Mary's Nineteenth Century

The reappearance of nursery rhymes made the atmosphere in the cave a bit weird.

At this time, the sky outside was completely dark, and only the four kerosene lamps in the cave shone faintly.

The guide cleaned up the dead branches, and also found a strange point, "Did you find that the withered rhizomes wrapped in bones belong to the same plant."

The floor of the cave is half rock and half soil.

According to the general law of plant growth, the location of the corpse is not conducive to the survival of plants.The soil in the cave is not fertile enough, so what is the fertilizer that used to make the plants thrive?

It's easy to guess, it's a corpse on the ground.

At this time, Mary and Mycroft completely separated the whole bone from the entangled dry roots.

"I think there is good news. The hypothesis of mutated man-eating plants trapping and killing people in the cave may not be true, because plants still don't know how to pierce people's chests with sharp weapons."

Mary pointed to the deceased's ribs, then to the deceased's right femur. "There were also two stabs here, very deep. Regardless of whether the cave was the scene of the first crime or not, being murdered by humans was the cause of death of the deceased."

Mycroft nodded. "Indeed, and buttercups are not carnivorous plants."

"Mr. Holmes, do you mean that these are dried buttercups?"

The guide picked up a dead root and looked at it carefully. "How did this heat-loving plant appear in the Black Forest?"

Throughout the year, there is always a season in the Black Forest area where the temperature is suitable for buttercup planting, but the origin of this flower is in the West Indies.

Don't get me wrong, the West Indies are not in the Indian Ocean in Asia, but islands in Latin America.

The reason why it is named West Indies starts with Columbus’ misunderstanding when he arrived in America.None of that matters now, the point is that buttercups are by no means native to the Black Forest.

There are few traces of human activities in the Black Forest. Who brought Latin American plants into the cave?

As I mentioned before contacting Mycroft, there is a businessman named Edwin Moody who is engaged in the trade of transoceanic plants and likes to go to the local area to appreciate plants in person.

The cave dead pendant bears the exact name Edwin Moody and wears accessories from a London luxury store.

Comparing the two, there is reason to suspect that the deceased in the cave is the plant merchant Moody.

The problem came around.

Why did Moody come to the black forest where few people visit?By whom?the sheep he carried

Why did Pi write the same nursery rhyme that the drug dealer Bell pointed to before his death?

"Mr. Minton, do you think Goldilocks is here by chance?"

Mycroft again observed the distribution of the withered rhizomes that had grown around the corpse. "Even if the deceased brought buttercup seeds or seedlings, why is it the buttercup flower?"

Mycroft thought of the twelve sage leaves that had been snatched from Mr. Minton on a snowy night.

The sage leaves looked very ordinary, and he thought about throwing them away, but when he realized it, he had already made them into bookmarks.

Since they are all made into bookmarks, let's use them even if they look ordinary.You can't just throw it away, it's a waste of the energy you have already paid.

From here to there, Goldilocks would not appear by the corpse without a reason.

This kind of flower has requirements for planting temperature, but it is not a type that is difficult to cultivate artificially.Even if uncommon, it's not rare either.Why do buttercups appear only next to the corpse and not other flowers?

"I've heard of the buttercup flower. Its flower language means flight."

The coachman knew, "The legend is that it is the birthday flower of Saint Clade, the prince of the Frankish Kingdom, commemorating his escape from the palace in order to avoid the bloody killings caused by the struggle for royal power."

Escape, this kind of flower language is projected on the bones of the dead in the cave, which is really very appropriate.

Mary nodded slightly, and the flower language represented by a kind of flower is recognized differently in different countries. "If you are expressing the language of flowers, you must also consider where the deceased came from. In 1852, "Flower Giving Etiquette" was published in the UK. The meanings represented are different.①”

Mary didn't mention those complicated meanings, and only picked out the key points, "Assuming that the deceased is the plant merchant Moody, from Yorkshire, England, and he has a normal mind, he shouldn't like buttercups too much."

"why?"

The coachman was puzzled, "Does Goldilocks have a bad meaning?"

Mycroft explained, "Because buttercups represent 'ungrateful' in Flowers. ①"

Whether it's being accused of being an ungrateful person or being ungrateful, it's not a pleasant experience.

Whether the flower language escapes or the flower language is ungrateful, it is not a symbol of luck and happiness.

