Mary's Nineteenth Century

In view of the last time the absurd werewolf conjecture was falsified, as Sherlock Holmes who is good at learning lessons, it is absolutely impossible to fall into the same pit.

For this, Mycroft gave a logical reasoning.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of his live sacrifice, the murderer must not be disturbed by the outside world. The family members of the victim will not wantonly search for the murderer in the short term so as to interfere with the progress of the live sacrifice.

In the whole plan, the choice of the first victim is particularly important.

The environment in which it is located must be convenient enough to create a fake situation where peaches replace Li Zong, and at the same time, the families of the victims must not be suspicious.

Mycroft was talking about the facts, not belittling the Bennet family for their lack of brains.

"The murderer of the revolving lantern finally selected the third daughter of the Bennet family, set fire to her death, and blamed her death on another murderer, but no one knew that the charred corpse was swapped. However, accidents always It will come unexpectedly."

Mary nodded with great interest, "What kind of accident do you think it was?"

"The murderer met you, a completely unexpected variable, and it became his death."

Mycroft once heard Mr. Minton say "the hero saves the beauty after encountering Miss B, and meets again in another country after both lose their memory".

Now, knowing Mr. Minton's real gender may help us understand why she didn't mention the truth four years ago, because she has a very close relationship with Miss B.

"I don't want to talk about it, you don't want to add trouble, who made you and Miss B have a similar face."

Mycroft had met Mr. Bennet and his daughters Elizabeth and Lydia before.

If truth be told, Mr. Minton bears little resemblance to those three that he would have known otherwise.

Specifically, Elizabeth and Lydia inherited the advantages of their father's facial features.

Since some children inherit the facial advantages of their parents, there will be children who inherit the disadvantages in terms of probability.Maybe it's not amazing enough, but it looks ordinary among a group of sisters.

Of course, what determines appearance is not only congenital heredity, but also acquired temperament.

As far as Mycroft was concerned, his Mr. Minton had nothing to do with the mediocre.On the contrary, she is unique, too dazzling in the crowd to be ignored.

Having said that, I just mentioned that the Bennet family's brains are not enough.

If they knew that Mr. Minton had contact with the third daughter, and that the two looked alike, they would inevitably have messy associations.

What association?

Mr. Minton and Miss B had an accident at the same location, and they had similar faces and the same gender.

The Bennets are not so delirious to the point of fainting that they recognize Mr. Minton as their daughter. Can ordinary people raise a half-demon?

Or think that Mr. Minton is the murderer's intended victim, and his third daughter is the unlucky substitute.

Or blame Mr. Minton for not being able to save people to the end and successfully bring his daughter out.

Mrs. Bennet has nothing to do with reason. She can accept the news of her daughter's death once, but can she accept that she was wrong many years later?

"What kind of reaction will a mother who is not clear-headed face the second injury? In my humble opinion, it is a mess."

Mycroft knew Mr. Minton, whose personality seemed gentle but actually cool.

With her intelligence and character, she did not become a criminal. It is definitely due to her respected godfather. How could she cause trouble and tell others the truth.

'Clap clap--'

Mary smiled and clapped lightly, "Not bad idea, any more?"

Mycroft paused. In fact, he didn't care about the details of the concealed case at all, and went around to verify the one thing he cared about most.

"Also, your fate with Miss B is not limited to this. Mary Bennet is that name, and your real name is Mary, right?"

Why do you see it?

Because Mr. Minton's home in Boston has a portrait of her godfather painted by herself, signed MM.Mark Minton, Mark is fake, but it is one letter difference from Mary.Since Minton and Miss B are predestined, it may be a predestined relationship to the end.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Mary admitted that this speculation was seventy percent correct, for example, that she did not want to get into trouble, and that she had a great relationship with the third daughter of the Bennet family.The point is that dear Mr. Holmes has guessed the real name, what does he want to do?

One of the purposes can be determined, Mary is a female given name.

If the name is recognized, it is equivalent to the formal recognition of gender.

"We all know a name is just a code name, does it really matter what it's called?"

Mary didn't answer directly, she rolled her eyes and suddenly smiled again. "That's right. Names are very important at certain times. For example, when engraving someone's tombstone, you can't write..."

"Mr. Minton."

Mycroft directly interrupted such unlucky examples, "Can we give some human examples."

Mary nodded politely, "Okay, okay, it's all my wording. What's the point of not engaging in the affairs of the underworld, but changing to a scene where you have to call your real name?"

After 30 seconds of careful consideration.

Mary spoke again solemnly, "For example, when you wake up early in the morning, you really can't call the person next to your bed by the wrong name. As you wish, this is an example that happened between two living people, yes ?"

