Detective Bennet [Comprehensive novel]

Wish on a star?

Ask it to give clues to solve the case?

Kelsey smiled, "There may be some mysterious power in the universe, but I'm afraid it will only favor those who believe in it devoutly."

The lights are dim, and the wind blows the courtyard.

Sitting on the rattan chair, the two people looking up at the starry sky had nothing to do with piety.

Sherlock never counts on the mysterious power of the universe, and prefers to analyze the existing evidence down-to-earth.

"What I found today is a non-venomous snake that is common in the woods of Paris. This is easier than getting 666 rabbits. You don't have to buy them in a deceitful way. You can just go to the woods to catch snakes."

Sherlock does not believe that there is a perfect crime in the world, so he looks back at the sky.

Blinking his eyes with a little discomfort, the stars were so bright that he unconsciously began to count them, but soon lost count.

When talking about counting, he asked, "Jerry, you didn't find one characteristic of the murderer of this blood sacrifice."

"Numbers. Blood murderers are obsessed with numbers."

凯尔西也想到这点，“兔尸666只，吊尸5具,蛇尸13条。古罗马浴池遗迹地面3个扎痕，地下万尸洞4个扎痕,剧院废弃地下室13个扎痕。”

660 six, on behalf of the devil present, or the meaning of man becoming a god on his own.

666 rabbits appeared in the ancient Roman baths, and the rabbits representing desire echoed the place of indulgence and pleasure in ancient Rome.

The five-pointed intersection of the underground cave of thousands of corpses just formed a five-pointed star, just like a five-pointed star array.

Whether it is the pentagram array regarded as the womb of the underworld by ancient Egypt, or the positive pentagram array that can seal demons in later occultism, or the reverse pentagram array that summons demons, the five hanging corpses are all given a special meaning.

Five hanging corpses appeared in the underground corpse cave, and the pentagram array representing the ghost echoes the cemetery full of corpses.

Kelsey talked about the thirteen snake corpses again, "Thirteen means ominous, and snakes can have many interpretations. It can represent Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine. , representing hope and redemption.”

The snake can represent redemption, but it can also represent original sin.

It is well known that the serpent tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.It became the inducer of the original sin of human beings, and thus was identified as the embodiment of evil and temptation to sin.

"However, the meaning of the snake is not limited to this."

Sherlock pointed out, "It appeared in the basement of the Paris theater where the master alchemist Nicolas last appeared. From an alchemical point of view, the biting snake is an important symbol - representing immortality and resurrection."

As a result, 13 snake corpses appeared in the basement of the opera house, representing ominous and mysterious snakes, which echoed the mysterious power of the Philosopher's Stone.

"It can be seen that the blood sacrifice murderer has a set of theoretical support for each crime. At the same time, he pays great attention to numbers and creates his own set of rules."

Sherlock mentioned the time of the three crimes, "Although it can only be determined that the snakes in the theater died a month and a half ago, and the exact day of the week cannot be determined, the five deceased in Blanqui and the Cave of Corpses were all killed on Saturday or Sunday. "

This is also a manifestation of the blood sacrifice murderer obeying a certain rule.

However, it is still not possible to decipher which rule or rules the murderer abides by.

Both of them had a bad feeling.

According to common sense, as the number of crimes increases, the murderer will become more skilled in his modus operandi.

In the basement of the theater and the underground cave of thousands of corpses, which were far away from the time when the crime was committed, the murderer of the blood sacrifice cleaned up the traces of the crime scene one by one.But at the ruins of the ancient Roman baths last weekend, the murderer left two shoe prints.

There is a reasonable explanation for this: the murderer's crime is coming to an end, which makes them relax their vigilance.

"At present, it is known that snake gallbladder, human flesh, rabbit blood, and three corpses on the ground were taken away. The materials needed by the murderer are likely to be ready."

Sherlock had to think for the worst, "We're running out of time, it's Thursday, and Jesus rose on Sunday."

When will the blood sacrifice murderer hold his final ceremony?

Judging from the time of death of Blanqui, Willis and others, it was either Saturday or Sunday.

Kelsey must also face the worst conclusions, "This weekend, something very dangerous is likely to happen."

The murderer of the blood sacrifice has prepared the required materials, and the last step may be earth-shattering.

But where will the last ceremony be and how will it be completed?

The two have no clue.

Now, look up at the starry sky again.

"Under the starry sky, people are insignificant. Some people say, 'the universe is not hostile, but it is not friendly, it is just indifferent'①."

As a result, Kelsey never counted on luck.Recalling that Mycroft mentioned that Sherlock was not interested in astronomy, she asked casually, "Tom, can you recognize which one is Mars?"

Three months ago, Mycroft sent fake identity materials to the two, and made a joke by the way.

Said that my dear brother saw him come to deliver the certificate in person, as if seeing sparks hit the earth.Then asked, does Sherlock know about Mars?

Sherlock: Sometimes Jerry's memory is not a good thing.

