[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

"I'm the investor who wrote to the two managers," Moriarty said, "Miss Mary."

Professor Moriarty's words were resounding, and when he arrived, the whole dressing room fell into a deadly silence.The professor himself looked around as if he couldn't feel the change in the atmosphere at all, and finally his eyes fell on Manager Pollini.

He sighed.

The professor in the beige coat shook his head, as if facing a disobedient student.

"I am disappointed, Monsieur Pollini," he said regretfully, "that I wrote to give you and Monsieur de Buena a chance to make amends, and did not expect you to do such a thing. It's me who overestimated you."

Manager Pollini trembled and struggled almost screaming: "It's the ghost who forced me, professor, I really can't do anything about it. If he hadn't spread fear, made the theater smoky, and threatened to extort money, how could I have come up with this idea?" This way? You know now that he is in the theatre, and we must find him and fill the vacancy of the hundred thousand francs!"

It was fine if he didn't speak, but when he spoke, Professor Moriarty, who had been expressionless just now, immediately frowned.

The professor just changed his expression, but made Manager Pollini shut up as if he was threatened with his life.

"Since you are going to settle accounts with the 'ghost', Manager Pollini," Professor Moriarty spoke in a slow manner. When listening to his lectures, Mary discovered that the professor had the flaw of stuttering. He spent more time organizing sentences than others. "Then we'll settle the score. This 'ghost' has lived in the theater for decades, longer than your tenure. He's the one who brought up Irene Adler Such a fine singer as Ma'am, and 'Miss Christine' is world famous, how much does she bring to the theater?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard Irene's name—Professor James Moriarty actually knew about the relationship between Eric and Irene?

Manager Pollini still denied it: "But——"

"So stubborn."

Seeing that Manager Pollini still wanted to refute, Professor Moriarty looked extremely disappointed.

"The theater's most popular repertoire in the past two years, as well as the ballet that is being rehearsed recently," Professor Moriarty continued, "all came from the hands of this 'ghost'. He is a rare musical genius in a century, The works provided to the opera house have brought huge profits, which is far more than the so-called 'hundred thousand francs' you paid. Manager Pollini, I am not a stupid person. You shirk your responsibility because you think I don't know the theater situation ?"

Manager Pollini choked up.

Seeing that he was speechless, Professor Moriarty withdrew his gaze and turned to others.

He nodded to the pale-faced Irene Adler, and then his eyes fell on Poirot and Mary: "Thank you for your generous help. I thought the matter could end in a more dignified way, but I didn't expect that there would be trouble. There was a bloody murder. It might have turned out to be very ugly if Detective Poirot hadn't been there to help."

Poirot frowned.

What James Moriarty said was extremely respectable.His gentle posture and neat and decent clothes can easily make people feel good-assuming that several people present don't know that he is the culprit of the economic case two years ago.

A few words earlier, Professor Moriarty had both condemned Manager Pollini and made the others, at least Mary, understand their situation.

He knew her, and he knew Poirot.He knows the theater's secrets, the manager's sneaky behavior, and even the relationship between Irene and Eric.

This made Mary wonder: Is there anything James Moriarty doesn't know?

Knowing that the other party is an enemy, even if Professor Moriarty speaks politely, Mary cannot treat each other politely.

Fortunately the professor had no intention of waiting for a reply from Poirot or Marie.

"Then then," said he, "it is none of your business, Monsieur Pollini."

Manager Pollini came to his senses as if struck by lightning.

Meeting Professor Moriarty's gaze, Manager Pollini immediately got up from the ground, and he tremblingly walked towards the door, as if the professor's few words had taken away his entire soul.Just when the manager's right hand touched the door, he suddenly remembered something and said: "As long as I am punished, my relatives will not be in danger, right?"

Moriarty: "Of course, you know my rules."

Manager Pollini nodded numbly.

He opened the door, stepped out, and closed the door.

After a few breaths, a crisp gunshot sounded from the door.

The nervous Sorelli screamed in horror, and the bright red blood splashed on the glass of the dressing room door.With his back to the door, Professor James Moriarty remained calm and calm.

"It's a pity," he shook his head regretfully. "As long as you turn yourself in, it doesn't matter. If you confess my threats and what 'ghost' did, Manager Pollini can reduce his sentence."

Mary shuddered.