Mycroft:!

To be clear, what does it mean to do as he wishes?

I ask God to testify and restore his innocence. At least at this moment, he really didn't want to roll around on the bed. He just wanted to call each other very simply in the confession occasion.

Hold on.

The more you have to be calm at this time, otherwise you will get molested even more.

"Mr. Minton, you can always tell all kinds of scenes calmly."

Mycroft directly skipped the imaginative example link, "Now, can you give me an honest answer? You are Mary, right?"

Mary still didn't answer right away, "Mr. Holmes, you have the right to ask questions, and I also have the right not to speak. However, I can give you a chance. I once admitted to promise you something unconditionally. Do you want that opportunity to be used here? ?”

Fraud!

Mycroft wanted to make sure that Holmes did not succumb to a subservient posture, and now that gender was no longer a concern, it seemed at first glance that it would do no harm to use that condition.However, he always felt that there was a pitfall.

Mary didn't care much, "You can choose or not, and I won't force you, just as you can't force me to answer."

"Okay, I use that condition."

Mycroft made a decisive choice. As for Mr. Minton's promise, he could create another opportunity in the future.

Mary was also refreshing and didn't use devious words anymore. "Congratulations, you guessed it right."

and then?

Mycroft tried his best to restrain himself, but the corners of his mouth still couldn't help but rise.Great, he judged correctly and got his own acknowledgment, "Mary, yes, Mary. This is really a sweet and pleasant name, and it suits you very well when you hear it."

"Come on, Mr. Holmes, you have to speak the basics to praise someone. You don't have to lose your mind and enjoy yourself by guessing the name."

Mary shook her head, "Mary, it's a popular name. Whether its meaning or impression is good, most of it is the opposite of me. Sometimes, a person's name is just a good wish of the namer."

As for whether having this name will live up to the name, that is a very complicated issue.

"OK, let's not talk about names, let's continue the topic of the death of the two cousins ​​of the Allen family."

Mycroft was very cooperative, switching his mind for a second, as if he wasn't the one who almost couldn't control the smirk just now.

"The power distribution room caught fire, leaving behind two unrecognizable corpses. If Luke escaped, the question is whether he escaped with his colleague Waite? Whether it is or not, who died in his place ?”

Is it someone you know?

Or just randomly kill a homeless person first to impersonate?

To clarify these issues, turn the focus of the investigation back to the suburban telegraph stations.If a person wants to kill someone, but also uses the dead body of another person to escape, more or less traces will be left behind.

There are no clues at Luke's home, will there be clues in the telegraph world.For example, in the Romanian shadow paper, there is no connection between him and the southeastern Europeans in reality. Could it be that he met on the telegram?

The colleagues in the PPP telegraph station did not notice that there was something unusual about Luke, but what about the ups and downs of the several telegraph lines that Luke was in charge of?

Since skilled telegraph practitioners can recognize people by listening, does Luke's next telegraph operator have insight into his emotional changes?Did Luke's previous telegrapher help with the crime?

Because of the fire, half of the PPP telegraph station was burned down, and the content of the telegraph communication for nearly half a year was burned.

To find out which telegrams Luke has sent and received in recent months, one must ask the different telegraph companies up and down the line he is responsible for.

As a result, the amount of inspection is really large.

It is even more necessary for other telegraph stations to be willing to hand over the records, but they have to check.

September 19, 45:[-].

Mycroft and Mary sent a request for assistance to a total of fifteen telegraph stations, asking them to give the telegram records of the past half a year.No reply tonight.

The two took the time to eat dinner.

No sooner had the knife and fork been put down than a reply arrived on Pall Mall.

It's from Jennifer's hometown.

This afternoon, because Jennifer did not return to London to deal with her husband's funeral, she sent another urging telegram to a small town in the south of England.

This time the call back came quickly: "I received the funeral on the afternoon of the [-]th. Jennifer left at [-] am on the [-]th and should arrive in London on the evening of the [-]th. We are traveling together, a maid, and a driver. Did any accident happen to the three of you?"

I told the servants of Jacques's family to tell them that as soon as Jennifer returned to her home in London, she should immediately go to Scotland Yard or Pall Mall.

Now, a whole day later than the scheduled arrival time of Jennifer on the telegram, she still hasn't shown up, where is she?It is certain that the maid and the coachman must have disappeared together, otherwise Jennifer's hometown will be reported.

Mycroft and Mary rushed to Scotland Yard's telegraph room immediately after receiving the news.

Send a request for assistance to the East Sussex and Kent patrol teams, and follow Jennifer's original return route to find her traces.

At present, it is not known whether Luke committed the crime alone.

