Baker Street Charterers

"Let you guess a riddle."

"If a smart and cunning man works as a teaching assistant in a world-renowned university, he enjoys a superior educational environment and experimental props within reach, and that night he gives the corpse of an adult male to him from neck to toe. Chop it into pieces, and let everyone find out...Where do you think the place of the crime should be?"

Gleason was deep in thought, Nora just paused for a moment, and immediately gave the answer, "I remember... that Mr. Jed seemed to tell us that a mentor once invited him to work in the laboratory? "

"The props are complete, closed, clean, quiet, and the murderer who has the right to use it... It's like an autopsy room just for him."

Grayson turned away immediately.

King's College does have a building with several locked laboratories. Regarding the authority issue, Gleason almost only needs to reveal his identity and briefly state his guess, and the guards immediately let them go. They searched the two rooms carefully. , finally found a clue in the last room.

Probably since the murder happened, no one used the laboratory here, and a thin layer of dust fell on the table.It was quite clean, but it didn't make them let down their vigilance at all. After a carpet-like search, Nora took out a handful of black blood stains and mildew stains from the back of the glassware cabinet. scalpel.

Gleason immediately took it cautiously, went out and called a guard to notify the forensic doctor, and then returned to the laboratory, staring at the blood stains on it, his eyes sparkling, "Do you think this is a tool for committing a crime?"

"Looking at the color of the blood, it should be at least three days ago, which is consistent with the time when the murder occurred." Nora observed carefully and said slowly, "Look at other places here, there are no clues, but only in a remote, I found it in a corner where you can find it with a little attention... Isn't it a little too easy? Other traces show that the last person who used this laboratory was not in a hurry when he left. On the contrary, he had enough time to clean up the place. Clean enough."

"Regardless of whether it is a murder tool or not," Gleason still stubbornly bagged it away, "at least we have a visible evidence."

"Need to search Jed's house in London?" Nora asked.

Unexpectedly, Holmes shook his head. His eyes searched around, and then settled on the many glass bottles arranged neatly in the cabinet.

"I'm afraid it's too late to go to Jed's house now." He stated calmly. "He is very smart, and he seems to be familiar with the police. We won't find any useful clues there."

"So, you have already determined that he is the murderer?" Nora's judgment on Holmes was very accurate.

"Yes," Holmes admitted, "and all we lack now is a strong incriminating evidence... that he came here and dismembered Mr. Griffin in this room."

"I guess Mr. Griffin's head can't be saved now, right? That's the most direct evidence." Nora felt regretful.

Holmes nodded, then raised his chin. "However, we have other means."

He went straight to the cabinet, searched up and down with sharp eyes, and then suddenly settled on a small bottle labeled "Tartaric Acid Solution".

"Mr. Grayson, I need you to do me a little favor." He said loudly, "Help me find out how many people can enter and leave this room and use the things inside."

It didn't take long for Gleason to find the answer, "Three...Professor Tina, Mr. Andre, and our suspect."

"Then have Professor Teaner and Mr. Andre used the contents these days?" Holmes continued.

Gleason lowered his head and flipped through his notebook, "No...Professor Tiner is going to Stanford to attend a conference, and Mr. Andre is traveling abroad."

Holmes understood, and a determined smile slowly appeared on his face, "Come and see... the assistants in the academy will regularly change the experimental products here. Since no one has used this laboratory recently, why is this bottle Will there be only half a bottle of tartaric acid solution?"

Grayson scratched his head, "Just tell me, I'm not interested in chemistry at all."

Nora briefly introduced, "Tartaric acid can effectively wash away the blood... Judging from the remaining dosage of this bottle of solution, I think it is enough to clean up a large bucket of fresh blood."

"But we still can't prove that he dismembered the body here that night." Gleason sighed.

"Mr. Jed, there is no doubt that he possesses the key here, so we went to ask the doorman to no avail." Holmes thought thoughtfully, "...but how do you think an assistant can enter the chapel in the middle of the night? "

Nora was taken aback, "Gentlemen, do you think that if you want to perfectly hide a dead man's head in a chapel, where is the best choice?"

Gleeson, "Why guess? It's so obvious."

Holmes' eyes flicked to her face with a thoughtful expression.

