"The Widow" Bertha

Miss Jane Eyre is in charge of questioning the guests of the manor, and the duty of investigating the scene naturally falls on Bertha.

Mr. Lancaster also invited the pastor from the town, but Mr. Pastor is also an ordinary person, and he has never seen such a horrifying scene of a room full of blood.He looked at Bertha with shock and fear: "Miss, are you sure you want, want to go in?"

"You can see the situation clearly if you don't go in," Bertha said considerately, "How about this, sir, I'm holding up my skirt to check the situation, it's bound to be unsightly, so let me report the situation to you with the door open, what do you think? ?”

"This……"

"Or we can switch."

"I'll hold the door for you, Miss Marple."

In the end, Mr. Pastor was defeated in front of the horror movie scene: "If there is a situation, just call me."

Bertha smiled: "I will."

She wished the priest would not come in.

The blood in the room was dry, even if Bertha walked in directly, it would not stain the hem of the clothes.But even so, she still changed into a pair of clean shoes and put on gloves before going in.

Under closer inspection, it wasn't the analyzed blood that caught Bertha's attention.

She roughly circled around and found the traces left by the victim's resistance: the vase that fell behind the curtain, the overturned ornaments and so on.But no one heard the sound of fighting last night. Bertha bent down and touched the carpet—thick and soft carpets are expensive, which not only highlights the richness of the owner of the manor, but also plays a good role in noise reduction.

Except for these scattered decorations on the ground, the large pieces of furniture in the room stayed in place in an orderly manner, but...

Bertha lifted up the chair by the table, and indeed there were blood splashes on the ground under the legs of the chair.

After the fight, the murderer restored the messy and large piece of furniture to its original position, but he probably left in a hurry, so he ignored the ornaments scattered in the corner.

In a hurry?

Bertha turned to look at the closed window.

Dr. Lang En's bedroom is located on the second floor. She opened the window and saw three huge footprints on the edge of the window sill.

Bertha: "..."

The pastor outside the door heard the movement: "Miss Marple? Did you find something?"

Bertha: "Not yet, I have to go downstairs to observe the situation, sir."

After she finished speaking, she took out the veil silently, and wiped off the three muddy footprints outside the window sill.

While rubbing Bertha, she cursed: How should I put it, it really looks like a gangster. I have never seen a robber enter the house and cover up his tracks. It is amazing to remember to put the tables and chairs back.

"no problem."

The pastor didn't know what was going on in the room, so he asked with concern, "Is there anything I need to do?"

Bertha thought for a while: "The inspection has been basically completed, please ask the servant to clean up the room, and don't worry the ladies and ladies of the manor."

I have to hurry up and ask the maid to clean the sheets and carpets, but anyone who is knowledgeable can tell at a glance that the bright red in the room is not human blood at all. Based on the foul smell and traces that are almost black in the room, Bertha deduces that this is the case. Probably pig blood.

When the servants wiped the blood in the room, even if Mr. Lancaster invited the police detectives from London, it would be too late.

"Also," she added, "Mr. Lancaster, please remove the guard servant for now. Just say that the inspection has been completed, and there is no clue in the room."

She wanted to see if anyone would come to the door in person for fear of exposing herself.

After dealing with the traces in the room, Bertha went around to the back of the manor.

Unsurprisingly, the "murderer" entered and left from the back garden of the manor, and walking out of the fence is a path connecting the woods.This is the only way to avoid the manor's wolfhounds and guards.

Britain has a temperate maritime climate, and it is spring. The environment at night is humid, and it seems that there has been a light rain, which has made the path muddy and left many footprints.

How should I put it, this is due to the fact that Mr. Lancaster is still busy appeasing the guests, and has not had time to send someone to search.

Bertha raised her eyebrows slightly, and walked around the path first, covering the footprints of the "murderer" with her own footprints.

"Miss Marple?"

She had just come back from the tree-lined path when she saw Mrs. Ward standing at the garden entrance.

Bertha was a little surprised: "Mrs. Ward?"

The cabinet minister's wife rarely gets away from her children and investment matters, and accompanies her husband to a colleague's gathering. The original intention is to relax away from the children and trivial matters for two days, but she did not expect such an accident.