Two people were burned to death in the power distribution room, while three of Jennifer and his party disappeared.Is it Luke one-on-three, or is he two-on-three with his accomplices?Or, did Jennifer intend to elope with Luke?

The truth is still in the fog.

After hearing the latest rumor about Luke's fraudulent death, Lestrade felt that his head was getting bigger and bigger.

"Two fires, one without even knowing who the dead are, and now there's a new missing person, God is testing me. Assuming Luke is the mastermind, but Jennifer and Jacques have been married for two years, what prompted Luke decides to do it now? What about the stimulus?"

"In terms of mental state, my personal opinion is that Luke has made a fortune recently."

Mary pointed out the difference between the two cousins ​​of the Allen family, "Luke wants to prove that he is better than his cousin. From a secular point of view, the most direct way is two possibilities-either he has made outstanding contributions and become famous, or he is suddenly promoted to the ranks of the rich. .”

What is famous?

In the world where Mary once lived, in the 19th century, a telegraph operator named Edison invented the electric light and became a household name.

However, Luke, who is also a telegraph operator, did not take this path.

A "shadow" message in Romanian was found in his fireplace, raising suspicions that he was engaged in an illegal shadow trade.

"Going sideways and selling shadows can give Luke a starting capital."

Mary knew it wasn't getting rich, "Next, what can he do with the money?"

"doing what?"

At this moment, Lestrade didn't realize that he was really asking for advice, and he couldn't help but want to know the way to get rich.

Mary looked at Mycroft, "Mr. Holmes, what do you think?"

"Mr. Detective, please don't forget that Luke grew up with the gambling father the most."

Mycroft shook his head slightly as he said, "The saddest thing about a person is that he has become what he once hated the most, but that is the normal state of the world."

It is difficult for children to completely get rid of the influence of the family environment, and there are always demons that will make them sink if they are not careful.

Those who can truly succeed in living out themselves are all well-deserved warriors.Warriors, but not often.

Lestrade was at a loss for words for a moment, and then retorted, "But old Luke keeps losing, so how can Luke be sure that he will win?"

"Good question, maybe cheating."

Mary can only speculate, "Other possibilities cannot be ruled out, such as digging up a treasure, stealing a batch of gold and silver? Or murder and robbery? Right now, we have to wait for other telegraph stations to send the content of their past work to find Luke." Have contacted someone secretly before making further inferences."

**

In the early morning of the next day, a big news airborne to London.

Mycroft sat at the dining table, habitually picking up a stack of newspapers.

Almost all newspaper front pages are dedicated to the same story:

Core content: "Burst!This year's Royal Ascot champion is fake!The dark horse "Poison" was exposed in the early hours of last night, and its head mutated into a hell beast, which looks like a devil and is very scary.The breeder Nishizawa was suspected to have been missing for several days, and the case is under further investigation. 』

Horse face mutant hell animal head?

Does this sound a bit familiar? It's more like a script where a person takes a transformation potion and becomes a werewolf.But looking through the newspapers I just bought at home, none of the newspapers published photos, at most with abstract illustrations.

No photos, no truth.

The problem of Royal Marseille is not a trivial matter. Maybe there will be news of the latest photos on the table of His Excellency Matthew.

If it is confirmed that it is indeed the mutation of the horse head of the horse racing champion, then one possibility must be considered-it is said that the destroyed transformation potion still exists in the world.

Now, Mycroft intellectually knew he should focus on the merits of the case, and it was time to compare the Jockey Club winners' list with Luke's.

But emotionally, it is inevitable to think a little more.Assuming the Potion of Transformation is proven to exist, his werewolf theory isn't too far off the mark, but what about the other theory?

Yes.

Since Holmes did not fall twice in the same pit, he was the first to rule out one possibility when speculating on Mr. Minton's identity.

The encounter and reunion between Minton and Miss B was so fateful that they crossed the barrier of the Atlantic Ocean and just happened to meet again in the United States.

It cannot be denied that there is a wonderful fate in the world. For example, Mr. Minton and Mrs. Roman met again in Germany. Fate is sometimes wonderful.

However, when adding that Minton and Miss B have the same name, similar appearance, and the same gender, it means another possibility that is very unscientific and impossible to be verified-the resurrection of the dead.

Mycroft couldn't help but look to the left. The Minton's house was next door.

Looking at the wall, he couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile.It's a pity that the opportunity to let Mr. Minton answer the question was used up yesterday.

**

**

next door.

Mary also picked up the newspaper and saw the indiscriminate news of mutant horse races.

This is really amazing, Mycroft's werewolf guess seems to come true somewhere, but I don't know if this will encourage him to dare to have bolder ideas?