Detective Bennet [Comprehensive novel]

Freeman, who was beaten until he lost three teeth, shouted that it was Mrs. Freeman who was forced, and the accomplice maid Nita was arrested and brought to justice.

At the same time, Agent Carter also brought Doreen back to the police station.

"This is how the same thing?"

When Lestrade returned to Scotland Yard, he saw that the inquiry room was brightly lit, and a father and daughter were sitting in it, as if they had nothing to love.

Detective Carter spread his hands helplessly, "Doreen was arrested. Her husband, Agis, and stepdaughter, Aggie, did not believe that his wife/stepmother was a suspect. They are currently suffering from a severe blow and have not recovered."

Ajis father and daughter followed to the police station.

When they were informed of the investigation results of the two disappearance cases, they looked ashamed.

Lestrade curled his lips, "No matter how cruel the truth is, it's better than being kept in the dark. The Aggis father and daughter can still sit here intact, and Katie doesn't know if she can recover."

Katie, who was locked in the attic, was dying.

According to Mrs. Freeman's statement, Katie was given sleeping pills to keep her quiet, and she didn't eat much for three days.

It is not the first time that the Freemans have done such a heinous thing to drug their daughter.

Last winter, the reason why Katie did not heal for a long time after her mango allergy was that the Freemans gave her medicine.

The couple single-handedly concocted Katie's madness and shut her up in the attic.But there is no one level to the end, and it is not suspicious to want to do it step by step.

Further interrogation continues.

Freeman, whose face was swollen like a pig, was full of resentment and refused to reveal more details, but Mrs. Freeman next door had already been asked one, two or three details by Sherlock.

"I really didn't want to kill Katie, I just let her stay in the attic temporarily."

Mrs. Freeman said plausibly, "When Billy gives up the engagement, we will let Katie go back to her normal life. This is because she is not good, she refuses to understand my difficulties, and she refuses to sign the estate assignment."

The cause of Katie being mad, missing and elopement is not complicated.

When Karen died, he left a fortune to his wife and daughter, and the remarried Mrs. Freeman invested her money in Freeman's bar after her second marriage.

At the beginning of last year, Freeman was scammed for a large amount of money when he purchased the goods. Since then, the bar has not been able to balance its income and expenditure, and it is even on the verge of closing.

If some money could be found to fill the big gap, it would bring the pub back to life.

Mrs. Freeman took up her daughter's idea and wanted her to lend her inheritance of twenty thousand pounds.

Katie's biological father was a lawyer, and when arranging the inheritance, he prevented the possibility that his wife would occupy his daughter's assets.To get Katie's money, she must actively agree.

However, Katie doesn't want to 'borrow' the money.

"Actually, we will pay back the money. As long as the bar business is booming, we will definitely return the money to Katie in three to five years."

Mrs. Freeman also said, "Besides, Freeman and I have no children, and the future inheritance will definitely belong to Katie. Katie just stubbornly refuses to agree, that is, she refuses to transfer the inheritance left by her father to me. .”

Since Katie refused to compromise, she had no choice but to find a way to get her money.

What needs to be ensured most is that Katie cannot be allowed to marry smoothly, otherwise she can justifiably take all the money away.

The Freemans decided to engage in a 'fake madness' first, forcing Katie to hand over the inheritance.

"If Katie changed her mind before Christmas last year, she wouldn't have to suffer at all this month, but Katie is still disobedient after being taught a lesson once, and she will marry Billy quickly with the money. Billy is not short of the money, we can only It's a bad idea."

Mrs. Freeman confessed the truth, but she couldn't see much remorse for her daughter on her face, but the annoyance after being caught.

It is even more infuriating that Mrs. Freeman, the biological mother, remains unrepentant than her stepfather, Freeman.

Sherlock tried his best to suppress his anger, "According to your confession, from the beginning to the end, Miss Katie is required to give away her inheritance instead of borrowing this sum of money from her. Since you will pay it back, why don't you dare to write an IOU to her directly?" loan."

Mrs. Freeman replied as if it was a matter of course, "I am Katie's mother, can I have her without me? How can I write an IOU for my daughter."

'boom! '

Lestrade slapped the table hard.

In fact, he really wanted to take a picture of Mrs. Freeman's face directly, to see how thick this person's skin really was.

"you……"

Lestrade took a deep breath, and he didn't want to talk to such an extremely selfish person as Mrs. Freeman. He just wanted to find out why the Freemans and Doreen colluded together as soon as possible.

