Mary's Nineteenth Century

At 16:56 in the afternoon, there are still 4 minutes before getting off work.

Mycroft glanced at the clock on the wall, today's work has long been completed.

Compared with the busy times in the United States, the work of the embassy is very easy.Not having to run around fits his definition of 'relaxed', even with a lot of juggling paperwork to deal with.

"Oh! Mr. Holmes, it is very good that you are still here."

A fat man with slightly bald hair hurried to the door of the office, "Someone from the Berlin Police Department came to ask Mr. Ralph Jr. for information."

Little Ralph, 21 years old, is the son of the British Economic and Trade Counselor in Berlin, Germany.

Studying at the University of Berlin, it is said that he has been dismissed twice, and it is not difficult to find evidence for the disgusting behavior of the upper class.

"What happened to that one?"

Mycroft silently corrected the relaxed evaluation of work in Berlin just now. People are never 100% relaxed and happy in the workplace.

In Berlin, you don't need to dress up, you don't need to do everything in the dark, but you will inevitably encounter a fool or two.At this time, the word "again" fully explains the problem.

Counselor Ralph himself is not capable enough, but he has a good background. He was sent to Berlin to take advantage of his connections to act smoothly.

However, he has a big flaw, he dotes on his son too much.The reason is vulgar, the late first two wives had daughters, and when he remarried at the age of 57, the young third wife finally bore him a son.

He is old and his only son.

It's not hard to imagine how capricious little Ralph was spoiled. He only abides by one principle - don't provoke people with higher status than his father, and there is nothing else he dare not do.

When the fat bald man thought of the allegations made by the Berlin Police Department, he inevitably showed a bitter face.

"Tomorrow is the inauguration ceremony of the Schiller statue. Counselors from several countries were originally invited to attend the unveiling ceremony, but it may be postponed now. A dead rooster with its neck cut off was thrown on the statue, and the blood of the chicken covered the face of the statue. It is suspected that Mr. Ralph Jr. did it."

Gendarmenmarkt is one of the landmarks of Berlin.

Although the statue in the center of the square is far inferior to Big Ben's status in London, it is also an important landmark in the hearts of Berliners.Otherwise, there would not have been more than ten years of disputes over who should be the statue.

This year coincides with the establishment of the German Empire, and the inauguration ceremony of the landmark square in the capital Berlin, its symbolic significance is self-evident

Mycroft: Very well, today's wish to get to get off work on time has been shattered.

Not only today, but the next few days will take time to deal with the aftermath of this mess.

"Let's go, let's go and see the specific situation first."

Mycroft walked out of the office without changing his expression, and asked, "Has Counselor Ralph been notified? He is supposed to attend the unveiling ceremony tomorrow."

There is no need to say the whole thing behind.

The old man was going to attend the unveiling ceremony, but now his son was accused by the police of destroying the statue. Isn't it embarrassing for the father and son to meet?

As for why he didn't ask where Ralph Jr. was, because he could be in the courtesan's bed, or he could be hungover in the hammam, or he could have lost money at the racetrack and moved to another table.

"Counselor Ralph is going to attend a banquet and should be on his way now. I've sent someone to tell you the news."

The fat and bald guy didn't think that Ralph would punish his son severely, otherwise he wouldn't make little Ralph continue to cause trouble.

While talking, the two came to the reception room.

The three senior police chiefs of Berlin all had serious faces, and it was obvious that this was not the first time the two sides had dealt with each other.

Previously, they had contacted each other about the troubles caused by little Ralph, and they also negotiated about the problems encountered by British citizens living in Berlin.

This time the atmosphere was particularly unfriendly.

The chief sheriff, Patton, cut to the chase, "Last night at midnight, the night watchman met Mr. Ralph Jr. near the Kingswood Square. I heard from him that he wanted to send a rooster as a gift for the unveiling ceremony of the sculpture.

Staff re-examined the statue today and found a dead rooster thrown beside its base.Now we must go to Mr. Ralph Jr. to find out what happened. Whether he acted recklessly or someone else deliberately sabotaged the inauguration ceremony of the statue. "

Little Ralph had a reputation for drinking and drinking.

It was strange to see him on the road at noon, but it was normal for the night watchman to recognize his carriage at night.

If someone else was accused today, the Berlin police would really not have the confidence to come to the embassy to dignify someone, but little Ralph has done too many random incidents, so many people can't trust his IQ.

Mycroft was not sure if there was a miscarriage of justice, but he needed to defend the British embassy in words.

