"The Widow" Bertha

If Bertha remembers correctly, Miss Mary Morstan in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is a housekeeper of a wealthy family, which can be regarded as a decent career, and finally inherited a thousand pounds inheritance from her father.

She appeared in the case "The Four Signatures" and fell in love with Dr. Watson at first sight.The two can be regarded as a well-matched marriage, and now...

The girl standing before Bertha had red hair and green eyes, and a bright face.A pretty girl indeed, but her identity was that of an Irish working woman.

In the [-]th century, London’s industry was developed, and ordinary workers were almost the bottom of the common people in society, while the Irish were not even counted as commoners. Their wages were lower than ordinary workers, and female workers were even lower by one-third. .

It can be said that Miss Mary Morstan in front of her is a real poor person.

"Miss Morstan." Bertha nodded to her.

However, this is not the first time that the plot of the original work is different. According to the novel "Jane Eyre", Bertha Mason should be in her forties, but now Bertha is only 26 years old, very young.

"Mrs. Fisher said, you don't think the victim died by accident," Bertha went straight to the point, "Is the victim acquainted with you? Do you have any evidence?"

"Have."

Facing Bertha's question, this Miss Morstan was not at all stage frightened: "The dead person's name was Martha Marquis. She was the last one to leave the factory after she got off work four days ago. Our friend Mia was waiting outside. It didn't take long for her to hear a scream in the factory. Mia and the supervisor rushed to the scene together..."

"Found someone dead?"

"Yes," Miss Morstan said with a serious expression, "but Mia told us that the machine in front of Martha was not broken at all, and the factory just sent people to remove the machine after the accident, and did not invite technicians to overhaul it. "

"That's really suspicious."

"Afterwards, Mr. Hamp, the factory owner, blocked the news," Miss Morstan continued, "Even Martha's family was not allowed to claim the body. Because of this incident, we went on strike to protest."

Then the factory owner called the police, and the police violently expelled the protesting workers.

The time points of the cases are connected one by one.Bertha thought for a moment: "Then, you found Mrs. Fisher?"

"...Forgive my recklessness, miss," Miss Morstan lowered her head, showing some apology, "Before that, I didn't know Mrs. Fisher very well, I just took a few leaflets from her. Except She, I can't think of who else I can find."

This girl is quite smart.

She didn't mention the existence of Sherlock Holmes during her conversation. It seems that this time, Little Shelly is still investigating secretly.

And if you go to someone for help yourself, even if you are looking for the wife of a congressman you are not familiar with, it is more suitable than looking for gangsters.The only thing is that after searching and searching, Bertha was finally found.

"Although we don't have much money, we have a lot of people." Miss Morstan smiled wryly, "If you are willing to investigate the case, Miss Marple, we will definitely come up with a reward."

"It's not in a hurry."

Bertha is not short of this money. Mrs. Fisher probably also had this consideration when she found her: "It's better to find out the truth first. Compared with the reward, the case itself is more attractive to me."

"Thank you."

Miss Morstan breathed a sigh of relief: "If you need me, I will do my best."

Bertha: "The most important thing now is to confirm the cause of Martha's death. Do you know where her body is?"

Miss Morstan: "The police took it away."

Bertha: "Well..."

"Is there any trouble, miss?"

"Yes and no."

Bertha weighed it up, and immediately came up with a solution: "Then let's go to Scotland Yard."

She admitted that she had selfish intentions, and it would be best not to intervene in this matter in the name of Mrs. Thames.

And it just so happens that Miss Marple has "acquaintances" at Scotland Yard—

"I can't control this matter."

Inspector Lestrade rubbed his forehead with a headache when he heard about Bertha's visit: "I am not in charge of this case, and it has been said to be a 'machine accident'. I have no reason to apply for an autopsy."

"If it was an accident, what would you police do with the body?" Bertha raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not in charge of the case."

"you--"

Hearing Lestrade's repeating machine-like words, before Bertha opened her mouth, Miss Morstan behind her was suddenly annoyed: "It's not the dignitaries who died, so the police don't care, right?"

Lestrade was not angry either. He glanced at Miss Morstan, and then turned to Bertha: "This time the assistant you brought is a little impatient, Miss Marple."

Bertha smiled. "She was a friend of the dead man."

Inspector Lestrade: "..."

What's the worst thing about being a police officer?It is to face the relatives and friends of the victim directly, but there is nothing he can do.

Bertha had been dealing with the police before crossing over, and she knew that any policeman would be scolded as a poor man and a moth of the people.

There are not so many geniuses in this world, nor can everything be solved by relying on basic deductive methods and mysterious criminal psychology.

It is still the police like Inspector Lestrade who really solve the case, and they are also the ones who have to face the question of conscience all the time.

"It won't trouble you, Inspector," said Bertha. "Just see if there's any way... a compromise?"

She prided herself on being obvious enough.

Inspector Lestrade took a deep look at Bertha, wondering if he understood her hint.

