[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

Scrooge has no descendants, so his heir is naturally the handsome, clear-eyed nephew Fred.

Fred in the original "A Christmas Carol" is a married young man who treats Scrooge first-class. Despite the slander, Fred insisted on defending his uncle.While Mary admired her mind and character, she couldn't help but sigh: It really is a fairy tale.

However, Mary does not live in a fairy tale, and the reality is also different from the original novel.No one knows whether this young Fred is really kind to the point of being silly or sweet, or he is sincerely coveting Scrooge's huge property.

Whatever it was, Fred was, on the surface, impeccable.Facing Scrooge's anger, he was not angry, and treated Scrooge's guests very politely.When Scrooge taunted him, he also mocked Miss Morstan. When they left, Fred apologized to Miss Morstan on behalf of his uncle again and again-no matter what the Irish girl thought, it was such a humble and polite manner. Made a good impression on Mary.

Even though Blackwood was the first, he couldn't give up because of choking, and started to doubt everyone, right?

However, the better Fred performed, the more distressed Dr. Watson would be.

"Watson's expression was so wonderful at that time," Mary couldn't help laughing with her two younger sisters after returning home, "If Miss Morstan really got a property of 50 pounds, he would not dare to propose marriage. Now Here comes a handsome single gentleman who is also likely to inherit a large fortune, and the situation is more complicated."

Lydia couldn't help laughing out loud when she heard this.

Among the five Bennet sisters, apart from Jane, she and Elizabeth are the best looking.Although Blackwood's death really slapped the face of many upper-class people, Mrs. Hindley, who met Lydia at her banquet, still liked this little girl with design talent very much.

In recent days, with Mrs. Hindley in her arms, Lydia was still popular in high society.Having seen many courtesies of real gentlemen, Lydia commented: "That scene must be very interesting, Dr. Watson needs to work harder, don't you think, Katie?"

Catherine: "Um...huh?"

Mary was a little surprised: "Katie, are you okay?"

On weekdays, Catherine likes to listen to Mary's report of the case, but today she seems absent-minded.After being named by Lydia, the fourth sister suddenly came back to her senses and shook her head: "I'm fine! But you, Mary, the turmoil of the Illuminati has finally passed, how is your serialization?"

How did it get involved in the serialization?

Mary glanced at Catherine suspiciously, always feeling that her fourth sister had something on her mind.But her quick response to change the subject is enough to prove that Catherine doesn't want to talk to anyone about it.

She didn't want to say it, and Mary couldn't force it.

"The draft of "The Lady with a Check" is basically finished," so Mary continued along with her topic, "I still need to check for typos and correct the details."

"So fast?"

It was Catherine's turn to be surprised: "Didn't you say that it will take forty days to finish?"

Mary: "...When I decided to postpone finishing the manuscript for a month, Blackwood hadn't invited me to the so-called literary salon."

Calculated in this way, the writing cycle of "The Check Lady" is more than forty days.The deadline loomed next month, and though Editor Hall never urged Mary—he certainly didn't—the Shore Magazine had no shortage of Philip Luther manuscripts.But Mary couldn't let herself procrastinate any longer.

Fortunately, this time she had written the outline beforehand.

That's not to say there won't be creative problems after finishing the story outline, but at least the handwritten outline helped Mary to get her head in order.Afterwards, when I started to create, the situation of typing out a paragraph and discarding a paragraph was much less. Even if the train of thought faltered, Mary still had a general story direction.

The case of helping Miss Morstan recover her inheritance is not as urgent as that of the Illuminati. Mary decided to use her free time to sort out the manuscript and finish the finishing touches.

The reason why it was delayed for a month and revised repeatedly was also because Mary attached great importance to the quality of "The Lady with a Check".

Firstly, this is the "hype" of "The King of Carnival" and Philip Luther's new serialization after his identity was revealed. In terms of attention; secondly, the quality of "The Check Lady" also determines Mary's confidence in negotiating terms with Editor-in-Chief Hall.

