Detective Bennet [Comprehensive novel]

"Excuse me for correcting your wording, but I don't have much experience in this area."

Sherlock sternly corrected and firmly denied, "Also, I don't know the source of this rope. I'm just engaged in music, not an encyclopedia."

Are you really not an encyclopedia?

Kelsey's skepticism remained undiminished, and she sincerely apologized for the denial of the gold-rimmed glasses. "Sorry, sorry for my poor wording, how I wish you were all-knowing."

Immediately, Kelsey regretted, "You can't recognize the source of this rope, and I have never seen it. I don't know if it is specially customized. It is really good to use it in rock climbing and mountaineering."

This is not what she said casually, "Please don't say I am thinking about it. Now that the suspension bridge is broken and the heavy snow is still continuing, I still don't know whether the materials in the castle can support the suspension bridge repair. Maybe we have to climb down the mountain from the cliff with bare hands." .”

Even if you climb down the mountain, you have to wait for the wind and snow to stop, otherwise you will be looking for death.

"I agree with the speculation about custom-made ropes. As for others, let's take care of the present first."

Sherlock didn't think about how to go down the mountain for the time being. It was obvious that he couldn't get out or come in these few days. He picked up the kerosene lamp and surveyed the bell tower room.

This bell tower room is about fifty or sixty square meters, and there is a small door on the west side to enter.

A large opening was cut in the south wall, and a large clock dial was embedded in it.There is a window in the north wall directly opposite, which is where Baron Isaac and his mistress fell.

Only the main body of the big clock is placed in the room, and there are no extra ornaments.The big clock did not move normally. It is said that the hands had malfunctioned and had been stopped for several years.

Therefore, people in the castle rarely come to the bell tower room except for routine cleaning.

"I've asked. There are two keys to the iron gate and two keys to the bell tower room. The steward and the earl keep them. They are cleaned every ten days on weekdays, and the attendants get the keys from the steward."

Sherlock looked at the cleanliness of the ground, "This place has just been cleaned not long ago, and the locks on the outside were picked by hairpins. It can only be said that Baron Isaac or Ms. Rosalia are versatile."

I deliberately chose the bell tower room where no one was disturbing to break in. The two Barons Isaac should have been very proud and excited at that time.

"The steward said that when I went up to the fifth floor for the first time today, the iron door was locked. Neither the iron door nor the door of the bell tower room needs to be locked from the outside. Open it and then close it, and the keyhole buckle will be locked again."

Sherlock raised a question, "Are you saying that Baron Isaac didn't forget to close the door? Or did someone come here and close the iron gate and the room door for them?"

This is a key question.

Baron Isaac's body was thrown out of the window, resulting in sudden sudden death.

The reasons that induce it include strenuous exercise in the high mountain environment, excessive drinking and overdose, and another point is being suddenly frightened.

Suppose someone broke into the bell tower suddenly, it would definitely frighten the two of them.

"The door can be checked for other people's fingerprints."

Kelsey did not think that he would be able to find suspicious traces with this, "but if he waited for the opportunity to break in, that person is likely to be very cautious."

Even if fingerprints can be found, it cannot be said that the visitor has evil intentions.

He may have plans to disgust the two barons, for example, if he suddenly made a noise, he could frighten Baron Isaac into impotence.

This is qualitatively different from waiting for the opportunity to create the death incident of Isaac and his mistress through the window.

The last thing I want to see at the moment is this kind of 'accidental' death that has been planned for a long time and has been carefully arranged.

"Yesterday, I went to the collection room, and Earl B showed me a mask."

Kelsey walked over to the gold-rimmed glasses and described the countess mask in a low voice. "Lifelike, as if a living face is in front of you. Plus the scene where Earl B talks to it is as weird as it needs to be."

Kelsey didn't want to be too suspicious, "This has to remind me of the incomplete masks in the basement of the wooden house. If those are inferior products, the countess' mask is a successful product. Have you been invited to the inner room?"

Sherlock shook his head, "No, Earl B and I talked about the use of poison in some novels, and mentioned the hope of writing him and his wife into a new story, but I haven't seen that mask."

Having said that, the two looked at each other.

