Mary's Nineteenth Century

To operate in the dark, let Mr. Minton follow up the disappearance of Ralph Jr., or provide comprehensive intelligence assistance?

Mycroft rebuffed decisively.Why did he agree? Is it because of the ridiculous reason of seeing dung beetles pushing dung balls together?

No, not possible.If there is no room for maneuver in the questioning?As a person with a firm will, he will not change his orders overnight.

Others don't participate in the investigation, but he can't escape and has to run around.

Before Counselor Ralph received the bad news and rushed back to Berlin, he had to thoroughly investigate everything related to the murder that had been discovered.

The next day, after breakfast.

Immediately go to the abandoned church on the outskirts of the city to check the specific situation in the basement of the corpse.

No footprints of the suspect were left in the basement or surrounding areas.

Obviously, footprints, car marks, etc. have been deliberately cleaned up, and there are no residents around, so it is easy to find witnesses.

There are no suspicious traces in the remaining dilapidated buildings of the church, except that the basement is covered in blood.

The word 'override' is not an exaggeration, and it is a deliberate overlay.The ceiling, walls, and floor of the basement are covered with blood-painted graffiti, and even the back of the door has graffiti.

The pattern is exaggerated and weird, and from the point of view of the color, the interior first uses one side of blood as the base color, and then paints with blood.

There is a slight interval between the drawing of different patterns, but the difference is not big.Start with the three walls and the back of the door, then the ceiling, and finally the ground.

All the graffiti have no obvious connection, and the abstract patterns can vaguely distinguish them as monster heads, tentacles, wings, twisted legs, hands or feet with strange fingers or webbed palms.

It is not sure what the chaotic blood patterns represent for the time being, but the question directly raised by the graffiti in a room is how much blood did the murderer use to draw the graphics in the room?

Did such a huge blood consumption use human blood?

According to Mycroft's initial estimate, if they all use human blood, at least five adults' blood must be completely drained.

In the basement, there were no instruments for bloodletting or dismemberment.

According to the traces of wear and tear on the ground, it can be inferred that the seat layout once existed here, but the specific scene cannot be reproduced.

The tools of crime were taken away.Only bones and stumps remained, as well as little Ralph's little finger and ring.

The basement is well sealed.It can be seen that there were traces of thick chains on the outer pull ring to seal the door, but the chains were also missing.

As soon as the front and back were connected, the contradictions and weirdness of the corpse throwing scene were revealed.

When the murder scene in the basement was discovered, the door was unlocked and a crack was left, which allowed the smell of blood to float smoothly into the corridor.Dissection tools, graffiti utensils, and used furniture were all taken away, so why did the bones stay in the room?

The door is not locked, does it mean that the murderer deliberately wants people to dump the body underground?

Also ask if the murderer who cut off little Ralph's finger is the same one who painted the blood chamber and dismembered other corpses?

No matter how many doubts there are, this basement has revealed a fact - the assailant is extremely vicious.

He killed more than one person, and he acted secretly and cautiously.The body dumping point without witnesses was selected, and the traces of entry and exit were erased.

This will be a tricky case.

Mycroft went around the abandoned church a few times, making sure that there were no suspicious remnants nearby, and then returned to the embassy or consulate.

Next, we have to wait for the results of the forensic examination and the analysis report of the stump found in the basement, but we can't give much hope.Most of the residual limbs have been ossified, and it is extremely difficult to determine their identity.

When I returned to the embassy at noon, I found that the atmosphere was a bit delicate.

"Counselor Ralph came back early an hour and a half ago."

The fat bald man said in a low voice, "He turned down the important meeting this morning. He really took his son's life very seriously. He asked as soon as he came up, who spread the rumor that little Ralph had an accident? Picked up the finger Who is the bastard? Which bastard wants to blackmail the Ralph family!"

A look of displeasure flashed in Mycroft's eyes. Counselor Ralph was more unreasonable than he expected. "Where is the person? He went to find Mr. Minton, and the embassy did not record Mr. Minton's address."

According to the general procedure, the embassy and the police station should leave the contact information of the reporter.

Mycroft deliberately concealed the address first, but he didn't want Counselor Ralph to rush to find Mr. Minton.Everyone knew that Ralph would definitely make trouble for no reason if he approached the door directly.

He wanted to beat Ralph a bit, and then arranged for the two to meet.However, the plan could not keep up with the changes, and Ralph returned to Berlin ahead of schedule regardless of the work meeting.

