"The Widow" Bertha

An hour later, late at night in the Whitechapel district.

It had just rained late at night in London, and the moon had already come out. The icy moonlight poured all over the ground, which provided a good view.

Bertha got out of the carriage and almost stepped into the mud.

The stench in the air is almost fermented, and this stench persists in the Whitechapel area for a long time. When mixed with the humidity after the rain, the environment of the dark and empty streets is even more harsh.But she didn't care so much, Bertha went straight to the cemetery not far behind the church, and she and the postman behind her saw two men standing in front of the cemetery gate.

Bertha understood: "You have notified Mr. Holmes."

Postman: "Yes, ma'am."

Very good, as expected of Mycroft, he thought of everything without Bertha.This even made her a little jealous. Apart from Thomas, even Ned was not so considerate in the huge Thames Office.

Bertha moved forward, looking at Sherlock Holmes who came first, but the other person present was Reverend White.

The pastor looked panic-stricken, his black hair, which he had carefully combed during the day, was disheveled, and he looked as if he was still in shock.What is strange is that he still held an iron pick in his hand. Bertha clearly saw the hands of Pastor White holding the iron pick, and the feet with the trouser legs rolled up were covered with wet mud. The grave behind him was covered with It was planed in half, and the pastor seemed to want to fill it back in.

"What's the matter," said Bertha in surprise, "what are you doing with the pickaxe?"

"I……"

Pastor White looked a little dazed: "I want to fill back the grave that was dug."

Bertha: "Fill it back?!"

Pastor White: "But when I picked up the pickaxe, I realized that I had to protect the scene, so I sent you a telegram, madam."

So you just dragged your pickaxe, rubbed your feet in the mud, and went to telegraph in the middle of the night? !

Bertha was speechless. Originally, she thought that Pastor White was quite reliable, but after seeing him this way, he was not very reliable.

Fortunately, he still reacted.

Unlike Bertha who couldn't help but slander, Holmes showed a bit of confusion when he heard the words. He pondered for a moment, and then said, "You said the grave was dug in half?"

"Yes."

Reverend White understood Holmes' question: "I should have seen it and interrupted the grave digging."

Bertha: "It? What did you see?"

Reverend White: "Light."

Bertha's heart skipped a beat.

After finishing speaking, the pastor sighed exhaustedly, and wiped his face with his hands. The young man looked embarrassed and confused, and his face was extremely pale: "I talked with Dr. Lear very late, and I came back after sending him away. I was going to rest, but before going to bed, I saw a light in the window, and then... rushed out with the pickaxe."

Sherlock Holmes' eyes turned almost immediately to Bertha.

Of course she understood what he was trying to say!

Katie said the prostitute she lived with saw Martha Garrison's killer was a "monster on all fours," and now Reverend White says he saw a "light."

The totem of the Truth Society is that touch of "light", which is both a living being and a light.This actually matches up with the clues we have so far.

"You saw a light," demanded Holmes. "What has that to do with your rushing out with the pickaxe?"

"……I have no idea."

Pastor White seemed a little hesitant. He was more confused than the two people in front of him who came to inquire: "By the time I realized it, I was already filling the grave with an iron pick."

Bertha: "..."

Sounds suspicious.

This thing is too strange. After seeing the light, he came out to fill the soil. There is no logic at all.But there seems to be no reason to doubt Pastor White on this point—if he dug up the grave, he would be suspicious; he wanted to fill the grave back, which is strange, but it doesn't make sense.

Assuming he was lying, why would he appear in front of Bertha and Holmes dragging his pickaxe? Isn't this just waiting for others to doubt him?

Bertha thought for a moment, and then decided to start with the situation at hand: "Mr. Postman?"

The postman who was acting as a transparent person behind the back immediately said, "What are your orders, ma'am?"

Bertha: "Get a doctor for Pastor White...just call Dr. Butts."

Postman: "Well, do you need to inform Master Thames?"

Bertha: Who?

She froze for a moment before realizing that the "Master Thames" the postman referred to was Thomas Thames.

