Mary's Nineteenth Century

Kenan is dead.

Although he didn't jump off the building in full view, it wasn't too bad. He chose to die when there was a lot of trouble.

The Fifth Avenue in 1870 was not like the neon lights shining more than 100 years later, and there were no electric lights. The light of kerosene lamps was not bright, and it was not even as bright as the full moon.

At 23:58 midnight, there were no pedestrians on the road, and the whole city gradually fell into a dream.

As Kenan yelled, 'SHAXBERD!don't run!I can definitely catch you! ', the residents of the rooms nearer to Kenan's room were woken up.

"Then there was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground."

The security guard recalled, "It was the first time I heard about Shi Disheng. I didn't know that someone jumped off the building. But I heard more than one person shouting from the third and fourth floors, 'No, the guest in the next room jumped down. '."

At that moment, the three security guards rushed out immediately.

I saw a man face to the ground, the ground was bleeding, and he was not breathing.

"At that time, it was not sure which guest jumped off the building, so I turned the body over to see the face clearly."

The security guard couldn't help but tremble when he said this, it was all caused by his inexperience, and he didn't think carefully about the tragic situation after his face hit the ground. "That face was bloody and bloody. But, but, we see, the gentleman, he, he's laughing!"

A suicidal man, laughing?

That scene was chilling enough.

Mary asked, "What kind of smile is it?"

"That contented smile."

Thinking of that scene, the security guard still had goose bumps all over his body.It's so weird, who would be content to jump off a building?

Mary walked around the place where the building fell, across a street, facing the window of Kenan's room on the fourth floor was a piece of diaper.

A building is being renovated opposite the hotel and is surrounded by a tarpaulin to prevent falling dust.

Construction stops after the sun goes down.The police asked the construction party, and there were only two workers keeping watch at night. No suspicious sounds were found last night, and there were no traces of outsiders entering or exiting the construction site.

Last night, after hearing the news that Kenan fell to his death, the New York police rushed to the scene immediately.The body was transported away overnight, but Kenan's relatives could not be contacted, but his lawyer was contacted.

During the day, Bailey had already been to the police station, because Kenan returned to the hotel from Bailey's house before the accident.

It is reported that during the two hours between Kenan's return to the hotel and his jumping off the building, no other visitors visited the hotel, and the residents in the next room did not hear other abnormalities.

After Kenan jumped off the building, the guests in the next room knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Until the waiter led the security guard to break open the door, there was no one inside, and there was no sign of fighting and shoving.

In this way, what exactly did Kenan experience between ten o'clock and twelve o'clock at night?

He yelled and jumped off the building, and at the moment of death, he died contentedly?

In the hotel, many people knew the identity of Kenan's Ouija board inventor.Advertisements had been placed in the newspapers, and the Ouija boards were to be sold openly on the first Sunday in October.

At this time, Kenan's death caused many speculations, but they all had a similar point of view-was this person possessed by the undead and jumped off the building unconsciously?

New York Police Department Mortuary.

On a rare occasion, Mycroft offered to help with the autopsy.

Before contacting Kenan's family members, the autopsy cannot be performed for the time being, but the external injuries can be checked, and a small amount of blood can be drawn for testing.

This being New York, you can always find an inspection agency.

Judging from the visible injuries alone, the corpse had no defensive injuries, and there was no alcohol remnant in the mouth.

However, a bottle of scented candles that was almost empty was found in Kennan's room.

The candle was still burning when he jumped off the building last night. It may be a self-made one, and you can tell that there are several kinds of flowers and spices in it.

According to the hotel cleaner's recollection, when cleaning the room for Kenan, he could always smell a faint scent of incense.

It was this bottle of candle, with a hint of Mexican sage in it.

Native to the Mazateque region of Mexico, it is commonly used by local priests for divination or witchcraft healing.

Undoubtedly, it contains hallucinogenic properties.

