Baker Street Charterers

The murder took place at 3 Lauriston Gardens, at the end of Brixton Street.

The sky was cloudy and overcast that day, and a muddy ground-like reflection could be seen on the roof.Holmes and his companions quickly arrived nearby, but he stopped about 100 meters away from the scene.

This puzzled Watson, "Holmes?"

Holmes put his hands in the pockets of his coat, and walked slowly forward without answering. Watson turned to look at Nora, and found that her face was almost exactly the same as that of his partner - a dignified, observing look, Looking like a detective, he quickly entered the atmosphere of the scene.

Watson didn't bother the eccentric duo any more.

No. 3 Lauriston Gardens is gloomy. It looks very much like a model of a haunted house in a movie. There are four houses next to it side by side on the street. Two are inhabited, and two are empty and closed all the year round. No. 3 belong to the latter.This empty house has three rows of old windows facing the street. It is quiet and cold, and empty. On the dusty glass, there are densely packed "For Rent" notes, which look like white shadows on the eyes.

There is a small garden in front of each house, with some untended flowers and plants growing. A long and thin path traverses the garden, paved with clay mixed with gravel, and the accumulated soil is slightly yellow because of the rain last night. Everywhere was muddy.A tall, burly policeman was leaning against a three-foot-high piled-up wall, surrounded by a few noisy onlookers.

Watson, a Sherlock Holmes, would be eager to burst into the house, impatient to start solving the case, but instead he looked in no hurry, pretending to be absent-minded, pacing the sidewalks, staring blankly at Looking at the ground, the sky, and the house and the fence.He opened his mouth, and saw that the young lady didn't answer him, her eyes were fixed on the ground, observing everything around her very intently. Watson finally touched his nose and closed his mouth bored.

A day's contact gave Watson a little understanding of the reasoning ability of this "consulting detective". He believed that Holmes could deduce things that others could not see from these ordinary things, just like he deduced his past and promises on the first page. Pull the same identity.

Walking to the door of the house, a tall man with fair face and light yellow hair came out, holding a notebook, and held Holmes' hand very enthusiastically, "It's very kind of you to come, I told them that everything will be delivered to you." Didn't move."

"It's very obvious." Holmes said, pointing to the path full of messy footprints. "Even if you have just been trampled by a herd of buffaloes, it can't be worse than this." Seeing that the policeman's face on the other side froze, Holmes continued, "However, Gleason, you must have made up your mind before allowing your subordinates to do this, right?"

Being ridiculed by Holmes face to face, Gleason's face was as ugly as if he had swallowed a catty of eggplant, but he had something to ask for, he gritted his teeth and said vaguely, "This is the business of my colleague Mr. Lestrade. .”

Holmes glanced at the young lady who was looking down at the corner, and shrugged her eyebrows sarcastically, "With you and Lestrade, two excellent sheriffs here, I don't think there may be surprising discoveries if other people intervene. "

Gleason rubbed his hands, changed the subject, "I know you are very interested in such bizarre cases..."

In the middle of speaking, he suddenly paused, "This is..."

"John Watson," Holmes introduced, "is a doctor. You may regard him as my assistant."

Grayson nodded politely, and looked probingly at the silent Nora, who was wearing a long floral dress and was out of place here, "Then this..."

Holmes paused for a moment, then said cautiously, "Well—she is an employee of the private clinic in Cleveland, and is Mr. Watson's assistant."

Watson was startled, and looked at Holmes reflexively. The other party gave him a comforting look, so he withdrew his gaze as calmly as possible, and nodded seriously at the puzzled Gleason, "Yes, she is the one I use the most. Shu Xin's assistant, please don't underestimate her ability just because she is a woman."

Holmes was quite satisfied with Watson's adaptability. At this time, Nora also straightened up, and walked slowly to them in thought. She didn't come back to herself until she noticed Gleason's eyes full of scrutiny and slight contempt. , blinked, and said slowly, "What's the matter, did you find anything?"

"That's exactly what I want to ask." Holmes did not ignore her pensive expression just now, but seeing that she had no intention of speaking, he paused and pointed to the room, "Let's go and have a look at that room."

Grayson had no choice but to follow in, confused.

The corridor of the room was uncarpeted, and there were two doors on each side, one of which was the dining room, where the body was lying.It was a large square house, empty without any furnishings.The walls are covered with cheap floral paper because they have not been maintained for too long, and some places have been mottled and moldy.Opposite the door was a beautiful and fine fake marble fireplace with a red candle stub at one end of the mantel.

The kitchen had only one window and the glass was covered with thick dirt and dust, so the light in the room was very dim, and the air seemed to be painted with a dark and gloomy color.

When she entered the house, Nora saw the male corpse lying on the floor.

Stiff, dark eyes stared at the faded ceiling.About 43 years old, of medium build, with broad shoulders, black hair, and a short bristly beard.He was wearing a thick black tweed vest with a stiff collar and white cuffs, and light trousers underneath.Beside him lay a neat top hat on the floor.The male corpse clenched his fists, his arms outstretched, his legs crossed, and his stiff face showed a terrified and terrified expression. It seemed that he had struggled in pain before death.In Nora's view, this male corpse was very ugly even before he was alive, with a protruding nose, protruding chin, low forehead and protruding eyeballs. A face is really hurting the eyes.

"Good afternoon, Holmes." Lestrade, who looked like a detective with a thin and straight face, also entered the room, greeted him, and then his eyes stayed on Watson and the only lady. I was taken aback, "These two are..."

Ordinary people cannot enter the murder scene at will, so he was very surprised by Nora's appearance.

"Hi, I'm John Watson, Mr. Holmes' assistant," Watson explained very kindly this time, "That's Nora, my assistant."

