Detective Bennet [Comprehensive novel]

At present, it is impossible to make a very accurate judgment on Thomas' specific drowning process.

Thomas, like Orr, has the bondage and whipping wounds of a masochistic penchant.Scars can be new or old, and the latest ones are no older than 24 hours.

However, when the body was discovered, there was no sign of twisting when the limbs were stretched out, and there were no strangle marks that could not break free because the limbs were tightly bound.

"In addition, there was no blow or other trauma on Thomas, and he most likely died while swimming in the water."

Sherlock would prefer to have a professional doctor dissect Thomas, but it is impractical to find a forensic doctor temporarily in Venice.

"The question is, did he die suddenly, like he had an underlying heart problem and didn't know it, or was he poisoned by some kind of toxin?"

Good swimmers drown.

Was Thomas overconfident in his physical strength?He once said that traveling by boat was not as convenient as swimming.

As confirmed by Mrs. Thomas and Barron, Thomas is not exaggerating. His water skills are excellent, and swimming for two hours is not a problem.

He also had the experience of being a water rescue volunteer. He understands the distribution of Venice's waterways and can avoid inconvenient rivers.

"It's not too far from the grove of Angus's house to Thomas's house, about two kilometers away. The place where Thomas' body was found is only 400 meters away from his house."

Kelsey pointed out that Thomas died at the door of his house. "Now, he has no obvious poisoning reaction, which is very similar to Orr."

Orr died suddenly in the bathtub at home.

Thomas died suddenly in the water.

One is old and the other is young, and their body functions are completely different, but neither of them showed signs of being poisoned to death.

Although Auer's pupils were dilated after his death, his second son Henry gave belladonna eye drops, but the atropine content was extremely low, so the possibility of death was very small.

In contrast, Thomas behaved more 'clean', as if he died with a bang.

Everything seemed to be just a whim of the god of death, who harvested the lives of the two deceased.

Sherlock checked Thomas' clothes again, and there was no trace of external damage, at most only a few weeds were stained.

Just like Orr's tub drain, there is also a water plant, but they are all ordinary non-toxic plants.

If you can't get more clues from the corpse alone, then go back to the beginning and find another breakthrough.

"To Fermat's house."

Sherlock glanced at the time. It was 22:46, which was not a good time for door visits, but it was a good time to take advantage of tired people to interrogate clichés. "The clues we have now allow those three to tell the truth."

Kelsey agrees.

Not long after the two set off, a gondola quickly caught up from behind, and it was Father Faria who brought a list.

"God forbid, I caught up."

Father Faria took out the list, "Do you remember Julia's maid? The maid Asha who came to inform me about Orr's accident this morning."

Kelsey remembered, "After the maid Asha notified Orr's death, she took a step back to return to Angus's house. Did you notice that her whereabouts were different?"

Father Faria nodded. This morning, he kept an eye out and asked the staff to find helpers to follow Asha before leaving the hotel.

"The people who followed Asha confirmed that she went to four pharmacies. After that, Asha returned to her own home with all the medicinal materials. About half an hour later, she returned to Angus' home with a water jug."

Originally, Father Faria was going to four pharmacies in the afternoon to find out what Asha had bought.Unexpectedly, they ran into the death of Thomas on the way and delayed the time. It was after nightfall that they knocked on the doors of those pharmacies.

"There are seventeen herbs in total, and Asha bought them in four stores. Forgive my eyesight, but I can't see what the effects of these herbs are. There is no poison on them."

Really no poison.

Kelsey looked at the names of herbs on the paper, Atractylodes macrocephala, Codonopsis pilosula, Radix Astragali, etc. They are mostly found in Chinese medicine shops. "I'm not proficient in this area. I'm only [-]% sure that this is an oriental anti-abortion medicine."

Venice used to be a trade hub between the east and west continents, and now the country of flowers is flourishing, so it is not surprising that its medicines have flowed into Europe.

As for Kelsey's understanding, it is also thanks to the miscellaneous books sent by Mr. Tang, where all the prescriptions for treating various diseases are mentioned.

Reading only miscellaneous books will definitely not cure people's diseases, but it will help in investigating cases, and from which medicinal materials can be used to judge what disease is being treated.

"Fetal protection medicine."

Sherlock leaned closer to look at the prescription, but he didn't study it.As expected of his dear Jerry, he has actually studied such unorthodox knowledge.

Sherlock understands Kelsey's careful choice of words, and the 99% certainty of what he said is about [-].%.

He didn't question the efficacy of the prescription, but wondered that Julia was pregnant. "The news of Julia's pregnancy is unknown to the Angus family."

Medication confusion is common in Europe today.

Not to mention, pregnant women actually use cocaine and champagne to treat morning sickness. It seems that as long as they are drowsy and do not vomit, it is a good thing.

Kelsey has become familiar with the strange medical methods of the 19th century.

On the contrary, using traditional Chinese medicine is a relatively scientific way.It's just that due to the difference in the medical system, there are not many diseases using traditional Chinese medicine when there are few Chinese medicine practitioners in Europe.

