Baker Street Charterers

The faint sound of the ship's whistle drifted into the house from a distance outside the window. Nora clutched the quilt in an attempt to block the gradually dazzling sunlight, and just turned over when she heard the regular knock on the door.

With a groan, she reluctantly rolled from the bed to the carpet, scratched her knotted hair in a daze, then stood up slowly, and walked towards the door.

"Who?" She opened the door while yawning, and then her expression froze in place for an instant.

"Good morning, Nora." Sherlock Holmes, who was wearing a neat gray coat and hat, was smiling, looking at her dull face, long uncombed red hair and shoulder straps tilted to one side, revealing half of her snow-white arms. Turning around in the pajamas, she paused, her expression unchanged, "You should have woken up by this time."

"..."

Nora took a deep breath, maintained the posture of opening the door, and told him very calmly, "Please wait a moment."

Then turn around and leave.

Holmes blinked, but stood obediently at the door, touching his cheek with a particularly meaningful look.

Three minutes later, Nora, with her long hair tied up and a clean face in a black dress, reappeared in front of him. Facing Holmes' scrutiny, she looked very calm, and even asked him, "What's the matter, Sherlock?"

Holmes asked without answering, "Your old friend is not invited in? As the first time I have come here after so long."

Nora looked at him.

Holmes paused for a while, then suddenly realized, "Sorry...what should your hometown be called?"

Nora snorted, "Boyfriend, or lover."

Holmes was thoughtful, "This sounds very novel... Is it a Liverpool tradition?"

"... You want to argue with me all morning about the title, and that's why you're here?"

Holmes showed an apologetic expression, Nora let him go and let him in sideways, Holmes followed behind, looking around non-stop, and then snorted softly, seeming very dissatisfied.

Nora poured him a cup of black tea, looked at Holmes sitting on the single sofa a bit cautiously, and teased with a smile, "Why, is there anything dissatisfied with our great detective?"

"It's everywhere." Holmes emphasized this sentence emphatically. "I really don't know if there is anything like Baker Street that makes you unwilling to go back with me anyway... The lighting is barely good, but the structural design of the house is not enough. Reasonable, the area is too narrow, the furniture is outdated, lacks comfortable seating and ornamental collections, and of course more importantly—"

"What's more," Nora said slowly, sitting opposite him, "there is no Sherlock Holmes here—am I right?"

Holmes glanced at her, but said nothing.

"You have to understand, Sherlock." Nora smiled, but her eyes were clearly bright, with teasing and interest, "Unmarried men and women are not suitable to live together before we have a proper name."

"But before we—" He tried to find evidence to rebut it.

"That's different." Nora looked serious, "I didn't have any other thoughts about you at that time, and we were very good old friends at that time."

Holmes frowned, "Then now..."

"We are old lovers." She said firmly.

Holmes sighed. "I think I understand the crux of the matter. Name? Is that what Liverpool say?"

Nora froze for a moment, then smiled suddenly, "I'm just joking with you, Sherlock, I don't ask for this, because I know you well enough...so I don't worry about it at all."

The corners of Holmes' lips twitched slightly. He was obviously pleased. A faint smile appeared on his usually calm and calm face, and his voice became deeper and sweeter, "Actually, you shouldn't be the one who is worried."

Nora leaned closer, "What did you say?"

Holmes straightened his face. "Actually, apart from inviting you back to Baker Street again - no doubt I am used to failure - I have another purpose here, to participate in the plea against Jed Sendsbury."

"Did you catch him yesterday?"

Holmes nodded, "He has no intention of escaping. He is very smart, knowing that so much is useless, he followed Gleason back to the police station without struggling. But I think, as the first interesting case after a long absence... …you should want to see the results for yourself.”

Nora blinked, then stood up, bit her lip when Holmes bent over to pick up the hat that was lying on the table, and suddenly leaned forward, touching his cheek very quickly, touching back immediately.