"You kept saying that Miss Katie wouldn't imprison her if she compromised last year, but you and Doreen joined forces to commit the crime, which happened since July last year. How else do you want to argue?"

Mrs. Freeman said that it was two different things: "At the beginning, Freeman promised to pretend to be Heller to get Doreen her stepdaughter's money, and we would share a reward. As for letting Doreen pretend to be Katie to elope with someone, that is It was a decision made earlier this year."

"How did you know each other?"

Sherlock saw familiar shadows in this case of exchanging posing as fiancé/fiancee, like the triangular exchanging poisoning case he encountered back then, "Who first proposed the impersonation plan?"

Mrs. Freeman could not give a definite answer. She acted completely according to her husband's arrangement, and only heard that the proposer was a customer in the bar.

Next door, the interrogation room where Doreen is being held.

Kelsey asks who did it.

Doreen worked near the port of Liverpool in her early years and had an affair with the sailor Freeman.When the whaling industry fell and Freeman left Liverpool, the two lost contact.

Until last summer, Aggie reached the marriageable age and wanted to get married.

Annoyed at having to lose a sum of money, Doreen deliberately picked a bar far away from home to relax, and happened to come to Freeman's shop.

The two had their own ghosts and similar smells, and soon confided their hearts to each other.

"The proposer who facilitated the impersonation swap was a regular at Freeman's Bar."

Kelsey handed the portrait to Sherlock, "A familiar face, Sebastian Moran, before leaving London for New York, this person conveniently provided an idea for the crime."

Moran was arrested for Operation "Magic Mirror" and died in the United States.

Although the second-in-command of the criminal group who has committed many crimes is dead, all the crimes committed during his lifetime have not been eradicated.

It can be said that there are endless disasters, and there is no telling when and where a case will appear due to Moran, and the leader of the criminal world is still at large.

Sherlock is more determined to eradicate M. If not, the tentacles of that huge criminal group will be like weeds that cannot be removed and erode the continent of Europe and even the whole world.

The case must be solved, and life must go on.

Watson soon returned from Italy, and he found a lawyer friend who helped Katie's biological father make a will.

This person understands Karen's dying concerns and is here to provide Katie with legal assistance.It will neither give Mrs. Freeman a chance to reduce her sentence, nor legally cut off Katie's connection with that terrible reorganized family.

Both the Freemans and the maid Nita were sentenced to life in prison, and Doreen will also serve more than 20 years in prison, and it is likely that she will never see the light of day again.

After Katie sobered up, she and Billy returned to Rome when her perpetrators were imprisoned.The two decided to start a new married life there.

Not much to say later.

mid March.

After the unmarried couple's disappearance case was settled, a small gathering was held at 221B Baker Street.

Mrs. Hudson suggested, and Watson supported, that the insane case must not be the beginning of the return of the two detectives to London.

The theme of food and reunion must be used to welcome and start a new life for Kelsey and Sherlock.

Although Sherlock didn't like excitement, he didn't object to the dinner proposal, but he didn't actively participate in the preparations.

Relatively speaking, Kelsey is not as cold and withdrawn as her Mr. Holmes.Back in London, she visited former university professors and some old friends in London.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the fat boss, forensic doctor Balk, Lestrade and Carter who are close to him were invited to the dinner.

College classmates are not on the party list.To tell the truth, she has no deep friends.

It's a pity that Adler is far away in Italy, otherwise he would really like to meet the lady whom he has been in touch with over the years.

In addition, Kelsey provided a reference menu and corresponding detailed recipes, hoping to help Mrs. Hudson.

Saturday night, 09:30.

This time, there was no sudden disturbance from the case. Everyone tasted delicious food with excellent color and fragrance, and the party ended smoothly between cups and toasts.

"Great."

Mrs. Hudson watched the guests go, and she said to Watson, "A perfect party means that the detectives' new life in London will be smooth sailing. Dear Watson, what do you think?"

Watson nodded in agreement. Before that, he was prepared for the sudden news that XXX found the dead body in the middle of the meal, and he was very happy tonight's success.

"Mrs. Hudson, as you say, I think the success of the party is a good sign. To tell the truth quietly, it is better to start a new life in London with a party than to find a case to solve it as soon as they get off the ship. Celebrating comeback, your options are much more normal."

Undoubtedly, solving the disappearance and rescuing Katie in time is a good thing, but it is not suitable as a welcome event back to London.

