Mary's Nineteenth Century

Mycroft connected the three places where the snowman appeared to form an obtuse isosceles triangle.Its obtuse angle is 108°, what does that mean?

The answer is obvious.

"Two more points make a regular pentagram."

"Afterwards, two snowmen will appear, forming an inverted pentagram formation."

Instantly, Sherlock and Mary understood what Mycroft meant.

The point of a regular pentagram is 36°, and the inflection is 108°.Three snowmen have been found so far, and the sheepskin buried in one of them depicts an inverted pentagram that summons demons.Five missing two, a sacrifice is about to be completed.

"If our guess is correct, the next two weird snowmen will appear in these two locations."

Mycroft marked points A and B in Yorkshire on the map. "According to the general magic circle theory, the strongest magic fluctuation will appear in the center of the five-pointed star."

Coincidentally, the center is York, where the three of them are currently located.

York's history can be traced back to AD 71, when the Romans came and built a castle.With a history of 800 years, this place has been visited by countless alchemists and wizards.It is not difficult to understand why the snowman maker centered on York City, trying to gain some kind of power through the sacrifice of five weird snowmen.

Sherlock calculated the time of the sacrifice, "The interval between the appearance of the snowman is not long. The snowman on the mountainside is on December 12th, the snowman in front of the church is on January 25nd, and the appearance of the snowman by the cemetery is uncertain."

Although it was discovered on January 1, due to its remote location, it has existed for some time and has not been noticed.

Sherlock visited the small town next to the cemetery in depth, and it is known that no one passed the cemetery path from the 16th of last month to the 1st of this month.

“公墓雪人,最早可能在上月16日出现。而从12月16日至1月2日，雪人制造者仅仅用了十八天弄出三只雪人。塞在雪人里的物品，羊皮、胡须、手套应是事前准备好的。”

Since the snowman maker came prepared, two other weird snowmen will appear soon.

Today is January 1, seven days since the last snowman appeared.According to the average speed of making a snowman every six days by the snowman maker, the fourth snowman has a high probability in the two places A and B.

"Tomorrow morning, immediately contact the nearest telegraph stations in places A and B to get the latest information."

Mary was faintly worried about the sacrifice in the snowman, "I have a hunch that the things hidden inside the fourth snowman will no longer be as 'mild' as the first three."

Sheepskin, beards, gloves, they can be endowed with special meanings, but in the final analysis, they do not directly threaten the lives of living people.

However, the inverted pentagram, which is sacrificed to demons, has historically been associated with evil forces.If the required sacrifices are not stained with blood, how can similar sacrifices be considered very vicious.

So, what would the latter two offerings be?

At noon the next day, a reply came from a telegraph station near Town B.

On the evening of January 1th, three newsboys found the eerie fat yeti near a mistletoe bush.

1.2 meters high, composed of three big snowballs.Recently, rumors of the return of the snow monster spread farther and farther, and the newsboys dubiously pushed down the fat snowman, wanting to see if they really encountered a strange snowman.

With that push, a pile of frozen corpses fell out of the snowball.

Screams immediately filled the mistletoe bushes.

The priest was requested by the townspeople to contain the bones in the snowball.

The content of the telegram sent to York City was not detailed and did not include the specific conditions of the bones, but added a sentence at the end, "The situation is rather strange. If possible, please invite those with rich experience in autopsy to go to Saul Church."

What is so weird?

After reading the telegram, Mycroft sent Sherlock directly to the carriage, believing that his younger brother, who was good at observing, could draw valuable conclusions after the autopsy on the spot.

Although Sherlock didn't need a lunch break, and he was more than willing to go to Sol Church himself, was there something wrong?

The carriage drove out of York City, galloping in the bitter cold wind.

In the carriage, Sherlock belatedly noticed a problem.

He knew that Mycroft was lazy, not to mention that he couldn't leave because he was on official business, but why did he just let him go on his way instead of letting Mr. Minton go?Is it a bit biased?

Of course, Sherlock and Mr. Minton will not care about who will work more.

This investigation of the weird snowman was entirely a spontaneous act of his interest, but Mycroft, as an elder brother, didn't seem to want to take special care of his younger brother.

According to common sense, it is better to have a partner to go out to investigate together to deal with emergencies. Why didn't Mr. Minton go to Sol Church together?

"Could it be that you trust my strength?"

Sherlock thought about reasonable reasons, "Perhaps, Mr. Minton has been feeling unwell recently, so he is not suitable for traveling outside unless necessary?"

With little doubts, I arrived at Sol Church after dark.

After seeing the bones hidden in the snowman, he put the trivial doubts behind him.

Sure enough, the fourth snowman was no longer gentle.

The body parts hidden in it belonged to adult humans, and the strange thing was that it was impossible to tell whether the deceased was a man or a woman.

There are a total of 71 body parts hidden in the snowball, which cannot be assembled into a complete person.

Some parts of the body were thrown away, and the body tissue left behind showed that the deceased was a rare androgynous person.