No matter how good the editor-in-chief is, it is necessary to maintain the operation and sales of "Beach Magazine".Mary is not the already famous Sir Conan Doyle. With the third serial in her life, she finds a magazine to sign a one-year serial contract. Naturally, she needs to speak with her strength.

Seeing Mary's confident appearance, Catherine was a little relieved: "Then let's talk about the case. How can I help Miss Morstan get back her inheritance?"

How to get it back is naturally up to Mr. Holmes.

Walking out of Scrooge's shabby mansion yesterday, Holmes bluntly said that he was going to investigate the situation of Major Sholto. A whole day passed and there was still no letter.

Just when Mary thought that there would be no results today, she received a telegram that afternoon: [Scotland Yard, come quickly. ]

Follow the lead to Scotland Yard? !Mary was shocked, but she still rushed to Scotland Yard as fast as she could. She was afraid that Holmes and Watson would get into trouble during the investigation and be turned over to Scotland Yard by unknown police detectives.

Fortunately, the reality is better than she imagined.

When Mary came to Scotland Yard, all she saw was Inspector Lestrade pouring bitterness on Holmes.

The middle-aged police detective complained helplessly: "I shouldn't be nosy, this should be Jones' case, just because he couldn't get away, I just ran for him-if I know this matter can be reconciled If you get involved, I will definitely not help you, don't be too forceful, Holmes!"

Sherlock Holmes, who was being criticized, did not seem to listen to Lestrade's complaints at all. He even fumbled left and right slowly, and finally, under Lestrade's gaze, he fumbled out own matches and pipe.

I thought he was going to produce some key evidence!

Lestrade growled: "No smoking in my office, if you want to smoke, go out!"

Watson muttered softly, "You're still smoking in the office."

Lestrade: "The more you learn from Holmes, the more you learn and become more unrestrained, doctor!"

What kind of picture is this of the dean teaching the rebellious high school students a lesson!Mary couldn't laugh or cry, she stood at the door and cleared her throat: "Well, I didn't bother you, did I?"

Hearing Mary's voice, Inspector Lestrade restrained his anger slightly: "You are here, Miss Mary."

"Am I not late?"

"It's just in time."

Seeing Mary's arrival, Holmes stuffed the pipe and matches into his pockets again, and stood up: "It's just right to save Inspector Lestrade's meaningless anger."

Lestrade: "You—"

Before the words came out, the inspector himself laughed first.

He shook his head, as if defeated by Holmes.

In fact, I'm glad that Holmes can help, Mary couldn't help curling her lips.Although Mr. Holmes always mocked Inspector Lestrade in the original book, Mary felt that the Inspector in reality was quite smart.He is not only smart, but also very tolerant. Without Sherlock Holmes, he may not be able to solve major cases.

It's just that Inspector Lestrade's intelligence is the same as that of Mary, and it is still in the category of ordinary people, which is completely incomparable with Holmes himself.So Inspector Lestrade was very happy to be able to solve the case quickly with help.

The arrival of Mary, as Holmes said, not only interrupted the routine link of the detective to maintain face, but also saved Holmes from the accusation, it was indeed "just right".

"Has the investigation been concluded?" asked Mary. "Where is Major Sholto?"

Obviously Holmes was very satisfied with Mary's question, he even nodded: "Fortunately, there are indeed people in this world who are clear-headed and can detect problems at a glance."

With that said, Holmes strode over to Inspector Lestrade's desk. He spread out the newspapers on the desk and pointed to one of the pages: "Look here."

Mary stepped forward and found that the Times were not from today, or even from this month or this year.

The place Holmes pointed to was an obituary, which clearly stated that Major Sholto, former No. 30 Fourth Regiment of the Bombay Army, died on April 28, [-].

"Major Sholto is dead?"

Mary looked up at Holmes: "But Scrooge didn't mean... ah, he said that Major Sholto's son had found the treasure."

"Exactly," said Holmes.

"And where is Major Sholto's son now?" asked Mary again.

"Unfortunately," interrupted Inspector Lestrade, "we have just discovered today that Major Sholto's eldest son, Bartholomew Sholto, has died in his own home, and one of the suspects is his brother. Thaddeus Sholto, no sooner had I brought him back to Scotland Yard than Holmes pursued him in such a manner that he insisted that he was not the murderer."

