Mary's Nineteenth Century

New York, Christmas Eve 1870, the snow was colder than last year.

"Mr. Minton, there is a visitor outside."

The maid knocked on the door of the study, "It's Miss Melissa who came to visit before."

"What is she doing here?"

Without raising her head, Mary continued to read through the large literature.On the other end of the desk was the "New York Daily", which reported the murder on the Pearl cruise ship, with the bright headline "Mrs. Roman murdered and killed".

Drew and Chris have been imprisoned, and Bailey takes Benny to England to find Dr. Jekyll to start treatment.

Melissa came to the door suddenly without an appointment, even if she was asking for something, but for such an insignificant person, there is no need to waste time meeting her.

The maid answered hesitantly, "Miss Melissa said she was invited by you to spend Christmas night together. Mr. Minton, I, I think there is something wrong with her."

This time, Mary looked up.

She invited Melissa for Christmas?absurd!On such a reunion night, she just wanted to spend it quietly by herself.If I had to invite someone to spend time with, it would never be Melissa.

And what is wrong with Melissa?Something even the maid could see was wrong.

Mary stood up, "What's wrong?"

The maid is not sure, but keep in mind the rules of working here, and you must tell the truth in everything. "I think Miss Melissa is talking to me like a hostess."

what?

Mary also couldn't help being dazed, "You mean, Melissa thinks she's the hostess here?"

The maid nods.

Mary became more and more confused, what happened?Glancing sideways at the newspaper on the table, he saw the headline "Mrs. Roman was murdered" again, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Originally thought it was "Madame Roman" who directed and acted the Golden Cicada to escape the shell, but the performance might encounter unforeseen accidents.

Accident or tomorrow, who will come faster?

For example, the speculator Will, if he hadn't encountered the Zarmon, he would have become a man of the hour in the 19s, stirring up the US gold market.But Will was murdered by a serial killer, and the earth-shattering gold holocaust was stillborn.

Well, what about the others?

Will the boat capsize in the gutter if the wind and waves break through?

Restraining the anxiety that rarely appeared, Mary quickened her pace and walked downstairs to the living room.

No, it won't be so effective. Did the joke that "Mrs. Roman's luck in the United States is not very good" come true?

In the living room, Melissa raised her chin slightly.She looked around the layout of the room, showing disgust at several decorations.When she heard footsteps, she smiled coquettishly when she saw someone coming:

"Honey, you throw away those French candlesticks. I don't like things made in Paris, Romain is dead, Drew is locked up, and we can announce that we are together in a fair way."

At the door of the living room, Mary's footsteps stopped.Seeing Melissa again today, this woman’s look is completely different from before.

I didn't have the time to tease who I called my dear, and the ominous feeling became stronger and stronger.But in an instant, she had already thought of some very bad guess.

At this moment, Mary showed an elegant smile, and even called Melissa's name affectionately.

"Linda, why are you here? It's snowing outside, why don't you wait for me to go to your house, it won't be good if the road is freezing."

Mary's tone seemed to be reproachful, but it was full of concern.

"What are you in a hurry for? Do you want to tell me some good news? For example, you did something that surprised me without telling me."

Melissa's expression became more and more cheerful, "I know you must be aware of it. We are so tacit, and our hearts are so connected that we don't need words. Yes, I spent almost all of my savings to hire five mafia, and they will definitely be in Pearl Before the ship docked, he shot and killed Roman.

Today's newspaper published the results, and sure enough, the deal was completed.Honey, you don’t have to worry about being pestered by that old woman again in the future. "

On the surface, Mrs. Roman's age is only about thirty, she is charming at that time, how old is she?

These are not important anymore.

The most important thing is whether that person is alive and well, in case...

Mary suppressed the conjecture that was just in case, and walked towards Melissa as if nothing had happened.Every step she took, her smile became more gentle, and her eyes were full of love.

At this moment, three or four plans have flashed through my mind.

Vetoed the plan to throw Melissa into the Atlantic Ocean to feed sharks, this way of death is too happy.It is not as beautiful as an adult, and she is sent to an inescapable mental hospital to 'enjoy the rest of her life'.

"Linda, my dear girl, you are very clever."

Mary stretched out her hand while talking, stroked Melissa's hair, stroking gently again and again, but her eyes swept over Melissa's slender neck.What a fragile neck, as long as you strangle it with a little force, you can suffocate to death.

No, a human being cannot be so violent.

Letting Melissa die too quickly is taking advantage of her, not to mention asking her to explain the ins and outs clearly.

Mary asked gently, "Did you do something else? You were the one who attracted the spiders in Bailey's house, right?"

Melissa looked at Mr. Minton, who was close at hand, and felt the gentle caress of the hand on his head, and the tip of her nose could smell the faint scent of grapefruit on the man's clothes.

She couldn't help but blushed, and nodded quite proudly.