"I deeply regret the contamination of the statue. At present, the vandals should be seized as soon as possible, but the night watchman's one-sided words cannot be used to determine who did it."

Not little Ralph, who else is making trouble out of nothing!

Barton almost wrote this sentence on his forehead.

Mycroft continued unhurriedly, "Sheriff Barton, I suggest that the rooster be autopsied as soon as possible, carefully inspect the scene to determine the identity of the saboteur, and determine the time of committing the crime.

As for your suspicion that Mr. Ralph Jr. threw a dead rooster at a statue, do you think that gentleman would kill a chicken?I'm afraid he'll never learn that skill. "

The implication: Little Ralph would not do things like kill chickens, because he dislikes dirty.

Even if little Ralph really instigated others to throw the dead cock, others would be convicted because of the existence of diplomatic immunity.

Sergeant Patton's face became even more gloomy. Damn diplomatic immunity, could little Ralph be able to do whatever he wanted with it?

However, what little Ralph did was not very harmful, and he could not be convicted of a felony, but the insult was extremely strong.

"We will check with Mr. Ralph Jr. as soon as possible."

Mycroft didn't seem to feel the soaring anger of the three sheriffs, and his attitude was still polite.

"Once we have definite news, we will contact the police station in time. The friendship between Britain and Germany will last forever, and we will also do our part to maintain a stable social life in Berlin."

It's all cliche!

Barton almost swears.Since this Sherlock Holmes came to the British embassy, ​​it seems that except for Ralph and his son, who are not smart enough, everyone else has become a standard British gentleman.

It's all polite words, but there are few things that really allow the Berlin police to intervene.

"Sheriff Barton, if there is nothing else, can you allow me to leave first?"

Mycroft paid no attention to what the Berlin police said.He didn't want to waste time here, he said he was leaving, but he was actually seeing off guests.

It is impossible for the Berlin police to take away people related to the British embassy, ​​but it is also impossible to turn a blind eye to little Ralph's behavior. "We each have something to confirm next, don't we?"

Barton had nothing to say. Obviously, it was useless to block people at the embassy.It seemed that little Ralph was not at the residence, nor had he taken refuge in the embassy.

"Mr. Holmes, I hope you can really cooperate with us. The so-called definite news, I think the sooner it comes, the better. Farewell!"

The three sheriffs left.

The fat and bald man couldn't heave a sigh of relief, and turned to look at Mycroft, "Do you think Mr. Ralph did the throwing of the dead cock? God! If he really did it, that would be too much." What a mess!"

Sending a rooster as a gift for the completion of the statue is really like what little Ralph would say when he was drunk.

The subtext is not difficult to guess. Germany's victory over France undoubtedly made the Germans very happy.

The rooster represents France, so send a rooster to the unveiling ceremony of the statue, and the Germans can slaughter it again, as if they were using France as a sacrifice.

At first glance, isn’t the gift giving very sincere?

But as long as you are not stupid, you will feel that this approach is full of contempt, and it is completely wanton and foolish.

Mycroft didn't comment, that bastard would say things like that when he was drunk, but saying and doing were two different things.

"Everything is based on evidence, and you might as well consider another possibility. As I said, the friendship between Britain and Germany is always there. Will someone take the opportunity to drive a wedge between the two countries?"

That is, little Ralph did talk drunk, and someone took the opportunity to throw the dead cock.

Outsiders would not suspect that this pot of dirty water was poured on the heads of the immediate family members of the foreign counselors, because little Ralph himself was unreliable.

The fat bald man rubbed his head, "If this is the case, my poor hair will fall out again."

No matter what, little Ralph was not upright, which gave others a chance to take the blame.

Mycroft didn't say a word of complaint, but decided to make the second half of the year a little easier.

Originally, he didn't care who he worked with, because few people could keep up with the pace of his work.Oh no, not at all.

At this moment, a figure from memory suddenly appeared.

There are many restrictions on life in the United States, but it is undeniable that some memories have always been shining.There was indeed a person who cooperated with him tacitly, without too many words, a look could understand.

'Mr Minton. '

Mycroft murmured the name silently, and quickly regained his composure.He actually thought of the old things and was distracted. Now he should think about dealing with the annoying Ralph and his son.

Since little Ralph got into trouble several times one after another and let trivial matters take up his rest time, let the father and son go away mellowly together.

Thinking about it this way, I still have to find out the culprit who threw the dead rooster.

At this moment, with Yulin Square as the center, the incident of the dead rooster polluting the statue spread.

