He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 31

31. The Chase

◈ Manners Estate

That evening.

Usually, ‘Runner’ detectives wear their distinctive uniforms when deployed to a scene, but today, they were dressed as ordinary nobles.

Moreover, with many nobles from London and the provinces staying at the Manners Estate for the ball, the detectives didn’t stand out much.

Just in case, Tae-oh hid his face as much as possible with a deep hat and glasses.

“That must be the greenhouse over there.”

As they strolled around the estate, following the Duke’s usual walking path, a large plant greenhouse appeared before the detectives.

This greenhouse was originally specially made by the Duke of Manners for his wife, who had poor health.

The Duke’s wife, who particularly loved flowers and plants, found great comfort strolling here even in the middle of winter. What started as a small flower garden gradually grew in scale, filled with all sorts of diverse flowers, trees, and rare plants. The building was also expanded, eventually becoming the massive greenhouse it is today.

However, after his wife died several years ago, it wasn’t properly maintained. Last year, after the Duke had a fall, it was refurbished for his rehabilitation exercises, regaining its former beauty.

Tae-oh entered the greenhouse and carefully examined every nook and cranny.

‘Humid, dark, and hidden places. A very similar atmosphere to where Gavin has committed murders so far. The servant who manages the greenhouse is only here during the day and not in the evening. This huge greenhouse could be the most ideal place for Gavin Murray to target.’

Psychopathic serial killers, upon finding a suitable prey, often scout a location to carry out their own ‘ritual’ before commencing the murder.

If so, this massive greenhouse was the perfect place for Gavin Murray to perform his ritual.

*

The detectives who had inspected the greenhouse gathered together.

Townsend, the chief detective, spoke first.

“The greenhouse is much larger than I thought. Plus, the trees are big and dense, and once it gets dark in the evening, it’s too dark to secure a proper view. Can we cover it with just the four of us?”

Tae-oh quickly interjected.

“Chief, if it’s okay, I’d like to help on-site.”

“Mr. Sanderson? No, it’s too dangerous.”

“You detectives are by my side, what’s there to worry about? And since I’m the only one who knows Jenny’s face, if we can’t identify her today, wouldn’t I have to be involved?”

To prevent any information leaks, they decided to refer to Gavin Murray as ‘Jenny’ and the Duke of Manners as ‘James’.

After a moment of consideration, Townsend nodded.

“Alright. Then help us.”

Hill, another detective, looked around and offered his opinion with concern.

“By the way, I wonder if Jenny will hunt in the greenhouse. There’s only one exit, and it’s too dark, making it difficult to target James, don’t you think?”

Detective Collingwood agreed.

“I was thinking the same thing. It will be even darker when James takes his walk in the greenhouse. Instead of waiting for Jenny in the greenhouse, how about tailing Jenny from a distance? That way, even if she commits the act outside the greenhouse, we can catch her right away.”

Tae-oh opposed the detectives’ opinions.

“That won’t work. Jenny is very perceptive. She’ll quickly notice anyone following her. Then she’ll never move and try to hide. If that happens, everything will be in vain.”

In the 18th century, without CCTV or any computerized equipment like in modern times, there is still no conclusive evidence to catch Gavin Murray as a serial killer.

To save Baron Burns from the gallows in just a few days, they must catch him in the decisive act of committing the crime.

“Then what should we do?”

“We have to wait in the greenhouse.”

“In the greenhouse?”

“Yes. I guarantee she’ll commit the act in the greenhouse.”

“Guarantee?”

“Jenny will prefer an environment where she won’t be disturbed by anyone. Especially hunting in a place like this greenhouse, where the surroundings are all hidden and dark, will feel very fantastic and cozy to her.”

Detective Hill asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

“Hunting in there is fantastic and cozy, making it an attractive place?”

“Yes. It is for Jenny. Plus, Jenny is so meticulous that if she feels even a little bit that we’re tailing her, she’ll immediately hide, and everything will be in vain. So, the best way is to lie in wait at the expected location and wait without moving.

Moreover, James mainly wanders around the garden and the plant greenhouse inside the mansion, so she’s more likely to be planning a hunt in the greenhouse, which is easier to hide in, than in the open garden.”

