Baker Street Charterers

The bakery was at a corner in Wigmore Street, and it was midday, and there was a lot of traffic.The coachman hired by Holmes parked the carriage 50 meters away from the bakery, and the big detective stepped out of the carriage gracefully, followed by Nora, jumped down neatly, landed lightly, and Jean turned around and was about to reach out to help her Holmes who came down was taken aback.

Nora belatedly saw the hand extended by the other party. She smiled apologetically. Holmes withdrew her hand indifferently and looked her up and down. "It seems that Miss Sharp is more... full of vitality than I imagined."

Ordinary ladies would not make such rude and rude actions just now. Of course, the complicated dress is also one of the reasons.

Nora touched her nose, not feeling shy at all, "Does Mr. Holmes like a soft-spoken partner who is squeamish and smeared with fine powder and will scream weakly when he sees a corpse?"

Holmes looked up and thought for a while, and finally came to a conclusion, "...I think your current appearance is very suitable for me."

Nora thought for a few seconds, and finally said with a little hesitation, "Could it be that my appearance... is very deviant for you?"

After all, the eyes cast by passers-by are too weird. Even if she doesn't care about her appearance at all, she has to pay attention to whether it will damage the reputation of the detectives around her.

This is the first time Holmes has heard Nora speak to him in such a tone. In his impression, the other party has always had a kind of fierce self-confidence, steel-like methods and a masculine demeanor, which he has rarely or almost never seen. She looked hesitant.

Working with such a decisive and conscious person, even if he is as critical as Sherlock Holmes, he has to feel a sincere pleasure and a sense of tacit understanding.

Holmes stopped and stared at her for a few seconds, his gray eyes flickered slightly, his brows raised habitually, and he said unhurriedly, "Deviant?...hmm, I thought that in No. 221b, living alone in his later years used long-winded Mrs. Hudson, a widow with one of the qualities, a good old military doctor who came to London alone after being wounded and retired, plus a consulting detective who is extremely clever but full of enemies...Miss Nora Sharp, how do you think we should define the unique word 'deviant'? ?”

Nora was taken aback for a moment, only to realize later that the people in the room were all unusual, but she was overwhelmed.She shrugged and smiled, "I see, Sherlock, let's go, it's time for a pleasant investigation."

Holmes stretched out his hand to signal her to stop, then leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Nora was taken aback for a moment, then gave him a rather strange look, and nodded, "Okay, please don't worry. .”

Holmes smiled elegantly and arrogantly. "Then, Nora, I'll meet you at the door in ten minutes."

Nora gestured that everything was ok, and walked in the opposite direction, "See you at the door."

……

Because of this bizarre and ambiguous "antique female corpse" case, in order to grasp the movements of the key figures in the case, the Police Department specially dispatched a police detective to guard around to keep an eye on McAdam's whereabouts.Unlike the normal business before, the murder caused the bakery's income to plummet. The owner of the bakery was also McAdam's father Andrew, who sat at the door with a sad face and sighed all day long.

The police detective sat bored on an abandoned wine barrel not far away, chatting with the small tailor shop worker here, but heard a sound of steady footsteps, turned his head and saw almost the entire London police The figure familiar to everyone in the hall - Sherlock Holmes, came here, his gray eyes calmly looked around, and finally settled on a winding path behind the bakery.

The police detective immediately stood up nervously. He was still very young, and he was assigned such a job that almost didn't invite credit because he was not valued. But even if he had just arrived, he had heard many stories about this man from the old people. What impressed me most was the "Laureston Garden case".The seniors in the police department had mixed opinions on him, but no one denied that Holmes had the "hound-like sharpness" and "venom-coated tongue" that others could not match.

Judging from the detective's reaction, the latter is probably the key.

It was as if Holmes hadn't noticed the rookie policeman in a loose uniform standing cramped to one side. He wandered around carelessly until the bakery owner also spotted this suspicious figure with unclear intentions and cast a puzzled and vigilant look. Only then did he look away, took off his top hat, bowed slightly to the boss, and said slowly, "Good afternoon, Mr. Baker."