In the Apple Cafe, people talked even more, almost believing that it was Ralph who did something bad.

"Fitzwilliam, have you seen Ralph and his son before?"

Bingley was listening to the criticisms. He had heard about the Ralph family, but he didn't expect that little Ralph's behavior outside was so absurd.

Darcy shook his head slightly, "I haven't seen those two people before. There may be other secrets behind this incident."

Germany defeated France, and now blamed the British counselor's son for the dead rooster insulting the statue. Perhaps someone deliberately undermined the friendship between the countries.

This kind of thing is indeed not very harmful, let alone hurt one's muscles and bones, but it has brought about a great loss of reputation.

"Hidden?"

Bentley thought for a moment that it wasn't necessarily someone from another country deliberately setting the blame on, maybe it was Ralph's political enemies.

However, Bentley suddenly proposed a new possibility, "Maybe it's not that complicated at all, it's the behavior of a drunk. Fitzwilliam, do you remember the dead dog at the Beer Festival last month?

At first, the shopkeeper suspected someone of sabotage or malicious competition, but it turned out that a dog hater got drunk and killed a dog. "

Every year from the end of September to the beginning of October, Munich regularly holds Oktoberfest, which is the biggest event of the year in Munich.Last year it was suspended due to the Franco-Prussian War, but this year it is even more lively than ever.

Marie was a little curious, the stories that didn't get in the papers were slow these days, and she hadn't heard of dead dogs at Oktoberfest. "An accident at Oktoberfest this year? What dog died?"

"It was a detrimental to the festive atmosphere of the Oktoberfest, and it was not publicized. A beer merchant had a dead dog thrown in a barrel."

Bentley roughly summed up that at the end of September, he and Darcy were passing through Munich, Germany, and happened to encounter a fight between the owner of the winery and the customers.

The customer was an alcoholic who hated dogs.Alcoholic will definitely not miss the Oktoberfest, and he is very picky about the taste of beer, because he once disliked the beer of a certain brewery, and there was a quarrel at that time.

One night during the Oktoberfest, a drunkard met an old wild dog when he was half drunk, and beat him to death with a stick.It was the dog's body that was thrown into the wine barrel in the wine shop.

"It wasn't the barrels full of wine, but the barrels that were sold out and placed outside. The next day, the owner of the winery discovered the anomaly and asked the drunkard to confront him. The drunkard finally admitted that he did it. Then the fight broke out."

Bingley shook his head, "That drunkard is really incompetent. The wild dog that was beaten to death was so old that it lost all its teeth. He beat the dog to death with a stick, and the business of the wine shop was even more disrupted."

In the follow-up, the wine shop asked the drunkard to pay back, but the drunkard took the opportunity to escape, so the matter had to be let go.

After Bentley talked about the dead dog incident, he brought up the statue of the dead rooster that was thrown. "It could be as simple as that. It wasn't Ralph Jr., it wasn't a political enemy, and it wasn't anything to provoke relations between the two countries. It was just a drunk who couldn't stand the statue of Schiller and then secretly threw a dead rooster. What do you two think?"

Darcy was silent.

What he thinks is not important, what matters is what Berlin thinks, so there is no need to make meaningless guesses.

"Since we met, shall we have dinner together?"

Mary didn't talk about her thoughts, and she had to go to the archives tomorrow to check for clues about the Scarab Society, so she didn't care about anything else at the moment.If you want to worry, it is also the people of the British embassy who are bothered. What does it have to do with her.

Bingley looked at the two partners, one was silent, the other simply cared about the dinner and co-wrote a long story with him. "Don't do that! It's fine to just say something casually."

What is there to say.

Mary smiled suddenly, "Mr. Bingley, what are you expecting? Do you want me to say that at first no one cared about the deaths of these animals, it was just a wild dog being clubbed to death, and a rooster being killed with its throat cut. Just like boarding an ordinary cruise ship, entering a museum curator’s house for a dinner, everything seemed to be calm, until someone disappeared suddenly one morning, and suddenly someone was wrongfully stolen..."

"Mr. Minton!"

Bentley interrupted just in time, and God testified that he never feared that the world would not be chaotic.

Mr. Minton is talking nonsense, let alone the incident of boarding the Diamond cruise ship and encountering death, let alone going to Witch Town as a guest and being wronged for stealing the Crystal Skull.

Bentley: I did not at all imply that the unjust death of a dog and a rooster represented a series of bloody killings to come.Please look, please look carefully at my sincere eyes!