[Comprehensive Classics] Detective Mary

"Holmes and I are friends." Mary answered Inspector Lestrade's question frankly.

However, Inspector Lestrade did not seem to believe Mary's words.He was a full generation older than Mary, and had the same normal family background as Milton's union representative, Higgins.

As a middle-aged man, Inspector Lestrade looked suspiciously at Mary up and down for a long while—he said it was a friendship, he always felt that something was wrong, but he said it was a more intimate relationship... Thinking of Sherlock Holmes couldn't help shivering due to his usual personality and withdrawn and indifferent personality.

Well, years of detective instinct had told Inspector Lestrade that it was best left alone.

So he let Mary go: "If there are any further clues, I will tell Holmes."

Mary: "Just tell me, Inspector. The detective may not be interested in this case, but I am friends with a lady who lives nearby. If you have any clues, you can send a detective to Serpentine Street to find me." .”

Fortunately, Inspector Lestrade didn't ask how an unmarried lady living in Serpentine Street knew people who lived near the slums-she was also a "private eye", so she had to have her own informants.

So the inspector nodded: "No problem."

"Thank you," Mary said sincerely, "for allowing me to assist in the investigation. I may not be as clever and skilled as a detective, but I will still do my best."

Her humility earned her the full favor of the detective.

"sky."

Inspector Lestrade shook his head humorously: "If it is possible, Holmes will ask you to deal with us instead of him in the future. It is enough for that guy to sit by the fireplace and give advice!"

"..."

Mary couldn't laugh or cry.Although I knew that the detective was joking, no matter which version of Mr. Holmes he was, he was Scotland Yard's biggest helper and troublemaker!

After bidding farewell to the police and Irish workers, Dr. Watson dutifully escorted Mary back to Serpentine Street.

It is a pity that Miss Mary Morstan with the same name was not present. She took another road and went to work in the factory early. She may not know that a murder occurred near her home.

Missing the beautiful red-haired Irish girl, Watson is regretful, but he is not overly entangled.

He followed Mary to the slums, and not only knew where Miss Morstan lived, but also made friends with her fellow countrymen—the polite and sympathetic Dr. Watson left a good impression on the Irish youth .

To pursue a girl, one must first impress her relatives and friends.So Watson is very optimistic. He believes that this operation is not without gains.

"Thank you for accompanying me to the scene, doctor."

Back home, Mary asked Watson to rest in the living room briefly: "If Holmes is not interested in this case, he may trouble you later."

"It's okay."

Dr. John Watson has a great sense of justice. He watched a girl die unexpectedly, but it was Mary who didn't "trouble" him that made him sleepless.

Not to mention that this is also a good opportunity to continue contact with Miss Morstan.Which gentleman would refuse to be able to track down the murderer and see the girl who made him unforgettable again, killing two birds with one stone?

"If it is necessary," he urged, "just send for me in Baker Street, and I will come—"

"—Mary Mary, you're back! Editor-in-Chief Hall sent the reader's letter to... over..."

Catherine yelled loudly and ran down the stairs, "Deng Dang Dang", she hadn't finished speaking, when she just landed on the floor and raised her head, she saw a strange gentleman sitting in the living room.

"Oops!"

She immediately covered her mouth, and she didn't know who this person was. Didn't the "reader's letter" just now expose Mary's creation and submission? !

Seeing Catherine's face of imminent disaster, Mary couldn't help but said, "It's okay, Dr. Watson knows about it."

"That's good."

Catherine took a long breath: "Dr. Watson sounds familiar...Dr. Watson!"

In Milton, Catherine and Lydia only met Watson briefly at the train station.Afterwards, the actions of the ladies and gentlemen in Milton are completely irrelevant parallel lines. Mary's two sisters only know that there is a noble doctor John Watson to help them, but they have never seen him again.

"Katie, this is Dr. John Watson," Mary introduced. "Doctor, this is my sister Catherine. I have another sister, Lydia, who should be upstairs."

Catherine: "I'm calling Lydia down!"

Watson: "Don't bother her."

The doctor stood up.

"Miss Mary, please rest as soon as possible," he said, "I will leave now."

"what……"

Catherine looked disappointed.

She was still holding the letter package from Editor-in-Chief Hall in her arms: "Why don't you leave without a cup of tea, sir? When I was in Milton, Mr. Hale kept praising you, and today I finally see you in real life."

"I also heard that Miss Mary praised you often in Milton."

Dr. Watson put on his hat, and pressed the brim of his hat politely to Catherine: "Today I finally saw a real person, but you still need to read the letters from readers, don't you?"

Mary glanced at the package, and followed Catherine to keep it: "There are so many letters, I'm afraid the two of you can't read them all. Why don't you do it to the end?"

"You want to catch me as a coolie? No way," Dr. Watson laughed out loud. "Thank you for your enthusiasm, two ladies, but I think it's better to go back to 221b for afternoon tea. Your readers' letters are really impressive. My eyes are hot, Miss Mary, I'm afraid I'm jealous."

"Jealous for what?"

The corners of Mary's mouth curled up: "I'm impressed by your writing, doctor, you are better than me in terms of creative ability. Since you are investigating the case with Holmes, why don't you write down your experience and submit it to "Seaside Magazine?"