"It wasn't originally."

Holmes reiterated his point of view: "First of all, Thaddeus Sholto entered with us. He was rejected by his brother."

Lestrade: "The time of death was ten o'clock last night. The last person the victim saw was his brother. You wouldn't make such a low-level mistake, Holmes?"

Holmes sneered: "What I mean is, Thaddeus Sholto saw that Watson and I came to the door, so he couldn't wait to invite us to come together, in order to claim his share of the inheritance. If he kills After taking away the property, why bother to send it to death? And this is just one of them."

"What about the second?" Mary asked.

"The second is that I surveyed the scene before the police arrived. The victim died in his bedroom. It rained that night, and the person who robbed the treasure left footprints in the room."

"Like little Geoffrey in the attempted burglary at Netherfield," said Mary.

Holmes paused, he glanced at Mary, and quickly twitched the corner of his mouth: "Yes, just like little Jeffrey. The difference is that our little Jeffrey has sound hands and feet, and the thief left One side is a normal shoe print, and the other side is a circular mark. This is clearly a person with wooden prosthetic legs, and Thaddeus Sholto has sound legs, so it is impossible for him to enter the door. .”

This is similar to the details in the original book of "The Four Signatures".

When Mary recalled the situation described in the original book, Holmes continued: "Also, Watson and I also found that the thief had accomplices. He entered the door through the window, and he must need help from others. We found an unusual thief on a nearby roof. Adults have much smaller shoe prints and should be a thief's help."

"Holmes also found traces of pomegranate oil at the scene," Watson added. "We hurried home and brought Gladstone over, but unfortunately we didn't find any useful clues. Before we had time to think about the next step, let's listen Hearing the news that Inspector Lestrade has arrested Thaddeus, he hurried to Scotland Yard."

Lestrade: "No matter what you say, without a conclusive alibi, he's still a suspect."

That's what he said, but on the other hand, Inspector Lestrade had no conclusive evidence of a crime.Nothing would have happened if Thaddeus Sholto had been locked up here.

unless……

Mary had an idea, and looked at Holmes: "Since Thaddeus is not the murderer, there is absolutely no need for you to make a trip for him."

Holmes: "Yes."

Mary: "Then I think you should ask otherwise."

Holmes did not deny this: "Your sense of events is as keen as ever, Mary. I have come here because I hope that Inspector Lestrade will publish a report in the newspaper that the murderer of Bartholomew Sholto The murderer has been found, and it is his brother. Fake news will lull the real murderer into letting their guard down."

That's why there was the scene of arguing when she first entered the door. Mary immediately understood, no wonder Inspector Lestrade got angry.

"Let me be that stupid policeman again," Inspector Lestrade was still complaining, "Do you know that forcibly detaining innocent civilians will give me a bad reputation? Now the reporters are saying that I rely on you to solve the case! "

It's a bit too much. It's impossible for Holmes to capture all the members of the Illuminati by himself.It is obvious that both sides are assisting and cooperating, Holmes, Lestrade, and other young police detectives, none of them can be missing.

However, complaints are complaints. Inspector Lestrade said that Holmes was looking for trouble from the beginning to the end, but he didn't say "no" to the detective's troubles.

After Holmes discussed several details with Inspector Lestrade, the two agreed on the public information, and then Mary left Scotland Yard with the detective and the doctor.

Although the treasure disappeared with the death of Bartholomew Sholto, it can be regarded as progress, and it should be reported to Scrooge.

They drove to Scrooge's mansion again, and after explaining the situation, Scrooge was furious. While insulting Major Sholto for not worrying about his death, he also taunted Holmes, saying that anyway, he has a lot of skills, hurry up. Get your property back.Scrooge cursed and cursed himself, and suddenly became short of breath and had a splitting headache, and was helped back to the bedroom by Clutcher to rest.

It was his nephew Fred who chased him out to apologize.

