"The Widow" Bertha

Martha's body looked like it was "melted", bloody and horrific.

There is almost no need for an autopsy. First, there was no such advanced science and technology in the nineteenth century that could analyze such a strange cause of death, and second, Bertha did not have that ability.

And it wasn't the first time she had seen such a situation.

No wonder Sherlock Holmes wanted to dismiss Miss Morstan. If he saw his friend in this state, he would have nightmares for several days.

"Pastor White... before his death, his body also became like this." Bertha said, frowning slightly.

"very good."

Holmes had heard about it a long time ago, and now that Bertha personally confirmed it, he nodded immediately: "This proves that the cause of Martha Marquis' death has nothing to do with the machine accident in the textile factory."

of course.

Pastor White's body has undergone such changes. Thinking about Dr. Lear's condition at that time, he may be similar to the corpse in front of him.Teenagers could tell it must have something to do with the Truth Society.

but……

"Before you saw the body, you said that it might be related to the laboratory left by the Truth Society," Bertha said, "How do you know?"

"Mycroft told it to me."

"..."

"For the past six months, he has been using your wandering army squad to inquire about street news," Holmes said. "Do you know?"

"I know."

Bertha answered his question seemingly nonchalantly.

Of course she knew, after Mycroft found Charlie Berry again, little Charlie told Bertha the matter with a face full of guilt.

But Bertha was not so stingy. Mrs. Thames' social circle was equal to her work, and Bertha was determined not to let her professional dealings be affected by personal problems.

"To this day, the investor hiding in Liverpool has still not shown his feet," Holmes said. "I am afraid that he is the chief culprit who has taken control of the Truth Society since Pastor White left."

That is to say, Mycroft is still taking time out of his busy schedule to find the real culprit behind the scenes.

However, if the real culprit is so well hidden, why is the Truth Society's behavior so high-profile?

Bertha was thoughtful: "Are they...are they abandoned?"

Holmes: "You are the researcher of the entire Truth Society? Maybe. In any case, Mycroft has already eradicated this organization, and the murderer this time is probably not someone from the Truth Society."

"Is it right? You have to have clues to speak."

"Since Martha Marquis died at the factory," said Holmes, "we must visit the place."

But today's factory has been sealed up by the factory owner.

After the two left the morgue, they met Miss Morstan who was waiting outside. Bertha couldn't help frowning: "The previous strike protest was expelled by the police. Now the textile factory must be heavily guarded and it is not easy to enter."

"There is a way."

Miss Morstan was unexpectedly optimistic: "Dawson...I mean my friends, I was offended by this incident. He has been lobbying in other districts for the past two days, and I heard that he will find a midnight time to discuss it. "

Bertha: "..."

This is why, there are still a large number of Irish and Gypsies in the Whitechapel area, but Mrs. Thames is still unwilling to expand internally.

There are no more than a hundred Irish people who actually live in the Whitechapel area, and they are nothing in the huge slums.But ethnically they don't feel a sense of belonging to any street gang.

The Irish are deeply discriminated against in London. They take the least wages and do the heaviest work.

If he is not accepted by Londoners, he will naturally not belong to any London gang.Once something happens to the Irish in a certain area, like now, when the compatriots in Whitechapel are bullied, they are more inclined to step out of the slums and unite the compatriots in London to rebel.

The same goes for Gypsies, Italians, and even Jews.It's just that after going out of the slums and street gangs, they won't solve the problem with such simple and direct violence.

"If this continues," Bertha said unexpectedly, "are you not afraid of alarming the government?"

The red-haired Miss Morstan smiled brightly: "That would be the best."

That being the case, Bertha did not exhort much.

This is indeed a good opportunity to sneak into the factory while taking advantage of the chaos.

***

At midnight three days later, at 23 South Bank Street.

"Ma'am, ma'am!"

"I can't catch it." Taking advantage of the darkness, Jack rushed all the way to the back door of the house at No. 23 South Bank Street. He was just about to go straight into the hall when the maid Grace Poole grabbed him by the collar: "Take off your shoes!"

Jack: "Hey, Grace, it's urgent!"

However, even if it is a big event where the sky is falling, you have to obediently take off your shoes and enter the door.While allowing the maid Grace to push himself on the chair, Jack kicked off his muddy shoes and asked, "Where is Madam?"

"Ma'am has been waiting for you."

"Good, good!"

After finally kicking off his shoes, Jack hurried in: "Ma'am, the Irish—"

"—ready to act?"

"Uh……"

When he saw Mrs. Thames clearly, Jack "Can't Catch" suddenly widened his eyes.

In Boy Jack's mind, Mrs. Thames is always dressed in a bright dress, no matter in appearance or clothing, she is the most eye-catching existence when she appears.

At this time, Mrs. Thames, who came down from the second floor, changed into a man's clothes.

