I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

After visiting several rooms with different purposes in a regular manner, "Cousin Circe" suddenly made a request. She hoped to stay alone with Albert for a while in the luxuriously decorated Blue Whale Dome Hall.

Norton: "..."

Norton is very sensitive to the matter of men and women being alone together at this time, especially when one of them is the flirtatious Major Albert, so he couldn't help but say in an ambiguous tone that adults can understand:

"The various works of art and books displayed in this hall are very commemorative. If there is any damage, you will need to submit detailed records when reporting the loss. In addition, the sofa cushions, plush carpets and embroidered tablecloths here are Complete sets, and all exquisite handmade products custom-made from Italy, if..."

This time, Major Albert, who has always been easygoing and good-tempered, finally sank his face.

He restrained the frivolous and loose smile on his lips, and at the same time glared at the foreman Norton sternly. The stern and threatening manner made Norton's voice smaller and smaller, until finally it turned into a slightly awkward and forced smile.

When the dreamy Mr. Norton finally left the room, Pei Xiang burst out laughing.

Ace disliked Albert's notorious reputation for a while in his heart, and then asked Pei Xiangdao:

"Amy, is this here?"

Pei Xiang closed his eyes and sniffed around, then nodded lightly and said:

"It should be in this room. When I resealed those blueprints in the morning, I smeared some specially prepared fragrance powder on them. The fragrance powder usually has a very light smell, if it is not for the extremely sensitive sense of smell or abnormal people like you and me Existence, you can't smell that kind of fragrance. Ace, if you calm down and smell it, it's easy to catch that smell."

Ace did as Pei Xiang said.After a while, he really smelled a bit of clear and spicy smell in the somewhat cloudy indoor air. It was very special, and once it was caught by the sense of smell, it was hard to be ignored.

"This aroma...you also learned it in a dream?"

"Well, as long as two more herbs are added, it will be a potion for refreshing the mind. I first recalled this prescription, and then I further figured out the use of this tracking."

"Amy, you have always been flexible in your thinking."

Pei Xiang smiled sweetly, watching Ace stop and go following that hidden and special smell, and finally stopped in front of a portrait.

"Here?" Ace looked at the paintings hanging on the wall for a while, and after remembering all the details, he took out the sealed drawing from the back of the frame.

Pei Xiang walked up to Ace and looked at the file bag in his hand, and then looked at the frame for a while, before asking aloud, "What do you see?"

Ace looked at Pei Xiang, who was a serious examiner, with a smile in his eyes. He deliberately thought for more than ten seconds before answering:

"From the beginning, at [-]:[-] in the morning, people in this club took away the trading items on the back steps. At this time, two hypotheses arose in my mind. One is that the person who took the documents People are or know the mastermind behind the scenes, as long as we interrogate him, we can know the answer.

"Secondly, the person who took the documents didn't know who was the mastermind behind the scenes. Like Fortes, he just obeyed orders and didn't know anything about the rest. Therefore, his task was only to put the documents taken from the back door in the club. Then, the document placed in the designated place will be quietly taken away by the person who really has the inside information at a later point in time, and then that person will take it out of the house club."

Pei Xiang maintained the prudence of the examiner, cleared his throat, and continued to ask questions with his hands behind his back:

"So, Ace, which hypothesis do you think is closer to the truth?"

"Of course it's the second one. Because if it's the first one, it's too easy to reveal the identity of the person behind the scenes."

"Well, I thought so too, and we've now proved it. You see, the document appears behind the frame of this painting."

"Yeah, so I still need to continue the analysis, right?"

Pei Xiang said seriously: "Well, regarding this exam, it is easier for students who take the initiative to answer the questions to get good impression points."

Ace was taught, and said slowly:

"This sealed document appears here. Obviously, it is waiting for someone who enters the Blue Whale Dome to take it away. And that person is a person who can freely enter and exit here for a period of time. It can be an employee or an employee. member."

