Stella Grace looked at Jasper Milton in surprise.
She didn’t expect Jasper to respond in such a way. It was as if he was deliberately provoking Benjamin Levis. Moreover, his sudden action caused her heart to beat wildly. Some might even misunderstand that he had taken a liking towards her.
“Mr. Milton, don’t you have a girlfriend? Should you really be doing this?” Benjamin commented in a strange tone.
“Well, since you know that I have a girlfriend, you shouldn’t be accusing Inspector Grace of hidden intentions then?” Jasper retorted.
Benjamin : “…”
Benjamin was at a loss for words.
Stella could tell that he was venting his anger at her.
Benjamin liked bad-mouthing her and she could do nothing about it.
Jasper had finally avenged her. He had easily trapped Benjamin with his own words.
No one could ever beat Jasper at this game.
Stella couldn’t but give a slight, admiring smile.
“Such an annoyance.” Benjamin turned around and walked to the first floor.
“Let’s go to the kitchen first,” Stella said.
“Okay.” Jasper held her hand.
His hand was very warm. She wasn’t scared anymore when he held her hand.
Although she had her reservations, she did not pull away.
They walked hand in hand to the kitchen.
It was very spacious, and there were six stove, enough to accommodate six pots simultaneously.
Looks like quite a number of people had lived here in style.
Jasper opened the lid of a pot.
It had not been used for a long time. It was rusty and there was a spider web inside. There was no spider in it though.
Stella looked in the stove and saw some black, hard lumps of ashes.
Jasper scooped up the ashes from the six pots and kept them in a sealed bag, He labelled them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, accordingly.
Stella looked at him.
He explained to Stella, “I’ll get the forensic department to check if these ashes were formed at the same period of time as well as when they were formed.”
Stella smiled and said, “Will they be able to tell? If yes, will the antique ashes be valuable?”
Jasper smiled too.
He thought Stella only looked cool on the surface, but deep down, she’s a passionate person.
“I didn’t expect you to be a little miser. You could ask for money from me at any time,” Jasper said dotingly.
Stella’s heart was palpating and she lowered her head.
He looked at her beautiful figure, lowered his head and kissed her on the lips.
Stella stepped back on reflex and said, “Someone might see us.”
Jasper clamped her waist and looked deep into her eyes. “So what?”
Katty Davis, Suzi Shine, and Steven Milton’s faces flashed across Stella’s mind.
She felt a dull pain on her little finger.
“Don’t be so overbearing,” Stella complained.
Jasper looked at her with his keen eyes, and the both of them were in a deadlock.
She pushed him away, but he refused to budge.
The sound of footsteps came from outside.
Jasper finally let go of her and took a step back.
Tommy ran into the kitchen and said, “Inspector Grace, Mr. Levis wants to see you for a while.”
Stella thought Benjamin might have found something, so she followed Tommy to the first room next to the stairs.
“Someone used to stay in this room,” Benjamin observed.
Stella glanced around the room and went to the window. It was closed, but there were woodbine all over the window. She could not see outside. “How did you know?”
Benjamin locked his gaze on Stella. “Intuition,” he said casually.
Stella : “…”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She walked out of the room, looked at the ground, and thought of an idea.
Jasper went upstairs slowly. Every step he took was a little heavy. “Mr. Milton.”
Jasper was not satisfied with the way she addressed him. “What did you call me?”
Stella looked embarrassed.
Benjamin didn’t know what had happened to them in the past.
She dared not expose their relationship.
She simply ignored him and said, “Someone might be staying here. There’s no dust on the ground. It doesn’t make sense.”
“This place is remote and there are no vehicles passing by. The room is closed and there’s a layer of woodbine concealing the room. Of course, there won’t be much dust coming in. Your judgement is flawed,” Benjamin refuted.
Stella pointed to the ceiling on the third floor and said, “But this place has been here for a long time, things should be falling apart. Look at the ceiling.”
Bulbs were hung to the ceiling. Perhaps the ceiling was too high up, they could not see properly.
Stella turned on the flashlight in her phone and pointed it at the ceiling. “Jasper, help me.”
His name slipped out of her mouth.
Jasper was satisfied, he looked at his subordinate and signaled to him.
The man pulled out a strong military flashlight from his backpack.
It was much brighter than a phone flashlight.
The ceiling was made of wood. It looked triangular and wasn’t painted.
Stella frowned. She pulled out the photos she had and looked at the castle. Then she compared them to her surroundings.
She pointed to the top of the castle and asked Jasper, “What do you think this triangular thing is made of?”
“Black bricks. Why?” Jasper asked, confused.
“This means there is wood under the black bricks. If there was leakage through the gaps between the bricks, the wood will turn moldy, right? Look at the wood. Is it real wood? Or is it artificial?” Stella looked at the ceiling doubtfully.
“Under normal circumstances, black bricks will be sealed with lime powder, cement or tar to make it waterproof underneath,” Jasper said. He took the photo in Stella’s hand and compared it with what he saw. His pupils narrowed.
Had it not been for Stella, he wouldn’t have noticed that something was wrong.
Now he finally had a breakthrough.
“Stella, I suspected that this place had a basement or something similar. When the three teenagers came in, they must have been abducted somewhere. One of them escaped, but the other two couldn’t be found. I think I have found the secret chamber,” Jasper concluded.
Stella pointed at the ceiling and said, “The secret room is not underground, but on the roof?”
Jasper nodded. “The people who came to investigate before us were deceived by the usual mindset and their eyes. There should be a place that can lead to the roof.”
Benjamin listened to their discussion and took the photo in Jasper’s hand.
He found something wrong too. “Knock on the ceiling of all the rooms on the second floor. If it’s not concrete, pry it open with a weapon.”
“No need. I think I know where the entrance is,” Jasper said and led the way.
Benjamin looked at Jasper’s back and was very unhappy. He squinted his eyes.
Jasper went to the furthest room and asked his man to get him a ladder. He went up and pushed the ceiling open.
Stella was very surprised. “How did you know where it was?”
“Architecture space design. Compare the appearance and the interior and link it to the logic behind its structural concept,” Jasper said.
“Is Mr. Milton responsible for building houses in the military?” Benjamin asked in a strange tone.
Jasper ignored him and surveyed the secret room. He was shocked at what he saw.