Holmes turned his head like lightning, his gray eyes were astonishingly bright, and he stared closely at her with scrutiny. He seemed a little uncertain and confused, and tentatively said, "You just..."

"Well...a little gift for a long-lost reunion." Nora didn't look him in the face, although her face was pink, but her expression was very upright and serious, "Let's go, Sherlock."

Holmes closed the door for her, fixed his eyes on the back of the lady in front of her going downstairs, thought for a moment, then speeded up and followed her up, and then slowly turned his head when he walked side by side with her, his voice dragging slowly , "...you know... I'm pretty inexperienced in this matter..."

Nora blushed even more, she turned her head away and said nothing, but her ears quietly perked up.

Holmes didn't seem to notice her behavior. He looked straight ahead and said in the same tone, "...but I understand that what you did to me just now... should be initiated by the man."

"..."

Nora glanced at him. "So your conclusion is about the initiative?"

Holmes bent his arms, Nora paused, and put his arms up with his head down. Then he raised his chin in satisfaction, put on his top hat, and said as he walked, "No—my conclusion is that maybe You can try other more prominent positions this time."

"...!"

……

Although Sherlock Holmes and Nora were not policemen, the police detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department were very familiar with them. They didn't even stop them from entering the police station easily. Gleason of the Light, he was sorting out the written materials of this case. When they came, it happened to be almost finished, and he took them along the way to witness Mr. Jed's confession scene.

Gleason was holding a sealed bag in his hand, which contained a shiny and sharp scalpel. He introduced in a brisk tone as he walked, "This is the murder weapon that killed Mr. Griffin. As Bede said, hidden At his old home... there is also a small piece of torn sleeve, which matches Professor Griffin's clothes, and Sendsbury, no matter how eloquent he is, cannot escape the punishment of the law."

"As for the one in the laboratory... as you said, it was left there on purpose. I guess it was to confuse our attention. The blood on it belonged to Sendesbury, and a wound was found on his arm. , the wound is very consistent with the radius of this knife.”

"And what about the head?" Nora asked.

Gleason paused for a moment, showing a disgusted expression, "I found it in the iron box used for donation... and wrapped it in a sealed bag, so even though it's rotten, no one will find it for a while... Oh God, this is the first time I've seen such a lunatic, killing people in front of Jesus, and seeing the blood."

"You will get used to it," concluded Holmes calmly.

Grayson, "..."

Through the crowded corridor, he brought them to a small room with transparent windows. In the room, there were Miss Liz and an elderly woman who looked like servants and were whispering comforting words at the moment. A pale beauty with her head bowed.

Hearing the noise, she raised her head, her big amber-gold eyes were moist, but there were no traces of tears.She gave them a forced smile, and although she was still quiet, she looked like she was about to break her heart.

Who knows that her beloved husband was killed by an acquaintance assistant, and what is even more frustrating is that they have already hooked up and have been dating secretly for two years, and she has been kept in the dark... Nora felt that this Lily... Miss Zi is worthy of being a descendant of aristocrats, she is really well-bred.

It was hard for her to say anything, so she just smiled back and sat opposite her, waiting.

Holmes sat beside her, not as sentimental as she was, but with a pensive expression on his face. When Nora turned his head and wanted to have a few words with him, he suddenly spoke——

"Forgive my rudeness, Mrs. Griffin... I think that in the present situation, perhaps it would be better to call you Miss Liz." Holmes said calmly, "But I still have a question, which is in my My mind is spinning, and I just can't bear the unanswered questions... will you give me the honor?"

Liz stared at him blankly, pursed her lips in silence for a long time, and finally nodded slightly hesitantly.

"The writings that Mr. Griffin published a year and a half ago... are you sure they are from him?"

Liz lowered her eyelids, then slowly stretched out her hand, beckoning the woman to bring a pen and paper, and slowly wrote on the paper——

【it's not true】

【I don't think it's just him alone...I don't want to hide anything for him, Mr. Holmes】He nodded knowingly, "Then do you know a Mr. Moriarty, code-named m?"