"Who said I have no common sense of astronomy."

Sherlock avoids talking about whether he can recognize Mars, and gives another counter-example, "I know that astrology is said to be founded by Hermes Trismegistos. Hermeticism includes the three major wisdoms of the universe-astrology Art, alchemy, supernatural powers. Do you need me to tell you about the development and evolution of the Hermes School?"

Kelsey is speechless, can astronomy and astrology be the same thing?Clearly, Sherlock wanted to avoid the serious.

"Thank you, no need."

Wouldn't it help the case that Kelsey didn't want to study astrology?Let her see the secrets hidden in the starry sky and discover things that are invisible now?

Thinking of this, Kelsey was startled suddenly.

The three missing bodies, and the sharp knife marks left at the three crime scenes.

"It's a constellation!"

Kelsey sat up straight suddenly, "Three points form a straight line, four points form a cross, and there are thirteen strange shapes that seem to be disorderly. They are all southern constellations."

Located in Paris, France, in the northern hemisphere, a large part of the southern constellations cannot be observed.Among them, there are the Southern Cross and the Southern Ship.

"Before BC, the Southern Cross was visible from all over the UK, and as time went on, it gradually sank to the horizon due to precession."

Kelsey said, "Because it looks like a cross, it has not been forgotten. Dante mentioned in "Divine Comedy" that when he was about to enter Purgatory, he "saw four stars that only the first people saw." "

The cross is like a guide.

It can guide many things, and in this case of blood sacrifice, it is likely to guide a ship of the Agor.

"The Agor, the ship symbolized by the constellation Australis. It is very large and was divided into four in the last century: Vela, Carina, Puppis and Compass."

Kelsey took a pen and paper, and roughly drew the appearance of the Constellation Constellation. "I can't remember the specific number of visible stars, but I can be sure. There are three main stars in the constellation of the compass, which just form a straight line. The shape of the base of the carina seems to be somewhat similar to the scars in the basement of the theater."

A bit similar, and how similar?

Kelsey stared at the sketch and couldn't think of more, and needed to borrow professional books.

There was a moment of silence.

Looking up again, Kelsey met Sherlock's burning eyes. "What's wrong? Are you overwhelmed by the light of my wisdom?"

"Dear Jerry, you have managed to get me interested in astronomy."

Sherlock did not hide his praise, "This discovery is too important, and it reminded me of a key point. Since the murderer carved the constellation map on the corpse, they must have followed a certain law on the ground when they chose the location of the crime."

Sherlock directly took the pen from Kelsey's hand.On the side of the star map, a simple map of Paris was drawn with a few strokes, "Three crimes were committed, distributed in the [-]th, [-]th, and [-]th districts."

'Shuashuashua' is marked with three X's that form almost right angles.

"The cross guides the voyage of the Argo. There are five constellations in total, which means that there should be five murder scenes, and now three have been discovered."

"There are two more places, and I think it's probably in those two locations," Sherlock said.

I saw another X on the paper.

One is located in District [-], and the other is located between Districts [-] and [-].

The crime sites of the [-]th and [-]th arrondissements form a straight line, and the [-]th and [-]th arrondissements also form a straight line, which are located on both sides of the Seine River.

"Four points are connected to form a rectangle. This is the reason why the murderer chose to commit a crime in the tenth district."

Sherlock remembered clearly, "Thanks to the information from the Bones Society, there are some special existences in this location in the tenth district."

"The Montfaucon gallows, the largest execution ground ever in Paris."

Kelsey also had the impression, "It is said that it was made the size of a house, and can hang and strangle more than 50 people at the same time. From a distance, it looks like a large dried meat hanging in mid-air."

Of course, those are things of the past.

In the seventeenth century the Montfortcon gallows were no longer used, and by the end of the last century there were no more pieces of wood for half a gallows in that area.

However, weird rumors still circulate from time to time.

It is said that the rainy days in that area are extremely cold, and sometimes there will be the sound of chains dragging during hanging, and the sounds of prisoners struggling to die.

"The Bone Society hasn't explored the tenth district yet. Tomorrow, I'll go and look around there carefully."

Sherlock made a decision, and his eyes fell on the position of the last X between the fifth and sixth districts on the sketch. "Jerry, do you think this is where it all started?"

District 4, District [-], District [-], District [-], four X points form a rectangle, so why draw the last X between District [-] and District [-]?

Kelsey already understood without Sherlock's explanation, which was because of the progression of the number 4.

13, 14, 9, the numbers in these three districts are the near and far murder locations on the timeline.

If the deduction that the gallows in District 13 is the crime site is correct, it is very likely to form a numerical arrangement of 14, 9, 10, and [-].

即13-4=9，14-4=10

In terms of chronological order, the murder case occurred first at the gallows in the [-]th district, then the theater in the [-]th district, then the cave of thousands of corpses in the [-]th district, and finally the ruins of the ancient Roman baths in the [-]th district last week.