The fat bald man shrugged, "Mr. Minton's address is not listed in the embassy, ​​consulate or police station, but it's hard to tell about the University of Berlin."

The university must have the student's contact address. Whether the school is willing to disclose it is another matter.

The University of Berlin did not have a good impression of Ralph and his son.

Relatively speaking, the good student image of Mr. Minton, an exchange student, is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the school gave him the green light more than once.It is clear at a glance who the school will favor.

Mycroft had a bad feeling that the school would give the address.

Because [-]% of Mr. Minton would make this request in order to get Counselor Ralph to come to him, and if he didn't come to him, how could he talk about investigating the case.

It has been an hour and a half since Ralph left, and I'm afraid he has already seen everything that should be seen or shouldn't be seen.

Streets near the University of Berlin.

Counselor Ralph went to the embassy, ​​the police station, and finally got Minton's address after he went to the University of Berlin.For a junior without any title of nobility, the complexity of obtaining his address is almost as complicated as meeting the Prime Minister of Germany.

This comparison is definitely exaggerated, but I still have to say that it is unreasonable!

When Ralph thought that the embassy, ​​consulate and police station had said they forgot to record the address of the informant, he was filled with anger.Why not record it, or deliberately not give it to him?

The attitude of the Berlin school is also extremely indifferent, saying that the school should not disclose student information.

The reason why the address was given this time was simply because Ming Jue had called in advance.Gentleman Minton sympathized with a father's anxiety after learning that his son might be in distress, and was willing to help, and interviewed Counselor Ralph.

To his aid!

Who would let a student in school investigate!

Counselor Ralph was even more angry, and rushed to the door after getting the address.

His son was supposed to be on his way back to England, but how could his fingers be cut off, and how could his severed fingers be thrown into an abandoned basement in the wilderness?

Someone must be behind the scenes.

Couldn't it be that Minton kidnapped little Ralph on purpose, directed and acted in a play, and then pretended to solve the case, so that he could suddenly become the benefactor of the Ralph family?

With all kinds of conspiracy theories in his mind, Ralph knocked on the door of Minton's residence.

As soon as the door was opened, he ignored the servant who opened the door, rushed upstairs arbitrarily and shouted: "Mark Minton, tell me clearly, how did you find the severed finger! Don’t think I don’t understand, isn’t there a lot of thieves calling for a thief? The person who reported the case is the murderer, there are too many of them!”

The houses in this area have the same structure.

The small building has three floors, and the reception rooms are all on the second floor.

It's hard to imagine that at the age of five or sixty, Ralph can jump up to the second floor all at once, and his legs and feet seem to be quite agile.It is also full of energy, otherwise it would not be able to yell so loudly.

The door of the reception room was wide open.

Mary sat leisurely in a German-style Rococo armchair, holding a cup of coffee steadily, as if she didn't hear the yelling at all.

When the furious Ralph rushed to the door of the reception room, he just glanced at him indifferently, "Mr. Ralph, you are so self-cultivated. Please allow me to sincerely praise Queen Victoria, she has A brave and outspoken foreign officer like you."

Bold, blunt?

No, that was insolent and without manners.

Counselor Ralph's face turned redder and redder. He was already full of anger, and this would add fuel to the fire.

Good guy, you dare to teach him a lesson, does anyone dare to make him treat each other with courtesy!If you want him to treat him with diplomatic etiquette, is this Minton qualified? "what are you……"

"In mid-January this year, Joan Jefferson purchased a $[-] insurance policy from Lloyd's Insurance Company. In March, the cargo ship Ostrich Star from Boston to London was shipwrecked."

Mary said unhurriedly, "Does it sound familiar? This insurance policy has received five times the compensation. If you don't feel familiar enough, I can read a few more sets of other data. Mr. Ralph, would you like to hear ?"

What are you listening to?

Hear how to cheat the insurance?Listen to how to make money through shady means?

Ralph was like a baboon whose throat had been strangled. Suddenly, his voice fell silent, and his face turned from red to white rapidly.Even though his name was not mentioned in the words, he was the one who planned those scams.

Once these things are leaked, the family's reputation will inevitably be discredited.Even more frightening is the accountability from the insurance company, those guys will not let him go easily.

In addition, his transfer position is still uncertain, and it is very likely that he will be demoted. The addition of these things will not only make the situation worse.

"you……"

Ralph swallowed 'how do you know'.

