"The Widow" Bertha

this afternoon.

Because of the attack, Bertha just sat in the office for a while today, and then went home.

The gunshots last night were like a dream in a peaceful and prosperous residential area. Most of the residents in the neighborhood are middle class with small assets. The drainage channel of the house burst in the middle of the night".

Bertha was full of clues about the assailant, stepped out of the carriage absent-mindedly, and almost collided with Mycroft who was just going out.

"lady!"

It was the eldest son of the Holmes family who reacted quickly. He quickly gave Bertha a hand, and couldn't help blaming: "Even if you get home right away, you have to watch the road carefully, but it's just repairing the drain!"

Bertha: "..."

She took a closer look and couldn't believe her eyes.

On weekdays, Mr. Mycroft Holmes is always well-dressed, but when he appears in front of people, he must be from head to toe, even a single button and a single posture can not be faulted.Unlike the informal Sherlock, Mycroft almost built his image on the outside according to the gentleman template.

But now he is only wearing a simple dark short coat, with the cuff buttons of the coat and shirt all rolled up, and he looks ready to go out to do some work, not even a "gentleman".

"you……"

Bertha responded quickly: "Are you going to fix the gutter, dear?"

"of course."

After finishing speaking, Mycroft even raised his hand to say hello to Mr. Moss, who was also going out next door, with his usual gentle and kind smile on his face: "Mr. Moss said that the drain pipe was cold, and it was easy to repair. With him If you help us, we won’t bother the workers. My dear, if you have nothing to do, why don’t you help pass the things?”

On the surface, the "husband and wife" were discussing the unfortunate burst of the drainpipe last night, but they both understood the subtext: instead of waiting for Mycroft to relay the clues to Bertha, she might as well go up to the roof to see for herself, under the guise of It's a great opportunity to fix the drain.

Well, why not see Mycroft at work, too?

Bertha smiled when she heard the words. She even raised her hand to adjust the collar of her "husband", and said with a smile, "You are really capable, Mike! I will come as soon as I change."

She has grown up so much, she has crawled over the mud and hid in the basement in order to collect news, but she has never been on the roof. Today can be regarded as a new achievement.

What surprised Bertha the most was that Mycroft seemed to know how to fix drains.

He always hides behind the scenes as the big devil, causing Bertha to almost forget that there is nothing in this world that Sherlock Holmes can't do.After Bertha changed her clothes and stood on the ground, Mycroft and the warm-hearted Mr. Moss could be heard muttering several meters away, as if they were discussing whether to replace the drainage channel with a new one or just remove the ruptured part. .

Taking advantage of this time, Bertha went around to the bottom of the bedroom, in a corner away from people, and saw a few footprints stained with mud on the outside of the bedroom window.

The footprints were spread apart with fingers spread apart, and there were no shoes on.More like orangutan feet than human feet, or other primates.

Is it an animal?But last night when Mycroft hit her forehead, Bertha clearly heard a human voice.

By giving Mycroft the tools, Bertha was able to get on the roof of the apartment.

"Be careful," Mycroft took Bertha's hand, "if you are as careless as before, you will be in trouble if you fall down, ma'am."

"What nonsense?" Bertha glared at him.

"Yes, yes," Mycroft immediately surrendered with a smile, "Madam is as beautiful as a fairy, so naturally she can fly when stepped on in mid-air."

"..."

His quip made Mr. Moss laugh out loud.The well-meaning neighbor sighed: "You guys have such a good relationship, Mr. Smith. For my wife, she will never come out to help unless I fall from the roof."

"That's natural."

Mycroft accepted Mr. Moss's compliment very unashamedly: "Bring me the toolbox, my dear, will you?"

The toolbox is on the edge of the roof.

Bertha walked over with her skirt in her hand, and immediately saw scratches all over the drainage pipe running down from the roof—she immediately understood that the burst drainage pipe was not intentionally broken by Holmes.

There are scratches, proving that the intruder used tools to climb to the window along the drain pipe.Maybe he broke the apartment drain on the way down.

After getting the desired information, Bertha picked up the toolbox with satisfaction: "How did this drain pipe break, and can it be repaired?"

Mycroft replied without looking back: "Don't worry, I'm a 'lawyer', ma'am, it's very simple to pursue responsibility."

As he said that, he unscrewed the broken water pipe, and pretended to look at it for a moment: "It's best to distinguish crooked melons from bad things."

The implication is that no matter whether the intruder is human or not, with such prominent appearance features and serious injuries, he cannot escape.

"It's you, ma'am."