A chill that almost threatened the back rushed straight from the tailbone to the top of the head. Mary had never seen such a person—not even Blackwood, when facing death, he had never been so...indifferent.

The "superfluous person" in the professor's eyes disappeared, and his expression eased down.

"Miss Irene knows I'm a regular at the theatre," said the professor, "and I've heard the so-called 'ghost' legend. Manager Pollini deserves to be punished for his ill-explained accounts, but don't worry, Miss Irene. , I respect every artist, not to mention a peerless genius of your husband's level. His works should be immortalized, which cannot be measured by a theater's business projects. Regarding the manager's question, Mr. Pollini wants to apologize for his behavior Pay the price, and I assure you, Miss Irene, that the replacement will never disturb you and your husband's life again."

After finishing speaking, Professor Moriarty turned to look at Miss Sorelli whose face was full of tears.

Seeing the trembling and stunned innocent, he showed a bit of unbearable expression, and then pulled out his veil.

"Please get up, Miss Sorelli," the professor helped up the ballet dancer who was sitting on the ground, "I also promise you that your relatives will receive the most advanced treatment, and no one will threaten you again."

Sorelli looked at Professor Moriarty in disbelief.She didn't know him—maybe she passed by the professor's private room when communicating with dignitaries, or maybe she met him once in social life.But a professor of mathematics is completely out of the social circle of young ballet dancers. Sorelli only thinks that the old gentleman looks familiar, but he does not expect that he is an investor in the theater and can know the whereabouts of Manager Pollini.

What was even more unexpected was that he said in one sentence that Irene and that "ghost"... turned out to be a husband and wife relationship?

Just when Sorelli realized this, the professor calmly said, "What happened tonight has never happened, never existed, is that okay?"

Sorelli shuddered.

She understood what this meant all too well. The ballet dancer turned her head to look at Irene nervously. Seeing that Irene Adler, who had always advanced and retreated, also looked uncomfortable, and nodded subconsciously.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Professor Moriarty smiled.

He glanced at his watch: "There is still time, and I can still enjoy the second half of Ms. Carlota's performance. Your performance tomorrow will continue as usual, Miss Irene."

Erin: "...that's natural."

Moriarty: "I won't disturb the joy of solving the case."

He gestured politely again and left the dressing room.

But where is Mary in the mood to "feel the joy"?

On the way back, both she and Irene seemed preoccupied.Irene once begged Professor Moriarty for help. Even if she didn't say that her lover was a theater ghost, she would not be involved in Moriarty's plans and interests, but Mary was different.

Irene looked at Mary with a worried face, and held her hand: "You can't be afraid, Mary."

Mary took a deep breath.

"I'm not afraid," she said. "The professor is trying to kill me, and I really can't be afraid."

To be precise, it is to give Sherlock Holmes a blow.

Was Mary Bennet a threat to him?have.She personally participated in the Illuminati case. Although she almost put herself in it, she also exposed Blackwood's true face with outstanding effect.This is enough to prove that even though Mary has little experience and little ability to protect herself, she can still cause trouble for Moriarty's plan.

But she didn't participate in the whole confrontation with him. It was Holmes who confronted Moriarty-or the British government behind Holmes.

To him, Mary was nothing more than Holmes' helper.If she didn't come, it would be the same if it was Watson, Miss Morstan, or Irene herself.There was only one purpose in showing her face: to tell Mary, and all his enemies, that the professor knew what they were doing.

Based on this alone, Mary couldn't lose her momentum.

"It's just," Mary lowered her voice, "Professor... is really a character."

Mary was not afraid of death or danger. She dared to confront Blackwood, because Blackwood would directly kill her after revealing his true colors, and there was nothing terrible about it.But Professor Moriarty is different. He has no disguise from the beginning to the end. Mary knows that he is the enemy before seeing him.

But this enemy is neither threatening nor aggressive, and the danger is in front of you, but you don't know when it will come to you.This shadowy threat is more oppressive than Blackwood.

"I have to send a telegram to Sherlock," said Mary.

"I understand," Irene nodded, "but you can't be too nervous about this matter."

"..."

This is the truth.

The more nervous you are, the more likely things will go wrong.

At this time, it reflects the invariance of the Victorian era. A letter was written in the past, and I don’t know when it will be sent to the town in northern France-I am afraid that Mary’s telegram will arrive earlier than her letter.But the telegram can't explain everything clearly, and it's not sending text messages.

