. That's what makes him a great man, in my opinion."
[All I can see was how bias you are.] – Luo Yan thought. But he must admit, what the head maid had told him was pretty useful stuff.
If he added what Mrs. Green said about Saunders skulking around to what Catherine said about seeing him entering the study, it would certainly solidify him as the biggest suspect in what happened 20 years ago.
But in Luo Yan's opinion, Saunders was just a pawn to someone's bidding. More accurately, a knife in someone else's hand.
Now that's established, it's time to move to another topic. "What can you tell me about the cook, Mrs. Gilmore and her son, the butler?"
"Oh, they're delightful. To tell you honestly, I was worried at first when I found out that they arrived together with Mr. Harcourt. I thought they were taking advantage of his kindness. But that's not the case at all. Both of them work hard and very easy to get along with. They're definitely worthy of the trust given to them by Mr. Harcourt."
The maid and footman both said almost the same thing about the mother-son pair. But could it really be the case?
It seemed that it's time to interview the two. Since they were the only ones remaining, who should he start with?