Earl B's conversation with everyone is still different. Is he doing it at will or on purpose?

"Speaking of which, everyone has their own purpose in coming to the castle. For example, we..."

Sherlock paused, not wanting to mention that the original purpose was to meet Apep.

He looked at the bearded beard, and after experiencing a series of things, he had a guess in his heart.

If that guess is correct, this time I traveled a long distance from London to the Alps, I really don't know whether to be angry or laugh.

At this time, Sherlock still maintained his expressionless face with gold-rimmed glasses, "We came to the castle for the honor of the publishing house. What about those people? Just to get acquainted with Earl B?"

Probably not.

At least the four Italians who died were not.

"Last night, I heard with my own ears that they came to the castle just for excitement."

Sherlock didn't intend to eavesdrop. The four of Isaac talked without concealing his eyes and ears, disturbing him to observe the structure of the castle.After the four discovered his existence, they directly invited him to join, saying that they brought some gadgets into the mountain.

The guests may not know each other well, but would Earl B not know who he invited?

He may not be able to find out the real identity of Apep and Chocolate Cake, but will he know nothing about the thrill-seeking preferences of the two Italian barons?

Kelsey doesn't believe Earl B doesn't know anything.Then came the question, did Earl B know about it but didn't care, or did he invite it on purpose.

"One more point. The two floors below the bell tower room just happened to be assigned four Italians."

Kelsey knew the room allocation of the guests. Isaac and Bonnie lived on the north side of the third floor, and Thomas and Rosalia lived on the fourth floor right above.

After exchanging bed partners last night, Isaac and Rosalia came to the clock tower, Thomas and Bonnie stayed on the fourth floor, and the room on the third floor directly below was vacant.As long as the four of them don't make too much noise, because they are not directly below, the possibility of other guests being disturbed is very low.

Besides, the rooms of the three of Kelsey were arranged on the south side, and they couldn't hear what happened on the north side.

If this kind of arrangement has not been investigated beforehand, it is definitely not Earl B's style.

He can provide guests with clothes that fit the size, and he can't think of minimizing mutual interference between guests.

While the two were talking, the sound of three people's footsteps came from the corridor.

Earl B walked into the bell tower tremblingly, his face paler than last night's banquet.

He glanced down at the window, and turned his head reluctantly, "It's really surprising, how did these two suffer such misfortune. Please help put them down, don't let them be blown in the air by the strong wind, There is nowhere for the body to fall."

The butler held a large bundle of thick ropes, and invited Watson, and began to lower the body.

until noon.

The rest of the guests got up one after another, and the corpse placement, on-site inspection and preliminary autopsy here came to an end.

"What! The suspension bridge is broken?!"

Veser, a sea merchant of the Ottoman Empire, was extremely reluctant to get up at twelve o'clock, let alone go to the main hall for dinner, but he was told to everyone about something important.

Weisser didn't take it seriously at first, so what big news can he tell?

When he first heard the death of the four Italians, he thought to himself that it was his own fault, but he didn't expect to hear that the suspension bridge broke!

Now he yelled out loudly, and also yelled out the shock of the rest of the guests.

After the shock, comes the panic.

Fernand Morcerf, who was about to return to France for a promotion, blurted out and asked:

"My God! Then how do I go back? When will this bridge be repaired? Now that the mountains are covered by heavy snow and there is no supply, how long can the supplies in the castle last?"

The steward has explained that according to the time calculation, the eight people who fell to death had just come from the opposite side to change shifts.

This is the worst case.

The previous eight people successfully arrived at the opposite residence, the two sides completed the handover, and a new batch of attendants came to the castle.According to the usual practice, a new batch of attendants came with supplies, and now they fell off the cliff.

The accident on one side of the castle is still unknown on the other side, so it is impossible to talk about timely rescue and repair of the suspension bridge.

"It takes a long time to repair the suspension bridge, but you don't need to panic, the supplies are enough to last for half a month."

Earl B said in a calm tone, "The good news is that Bella, the cook, stayed in the castle, and our meals are not a problem. When night falls, I will go to the observation deck to signal the light. Not overnight, go a few more days, opposite There will always be news."

That's it.

Fernan breathed a sigh of relief, and some guests also relaxed a little.

