Detective Bennet [Comprehensive novel]

Dick lived in the tailor shop, with the store in front and the house in the back.It is not far from Richard's Hotel, and it takes only ten minutes to walk one way.

The clothing store was closed today, and Egas had already sent people to search and station there to prevent Dick from destroying relevant evidence.

"Dick didn't do anything when he got home, though."

Egas followed Dick all the way, even the lunch was delivered from outside, and Dick was not given a chance to move freely.

Usually there is an old tailor and a maid in the clothing store, and both of them go home for the holidays.

Dick's wife passed away a few years ago, and now only his 15-year-old daughter, Penny, is left with him.

"Dick also had an alibi when the incident happened. Until ten o'clock, he was negotiating with the cloth at the town west market."

Egas asked someone to confirm, "It takes more than 20 minutes to run from the west of the town to the hotel. Dick pushed a cart of goods back to the clothing store first, and along the way found witnesses who confirmed his whereabouts."

Egas continued, "At around [-]:[-], Dick went to the hotel just after unloading. After arguing with old Richard in the morning, the two brothers decided to talk to Richard again at noon. At that time, they made an appointment Go to the hotel at one o'clock."

This proved that Dick had no time to commit crimes.

Dick was arranging the goods in the clothing store with a stinky face, and he ignored the people who came to investigate the case. "You guys figured out that Heller just went to find the widow, what kind of news do you plan to dig out here?"

"Dick, watch your attitude!"

Egas frowned, Dick's lack of cooperation was a challenge to his authority. "Old Richard is your father, don't you care about his real cause of death?"

Dick grumbled and complained, "I told you earlier, when Heller and I entered the door, my father was already out of breath, and the reason why we cleaned up the blood was because we didn't want to be troublesome.

There was no sign of struggle or struggle in the store, nor was there a silver coin missing.My father just fell down accidentally and died before he could call for help.Simple things are complicated by you, and I can't tell the flowers if I ask again. "

Watson asked directly, "What do you mean when you say you don't want to be troublesome? Is it related to your elder brother Willie?"

On the way here, Egas talked about the members of the Richard family

Richard married two wives in total, the former gave birth to the eldest son Willie.A few years after his first wife died of illness, his second wife gave birth to Dick and Heller.

The stepmother was indifferent to Willie, and the relationship between the three brothers was not harmonious.

Willie went to Germany to work hard as an adult, got married and had children there and never returned to Leo Town, nor did he care about his stepmother's death from a serious illness.

On the other side, the older Richard is, the more he cares about his eldest son who is far away in a foreign country.

He believed that the remarriage had caused a lot of negative impact on Willie, so he sent money to Germany to subsidize Willie from time to time.

However, the operation of the hotel requires the help of the other two sons.

Dick and Heller had been dissatisfied with the way Richard had been assigned.The disagreement between father and son has long been known by the fat woman Monica to half of Leo Town.

At this time, when Dick heard Willie being mentioned, he sneered disdainfully, "It's because of him! There are still five days of Christmas Eve, God knows if he will come back.

His father fell to his death, so he might still be able to perform a crying scene.Can Heller and I not clean up the house?If he hits a bloodstain all over the place, no matter how innocent we are, we will be identified as heinous villains. "

Everyone present could feel Dick's anger.

Now, the two brothers Heller and Dick have ruled out the suspicion and found out the reason why they cleaned up the blood.Then who should you suspect?

Kelsey said abruptly, "Why don't you see Miss Penny? Shopkeeper Richard only has four relatives in the town. I have seen you, Heller and Heller's wife, and only Miss Penny did not show up."

Based on the situation at the crime scene, the conflict between Richard and the suspect was extremely short.

Richard was pushed down without warning, and all his relatives were suspected, including of course his granddaughter Penny.

"What did you say!" Dick was furious suddenly, how could he fail to realize that his daughter had also become a suspect.

Angrily rushing towards Kelsey, he raised his fist and was about to hit her, "How dare you pour sewage on my daughter!"

"Dick!"

Egas couldn't stop him, and Dick rushed out.

Kelsey didn't retreat or evade, stepped forward to catch Dick with one move, and quickly buckled Dick.

She only felt innocent, and asked back: "Why did you beat me? I just raised all the possibilities. You and Heller also made speculations before, thinking that our three guests would murder the owner. Are you only allowed to doubt, but I can't doubt it?" ?”

It's true, it's quite annoying.

Watson breathed a sigh of relief, he was really startled just now, thinking that the bearded man was going to be beaten.Now it seems that despite his slightly fat body with beard and beard, his skills are strong enough.