What a hassle.

Thinking of this, Mary breathed a sigh of relief: Anyway, at least one thing can be confirmed, before Sherlock returns, Professor Moriarty will not take any action.

The current state is that she is in a hurry to get angry, and the news can't arrive.Then why bother yourself.

"Instead of worrying," Mary forced the corners of her mouth to hold back her thoughts and said, "It's better to take the opportunity to play around in Paris. Don't worry about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go abroad, but you are only busy investigating the case."

"you're right."

Irene immediately restrained her worry and smiled: "Anyway, you haven't seen my performance yet."

After the case, it is indeed worth celebrating.

Even if there were three murders at the Paris Opera House in three days, it did not affect any performances. The rumors of the "Phantom of the Theater" murder mysteriously disappeared after the suicide of the manager Pollini. The new manager didn't say anything about it. He just met all the staff and actors politely, and then started a new day. work.

At the invitation of Irene, Mr. Poirot and the three Bennet sisters finally had the opportunity to enjoy the performance of Ms. Irene Adler, the most famous soprano of the Paris Opera House.

Catherine and Lydia didn't know what happened in the make-up artist last night. The two of them happily enjoyed the opera all night, and they even knew the performance process better than Mr. Poirot and Mary.

Mary first introduced her two younger sisters to Poirot at the entrance of the theater. They were also detectives and were much more easy-going. Catherine could not help asking left and right until they approached the box.

M. Poirot's first sight was a bouquet of roses on the box table.

He and Mary looked at each other for a moment: the delicate roses were still covered with dew, they were not only just picked during the day, but even carefully preserved.

Mary stepped forward and picked up the card on the table with Eric's signature on it.

She suddenly laughed and turned her head: "Sir, it was given to you by the 'ghost'!"

Poirot understood at once.

"It's for you and me, Miss Mary," he couldn't help laughing, "This is the first time I've received roses, and it turned out to be a gift from a man."

Mary thought so too.

Sherlock Holmes may have given roses at random, but Mary felt that a person like Eric with strong possessiveness and obsessive love would not give roses casually, even if he gave roses. One of them is a gentleman—it's strange to send a man, isn't it?

So Mary thought about it, and suddenly felt blessed, and turned the card over, and there was a sentence written on the back of the card.

"When the show is over, you can give the bouquet to Christine."

Mary: "..."

Poirot: "Miss Mary?"

Mary reluctantly handed the card to Poirot, and Mr. Poirot burst into laughter after reading the above sentence.

"The good news," he said, "at least the rose wasn't for me."

I'm afraid this is the way the Phantom version expresses its gratitude!Mary can't laugh or cry, whether it is the original novel of "The Phantom of the Opera" or the musical adapted by later generations, it is a sad love tragedy.When it comes to Irene Adler, not only can she and Eric finally get married, but she can even turn the tragedy into such a sweet story.

Eric's behavior dispelled the haze in Mary's heart.

While Professor Moriarty's shadow is menacing, there are plenty of good things going on in Paris.Take Ms. Irene Adler's voice, for example.

While in London, Mary heard Erin sing.But the formal theater is completely different from the private party. Tonight Irene first sang the famous passage from "Romeo and Juliet" and then the track from "La Traviata".Her voice resounded in the Paris Opera House, and its shock was far beyond that of the party salon.

In a trance, Mary seemed to hear a faint sigh, which seemed to come from around the private room, or from behind her. The man's voice was full of satisfaction and love.

"My angel," he said.

Mary couldn't help curling her lips.

Although she has never seen what Eric looks like, Mary thinks this is very good. Even if she has never spoken or seen the way he looks at Irene, Mary still knows that Eric loves her deeply.

so good.

Irene's performance was still amazing. In order to prevent Eric from being jealous, Mary gave the rose to Irene to celebrate her unusually successful performance today.

Returning home from the theater, Mary thought for a while, took out a pen and paper, and wrote a letter to Sherlock again.

"This letter was sent after the telegram, Sherlock," she began, pointing out the time, "but please don't worry, Professor Moriarty didn't make things difficult for me when he showed up."

The telegram sent overnight last night only stated that Moriarty showed up, indicating that he was safe.If it were for other people to receive the telegram, I'm afraid they would still be in fear for a long time.But Mary believed that she had a tacit understanding with Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and one sentence was enough for him to grasp all the information he needed.

