"The Widow" Bertha

This was Bertha's first visit to Sherlock Holmes' apartment.

Today, Mr. Holmes has only been engaged in the detective industry for two years. He is a fledgling, and Dr. John Watson is estimated to be far away in Afghanistan. Therefore, the address left by the future great detective to Bertha is not the famous 221B Baker Street, but a little-known place. single apartment.

The apartment was four floors high and many people lived in it. When Bertha called out "Sherlock Holmes", she clearly saw a somewhat disgusted expression on the face of the apartment manager.

And when Bertha pushed open the door of Sherlock Holmes' apartment, she immediately understood why the apartment manager's attitude was so rude——

"Oh my God!"

Sykes, who was walking in front, was almost pushed over by the stench: "Fuck, Holmes, what are you doing?!"

The young detective turned his head and said indifferently: "Investigate the case."

The apartment can be described as a mess. The not-so-spacious living room is full of experimental bottles and cans, as well as messy books, paper and pens.Not to mention freeing up space for entertaining guests, there is almost no room for Holmes' residence.

On the table, which can be called a "dining table" tentatively, he even put animal carcasses found from the underground waterway on it.

The stench was evidently emanating from the corpse.

The smell of the underground sewer and the smell of the rotting corpses mixed together, resulting in a strong stench in Holmes' living room even with the windows open.

Let alone Sikes, Bertha couldn't bear it.

She shook off the handkerchief: "You just put the corpse like this, are you not afraid of bacterial infection?"

Holmes raised his eyebrows, as if Bertha had asked something stupid.

"Of course I brought out the body because you were coming," he said. "Gloves?"

"it is good."

Without a word of nonsense, Holmes threw the inspection gloves to Bertha.

They have also cooperated several times, and they have a general understanding of each other's observation methods.As a result, she was able to go straight to the subject without hindrance. Bertha walked to the dining table that had basically lost its original function, and took a closer look: "You have dissected it."

"Yes."

"How's the harvest?"

Without Holmes answering, Bertha knew there must be a lot.

He washed away the mud from the animal carcasses, revealing the whole body of the strange and weird carcasses.

The unidentifiable animal is not small in size, resembling a large dog breed, but has mouse-like fur, but the fur stops when it extends to the cervical spine and limbs, revealing hooves and skulls with thick cuticles or scales .

Make it look unspeakably weird, as if the giant mouse had gone bald, or the crocodile had grown fur.

Bertha picked up the instrument and clamped the fur under the animal's neck, and rummaged through it carefully.

"There's no need to look for it," Holmes naturally knew what she was looking for. "There are no traces of stitches."

"..."

Bertha paused suddenly.

Holmes used tweezers to remove the dissected corpse, not to show Bertha the physiological structure of this strange creature, but to peel off the fur and show Bertha a bloody wound: "Here."

Bertha suddenly realized: "It's a gunshot wound."

Holmes: "It died of excessive blood loss after being shot."

Sykes on the side endured his nausea and said, "Who the hell will shoot in the underground sewer?"

This is the problem.

Who would walk down the underground sewer with nothing to do, and happen to be near a textile factory, and just happen to bump into this strange creature?

Bertha: "Where's the bullet?"

Holmes tilted his head almost triumphantly.

He put down the tweezers and picked up a glass bottle next to the dining table, which was filled with broken bullets restored from broken shrapnel: "It took a lot of time to put together."

As he spoke, the young detective handed over the glass bottle.

Bertha didn't look at it, and threw the glass bottle to Sikes again.

Sikes glanced quickly: "Revolver cartridges."

Holmes: "Smith & Wesson's 11.43mm Schofield revolver, American."

Sex immediately understood: "It's probably smuggled in."

Holmes: "Or brought back by someone who has been to America."

Then it's easy to do.

Knowing the pistol model makes it much easier to troubleshoot.Bertha thought for a while: "We have to ask Scotland Yard to investigate. If they can't, we will do it."

If the police station did not register it, it would prove that the gun was indeed smuggled in.That being the case... that's the gang's business.

"Sikes," commanded Bertha, "accompany Holmes to Scotland Yard."

"You are not coming." Holmes understood Bertha's subtext.

Bertha smiled.

"I'll let it go," she said slowly. "Now Inspector Lestrade may be tempted to strangle me with his own hands."

Miss Bertha Marple had worked with Inspector Lestrade, and the Inspector had even gone so far as to assist her with the loss of keys and files.In the end, Miss Marple was Mrs. Thames who had played tricks on him countless times!