However, the detectives expressed their opposition.

“The mansion garden is as big as a small park. Not only the greenhouse but also the 100-meter stretch with large trees is quite dangerous. What if we’re lying in wait in the greenhouse, and Jenny hunts in the outdoor garden? It’ll be dark when James takes a walk, so it would be better to tail Jenny from the start, don’t you think?”

After pondering deeply, Townsend opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“We’ll listen to Mr. Sanderson. No matter how big the garden is, it’s open on all sides, so anyone tailing him will quickly notice. But if we chase him from too far away, he’s likely to disappear into the darkness and we’ll miss him.

In my judgment, the greenhouse seems to be the best place to target James. We’ll lie in wait in the greenhouse and ambush Jenny at the decisive moment.”

Once the direction was decided, Townsend urged the detectives in a low voice.

“Alright, let’s get out of the greenhouse. Soon it will be evening, and if James takes a walk, Jenny might move to scout the situation. We need to go and identify Jenny’s face quickly, right?”

*

As the sun set, the surroundings began to darken rapidly due to the cloudy weather.

The plant greenhouse manager had left work, and lamps were lit one by one on the promenade connecting the outside and the greenhouse.

Tae-oh and the detectives scattered around the garden like nobles attending the ball that would be held from tomorrow, secretly surveying the area.

Fortunately, there were groups of nobles who had come out for an evening stroll in the garden, so the detectives’ movements looked natural and didn’t stand out.

“James is coming out.”

Detective Collingwood, who was nearby, reported in a low voice.

As he said, the Duke of Manners, with his hands behind his back, slowly strolling, could be seen in the distance.

However, Gavin Murray was not yet visible to Tae-oh’s eyes.

Since Tae-oh was the only one who knew his face accurately, he had to inform the detectives as soon as he saw him.

At first, he had considered going into the ballroom together to clearly point him out.

However, Gavin Murray’s nerves, who would be preparing for murder, would be at their peak, and Tae-oh’s or the detectives’ movements would surely feel different to him.

Therefore, it was judged that it would be better to avoid encountering Gavin Murray as much as possible.

‘He’s a psychopath with a lot of experience and learning. He won’t approach the Duke directly, but he’ll definitely be watching somewhere around the Duke. And since it’s a high-status prey, he’ll be more meticulous in guarding the surroundings than before.’

But the garden was too big.

Moreover, it wasn’t easy to spot him because there were many people walking around here and there.

Furthermore, the fact that faces were not clearly visible as it got darker was also a problem.

‘This isn’t going to be easy. I’m the only one who knows Gavin’s face…’

If there were photos or videos like in modern times, it would have been a great help in identifying the culprit, but it was a very frustrating feeling because that wasn’t possible in this era.

Tae-oh anxiously looked around.

He even felt anxious that he might have sensed something and run away. Then everything would be in vain.

Of course, if they kept tracking him, they could catch his tail, but Baron Burns would already have been executed.

But, right then.

Tae-oh slowly raised his head with an unknown chilling feeling.

‘!’

Towards the spacious balcony on the second floor of the mansion. Among the people enjoying the evening air and drinking wine, a man looking down at the garden caught his eye.

It was Gavin Murray.

He was quietly following the movements of the Duke of Manners, who was taking a walk, with his eyes.

‘Ah…’

Tae-oh quickly turned around and secretly informed the detectives that Gavin was on the second-floor balcony.

Fortunately, there were several bright torches and lamps on the balcony, so Gavin’s face could be identified relatively clearly.

The detectives confirmed Gavin Murray’s face several times, pretending to laugh or blow their noses.

***

Third day of the ball.

Three days had passed like that.

Since the ball began, Detective Gray had been walking around the garden and plant greenhouse, pretending to be the Duke of Manners.

Detective Gray, who was of similar build to the Duke of Manners, wore the Duke’s clothes and limped, walking the same course at the same time every day.

Tae-oh and the remaining detectives hid in the plant greenhouse and lay in wait until the walk was over.

However, Gavin showed no movement for two days.

