[Sherlock Holmes] The Rose and the Thorn

It had been a week since he returned to London from Surrey, and Holmes had been unhappy during this week.Watson saw the expression of his co-resident returning from abroad, and asked Claire if the case was not going well.

Claire is concentrating on finishing and writing the "Spotted Tape" case this time. The last "Scarlet Analysis" was unexpectedly popular in the newspaper, so the newspaper also decided to continue this topic.Claire finally put down the pen in her hand when she heard Watson sitting in the living room asking:

"If we talk about the 'spot case' this time, Mr. Holmes was actually successful." Claire turned her back to the window, and the bright sky light made her shoulders almost transparent. This strangeness is bothering him now."

"What's strange?" Watson asked in a low voice. The door next to the big clock was ajar. Through the crack of the door, Holmes could be seen sitting on the sofa in the room, and he gently plucked the strings of the violin. Several abrupt sounds came from the room.

"The 'tool of crime'—that poisonous snake, disappeared after reporting the crime the next day." Claire also replied softly.

"Huh?" Watson asked Clare back in surprise, "Didn't you lock it up?"

"On the contrary, Doctor. I distinctly remember Holmes keeping it in the same safe with the murderer in which he always kept the viper," explained Clare.

"But it's gone."

"Yeah, it's gone." Claire replied unwillingly.

"Claire, that snake was taken away!" The sudden voice made the two people outside the living room stop talking in surprise.When they looked up at the half-closed door, they saw that the thin detective had left it open.

"...cough, actually, I've wanted to ask for a long time, when did he start calling you by your name..." Watson glanced at Claire helplessly, while the landlady's face suddenly turned red as she sat on the sofa.Avoiding his question, they watched as Holmes emerged from the room.

"Actually, the answer is very simple. Claire, Ms. Stoner and her stepfather's housekeeper, disappeared after dawn the next day."

"..." Claire looked at him in surprise, "Eh? Is there such a thing?"

"Because I asked you to follow the police back first, so you don't know."

"That's exactly what I want to ask." Claire looked at Holmes who had already walked beside them. He walked around the sofa in the living room, and finally turned his head to look at the warm coals in the fireplace. I stay there?"

"It's a bit complicated." Holmes said, "I feel that my hands and feet have been secretly tied up again." He said, and he tapped the fireplace in front of him with his index finger unwillingly, "I'm sure that the butler must be the same as Mr. It's a gang that helped Hope."

"Oh, you mean..." Watson seemed to understand something. When he looked at Holmes with surprised eyes, the great detective had already frowned and closed his eyes because of anger.

Watson carefully moved his eyes to Clare, and when he saw the woman's absent-minded eyes, he immediately turned his eyes back to the detective:

"Holmes, then . . . have you found those fellows?"

"That's their cunning. To tell the truth, Watson, I should have seen it when I discovered it. I couldn't catch them by the tail."

"..." Clare remained silent. She remembered what Hope had said to her at that time, "be careful". She thought that she might be killed by them within a short distance.

"All the information about the steward is fake, and I think Dr. Roylott knew of his existence a long time ago. He killed his elderly stepdaughter, and he also used the Indian adder at that time. As a murder weapon, I think maybe they have colluded together before this."

"That was two years ago, if I remember correctly?" Watson asked. "I remember Miss Stoner narrating it to us that morning in terror."

"You have a good memory, Watson, which means that the butler existed at least two years ago. I asked Ms. Stoner, and she confirmed my idea. The butler came to this villa two years ago Yes, but it was only now that they realized the unusual identity of this housekeeper." After Holmes explained, Watson nodded:

"And where is he now, Holmes?"

"He ran away, pretending to call the police, but sneaked a snake with him and never returned." Holmes frowned again, "everything about him is false, which is exactly what is causing headaches." The place."

"...How are you sure that he is in the same situation as Hope?" The woman remained silent for a long time, until now, she finally raised her head to look at the man standing by the fireplace:

"Nameplate." Holmes said as he took out the metal plate that Clare had seen before, which made the woman's lips lose their color in an instant. "Although I don't want to admit it, I found it when I checked Roylot's pocket that morning."