Playing charades in front of Mr. Moss didn't affect the communication between the two at all. Mycroft casually said with a casual gesture with his wife: "I was full of things on my mind when I came back, but did I quarrel with my friends?"

Mr. Moss was surprised: "Arguing? Mrs. Smith doesn't seem like an unreasonable person!"

Bertha sighed: "I can't stand the unkind people picking on me."

Mycroft: "Who?"

Bertha: "Who else could it be? Mrs. Ward, she offended her last time, and turned around and spoke ill of me at my natal family. Remember the lies I complained about Lambert believing? She actually said it!"

Mycroft paused.

On the surface, it sounds like an ordinary wife nagging her husband, but when Bertha "complains", how can the dignified Sherlock Holmes not understand?

Yes, today Katie came here to report the news, which is what she was talking about.

Someone spread rumors about Mrs. Thames in the Whitechapel area before, and even convinced Lambert, the leader of the White Pigeon Gang, to believe it.

It turned out that Lambert had long since found out who was spreading rumors in the Whitechapel area, but after listening to Mrs. Raton's pillow talk, he decided to make trouble for Mrs. Thames.After all, she is currently suffering from a murder case, and her competitors are at a loss, and Mrs. Latton and the White Pigeon Gang are not bad.

——These are all recounted by Katie herself.

Mrs. Raton did all her calculations, but she never figured out that her adopted goddaughter secretly betrayed her.

only……

It never occurred to Bertha that she would hear Mrs. Ward's name from Kitty.

Katie said that it was Mrs. Ward, the wife of the Home Secretary who had been used by Bertha, who hired people to spread rumors in Whitechapel.

Of course Holmes understood Bertha.

"Why is there something about her?" Mycroft pretended to be annoyed, "It's not you who caused trouble for her family."

"I don't know how she found my natal family," Bertha said.

The natal family naturally refers to the Thames Office. Mrs. Ward knew Miss Marple, but she didn't know that Bertha was still Mrs. Thames.

"Mrs. Ward may not have done it on purpose," Mycroft pointed out, "It's just because your natal family is easy to bully."

The translation is: Mrs. Ward does not necessarily know that Miss Marple is Mrs. Thames, but the drug trial case is widely involved, ranging from Mrs. Ward's husband, the Home Secretary, down to the Jessie gang in Whitechapel, pulling out a carrot and carrying Mud, dealt with quite a few people.

If Mrs. Ward can't get over this hurdle and has revenge in her heart, she will never be able to get revenge on Holmes and his lover. She is very picky, and she dare not offend Holmes. OK.

Can't beat the upper class, can't you beat the hooligans in your slums?

If Bertha felt guilty for Mrs. Ward's sharpness and intelligence before, her actions completely wiped out her goodwill towards her.

"Leave it alone."

Mycroft, who played the role of the three good husbands, did his duty. He replaced the burst drainpipe and made an angry gesture: "No, it's Mrs. Ward, I'll do it for you." -Mrs. It's not easy to trouble her, Mycroft can't even open his mouth to check.

Mr. Moss chimed in and said, "That's right, you can still let your mother-in-law be bullied by outsiders."

Mycroft put away the toolbox and the replaced water pipe, and even squeezed Bertha's palm affectionately: "That will definitely not work."

He also plays addictive!Bertha felt amused.

It's easy for Holmes to please someone, but it's just to fix the water pipes together. "Mr. Smith" has become a good friend with Mr. Moss, who is eager to help. separate.

After closing the door, Bertha couldn't help laughing: "Are you really planning to go fishing with Mr. Moss?"

"why not?"

Mycroft took it for granted, "It's been a long time since I went out for leisure."

Bertha: "..."

Mycroft guessed what Bertha was thinking without her saying much.The gentleman slowly put down his rolled up cuffs, and put back that impeccable smile on his face: "Don't make such an expression, ma'am! Sherlock is still thinking about the bees he raised when he was young. Holmes is also a human being, made of flesh and blood just like you." of."

Yeah?She doesn't look like it.

Bertha took the initiative to move forward and helped Mycroft put down the other rolled-up sleeve: "What happened to the footprints? I thought the attackers last night were humans, but the footprints outside the window looked like other animals."

"Ah, that."

Mycroft turned his head and said indifferently: "After all, the two you commissioned me to investigate have been to India."

Bertha:?

What does this have to do with India!

After closing the door, the amiable and good neighbor Mr. Smith became the devil who secretly controls everything.Mycroft Holmes withdrew his hand nonchalantly.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said slowly, fastening his cuff buttons, "the postman has delivered the resumes of Reverend White and Dr. Lear, and I must say, that really amazes me. Why don't you See for yourself?"