"The Widow" Bertha

Doctor Butts?

When they got the letter, Bertha and Jane didn't realize who this was for a moment. It wasn't until they thought about the title "doctor" that they realized who Dr. Bartz was.

It was the one who famously said, "It's refreshing to have a dead husband," God bless him that his congratulations didn't turn Edward Rochester's nose out of whack.

Jane was at a loss after opening the letter, and then handed the letter directly to Bertha.The content is not a big deal, it is nothing more than greeting Miss Jane Eyre's health, and asking about the condition of his patient "that lady". "The lady" refers, of course, to Bertha.In addition, there is no useful information in the letter, which makes people really unclear about the motive of Dr. Butz's letter.

Bertha felt a little vigilance in her heart for a moment, but this vigilance only lasted one night.

The next morning, the postman delivered the letter from the Diogenes Club, and Mycroft gave her the answer.

[To my dear Bertha:

Dr. Bartz failed to invest and owed a lot of debts. He just sent a letter to everyone he knew, and whoever replied, the next step was to ask for a loan.It is true that you have a lot of money in your hands, but I do not recommend that you lend a hand immediately, so if I remember correctly, it is the Jesse gang who are lending money. ]

Seeing the word "Jessie Gang", Bertha raised the corners of her lips indistinctly.

Well, ready-made good things come to your door.

She skipped this topic indifferently, and continued to read:

[Sir James Ward has confessed to his crimes, and I have had many useful leads.But before that, he was still charged with many criminal charges. Madam, if you want, you can go to Scotland Yard to see the situation. You have followed the case for so long as Miss Marple, and you have obtained a satisfactory answer.

PS: Colonel Dent, Dr. Long, and the researchers under the doctor were also sent to Scotland Yard. Shirley planned to check the situation in the afternoon.

Yours sincerely Mike. ]

The letter ended here, and Mycroft made no mention of Bertha's displeasure when she said good-bye last night-he must have sensed it. Is there anything Holmes could not perceive?It's just that the two understand each other, and it doesn't matter at all in the face of major events.

If Mycroft took it to heart, Bertha would laugh at him.

After putting away the letter, she raised her head and stopped the maid: "Grace, call the coachman."

Miss Jane Eyre on the opposite side of the dining table was slightly surprised: "The case has just been solved, Bertha, don't you plan to take a day off?"

Bertha smiled and said, "Go to Scotland Yard to see those three hapless ghosts, will you go?"

simple:"……"

Who can say no to this!

As the right-hand man of "Miss Marple", Jane pursed her lips when she heard this: "Then take me one."

Go to the police station.

Bertha suddenly looked forward to it: she hadn't seen what a British police station in the [-]th century looked like.

Before crossing, Bertha, as a criminal case reporter, often visited police stations, detention centers, prisons and other places on weekdays.Reporters and the police are mutually fearful and vigilant, but they support each other when necessary.

But for the most part, the police are annoying to reporters.

It's different now, Bertha is no longer a reporter, and even if public officials don't like private detectives, she is still involved in this big case involving the Truth Society.Coupled with the fact that Mycroft had greeted her in advance, this gave Bertha a chance to walk into Scotland Yard dignifiedly without being questioned.

On the surface, the person in charge of the case is none other than Inspector Lestrade, who has cooperated with the great detectives in "The Cases of Sherlock Holmes".

Now that Sherlock Holmes has just moved to London, the middle-aged man in the original book looks younger too.Inspector Lestrade, who walked over, seemed not expecting that the legendary private detective and her assistant were so young—especially "Miss Marple" with a bright face.

He froze for a moment, and then said rather uncomfortably, "Miss Marple?"

Bertha: "Yes."

Inspector Lestrade: "You come with me."

He led them to his office, and as expected, Sherlock Holmes had already arrived.

"Please wait here a moment," Inspector Lestrade looked very busy, and his office was also in disarray. "Thank you very much for running around, if it wasn't—"

"—Boss!"

"what happened again!!"

Inspector Lestrade, who was interrupted by the police, was very annoyed. He glanced at the two ladies helplessly: "Please find a place to sit down first."

Then, without waiting for Bertha's response, she hurriedly left the office.

As soon as the inspector walked away, Sherlock Holmes, who was standing in the office, started to move on his back.

Just now, like a young detective in deep thought, he turned his head and nodded quickly to Bertha and Jane, then walked straight to Inspector Lestrade's desk with his long legs, opened the drawer very skillfully and took out a A diary entry signed by Dr. Lang En, from which a few pages were privately folded and stuffed into his bosom.

Four eyes witnessed this action at the scene, but Holmes, who stole evidence at the police station, did not have any awareness of committing a crime.There was no expression on his clear face: "If you leave it to Scotland Yard, you won't be able to find the truth in your next life."