No matter what other people think, the fourth floor is a bit quiet.

The last guest to see off was Mycroft.

Before leaving, he gave Kelsey and Sherlock a deep look, as if a lot of words were left behind.

inside the room.

Kelsey asked Sherlock, "What else do you want to do when you come up with me? Don't you have enough to eat, and you want to drag me to find a supper?"

"of course not."

Sherlock walked to the bookshelf, and glanced at the low cabinet next to it intentionally or unintentionally.

"Jerry, do you think a dinner party can celebrate our living here? I think there is still something missing. We should add something special, just as a unique welcome ceremony between us."

special?unique?

Kelsey followed the meaning in Sherlock's eyes, and she also looked at the low cabinet, which contained musical instruments.

"I understand, it's time to fulfill the contract."

Kelsey didn't put off any further, and it was agreed that she would play Sherlock solo, because various things were still not fulfilled.

"It's better to hit the sun than another day. Mr. Holmes, please take your seat. Allow me to play you a song, so as to open the curtain of our new life in London."

There is no need to pick another day.

Tonight is just the right time.

Sherlock readily accepted the proposal, leaned on the sofa, and quietly waited for Kelsey's performance specially dedicated to him alone.

In the dim moonlight, Kelsey stood by the window.

A sax poured out.The melody flows like water, sometimes deep and unpredictable, sometimes clear and gentle, and sometimes high and stirring.

Just as the French composer Berlioz said: "The main characteristic of the saxophone is the wonderful change of timbre, deep and calm, full of emotion, soft and sad.

Like an echo within an echo, no other instrument can make such a wonderful sound in a moment of silence. "

This time and this place coincided with the silent night.

Kelsey swayed with the rhythm, and the sax was romantic, but the music she played slowly spoke of sober intoxication.

On the sofa, the listener has been immersed in it and lingers.

The distance between the two is three or four meters, but they can actually touch each other with just a few steps

Sherlock stares at Kelsey throughout, and his Jerry chooses such a romantic and lonely instrument.

Moonlight, lights, saxophone.

The fusion of the three makes the people close in front of us blend into the blurred night, making it more mysterious and more exciting.

Sherlock knew without counting that his heart was beating a little fast.

The solo slowly came to an end.

When the music is over, the echo is lingering.

Kelsey put down her saxophone and met Sherlock's eyes.

There was no applause at the moment, only the heartbeat and breathing of the two people in the room.

When the two looked at each other, the time was extremely fast and very slow, and for a moment they couldn't tell whether it was too long.

"clang--"

At night, the clock rang at 10:30, breaking the spell of quietness and confusion in the house.

'Crack!Clap clap! '

Sherlock stood up and applauded enthusiastically, "I'm sorry, it took me a while to find a way to return to reality, so the applause was late. Please rest assured, I will not blame your music for being too charming. I am willing to indulge in the grace you give me."

Just music?

surely not.

Kelsey couldn't help laughing, but remembered another question.

"Today, Mr. Mycroft was honored to come to the party. Tom, did you invite your brother with a cake? Didn't he say anything?"

As soon as this question came out, Sherlock couldn't help pursing his lips.

Last weekend, the conversation between the brothers was not long.

It's only an hour, and the first five or 10 minutes are spent talking about criminal groups, about Moran, about Freeman's exchange of impersonation cases, about finding out about M, and so on.

The last 10 minutes.

An eerie silence fell between Sherlock and Mycroft.

Sherlock recalled the moment when the brothers smiled and sat down, and he cleared his throat and said to Kelsey:

"Jerry, I keep my promise to you. Without your permission and in a non-emergency situation, I will not make my own claim, and I will not disclose your little secret to Mycroft. Oh! It's half a thread No trace."

Even if Sherlock Holmes is a detective, even if Mycroft is super capable, but under the circumstances of deliberately concealing and keeping a distance, it is impossible for him to discover the truth out of thin air.

Kelsey looked at Sherlock suspiciously. She had reason to suspect that this man was deliberately teasing her brother. "Your brother, didn't you say anything else?"

"others?"

Sherlock smiled, "My beloved brother told us to go home for Christmas this year. Mother is looking forward to a lively Christmas."

There is another sentence later, it is inconvenient to tell Kelsey.

——Mycroft asked solemnly: How can Holmes be easily subordinated to others.Dear brother, in terms of skill, you are superior, right?