Baker Street Charterers

"Perfect All" is a well-known shop in the upper-middle-class lady circle in London, specializing in ladies' boutique hats.The owner of the store is a 50-year-old woman who was originally a lady from a good family. Later, her husband died in the war after joining the army. Her uncle embezzled the family property after her father died. The lady had to leave the family to support herself. The good craftsmanship in weaving jewelry opened this shop to support herself, and gradually developed to what it is now, and she herself has accumulated a good reputation in the circle of ladies.

When Holmes and his party walked into the shop, the proprietress was lowering her head to inlay lace and fake flowers on a milky white hat. The sound of the bell made her raise her head, then she was stunned, stood up and smiled, "Yes. You, Sheriff Grayson, how is Mrs. Andra?"

Grayson's face softened, "She's doing well, are you still able to move, ma'am, I'm afraid it will rain again in the last few days."

"Tofu, two sunny days made me feel better." The proprietress replied, and it was obvious that they had a good relationship. It was rare for Gleason to take the initiative to greet a lady like this, especially a businessman.

Then the proprietress looked at Holmes and Nora, and seemed to understand something, "You are the detective, Mr. Holmes? I have heard of this lady. A female detective who appeared in London recently... Ah, I really miss the young one." In those days, young people in good health could do anything.”

"Thank you, ma'am." Holmes bowed slightly. "We are here this time to ask about William's disappearance."

"Oh, Fiona's child." The proprietress nodded without any surprise, "That's a lovely child... I expected that you would definitely come to my place, so I didn't clean up the place, please come with me."

She took them to a small yard behind the shop. It was open-air, and the rainwater from the previous few days was still accumulated in the corner. Even though yesterday and today were sunny days, the yard was still damp.There are brooms, dustpans and damaged beams in the corners, and a thread is drawn in the center, which, as expected, should be used to dry clothes.It was clean and there was almost nothing else.

Nora swept across the yard, and suddenly heard a small noise. She turned her head suddenly, and then saw a small, milky-white thing crawling in from the broken wall in the corner of the yard, wagging its tail at them.

"Xixi." The proprietress beckoned to it, and the puppy ran over immediately, circling around her legs, breathing.

"Is this the puppy that Lady Fiona mentioned William was fond of?" Norah asked.

"Ah yes, every time Fiona brings that child over, they can always play together." The proprietress touched the puppy's head affectionately and sighed, "I heard about those missing children. It's terrible. Sheriff, do you have any clues worth noting? William is a smart boy, you must bring him here."

"You are not the first person to ask me like this." Gleason said helplessly, "I believe that the perpetrator must be very experienced, and he was able to take the child away in the backyard without attracting any attention from others. There is no evidence left of him."

Just as Holmes was about to speak, the puppy Sissy barked suddenly, then turned around on the spot a few times, and suddenly ran towards the corner.

"Sissy?" The proprietress followed. Nora and Holmes looked at each other and followed without hesitation.

The puppy slipped into the small hole it came from, and then came back again after a short while, only this time with something in its mouth, and kept whining at them.

The proprietress squatted down, took out the thing, and then was taken aback, "This is..."

A dirty plush toy, Nora recognized it at a glance, "This is William's thing! It's a gift from the girl from the Lawrence family. He likes it very much and always carries it with him!"

"The ladder!" cried Grayson at once. "Please tell me where the ladder is, ma'am!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Nora swiftly climbing the protruding stones on the wall next to her, almost slipped to the top of the wall, and then turned to look down at him.

Grayson, "..."

"Need help, Sheriff, Charlie?" Nora held out her hand with a half-smile.

"..." md really hurt his self-esteem.

On the contrary, Holmes tightened his tie calmly and calmly, took a few steps back, then gathered his strength, stepped on the wall with inertia, grabbed Nora's hand, and jumped to the top of the wall in a steady manner, and then supported the two people next to him. The prop under the wooden ladder raised his eyebrows at Grayson.

"..." This pair of dogs and men...

"You can find a ladder to come up," cried Holmes, "but now the situation is urgent, we go first, and you can come later!"

The proprietress laughed uncontrollably, and Holmes laughed too. Holding Nora's hand, they jumped down together and landed steadily.

Grayson cursed angrily behind him.

"Is this really good?" Nora couldn't help but smile, "I believe that next time, no matter how difficult the case is, Gleason may not let go of his wounded pride and ask for your help."

Holmes shrugged, "Wait, the sheriff has always been a man of the times. Otherwise, with his ability to solve cases, I am afraid it will take a few years before he is promoted to his current position."

If the sheriff heard the truth, he would probably be so excited that his face would turn bloody, and he would jump up and down and curse.