David, one of the German bankers, was still worried, "Count B, forgive me. Can the light signal you mentioned really be received by the other side? How to do it specifically?"

"The castle is located on a cliff, and I considered emergencies when I checked in. Mr. David, the set of light signals has been tested and proved to be feasible."

Earl B said unhurriedly, "As for the specific operation, if you are interested, you can go to see it at night. A set of mirror reflection mechanism is arranged there to ensure that the fire light from the observation deck reaches the opposite side of the cliff."

David nodded slightly, "It's fine after the actual test. I'd like to go with you tonight."

The tense atmosphere eased.

Although many people died and the only safe passage was broken, there are still sufficient supplies, and they are not alone.

With no existential crisis hanging over their heads, the death of four Italians was mentioned.

Weisser said casually, "Isaac and the others played too much, but I'm also curious, didn't he get stimulated halfway? Then what kind of fingerprint test, is there any result?"

Watson shook his head, "There are no other people's fingerprints, only the fingerprints of the iron gate opened by Ms. Rosalia and the lock of the clock tower door."

"Huh! God knows if this thing is accurate. Is this something that was scribbled in your tabloids?"

Ilhan, another sea merchant of the Ottoman Empire, sneered, "Don't fool me, I remember that Europe pursues portraiture. The imprint left by the finger is too small, and it is not included in the orthodox test at all."

"Mr. Ilhan, your thinking is too arbitrary. Just like hundreds of years ago, you decided that Copernicus' heliocentric theory was heresy."

Watson refuted it on the spot.Although he doesn't know who first proposed fingerprint detection, it was mentioned in the previous story of bearded and gold-rimmed glasses.

After actual operation, Watson also saw the accuracy of fingerprint detection, so he would not let others talk nonsense. "It's already the 19th century, please don't be a person who insists on the center of the earth."

"you!"

Ilhan got up suddenly when he was ridiculed, no one dared to mock him like this for a long time.

"Okay, please don't argue about this, so as not to upset the souls of the four dead."

Earl B didn't want to listen to Ilhan's nonsense, he rubbed the center of his brows, "Since everyone understands the current situation, please have lunch. I feel a little uncomfortable and go back to my room first."

What else can I do?Let's eat then.

In other words, most of the guests did not die in Italy, but only cared about their own safety.It is important to eat to keep your energy strong.

After dinner, everyone scattered back to the room.

Mr. Tang knocked on the door of Kelsey's room, "Mr. Adair, there is one thing I don't know if I should say it or not."

"Oh, you are embarrassing me, and I can't influence your decision."

Kelsey welcomed Mr. Tang in. "If it affects the overall situation, it may be better to say it."

"There is an old saying in Huaguo, everyone sweeps the snow in front of his own house, don't care about the frost on the tiles of his house."

Mr. Tang glanced back at the closed door and lowered his voice, "However, I'm thinking that the frost this time didn't just fall on the four Italians."

I heard Mr. Tang say, "Last night in the second half of the salon, you went back to your room early to rest, but I heard a few words of the chat between Earl B and Baron Isaac.

They spoke Italian, and I only understood one or two points, such as the beautiful view of the clock tower, and the special fun in the dark.This is what Earl B said. "

Inside, it was suddenly quiet.

Mr. Tang almost named them, saying that Earl B lured the four Italians to fly in the bell tower.

"Mr. Tang, are you sure? After that, did you see anything?"

Kelsey pressed, "For example, Earl B gave Baron Isaac something? Is there anyone else around?"

"In the second half of the night, everyone else in the side hall also drank too much. I'm afraid I'm the only one who is still sober and listened to a sentence or two."

Mr. Tang shook his head, "But I can't follow them. It's hard to say what happened next."

It's an additional clue, but not a strong indictment.

Kelsey didn't believe it or believed it completely. From the perspective of good faith, Mr. Tang understood only a few words of Italian, and the information he provided was not comprehensive.

However, there are various indications that Earl B is suspicious.

While the two were facing each other speechlessly, they suddenly heard a heart-piercing scream from the lawn downstairs.

Bella, the cook, shouted at the top of her voice, "God! Come on! Earl B's been crushed to death—"