Unless they simply like or want to study buttercups, most people don't carry this kind of flower with them.

What does the deceased imply if they use buttercups

, perhaps expressing through flower language that his death is related to ingratitude.

More truth is temporarily unknown.There was no other valuable evidence left in the cave, and the deceased fled in a hurry without even bringing his wallet.

He didn't bring a wallet, but he still carried the nursery rhyme sheepskin with him, which also explained the weirdness of the nursery rhyme in disguise.

At that moment, the four people simply used cloth to restrain the bones, dug a hole and buried them.

Mary only took the pendant and the nursery rhyme sheepskin. As for whether the skeleton can be taken out of the Black Forest on the return journey, it depends on the specific situation.

It's really not her crow's mouth. I still remember that when I landed on Heisha Island that year, a group of collectors wanted to take priceless treasures out of the island, but they all died on the island in the end.

If 'Dear Mrs. Roman' hadn't taken her out of the island in a hot air balloon, it's hard to say what would have happened.

The Black Forest is not an island of black sand.There is no sea around here, and if there is an accident, you can escape by another route.But because of this, who can guarantee that the victim's bones will be picked up smoothly on the return journey?

The next thing will be discussed later.

Because of the same nursery rhyme on the sheepskin, if you can, of course hope to be 100% sure that the identity of the deceased will be more conducive to solving the case, rather than just guessing that he is Moody, a plant trader.

It was a peaceful night.

Although they saw human skeletons, there was no siege of infant spirits as rumored.

The next day, the sky cleared up.

As long as the journey is smooth, you can reach the red circle area shown on the map before the sun goes down today.If you're lucky, you'll be able to find Guru's residence directly tonight.

Maybe it was because the sun in the sky was very warm, and the coachman gradually forgot the chills on his back caused by the legend of the undead and the bone corpse yesterday.

Go and go.

Passed noon, went to dusk.

The coachman asks everyone to stop, he needs to go to make things easier.

This is normal and a normal metabolic response of a living person.The driver ran tens of meters away, and the rest of the people could not see or hear the excretion, and he was going to try his best to solve it quickly and bury it.

Ten minutes later, there was a sudden scream.

"Oh, God!"

It was the coachman's scream, "What the hell is this, the corpse of an infant spirit? Three, come quickly!"

Now, the three of them searched for the sound and left.

I saw a newly dug earth pit on the ground, and the hand of the driver holding the pit knife was still shaking.

He tried his best to restrain his trembling fingers, and pointed to the half of the 'humanoid foot' in the pit, "Look, which baby's dismembered foot is this?

? ”

"Fleck, wake up."

The guide took a closer look and picked up the so-called 'humanoid foot', "Human corpses should be made of flesh and bones. This is just a plant. I think it looks like a mandrake. Have you heard of it?" ?”

The coachman was still in shock, so he took a closer look to see what happened.

Indeed, the place he shoveled off had no bones or flesh, but a cut surface like a plant root.

"Don't blame me, I was intimidated by the rumor of the baby spirit."

The coachman had heard of mandrakes, human-like herbs that were said to be used by wizards. "So, the legend of the baby spirit may be that someone saw a mandrake?"

"Probably."

Mycroft pointed out, "This is a poisonous and highly hallucinogenic plant. If a person eats a hallucinogenic plant that looks like a person, it is normal to be surrounded by infant spirits in hallucinations."

Afterwards, the legend of the infant spirit spread out based on rumors.

This explanation is quite reasonable.

The guide didn't expect this to be the rumor, because mandrakes are rare in the Black Forest.

Heck.

First came the rare buttercup, and then the rare mandrake.

Mary and Mycroft looked at each other, and they remembered the divination.

Astrologers say Ben Baden and Dealer Singer have both gone to the land of flowers and grass.There are many exotic flowers and plants near the residence of the witch doctor, which really correspond to this place.

The false alarm caused by the mandrake may have been the result of the driver's negligence.

When it was dark, a group of people successfully entered the area shown in the sketch.I randomly chose a direction to walk around, and I was lucky to find a little light ahead after eight o'clock in the night.

There are people there!

Five or six large brick houses stood in the woods, shriveled up by hedges.There was a jack-o-lantern hanging at the door, emitting a dim light.