The bakery owner stood up in surprise and hurriedly replied, "You are..."

"Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective in charge of this antique female corpse case." Holmes did not shy away from his identity and successfully aroused the other party's guard. He continued nonchalantly, "Although you have probably answered this question no less than ten times, But I would still like to ask you - as is customary - your son, Mr McAdam Baker, do you know where he is?"

The boss shook his head expressionlessly, "No, I don't know."

"Please pay attention to the authenticity of your answer." Holmes smiled slightly. "As the father of the person suspected of elopement, Andrew Baker, you seem to be acting too calmly. If I remember correctly, Mr. McAdam Baker has been missing for more than Two days, and you don't appear to be concerned for his safety."

The boss shrank his eyes, clenched the apron subconsciously, and retorted, "Worried? No, no, of course I am worried about him. But I can't do anything about it. It should not be the responsibility of your police department to find someone, my poor The son has not yet…”

"I need to remind you that detectives and the police department are not the same thing. The latter is useless except to clean up the mess." Holmes routinely attacked the police department first, and then said, "Since you are so sure, you don't know Mr McAdam's whereabouts, well then—"

Just as the boss was staring at him nervously, always on the lookout for the next sentence that came out of his thin lips, Holmes changed the subject, pointed to a room behind the bakery, and asked, "Is that the mill that belongs to you?"

The boss froze for a moment, then subconsciously replied, "Yes, you..."

Holmes stroked his chin with an air of interest. "I think the police have already searched the place, haven't they?"

"Yes of course……"

"In that case, you wouldn't mind taking me there, would you?"

The boss hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, "...No, of course I don't mind."

Holmes gestured for him to go ahead, and said politely, "Please."

……

Listening to the faint voice of conversation coming from the front, Nora smiled, then turned around, and walked in neatly through the side door of the bakery.

There is a strong aroma of bread here, but it's a pity that most of the bread in this era smells better than eating, so Nora just moved her nose, took a deep breath and missed the delicious tiramisu in her previous life, and decisively walked away Into the back hall.

Unsold bread is stacked here on iron trays, and they are arranged in full and order.Nora lowered her body slightly, carefully observing any traces on the ground, and as expected, she saw a shallow footprint that had not been cleaned.

Judging by the length, it belonged to a young man, not strong, wearing old patent leather boots.There were thin, inconspicuous white grains scattered around the footprints. Nora picked up a few grains and smelled them, and there was an earthy bread smell.

She smiled unconsciously, straightened her waist, looked left and right, then picked up the short wooden stick placed in the corner for beating dough, and walked up the stairs leading to the second floor with very light steps.

The second floor is the baker's house, the wooden boards are old and damp, and there is a musty smell after the rain.The sheets piled up on the bed were messy, and it was obvious that the owner's living habits were not so good.She lowered her body and took a closer look at the traces. There was only one person sleeping here, which means...he didn't live here.

So where would he be?

Nora stood thinking in the silent room, the thin sunlight came in through the high windows, she lowered her head, and saw the light leaking through the floor, casting faint shadows downstairs.

The light...the boards...

She suddenly remembered something, showing a look of sudden realization, almost without hesitation, turned around and ran down the stairs, her figure disappeared at the end of the stairs like the wind.

The room fell silent for a moment.

There is fine dust flying quietly in the light, and only the whistle of the ship in the distance can be heard faintly.

A few minutes later, it was confirmed that the unidentified woman had left the place. The wooden plank above the empty room suddenly moved, and a thin figure jumped down quickly, observed vigilantly for a week, and then let go. Without any hesitation, he hunched slightly and walked towards the door on tiptoe.

He went down to the attic lightly, but still didn't find anything wrong. There was a smile in the eyes of the visitor, but it froze at the corner of his mouth quickly after he raised his head.

The tall slender lady who should have left here earlier leaned against the door at this moment, waved to him, smiled brightly like the afternoon sun, and greeted softly, "Hi, good afternoon, Mr. McAdam Baker, I have been waiting for you here for a long time gone."