The current Inspector Lestrade probably hated Bertha to death, so she had better not make fun of herself.

Hearing this, Holmes just took off his gloves: "Sikes, please call me a carriage."

Sykes: "..."

Bill Sykes, who was always impolite, didn't say a word when he heard Holmes' order, but just gave Holmes a hard look, then turned and left the apartment.

Bertha was surprised: "It seems that you have a good relationship?"

Holmes: "He has too many tricks."

The implication is that Bill Sykes is afraid of the founder of the basic deductive method in front of him.But Bertha felt that the bigger reason might be because he wanted to escape the stinking environment.

The young detective swiftly put the animal carcasses on the table into a cabinet filled with several pieces of ice, preparing to take them to Scotland Yard.After packing up, he got up again, and said as if chatting casually: "You have a lot of things on your mind, madam."

Bertha: "..."

Holmes looked up at her for a moment, then concluded quickly: "Italians. I told you they are not easy to mess with."

Bertha put on a half-smile expression: "If you plan to help your brother talk, then you can avoid it."

"what?"

He just raised his head seriously, and then said lightly: "It's not necessary. In-depth analysis of the established relationship is nothing but a waste of words."

Bertha: "..."

She turned her face sideways: "What did you say?"

"You may have many lovers, Mrs. Thames," said Sherlock Holmes calmly, "but Mycroft Holmes has only one. Therefore, I do not think that the conflict between you and my brother, and how to resolve it afterwards, is a worthwhile matter. The question for discussion. But..."

"Really?"

Holmes actually chose to remain silent.

This is not the style of a young detective. He always puts the facts he has observed in front of him.However, after Bertha questioned, Holmes' sharp eyes flashed some traces of thinking.

He paused, finishing his words.

"You've... done a lot better than anyone else, Mrs. Thames," he said at last, "but there's no perfect solution for everything in this world."

Bertha said nothing.

Before she could speak, Sykes came in cursingly: "How the hell did you choose to live in this kind of place, it's not convenient for me to stop a car—madam?"

Even Bill Sykes noticed that the atmosphere in the room was not normal.

Holmes withdrew his gaze. He carried the suitcase in one hand and took the coat off the hanger with the other: "If there is any progress, I will let you know."

Bertha curled her lips in a fake manner: "That would be the best."

***

Of course she knows that there is no perfect solution for everything in this world.

Bertha was indeed not very pleased, and she was surprised that Sherlock Holmes did not see it.

It came down to having to send Katie—and even if Katie didn't mind, Bertha did.

It is true that as a gang leader, she is beyond reproach for doing so, as Katie said, not to mention giving away a woman, even if she gave an entire brothel to Italians, it would not be too much.

But as a time traveler from the 21st century, Bertha is still annoyed that she finally chose the standards of the [-]th century.

It is true to do as the Romans do, allowing women who have received basic education on gender equality to send out their compatriots as gifts, even if they are used as spies and undercover agents, Bertha is really awkward.

And she knew that this was just the beginning.

Back at the house on Nan'an Street, not long after she had had dinner, the postman knocked on the door.

In the past six months, "Mr. Postman" has been fulfilling his superficial identity dutifully and responsibly, and has never done anything other than deliver letters and telegrams.

"Your letter, ma'am." The postman handed over the unopened letter.

"Thank you."

Bertha took the letter and glanced at it: "...slowly."

Postman: "What?"

Bertha knew that he must have reported his affairs to Mycroft in private.

So after seeing the signature Marco Esposito on the envelope, Bertha stopped the postman.In front of him, he slowly opened the envelope.

Inside the clean envelope was an invitation letter.

The Italian's handwriting is as sharp and domineering as the person's, flamboyantly expressing the intention: it is nothing more than a few factory owners on the same street who are grateful to Mrs. Thames for helping solve the case, and want to hold a banquet for her as a thank you.

There are compliments and thanks between the lines, but there is no mention of Bertha sending Katie there.

This is the meaning of entanglement to the end, and it is not good.

Speaking of disgusting people... Who else in the world can win her?

The postman saw that Bertha was reading the letter seriously and hadn't spoken for a long time, so he couldn't help but speak first: "Madam, do you have any orders?"

"Have."

Bertha raised her eyes from the letter, and put the invitation letter into the envelope: "Give the invitation letter to Mycroft."

The postman was taken aback: "Madam?"

Bertha raised a bright smile: "The Italians want to treat me to dinner, so it shouldn't be a big problem for me to bring a male companion over there, right? Your husband told me personally that if I need it, he will do whatever he wants."