Pei Xiang went on to analyze: "This scope is a bit wide. Since you and I can't stare here all day, or even leave quickly before opening here, we need to select the most likely candidates from a list. narrow the scope of the investigation."

"The most likely candidate...needs to meet three conditions," Ace said groaningly, "First of all, within today, this person will definitely appear here."

"Yes, the waiting time cannot exceed 24 hours, because there will be a maid to clean up here tomorrow morning." Pei Xiang echoed.

When visiting other rooms earlier, she had asked Norton how often and when the maids cleaned the rooms.

In addition, the frames of these pictures are spotless, so it can be seen that the maids will not ignore these pictures when cleaning.Therefore, if the documents cannot be removed by seven o'clock tomorrow morning, the secret behind the picture frame will be easily discovered by the cleaners. "

Ace continued:

"The second condition is that this person should use this room frequently. In other words, it is best for the person who comes in and out of the Blue Whale Dome Hall to be unobtrusive, so as to reduce the extra attention of interested people. The last one, The identity and background of this person may be related to the shipyard, and it is an old shipyard that is not well run."

Glancing at the sealed blueprint in Ace's hand, Pei Xiang agreed with his analysis.

Since the appearance of steam power and iron-hulled ships, the old-fashioned shipyards relying on the experience of craftsmen have been declining. However, the number of advanced and skilled shipbuilders and marine engineers is small, and the supply is in short supply. Almost all of them are repaired by some large shipyards and ships with deep backgrounds. Center hired away.

Judging from the disgraceful tasks that the people behind the scenes entrusted Fortes to do, the shipyards or related industries operated by the other party have a serious lag in technological updates, and it seems that they can no longer keep up with the booming shipbuilding industry.

"The three conditions are conducive to narrowing the scope and screening out suspects, but we must first have a general scope."

Ace put the sealed drawing back into the frame, and reset the oil painting according to the details he remembered before, so as not to let people see that it had been moved.

"The safest thing to do is to stare at this blue whale dome from now on, and remember everyone who comes in and out of here. If anyone has touched the sealed document behind the picture frame, they will also be contaminated with special The aroma is easy for us to discover."

Pei Xiang chuckled lightly, and joked, "It's a pity we don't know invisibility, otherwise, it would be easy to accomplish this."

Ace shook his head, and seriously put forward different opinions: "If magic can be used, I would prefer to directly obtain Norton's relevant memories. I believe that, as a foreman, Mr. Norton must have a good idea of ​​the people who often come and go in and out of this room. .”

"Or, we can use a magic potion that makes people tell the truth. Well, I just don't know if people who are forced to reveal their secrets will have memories when using this potion?" Pei Xiang added enthusiastically road.

Ace curled the corners of his lips. He especially liked discussing such strange topics that seemed to be full of fantasy elements with Pei Xiang, because this was the bond between him and her, which was unique and inseparable.

"By the way, what do you think of the person who brought the drawings into the club through the back door?" Pei Xiang asked suddenly.

Ace pondered for a moment before saying unhurriedly:

"Although I didn't see the upper body of the man, but judging from the stains on his trousers and shoes, the man should have stayed in the kitchen or the place where flour food was stored for a while.

"Besides, the employees here are all wearing uniforms. We can't identify the person who picks up things from the material and color of the other party's clothing, but we can infer the approximate height of the other party from the size of his shoes. The last point, Even with a quick glance, I remember the hand that picked up the folder, and if I see it again, I'm [-]% sure that I'll recognize it."

Having said that, Ace smiled, stretched out his arms towards Pei Xiang, and invited politely:

"Dear Miss Amy, and, fair examiner, I invite you to continue to visit this club, maybe you will encounter an unexpected surprise."

Pei Xiang smiled sweetly, without Ace saying anything more, she happily took the other's arm and walked to the door with him.

When they left the Blue Whale Dome, the two did not see the foreman Norton.

The waiter who led the way apologized and explained that Mr. Norton had gone to attend to another urgent business, and when he was done with his work in a while, he would return here to continue to accompany Albert and his cousins.