Sherlock also stepped back to support.That scene happened so fast, the bearded man caught Dick in no more than three seconds.

With such skill, one cannot do it without being experienced in hundreds of battles.

Sherlock was puzzled, bearded as an ordinary clerk, he should not have rich combat experience, and this agility could not be explained by talent.

He put aside the confusion in his heart for a while, and focused on the case in front of him to ask Dick. "Your daughter, are you wearing dark blue today?"

Dick denied, "No. Penny likes bright dresses."

For half a second, if Dick hadn't lifted his eyelids and instead drooped slightly at the corners of his mouth, Sherlock might have believed he was telling the truth.

Kelsey clamped Dick's wrist and checked again, "Are you sure?"

Dick said matter-of-factly, "Of course I'm sure what my daughter likes."

Kelsey let go of Dick, whose pulse rate just said the opposite.

"Penny, please come out."

Egas didn't think that Penny would kill Richard, but he still made it clear face to face.

Reluctantly, Dick called Penny and said softly to his daughter, "Penny, tell everyone where you were this morning. Don't be afraid, just tell the truth."

"I've been at home all day today."

There was a hint of guilt and fear in Penny's tone.She ducked behind Dick and asked uneasily, "Father, I'm really at home, but no one can testify against me."

Dick patted Penny's arm to reassure her, and then sneered at Kelsey, "Penny is at home alone, if she tells the truth, there will be no witnesses. What else are you going to ask to confirm her suspicions?" ?”

"Miss Penny, do you have a diamond hat?"

Kelsey took Penny a quick look.She didn't wear necklaces, earrings and other accessories, and her dress didn't have buttons. She only had a hat with some flowers and gold and silver decorations on it.

Penny didn't understand, so, "No, what's wrong?"

Kelsey pressed, "And you know Richard's shopkeeper's silver cross chain?"

Penny said truthfully, "Grandpa wore a cross, but we rarely saw it. Grandpa hid it well."

"How could father not hide the necklace from Willie?"

Dick satirized, "Some people have been to Germany for more than 20 years, and they only gave a necklace, and they usually don't see a few letters. But my father wants to treat it as a treasure. God knows why."

"However, I didn't find it in the bedroom."

Kelsey asked, "When was the last time you saw the necklace?"

Both Dick and Penny shook their heads, they couldn't remember too clearly.

"Maybe last month? I can't remember. Dad usually wears it on the inside of his clothes. I don't like to talk to him about Willy. I haven't paid much attention to his necklace. Are you sure it's gone?"

"Maybe it's somewhere else, but it's definitely not in the bedroom."

Kelsey checked carefully, there was no locked drawer box in Richard's house, and there was no cross necklace among the items.

"Father can't take the initiative to take off the cross silver chain, he just accidentally dropped it."

Dick recalled the situation in the morning, "I really haven't seen the necklace in the room, but all the other belongings in the room are not lost. Don't be suspicious, who can kill someone for a necklace? What Willie sent is either a valuable thing, or the most precious thing. Ordinary cross."

The reality is that the cross necklace that Richard has been wearing is gone, and there is a trace of dark blue silk thread between his fingers before he died.

In any case, finding the necklace is also a direction of investigation.

Egas didn't care that it was getting dark, and immediately mobilized more people to expand the search area after dinner, hoping to identify the suspect first.

The three of Kelsey returned to the hotel, and after just one night, the owner who warmly welcomed them last night turned into a corpse.

After a short dinner break, the three got together to discuss the case again.

"Dick lied."

Sherlock mentioned the previous discovery, "After Dick heard the question about whether Penny had dark blue clothes, he was surprised and dissatisfied for almost half a second, but quickly covered up his expression."

Watson froze for a moment, suspecting that there was something wrong with his hearing or eyesight.

"Mr. Sigson, are you saying that you captured the change in Dick's expression within half a second, and he went from surprise to dissatisfaction and back to normal?"

"Yes, Dick had extremely rapid changes in the expression of the eye and lip muscles."

Sherlock readily admits, "It's as easy to spot the change as it is to spot who's played a piece of music by half a syllable wrong."

"It's incredible! I didn't see it at all."

Watson subconsciously became suspicious, and looked at the bearded man trying to find an ally, "Mr. Adair, you..."

"At that time, I restrained Dick from behind, and I didn't see his expression."

Kelsey said truthfully, "However, when Dick was asked if Penny had dark blue, his hands shook unnaturally."

Watson was dumbfounded, what else could he say.Complimenting the observation ability of the gold-rimmed glasses, is the meticulousness to the point of abnormality?