They were worried that he might have noticed, and they were gradually becoming anxious with the impatience that perhaps there was no murder plan at all. It was late in the evening on the third day when the atmosphere of the ball was at its peak.

Detective Hill, who was hiding at the entrance of the greenhouse, urgently sent a hand signal.

-Jenny is moving!

Immediately after Detective Gray, disguised as the Duke of Manners, entered the plant greenhouse via the outdoor garden,

A young man hiding on a garden bench covered in darkness quickly entered the greenhouse, following behind Detective Gray.

It was Gavin Murray.

The detectives, who were lying in wait in the greenhouse at intervals of about ten meters, sent hand signals in turn to convey Gavin’s appearance.

As Gavin Murray followed Detective Gray deep into the greenhouse, the detective hiding at the entrance silently locked the entrance door.

This was to block the escape route in preparation for any possible escape.

A tense time passed.

The quiet plant greenhouse echoed only with the sound of Detective Gray’s footsteps, who was walking with a limp, strangely loudly.

Thud. Thud.

For Tae-oh and the detectives lying in wait, every minute and every second felt as long as an hour.

However, they couldn’t rashly step out. If they caught him without on-site evidence, he would obviously make excuses that he was just out for a walk.

They had to wait as long as possible and catch him at the decisive moment.

‘······.’

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, Detective Collingwood sent a hand signal to Tae-oh.

It was a signal that a critical situation was about to occur.

Tae-oh and the detectives, who received the signal, moved forward little by little, holding their breath as promised.

And they took a stance to run out immediately if necessary.

*

As the distance narrowed to within ten meters, following the Duke silently, Gavin Murray took something out from his waist.

Swish-

A sharp, small hunting knife reflected off the greenhouse lamps and gleamed.

Gavin Murray looked around a couple of times, then suddenly aimed at the Duke’s neck and rushed forward quickly.

Thud- Thud-

At that moment,

Peep- Peep- Peep-

At the sound of a long and sharp whistle coming from somewhere, Detective Gray, who was acting as the Duke, quickly turned around.

Detective Gray threw off his hat and raised a cane with a pointed spear.

“Gavin Murray! Stay where you are!”

Gavin Murray’s eyes widened at the sight of the detective calling his name. It was as if he had seen a ghost.

“Wh-what? Who… who are you?”

“Who am I? I’m the ghost who came to catch you, you bastard! What? Are you disappointed that I’m not the Duke?”

The detectives who were hiding also kicked off their spots and ran towards Gavin Murray.

“Don’t move! Police!”

“Don’t move!”

Gavin Murray was flustered by the sight of the detectives shouting and popping out from here and there.

Detective Gray shouted.

“Gavin! It’s over for you! Drop that knife now!”

However, Gavin did not back down easily.

He wildly swung the knife and clung to Detective Gray.

“Die!”

“Whoa! This crazy bastard!”

Whoosh- Whoosh-

Thud-

Squelch-

The moment the spear at the end of the cane pierced Gavin Murray’s side, the knife deeply slashed Detective Gray’s thigh.

“Aaaagh!”

“Ugh!”

Gavin Murray clutched his pierced stomach and desperately began to run away.

Seeing this, Tae-oh and the detectives chased after him.

Chief Townsend rushed to the fallen Detective Gray and examined his wound.

“Gray! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! Quickly, quickly, he ran away that way! He was also stabbed in the stomach and wounded!”

The end of the cane that had fallen to the floor was soaked with blood.

“Alright. I’ll be right back, so hang in there for a bit.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Chief Townsend got up and hurriedly chased after his men.

*

Chief Townsend asked.

“What’s going on! Where is this guy?”

Detective Hill, who was searching the corner of the greenhouse, shook his head.

“There was a dog hole here. I also see bloody leaves. He probably escaped through this hole.”

Tae-oh touched around the hole, feeling regretful.

“It was our mistake for not checking properly. It seems he dug a hole to escape a few days ago.”

The hole was just big enough for one person to squeeze through, and there were traces of camouflage with branches and leaves here and there.

“Ah, this is a big problem. It looks like he escaped through this hole and went to the mountain behind? When I saw it the day before yesterday, the mountain behind was quite big… He must have run far away already.”