[He seems to have written to Griffin, but that was a year and a half ago...I haven't seen them contacted since then] Holmes bowed slightly to her, "Thank you very much for your answer...I'm sorry, Miss Liz."

The other party smiled at him, the nobility in those beautiful eyes that were once rare in the world was there, but the clarity was gradually hard to find - she used to think that she lived a very happy life and knew how to be satisfied with her life, but the world did not Too much to give to such a beauty, whose husband was murdered by his gay lover.

She didn't show a disgusted expression and wept bitterly and was hysterical, which was already the pinnacle of patience and accomplishment.

She seemed to come here only to confess some last things, and soon left accompanied by the old lady.

Nora stared at her thin back, and couldn't help but sigh, "Sure enough, beauties are ill-fated."

Holmes replied immediately, "You should be very lucky about that."

"..."

Nora raised her eyebrows, "I remember you once praised my beauty."

"We shouldn't make up things that don't have to be—"

"'You are not a flower, you are a jewel'... Well, I wonder if this sentence is familiar to some people?" Nora smiled, "I really didn't understand it at first, but then I went back and read it slowly. Thinking... oh Sherlock, isn't that acknowledging that I have both the looks and the inside?"

Holmes, "...your imagination is amazingly rich."

"Oh, maybe I should go to Mr. Hawke and ask him what he thinks—"

Holmes paused, "Mr. Hawke? I thought he was only interested in those fascinating and eternal corpses."

"I'm an exception." Nora still had a smile on her face.

Holmes moved his knees subconsciously, with no other emotions visible on his face, "I see, I thought he should be a more principled gentleman..."

Nora was about to speak, but Gleason had already opened her mouth and waved to them, "Let's go, the confession has begun."

They came to a wider room, above which sat some judges and police chiefs, and some lawyers, surrounded by doctors and recorders in white coats, Holmes and Nora found a remote and unobtrusive room He sat down in the corner, and the side door opened with a creak, and Jed Sendsbury, who was wearing old clothes and looked haggard but calm, came in, followed by two tall police officers.

The judge's statement on the case and the doctor's judgment on the corpse need not be repeated. Nora's attention was focused on the moment when Jed spoke.

"I killed Blair Griffin...if that's what you want to hear."

Regarding the unruly attitude of the prisoner being arrested, the judges frowned, "Jed Sendsbury, please describe your criminal process in detail."

"The criminal process?" Jed laughed inexplicably, "Well, it's about how I drugged him after getting close to him, washed him from head to toe, and chopped off his head , the process of chopping into pieces of meat one by one, isn't it?"

Someone turned pale, and he seemed to be happier, the green eyes were strangely bright, and the smile was so sunny that it hardly belonged to a perverted murderer, "For you old-timers who follow the rules, it's so strange. Is it difficult to understand? Ah yes, I love him, I love him so much that I want to occupy every inch of his body, let me be covered with his scent, and occupy me fiercely on my bed every night..."

"Pay attention to your words!" someone sternly reminded.

Jed shrugged, "Okay, maybe I'm being explicit, but that's the truth. What do you want to hear?"

The sheriff took a deep breath, trying to make his voice calm and majestic, "How did you know each other?"

"Two years ago, I was still living in Aberdeen. He came there for a meeting, and 20 days was enough to change our fate." Jed replied frankly. He didn't think there seemed to be anything worth hiding, and his eyes showed fascination. "... I knew I was different from a young age... I was totally incapable of being attracted to pretty girls, I probably knew what I was, but I never dared to tell anyone... In my family, this was not allowed What is endured is possessed by demons."

He gave a gentle smile, "But when I saw him walk into my restaurant and sit down and take my order... I knew we were the same kind of guy. He was handsome, well-spoken, and well-mannered .”