"?..." The lady who became a doctor's assistant inexplicably.

Lestrade reluctantly accepted this suspicious answer, and he asked immediately, "Any clues?"

"No." Grayson replied immediately.They have always been inconsistent because of their positions.

Holmes walked up to the corpse, knelt down and examined it intently.Nora couldn't help but took two steps forward, glanced around from top to bottom, then straightened her body, looking left and right in the room.

Gleason has always been displeased with women meddling in cases. Now that Nora looked around professionally, he couldn't help asking sarcastically, "Ms. Doctor's Assistant, it seems that you have some new discoveries?"

"Not yet." Nora replied very quickly, with a flat expression, "Maybe Mr. Gleason can tell some surprising clues?"

"..." The police detective who felt insulted couldn't answer.

"Are you sure he has no wounds?" asked Holmes suddenly, pointing to the blood around him.

"No." This time the two detectives unexpectedly said in unison.

"Then, these bloodstains belong to another person, perhaps the murderer." Holmes said here with a nostalgic look on his face, "If this is a murder case, then it is very similar to the situation in 1834 when Fan Jiansen of Juricht died. .Gleeson, do you remember that case?"

"I don't really remember." Grayson was very embarrassed.

"You should really re-read the old case. There is nothing in the world, and what happened was done by the predecessors." Holmes Philosopher said casually.

"..." Detective Gleason, who was ridiculed twice in succession.

When he said this, he nimbly touched and pressed the corpse with his fingers, unbuttoned the clothes for inspection, finally sniffed the dead man's lips, and checked the soles of his leather boots.

Holmes's fingers were unexpectedly pale and slender. At least in Nora's eyes, the detective's hands were more aesthetically pleasing than most men she had ever seen. At this moment, these hands looked more like a piano But the most sinful product of the world is touched with the fingers of the master, and it never tires of it.

His gray-blue eyes are very focused, his side face is tense and looks more like engraving, and his outline is clear and resolute, with a pensive and dazed look in his eyes.Nora looked at him for a long while, and then had to admit that the saying "men who work hard are the most handsome" has some basis in reality.

"Doctor Watson, come and take a look." Holmes seemed to have noticed something, and made way for him.

Watson was stunned for a moment, then straightened his expression, walked to the corpse, looked at it carefully for 2 minutes, and said calmly under the suspicious eyes of Gleason next to him, "The reason why the deceased did not have any wounds is because he was not killed by any weapon. , but because he was poisoned to death."

"Poison?" Lestrade asked.

"And he was coerced and forced to take poison." Watson narrated sternly, "Maybe you didn't see the bottle containing drugs, but if you look closely at his lips and tongue, his expression is contorted and his tongue is curled up because of the stimulation of drugs." The burning of the lips and tongue should be caused by a spicy and bitter medicine, and there are very few colorless transparent particles at the corner of his mouth. The murderer came prepared, and he must be strong and strong, and he has great hatred for the deceased."

These speculations are well-founded, and the police detective next to him can't help but look at them with admiration.

Holmes nodded, and then commented, "Although what you said almost misses the point, as a doctor, this is not a small improvement."

"..." Watson showed an expression of shame and indignation.

"The body can be sent for burial, there is no need for further examination," said Holmes.

Grayson greeted, and the stretcher bearers who had been waiting for a long time came in and carried the dead out.But when they moved the corpse, a ring rolled to the ground with a "ding".Lestrade picked it up and looked at it inexplicably.

"Women's wedding ring." He showed the crowd what it looked like, a slightly plain gold ring that looked like an accessory worn by a bride.

"The case seems to be getting more complicated," said Grayson with a headache.

"I do think the ring clears the case," asked Holmes, in his usual contradictory truth, before Gleeson's mouth twitched. "What was found in his pocket?"

"It's all here." Gleason said, pointing to a pile of sundries on the last step of the stairs, "a gold watch No. 97163 produced by Barrod Company in London, a thick and strong Albert gold chain, A gold ring engraved with the Masonic emblem, a bull-headed gold brooch, and two rubies for the eyes."

"There's a Russian-made business card holder containing a Cleveland, Enoch Draper business card, the initials j matching the initials ejd on the shirt. Seven pounds and thirteen shillings in change, and a copy of the The pocket edition of the Decameron, with Joseph Stangerson's name on the title page, contained two letters, one addressed to Draper and the other addressed to Stangerson."

"Where to send it?" Holmes was more interested in the letter.

"The American Exchange, Riverside Road, leave it for my own collection. They are all sent from Guyon Shipping Company, and the content is to inform them of the date of the steamer's departure from Liverpool. It seems that this unlucky fellow will not be able to catch the boat to New York."

Holmes then asked for relevant details. Gleason seemed very accustomed to his detective mode of eloquent questions, and his answers were smooth and quick.Watson listened to the conversation between the two with relish, glanced around casually, and was horrified to find that Nora had disappeared.

He hurriedly looked around with his eyes, only to find Nora slowly walking out from another room with a pensive expression on his face.

Immediately afterwards, Lestrade also came out from that place, and said loudly, "Mr. Gleason, I just discovered something very important." He paused here, and glanced at Nora, "— —After being reminded by this lady, I checked the wall carefully, otherwise I might have missed the clue."

His eyes glowed, evidently taking pride in being slightly better than his peers.

"Please come this way."

Everyone followed into the front room, because the corpse was carried away, the air in the whole room seemed to be much fresher.

"Look here." Lestrade struck a match, illuminating the wall.

A large piece of floral paper peeled off to reveal a rough and yellowed wall, with large characters scrawled in blood——

rache.

—Rachel.