The day after tomorrow is the last sentencing of Baron Anthony Burns.

But if Gavin Murray, the decisive culprit, disappears, the power to overturn the sentence will inevitably weaken.

In modern society, this would be enough to take the circumstances into account and somehow prevent the execution from proceeding, but this is the 18th century.

If we miss Gavin Murray in this darkness and continue not to find him, the death sentence will be confirmed, and the hanging will proceed smoothly.

“What should we do?”

Detective Collingwood looked at Chief Townsend with a troubled expression.

There was no time. They needed to catch Gavin Murray quickly and confiscate the evidence from Baron Murray’s house to clear Baron Burns’ name.

“Instead of standing here, shouldn’t we search the mountain behind first? Let’s quickly chase after him?”

At Tae-oh’s words, Detective Hill let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha, how can four people turn over that big mountain on this dark evening? We don’t even know where he ran off to. And we can’t immediately ask for support from the local constables [local police force].”

Tae-oh urgently continued.

“Gavin Murray might escape like this and run to his house to destroy all the evidence. But we can’t just barge into Baron Murray’s house and rummage through the evidence either. We have to catch him in the act.”

“We know that, but… how can we catch a guy who ran away into the dark mountain?”

“Wait a minute!”

Tae-oh, who put his head in the escape hole and carefully looked around, pointed to the right outside the greenhouse and said.

“It looks like he escaped to the right path of the mountain behind.”

Chief Townsend asked back.

“The right?”

“Yes. There’s a side path where people walk here. The left side path goes up the mountain, and the right side path goes down. Looking at the blood on the ground, it seems like the wound is quite deep, right? It would be difficult to go up the mountain path with a wounded stomach. He couldn’t have gone up the mountain without a path either. If so, the right descending path seems most likely.”

After pondering for a moment, Chief Townsend made a decision.

“Alright! Then let’s quickly chase after him on the right path!”

*

“Huff, huff.”

Just when everyone was out of breath from chasing Gavin Murray.

Two paths appeared before their eyes.

The left was a path connected to a cave called the ‘Dwelling of Souls,’ which had many rocks and signs of religious rituals, and the right was a path connected to flat ground.

At the intersection, Detective Collingwood put the torch to the ground and examined something.

“What’s wrong? Is there something, Collingwood?”

Chief Townsend asked, and Detective Collingwood nodded.

“Yes! Chief. There’s a lot of blood on the path leading to the right!”

“Really? Then let’s quickly go to the right path. The left path is the ‘Dwelling of Souls,’ so he wouldn’t have gone there.”

“Yes! Of course, he wouldn’t have.”

For the people of the 18th century, mountains were sacred and evil places where gods and demons resided, especially caves and forests, which they believed were the dwelling places of gods and demons, so they hung various religious signs and did not enter carelessly. The concept of mountain climbing, which we are familiar with, only appeared after the mid-19th century.

Therefore, it was a very natural belief for them that even heinous criminals would not approach such sacred places.

Besides, there were many bloodstains on the right path.

However, at the moment when the Runners [early form of detectives] were about to jump to the right.

“Wait a minute! Wait!”

Tae-oh shouted.

“Why, Mr. Sanderson? There’s no time. We have to catch up quickly before he runs away further!”

“I think he went to the left path.”

“Yes? The left? Are you saying he went to the cave?”

It was a time when the belief in God and the influence of spirits were incomparably stronger than in modern society.

Therefore, the Runners detectives seemed to not even dare to think that Gavin Murray would break the taboo and hide in the cave.

But psychopaths don’t fall into dilemmas.

Ordinary people hesitate due to the amygdala [brain region associated with emotions] being activated, which is dominated by moral and ethical judgments, but psychopaths with abnormally small amygdala do not fall into dilemmas in such judgments and immediately take action.

If he were a typical criminal in the 18th century, he might fall into a dilemma whether to hide in the sacred cave or go out to the flat ground on the right at these two paths.

Eventually, the vast majority of criminals are afraid of God’s curse and choose the path on the right, which makes it easy to delay time.

