Mary's Nineteenth Century

For two months and three days, the two did not meet each other.

When they met again this early autumn evening, Mycroft received a bouquet of colorful tulips.

He has always disliked the excitement.When tulips of various colors, such as red, yellow, pink, white, and purple, are gathered together in a bunch, it should feel tacky to the eyes, but unexpectedly found that the beauty of such flower art interprets the essence of vibrant plants.

Perhaps, it was because the flower-giver was Mr. Minton.

Thinking of this, the throbbing in his heart increased, but he pushed this enthusiasm to Night Breeze.The wind in September still carries a bit of summer heat, it is the wind heat, not the faster heartbeat.

Mycroft was sure he was sane and not dazzled by seeing you after a little farewell.

In just one encounter, he caught the flicker of regret in Mr. Minton's eyes—the regret of a missed opportunity for mischief.

Mycroft: "You seem to be a bit regretful, is there anything I didn't do as you wished?"

"how come!"

Mary refused to admit her regret. Mycroft actually kept his figure without gaining weight, so the previous plan of "Dutch specialty desserts, only to be seen but not eaten, was shattered."

"I'm just surprised, Mr. Holmes. You seem to have lost a little weight. Could it be that the restaurant on the edge of Whitehall has changed chefs and is not to your liking?"

Mycroft was keenly aware of the deceit.Glancing at the gift box, it says "Otter Loves Britney Spears" in Dutch, which is a very famous dessert house in Amsterdam.

Guessing almost instantly, he almost missed the Dutch sweets.Suppose he has gained a lot of weight, someone can say it is good for him, and eat the sweets given to him in front of him.

Fortunately not fat.

As for why she lost weight?

Life is a bit too ordinary, and I can't eat sweets, so I have to find some way to divert my attention.For example, if you go for a brisk walk in the park, you accidentally move more.

"As expected of you! 』

It was the nth time that Mycroft experienced Mr. Minton's stubborn character, so he pretended to think about it and answered truthfully.

"Perhaps you're right, in the two months you've been away, I think something's missing from the table. I've lost a bit of weight on a less-than-pleasant dining scene, and it's not nice to wish you would come back and make things work again sooner rather than later. "

What's the matter, the plan to tease people has failed.

Mary's little disappointment came and went quickly, and it directly caught another important point. "You said that the dining atmosphere is not pleasant enough without my existence. Are you talking about asking me to be beautiful and delicious in disguise?"

Why speak so directly.

However, Mycroft nodded slightly, and admitted in a self-confident tone, "Please believe that your presence has made London more attractive."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh? Mr. Holmes, when did you evolve? You dare to say it more than before."

Mary restrained herself and only smiled politely back.Please don't tell the truth, it will make her very embarrassed.

Thinking that Mycroft didn't gain weight was due to her. In other words, she personally cut off the possibility of her successfully teasing people. After the small disappointment, there was a small depression.

Forget it, let's be a good Mr. Minton today, who made Mycroft say something nice.

Marie decided to turn the page on the miscalculation, "Let's get down to business. You may have heard about flash floods caused by sudden torrential rain in southern Germany. Unfortunately, Hubbard's partner was killed in the flash flood."

Mycroft certainly paid attention to the situation in Germany, "Human beings are small in front of nature, and some secrets have been taken to the grave, we can only wait for the next opportunity to come."

Since the Scarab Society was founded at the University of Berlin, and Hubbard was also from Germany, and mysteriously consulted with Mr. Minton, there is some reason to suspect that he might come with some secrets related to the Scarab.

However, death is like a lamp going out.

The death of Hubbard and his partner cut that thread off, like a cueing light on a dark road that flickered on and then went off.

In this regard, Mary bluntly said, "Occasionally, I suspect that there is really some kind of indescribable force in the world, which prevents us from touching the truth at critical moments."

Hubbard's death was Jude's deliberate murder, not an accident.

However, his partner was naturally and ruthlessly silenced when he encountered a mountain torrent. His luck was really bad to a certain extent.

Mycroft said objectively, "In this land of Europe, the vast majority of people believe in God. We must admit that when you think God exists, demons will also be born. If people keep high luck , but you need to be more vigilant, because you don't know what kind of price you have been paid secretly."

Mary thought about it, but fortunately her luck was only good when it should be good.

In order to accumulate character tonight, it was rare for her not to have the love of the heart, and she no longer found another reason to compete with Mycroft for dessert.

Mycroft: Well, it's another day to save your sweet tooth.

**

On September [-]th, it began to rain in London early in the morning.

Strange to say, the weather in London has been cloudy and rainy for nearly a week, and it finally rained again today.

According to the address given by Watson, Mary came to the telegraph station on the outskirts of the city.

The PPP private telegraph station, a three-story building caught fire overnight on September [-].A cursory glance from the outside revealed that most of the building was scorched.

"It appears that the fire was serious at the time."

After inquiring, Mary went directly to the manager of the telegraph station, indicating that she was commissioned to investigate one of the victims of the fire.

"Luke Allen and his colleague Waite were burned to death on the spot. Can I enter the scene to see the live fire?"

Perhaps because the manager of the telegraph station had seen the visitor's business card, he had heard of Mr. Minton and hadn't turned him away, but he was still a little surprised.

"I didn't expect you to investigate Luke's death. You were the first person to inquire about Luke's death. The telegraph station notified his relatives. It has been three or four days, but there is no response at all. The body is still parked two kilometers away. church."

"Then I came just in time."