"Yes, I replaced the candles in Bailey's room with a scent that lures spiders. I replaced the candles before Bailey got someone to investigate."

It turned out that the missing link in the whole case was finally made up.

Drew didn't intentionally release the spider, but the spider that climbed into Bernie's room wasn't a coincidence of nature, and there aren't many coincidences in the world.

Mary has already guessed the reason for Melissa's move, "You are jealous, because I said a few words for Bernie at the banquet. Roman said that he felt a gaze behind him when he left the banquet, and the garbage station near his home was caught in a fire. , you did it all."

"You know me best. That's right, I did those things. Since Bernie is my friend, I didn't kill her. I just scared her with some spiders."

Melissa admitted without hesitation, "It's a pity that Roman is too boring. I couldn't find her leaked personal items, and I couldn't determine her weaknesses in advance. But it doesn't matter, anyway, everyone is dead now."

Speaking of this, Melissa asked with burning eyes, "I'm here for the follow-up of this matter. Now that the obtrusive guys are gone, we should announce the relationship tomorrow.

Last year, the whole world was full of rumors about you and Roman riding a hot air balloon together, and last week you published a paper that even named Roman. It should clarify to people that the heroine was wrong, and it was always me. "

Melissa emphasized: "I, Linda Melissa, am the L in that M;&L sensational love story."

"Of course, everything must be made clear."

Mary determined that Melissa was suffering from a very serious and very rare mental illness - erotomania.

In my previous life, a major case that shocked the United States occurred in 1981. The assassination of the then President Reagan was done by a patient with eroticism.John Hinckley fell in love with actress Jodie Foster, and in order to attract her attention, he made a crazy move to assassinate Reagan.

Love delusions are rare, so the research on this disorder is not comprehensive.

At present, it is only known that patients consider themselves to be in love with another person, and the love object they fantasize usually has a high social status or has a relatively high reputation.

From the patient's point of view, whatever the imaginary lover does can be seen as an act of affection.

Even if the two parties don't know each other at all and have no contact with each other, patients only need to see the other party's news through newspapers and media, and they can regard it as a show of love.

It's ridiculous, but it's the logic of a mental patient.

Once sick, patients will inevitably behave strangely, and common symptoms include stalking others.However, a possibility is not ruled out, the patient sets a scenario by himself.

It seems that Melissa has set up an underground relationship with Minton, and she must successfully play the role of Drew's fiancee until Drew is sent to prison.

There is no doubt that Melissa played very well.

If there is an Oscar selection in this era, Melissa is enough to win a bunch of statuette awards.

As Mary thought about it, she took Melissa's hand calmly and asked her to sit on the chair. "You are right, you should tell the truth to the world, and I hope to show your intelligence to the world.

Why don't you start from the beginning, you have to tell me exactly how the Pearl murder was made?Contact the Mafia again?Do you have proof?I want to record this love story well.Dear Linda, go ahead, I like to hear you talk. "

When Melissa heard the phrase 'I like you', infinite love burst into her eyes, and she immediately started talking.

Like she wholeheartedly helped to solve the case, like she read Drew's four parchment notebooks but regrettably only copied one, like how to determine Mrs. Roman's voyage and arrange a killer, etc.

The more Mary listened, the more tender her expression became, and she asked Melissa to repeat all the contents of the sheepskin notebook she knew.

Compared with Drew's previous description, Melissa's understanding is much deeper.She even mentioned that she successfully controlled her emotions using the notes, which is also the secret of her successful acting.

This seemingly tender conversation did not end until the kerosene lamp in the living room was about to burn out.

"Okay, I wrote it all down."

Mary stood up, and took Melissa's hand to signal her to follow her. "On Christmas Eve, I was supposed to go to you and go to a good place together. But it's getting late now, Linda, can you not go home?"

"Of course you don't have to go home. Father won't care anyway. I want to be with you. This time I didn't even bring the maid."

Melissa was completely indifferent to what was going on at home.Her mother died a long time ago, and after her father remarried, she and the family didn't live together at all.How to live tonight is entirely up to her.

"Very well, just the two of us, not even the coachman."

Mary took Melissa into the carriage and drove to a red house by herself.It is sparsely populated, housing prices are very cheap, and on the surface it looks like a small warehouse.

When getting out of the car, Melissa was asked to temporarily cover her eyes. "Do you still need to be blindfolded? Then how can I walk?"

"I'm holding you and I won't let you fall."

Mary was quite patient, and led him into the red house, and then walked to the basement.Then Melissa was pressed on a wooden chair. "Okay, I'll be able to open my eyes soon, why not count down the tens of seconds."

"What is so mysterious?"

Melissa was suspicious, but soon smiled again. Could it be that Mr. Minton is going to propose to her?

But to propose in this kind of place, the damp smell in the basement is very unpleasant, so she will not easily agree to the proposal.It must be changed to another place, such as booking the most luxurious hotel in New York.

