"The Widow" Bertha

Thomas, who was following Bertha, saw her stop and immediately reacted.The young man took a step ahead, raised his still pale face and looked at Sherlock Holmes: "Holmes, I have something to ask you about the underground sewer."

Sherlock Holmes raised his eyebrows when he heard this, obviously he did not think Thomas Thames' current state was suitable for any conversation on the case.

But he didn't say much, just nodded: "Let's go."

The two young people greeted each other and left, leaving room for the remaining two to talk alone.

Six months had passed, and Bertha was still Bertha, and Mycroft was still Mycroft.

He still wore the well-tailored suit and the polite expression with the right smile. At least on the surface, no one would expect to see Mr. Mycroft Holmes revealing half of his true personal emotions.

But Bertha had.

So she just looked at the door behind the man: "Come in for a cup of tea?"

Mycroft smiled happily: "My pleasure, ma'am."

Minnie, the cook at No. 23 South Shore Street, is of French descent, mainly because Bertha is not used to British food.But her skill in making tea was not bad, and when Minnie brought the refreshments and teapot, Mycroft said slowly, "The decoration is good, it's really your taste."

Bertha paused slightly with the hand holding the teacup.

Then it dawned on her: Before this, Mycroft had never been here.

He had appeared in the pub before Bertha bought the two properties, and their subsequent private encounters were arranged by Mycroft.

Even after Bertha clearly remembered the smell of aftershave under the man's formal attire, the temperature of his wide palms, and the disordered breathing and heartbeat before dawn, he hadn't even come to her home.

Bertha hooked her lips: "Thank you."

Mycroft: "You're very kind."

Bertha brought the teacup to her lips, took a sip and said, "I mean your aftermath."

Mycroft tilted his head: "Aftermath?"

Bertha: "Last night, there was such a commotion outside the textile factory that Scotland Yard was as blind and deaf as it was for a long time to make a move."

Hearing Bertha point out the facts, Mycroft moved the hand holding the cane, and then said with a smile: "How can Madam be sure that I did it?"

"I just know it."

Bertha lazily said: "I also know that in the past six months, the Italians have tried to attack the Whitechapel area several times, but at the critical moment, they have a little trouble at home, and you are the one who caused the trouble behind it."

Speaking of this, Mycroft didn't mean to deny anything.

He replied indifferently: "It's nothing more than a little effort, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."

Bertha snorted, "How could that be?"

Someone will do it for you before you do it yourself, so the more things you can get for nothing, the better.

Especially the reason why Mycroft made such a move, the two of them knew very well.

"Even if a wild beast wants to attack you, if you use it properly, you can benefit from it," Mycroft continued, "Madam, you have always been smart, so you naturally know how to control beasts, but..."

"only?"

"Don't get so close to them," the man calmly reminded, "The Italians have too many blood debts in their hands. If you follow your past cooperation method, you may be implicated."

"..."

Bertha burst out laughing.

"Mike," she put down her teacup and leaned against the edge of the sofa, her hoarse voice was intentionally elongated, "Speaking of which, are you afraid that I'll sleep with an Italian?"

Mycroft did not give a definite response.

He lowered his head, and then said: "For the past six months, I have been tracking down that anonymous investor in Liverpool."

This is what it means to get straight to the point.

Bertha didn't mind, she restrained her flirting gesture: "I would like to know more, haven't all the forces of the Truth Society in London have been cleaned up, why is there another case?"

"Maybe it was cleaned up too cleanly."

Mycroft sighed: "As a result, there is no one online, and the remaining offline groups are naturally leaderless."

It is true.

From Colonel Dent at the beginning to Doctor Lear later, it was confirmed that there was no direct communication channel between the upper and lower levels of the Truth Society. Usually, the higher level issued orders to the lower level unilaterally.

Mycroft can deal with all members from government agencies to university laboratories, but it is not easy to deal with the Jesse Gang who just give money to help with things.

There is no way to solve it, they don't belong to the Truth Society, they are nothing more than a deal.

It's just that, no one knows how many studies of the Truth Society have leaked out.

"It shouldn't be."

Bertha thought for a while, and asked a question: "There are not many colleges and universities in London. Since the Truth Society started with intellectuals, even if London does not have their people, other cities may not have them."

"This is where the problem lies."

Mycroft held on to his cane and said coldly: "Actually, ma'am, I now very much suspect that the reason why the Society of Truth has been exposed is because the investor in Liverpool no longer takes them seriously. "

"..."