In particular, James has been pacing back and forth in the guest room for a whole morning, and he didn't even eat the breakfast brought by the servants of the manor. He said that such a murder case would definitely delay his trip home. important meeting.

It's a wife's job to share her husband's worries, isn't it?

So no matter how much Mrs. Ward was afraid of the fact that someone was killed, she bravely walked out of the manor and went to the garden to find Miss Marple.

Mrs. Ward thought to herself that she had met Miss Marple a few times, and even had afternoon tea, so she might be able to ask something for James.

The lady of the foreign race returned from the tree-lined path with a calm face, and her composure reassured Mrs. Ward somewhat: "What are you doing here, miss?"

Bertha looked at Mrs. Ward for a moment, and couldn't think of Mrs. Ward's motives for looking for her. She just turned her head: "I like to think outside, and take a look at the situation around the manor."

"The surrounding situation?"

Mrs. Ward was taken aback: "Are you looking for a way to leave the manor, miss? It can't be done by outsiders?"

Bertha: "..."

Bertha was somewhat surprised that a woman whose husband was her nature could think of it without hesitation.

Thinking about it, people who can take care of their children while managing investment matters alone will not be so stupid. With such a keen mind and a beautiful family background, if Mrs. Ward was born in the 21st century, she would at least be a company president if she could not be the president of the company. Industry leaders.

It's a pity that she was born in the Victorian era, and no matter how clever she is, she can only be a help to her husband.

"I don't understand you, ma'am."

Bertha didn't follow Mrs. Ward's train of thought. Instead, she smiled and said indifferently: "When investigating a case, I can't presuppose the murderer, and I can't reveal any details to others. In case the real murderer has temptations Xin, isn’t it leaking clues?”

The brunette who said this was smiling and casual, but it surprised Mrs. Ward.

As the wife of a politician, how could she fail to hear the meaning of Bertha's words?

"I, I'm not," Mrs. Ward suddenly panicked, "I'm sorry, Miss Marple, I just..."

She just wanted to share her husband's worries!Mrs. Ward had never experienced a homicide case, and she was already afraid when encountering such a thing. With Bertha's hint of such a turn, Mrs. Ward was even more confused: "It's just that James is a little anxious, and I'm afraid he won't be able to go back to attend the meeting." Meeting, I thought, I wanted to come and ask."

In a hurry?

Even Mycroft wasn't in a hurry about London, was it anyone else's turn to worry?Bertha questioned this from the bottom of her heart, but put on a relaxed expression on her face: "It's no big deal, madam, I don't doubt you, just don't ask any more questions."

Mrs. Ward showed guilt: "I'm sorry, Miss."

Bertha smiled slightly: "Why are you being so polite? Go back to eat, I guess you didn't eat much in the morning."

In order to appease everyone, Mr. Lancaster specially asked the chef to cook a big meal.However, the shadow of the murder case always hangs over the manor, and the guests sitting at the dining table have no appetite.

Except Bertha.

She doesn't care what others think, as a former social animal in the 21st century, Bertha understands the importance of eating and drinking well.When I was still a reporter, it was not uncommon for me to stuff my stomach with water as soon as I put bread on my front feet, and then to go into the smelly shantytowns to follow the news with my back feet.

A house full of pig blood?It did not affect Bertha's good appetite.

In particular, today's lunch main course is British roast chicken. The chicken served is golden in color. The smell of butter, lemon and rosemary is perfectly mixed with the tender chicken. The sight and smell alone are enough to make your index finger move .

She ate happily, but others were still more concerned about the case.

"Miss Marple," Mr. Lancaster ordered his servant to refill Bertha's wine, "you have been investigating all morning, can you tell me about the progress? Everyone here is very nervous, and any clues that can be released are for everyone. It’s all good news.”

As the owner of the manor, he has the responsibility to calm everyone's emotions.

Bertha paused for a moment with the hand holding the knife and fork, and then put on a thoughtful expression.

"As far as the situation at the scene is concerned, I don't find any doubts," Bertha said nonsense with her eyes open. "Except for the exaggerated bloodstains, Dr. Lang seems to have disappeared out of thin air."