However, it is not accurate to talk about the toxicity regardless of the dose, and it is necessary to analyze how to use it in detail. As a candle incense, its hallucinogenic effect is completely different from the effect of smoking or oral administration.

Mycroft lit the rest, tried it himself, and could only say that this bottle of incense had some relaxing effect.

Moreover, the definition of "relaxation" varies from person to person. If a person wants to be vigilant subjectively, a bottle of candle alone cannot play a decisive role.

For Kenan, he used the candle for several days in a row, which should be an aid in some kind of witchcraft and psychic meditation.

Why didn't there be any problems before, but after the spirit call last night, he jumped off the building shouting "Shakespeare" spelled out on the Ouija board?

"Candle residues and blood samples must be sent together for testing to determine the amount of hallucinogenic ingredients in Kenan's body."

Mycroft did not look far away, and C University was the right place to go.Even if Mr. Minton, who has just entered school, cannot find a laboratory, and Taylor, who has studied for four years, can always find one or two helpers.

Testing will definitely be done, but it will take time to wait for the results.

Mary came to the police morgue mainly to see Kenan's smile before he died.

It was really as described by the security guard. Even though Kenan was on the ground, he could still see that his expression was fixed on getting what he wanted, and even a little smug.

"Have you found any more?"

Mary pointed to the corpse, "Is there any other weird wounds on Kenan's body?"

"Falling from a high altitude is characterized by being light on the outside and heavy on the inside. Since there is no authorization for anatomy, we can only speculate from the body surface."

Mycroft pointed out one by one, "Kennan's body bleeding mainly came from the head and legs. The blood oozes from the ears, nose, and mouth, which is consistent with the characteristics of intracranial injuries. Ruptured internal organs are generally difficult to detect from superficial symptoms. It can only be confirmed that there are multiple fractures, and that his leg is bleeding because a blood vessel was punctured by a sharp stone on the ground."

In summary, Kennan caused the fatal cause of death by landing head first.

"The new injury last night is nothing special, but the old injury is not necessarily."

Mycroft pushed back Kenan's thick hair, "His head has an old injury, and the scar on the left side of his head is still there. The specific situation needs to be investigated, maybe Taylor knows a thing or two."

Then go to C University and find Taylor.

The midday sun failed to dispel the chill in Taylor's heart.

He sat alone on the lawn behind the seminary, looking at the sky for a while, and the cross on his chest for a while.

"You are here, you must have heard about Kenan jumping off the building. Before he jumped out of the window, he said that he would catch SHAXBERD. Do you think I was wrong?"

Taylor asked confusedly, "Last night, did my intuition fail? Could it be that the Ouija board summoned the evil spirit and was not sent away, but followed Kenan back to the hotel, causing him to commit suicide after losing consciousness?"

This question goes beyond existing scientific theories and cannot be verified by objective means.

Mary couldn't give an affirmative answer, "Don't think about invisible inferences, it's better to find out the clues that can be verified. Kenan has a scar on the left brain. Do you know what happened to his brain before?"

Tyler pulled himself together, "Kennan had a brain injury? Oh, yes. Two years ago, during the summer between Kenan's junior and senior year, he suffered a serious injury at school.

During the annual summer horse race, Kenan fell off his horse.I fell into a coma on the spot, with a cut on my head, maybe the scar you are talking about is that wound.Other brain injuries, I don't know. "

"Did that injury have a big impact on Kenan?"

What Mycroft wanted to know more was, "Has Kenan always believed in the undead? Is it his usual practice to make dangerous moves last night in order to catch the undead?"

Taylor also thought about it repeatedly, and came to a conclusion that Kenan was not so crazy when he was in school.

"I have known him for four years. In the past, Kenan always had a proud look, but in fact his ability is mediocre."

Kennan's grandmother is said to be a blonde British nobleman, but by the time of his grandmother's generation, there was only one title left, and she didn't have much family background.