"Have you forgotten?" Nora frowned, "The Sendsbury family are all devout Catholics, but Jed chose to hang his lover's body on the organ in the chapel, facing the painting of the saint. Stained-glass windows and statues of angels. It is a great disrespect to religion, an affront to the faith... No Christian would do it unless..."

Grayson could not help but crane his neck, "Unless what?"

"Unless—" Holmes continued slowly, "this man has been overwhelmed with anger, he has left behind his beliefs for many years, and his heart is now completely twisted, dark, and injustice and anger against God. ...he will do everything in his power to humiliate Mr. Griffin, who is also a Catholic, and Jesus, who in his eyes has long since betrayed him."

"Imagine that he left his head alone. After finding out that he was infected with suspicion, the murderer whose love has completely turned into resentment, how would he deal with his lover's head?"

"Or to put it another way - in the chapel, which place is both eye-catching and hidden, where you can put your head down but will not be easily discovered by teachers and students?"

……

Half an hour later, the outside of the chapel was full of unidentified onlookers, all of whom stretched their necks to look in, trying to see some commotion.

The police stood at the door to stop them, and Grayson followed Nora and Holmes to stop at the door, Mr. Bader, who was in charge of most of the entrance keys of the chapel. This middle-aged man was thin and dull, wearing old and baggy clothes. Looked a little surprised and a little uneasy at their visit.

"Why did you come here all of a sudden?" He wondered, and asked in a low voice, "Hasn't this place been cleaned up?"

Nora narrowed her eyes and said nothing.

Holmes put his eyes on the icon on the top, and said casually, "Mr. Bede, are you usually the only one guarding here?"

He lowered his head and opened the door, "It doesn't count...many people can come into the chapel..."

"And at night? Early in the morning? Late at night?" Holmes continued.

His hands stopped, he raised his head, and looked at him innocently, "What's the matter, is there any problem, sir?"

Gleason also noticed something was wrong, and he immediately put on a straight face, his deep voice seemed to be a little bit of arrogance, "Answer his question, Mr. Bader."

He shrinks back, "...tonight, someone will come to watch the night..."

Holmes frowned, "Then please tell me, who was the watchman three nights ago?"

He was silent for a while, with a little panic in his eyes, "Yes, it was me... But I swear, I didn't see the murderer!"

Gleason was about to question him severely, but Holmes interrupted him with a calm tone, "I would like to ask a personal question, Mr. Bede...are you married?"

He froze for a moment, "You..." Then he choked for a few seconds under Gleason's stare, and replied honestly, "I'm just a doorman... No one wants to marry someone like me."

Holmes responded, and his tone became aggressive, "Then do you have a lady you like? Maybe after solving this case, I can introduce you to an excellent lady in return for your cooperation with us."

Bede squeezed the key tightly, and forced a smile on his face, "No, no need... I don't have this plan for now..."

"Oh, that's a pity." Holmes smiled, but his gray eyes showed a completely different coldness. "Since you are not interested in women, maybe I can introduce you to a young man... such as Jed Mr Sendsbury?"

As soon as the voice fell, the scene immediately became quiet.

Mr. Bede's entire face turned pale, he was trembling and unable to speak, "You, you are framing..."

Gleason took a breath, and immediately looked at Mr. Bede, his eyes turned from displeasure to extreme disgust.Nora could understand the message in his eyes very well at this moment—Grandma—is there another gay? !

"I think Mr. Jed paid enough to bribe you?" Holmes was still smiling, "He is just a young teaching assistant with no money or status, but he has ambitions beyond his age and an unusual hobby. I think he has probably been planning this murder for a long time, so it seems extremely subtle, and it really caused headaches for the police... And the first step he has to do is to bribe a doorman. I am very curious, what exactly will he give you? What precious things make an ordinary and honest man willingly hide this terrible conspiracy for him?"

Bede's lips trembled and he didn't speak.

"You, you are just speculation... There is no evidence at all!" He finally plucked up the courage to retort, but it was a pity that Holmes' next sentence drove him into the abyss——

"Evidence?" The detective turned his head to look at an oak box covered with iron, "Mr. Bede, as a competent gatekeeper, you should also have the key to this donation box, right?"

There was a look of vigilance and anxiety in his eyes, "There is indeed...why?"

