Baker Street Charterers

Today's weather is quite sunny, and London finally has some sunshine in spring and summer.Nora sat carelessly on the clean steps surrounded by verdant flowers and trees, ignoring the strange gazes of passers-by, propping her chin and silently looking at the sky...in a daze.

When someone squatted down beside her and looked at her sideways, Nora suddenly came back to her senses and smiled, "Do you have an answer?"

Holmes stroked his clean chin, which was shaved this morning, and said without haste, "... Nothing can trouble a great detective who is as careful as he is."

Nora nodded, "It seems that you haven't found the murderer yet."

Holmes cast a meaningful glance at her. "And you, Miss Sharp."

Nora looked at the sky, "Nothing can stop a careful Nora Sharp."

Holmes smiled and said, "All ears."

Nora glanced back at Clydia, who was whispering something to Krez by the window. The deep worry and exhaustion on her face did not seem to be fake. She gently retracted her eyes, leaned over and whispered, "This matter is not a simple elopement and murder case."

"Oh?"

"There are a few things I don't understand. Perhaps Mr. Holmes can give me a clue—"

"Sherlock," he reminded.

Nora was stunned for a moment, and then followed suit, "Maybe Sherlock, you can give me a clue."

Nora turned her head, and the look in her eyes gradually deepened, "First, if this is like the elopement Mrs. Brown said, why the police haven't been able to find McAdam Baker's whereabouts until now? The place where they met Wouldn't it be at the pier, who would choose to meet in a little-known antique shop?"

Holmes watched her profile, "Go on."

"Furthermore, I heard from Mr. Hawke that Julie went to the antique shop that night to pawn a Gawu box. It was not worth much, and it was even more expensive than the silver bracelet in her hand... Now that she has decided to elope, Why not pawn the silver bracelet? What does it mean to Julie?"

"Or... who gave it to him?"

"As for Lucia Brown... Her attitude is even more strange. She knows something, wants to tell us, but is afraid to tell us... Who do the unspeakable secrets in her heart belong to?"

Nora sighed and turned to look at Holmes, "What do you think, Sherlock, what did you ask?"

Holmes took out his pipe, squinted his eyes and took a puff. He waited until the smoke rings were blown out, and the curling smoke slowly drifted away. Asking the truth with a closed mouth, but," he smiled, "it's not fruitless."

Nora opened her eyes wide and pretended to be listening.

"According to Kretz, Julie 'did do some unladylike behavior', but at the time everyone thought 'she was persuaded' and gave up her previous inappropriate ideas, as Mrs. Brown said , stayed here very quietly until that night."

Speaking of this, Holmes narrowed his eyes, "Who knew that Julie, who seemed docile, suddenly made up her mind to run away that night?"

What he said was meaningful, Nora was stunned for a moment, and then understood, "You mean...someone...?"

"I didn't say anything." Holmes' gray eyes swept across the window sill of Brown's house, paused on the crumbly ground, and then shook the ash. "Want to learn more about this case, It seems that we have to go to that little-known antique shop."

……

Theoldjohn, Old John, this is the name of this antique shop.

"Did Watson's father prescribe it?" Nora laughed.

"Perhaps Watson would appreciate Miss Sharp's little joke on the scene of the crime."

Nora touched her nose, "It's just a joke."

Holmes, who was investigating the case, had already entered the serious mode. He put away his usual mysterious and aloof appearance, and almost kept his eyes on all the traces outside the store, without noticing the eyes of passers-by.Standing beside him, Nora carefully observed his expression, guessed his inner thoughts, and moved her eyes with him, but it was obvious that Holmes had excellent facial skills, and it was difficult for her to see anything from the surface.

Holmes finally finished his work. He straightened up, opened the shop door with a calm face, looked around, then walked up to the boss who was studying something with his head down, and said in a flat voice, "John Hunter?"

The owner of the antique shop, who was nearly sixty years old and wearing round glasses and almost bald, slowly raised his head, looked at him hesitantly for a while, "Ah—you are..."

