Baker Street Charterers

Nora came to Baker Street again with fresh chicken. Mrs. Hudson greeted them happily, and said before entering the kitchen, "You should really move here... spend more time here than in your apartment." many."

Holmes fully agrees with this.

"Ah... the tea you made is still as fragrant as before." Nora sighed.

"...I can see that you are changing the subject." Holmes was dissatisfied. "You should give Mrs. Hodson's suggestion a serious consideration."

"Why isn't Wiggins here yet?"

"..."

From the kitchen came Mrs. Hodson's continual, genial laughter.

Holmes sighed. "I can see that you are still punishing me for that." Women are terrible creatures.

"Nothing." Nora said confidently, "I just think women should be more independent."

"Independence?" Holmes raised his eyebrows. "You don't need to interpret this feature more vividly."

"We've already talked about this issue." Nora smiled, "I'm waiting for your marriage proposal, Sherlock."

Holmes sighed again. "Sorrow is as quiet and peaceful in my heart as evening is in a silent village."

Nora drank tea leisurely and spent a pleasant lunch time with Mrs. Hudson, then curled up on the sofa in front of her, lazily spread out an English version of "Divine Comedy", looked at it without a glance, and occasionally Responding to a few questions from Holmes, Wiggins finally arrived at around three o'clock in the afternoon.

"Sir! Sir!" The captain of the Baker Street Squad rushed in, panting, and reported, "We found him...we brought him here too, just downstairs!"

Holmes got up at once, and Norah put down her book, regained her spirits, and followed him down the stairs.

The suspicious person downstairs was being grabbed by several children at the moment, with an impatient look on his face, but he couldn't run, so he could only deal with these difficult vagrants sullenly, with his ears drooping.

Nora observes the man who is said to be the only lead on the case—a 35-year-old with a very battered, out-of-size beret, a rough, unkempt beard, brown eyes and brunette hair but sideburns There is a slight gray.His hair is greasy and curly. He is not tall about 1.7 meters. He wears dirty shirts and trousers that are no longer distinguishable from his original color. His boots are covered with mud. He is greasy and vicissitudes of life. He will avoid it with disgust.

"Hey!" Seeing someone coming, the other party let go as if he saw a savior, he opened his mouth and shouted, "Is this your child? Hey - pull them away! They won't listen to what I say—"

"Very well done, Wiggins," said Holmes, and approaching him politely said, "Sir, you are invited here because we have an important matter for which we would like to ask for your assistance. "

"Please?" The other party pouted, "This word is really appropriate."

Holmes was unmoved, and still kept an elegant smile on his face, "Many parents of missing children have seen you at the scene, I think this gentleman must be very clear in his heart - oh no, please don't explain, if there are any If necessary, we will ask the parents of a child to identify, but I think this process can be completely omitted. Or do you want to meet our capable and shrewd Sheriff Gleason as a suspect?"

The man who was about to quibble stopped immediately, his cloudy eyeballs looked at Nora and the wide-eyed children who were watching the show very cleverly, the corners of his eyes twitched, and his mouth twisted reluctantly, Yin Yang said strangely, "That's why you 'invited' me here, big detective?"

He knew him - this conclusion made Nora suddenly vigilant, her mind began to spin rapidly, maybe she was thinking too much, this person just read a certain newspaper and learned about Sherlock's appearance, maybe not, he is Mo Riati had sent them to test them, or maybe he was part of the case... Either way, the man in the beggar's outfit managed to get her from relaxed to fully alert.

Seeing Nora straightened up and stared at him, the man immediately took a few steps back with a bitter face, and raised his hand to signal, "Hey-hey! Don't be nervous, lovely girl, didn't you bring me here? This is Your chassis!"

"Who are you?" Nora lowered her voice.

The man shrugged and grinned, a mouth full of mottled black and yellow teeth.He didn't care about other people's eyes at all. He wiped his snot with the corner of his clothes and said slowly, "What did I say...that's it. You don't need to look for witnesses, I admit that I did appear Lived in those places, but I didn't capture those children...I can't feed those naughty little guys."

Unmoved, Nora narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at him without blinking.

"Oh, those charming eyes." The other party sniffed, and if he read it correctly, he seemed to wink at her with an unscrupulous smile on his face, "Little girl, although the gentleman next to you Dressed better than I am, and clean-shaven, and that fine hat . . . but he's too prim and tasteless for a beauty like you."

Nora gave him a strange look, half a smile, "Oh? You seem to know our affairs very well."

"Although I am a beggar, I have a pair of unique and shrewd eyes." He smiled mysteriously, "For example... I noticed something that you have ignored until now."

"That's an interesting answer." Holmes smiled. "I'd like to discuss these neglected matters with such a funny gentleman as you... Would you be interested in going upstairs?"

……

After entering the house, this suspicious person who called himself "Adolf" threw himself at the fireplace in the living room, his eyes shining, wandering around the collection of Sherlock Holmes on it, making tsk-tsk comments from time to time.

"Silver inlaid enamel two-stage telescope... Ah, this is a good thing from 100 years ago, tsk. Look at its precise structure, the color of the handle is really beautiful... It must have cost a lot of money to get it?"

Holmes looked at him and said calmly, "In fact, this is a gift from a friend in France."

"You're really lucky." Adolf rubbed his nose and said full of hatred for the rich, "I don't have such a generous friend to give such an expensive antique gift...Look at this! This candlestick! God, this pattern... Is it a workmanship from the Ottoman palace?"