Therefore, as a supplement, Mary explained in detail the ins and outs of Professor Moriarty's appearance in the letter-including the three murders and endings at the Paris Opera House.

At the end of writing, Mary still felt warm when she thought of Eric's phrase "my angel".

When a love of mutual trust is in front of you, even if it has nothing to do with you, you will inevitably feel joy in your heart.

“It was also reassuring to see Erin and Eric so much in love,” Mary wrote. “There is nothing more satisfying than the happiness of a client after completing a case.”

No matter what Holmes thought, at least it made Mary feel that it was their smiles and happiness that made her feel that her persistence was not wrong.

After writing, Mary thought about the letter seriously. She wanted to be a detective, but in fact... she wanted to be an author, too.

How other writers think about it, Mary doesn't understand.But she wrote suspenseful serials and helped Holmes track down the truth of the case. In fact, there are many interconnected places.

Among other things, it's like reaping the mutual trust and support between Eric and Irene today, and isn't the Luther couple in Mary's writing?

The next fourth story of Philip Luther will go back to the past, which also means that the dead Mrs. Luther will officially appear on the scene.At this time, Luther himself is facing parting ways with the entire Scotland Yard. This is definitely not as simple as resigning, and it is bound to be a crisis on the road of life.

And Mrs. Luther, needless to say, is definitely a person who supports Luther's soul.

In this way, the content of the fourth serialized story is actually ready to come out.

First of all, Mary has already determined the ending in the previous article. It was precisely because of this case that Philip Luther had conflicts with his boss and resigned.Secondly, editor-in-chief Hall suggested before that after "The King of Carnival" and "The Check Lady", it is best to return to the original style.Mary thinks so too, and the heavy-toned murder fits right in with the ending of Luther's resignation.In this case, the framework and theme of the story are basically settled, only the specific content is missing.

In that split second, Mary finally understood the question Dad was asking herself before Christmas.

Mr. Bennet asked Mary, you want to be a private detective and a writer, but there is always one you want to do more. What do you want to do?

At that time, Mary mistakenly thought that her father was asking about her career plan, testing whether she had a clear mind and understanding to survive independently.She foolishly said so much, and brought out her savings and future considerations, but only got Mr. Bennet's teasing smile and the sentence "You are no different from Lydia".

Come to think of it now...

What Dad wanted to ask was what Mary really wanted.

If you live a happy and healthy life and have no worries about food and clothing, then you can just marry, why bother yourself?Mary will not comment on other people's choices, and living a down-to-earth life is the most difficult thing. On the contrary, Mary admires those who do this.

But she wants to go in the opposite direction. Whether she becomes an author or a private detective, she will not live a stable life.As a parent, without interfering with his daughter's choice, Mr. Bennet always hopes that the silly girls can live happily and happily.Mary chose the most difficult path, and of course he would ask what she wanted.

What Mary wants is to "find the answer."

Find the answer to the case, in exchange for the smiles of the clients; design a puzzle and provide the answer - if you are lucky, you can also find the answer to the real problems in real life, in exchange for readers, or even More smiles.At first Mary felt only warmth, now she feels that her life has meaning.

After thinking of this, Mary's mood suddenly relaxed.

The trip to Paris was indeed fruitful.

She looked at the letter she wrote and thought silently, if nothing else, now she can answer Dad's question.

After sealing the letter, Mary's mind was still full of messy things. The theater case, Professor Moriarty's resignation, and the love between Eric and Irene have never dissipated. With a piece of paper, I began to think about the idea of ​​a new story.

When Catherine found her, she saw Mary sleeping on the desk.

She woke up in the middle of the night and found that Lydia was sleeping soundly, but Mary's bed was empty.After looking around, I found that she was still in the study, still asleep.

Working hard is a good thing, but too much indulging is not good for your health.

Catherine murmured silently in her heart as she walked forward and pushed Mary: "Mary, go back to sleep!"

"Ok?"

Mary rubbed her eyes and woke up.Seeing her dazed look, Catherine complained, "Why are you so obsessed with writing?"

"I'm thinking about the case."

Yawning, Mary shook the paper under her arm. She had scribbled on it, making it almost impossible to see what was written on it.

"I've settled down," she said.

Catherine suddenly regained her spirits: "The next case? What are you going to write about?"

Mary: "Angel of Death."