Still, Melissa counted down, "Ten, nine..."

When counting down, I heard a rustling sound, as if something slipped in front of me.

"Three, two, one. I'm going to take off the blindfold."

Melissa was talking, but suddenly felt her limbs tightened, her hands and feet were tied to the chair and she couldn't move.

"Honey, what are you doing? Have you guessed it? I don't want to agree to your marriage proposal here, so you're going to force me to submit, right? No, I don't."

Proposal?

Mary finally sneered, and directly blocked Melissa's mouth with a stinky rag.The wooden chair and the person were fixed together with iron chains. If there was no external force to rescue the person, there would be no way for the person to escape.

"Linda Melissa, stay here for two days honestly. I promise, I will send you to the place you deserved soon."

Mary lifted Melissa's blindfold, and her tone was extremely calm, so calm to the point of coldness.

"Now, you can start to pray, and pray that 'Mrs. Roman' on the other side of the ocean is still alive, otherwise you will regret that you are not crazy enough."

"woo woo woo woo--"

Melissa shook her head desperately in disbelief.

Oh, God!What's going on here, why did her lover treat her like this!What went wrong?Yes, it must have been Despicable Roman who seduced Mr. Minton.

"It seems that you don't listen to me."

Mary saw Melissa's thoughts at a glance, "You should be lucky, I don't want to do it myself, because you are too dirty. But don't worry, I will carefully select electrotherapy, ice water therapy, and acupuncture for you. Asylum. You don't have to see any light until then."

Without further nonsense, Mary put the blindfold on Melissa again.

Then, he quickly left this small warehouse where no third person would come.

There are many things to do now, such as quickly convicting Melissa, such as ensuring that Melissa enjoys the punishment that a mentally ill murderer deserves for the rest of her life.

It is even necessary to book a boat ticket to Paris, France, but how should the vast crowd find Madame Roman.

Mrs. Roman's identity must be fake, her real gender is also doubtful, and her nationality is also uncertain.

The war between France and Germany is still going on, how to determine whether a pretender is injured, alive or dead?

At some point, the snow on Christmas Eve stopped, and a waning moon hung high in the sky.

Mary glanced at the waning moon, the countryside was deserted, as if she was the only one left in the world.Last year, two people escaped in a hot air balloon, but this year they drove a carriage alone.

She regretted it a bit, and she should push forward. There is nothing wrong with exploring Mrs. Roman's true identity, at least to be sure that that person is alive and well.

Yes, wish is so simple.

It's good to live in peace, and we will meet again when we are destined.

'I should believe in your ability, you will not fall into the same fate as your colleagues.For example, the one on the black sand island died silently, not even leaving a whole body behind.Last year, you went to investigate the cause of his death; this year, who will investigate what happened to you? '

Mary thought silently, but did not make a wish to Santa Claus.Because she couldn't be sure whether Santa Claus liked to sing a different tune.

**

1871, April 1.

At the beginning of the new year, the town of Cambridge, England is also a new year with a new look.

Sherlock didn't expect that this Christmas and New Year would be so special. He lied to his parents that he couldn't go home due to something in the university, and took care of the injured in a rented house next to the school.

——His beloved elder brother, who was said to be on a business trip in Europe for a year and was supposed to go home for the holidays, was actually shot and passed out by the seaside in France on Christmas Eve.

"how do you feel today?"

Sherlock was carrying the newly dispensed medicine and saw that Mycroft was still pale.The man was in a coma for several days and did not wake up until New Year's Day.

Mycroft smiled indifferently, "Thank you, I am much better. My dear Sherlock, if you bring not only the bitter potion, but also some sweets, I think I will get better sooner."

"is it?"

Sherlock smiled too, a standard smirk. "The doctor recommends that sweets should not be eaten during the recovery period. My dear brother, I think you should know how to follow the doctor's advice."

Mycroft: The younger brother who tried all kinds of messy potions when he was bored, actually let him abide by the will?

Sherlock ignored Mycroft's slanderous eyes and asked the question he wanted to ask the most.

"Since you seem to be in good spirits, can you satisfy your brother's curiosity, how did you get hurt?"

Mycroft: ...

What a good question, and he didn't know how those killers came to be.

The only fortunate thing is that she took off Mrs. Roman's coat and wig when she fell into the sea and fled.Even if he was so embarrassed that he swam ashore with only a layer of underwear left, it was better than being found out as a man disguised as a woman when he was unconscious.

Seeing the strange silence in the room, Sherlock couldn't read any more clues from Mycroft's face.

"Well, let me guess. My omnipotent brother, you have done some dangerous things this year. I understand, the work requires confidentiality, so I won't ask for details. Anyway, it can't be love murder. .

You are not Mrs. Roman who was shot dead. That death is easy to judge. It is very likely that it was done by Mr. Minton's crush, who made their lover known to all.What do you think? "

Mycroft: Now, what can I say?