[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

In the months since the strike, there have never been so many people on the streets of the small town of Massena.

The dense crowd came towards the grocery store aggressively, and Mary's heart suddenly jumped. Without saying a word, she pulled Miss Grégoire and walked towards the counter: "Boss, where is the back door of your store?"

Megella, the owner of the grocery store, was also taken aback, but she couldn't help showing a dismissive smile when she saw Mary's flustered appearance.

"Don't worry, miss," he comforted perfunctorily, "there are policemen on the street, and workers don't dare to break into trouble."

"..."

Mary took a deep breath.

"I ask you," she raised her voice, "Where is the back door?!"

Maybe it was because Mary had always put on an aggressive posture when she came to Mengsu Coal Mine, or maybe it was because her sudden outburst of shouting was really aura. The boss Megella, who hadn't taken it seriously before, was taken aback.

"over there."

He answered Mary's question automatically, only to regret his honesty.He muttered a few words that women from the city are just ignorant, so he stopped talking to her.

Miss Gregoire was shocked by Mary's behavior, she covered her mouth: "Miss Mary, you are too rude, how can we go through the back door of the grocery store, that's not for customers—"

"Do you want to live?"

"what?"

Mary looked at Miss Grégoire who was still innocent and didn't know what was going to happen, and felt a deep sense of powerlessness in her heart.

There was no time to explain now, and she didn't think Miss Gregoire would understand after she explained.Mary was stubborn, and directly grabbed the girl's hand: "If you want to live, come with me!"

She dragged Miss Grégoire and ran out from the back door of the grocery store. The moment the two ladies left the room, the workers had kicked open the door of the grocery store.

Fortunately, she already had investigative experience in London, and Mary had a clear idea of ​​the buildings in the surrounding streets within the first week of her arrival in the small town of Massena.She led Miss Gregoire to avoid the main road of the town, and walked around the back alley to the corner of the brick house.

Here, she can see clearly what happened on the main road, and at the same time hide Miss Gregoire.

There were too many people coming, and there were almost a hundred workers crowded inside and outside the grocery store. Looking from the outside, Mary didn't see any familiar figures.All she could see was the despair and anger on the faces of the workers after enduring long periods of hunger and cold.

"Bread! Bread! Bread!"

They shouted and rushed into the grocery store, roaring and screaming one after another, and while clamoring for food, Mary even heard a few sad voices: "—to avenge Etienne! You hurt him!"

The sound flashed past, but in exchange for a moment of silence from the crowd.

In the next second, the deafening shout almost lifted the roof and broke through the sky.

"Bread! Bread! Bread!"

A messy din in the grocery store.

"Revenge for Etienne!"

really.

At this point, Mary has probably been able to guess the situation.

Holmes' deduction is correct, he said to wait for the gun - because the gun will ignite all the contradictions that are not released, and will naturally expose all the designs hidden in the shadows.

Right now, someone must have spread the news about Etienne's injury, which not only made the scene known to everyone, but also aroused the anger of the workers.

Who wants the workers to riot and take to the streets to protest?

The Anarchists think, the Workers International thinks, at this point it doesn't matter, even...

A frightened name jumped from the bottom of Mary's heart to her eyes.

Professor James Moriarty thought too.

Just before she realized something, the workers crowded in front of the grocery store dispersed one after another, and her tense heart did not relax, because Mary clearly saw several young and strong workers with sallow complexions because of hunger. The grocer, Megella, dragged out.

"Let me go, let me go!"

At this point, the owner of the grocery store had lost the attitude of laughing at Mary just now. He struggled in vain: "If you don't let me go, the police won't let you go!"

His words add fuel to the fire.After hearing the word police, the worker who held down the boss directly slapped him twice.

"It was the police, it was you," the worker yelled angrily, "you shot Étienne with a gun, and he might not even wake up alive!"

"Etienne's injury has nothing to do with me!"

The grocer protested.

Seeing that the men were unreasonable, he cast his eyes on the women for help, and begged: "You are reasonable, I have done nothing, and it is not me who is not paid wages, but the coal mine owners. When you strike At that time, didn’t I lend you money on credit to buy food and clothing for you?”

"Borrowing money on credit?"

A woman came out immediately after hearing this and said with a sneer, "The price of paying on credit is to ask my daughter to pay it back! Megra, where do you have the face to regard this as generosity?"

"You're only willing to lend money to a pretty woman if she gives you a shot," spat another young woman in the crowd, "It makes me sick to think about it, I'm a worker, I'm not !"

The situation got worse after the grocer's words angered the women in the parade.

The female workers who have been scorned and insulted by the grocery store boss for many years finally have room to vent their anger. The men who swallowed their anger for food and drink are also passionate. Several women rushed forward: "Bread! Bread! Bread!"