He finally regained some of his lost sanity, and found useful information from the corner of his memory.

Minton not only appeared in scandal reports, but was also said to be well-versed in Wall Street, and it is very likely that he obtained some inside information based on this.

What should I do? !

For a moment, Ralph forgot what he was here for, and he inevitably panicked.

At this moment, when he looked at Minton again, he was suddenly startled by the young man's imposing manner.

This one is not aggressive, but sitting there is like an abyss, and he has found the wrong person to vent his anger on.If you think about it carefully, you really don't know the specific details of the other party.

Mary didn't change her face, don't ask her how she found out, everything should be prepared early.

Before enrolling in school, I had asked about the troublemakers in the University of Berlin. Little Ralph had the most notoriety, so he had to dig out black information that could hit a hit first.

At the moment, Mary didn't get to the bottom of it, but said politely:

"Mr. Ralph, I understand your anxiety. Nothing else is more important than ensuring the safety of little Mr. Ralph. Since I stumbled upon this case by accident, I am willing to contribute to the investigation, what do you think?" "

Ralph nodded stiffly.He wanted to ask a few questions about the insurance policy, but he didn't dare to ask easily. It would prove that he was guilty.

Originally, he wanted to question the reporter, but now he has no confidence, so there is no need to question him.

There is no need for Minton to devise a scheme to cut off his finger to blackmail him, as long as he uses those insurance policies.

After a while, Ralph choked out, "Mr. Minton, it's great if you are willing to help, I can't let you investigate for free."

This is actually a hush money.

Mary took it with peace of mind, why didn't she accept it, she was indeed helping to investigate the whereabouts of little Ralph.

Even if the initial motive has nothing to do with Ralph and his son, but just want to know whether the murderer is related to the "Scarab Society".

"You're welcome."

Mary was finally able to talk about the business, "Since you sincerely invited me, I will try my best to find out the current situation of Mr. Ralph. Let's talk about it. As far as you know, who are the enemies of Mr. Ralph?"

Ralph's face became more rigid, this question was too difficult to answer.

His son has provoked quite a few things. Apart from the fact that he didn't kill anyone, he really doesn't know how many feuds he has had.Ask him, rather than Mycroft, for it was Holmes who cleaned up the mess.

"Forehead……"

Ralph tried his best to maintain the last face, "I'm busy with work, and I usually don't care about little Ralph. How about this, let me go back and ask in detail, and then find someone to talk to you in detail."

Mary also guessed this result. What she wanted was to follow up the case in an all-round way, and Ralph just didn't get in the way. "Okay, I'll wait for your news."

There was no need to stay longer, and Ralph didn't want to stay longer.He came in a rampage and left as if fleeing.

Self-comforting, Minton has the ability to investigate the insurance fraud, and it is a good thing to have the ability to investigate the traces of little Ralph.

Hearing the wheels rolling, he left in a hurry to the south.

5 minute later.

There was a carriage approaching from the north.

Not long after, another visitor came to the reception room of Mary's house.

One after the other hurriedly, Ralph had just left when Mycroft, who claimed that he did not intend to provide any intelligence assistance, came.

Mary smiled and invited the person to sit down, and glanced at the document bag this person was carrying. "Mr. Holmes, you are here, what advice do you have?"

advise?

Mycroft thought of the ruts in front of the gate. I am afraid Mr. Minton has given Ralph a good lesson.He was still late, and he didn't see Ralph being turned into a puffer fish.

"You know about the policy."

Mycroft's tone was affirmative, "Ralph paid an investigation fee, and I sincerely ask you to investigate the case."

Mary didn't deny it either, "Yes, Mr. Ralph just left."

well.

Mycroft confirmed the intensity of the man's determination to pursue the case.

Wherever there is danger, he will go wherever there is danger, but he wants to track down the vicious criminal who created a blood room. It is meaningless to stop him. It is really the Mr. Minton he knows.

What should he do next?

This handed the file bag out.He never changes the order day and night without firm will, but knows how to adapt to the times.

Now that the unreasonable Ralph has been 'persuaded', although the 'persuasion' process is different from what was expected, but it is not the time to care about the specific details, it is more important to find the murderer as soon as possible.

Give known relevant clues immediately to avoid unnecessary repeated investigations.

He was not afraid of being ridiculed by Mr. Minton. He just said yesterday that he would never provide help, but today he sent a message.

Mycroft had defined his actions in this way—the bigger picture was what mattered, wasn't it?