Bertha's heart skipped a beat.

She also once had this idea in her heart: as a cult organization that claims to be scientific research, the Truth Society's behavior style is not particularly high-profile, but it shows its flaws everywhere, like mosquitoes who have lost their minds, stumbling around to save themselves.

The reason for this is probably because the mind has given up on them.

"Since you're looking for Liverpool, can you find anything?"

"It's easier said than done."

Although there was none, Mycroft was not upset: "What I have in my hands is a huge amount of numbers, ma'am, since you run an office, you naturally understand how troublesome it is to deal with more books."

And Mycroft had not only numbers from London, but also numbers from Liverpool.

There were no computers or the Internet in the nineteenth century, and it would take a long time to look up another ten assistants as clever as Mycroft Holmes.

"I can't help you with this, Mike."

Bertha said truthfully: "But leave the murder case of the textile factory to me. You will deal with the affairs of the upper class, and I will deal with the affairs of the lower society. How about it?"

"That would be best."

Mycroft showed gratitude: "This has done me a big favor."

It would be much easier to deal with if there were no complicated cases involving political factors, but some leftover research materials were leaked.

"Cooperation."

At the end of the business discussion, Bertha returned to her usual careless and lazy expression: "Aren't you very clear about my past cooperation methods, dear?"

Mycroft did not make any definite response.

He just pursed the corners of his mouth a little, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Bertha laughed instead, and she raised a bright smile: "I will see you off myself."

And the man wasn't even surprised or trying to excuse it.

For six months there had been no meeting, no direct conversation, and although Bertha probably knew what he was doing, she hadn't expressed anything.

She got up from the sofa, and the other party followed suit.

Bertha turned around slowly, and walked towards the door outside the living room. Mycroft Holmes always took a step away from her, walking obliquely behind her silently.

A few meters away, but with a deathly silence.

There were not many people in her house, and after letting the maid leave, the only sound echoed in the spacious hall was the "knocking" sound of shoe soles on the wooden floor.

At last Bertha stopped at the gate.

The Jamaican girl reached out to grab the doorknob, and the heavy wooden door creaked under her strength, revealing a gap.

At this time, London turned cloudy and sunny, and the fine sunlight leaked in through this gap.

The next moment, Mycroft's arm brushed Bertha's waist and pushed the wooden door back.

A ray of sunlight disappeared in an instant.

Mycroft's palm finally landed on Bertha's right hand holding the doorknob, and he didn't take her hand, just touched it lightly.

This meant that they were very close, so close that the hem of Bertha's skirt got tangled up in the hem of the man's trousers when she moved a little.

"Yes, I am well versed in your cooperation, ma'am."

His voice rang in her ears.

The familiar smell of aftershave, the familiar temperature, the familiar distance.

The man's breath blew over the skin on the side of Bertha's neck. She turned her head slightly, but all she saw was his beautiful jawline and the Adam's apple extending above the tightly buttoned collar.

Before the dawn that day, Bertha had left a not so tender kiss here, not tender enough to stay on his skin for a long time.

"So yes, I do fear."

——She asked him if he was afraid that she would sleep with other men.

"I'm so afraid that I even considered using less than fair means to eradicate him. It's too easy. Marco Esposito has been accused of many crimes. It is only a few words to send him to the gallows."

Having said so far, Mycroft Holmes' tone remained calm and steady.

"I can also use the same method to eradicate other people, all men who show their favor to you, maybe you will consider the so-called 'way of cooperation'."

"But you didn't."

"Because that's not the way to solve the problem."

The side of Mycroft's face brushed against Bertha's temples, and he still raised his arms, almost embracing Bertha from behind in his arms.

"Six months ago, you were angry at my concealment, Bertha. All the contradictions and concerns came from my arrogance, and I took your kindness for granted." He said, "There is a price to be paid for pushing the queen out .”

"The price?" asked Bertha, her back turned to him.

"The price is," the man smiled lowly, "It's your turn to play chess, and I'm willing to take a step for you."

"So you're here to apologize."

Bertha said with great interest: "After six months."

"nature."

At last Mycroft let go of the gate he was holding against.

The man took half a step back, distanced himself from Bertha, and then opened the closed wooden door himself, allowing the warm sunshine to pour on the two of them.He smiled at Bertha who turned away.

"At your command, Bertha."