"The Widow" Bertha

The next morning, the village church near Thornfield Manor.

Before dawn, the local pastor was awakened by a knock on the door. He walked out of the room and walked through the long hall of the church. After opening the door, he saw a petite and pale female face.

This is... Miss Jane Eyre, the vicar remembered her, governess at Thornfield Hall.

"Sorry to bother you," Miss Jane Eyre looked guilty, "but the private detective hired by Mr. Rochester wants to see...to see the victim's condition."

The pastor frowned.

Three days ago, a murder occurred in Thornfield Manor, and Miss Blanche Ingram died in her guest room.After the body was found, it was rushed to the church.

The pastor was still muttering before, the magistrate has been unable to find the murderer, so is Mr. Rochester going to let this matter go?It turned out that this was not the case, he even invited a private detective.

"Okay, I'll open the door for you now," the priest nodded happily, "Where's the private detective?"

"Here it is."

Unexpectedly, it was a woman's voice that came from behind Miss Jane Eyre.

Only then did the pastor realize that there was a lady standing behind her.

The strange lady was wearing a dark red dress with a black shawl on it.The contrasting hues are almost harsh against an overcast sky.This long dress is old fashioned but expensive and was popular about ten years ago.

It's just that this lady was born extremely well, almost the most beautiful woman the pastor had ever seen. This amazing beauty even made outdated dresses no longer a defect.

"Forgive me for coming uninvited, Pastor," the beautiful lady said in a hoarse voice, "Since it is a murder case, the remains of the deceased are the most important. I rushed over as soon as I got off the carriage."

"It's...it's okay."

The pastor just didn't expect that the private detective hired by Mr. Rochester turned out to be a woman.

"What should I call you, ma'am?" he asked.

"Um……"

The lady outside the door pondered for a moment, then smiled: "Just call me Miss Marple."

——To be fair, Shakespeare's plays are wonderful, but Ms. Agatha Christie's detective novels are not far behind!

Borrowing the name of the famous detective Miss Marple without shame, Bertha has no guilt in her heart.Instead, he took the initiative to ask, "Where is the body?"

The pastor bowed his head: "Please come with me, I suggest that Miss Jane Eyre...don't go?"

Bertha turned to look at Jane Eyre.

When she called "Miss Marple", Jane Eyre lowered her head.Obviously, the young girl has never seen Bertha's ability to open her eyes and tell nonsense, and she is afraid that her expression will arouse suspicion.

"Jane don't go."

Bertha said casually: "No matter how cold the weather is, the dead body is a bit scary. Go back to Thornfield and tell Edward that the private detective he hired is here, and he must come over."

Jane Eyre took a deep look at Bertha and understood her meaning: In any case, the woman Rochester himself hid in the attic ran out and always wanted to inform him.

Jane Eyre, who got the task, responded lightly, then turned and left.

Only then did Bertha look directly at the pastor, and said with a smile, "Now I will trouble you to lead the way, pastor."

Priest: "Miss Marple, are you a private eye?"

Bertha: "Why, doesn't it look like it?"

Pastor: "Uh..."

It certainly doesn't seem like it. Ms. Agatha's detectives rarely conduct autopsies in person, but now that the situation is urgent, Bertha is just investigating the situation under the name of "Miss Marple".

Therefore, she did not continue to exchange pleasantries with the pastor, but went straight to the point: "Has Miss Ingram's cause of death been confirmed yet?"

The pastor immediately put away his probing look, and said seriously, "It's poison."

Bertha was slightly taken aback: "Poisoned?"

This was a bit beyond her expectation.

The pastor had a complicated expression: "Judging from the condition of the remains, it looks like this. Maybe you have your own professional judgment, Miss Marple."

Bertha said nothing.

She followed the pastor into the morgue, and the cold air hit her face.After getting the priest's consent, Bertha walked forward, lifted the white cloth covering the corpse, and then a horrified scene came into view.

The seven orifices were bleeding, the face was hideous, the dead man's fingers were too twisted, and the stiff corpse showed an extremely unnatural posture-it was bound to have experienced pain and struggle before death.

"Are there any clean gloves here, priest?" asked Bertha.

"Ah, yes, wait a minute."

Waiting for the priest to bring gloves, Bertha immediately started a simple inspection.

Luckily, it's winter now.Moreover, the pastor asked the villagers to dig a lot of ice blocks from the river and pile them in the mortuary, which kept Miss Ingram's body from decomposing and gave Bertha a chance to observe.