"Jonathan Field, a businessman from Liverpool." Holmes put his hands in his pockets, his eyes were dark, his waist was straight, and he looked like a young man with high spirits. He said in a slightly haughty and slightly superior tone, "I want to see The things your shop has received recently, the small ones are the best." He added a special sentence.

Nora's eyes drifted away. Holmes was composed, so she put on a straight face and temporarily played the role of a squire.

The boss probably rarely sees such a person. This is not a famous shop. Most of the people who come here are poor people who pawn their things or poor settlers. For a while, he said submissively, "Guest, please come here... This is our new arrival, as for the small one you requested..."

He hesitated for a while, "Yes, but maybe it's not very auspicious..."

"You don't need to worry about this." Holmes slightly raised his head and smiled confidently. "I just need to take the things back. No one will know the origin of the things."

This sentence really bluffed the boss, he turned around tremblingly, bent down and opened a large drawer, and put it in front of him respectfully, "Sir, take a look, is there anything you need..."

Holmes saw the gold-encrusted Gau box in the corner at a glance. Pretending to be casual, he picked up another nearly new silver cup covered with intricate engravings. After examining it for a while, he finally shook his head and put it down. , picked up the gold-encrusted saucer next to it and looked at it, so repeatedly aroused the appetite of the boss, and finally moved his eyes to his target——he casually picked up the box with his thumb and index finger, glanced at it twice, With a look of lack of interest, "The color is good, what is this?"

The boss hesitated for a while, and said cautiously, "It is said that it is something from the east side. Wearing it on the body can protect the body, and it has something to do with the belief there..."

"Eastern?" Holmes' eyes lit up, which perfectly expressed the curiosity of that era about the Eastern Continent. He glanced twice, and then asked straightforwardly, "How much is this?"

The hesitation on the boss's face became more serious, "Guest... this thing..."

Holmes grieved and turned around in doubt, "What's your question?"

Nora also turned her head and stared at him in cooperation, with a fierce look of "you dare to deceive my employer and I want you to look good".

I have to say that this strangely dressed lady has too sharp eyes. The boss was sweating anxiously and didn't dare to look at her. In the end, out of years of credibility, he gritted his teeth and expressed his concerns, "To tell you the truth, sir... ...This thing in your hand has something to do with the latest case, I'm afraid..."

"The case?" repeated Holmes, with great interest. "What case?"

"You probably haven't heard of it when you came to London just now. It is said that a maid from a high-class family was killed nearby. This thing... this thing came from her hands." The boss looked very annoyed, and probably didn't expect it Just taking a pawned item was linked to the murder.

"Oh——" Holmes drew out his voice, playing with the Gawk box in his hand, obviously interested in this topic, staring at the boss with a pair of gray eyes, "Has the murderer been found?"

The boss sighed, "No, I'm sorry for such a beautiful girl."

"Beautiful?" The interest in Holmes' eyes grew stronger.

Just like jewelry for ladies, women, especially beautiful women, will always be an uninterrupted topic among men.Seeing the guest's eagerness to listen, the boss paused, and continued, "It's really beautiful. I saw that girl once when she came to my shop that night. Still in tears, and more eye-catching than many I've seen..."

Seeing that Holmes was temporarily lost in thought, and the boss stopped talking slightly, Nora immediately interjected, "Why did such a beautiful girl come to you to pawn something? Are you sure that your source of this thing is legitimate?"

The reputation was insulted, and even the boss was nearly sixty years old and almost jumped up angrily, "Little girl, you can't talk nonsense. Although my shop is small, I can guarantee that I haven't done anything wrong. That girl came here with this box that night. Here, it is said that it was a gift from a friend to her, and there was no counter-price when it was sold to me, but even so, my old John can see that this box is not expensive, but it is definitely not a fake..."

"She came alone?"

The boss gave her a suspicious look, "Not bad."

Nora paused, "Is she alone until the last time you saw her?"

"That's right."

Nora and Holmes looked at each other, and they both saw the same look in each other's eyes.

Doubt, deeper doubt.