In fact, the surprise of more than a second in the interrogation is fake.

Because the change of micro-expression is fleeting, without rich observation experience, it is absolutely impossible to make a correct judgment in an instant, which cannot be explained by talent.

As a result, Kelsey became suspicious. As a musician, Siegson had practiced criminal investigation skills too much.

"Penny categorically denied that she ever went out in the morning. Dick is very protective of her daughter and won't explain to us about the dark blue clothes."

Kelsey did not continue to pay attention to the gold-rimmed glasses. It is more important to solve Richard's death first. "We don't have much time left. Instead of waiting for Dick and his daughter to speak, I want to find other people to find out about the situation."

Right now, Dick denied that Penny was wearing dark blue clothes. The key was why he denied it so quickly?

Could it be that Dick had seen people in dark blue go in and out of the hotel?But he couldn't explain the change of dissatisfaction after his surprise.

"I see!"

Watson thought of a possibility, "Penny usually likes bright-colored dresses, and the dark blue clothes are specially disguised. A father was surprised to dissatisfied. It is very likely that Penny secretly wore dark blue clothes to meet his sweetheart, but the young man let him go. Dick doesn't like it. Dick will definitely not tell us about this kind of private matter."

At the end, Watson also sighed: "Actually, it is not difficult to understand, but any father who loves his daughter always dislikes a man who wants to marry his daughter."

Kelsey: I didn't expect Watson to answer this question quickly.

Sherlock: Unexpectedly, Watson seems to understand this question very well.

"Huh? Why are you all looking at me like this?"

Watson felt two strange gazes around him, "Could it be that my judgment is wrong?"

Kelsey shook her head firmly, "Of course not, I agree with Mr. Watson's speculation."

"Go ask Penny's friends if she has a secret date today."

Sherlock suggested, "You don't need to be escorted by Egarth's people, and don't make a big fuss when it gets dark. Just go with the three of us."

As the night darkened, it was not a good time to visit young girls for questioning.

The three visited the girls who had contacts with Penny one by one, and asked about Penny's friendship with the displeased faces of the parents.But until eleven o'clock at night, no relevant clues were asked.

I can only rest for one night, and continue to visit tomorrow morning.

The next day, 24 hours after Richard's death.

Watson finally learned from a girl that Penny had a private date with Anthony yesterday.

"The two went to the market in the east of the town, and Dick was in the west of the town. One east and one west are good strategies to avoid."

Watson didn't make much jokes, "Recently, there are five markets in Leo Town, southeast, northwest and the central market. Yesterday Egas went to investigate which one Richard visited, but he has not responded yet. Now, we Anthony first?"

Kelsey and Sherlock nodded in unison, and Anthony is likely to be the breakthrough.

Sure enough, Anthony gave a new clue.Yesterday when he was waiting for Penny, he met Richard who came to buy things at the entrance of the market.

Anthony was about to hide, but saw someone in dark blue clothes coming.It wasn't Penny, but a thin, pale man.

The lean man collided with Richard, knocked Richard staggering a few steps, startled Anthony and rushed forward to help him.

At that time, Richard was fine and did not let Anthony help him. He bought some daily necessities and went back to the hotel.

As for the lean man who bumped into someone, when Anthony came back to his senses, he found that the other party had disappeared without even saying an apology.

No, the lean man said something anyway.

Anthony described that the other party's mind might be a little abnormal, and he heard him keep chanting 'God will forgive me, God will forgive me. '

Afterwards, Anthony told Penny about what happened at the fair.

Both of them decided not to tell Dick a secret, otherwise their dating would be exposed, but no one thought that Richard died yesterday morning.

Oddly enough, Richard didn't even see his relatives for the last time.

The thin man is about 30 years old, his mind may be different, and he was wearing dark blue clothes yesterday.

Anthony recalled that the buttons of this man's clothes were diamond-shaped, and he had never seen a man in Leo Town before, and he might be from a nearby village.

Using this as a clue, Egas, together with the lost silver chain of the cross, set off to the surrounding villages and towns to find the suspect.

Another two nights passed.

There is only one morning left before the pick-up time agreed by Earl B's steward.

"Found it! In the village of Missida."

Egas sent a confirmation message, "Crazy Evely, in his 30s. On the day of Old Richard's accident, he hurried back to the village in the afternoon. The villagers saw blood on his sleeves and front of his body."

Because Yi Fuli's behavior was crazy, and he would attack the villagers before, he was confined in a courtyard alone.