"Revenge for Etienne!"

Mary, who was hiding in the corner of the brick building, pushed Miss Grégoire into the back alley.

"Hey, why-"

"Shh."

Marie covered Mademoiselle Grégoire's mouth, preventing her from looking out.Until now, Miss Gregoire still hadn't figured out what happened outside.She couldn't understand the women's complaints, let alone where the workers' anger came from.Even in the eyes of Ms. Grégoire, it is entirely self-inflicted trouble for the workers to starve if they do not work.

"Do not talk."

Mary looked in the direction of the back alley, and she took a step forward: "I'll take you back."

Just when she let go, Miss Grégoire, who couldn't hold back her inner curiosity, still took the opportunity to glance at the main road.

The bloody picture came into view.

During Miss Grégoire's 18 years of life, she was like a flower in the palm of her hand. Not only did she not suffer from any wind, water and rain, she had never seen the scorching sun.

The group that almost lost their minds due to anger and the brutal and crazy blood made Miss Grégoire forget her situation for a moment, and she screamed in fear.

"What, what's going on, how did this happen—?!"

Oops!

Mary knew it was over when she heard the girl screaming behind him.

They are so close to the grocery store, so close that they are only tens of meters away from the workers behind the parade.It was only when they looked back that Mary realized that the back alley had no place to leave, it was a dead end!

"Who is there?!"

"Go and see!"

Numerous workers swarmed in, blocking Mary and Miss Gregoire between the dead alley and the main road.

No one would have expected that there were still two well-dressed young girls hidden in the corner of the town of Massena. The angry workers were startled when they saw the two guarded and frightened people.

"Who is this...?" Someone asked.

The young man at the head stared at Mary for a while, and suddenly realized.

"I know her," he whispered. "This is Mary Bennet, the kind lady who took Étienne. If it hadn't been for her, Étienne would have died in the police station."

Hearing this, the hostility of the workers immediately subsided a lot.

This kind of atmosphere made Mary feel a little relieved, but the relaxed atmosphere didn't last long.Before Mary could think of anything to say to the crowd of workers, the woman who had rushed to berate the grocer suddenly yelled through the crowd.

"The other is the daughter of the Grégoire family," she shouted hoarsely. "When my children can't eat, she misses the cream cake in the kitchen!"

"Why?"

"Yeah, why?"

Countless whispers sounded in front of Mary, and now Miss Grégoire completely panicked. She instinctively grabbed Mary's arm and hid behind Mary who was smaller and thinner than her.

"Why," said a worker with a wry smile, "the Grégoire family didn't do anything—they didn't even know how to do it themselves as well as the owner of the Deneland family. The owner and wife of the Grégoire family ate like fat pigs. Basking in the sun every day in bed. Look at their daughters! Doing nothing but having skin as white as snow, what about our children? What about our children!"

"—she's innocent."

Mary knew she couldn't keep silent.

She protected Miss Gregoire behind her: "If you have any hatred and dissatisfaction, go to Gregoire himself to vent. You also said that Miss Gregoire did nothing. She is innocent!"

"Aren't we starving children? Miss Mary, aren't starving workers innocent?"

"..."

A question that came from nowhere left Mary speechless.

The anger that receded for less than 5 minutes spread among the crowd again.

"Miss Mary," the leading worker said, "you hand her over, and you can go."

"Don't, don't!"

Mademoiselle Grégoire burst into tears.

Even though she didn't know what happened, Miss Grégoire instinctively felt fear when faced with the menacing workers and their anger.

She grabbed Mary tightly: "Mary, please don't, I don't want to die! Don't leave me! Don't you know them? Don't you have a good relationship with those unloading workers? Let him save us, let him Come save us!"

Yes, where is Sherlock Holmes?

If Miss Gregoire hadn't reminded her, Mary wouldn't have realized this.But even the reminder of the thought was fleeting.

When is it time, still waiting for others to save yourself?

"It's nothing to bully a girl who has no ability to resist," Mary yelled angrily, "Etienne won't agree with you if he wakes up!"

But no one will listen to her.

Months of hunger, anger, and despair—maybe more than a few months, maybe longer, the daily struggle to feed the food broke out with unimaginable strength. This is no longer a fact that Mary can stop.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Mary never forgot Ms. Irene Adler's advice before she came to the town of Massena.She no longer hesitated, and touched her waist directly.

Pulling out the gun and loading the bullet, Mary straightly pulled the trigger towards the sky.

"Don't come here!"

Mary Bennet tensed and threatened in the loudest voice she had ever heard.

"I am no match for you all alone, but if you want to hurt innocent people, let's see who sees the blood first!"