Both Pei Xiang and Ace said they didn't mind, and then they walked towards the kitchen while listening to the young waiter's introduction.

On the way, they smelled a strong aroma of coffee, and they talked about the daily snacks, drinks and meals in the club.

Ace imitated Albert's usual way of teasing little girls, while praising the unique and delicious snacks in the club, while vaguely explaining how special and exquisite they are, he immediately provoked " Cousin Circe" was curious.

The two of you said something to each other, which was a bit flirtatious at first, but then it turned into a proof problem somehow.

Circe didn't believe Albert's words. She thought that the snacks in a club were definitely not as exquisite and delicious as those offered in high-end restaurants. Albert was lying and boasting.And Albert refused to admit defeat, insisting that he was right.

"Selena, oh no, it's Cousin Circe. The dim sum they provide to their members is not bought from outside, but hired a skilled pastry chef to make it themselves. Am I right?"

Albert turned to ask the waiter at the side. Obviously, the question behind him was for the waiter.

The waiter smiled and nodded, explaining patiently:

"Yes, in order to ensure the quality of the food imported by our members, we usually cook and check it ourselves. Of course, if any gentleman wants to try different flavors, we are not opposed to taking out food. Everything is based on the wishes of the members. .”

Circe looked suspiciously at Albert and the waiter, lowered his voice and said:

"In that case... just passing by near the kitchen, can you please call out the staff in the kitchen? To be honest, I'm really curious, but dear Major Albert is so bad that he doesn't want to tell me Details. In this case, I would like to chat with your master masters and helpers, so that I can learn a lot."

The waiter showed a troubled expression.

Seeing this, Circe snorted softly, and squinted at Albert.Her eyes were arrogant and coquettish, and she looked charming and lively.

Albert was seduced by the moist eyes of his lover, so there was no momentum for arguing just now.

He immediately succumbed, his eyes were lingering and gentle like water, as if he was dizzy and would do whatever the other party said.So, without waiting for Circe to say anything more, he immediately gave the waiter a generous tip, and strongly stated that he would give Circe whatever she wanted.

So, when the foreman Norton returned in a hurry, Ace and Pei Xiang were already sitting comfortably in front of the triangular coffee table, chatting with the kitchen staff while drinking coffee and eating snacks.

It's not the time for the chef to go to work. The people who are doing the preparation work in the kitchen are a pastry chef and two apprentices.When the three filed into the hall, Pei Xiang and Ace locked onto the last person almost at the same time, because the person's height, hand shape, and stains on the upper of his trousers were telling the camouflage duo that he was The guy who took the sealed drawings in the morning.

After talking for a while, Ace gave the three kitchen staff some tips as compensation for interrupting their work.Because of his generosity, the pastry chef also specially taught Pei Xiang a few daily tips for baking dim sum, as if he regarded her as a cooking enthusiast.

After drinking coffee and eating the buns with jam and puffs for breakfast, Ace and Pei Xiang continued to visit the club under the guidance of Norton.

While Pei Xiang was curiously flipping through the various books in the club's internal collection and some professional magazines that were not sold publicly, Ace began to "chat" with Norton.

After Pei Xiang roughly browsed through a shelf of internal navy publications, the conversation between Ace and Norton was coming to an end.

Finally, before leaving the Cruiser Club, Ace hints at Norton that if something is slightly out of place, it can be treated as if it never happened.Whether for the club or for Major Albert himself, it is inappropriate to bring up this morning's visit again.

Norton estimated the amount of hush money in his pocket, with a knowing smile on his face.

However, just when he felt that this romantic major was not so unreliable, he saw the other party leaning towards him again, and whispered to Norton with his back to "cousin Circe":

"Hey, maybe there will be similar things to bother you in the future, that is...maybe the female partner around me is no longer the same person. Therefore, your tight-lipped is very important to me, Albert, I don't want to I often fall into the vortex of jealousy. Well, let each of them feel that they are the special one, let me say that, do you understand?"