The blood sacrifice case was not committed alone. At present, it is roughly speculated that there are two people, which can also explain why they are respectively reduced by four.

The Southern Cross and the Southern Ship Constellation, which is divided into four, together form five constellation maps. Where did the original star map come from?

9-4=5，10-4=6

Its location is likely to be between districts five and six.

"It looks familiar here."

Kelsey's first stop in Paris was between the fifth and sixth arrondissements, "The location of the University of Paris, I went to visit Professor M."

However, recently increased manpower to monitor Professor M, and no abnormal behavior was found in him.

Kelsey's suspicions about Professor M persisted, but she couldn't just act on intuition, and all of this was just inference.

"Tomorrow, I'll take a walk between the fifth and sixth arrondissements. I'll see if there's anything suspicious other than the University of Paris."

A night without dreams.

Go to Paris Normal University on Friday and early morning to check the constellation map of Aurra.Among them, the appearance of the base of the carina is exactly the same as the piercing marks in the basement of the theater.

So far, the mystery of the knife mark has been solved.

The two split up.

Sherlock searched until dusk, and indeed found a similar murder scene near the former execution ground in District [-].

There were three dead owls with their wings cut off.

The owl's death was about two months ago, around Easter.At the same time, there is also a sharp knife mark on the scene, just like the constellation pattern of Puppis.

On the other end, Kelsey stopped in front of the monastery.

It is about half an hour's walk from where Professor M is located. It is a monastery and a church girls' school.

Currently, Condy and Shannon, whose identities remain a mystery, are nowhere to be found.

The two suspicious young women vaguely mentioned that they were from a missionary girls' school.

Each girls' school also has different requirements for the source of students, for example, some only accept Paris locals.

After the Napoleonic Wars, France expanded and colonized Africa, and some schools will accept French from Africa.

What's interesting is that the southern sky constellation that the murderer stuck on the corpse cannot be observed in the dimension of Paris.In contrast, standing in the dimension of the French colonies in Africa, you can observe the constellations of Southern Cross and Argo.

The "Mary Monastery" in front of me is not strict with the source of students.

"Yes, we accept French people from Africa, even if they are mixed. But please forgive me, I will not disclose more about the school to men, it is not in line with school regulations."

The gatekeeper nun looked at Kelsey apologetically, "If you have relatives who want to enroll, please ask her female parents to come and go through the relevant procedures. Men are not allowed here."

Kelsey asked again, "Can I just take a tour? Or talk to the dean?"

"Please don't embarrass me."

The gatekeeper nun said firmly, "Many parents of students have said similar things, but the school rules of girls' schools are like this. Men are not allowed to set foot on this land, which can avoid unnecessary troubles and conflicts."

For the sake of Kelsey's good looks, the gatekeeper nun kindly made a point.

"The school has always been closed for teaching, but it will be open to the public in the next two days. The female parents and female friends of the students can visit inside. The dean and female teachers of all subjects are there, and they can communicate and answer face to face. If you have any questions, you may wish to ask Your mother or sister enters the school for consultation."

Kelsey: Where do I go to find female relatives to infiltrate your school for suspects?

Yes, the "Mary Monastery" is suspicious.

Its geographical location is in line with the numerical arrangement of the crime scene, and it is very close to where Professor M is located. Half of the students are from Africa and can see the southern sky constellation that Paris cannot see.

In addition, Kandi and Shannon, who had suspicious backgrounds, vaguely mentioned that they were from a missionary girls' school, but there was one more thing that was clear: Maria Abbey would not disclose any information about the students to outsiders.

The above points made Kelsey have to go inside to find out.

There is very little time left for her now, and the last sacrifice is likely to be this weekend.But two days after tomorrow, this suspicious school is still open to the public.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

Kelsey thanked the gatekeeper nun, turned around, and had to make a decision.

Night falls.

Sherlock returns to the hotel with the confirmed news.

As soon as he entered the door, he talked about the discovery of the tenth district, "The crime scene under the gallows proves that our inference is correct. Jerry, how is the situation in the fifth and sixth districts?"

Kelsey told the whole story, "In summary, the Maria Monastery is very suspicious. I even suspect that the last sacrifice may be related to the opening day. But unfortunately, as men, they were all rejected."

The voice fell, and the room fell into silence.

The two looked at each other, trying to maintain a calm face.

Sherlock didn't hold back first, and said helplessly, "Well, I understand what you mean. Time waits for me, and we have no better choice."

There is no better choice, which means only women's clothing.

As long as women's clothes are worn, the difficulty of not being detected in front of them will be easily solved.The two were able to visit the Maria Monastery openly.

Kelsey asked, "Mr. Holmes, do you have any women's clothing?"

"Don't worry about me, I have all kinds of clothes ready."

Instead, Sherlock was worried that Kelsey was not equipped enough, "Mr. Bennet, dress as a woman, are you ready?"

The author has something to say:

① J.H. Holmes: "The Wise Men's View of Religion"