"..." There were indeed no more doubts. On the point that this case was also related to that sinister and terrifying organization, Claire had no more objections.

Watson saw something unusual, his eyes wandered between the two, and it was not long before he asked softly:

"Then Holmes, have you found that...that organization?" He tilted his head. So far, he still finds what the detective said is incredible.

"..." Even the detective was silent now, and the air in the room froze instantly, leaving Watson at a loss for what to do.

"...and this morning's case." The woman sat on the sofa, the sun was shining brightly, but it made her look even more vulnerable.She turned her eyes to the "Times" on the table, "The second one."

Her monotonous voice echoed around the room, making it all the more disturbing.Holmes also turned his head slightly when he heard that, and after seeing the annoying live paintings on the front page, he took a deep breath:

"You said that case..." Watson noticed the gaze between them, "To be honest, the whole of London seems to have fallen into terror because of these two cases. After all, two women have already died in such disgusting killing methods. .It's like a… ritual."

Claire bit her lip, she remembered what was in the newspaper, this time the wooden nail of the dead woman pierced her ear canal.Blood oozed from the ear and dripped all over the floor.Although it was just a painting, Claire could also imagine how terrifying the real picture would be.

"Perhaps I should investigate this lurid incident," said Holmes, who was clearly confused.

"But you didn't get any invitation. To those Scotland Yard police officers, coming uninvited will only be regarded as a joke." As soon as Claire finished speaking, Holmes stopped moving.

This was the reason for his anxiety. Watson looked at the two people with very bad expressions. He didn't know exactly how this case had anything to do with them.

"Holmes, what is this lurid case..."

"Doctor, I suspect that I was also threatened by this murderer a long time ago." Claire said, "You may not know that I once received a threatening letter. The content of the letter is similar to this case. It seems to be conveying to me that this is a ritual, where wooden nails are put on the victim's facial features to achieve insensibility." Claire said calmly to Watson.

"Huh?" He almost stood up from the chair. He was a man with rich emotions, and he felt horrible and even could not tolerate the threat that his friends were approaching like this.

"In the painting attached to the letter, the woman in the painting is nailed with five sense organs. The letter explains that people who have achieved no sense can have no desires and desires, and can listen to God's teachings more attentively."

"It's crazy!" Watson growled, and then made an unreasonable expression.

"Claire, those are just unfinished works." Holmes said suddenly. When the hostess looked at the person by the fireplace again, she found that Holmes's eyes had a gray light. "Mere eyes, mere ears, One day it will be what it looks like in that portrait."

"..." The room fell silent in an instant, and this reasonable inference made both Claire and Watson feel chills in their backs.So this silence became very strange, the ticking of the pendulum filled the room, even if the sun was shining outside the window, even if the street was full of traffic, it would only make the room more deserted.

Not long after, the sound of an electric bell rang in front of the door, and everyone's eyes turned to the living room door.White's soft greeting didn't make it clear who was coming.

But not long after, there was the sound of high heels on the stairs.Sherlock Holmes guessed it was a woman, but he did not recall any appointments with anyone, so he still had no definite idea of ​​the person in his mind.

White was the first to go to the door, and she looked at the three people in the room.For some reason, there was a slight dodge in her expression, and Claire caught it, which made her suspicious.But she didn't care about White, because soon, she discovered that the person walking out from behind her turned out to be Morstan.Unlike her usual self, Claire could see a hint of worry on her face, which made her worry too.

The oppressive atmosphere in the room caused by the poisonous snake and the horrible case was replaced by the arrival of Morstan.Claire looked at her friend, and finally asked:

"Dear Morstan, why are you here? Could it be about the manuscript?" Claire thought of the "Spotted Tape" that she was still writing just now, but she thought it was still some time before the deadline, and it shouldn't be Morstan who came to collect it today draft date.

"No ma'am," she raised the corners of her lips, but from her slightly furrowed brows, it can be seen that all this was done reluctantly, "I didn't come to see you today, but to entrust Mr. Holmes with a matter."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone looked at her in surprise.

The author has something to say: Morstan's case is finally here!And I hope this dark thread can connect all the cases~

Thank you Bawang Ticket~

alo dropped a mine