He was silent for a long time, and then sighed: "Listen, Miss Marple, I really can't help you with this matter. I know exactly where the bodies of any cases are placed."

The detective patted his desk.

"I have the papers here, and I have a spare key," he said, "but the case is out of my hands, and if I bring someone in, I don't want the badge—I have more cases on hand, If you lose your position because of one case, who will be responsible for the remaining cases?"

As he spoke, he shook his head: "I won't leave you alone, Miss Marple, I have other things to do."

Bertha: "Okay, you go first."

Inspector Lestrade looked again at Bertha.

It seemed that the two went out one after another, but after Inspector Lestrade's back disappeared into the office, Bertha immediately retracted half of her outstretched foot.

Under Miss Morstan's stunned gaze, she turned and went straight to the desk, and picked up the documents and spare keys on it.

"Go." Bertha waved her hand to Miss Morstan.

"This--"

"Don't you understand?" She explained in a low voice, "He took us there against orders; his key was lost, it was negligence."

The former will lose his job, while the latter will just write a self-criticism.

Fortunately, the police system in the nineteenth century was not so strict. Bertha put the key in her handbag, left Scotland Yard like a private detective who kicked the iron plate, and went straight to the address on the document.

The body is not in Scotland Yard, but borrowed from the morgue of a nearby hospital.Bertha led Miss Morstan into the carriage, and arrived almost at the turn of the corner.

The hospital morgue in the [-]th century was not much better. In view of the delicate experience of the previous murders, Bertha reminded Miss Morstan before opening the door: "You can wait outside, which can be regarded as giving me a break. "

Miss Morstan certainly understood what Bertha meant.

But she hesitated for a moment and insisted: "Let me...see Martha for the last time."

Bertha sighed.

"Well then," she said, "you get ready."

Before opening the door, Bertha conceived of countless scenarios—the best one was that many corpses were placed in this cold basement with a gloomy appearance; the worst one was the stench.

However, no matter how much she expected, she never expected to see a living person in the locked morgue.

And this living person is the famous Sherlock Holmes.

Moreover, he was still hanging on the dark window of the square inch above the morgue.

When Bertha opened the door, Sherlock Holmes, who was opening the window, was startled, and even Bertha and Miss Morstan, who entered the front door, almost cried out in fright.

——The living person hangs on the dark window of the morgue, and it will be a ghost if it is not frightened!

Miss Morstan: "My God!"

Bertha: "What the hell is this - Sherlock Holmes?!"

Seeing Bertha who opened the door, Sherlock Holmes immediately put away his surprised expression.

The thin detective jumped out of the cramped dark window with incredible agility, not forgetting to pat the dirt on his coat.The young man turned his head imperceptibly to Bertha, and then said, "What a coincidence, Miss Marple."

It's ok, because you're pretty good-natured.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Holmes," said Bertha with a smile, "very tricky, eh?"

I knew he wouldn't let it go.

And who is Sherlock Holmes?He only glanced at the folder and keys in Bertha's hand, and he roughly understood who she was looking for: "Everyone and each other."

Miss Morstan: ? ?What charades are you playing.

Sensing the confusion of the lady behind her, Bertha introduced frankly: "This is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who is also a detective. Speaking of which, he also knows Irishmen in the Whitechapel area. Maybe your friend happened to ask him —Mr. Holmes, this is Miss Mary Morstan, a worker in a mill."

"I see."

Holmes nodded slightly, and then asked, "What is written in the document?"

Bertha: "..."

He's more than welcome.

"Let's look at the victim first," Bertha said. "I believe what I see more than the Scotland Yard report."

The body of Martha Marquis was placed in the corner of the morgue, and her name was written on the plaque on the edge of the white cloth.

Holmes took a step forward, and the young detective arrived in front of the corpse first with his long legs. He lifted half of the white cloth, and immediately put the white cloth back before Bertha and Miss Morstan followed.

"It is best not to be disturbed during the autopsy," said Holmes. "The young lady is to be taken out of the way."

Miss Morstan immediately frowned: "But——"

Bertha shook her head.

Although she didn't know the reason, seeing Miss Marple, who had just allowed herself and her friend to meet for the last time, also made a gesture of dissuasion, and Miss Morstan finally chose to accept their request.

After all, the other party is two detectives, and they are still listening to detectives.

So Miss Morstan put away her dissatisfaction, and she closed her eyes: "I'm letting the wind outside."

Bertha: "Thank you, miss."

After Miss Morstan left the morgue, Bertha turned her head to the side: "Very bad?"

"Perhaps you will find it familiar."

After speaking, Holmes lifted the white cloth again——

When she saw the condition of Martha Marquis' body, Bertha subconsciously held her breath.

No wonder the body was hidden, but no one who saw the condition of the body would think that it had anything to do with the "machine accident".

The exposed part of the body seemed to have been corroded or melted. The remaining face could still vaguely recognize the shape of a person, and the part below the lower jaw was almost bloody.

This... is almost exactly the same state that Reverend White showed Bertha.