I went forward to inquire, and a young man opened the door. He showed that he was the attendant of the witch doctor Guru.Here is where the witch doctor Guru lives.

Mary immediately used a fabricated reason, saying that she came to ask for a dream at a high price.

"Looking for a witch doctor for dreams?"

The attendant frowned slightly, "The witch doctor doesn't like uninvited guests. I'll go and ask, you just wait."

This attitude is close to the rumors.

The guru did not like outsiders, and his attendants had been infected with the same attitude.

However, the shut-out event did not happen.

Ten minutes later, the attendants brought the four of them into the courtyard and walked to the door of a brick house on the south side.

"A patient is in consultation these days. Mr. Minton, would you like

Seeing a doctor has to wait until the day after tomorrow.Please forgive me, the witch doctor is dispensing medicine for the patient, and he will not be able to meet you until tomorrow morning.Just stay here first.However, you have to do chores such as fetching water and making tea by yourself. "

The attendant made it clear that the area that should not be approached casually was the two brick houses where the witch doctor and the patient were being treated.He also pointed to the location of the well and the storage room, indicating that there are only simple ingredients for the guests to choose and cook by themselves.

Mary wanted to ask a few more questions about who the patient was, but the attendant refused to answer on the grounds of the patient's privacy.

The attendants only said that if they had any questions, they would ask the witch doctor Gulu tomorrow. If the witch doctor thought they could say something, he would definitely answer their questions.Afterwards, a sum of accommodation fees was charged, and no further words were said, and the rest was left to the four of them to handle by themselves.

Mary could only smile.

Well, as long as she can always meet them while living, she is not afraid that she will not be able to find out the clues.

Then separate fetching water, burning firewood, cooking, and tidying up the room.

Mary and Mycroft were concerned about the food safety here, so they felt more at ease when they came by themselves.At the same time, by taking advantage of the opportunity to deal with sundries, you can also take a turn here in a fair manner.

As for those brick houses that were warned not to approach, you don't have to be too obedient.

But not tonight.Checking in on the first night, you may be watched by the attendants, so you have to pretend to be good.

After a busy day, it was already ten o'clock at night when I had a mouthful of hot food.

Simple ingredients can only make simple meals, but the croissant and vegetable soup taste surprisingly good.

It is worth mentioning that this meal was made by Mycroft.

Mary considers herself to be both polite and grateful, and she must express her compliments in a timely manner.So, after dinner, he knocked on the door of Mycroft's room next door.

"Is something wrong?"

Mycroft was puzzled, maybe the walls have ears tonight, not to say that it is good to recharge your batteries and rest early, but people still let people into the house.

Mary shook her head with a smile, but nodded again. "Nothing important, but something important."

Nothing important means that there is no abnormality found here today.

What's more important is that the words of thanks to be talked about are not casual words, but sincere praise.

I just heard Mary say, "Thank you for the dinner or should I call it a supper, it tastes so good. After entering the Black Forest, my taste buds have been reborn tonight."

"That's not the case, you're overrated."

mycroft imitation

The Buddha didn't care about Mr. Minton's special visit to express his praise. "Since we entered the forest together, I'm just doing my part. Don't you also carry water and firewood, and each does his best."

After Mycroft finished speaking, he only gave a polite smile, "Is there anything else?"

"Of course, there is one more thing I have to ask you. I didn't find a good time a few days ago."

Mary's so-called good time is when the two of them are alone and have a little gossip.

Immediately, he took out the pair of sunglasses that Mycroft provided in time from his pocket, "Mr. Holmes, the glasses you prepared are very comfortable for me to wear, and the size is almost custom-made. This aroused my doubts, the two of us Your face shape is different, right? Is your so-called spare glasses true?"

The next moment, Mycroft felt the scorching eyes sweeping over him, measuring his face almost inch by inch, and it almost made him unable to maintain a calm expression.

For half a minute, silence spread.

Mary suddenly smiled.

"Yes, I'm sure, the frames we wear should be different sizes. Then can I make a bold guess? Are these glasses a Christmas gift you specially prepared for me?"

How can it be!

Mycroft was about to reply.

Mary said, "If it is, of course I will return the gift. I heard that there is no cake on the market - Black Forest Cake. Would you be interested in hearing about the recipe and production process?"

The author has something to say: ① Refer to "How to Skin a Lion" [UK] Claire Coke-Stuckey