The deceased was not killed recently, the body was badly decomposed and had been dead for at least two years.

However, it is impossible to determine the exact time of death, and burying in a closed coffin will affect the speed of ossification of the corpse.

This corpse should have been carefully selected. The snowman maker deliberately looked for a corpse with both male and female characteristics.

Because the beards of the previous sacrificial offerings represent the sexual characteristics of men, while the gloves of women are related to the sexual hints of women, this sacrifice presents a natural balance between men and women.

After a magic circle, there are males, females, half males and half males, what will be the sacrifice hidden by the fifth snowman?

Sherlock thought about this question, and checked the pile of body parts again.

The method of dismemberment showed that the unknown suspect was a novice, the section of the incision was uneven, and the knife did not fall from the weak part of the body.

Even so, 71 body parts were separated.It can roughly piece together a human shape, but does not include the head, palm, and feet.

Are there special marks on discarded body tissue that help identify the origin of the deceased?Did the unknown suspect do it on purpose to obscure the real identity of the corpse?

For a while, no more detailed reasons could be determined.

After getting up early the next day, Sherlock first sent a terse telegram to Mycroft:

"At the scene of the fourth snowman, a total of 71 body parts were found, without any clothes or other remnants. After stitching together the body parts, it was preliminarily determined that the deceased was hermaphrodite, missing head, hands, and feet. His identity is unknown and he died for more than two years."

Based on the four weird snowmen that have been discovered, a general profile portrait of the unknown suspect can be deduced.

The unknown suspect has a strong physique, is not a professional researcher of occult science, has a good understanding of the terrain of Yorkshire, and has experience in wild survival, but is not a professional craftsman.

With surplus money and no regular job for nearly a month and a half, the possibility of a partner cooperating in the crime cannot be ruled out.

The town does not have laboratory equipment and cannot do more specific tests.

Sherlock took the body parts again, braved the sleet and returned to York City, hoping to extract more information from the body parts.

**

January 1, eight o'clock at night.

After running around in the wind and rain, the body parts were temporarily stored in the morgue of the York City Security Force.

Sherlock was finally able to sit down and have a hot dinner in the hotel.

After the meal, he couldn't wait to knock on the door of the next room. "Dear brother, I made an important new discovery on the way back to the city, which was not mentioned in this morning's telegram."

"I know what you want to say."

Mycroft pointed to the chair, indicating that Sherlock could sit down and talk slowly without rushing.

"The sacrifice in the fourth snowman, the dismembered dead showed a characteristic—the key point of the 71 body parts is the number "71", which is one of the true divisors of 284, and it is also the case of the snowman manufacturing case. key.You want to say this, right? "

Sherlock was a little taken aback when he heard the words, and when he mentioned 284 and its true divisor, it must be related to the fact that 284 and 220 are a pair of affinity numbers that love each other.

His elder brother is good at mathematics, but he thought of such unpopular number characteristics that are not commonly used in the first place?It's not impossible, but it's a bit of a surprise that it's Mycroft.

At the moment, Sherlock couldn't help looking at Mr. Minton on the other side. Could it be that this mathematician had relevant ideas after receiving the telegram?

Mary smiled gently, "Little Mr. Holmes, please don't be suspicious. After your brother received the telegram, because he is very sensitive to numbers, he immediately thought that this case might be related to the sacrifice of affinity numbers."

The proper divisors of 284 are 1, 2, 4, 71, and 142, respectively.

The five numbers correspond to five yeti sacrifices. "1" is a sheepskin magic circle, "4" is four gloves, and "142" is the beards of 140 people.

Because clusters of beards are mixed together, there is no way to be accurate to single digits. Previously, it was only possible to tell that the beards came from roughly 40 people.

This morning, a telegram of 71 body parts was sent back.

Combined with the previous clues, it can be speculated that "71" is not a number cut out casually.And because of its appearance, it can be proved that the clusters of beards most likely came from 140 people.

Now, there is only one snowman related to "2", and five sacrifices related to the true divisor of 284 can be collected.

Mary pointed out that "284 and 220 are the number of dating, and the offerings related to "284" are exchanged for the power related to "220". This is the purpose of the snowman maker this time.I have a bold idea that the sacrifice involves both men and women, and the power that the magic circle begged for may be to reverse life and death, and the person to be resurrected was born or died on February 2. "

Is it a bit familiar?

Five years ago, the revolving door murderer also engaged in a similar set of operations.The difference is that three people were sacrificed alive at that time, and the number correlations used are also different.

"You are quite right."

Sherlock had returned to his senses a long time ago, but he didn't have much to say. The key speculations were all made by these two.

"Since this is the case, the most urgent thing is to prevent the fifth snowman sacrifice from appearing. I think the two of you agree with me. There is a high probability that the last sacrifice will be two children, and they are likely to be buried alive in the snowman."

The final sacrifice is the number "2".

Objects representing men and women have appeared, and bones representing both sexes have also appeared. According to the degree of sacrifice from easy to obtain to more difficult, the unknown suspect will set the last target on the living person.