However, his ability to escape is not low, and sometimes he will run to the woods to fight wild beasts, and it is not surprising that he has blood on his body.

"The dark blue bloody coat, including the blood-stained diamond-shaped button, has been found in Eveli's room, which can match the old Richard's forehead injury."

Egas sighed, "It's just that there is no way to interrogate. Ifli is so stupid that he doesn't answer any questions."

Watson asked, "Before, the villagers who were attacked by Ifli also wore cross necklaces?"

"Yes. Ifli went to Misida Village two years ago and hid in the abandoned house at the end of the village. Every once in a while someone with a cross would be attacked in the village, and the villagers discovered the existence of Ifli. "

Egarth said that the village of Missida also drove Ifli away, but he always returned to the village.

Misida Village took the trouble to go all the way to the police to deal with it, but it didn't work, so they simply surrounded the abandoned house with a fence.

Later, the villagers stopped approaching the end of the village, and in case Ifli went crazy halfway, as long as he voluntarily handed over the cross necklace, all would be fine.

However, the villagers of Missida did not expect that this time Evelyn would be involved in a murder case.

Hearing is false.

Although the time was a bit short, the three of Kelsey took Anthony with them, and went to the village of Missida in a hurry.

The dilapidated house where Ifli lived was in a mess, with messy half-cooked barbecue and wild fruits on the ground.A total of 24 cross necklaces hang on the broken wooden bedside.

One of them was bloody, which was the necklace worn by Richard.

Through Anthony's face-to-face identification, it was determined that Evelyn was the lean man who bumped into Richard.

It seems that after an accidental collision in the market, Evely followed Richard with his extraordinary concealment skills, sneaked into the hotel and stole the cross necklace by surprise.

This time there was a death, Misida Village will soon send Ifli to prison, and the only thing waiting for him is the gallows.

Sherlock opened the temporary holding room, and slowly explained all possible verdicts to Evelyn.

I saw Yi Fuli curled up in the corner, staring blankly at the wall as if he couldn't hear the sound outside.

"You said God would forgive you?"

Sherlock observed for a while, then suddenly took out a cross necklace, and waved it in front of Evelyn, "What do you need to be forgiven for?"

Ifli didn't even look at the cross necklace, but just stared at the wall stupidly.

Locked outside.

The mayor of Misida let out a long sigh.

"Ivli is like this. He is usually silly and has no interest in anything, even the cross necklace he wants to grab."

The village chief of Misida said, "About every 40 days or so, he goes crazy and rushes into the street to find a new cross necklace. Three days ago, he just snatched the new cross, and now there will be no other response."

Through the iron railings, Kelsey saw Evely's every move.

The suspect is in a psychologically closed period, and if he wants to ask questions, he may have to wait until the next crazy period.

"Austro-Hungary did not pass the hanging so quickly."

Watson also wanted to find out, "It will take five months to get a conviction. After we leave Earl's Hill, we can go to the prison, and maybe we will ask some questions."

That's all for now.

In the afternoon, the three of them boarded the carriage of the Earl's Mansion and headed for the Alps.

It started snowing again.

Before Christmas Eve, the carriage drove for two days before arriving at the castle in the deep mountain, and the terrain here was extremely dangerous.

The castle is located on a cliff, suspended on all sides, with only one way in and out.

The carriage passed the suspension bridge lowered in the castle, and the wheels rolled over the bridge slab all the way, only to hear the creaking sound of the Lingkong bridge deck, which penetrated people for no reason.

When the three of them got out of the car and looked back, the suspension bridge was already covered by heavy snow, not to mention that they could see the way further away.

"if……"

"just in case……"

Kelsey and Sherlock opened their mouths at the same time, glanced at each other and then shut up, not assuming the consequences of the suspension bridge being broken.

Although the two of them stopped talking, they both had a sense of foreboding.

Along the way, they encountered lightning strikes on the carriage, weird nursery rhymes of wooden houses and half-mutilated masks, plus a lunatic who snatched the cross necklace and killed people.

One step forward, stepping into Earl B's castle, what will happen to the dark party?

**

"Bang!"

On December 12, Christmas Eve, a blizzard struck.

The roof of the temporary detention room in Missida Village was hit by heavy snow and the roof collapsed.

The next day, the village chief organized a manpower to deal with the unexpected accident, and found that the only prisoner, Yi Fuli, had been crushed to death by a beam.

"Village chief, come and see. There is a line of writing here, which seems to have been written by Ifli before his death."

I saw a crooked line of blood writing on the snow beside Ivli's body. "Mary, Mary, very rebellious, how are the flowers and plants in your garden?"