Separated by a wall, behind it is no longer the noisy Euston Street, but a remote and quiet alley.There is a rancid smell that has been left unattended for a long time, all kinds of garbage, paper scraps, bottles and cans are piled up, and the ground is full of muddy stagnant water.The alley is very narrow, probably only allowing two people to pass side by side, and from time to time there are residents' open windows blocking the road.It took them some time to come out of the alley, and suddenly there was a bustling street behind, with traffic and people coming and going. If the suspect with the child succeeded here, it would be easy. Disappeared among the crowd and never found again.

"This is very difficult," murmured Holmes, holding on to his hat. "We cannot find that lost drop of water from the sea."

Nora was also a little frustrated, "We can't track it down just by relying on a stuffed toy. Even if the suspicious figure wearing a beret is a clue, how to find him is a tricky problem."

Holmes seemed to have been reminded of something, he straightened up as if awakened, and showed an elegant smile, "That's not necessarily... Come with me, ma'am."

Nora doubted him, and followed Holmes across the street, then stopped at a crossroads, watched him bend down and talk to a young waif curled up in a corner, Then he gave him a few pennies, and the other party nodded immediately, got up and ran away.

Nock immediately understood his intentions, "...Baker Street Squad?"

Holmes nodded. "I have to say that sometimes these ears and eyes all over the city are very useful, and they are greedy enough. Money is the best way to make them obey orders."

While waiting, Nora couldn't help asking, "What do you think of the man who took the children away?"

"Young, agile, and good-looking." Holmes said without hesitation, "The most important thing is that the other party is not 'he', but 'she'."

"Woman?" Nora was taken aback this time.

"Perhaps you haven't noticed." When Holmes was thinking, he put his finger on his chin subconsciously and rubbed it lightly. "There is a fresh footprint on the wall. You stepped on it so you didn't see it. Narrow, small, And the traces are very light, which means that the other party must be very thin, because she was holding a child in her arms at that time. She was wearing pointed boots with a gap in the middle, which means that the boots are at least five centimeters high, ladies. I have a soft spot for high-heeled shoes of this height... What's more, if she came in over the wall, then that smart little bitch would definitely bark and not only attract people's attention, so she came in through the main entrance, and men generally wouldn't Love going in and out of boutique hat shops."

"Then we need to go back and ask the lady boss?" Nora thought.

"It's not necessary." Holmes pondered, then shook his head. "There are countless ladies who go in and out of that shop every day. They may be new faces or regular customers. If our suspect is really an individual trafficker, then she is There must be a stronghold in London, not to mention that she has been staying here all the time, so even if the proprietress often sees her, we will not have the slightest suspicion of her."

Nora was a little anxious, "But we need to find William as soon as possible...the longer we delay, the more dangerous he will be."

"Calm down, Nora." Holmes patted her on the back lightly, his eyes were gentle and even gentle, "I know you are worried about that child, but you also need to understand that even if your relatives are kidnapped , as a detective, you also need to keep a calm and thinking mind at all times."

Nora took a deep breath, then exhaled, in a low voice, "I understand, Xiali... I also believe that you can find William smoothly."

Holmes smiled. "Look, here are my ears and eyes."

Several vagrants ran over panting, and Wiggins was still the leader. He first saluted Holmes with a serious face, and with a dirty little face, he reported solemnly, "Holmes Sir, I rushed over as soon as I heard your call, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Of course, my lord, squad leader." Holmes kept smiling and gave him a pound. The other party opened his mouth in shock at the sudden huge sum of money. "This mission is very important. I need you to be more careful and patient. Help me find A guy... wearing a very old, brown beret, 1.7m tall, male, wearing a dirty plaid jacket, full beard, an old scar on the right side of his face... can you do it for me Is this okay?"

"No problem!" Wiggins held back his excitement, "If we find it, we will go to Baker Street to find you."

"Yes, fellows." Holmes saluted them back, and watched the cheering waifs go.

Nora looked at the expression on his face, then raised her eyebrows, "You like children very much, Sherlock?"

This question made Holmes pause for a moment, before slowly opening his mouth, "This is a very interesting creature... It is like a clean piece of white paper when it is born, and you can scatter colors on it. Sometimes they are very smart. But sometimes they are very in the way, making it difficult for me to make an accurate evaluation...Of course, I prefer when they are quiet, they are not noisy, and they are more ornamental, which is in line with the value of an expensive decoration."

Nora smiled meaningfully, "So... what if it's your own child?"

Holmes immediately turned his head. He blinked, as if sensing something, his tone was obviously drawn out, "...his own child?...hmm...if he has a smart and capable mother, then I think, I will welcome it After his birth, little Sherlock Holmes will surely become an excellent detective not inferior to me."

"...let's change the subject."

"Oh no."