Kennan's father became rich in the gold rush in the American West in the 40s. He married the daughter of a down-and-out British aristocrat, and their married life was not happy.

"Kenan's mother died when he was a freshman, and his father made a wrong bet in the Civil War and lost a lot of money. Although he will not go bankrupt, he will not be able to return to his previous life. Old Kenan has always been a mess A regular at the bar."

Taylor said that Kenan's family background is not a secret, because he lived a low-key life after entering school, and he has always shown himself with a proud attitude, and he is very confident that he can become a generation of rich people with his own ability.

Initially, Kenan expressed his goal when he joined the Mystery Club, hoping to use the mysterious power to make a lot of money in the future.

"From this point of view, Kenan is very frank, but he didn't do anything surprising in the four years of college. Back then, he never showed the ability to communicate with the undead, so he didn't act crazy."

Taylor was sure.Because of this, when Kennan gave his graduation speech leaving the society, no one believed that he could bring back extraordinary inventions.

Who would have thought that a year later, Kenan brought back the Ouija board, which ended his life.

"Looking back, Kenan's personality is not very good. I haven't heard that he has good friends. Who would like to be friends with egomaniacs. But, from another perspective, he is quite optimistic, even if he makes a big fool of himself." Falling off his horse didn't make him feel inferior."

Taylor held the cross and sighed, "I don't like his behavior, but I never thought of letting him die in such a ridiculous way. If my intuition is wrong, I didn't realize that there was something wrong in time last night. Evil spirits haunt..."

Taylor said nothing more.If so, he will inevitably blame himself.

"Mr. Taylor, you can do more than you think."

Mycroft handed over a suitcase, "Instead of regretting the past, it's better to do what I can. I took some samples of Kenan's blood and the candles he used, and please find a reliable person to do a detailed report. Toxicology test. Would you like to?"

"of course."

Taylor agreed immediately, and finally found something serious to divert his depressed mood. "I know several friends from the medical school. As soon as possible, oh no, try to give the results tomorrow."

Here, Taylor goes to do toxicology testing.

It needn't be said that Mycroft was not going to wait for news of Taylor's test.

At the same time, Mary was planning to go to the New York Daily newspaper office and rent a newspaper ad space to post a reward notice for soliciting clues.

I hope to find more witnesses on Fifth Avenue. I may have witnessed some abnormal situations yesterday, or found people acting strangely near luxury hotels.

All the way to the newspaper office.

The atmosphere in the carriage was a little quiet, and the quiet was a sigh because of the impermanence of fate.

The person I saw last night, a person who seemed to be in good health, died in the blink of an eye.

From what is known so far, Kenan's character will not choose to commit suicide for no reason.His shouting before jumping off the building and his complacency when he died pointed to a situation.

Kenan thought he had caught the undead SHAXBERD, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with jumping off the fourth floor to catch the undead.This undoubtedly shows that his mental state is not normal.

What is the reason for the abnormality?

"Although the meaning of SHAXBERD and the specific cause of Kennan's abnormal state cannot be determined at this time, there are still some special discoveries."

Mycroft found a connection. "On the surface, Kenan's death was caused by helping Bernie summon the spirit. I think this is confusing cause and effect."

Mycroft pointed out, "Benny and Kenan, one crazy and one dead, they have something in common. Bernie is very afraid of spiders, and Kennan is very confident in dealing with the undead.

Both were in unusual mental states.Compared with Bernie, who showed fear, Kenan's behavior would be interpreted as arrogance, and it was difficult to find that that arrogance had crossed the dangerous line. "

Mary suddenly thought of a possibility.Arachnophobia is known to be a disease, one disease that is easily observed by outsiders when its onset, but another disease is different.

"Mrs. Roman, have you ever heard of a mental illness? Megalomania, which causes people to believe that something does not exist."

Today, there is no established institution for the study of psychological problems or mental illness.