Good guy, he's already got the title of young master.Bertha curled her lips imperceptibly. After thinking for a while, she still shook her head: "No need, you send Pastor White back to the church first, and then call Sykes and Ned to accompany him."

Firstly, Thomas is a Catholic, so it always feels weird to let him go to a Christian church; secondly... I don’t know if Bertha is thinking too much, she always feels that Pastor White is out of his mind now, and Thomas has been with him since Lang The state of Dr. En's laboratory after returning is extremely similar.

Thomas saw the symbols on the wall, did Pastor White also see it?

After Pastor White sorted out his emotions, she had to ask.

But now... the pastor looked lost, and probably couldn't find anything to ask.

After watching the postman take Pastor White away, Bertha withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Sherlock Holmes.

By the time she ordered the action, Holmes had already walked to the side of the cemetery, squatting down as if observing something.

Bertha followed.

Walking out of the cemetery's stone-paved road, the rain-soaked land was so muddy that it was difficult to even walk.Bertha sank her foot into it, knowing that the pair of shoes were basically going to be scrapped.

It's not a good thing when it rains.

Rain means the loss of clues. In this kind of mud, the footprints and fingerprints left behind will be washed away by the rain.Bertha didn't care about her appearance and cleanliness, she picked up her skirt and stopped beside Holmes: "What did you find?"

"here."

Holmes crouched down and pointed to a small piece of land in front of him.

Even with the help of the moonlight, Bertha still leaned slightly to see everything in front of her——

Those were a few indistinct footprints, and...handprints.

The distribution of fuzzy imprints is not far apart, showing the scene where handprints are close to handprints, and footprints are close to each other.Bertha's eyes widened slightly: "This is..."

Holmes: "It's interesting that someone crawled around Martha Garrison's grave."

crawl?

At that moment, Bertha only felt an inexplicable chill running down her spine and hitting her forehead.

This is a cemetery!

Is it human to be in a cemetery in the middle of the night, crawling around someone's grave?Who knows whether these handprints and footprints belong to the dead or the living?

The only good thing is that Martha Garrison's tomb has been dug open in half under close observation, but her coffin is still intact. During the grave process, Pastor White accidentally interrupted.

But since he is a "human being", why did Pastor White see a glimmer of light?

Countless question marks were erected in Bertha's heart. She looked at Holmes: "I just received news from an informant during the day. In fact, a prostitute saw Martha Garrison being dragged into the alley on the night of the crime."

Holmes looked up in the darkness.

Bertha relayed Katie's words during the day to the detective, who fell into deep thought.

"If someone really saw a monster that attacked Martha Garrison," said Holmes, "it would be roughly consistent with the current situation. The question is, how can a person who crawls on hands and feet be able to use anatomical knowledge proficiently?"

"Perhaps the murderer and the arrester are not the same thing."

"..."

Holmes frowned slightly when he heard the words. He seemed to have other considerations, but he didn't refute in time.

Silence spread in the cemetery late at night, and when the cold wind blew, even Bertha, who didn't believe in ghosts and gods, felt the atmosphere was indescribably weird.She shook her head hastily: "Go out first, when Sykes comes, let him fill the grave first."

After speaking, the two left the cemetery.

"This Reverend White is very problematic," Bertha said while standing on the street near the cemetery. "I will send someone to keep an eye on him and ask him about the specific situation when his condition improves. Right now, the clues you and I have are too scattered, so we must hurry up." Now, Sherlock, we cannot remain passive forever."

Bertha always felt that the information in her hands was related to each other, but she was always missing something.

For example, now, on the one hand, it is known from the results of Martha Garrison's autopsy that the murderer should be a well-educated adult male with knowledge of anatomy, and he is probably a doctor.This may have something to do with the medical publications that the Holmes brothers are investigating-at least if it is a doctor, the murderer must have seen the logo of the Truth Society in the magazines.

On the other hand, according to the vague wording of the prostitute Landa and Pastor White, what can be pieced together are "monster" and "light".This has something to do with the symbol representing the Society of Truth in Dr. Lang En's laboratory, as well as the experimental animals.

But the key question is, if the case is indeed related to the Truth Society, what are their demands?