Bertha: "..."

simple:"…………"

Bertha knew now why Sherlock Holmes had come to Scotland Yard.

Holmes' movements were accurate and quick, and he closed the drawer and returned to his original position, as if nothing had happened.

Before Bertha could speak, Inspector Lestrade had returned.

"I'm sorry," Inspector Lestrade breathed a sigh of relief, "to keep you waiting."

"It's ok."

Bertha smiled politely: "We interrupted your time, Inspector."

Holmes snorted inexplicably.

Today's Detective Inspector Lestrade is also cooperating with Sherlock Holmes for the first time, but he is much older than the fledgling detective, so naturally he will not care about the young and energetic detective.

Facing the slightly restrained taunt from the big detective, the inspector presumed he didn't see it, but said sincerely to Bertha: "Thank you for coming here in person, Miss Marple. Let me tell the truth, if you weren't enthusiastic The investigation... I am afraid that Scotland Yard will not be able to catch up with the cabinet ministers after ten years of follow-up."

That's natural, if there is no clear evidence, how can a little detective shake the politician's firmly seated ass?This is the same no matter what era or country you live in.

"What charges are Scotland Yard going to charge them with?" asked Bertha.

"Intentional murder, embezzlement, and... let me see," Inspector Lestrade flipped through the files on his desk, "Oh, the boss is going to sue Sir Ward, Colonel Dent, and Dr. Lang The three treasonous people, this is out of my control, and the evidence may be submitted directly to the court at that time."

After finishing speaking, he put down the document and added: "No matter which crime is charged, it is enough for them to go to the gallows."

Hearing the detective's conclusion, Bertha and Jane subconsciously relaxed.

"That's great," Miss Jane Eyre said softly, "this way we can give an explanation to the family of the deceased."

"There is only one explanation," Inspector Lestrade smiled wryly, "According to the log records of Dr. Long's laboratory, there are about 43 civilians who died due to drug testing over the years. Whitechapel The few dead in the district are just the tip of the iceberg—damn it, even if these brutes were gallows hundreds of times, they can’t bring the dead back to life.”

When Miss Jane Eyre heard this, her originally pale face turned even paler.

"Sorry, Inspector," she said.

"How could it be your turn to apologize, Miss Eyre?" Lestrade shook his head, and then sincerely paid respects to the three visitors in the office, "If it weren't for you, perhaps more innocent people would have died. I should be the one thanking you, so far, the drug trial case in the Whitechapel District has finally come to a result."

Is that right?

Inspector Lestrade looked relieved, but Bertha subconsciously turned her head to look at Holmes.

The young detective still had that indifferent expression, he didn't agree with Inspector Lestrade's words, but he didn't object either.

But if the matter ended like this, why did he go to the police station to steal evidence.The murals in Dr. Lang's laboratory and the reason why he saw the murals collapsed on the spot are still unknown. With years of experience as a reporter, Bertha believes that there must be something wrong with them.

The so-called eradication of the "Truth Society" is nothing more than Sir Ward's line.

Sure enough, after communicating with Inspector Lestrade, the three heroes who assisted in solving the case walked out of the office. Just as they stepped out of the gate of Scotland Yard, Holmes said bluntly: "The case is not over."

Bertha stopped for a while: "What exactly did you and Thomas ask from Dr. Lang En?"

Holmes glanced back at Scotland Yard: "Let me tell you..."

Ok?

The detective suddenly fell silent, causing Bertha to look up and follow his line of sight to the gate of the police station.Her eyes soon fell on the same place as Holmes: it was none other than Mrs. Ward and her daughter Anna who came out of the police station.

Bertha's expression suddenly became extremely complicated.

Yesterday at Mr. Lancaster's manor, Mrs. Ward was also present when several servants pinned Sir Ward to the ground.It's just that the situation was chaotic at the time, and Bertha had no time to care about what a lady thought about her husband being a murderer.

Overnight, the beautiful, decent and noble lady became the wife of a traitor.

And it was her "good friend" who found the evidence and accused Sir Ward.

As if feeling something somewhere, Mrs. Ward, who was about to get into the carriage, suddenly raised her head and met Bertha's gaze at a distance of more than ten meters.

She froze for a moment, then gritted her teeth, handed her daughter to the servant, and walked over with her skirt in her hands.

——As I said before, as a reporter, being chased and beaten by gangsters who robbed the camera and being chased and beaten by country aunts is commonplace.So Bertha knew all too well what it was like when a man was about to make an aggressive move.

Mrs. Ward advanced with such a fury that even Sherlock Holmes had not suspected that there was a fury in her heart.But Bertha stepped back half a step, and grabbed her upraised hand.

Had it not been so, Mrs. Ward would have slapped Bertha in the face.

"Ma'am," facing Mrs. Ward who was furious, Bertha smiled not very sincerely, "we are outside the police station, I advise you to calm down."