But the psychopath Gavin Murray, despite being a modern person, does not fall into religious or moral dilemmas.

He just finds the best place to hide in his physical condition.

There is no time to delay now.

“He must have headed to the left cave direction, where there are many places to hide. Looking at the artificial shape of the bloodstains scattered on the right path, it is more likely to be a trick to deceive us.”

Chief Townsend was puzzled by Tae-oh’s words.

“Why are you so sure he went to the cave? That’s the area of spiritual beings. Gavin, who has committed a crime, would rather avoid that place.”

“No! Gavin Murray doesn’t fall into dilemmas!”

“…?”

“He’s a person who makes abnormal judgments different from us, so I’m saying he might have gone to the cave!”

Chief Townsend stared intently at Tae-oh’s face, which was strangely confident.

And soon, as if he had made up his mind, he shouted loudly to the detectives.

“Alright! Let’s follow Mr. Sanderson’s words! Let’s quickly go to the left cave and look for bloodstains!”

However, the detectives hesitated at the chief’s instructions.

No matter how good they were, they were still just 18th-century people. They were caught in a strange fear at the thought of the forest and cave with the signs of spirits.

“There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll go in first, so follow me.”

Tae-oh took the torch and strode into the path to the cave, and the detectives, who were watching, slowly followed.

After a while, Detective Hill, who was following Tae-oh, shouted.

“Oh! There are bloodstains here! Here!”

“Really? They’re dripping in a line?”

Tae-oh also quickly approached and checked the traces.

The bloodstains were dripping in a certain direction, heading towards the cave.

Tae-oh, who was searching hard around, shouted. He found bloody handprints at the entrance of the cave.

“It’s here! It seems certain that he hid inside the cave!”

However, the faces of the detectives who ran to Tae-oh’s shout turned pale.

“Could it be… even so, did he really hide inside the cave?”

“If he went inside the cave… could he have been eaten by the spirits?”

“What if that happens to us too?”

Tae-oh almost burst out laughing at the absurd appearance of the 18th-century detectives, who firmly believed that the cave was the ‘dwelling place of gods and spirits.’

“You all really believe in superstitions too much. If a guilty person runs away to a cave, can’t we catch him?”

“No… that’s not it. It’s because this is a special cave with signs of spirits.”

“Anyway, I’ll go in first.”

“Yes? Are you okay?”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

Tae-oh carefully stepped into the cave with a torch.

Fortunately, the cave did not seem deep.

As Tae-oh was looking around the cave, he found something dark and shouted loudly.

“It’s here! It seems like there’s really someone inside!”

“Re…really?”

Only then did Chief Townsend, who followed, shout.

“Oh! It’s really there! He’s hiding here! Everyone come in!”

Going further inside, they saw Gavin Murray, clutching his blood-soaked side and panting.

Chief Townsend shouted reproachfully.

“Gavin Murray! Come out right now! I’m arresting you for the murder of Baron Burns and many people, and for the attempted murder of Duke Manners!”

But Gavin retorted in a calm and confident voice.

“You idiots! You stopped me from doing great things for this country!”

The detectives looked at each other and were dumbfounded at the absurd sound, and Gavin shouted even more, screaming.

“Because you stopped me at the end, my plan to judge the crimes and immorality of Duke Manners has completely gone to waste! You will be remembered forever as traitors to history!”

Even while saying nonsensical things, his face was only serious. No subtle expressions related to lies were caught.

Even in situations where all their crimes are witnessed and revealed, psychopaths deny reality and lie.

And Gavin Murray was showing such symptoms, piecing together his heroic story by connecting the facts connected by those lies into delusions.

“Stop talking nonsense! Hey, take that guy’s knife and arrest him right now! Right now!”

“Yes!”

“Catch him!”

“Stay still, you bastard!”

“Chief? What about this guy’s wound?”

Chief Townsend, who slightly lifted the wound, said.

“It’s okay, it’s just a slight tear in the side, so just wash it clean with water outside and wrap it with a cloth to stop the bleeding.”

Gavin Murray, who had his knife confiscated and was roughly tied up, received simple treatment and was dragged to Beckenham, where his house was located.