He looked at the ordinary or even very old candlestick in the eyes of others with surprise on his face, his eyes were shining green, and he could hardly move them away, salivating.Nora touched Holmes' arm and whispered, "...he wouldn't tell the truth, would he? That thing is really an antique?" She accidentally dropped that thing on the ground and even stepped on it!

Holmes looked back at her meaningfully, but said nothing.

God... Nora immediately put her hands together, it's almost a sin.When she thought of how she treated that precious thing, her whole heart trembled.

"Hey... let's discuss it." Adolf finally turned his face to them, rubbed his chin, smiled maliciously, rubbed his hands, his eyes flickered, "I'll tell you everything I know... Lend me this candlestick to admire for a few days... I promise! Just to admire!—Most touch."

Nora curled her lips. This guy is glib. Although he looks like he has something in his stomach, he doesn't feel reliable.I also borrowed it to watch it... [-]% of the time I took it and disappeared.

"What guarantee do you have, Mr. Adolf?" Nora raised her eyebrows. "Who can be your surety? You don't look like those well-dressed and rich collectors."

"Hey!" Adolf snorted dissatisfied. "I'm not that kind of pious guy. You can't insult my profession. Before I went bankrupt, I was an excellent appraiser."

"If you like... I'd like to give it to you to watch for half a month." Holmes said slowly. "Of course, in exchange, you will tell me everything you know about this case—everything."

Nora was taken aback, and even Adolf, who had been smiling secretly, was startled, and stared at him strangely, tsk tsk, "As expected of the famous Mr. Holmes, a detective who has always been respected by others...you are a smart man." Man, ha, I admire a guy like you."

Nora looked into Holmes' deep eyes, thought for a while, and remained silent.

She trusted his judgment, as always, and of course this time was no exception.

"Perhaps you can give me an address, and I will send it to you," said Holmes.

Adolf laughed loudly, "Oh detective, I'm not stupid if you want to trick me. Although I have no money, my brain is very good... But are you telling the truth?"

Holmes sat on the sofa, his gray eyes gleamed, and he had a believable demeanor. He nodded and smiled, "Naturally, the truth is always more valuable than money, not to mention, your news may save ten people. the lives of several children."

The smile on Adolf's face froze for a moment. He stared at him for a while, and finally curled his lips silently, "I withdraw my 'rigid' evaluation of you... You are quite confident in how to persuade others."

The smile in Holmes' eyes deepened, and he stretched out his hand as a gesture of "please".

So Adolf also sat down on the sofa opposite him carelessly, crossed his legs, with an expression of indifference on his face, he even got up and poured himself a cup of black tea, took a sip, smacked his lips, and sighed with satisfaction, "Enter the house I smelled this fragrance when I was in bed... how nostalgic - hey lady, don't stare at me like that, I'm just getting down to business."

He reluctantly put down the teacup, straightened his body, touched his chin, and then his expression became a little serious, "This matter was mentioned half a year ago... In fact, I discovered it three months ago The whole thing—these were not the only missing children, I think the big detective found it—you said 'saving the lives of a dozen children', not 'several'."

Holmes shrugged. "It's just a guess on my part."

"A very smart guess." Adolf finally said something that was understandable, "But...Mr. It's just the least dramatic tip of the iceberg."

What he said was so meaningful that the eyes of Holmes and Nora went down together.

"In that case," Holmes thought for a moment before he spoke again, "I think Mr. Adolf should give us a little direction... since a small antique should be worth the price."

"Of course, of course." Adolf laughed until his eyes narrowed. He clapped his hands and said softly, "...you should start with the partners you have now."

Holmes lowered his eyelids in thought. After a few seconds, he finally raised his head with a calm expression. "Thank you for your precious clue, Mr. Adolf."

"No thanks, no thanks." Adolf grinned, "I didn't lose anything."

He likes to tell the truth—seeing that the other party hurriedly picked up the candlestick and turned to leave, Nora stopped him, smiled softly into his puzzled eyes, and said softly, "Before you leave here, I think I need to tell you something... You know, we can easily find you. Of course, I hope that we can still have such a friendly conversation when we meet next time."

The other party's face froze, and he smiled dryly, "Ah...Of course, of course, beautiful lady."

Nora watched him leave before turning her head and looking down at Holmes, "Let me guess... our great detective exchanged tens of thousands of pounds for a priceless news?"

Holmes couldn't help but smile at her eccentric tone. He raised his head and beckoned to her. Nora endured and endured, and finally couldn't help but sit beside him, so Holmes took advantage of the situation to hold her She stared intently at her white fingers before casually speaking, "Actually...we exchanged a dozen pounds for a very useful piece of news."

Nora couldn't help moving her fingers, her face full of doubts, "A dozen... pounds?"

"The pattern of the candlestick is indeed the handicraft of the Ottoman royal family, but the candlestick itself came from an acquaintance of mine who travels far and wide and likes to travel. He brought it from a vendor selling fake antiques in Turkey, but to be honest, the vendor's imitation craftsmanship It is indeed worthy of praise." Holmes pinched her soft fingertips as if nothing had happened, and said seriously, "You can rest assured this time, I will not spoil our common wealth at will."

Nora, "..."

"As for the useful news..." Seeing Nora pretending to be nonchalant, but actually blushing, Holmes said calmly, with a smile gradually filling his eyes, "What does he mean?" ...let's get our hands on our friends."

"friend?"

"That's right." Holmes nodded. "Wiggins and the others...it seems that we need to re-investigate how many children disappeared this year...including those vagrants."