"Have you ever opened it?" Holmes smiled even wider. "Perhaps there is ... something very, very valuable hidden in it."

Bede was stunned for a long time, then suddenly remembered something, his whole face became extremely pale, and he suddenly looked at the metal box, his eyes widened in horror, "You, you..."

"We have sent the police to your house for a legitimate search, and I expect to find something different." Holmes shrugged. A pile of blood-stained men's clothes of unknown origin, maybe...a few hairs that don't belong to you, maybe some mysterious lover's hair?"

Bede fell silent.

"I'm curious that you've survived to this day." Holmes said calmly and almost coldly, "Because according to the methods of that Mr. Jade, he is careful and cruel enough, and he shouldn't leave a witness like you. "

Bede took a deep breath, and finally decided not to resist in vain. He lowered his eyes, his shoulders collapsed suddenly, and said hoarsely, "...I know, I saw that in his eyes more than once. A light...a terrible light, and I know he wants to finish me off, like Professor Griffin...but he can't."

Holmes took a step forward with interest, "Oh?"

"I have some evidence of his crime." Bede said, "I secretly cut off a section of Griffin's sleeve, and hid a knife he used to dispose of the body...I sent it to relatives in my hometown, and also There is a letter stating that if anything happens to me, the murderer must be him...he dare not act rashly."

Holmes laughed at once. "Stupid—foolish and safe, you see, Gleeson, honest people cannot be underestimated."

Grayson, "..."

He turned his head depressed, and ordered the police, "Arrest him, and go to his hometown to retrieve the evidence."

Bader didn't resist, and let the police put him in chains.Before leaving, Nora stopped him suddenly, and said in a puzzled way, "...you don't look like a criminal, but why do you help someone like Jed?"

Bede glanced at her and asked her back, "Miss, you seem to have the ability and intelligence of a detective, but why do you have to solve the case with this gentleman and let him steal your glory?"

Nora was taken aback.

Gleason waved his hand and asked the police to take him away before he said vigorously, "Let's go and arrest that cunning murderer!"

Nora followed in silence. Holmes stepped up to her side, turned his head to look at her, was silent for a while, and suddenly asked, "Do you mind what he said?"

She paused, "What?"

Holmes explained very patiently, "What Mr. Bader said... he is right. You are fully capable of solving the case independently, but I will conceal this honor that belongs to you."

Nora raised her brows abruptly, "You didn't understand what that gentleman meant."

Holmes showed a puzzled expression at the right time.

Nora turned her head, her eyes fell on the distant east, and her voice became low and soft, "Mr. Bede is indeed not a criminal...the reason why he is willing to help a person who is likely to kill him , to cover up his crimes... because he fell in love with him, it's that simple."

Holmes was silent.Emotion has never been within the scope of logical reasoning, and he has never been able to deal with this kind of feeling that has no reason but can dominate human behavior.

Even now, he still feels incredible about it.

So, what she meant was that she didn't mind this kind of slumping behind at all, reaching out to help when necessary, patiently being his listener, his assistant, the tree hole where he poured out his secrets... because, she was willing, if she could so understand?

Holmes withdrew his eyes and looked at the same beautiful and faint morning light, but the corners of his mouth raised calmly, his voice remained calm, "...you just expressed your heart unconsciously just now."

Nora's face flushed instantly, "What, what? I didn't!"

"You know, there is no need for such haste to deny the fact," Holmes told her slowly. "As a matter of fact, this is not a particularly surprising surprise to me—in view of the number of times you have done it."

"You nonsense! When will I—"

"Christmas Day, and the courtship after the kidnapping," Holmes had already begun counting with his fingers, "...the discussion about the journey on the first day of the incident, testing my perception of 'beauty', and the dinner at Baker Street. Self-deprecating evaluation... Do you want to hear more evidence?"

"..." Inexplicably ashamed.

"Although I'm used to it," Holmes said with a serious expression, looking upright, "I think it's a very good habit, and I suggest you keep it up."

Nora took a deep breath, "Sherlock, I think you'll never hear the words 'I love you' from me again!"

"But you just said that to me." Holmes smiled with satisfaction, and when he saw Nora was about to explode, he used a slow tone, as if he said a sentence casually when he was bored——

"."