Mary took advantage of the opportunity to ask the manager about Luke Allen's situation, "I was entrusted by Luke Allen's old classmate, so I don't know much about his recent situation. I heard that he is an only child, and his parents live in London?"

The manager nodded, "According to the employment file, Luke's mother passed away when he was 18 years old, and his father is still alive and living in the Baker Street area of ​​London. Let me tell you, old Luke is a gambler, I'm not surprised he's not here Let's identify the corpse immediately."

Mary heard the manager talk about strange things.

Luke Allen's father, also named Luke.It is not uncommon for father and son to have the same name. That old Luke is proficient in pornography, gambling, and smoking.

Five years ago, 18-year-old Luke was preparing for the college entrance examination. Who would have thought that his mother would die from the cold and high fever.

In the same year, Luke Sr. stole his son's savings, which was originally saved by Mrs. Luke Sr. to pay for Luke's four-year college tuition.

"The money was lost in the casino, and Luke didn't go to college anymore. He came to work at the telegraph station."

The manager said that these things were not a secret, because two years ago old Luke actually blocked the door of the telegraph station, asking his son to borrow money in a sloppy manner.

Luke refused on the spot, and immediately quarreled with his father.

The old stories between father and son were revealed, and no one felt that Luke's behavior of not borrowing money was inhumane.

"Hey! Luke worked hard and steadfastly. No one would have thought that a fire in the circuit would kill him."

The manager led the way to the point of fire, which was the power distribution room on the second floor of the telegraph station. "Every day, there are two employees on the night shift at the telegraph station. According to the doctor's autopsy, Luke and Waite were electrocuted to death. The bodies of the two were found in the power distribution room. It is currently speculated that they discovered a circuit fire and asked for help. Do something, but unfortunately electrocuted."

Mary looked at the electrical switch room, which had been burnt to the point where there was not a single good brick in it. It had been cleaned a bit and the burnt electrical equipment had been removed.The ground is still in a mess, and two groups of human figures can be vaguely scorched, which are the burnt marks left by the two deceased.

No kidding, the letter to Watson, the briefing picture of the charred fish was a million times better than the fire.According to the degree of damage at hand, it is impossible to restore all the circumstances of the night when the telegraph station caught fire.The fire burned the house too far.

The manager said that some papers for writing telegrams were placed in the distribution station, and the carpets and wall wallpapers in the corridor were all burned.

Mary secretly thought that this is a typical example of weak awareness of fire prevention. The whole building is covered with combustion aids, but there are no corresponding fire extinguishing measures.

"During these days, have any strange faces come to see Luke Allen?"

Mary also made a request, "Can I have a look at Luke's work log? Want to check his handwriting."

"As far as I know, Luke doesn't have any friends to play with. Outside of work, he lives alone in Mocha Town, three kilometers away."

The manager recalled, "No one has come to him recently. In the past, those who lent money to old Luke came to collect debts from London casinos, but Luke forcefully returned them. There have been many times, and the casinos have communicated with each other. , his son is not responsible for the debts owed by old Luke."

Mary tentatively asked, "This situation has caused a lot of trouble to the telegraph station, right? Do colleagues have any objections? It seems that you didn't annoy Luke because of this."

"As I said, Luke was a good employee, and he never made a mistake with the telegraph in four and a half years."

The manager solemnly declared, "Of course I would not embarrass a good employee. My subordinates, Luke's colleagues, are also reasonable people."

"That's nice."

Mary seemed to believe it, and then asked the manager about the colleagues Luke had the most contact with during working hours, and planned to visit them one by one in the afternoon.

Before that, of course, go to the church to have a look at the dead body.

What secret is hidden in Luke?

Why did he send a letter to Watson who hadn't been in touch for many years?No text, only a paper clipping?What does charred fish express?

**

Central London.

09:30 AM, Whitehall, Matthew's office.

The rainy weather can really make people feel a little depressed.

I just got to work, sat in the chair for no more than 5 minutes, and an urgent report was sent.

It's a report of a death.

Jacques Allen, the new head of the government telegraph station, was killed last night in a dark alley a kilometer from his house.He was hit in the heart with a knife, and then burned on the spot. This morning, a passerby found the charred body and called the police.

Who is the murderer?

After Scotland Yard's preliminary investigation and interviews with residents around the crime scene, no one noticed the fire in the dark alley last night, nor did they hear any screams or strange sounds.

The more troublesome thing is that Jacques Allen is responsible for sending and receiving military telegrams. It needs to be found out that this is only a case against Allen himself, or is there another conspiracy?

So, 10 minutes later, Mycroft was summoned to Matthew's office.

Matthew handed out the documents with ease, "Mike, your free working time is up again, find out what's going on as soon as possible."

Someone must have had an accident.

Given London's crime rate, it was no surprise that Mycroft had another crime.

Open the folder, glance at ten lines, and turn to Jacques Allen's simple file.The man was an only son of living parents, and old Ellen was a squire and small landowner in a village near Longbourne.

Looking at the kinship, the deceased had an uncle Luke Allen, and the elder Luke had a son also named Luke.

Wait a minute, the names of these characters look familiar.

Not exactly what Mr. Minton said yesterday, to investigate the dead in the fire at the private telegraph station.

What a coincidence.

Mycroft deeply felt that he and Mr. Minton had a relationship, but he didn't expect to run into each other again when investigating the case.

But is it really a coincidence?

Both cousins ​​were telegraph practitioners. They died one after another, and both were caught in a fire. Is that also fate?The evil fate created by the god of death?