Norton: "..."

--Ah.

The gate of the Cruiser Club was shut with a bang.

Pei Xiang and Ace stood in the shadows and waited for a while, and Fortes drove over in the carriage.

After getting into the carriage, the two had no intention of leaving the place quickly, but made another simple disguise in the carriage, and then ordered Fortes to drive the carriage around to the back door of the club.

Immediately afterwards, the changed Ace jumped out of the carriage and knocked on the back door of the club.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Ah, hello, I'm looking for Little Brown, oh, he's an apprentice cook, and I'm a friend of his neighbor's neighbor."

"Little Brown? What can I do with him?"

"This one, his family... well, his sister Anna asked me to come, I need to talk to him personally. Please call Little Brown for help."

"Okay, wait for a while, I'll go find that guy Little Brown."

After agreeing, the footman in charge of running errands to deliver the news closed the door and left.

Ace turned and walked down the steps, waiting quietly under the shade of a tree not far from the carriage.After a while, Little Brown opened the door and came out, with a hint of vigilance hidden under his blank expression.

"Hey, here," Ace in the shadows leaned against the tree trunk, raised his hand lazily, and said loudly, "I'm here, Anna asked me to come."

As he spoke, the young man under the tree waved to Little Brown again, his movements were lax and casual, and he had no intention of taking a few more steps.

Little Brown, who was identified by Ace and Pei Xiang as the one who took away the sealed drawings, hesitated for a moment, but after hearing the name of his sister Anna, he finally walked down the steps towards Ace.

"You are……"

Under the shade of the tree, Ace showed a standard smile, and then pointed the black muzzle of the gun at Little Brown's chest:

"I am a stranger, and I have come to ask you something, Mr. Brown."

Faced with death threats, Brown Jr. was quick to confess everything he knew.Not only the things on the surface, but also all kinds of information he secretly collected under the drive of curiosity, all explained to Ace in detail.

On the carriage, Fortes watched through the window for a while, seeing Ace talking with Little Brown for a long time, he couldn't help sighing:

"It seems that this person is also a caring person. According to my employer's usual behavior, he must be asked to put things somewhere, and he will not be allowed to come into contact with the person who took them. But looking at it now, Mr. Brown has a very strong curiosity and secretly observed many clues."

Pei Xiang smiled and said: "People who can participate in this kind of secret matter are not timid. You will deliberately hide and spy on the appearance of the handover personnel, and he will probably have similar thoughts. In fact, according to me and According to Ace's judgment, the clues that Mr. Brown can provide will probably be more specific and detailed than any waiter in the club."

When Fortes saw Pei Xiang mentioning his previous behavior towards his employer, he sneered, and then fell silent.

After a while, Ace returned to the carriage.

"How?" Pei Xiang asked.

"Mr. Brown is very careful," Ace said quietly, "every time he receives some items whose origin and whereabouts are unknown, he will try his best to record the relevant people and things."

Fortes was a little surprised, and interjected:

"Every time? So, he, he knows who took the trade item?"

Ace shook his head: "It hasn't reached that level, but after a long investigation and screening, he has three or five most suspicious candidates in his mind."

Hearing this, Fortes hurriedly asked for the answer, but Ace ignored his doubts, but coldly ordered the other party to drive the carriage and leave immediately.

Seeing this, Fortes reluctantly suppressed the curiosity in his heart, and reluctantly changed to the driver's position.

After going around a few times and making sure that no one was following them, Pei Xiang and Ace returned to the hotel.

There were no outsiders around, so Ace said to Pei Xiang:

"The Blue Whale Dome Hall is a very important room in the Cruiser Club. There are a lot of members and waiters who come in and out every day. And Little Brown is an apprentice in the kitchen, and the work is heavy and he doesn't have many opportunities to appear in front. In addition, He couldn't let the behind-the-scenes employer discover his probing behavior, so his investigation progress has been very slow. However, after a long period of observation and analysis, he still figured out some key points. In the end, he selected five suspicious candidates. "

Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows: "Five? Who are they?"