"I'm sorry," Fred said guiltily, looking at the sullen Watson and Holmes who frowned slightly, "My uncle has been plagued by headaches for a long time, and he has seen many doctors over the years, but nothing has worked. Recently he The disease flares up, the mood is affected, and it is not the original intention to blame you."

"It seems that money may not buy peace," Watson, who has always been gentle, could not help but sneer, "Do you have no complaints about how he treats you, sir?"

"My uncle is not a bad man."

Fred replied seriously: "He just...has experienced too much, and thus lost trust in others. I believe that one day he will find his true self in the past."

What he said was frank and sincere, how could he look like someone who covets relatives' property?

From appearance alone, Fred was tall and straight, with a good personality, and even Scrooge had no complaints about being treated so harshly.Coupled with the inheritance of 50 pounds in the future, it can be said that it is difficult to find in the whole of London.

Seeing his demeanor, Watson's expression was complicated.

Seeing the unspeakable expression of the confident and amiable doctor, Mary tried her best to hold back, but she couldn't help it, and secretly laughed.

It didn't matter if she smiled like this, Mary's little tricks fell into Holmes' eyes completely.

The detective glanced at her and raised his eyebrows: "I don't understand."

Mary:!

The snickering was caught, and Mary nearly choked herself.She hurriedly coughed and took it over, barely maintaining her composure and said, "What?"

Holmes: "You very much hope that your sisters can get married without any setbacks, but when it comes to Morstan and Watson, you have changed your attitude."

Mary: "It's different."

She looked at the embarrassed Watson as a matter of course, then looked at Holmes who was pretending to be watching a show, and said frankly: "Jane and Bingley's twists and turns are because they mistakenly think that the other party doesn't like me. This kind of misunderstanding will only increase troubles." It makes no sense. Lizzie and Darcy, because Darcy looked down on people, after he corrected this point, Lizzie rejected Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal for the first time on the grounds of lack of understanding, and I have no objection, because they It needs running-in and real understanding. The situation between Miss Morstan and Watson is completely different. They already know each other's intentions. They are obviously not people who care about things outside of themselves, but they want to think about each other. I can't think of such twists and turns. What is the solution."

Holmes: "So you gave up?"

Mary: "No."

She thinks that Miss Morstan's lack of money is a problem, and that she has money is definitely not a problem-the original book Zhong Sheng dare not propose to Miss Morstan because she thinks that she is rich, and she may not agree to herself.Now that Miss Morstan clearly liked Watson, Watson's worry was not worry at all.

As for this potential competitor, it was entirely Dr. Watson's own trouble.

"Since the two people share the same mind," Mary concluded, "there is no need to worry."

"The hearts are connected."

Holmes repeated Mary's words: "That is why you are not in a hurry."

Mary: "..."

Why did the discussion come to her head!

The topic changed too quickly, and Mary didn't pick up for a while.Before he could speak, his face turned red.

"Yeah, not really."

In fact, there are some reasons for this.After all, in the 21st century, there is still a sweet period of falling in love between mutual understanding and marriage!It's true that Mary is living in the Victorian era, but she thinks it's good to talk about relationship first and then marriage.

Sherlock, in particular, is also not attached to the form of marriage.In this day and age, it is really not easy for a person with shocking ideas to meet another person who doesn't care about the world.

But in addition, Mary felt that Sherlock Holmes himself had another consideration: "It's not safe now, is it?"

Holmes: "The matter of the Illuminati is over."

Mary: "But I think, Sherlock, Blackwood is far less of a threat to you than Moriarty."

The "Empty House" case has been staged ahead of time, so will Holmes, who will face the final confrontation with James Moriarty sooner or later, still deceive everyone around him in that way?

Mary didn't know if he would do it, but she knew that if the "The Last Case" scene happened, she would have to dig deep to find the detective himself.

Having said what Holmes was thinking, the detective just looked away.

He looked at Watson who was chatting awkwardly with the young Fred, and rarely showed a teasing expression.Mary breathed a sigh of relief, and just when she thought the topic was over, Holmes suddenly spoke again: "About Moriarty, he has made other moves recently."