Prescriptions can be translated from books, but it is difficult to find a doctor with practical experience in prescribing the right medicine.

Father Faria has already asked the pharmacy, "None of those pharmacies have treated Julia, and the Angus family has not hired a Chinese medicine practitioner."

"In other words, it is very likely that Julia is taking drugs in secret."

Sherlock did not find traces of herbs in Angus's house, and judging from the behavior of the maid Asha, she concealed the truth for her master Julia.

Why didn't Julia just state that she was pregnant?Whose child is it?

Kelsey focused on another point, "Since Julia is pregnant and she wants to keep the baby, what is the new welt on Thomas' body? It was left last night. Could it be that they are still in the grove knowing they are pregnant?" ..."

Are you still in the grove without caring about it, fighting in the field without measure?

"It can only be asked what the person concerned thinks."

Sherlock said bluntly, "If everyone could grasp the scale, many crimes would not have occurred in the first place."

The reality is that the scale is difficult to control, because people's desires are churning endlessly.

11:30 at night.

Fermat's house was brightly lit, and there were only six people left in the living room.

Fermat didn't expect the efficiency of the two detectives to be so high, let alone that his two nephews wanted to kill his cousin Orr.

Sherlock objectively described the problematic red wine on the wine rack, and Bivis' fingerprints were left on the wine bottle, which contained a large amount of morphine.

Mofei can cause death, with obvious miosis in death.

In addition, Henry's fingerprints on the bottle of belladonna eye drops, the eye drops that dilate the pupils, were used on Orr.

As long as the two medicines are used one after another, shrinking first and then expanding, then the obvious symptom of poisoning-the problem of abnormal pupils can be solved.In that way, on the surface, the victim would have no obvious symptoms of being poisoned.

"The fingerprints on the eye drops bottle were left after the dance last night until Orr's body was found."

When Sherlock said this, he looked straight at Henry, "Mr. Henry, what else do you have to explain? Last night, you sneaked into your father's room and dripped eye drops for him. Did you mean to play a prank?"

Certainly not a prank.

Henry's face was pale and his lips were tightly closed.

In the morning, when Henry and Bivis exchanged information, they realized that they had made a mistake.

Father hadn't drank the red wine yet. When he sneaked into the bathroom last night, he found that his father's body was abnormal.

Kelsey didn't give Henry a chance to argue, "Don't say that fingerprints can't explain the problem. Your knowledge of toxicology is quite complete, so you should keep up with the discoveries of the times.

Fingerprints have been included in the British standard for crime detection.Although this is Venice, the law does not necessarily follow scientific discoveries, but no one can deny the role of objective evidence. "

In other words, what the Angus brothers did is certain, and no one can deny it.

Fermat slammed the teacup on the two Angus brothers, "Bevis, Henry, what else do you have to say!"

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

"Hahaha--"

A minute later, Bivis laughed maniacally, "What? We said we endured him for a long time, and finally planned to kill him. When his mother passed away, Al should have realized that he was not a good person. Husband, good father, he should repent and change, but he did nothing."

Bivis' words seemed to open a hole for venting, making Henry also express his unhappiness.

"Father is actually a selfish person. Cousin Fermat, please don't rush to deny it.

Who do you remember visiting the salon day and night?Who's all about going to a literary party when their son is seriously ill?And who would let go of the family and go to sea alone because of a friend's travel invitation when his wife was pregnant?It's Al, my father. "

Henry thought of the past. As a son, he had seen through Auer a long time ago, "Auer's friends and business partners are full of praise for him. Indeed, he is generous and has the ability to make money with everyone. No one outside Like him. But what about the family? Al won't give an ounce of thought to my mother and our brothers."

Many family conflicts accumulate over the years.

Beavis and Henry didn't get much fatherly love when they were young.

Although Auer has a high earning ability and has never treated his wife and children badly in terms of money, he has given almost nothing except money.As a result, the brothers' relationship with their father was weak, but they were very close to their mother.

In their teens, the brothers' mother became pregnant again.

At that time, both Bivis and Henry were sensible and understood that the relationship between their parents and their husbands was weak.But Orr has no lovers outside, and he seems to have little interest in women.

"My mother is pregnant with Nicole, and she is making her last effort, hoping to take this opportunity to get close to her father."

Beavis remembered the conversation he had with his mother.

My mother once said that there are many couples who live a life of desolation.

Orr is still a good man, at least he has never had a lover outside, but he just doesn't have a home.Orr loved the literary society, the travel, the romantic stuff.

It is also for this reason that the first Mrs. Angus did not give up being close to her husband, and even when she was pregnant at an advanced age, she still planned to give birth to a child.

No one thought that she would encounter dystocia, and her youngest daughter, Nicole, was born mentally handicapped as a result.

"Postpartum complications kept my mother bedridden for two years. She couldn't hold on and left us. In those two years, our father was still the same, eating and playing. Of course, he paid a lot of medical expenses and gave A lot of money to take care of Nicole's living expenses."

Bivis wanted to ask more than once, is money enough for a father? !