Megalomania is a kind of mental illness, also known as delusional disorder.Patients will have symptoms of partial detachment from reality, but still have a complete personality.

The content of delusions can be varied, such as a person has an unusual identity and is a great person; it can also be fantasizing about having abilities that ordinary people rarely have, such as psychics.

"Kenan University did not claim to be a psychic. After returning to New York with a Ouija board this time, he firmly believed in the fact that he could summon a psychic. Last night he did not act at all, because he regarded it as a delusion as an absolute reality. .”

Mary linked to an important time node, "In the horse race two years ago, Kenan's fall injury may be one of the triggers. The brain is amazing. Although there is no theory that can completely explain the cause of paranoia, one school has proposed that the brain Damage to the body can lead to psychosis."

Kenan thought he was born extraordinary, so he should have noble blonde hair, and he could take it for granted that he didn't care what the outside world talked about, which also made his interpersonal relationship very bad.

That fits the symptoms of a megalomaniac.

Because of Kenan's deep belief in his psychic ability, he jumped out of the fourth floor without fear.

For him, jumping and catching the evil undead represents victory, and of course he can laugh to his heart's content.

Mycroft had never heard of the term "mega delusional disorder," but he had seen similar symptoms.

Some people fantasize that they are the blood of the British royal family, but unfortunately they are left out.To put it bluntly, he didn't even recognize his biological parents, and he was able to fabricate bizarre and tortuous stories.

It is easy to find evidence to debunk delusions about a certain identity; it is difficult to find tangible evidence for delusions of psychic abilities.

Unfortunately, there are so many mystic believers in this era that it is difficult to identify arrogance and paranoia.

In this way, Benny has a phobia, and Kenan has a paranoia. Could it be a coincidence that the two went crazy and died?Is this a premeditated serial murder compared to accident?

Immediately, an ominous trend occurred to Mycroft. "Assuming it's a serial murder, Benny's symptoms are easy to detect, and Kenan's symptoms are not easy to detect. From driving people crazy to killing people, this is already an escalation of the crime.

What's next?Will there be another victim?What kind of undetectable mental illness would he have, and how would he die? "

Good question.

New York is so big that extraordinary deaths happen every day.

Someone who is mentally ill but does not appear to be ill, but is targeted by the murderer, how to target such a potential victim?

"SHAXBERD, this word can also be regarded as a clue. In addition, assuming that there is a murderer, he must be proficient in psychological and spiritual knowledge, and may have intersections with Benny and Kenan. In addition, you can go to the newspaper to ask if there are any unpublished Strange news."

Mary believes that people take pictures, and there is no perfect crime.Ask her why she is sure?Because she has never been able to achieve it, how can anyone get there first.

Well, it seems that the first step was used inappropriately, making her want to commit a crime.

To emphasize, she didn't intend to commit a crime, she just made a theoretical guide, which was finally used as a good reference content to prevent crime.

Forget it, those are not important.

When the carriage stopped at the gate of the newspaper office, there was an important question that had not been asked.

Mary looked serious, "Mrs. Roman, you said that you hid some secrets in order to be more attractive. I'm sorry, I didn't intend to destroy your charm, but the current situation makes me have to ask, why on earth are you investigating this case? "

Whether it was going to Bernie's house to watch the spirit call, or going to the police station to propose an autopsy, it was not Madam Roman's style.

Mycroft: This scene looks familiar.

Life is not easy, always encounter strange cases.Pretenders are even more difficult, especially when you meet smart people who are hard to fool.It was like peeling an onion, one layer after another was peeled off, and at some point Mrs. Roman's identity would be lost.

Fortunately, there are only two months left in the United States, and it will pass after a little persistence.

As for the future?When the two ends of the sky are separated, they will be able to gradually forget each other like most people, right?Some secrets can be kept forever, right?

"Madame Roman?"

Seeing the silence repeated, Mary seemed to ask seriously. "You don't want to say? Or can't you say why?"