The previous drug test case was to study related medicinal materials, but now killing a prostitute, what results can be obtained.

Sherlock Holmes also agreed with Bertha's opinion, and the thin young man nodded slightly: "Now there is only one piece of the puzzle that contains key information."

— Once you find it, maybe all the clues will be connected in series.

Now that the topic is over, Mr. Postman, who went out to bring a message, came back stepping on the muddy ground.

"It has been ordered, ma'am," said the postman, "that Ned Morrison will bring Sikes as soon as possible."

"Okay, please."

"Also," the postman added, "Mr. Holmes asked if you could finish the investigation? If you need to wait outside for a long time, you'd better go back to the carriage and put on your clothes."

Holmes: "..."

Holmes, who had just shown his intention to leave, turned his head like lightning, and looked at the ordinary carriage parked across the street.

Who is the dignified detective?With just one sentence, he has deduced the cause and effect.

"you--"

Holmes showed an unexpected shocked expression again: "Mycroft is in the carriage, no...damn it, you slept with him!"

Is this any surprise!Bertha suddenly found it funny, as early as when your brother frankly admitted that he had an extra lover, you should have thought of this step!

Mycroft was indeed in the carriage, visiting the cemetery in the middle of the night, and if he chose not to accompany him and slept alone at home, then there would be a problem.

The eldest son of Sherlock Holmes, who claims to be a gentleman, naturally does not allow his "fiancée" to go alone, but because he has never shown himself in this case, he simply parked in the carriage for emergencies.

"how."

Seeing Sherlock Holmes looking more shocked than seeing a ghost, Bertha couldn't restrain her bad mood and teased him: "Your brother is a single man and I am a single woman. It is not surprising that something happened. He and What are you afraid of when a woman sleeps?"

A moment of time was enough for Sherlock to digest the facts in front of him. After a moment of surprise, the young detective returned to his usual indifferent face.

Hearing Bertha's words, he smiled lightly: "I have no right to interfere with Mycroft's private life. This is his freedom. As a brother, I should respect him. But our mother..."

Bertha: "Huh?"

Holmes: "..."

Sherlock Holmes, who has always been confident and almost invincible in criminal investigation and solving cases, has a bit of uncontrollable embarrassment on his handsome face.

Bertha suddenly realized—a look of embarrassment familiar to any single young man who has been urged to marry.

Think of who old Mrs. Holmes was. Bertha had personally experienced her excellence.It turned out that the old lady always urged Mycroft to find a partner, not because he was the eldest son in the family.

Well now, the eldest son in the family has a "fiancée" and has come to share the same bed, so the old lady's goal will naturally shift to the younger son.

Co-author Sherlock has always used his brother as a shield.

After figuring this out, Bertha couldn't help laughing: It turns out that geniuses have the same troubles as ordinary people, and she immediately regained her mental balance!

"Then shouldn't I wish you a speedy escape from the ranks of bachelors, Shelly?" Bertha teased.

What responded to her was Sherlock Holmes snorted dismissively: "I don't intend to offend you, Mrs. Thames. But I have not left room for any lady in my life plan. If nothing happens, I will I'm going back first, if there is any progress in the case or the grave digging, please let me know immediately."

Bertha smiled: "Then I won't give it away."

Holmes nodded lightly, then strode away.

When Sherlock Holmes walked out of the graveyard, Bertha sighed: "Go back, and don't keep Mike waiting."

***

Bertha's original plan was to wait until the next day to find time to come to the church to see the situation, and by the way ask the pastor what the gravedigger was.

But early the next morning, she had just arrived at the office, and before she could sit still, Pastor White immediately knocked on the door of Thames Office.

Hearing Ned's transfer, Bertha came down from the second floor. No one dared to say anything in the huge lobby of the office. Everyone looked at Pastor White with strange eyes.

The pastor's face was still pale, and he didn't look much better than last night.Seeing his shaky appearance, Thomas hurriedly brought a chair behind him, but Pastor White shook his head and refused.

"The situation is urgent," he said, looking up at Bertha, "the No. 2 dead person, Mrs. Thames."