"I left a note on his desk and asked him to meet at night."

"He really came...I read it right."

"Then we checked... oh sorry, watch your words. Then we got on."

"20 days...that was really a dreamlike day...I didn't have to hide my preferences from him, I told him everything about me, including my body...Phew~ You can't imagine how relaxed and happy it is. "

"It's really unimaginable." The sheriff replied stiffly, "Please state the key point."

Jed spread his hands, "Then let me put it more simply... After the meeting, my lover left me and went back to London. I asked him to take me away with me, but whoever found out about us Well, a strong man with a knife said he was going to kill him... He was a staunch religious man, and unfortunately he liked women too, so he couldn't stand our affair, and he cut Blair in the back .”

"It didn't shake my love...but he, Blair, he backed off."

"He didn't even say goodbye to me, he just left here quietly."

"It was hard for me to find someone like me... How could I let him go? It was God's will that we met."

"I asked his colleagues about him...then a man came to London looking for him and found him very quickly."

"He was terribly frightened of my coming... Oh my sweet Breuer, how could you ever get rid of me? We were so in love, we were made for each other, there was no one better than us, wasn't there?"

"He rented a house for me, let me live there, he would come over sometimes, and more often I went to him... until he told me that he knew a woman named Liz, and he thought he loved her. fucked her."

"Love?"

"He fell in love with a woman?"

"This is really a joke, that's what I thought at the time... Then I saw the way he stared at her... Ha, I finally believed him."

"I pestered him to make me his teaching assistant. I wanted to get a closer look at that woman...but Blair was wary of me. He never let me into his house or see her alone...just in From that moment on, I decided to kill him."

Jed looked very calm, as if what he was talking about was not a well-planned murder, but a sleep story before going to bed, his eyes were extremely soft, "For people like us, it is better to destroy it immediately... It wasn't that hard. I lied to him that we were going to end our relationship, and I just asked him to come and see me one last time, and he said yes... I seduced him into bed, stunned him with medicine, and put the The handsome, muscular body I was once obsessed with was chopped into pieces."

"You see, even if he married her, the one who has him till the end is still me, isn't it?"

The sheriff looked at the record in his hand expressionlessly, "Then, Mr. Sendsbury, you admit that you have seduced Mr. Bader, the janitor, and made him your accomplice, is that correct?"

Speaking of his admirer, Jed looked emotionless and without guilt, "Yes, I seduced him... I like that statement. In fact, I also gave him a lot of happiness. It's a fair deal." .”

"You never regretted anything you did?"

Jed smiled, "Yes, I did the right thing, I took the pain out of me and Miss Liz, didn't I?"

His eyes were clear and his expression was serious, as if he was really carrying out a just trial.

The judge sighed. "Thank you for your statement, Mr. Sendsbury. I have had to pass sentence for the crimes you have committed."

Jed even smiled, "Thanks, Judge. I don't regret it."

Nora did not hear the final judgment, and she was very clear about the result in her heart—intentional murder, unrepentant, even homosexuality... In this era, the last crime is even more terrible than murder.

It will be spurned with outrage from all of society.The deep scar on Griffin's back is proof of that.

Poor people must have something to hate, but the impulsive mistake made Griffin provoke a psychologically twisted homosexual, and finally sent them both to the point of no return.

"This kind of love possession-possession is too scary." Nora sighed, "If it were me, I would rather not have it."

"Please don't match his feelings with yours." Holmes frowned unhappily. "I would also feel insulted."

Nora turned her head with a smile on her face, "I am very lucky to meet someone who is smart, sensitive, kind, broad-minded and upright, and he is still my love, Sherlock."

Holmes raised his chin, his expression remained motionless, but his eyes clearly said "that's natural".

"Since the man you love is intelligent, perceptive, kind, and upright...then he would like to ask you, when will you be willing to return to Baker Street?"

"We will discuss this later."

"..."