The suit shirt and trousers did not make her look like a man, but she was still full of heroism.

It is very difficult for a woman to disguise herself as a man. Even if the lady tied her long hair back tightly and covered it with a hat, her bright and bright face showed her identity as a lady.

Seeing Jack's surprised expression, Bertha smiled: "How is it? It's so dark, they can't see it!"

Also.

But Mrs. Thames was born tall and thin, and she was not much worse than many men.And tonight there are neither stars nor moon, this outfit is enough to make it look like the real one in a smear situation.

"That……"

Jack blinked and blinked: "Ma'am, you have to be careful!"

Bertha: "Don't worry, just lead the way."

After finishing speaking, one big and one small took advantage of the night to walk around to the back door, quietly boarded the carriage and left.

It was not until she came near the textile factory that Bertha understood what Miss Morstan meant by "that would be the best".

As far as three streets away, she could already hear extremely clear sounds of fighting, insults, shouting, and the sound of glass bottles being smashed. All these noises were intertwined in one place, making the outside of the factory area even stronger than the commercial street in the daytime. more lively.

Bertha saw Mr. Holmes and Miss Morstan waiting at the intersection.

Miss Morstan was surprised by Bertha's attire, but said nothing.

"Come with me, be careful not to be accidentally injured!"

The whole street was in chaos.

The so-called "discussion" has escalated into another war, the difference is that this time the Irish are fully prepared, and the textile factory in the middle of the night is nothing more than a dozen supervisors holding the gate .

Seeing that the supervisor couldn't stand it anymore.

Miss Morstan led people through the corner of the street, and what Bertha clearly saw was the Irish youth Dawson leading dozens of compatriots knocking on the door.

"Open the door! Give us back the body of Martha Marquis!"

"Open the door! Give us back justice!"

"Open the door! Give us back the truth!"

——Such rhetoric is deafening.

"Leave them alone," Bertha grabbed onto the dazed "Can't Catch", "follow Miss Morstan closely."

"Come on!"

Miss Morstan immediately added: "Now all the supervisors are at the front door, and we just went around from the back. I know where we can climb over the wall."

Jack: "But..."

Just before the words "can't be caught" fell to the ground, Sherlock Holmes suddenly stopped.

The skinny detective stopped at the other corner of the factory. When he stopped, Bertha and Miss Morstan couldn't help turning their heads.

As Jack said, there are no stars or moon tonight, and under the dark sky, only the torches held high by the Irish are burning brightly.

Their firelight lit the way behind them.

The next moment, at the end of the road, a dazzling arc lamp instantly illuminated the street like daytime.

Even the Bertha people who were hiding aside had to raise their hands to block their sight because of the sudden strong light. The noisy street suddenly fell into silence, except for the very regular "humming" of the generator driving the arc lamp. Voice.

This is……

After Bertha got used to the strong light, she put down her palms and saw several men walking up to the strong light with semi-automatic rifles that were determined to be illegal, and said in an accented voice: "Who told you to come here?" trouble?"

Damn.

Damn!

Before Bertha could speak, Holmes frowned: "It's Italian."

He was asking Bertha, and Bertha looked at Miss Morstan.

The latter also had an expression of surprise. The red-haired Irish girl said blankly, "It's not under the Italians' control."

And the factory district in the East District does not belong to the power of the Whitechapel, no matter what...

The opponent had a gun, the Irishman didn't.

Once blood is seen tonight, when the sun rises tomorrow, the gangs in London will probably be in a state of daggers and swords-fighting with people outside the territory is not as simple as a gang fire.

"What now?" asked Miss Morstan.

Bertha took a deep breath.

what to do?This matter has nothing to do with her, she can ignore it.

But the Irishmen confronted the gunmen with clubs, and among them were people Bertha knew...  

She gritted her teeth: "Holmes, protect Jack."

Jack: "Ma'am? Ma'am!"

"Can't catch" didn't call Bertha.

She didn't even wait for a response - because Bertha knew that Sherlock Holmes would take care of the ladies and children around him.

Bertha went straight out.

The brand-new leather shoes stepped on the puddle on the ground and made a "pop" sound, breaking the silence caused by the confrontation between the two groups of people.Bertha strode into the glare and stood before the Irishman against the bright light of the arc lamps.

"Before asking the other party, you must first report your background. This is the rule of the Tao."

She spoke loudly to the gunman: "Which family do you belong to?"

The Italian on the opposite side seemed surprised, and seemed to be waiting for this topic.

"Esposito," replied the Italian, "who are you?"

Bertha took off her hat and threw it aside, and then she undid the tight knot of her hair.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the long hair of the beauty in men's clothing slanted down to her waist like a waterfall.

"I am Lady Thames of Whitechapel."

She said coldly: "The head of your family knows me, let him come and talk to me in person."