The body showed bright red corpse spots. Bertha moved Miss Ingram's eyes and found a small amount of spotting bleeding inside the eyelids of both eyes, while the junction of her lip mucous membrane and skin was bright red.

"Um……"

Bertha frowned slightly.

She opened Miss Ingram's mouth, and the pungent smell hit her face.

The pastor immediately took two steps back.

Bertha raised her head slightly, waved the air with her hand, and sniffed carefully.

In addition to the smell of vomit, there seems to be a slight smell of bitter almonds.

"If you were poisoned," Bertha stood up, "it doesn't look like you died by mistake... Pastor?"

The pastor couldn't bear it anymore, turned around and rushed out of the morgue: "Ugh—"

Bertha: "..."

Five minutes later, the two left the morgue one after another.

"Feel sorry."

The pastor took the handkerchief from Bertha, apologetic: "I shouldn't, I really shouldn't..."

"It's okay." Bertha couldn't laugh or cry, "No one wants to see such a scene, I can understand."

"Thank you."

The pastor breathed a sigh of relief: "Is this the end of the inspection, Miss Marple?"

"Ah."

Miss Ingram is not allowed to destroy the body of the deceased without the permission of her family.Moreover, Bertha is not a professional doctor. She can only make judgments based on the cases she has experienced as a reporter and her experience as a suspense lover.

All Bertha could judge... were the corpse spots, the color of the mucous membranes of the lips, and the slightest smell of bitter almonds.

"It should have been caused by cyanide," Bertha said. "Whoever the murderer is, he is determined to kill Miss Blanche Ingram."

"Is that all she hates Miss Ingram?"

"she?"

Bertha keenly grasped the pastor's words: "It sounds like you've pinned down the murderer, pastor."

Pastor: "It is said that the mad woman in the attic of Thornfield Manor did it."

Bertha: "..."

Even the pastor of the church far away from the manor has heard such rumors, isn't it a bit abnormal?

"Crazy woman?"

Bertha pretended to be ignorant and said, "That's strange."

"Miss Marple disagrees?"

"I don't know the situation at Thornfield Manor," she lied without changing her expression, "it's just that it's not easy to get cyanide, and it's even more difficult to poison a sane person with it. Where was Miss Ingram killed?"

"In the bedroom, miss."

"The murderer must first be able to freely enter and leave Miss Ingram's bedroom, and poison without anyone noticing - these two points require him to either be a servant of the manor, or be very familiar with Miss Ingram's work and rest habits .More importantly, cyanide is such a dangerous thing, if the perpetrator is a lunatic, who would sell her the poison?"

The pastor was stunned, and seemed to have just thought of this: "Yes, yes. I have heard that lunatics kill people, but most of them resort to direct violence."

Bertha nodded in agreement: "Only normal people would think of poisoning as a way of killing."

Pastor: "Miss Marple, do you have your own opinion on who the murderer is?"

Bertha: "I have to wait until I figure out the situation inside Thornfield Manor."

As for how to figure it out...

Bertha raised her head and saw two men dressed like gentlemen walking towards the church in a hurry.

***

After hearing Miss Jane Eyre's report, Rochester was at a loss.

She said that the "private investigator" she had invited had arrived, and she went ahead to lead him to the church for an autopsy.Ask Rochester if he is going to pick up the private detective himself.

Hearing this, the sheriff beside Rochester was overjoyed, and immediately asked Rochester to meet the detective.

—The point is that Edward Rochester never hired any detectives!Even if he asked, it was impossible to pass the housekeeper's wife and inform a governess.

But seeing Miss Jane Eyre's swearing and firm tone, even Rochester himself couldn't help but began to waver.

Especially with her burning eyes, she kept urging Rochester to pick up the person, which made him...cannot help turning his head to look at the sheriff.

Is Jane Eyre hinting at something?

Rochester was full of doubts, but it was no use being confused at the manor.If you want the answer, you have to meet this uninvited "private detective".

He and the magistrate immediately set off to the church, and as soon as he entered the lobby door, Rochester saw the slim figure who was talking with the pastor.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the woman in the red dress turned around and raised an emotional expression: "Edward, please mourn! No one wants to see such a tragedy happen. Fortunately, you invited me here. I am here, Don't worry, I assure everyone that I will definitely catch the culprit who killed Miss Ingram and bring back the soul of the deceased who lives in heaven."

Rochester: "..."

At this moment, Mr. Rochester's face turned black as if he was going to eat people.

Because the so-called "private detective" who is talking happily with the pastor is none other than the "crazy woman" who is supposed to stay in the attic of the manor and is currently the most suspected "mad woman", his legal wife Bertha Mason!