For more than ten years, this question has remained unsolved.Judging from the classmates and friends around him, there are very few happy families.The contradiction of lack of money is even deeper, and those who have money will inevitably have troubles such as illegitimate children. It seems that the normal state of life is unsatisfactory.

Thus, the Angus brothers grew up with such an idea.

Losing their mother who cared for them, the two had no way to accept their sister Nicole, who caused their mother's dystocia, and their relationship with their father Aur became more and more estranged.

Everything would have gone as planned.

When Orr gets old, the brothers will also hire doctors and nurses to take care of him, and the sister who doesn't like him will also take care of her food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Unfortunately, Julia appeared.

Orr has a romantic personality. He pursues Julia, who is 56, despite his age of 22.

The most important reason for this kind of feeling like an old house is on fire may be that an M has finally found an S that suits him best after decades of searching.

Bivis and Henry discovered that Orr joined the O club, and through many inquiries, they determined his father's special hobbies, and gradually figured out the reason why his mother was treated coldly in the past.

When Henry said this, he glared at Julia without hiding his hostility, "My brother and I didn't understand one thing until this woman appeared.

——Our father is not frigid, nor does he have no nostalgia for the family, it all stems from his special hobby!The mother couldn't give the father the feelings and desires he wanted, but facing this woman, the father went crazy. "

Orr's continued marriage detonated the resentment that had been hidden in the hearts of the Angus brothers for more than 20 years, and it was Orr's entrustment that made the resentment culminate.

"Al wants to have a child with this woman. He knows that he is too old to take care of the family for a few days. He wants our brother to take care of his younger brother or sister who has not yet been seen."

Bivis sneered, "Why! We have never received much love, why should Al think so much about another child who is still imagining! Why do we brothers do our best!"

At that time, the idea of ​​patricide came up.

The two brothers wanted to make a perfect poison kill, and checked the appearance of the poison after poisoning, and decided to use the characteristics of mofei and belladonna in succession.

He poisoned the red wine Julia bought, and after Al drank it, he used the belladonna eye drops that Julia often used to change the appearance of Al's pupils.

According to Orr's drinking speed, that bottle of morphine-injected wine would be finished in two days.

The rest of the family, the brothers and Nicole, did not drink the wine, and if Julia did, she would die with her.

I didn't expect that people are not as good as heaven.

Last night, Henry got up in the middle of the night and heard the movement of the stairs, and it was Al who came back from the outside.At that time, seeing Orr walking a little staggeringly, he thought that he had drunk poisoned wine and was about to be poisoned.

Then, following behind, while the servant Johnny was leaving, he sneaked into Al's room and waited for an opportunity.

When Al was unwell in the bathtub and wanted to ring the bell, Henry entered the bathroom first, pretending to help him.

"Ouer wanted to say something, but he said 'river water, stars', and couldn't continue."

In fact, if he really wanted to give first aid to a critically ill person, Henry couldn't do it.

In the last ten seconds or so of Orr's consciousness, he had no strength to struggle, and watched Henry drip belladonna eye drops on him.

"In the rush, I don't understand why the newspaper said that the phenomenon of fei poisoning and extremely narrow pupils did not appear in Orr's eyes.

I can only guess that there was a delay in the time it took for the poison to reach the eyes, so I gave Orr some eye drops, only to find that his pupils became dilated very quickly. "

At that time, Henry already felt that something was wrong. Didn't Orr drink the poisonous wine prepared by Bivis?

But he couldn't care less.Julia was next door, he couldn't be found by that woman, so he left in a hurry.

After the two brothers explained everything, the living room fell into silence again.

Kelsey and Sherlock exchanged glances, what else could they say to Bivis and Henry?

It is to say that everything has a cause and effect, but that is not a reason to commit a crime.And if you want to carry out a perfect poisoning, you can do it not by reading the newspapers, but by looking up the literature.

At this moment, Julia stood up and broke the silence first, "Very good, this makes it clear. Bivis and Henry, you viciously plotted to murder your father. Orr is dead, before death Finally met Henry.

Who knows if you just got a bottle of poisoned wine, or if you poisoned and erased the evidence in another way. Anyway, Orr's death is inseparable from you, so there is nothing else to say.Mr. Fermat..."

'Bang! '

Henry picked up the teacup in his hand and threw it at Julia. Regardless of her screaming, he scolded, "We have done it, and we all admit it. We wanted to kill Al, but the fact is that his death has nothing to do with us, How come we become real murderers in your mouth."

"Ahhh-"

Julia hid quickly, but was still poured half of her body with tea.She was so angry that she was about to fight back, and she also raised the teacup in hand.

Seeing that the farce was about to take place, Kelsey directly pointed it out, "Ms. Julia, you are pregnant, it is better to sit down first."

"Pregnant!"

"Pregnant!"

Both Bivis and Henry Fan cried out in disbelief, do they really want an extra brother? !

"No, it's impossible, whose child is that?"

Now it was Julia's turn to turn pale and sit weakly on the chair. "Who else..."

Before the words finished, Sherlock announced a name, "Ken Thomas, Ms. Julia, are you familiar with him? Please think carefully before answering."