The huge dining table fell into a moment of silence.

Mr. Lancaster was not in a hurry, he continued to ask: "Then, miss, what do you mean when you say that Dr. Lang himself may not be innocent?"

"Yes, yes, the others are gone!"

"Miss, you have to explain the riddle you left behind first."

"Does Dr. Long have some conspiracy?"

Many discussions followed Mr. Lancaster's question, but after a morning's investigation, their attitude was much more amicable.

Bertha twitched her lips casually: "Please don't worry, I haven't seen the conspiracy yet. But at present, no one is alive or dead. On the premise that there are no clues, the suspect is directly delineated in everyone. On top of that, it's pretty unfair, isn't it?"

A rhetorical question successfully eased the tense atmosphere at the table: It seems that this Miss Marple really said that for everyone's sake.

After controlling the dominance of the conversation, Bertha put down the knife and fork without haste.

She wiped her mouth, and then said slowly: "But."

Bertha glanced in the direction of the cabinet minister and Colonel Dent with her sharp eyes: "I found a strange letter in Dr. Long's room. Forgive me for not revealing the contents of the letter now, but... it does give Gave me a lot of clues."

When these words fell to the ground, Colonel Dent's fork suddenly fell to the ground.

It's just that Bertha's words suddenly exploded at the dinner table, and no one except Bertha noticed Colonel Dent's reaction.

What letter?Naturally, it was the invitation letter that Mycroft asked the commissioner to write, which clearly showed the purpose of Dr. Longt's visit this time: to assist Colonel Dent in completing the mission.

Bertha did not find the letter, and she deliberately defrauded Colonel Dent.And the Colonel's reaction was as expected—even though he had no contact with Dr. Lang En, the invitation letter he received was also issued in the tone of a "member of the Truth Society".

I am afraid that Colonel Dent at this time has already realized that he may be exposed.

While other people were discussing this, Mycroft, who was beside him, narrowed the distance to Bertha slightly, and whispered intimately: "You are troubled, Bertha, the investigation is hard, right?"

Bertha: "..."

Although speaking in the ear, Holmes did not deliberately lower his voice.To outsiders, this is nothing more than a gentleman caring about his busy lover.

It's just that Bertha heard another meaning: she planned the whole case herself, so what's there to investigate?The dignified Sherlock Holmes can understand after a little thought that Bertha has been busy all morning, wiping her ass for the "murderer".

If he had known earlier, he would have let Thomas do the job. It is true that Sykes is a gangster who is good at opening windows, but he can kill and steal money. The method of disguising the murder scene is really clumsy.

Bertha sighed at this, and said helplessly, "I'm so exhausted, when did I run back and forth like this myself! You're still talking sarcastic here, why don't you comfort me?"

Mycroft couldn't help laughing. He reached out and brushed Bertha's shattered hair around her ears: "I think it's not enough just to comfort her."

Bertha turned her head sideways, met the man's close eyes, and smiled.

***

At the same time, London.

It took Sykes a whole night to transport a large living man from town to London.He cursed and urged his follower Toby to put him down, and he didn't forget to tell Thomas: "This kind of thing will never happen again, my old waist is broken fast enough!"

Thomas Thames looked at the big living man in a sack, and twitched the corners of his mouth: "Madam will not treat you badly, let's go."

Sikes spat, cursed again, turned and left.

When he was far away, Thomas turned to look at Sherlock Holmes. The latter nodded knowingly, and walked towards the man who was left on the spot with his long legs.

He tore off the sack from the man's head, pulled away the gagged mouth, and presented to Thomas and Sherlock, not Dr. Victor Lane, but who else?

"Dr. Long," Holmes said calmly, "does this scene familiar to you?"

Dr. Lang En was still in shock. He remembered and looked around when he heard the words of the strange young man in front of him——

What caught his eyes was the dim light he was all too familiar with, and the complex and obscure hieroglyphs on the wall.

This is his own laboratory darkroom.

The doctor was taken aback, and he could hardly control his expression. The middle-aged man who stayed in the same place couldn't help but struggled. He screamed: "Get out!! You want to die, don't pull me!!"