Ace picked up a pen and wrote a series of names on the paper.

Pei Xiang lowered her eyes, thinking about the information revealed by Norton and others and the clues she had found before. After a while, she crossed out the three names.

"Of the remaining two, Guy Stuart has a good background, but the share of the property he will inherit in the future is not clear. He urgently needs some achievements to prove himself and then improve his family status, so as to win More resources.

"Stuart's mother has an old shipyard under her name, and she cooperated closely with the navy before. However, since the navy took the initiative to establish several large military shipyards, the number of cooperation between the two parties has gradually decreased.

"As for the last Mr. West, well, the outside world has mixed opinions on him. However, according to some gossip revealed by Norton, it can be judged that West is very shrewd in dealing with the world, or it can be called insidious. It is said that he once used some dishonorable methods to annex the ancestral property of his first wife's family."

Ace looked at the two names that Pei Xiang chose to keep for a while, and after thinking for a while, he added the name "James Albert" at the back of the paper.

Pei Xiang was a little puzzled.

Ace explained: "When I observed Albert last night, I found out that Serena's brother was studying shipbuilding technology in Europe, and the sponsor was unknown. And Albert—according to Norton and Little Brown Although it doesn't happen to appear in the hiding place of the item every time, his cousin fills in the gap. Maybe I'm overthinking, but it doesn't hurt to check."

"Hey, I did neglect this person," Pei Xiang slightly raised his eyebrows, and gave Ace five points in his heart, "How do you plan to arrange the investigation after that?"

In fact, according to Ace's true thoughts, he certainly hopes that Pei Xiang will go in and out with him inseparably.However, when he thought of the boring waiting and uncomfortable environment afterwards, he felt that there was no need for Pei Xiang to continue worrying about it.

Therefore, he said softly:

"Amy, I'll go around the Cruiser's Club to find out who will take away the sealed drawings. Can you help me go to the bookstore to buy some books and music scores? For Luoshan and the others to use. By the way, there are also some stationery .”

Compared with boring stalking and stalking, Pei Xiang of course prefers to spend time in the sea of ​​books and ink, so she accepts her companion's commission without hesitation, and at the same time adds fifteen points to the kind-hearted and soft-hearted classmate Ace.

Glancing again at the paper with the names of West, Stuart and Albert written on it, Ace put on his hat and turned to leave.

Half an hour later, Pei Xiang also left the hotel, walked towards a very famous bookstore in the nearby block, and then plunged into the sea of ​​books.

"Sorry ma'am, did I happen to pick up the book you're interested in?"

The elegant and handsome brown-haired man handed the Russian document he had just taken off the high shelf to Pei Xiang, and looked at Pei Xiang with a gentle smile.

Pei Xiang waved his hand, instead of taking the book in the man's hand, he declined softly:

"I really wanted to take down this book and read it before, but it was only by accident. Since you are one step ahead of me, sir, then I will read other Russian books."

"Did you become interested in this book because of Mr. Smith's review in the newspaper?" The man asked curiously.

Pei Xiang nodded, not wanting to say more.

Seeing Pei Xiang's refusal, the brown-haired man stopped being polite and modest, but stood there and flipped through the books in his hands.

On the other side, Pei Xiang continued to search among the bookshelves.A few minutes later, she found another work of the same type that interested her, and she browsed it carefully.

After a while, the brown-haired man's companion came over and said in a very low voice:

"Stuart, it's time for us to leave. Colonel Lester will be at the Rangers Club today, and we'd better get there early and 'chicken' him. If he's in a good mood, maybe we can talk to him about the new shipyard. about the order."

The handsome man named Stuart took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and sighed helplessly.He touched the spine of the book with some reluctance, then gently placed the book near Pei Xiang, and left with his companions.

When the two men walked away, Pei Xiang looked up at the well-reviewed Russian book, and at the same time thought, could this Stuart be the one she and Ace were investigating?