The height of the snowman is 1.2 meters.

Based on this height, it is more likely that the sacrifice was a child, and children are easier to capture than adults.

"You are right. The murderer must be found before the next sacrifice begins."

Mycroft agreed with Sherlock's speculation, "I've gone to find out who lost the expensive lady's gloves. Kidnapping children from a big city is less of a concern than a village. If the murderer is looking for sacrifices in the same big city, It is possible to pinpoint his whereabouts."

It's just that time is running out.

The fourth snowman was found on January 1th, and it is conservatively estimated that the last snowman will appear around January 9th.

Mary is also inquiring about the origin of the androgynous remains. "Compared to the beards that can be found in barbershops in big cities, the newly discovered bones of the deceased are very special. If there is a doctor who knows, maybe he can quickly identify his identity."

However, the speed of determining the identity of the deceased is not necessarily fast.

Hermaphrodites have obvious physical characteristics, but they are regarded as heresy in this era, and they may never show their bodies in front of outsiders.

It is not impossible to not go to the doctor when you are sick, and it is not impossible to hide your identity from birth to death.As for how the yeti maker found such a corpse, or where did he accidentally learn the news.

Mary could only wait patiently for the news, and she sent telegrams to all the doctors she knew.

Dr. Jekyll was also contacted, who was known for treating intractable diseases and who must have known about the rare phenomenon of androgyny and the cases associated with it.But it is unknown whether we can get valuable clues to respond before the last sacrifice.

Fortunately there is another way.

The center of the magic circle with the inverted pentagram points to York City.Before the unknown murderer built the first snowman, he should have placed the corpse he wanted to resurrect somewhere in the city.

This place may be related to the snowman element, but to ensure that the hidden place will not be disturbed, it is not necessary to choose to abandon the old house. Short-term rental houses are more secure.

During the day, Mycroft started to investigate York City in the afternoon, hoping to have good news in the future.

In case this road fails, there is one trick left.

"The last sacrificial site is also Town A with a small population."

Mary decided to go to town A to guard in advance if necessary, "Assuming that we can intercept the murderer halfway within three days, town A is the last line of defense. We must capture the murderer before he builds a fifth snowman."

Will the fifth snowman necessarily bury the child alive?

Before things happen, everything can only be considered as inferences that are very likely to be fulfilled.

The three people present all attached importance to deduction and had to be prepared for the worst.

"See if there are valuable clues tomorrow, and then make a final plan. Let's stop here today, I'll go back to my room first."

Mary stood up, stepped forward and handed Mycroft the book in her hand. "Mr. Holmes, this is the book you wanted to borrow last time. Read it slowly, and don't be in a hurry to return it to me."

Mycroft was puzzled, when was he going to borrow the book?With that in mind, he took the book calmly.

The next moment, the moment the book was placed in his hand, he suddenly felt itchy in his palm, and was actually scratched lightly by Mary's finger.

Mary was calm and composed, as if nothing had happened in the last second, and the action of putting down the book did not stop at all.

Then, she nodded solemnly to the two of them, and walked steadily out of the room first, closing the door politely for them.

Inside, it's a little quiet.

Mycroft tightened his grip on the book a little, and the itch in his palm seeped into his heart.

On the surface, he continued to look at Sherlock with his usual expression, "You're tired again and again, don't you want to rest earlier?"

Rest is definitely necessary, but I always feel that I have something to say.

Sherlock opened his mouth, but suddenly found that he didn't know where to start.

Is to ask why he was sent to bring back the body parts?Or why did Mycroft think of the affinity number in the first place?

These questions have reasonable answers.

Sherlock had to change the subject, and glanced casually at the book in Mycroft's hand.

Then I found that I could not see the specific information of the book, because the outside of the cover was specially wrapped with a layer of book wrapping paper, and on the book wrapping paper was the handwritten "Mystery of Mathematics" in cursive characters.

"Who wrote this book?"

Sherlock asked more than nothing, "It will interest you, so it must be good. Can you lend me a look later?"

"Simon Ventgen. An unknown author, I also heard Mr. Minton mention it by chance."

Mycroft opened his mouth and came, "When I finish reading, I will ask Mr. Minton to lend you the book for you. However, you need to wait patiently. There are too many chores recently."

Sherlock understood that it was true that the case had to be dealt with first, and that Mycroft still had a lot of business to do. "Okay, then I'll go back to my room too. You should go to bed early too."

Mycroft kept smiling. "Good night."

The door opened again and was closed again.

The room was completely quiet, and there was only one person left.

At this moment, Mycroft opened the book, and the text on the title page came into view, which was "Selected Poems of Pushkin's Love".There is also a note in the book, "My dear, do you remember your promise in the castle? - Your Mary".

Mycroft couldn't help laughing, how could he forget the promise of reading love poems.

Are you going to have a little excitement tonight?For example, tiptoeing out of the room immediately, risking being discovered by the younger brother, secretly going to Mary's room and reading love poems for her?