Watson was taken aback when he heard the words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Why didn't I think of it!"

Hearing this, he didn't even think about drinking tea: "God, why didn't I think of that! You really gave me a great inspiration, Miss Mary. After helping Holmes complete the last case, I am full of hope." Thoughts, I haven’t completely calmed down until now. Instead of being so excited in vain, it’s better to write it down. Great, miss! I’ll go right away.”

After speaking, he said goodbye to the two Miss Bennet again, and left Serpentine Avenue in a hurry.

Catherine was very sorry, she really wanted Dr. Watson to stay for a cup of tea.

But after the doctor left, she didn't forget about her business, and the fourth sister who was holding the package had twinkling eyes: "I have asked Aunt Blow to make tea, let's open the reader's mail!"

Seeing her excited appearance, Mary couldn't help curling her lips.

A year ago, Catherine was still a silly girl who followed her sister and was full of officers.Who would have thought that Catherine would become obsessed with detective novels a year later.

During this period of time, she has almost read all the detective reasoning and even horror suspense that can be read on the market.A few days ago, Mary even found several Gothic novels in her and Lydia's bedroom. When chatting with Catherine, she admitted that she secretly bought them with pocket money in Longbourn. However, Catherine's basic evaluation of this is not too high.

Mary flipped through it roughly, and found that it was indeed a popular Gothic novel on the market. It basically had no nutrition, and even the horror elements were clichéd and perfunctory.

Is it not bad? Mary is very pleased. In just one year, Catherine has established a basic literary quality.

Without the accumulation of knowledge in the 21st century, Mary felt that it would be difficult for her to do so.

In the original work of "Pride and Prejudice", the five Miss Bennet, except Catherine, all have different personalities and have their own characteristics.The only exception was Miss Catherine Bennet.She played with Lydia, and her character was just like Lydia; Lydia was disciplined by her parents after she got married, and she immediately developed in a good way.

When she was studying, Mary only thought that the fourth daughter of the Bennet family had no special features at all. After time travelling, this impression deepened: Catherine is essentially a girl with no opinions, so she went astray with Lydia.

But when she faced Catherine, who was holding a package and looking expectant, as a sister, Mary suddenly realized that she only saw the shortcomings of this humble sister, but ignored one of her greatest advantages—plasticity.

Although the daughters of the Bennet family all agree that it is a bad habit of their mother, Mrs. Bennet's stubbornness and refusal to listen to others, they actually have more or less inherited her mother's defects.

Even Mary, who sometimes thought to herself, didn't blame Papa for his sarcasm.Her arrogance and stubbornness are not much different from Lydia's, but they are used in different places.And this is exactly the same as their common mother.

It can only be said that she transmigrated and became the third daughter of the Bennet family, rather than a female character in other famous works, which somewhat conforms to the original character design.

Catherine, however, was different.

If Jane is still a gentle girl with a bottom line, Catherine is not affected by her mother's shortcomings at all.At worst, she has no opinions, but on the bright side, she is also a girl who is willing to accept other people's opinions and ideas, and can turn them into her own motivation.

Didn't this year's change prove that Catherine's small defect was actually a great advantage.

As for the weak ears and lack of backbone, Mary thinks it's just because she's still young and doesn't look like she comes from the future, and her knowledge and experience can't help her judge right from wrong.

In time she will be independent.

What's more, Mary suddenly realized that as long as Catherine can persist in developing in a positive direction, her future may be brighter than that of Jane and Elizabeth.

Mary had put countless thoughts here, but Catherine didn't realize it.

She took Mary back to the study, and the two Miss Bennet jointly opened the package.As Mary and Watson said, there are indeed many letters from readers this time.

After all, the last issue published the final chapter of "Serial Killer Chess Game", so the discussion level was naturally higher than that of the serialization.The feedback from readers is also much better than when it was serialized.

Firstly, the murderer is still no match for the detective, and justice overwhelms evil; secondly, in the ending, Mary clearly separates Luther's uplifting from Edmund's agitation, and let Philip Luther see Edmond When he saw the evil in his body, he found the kindness in his heart—his true love for his wife and his wife for him.

Therefore, more readers in this letter are admiring the detective's strength and deep affection for his wife, and many people are desperate for the girl named by Marit after being raped, and Edmund "mercifully" ended her. The girl of life expressed sympathy.Many ladies even wrote that they shed tears for this.

Although their tears have no meaning to the poor, Mary feels that they arouse a little bit of compassion from the rich. London is so big, maybe there is a poor person who is struggling in the quagmire and lives because of a moment of kindness. go down.

No matter how small and subtle a good thing is, there is hope, isn't it?

Of course, there is still a lot of negative criticism.There are still a considerable number of readers who insist that the author's writing style is indecent and sensational, and Mary ignores it as coldly as usual.

The mixed reviews are by no means a bad thing, at least it proves that everyone has expectations for the work-especially a part of the letter directly asked when Philip Luther's new story would start.For an author who earns a living by writing manuscripts and secondly considers the social function of literature, this is what Mary wants to see most.

"When "Serial Killer Chess Game" was first published, you were already thinking about the next story," Catherine said while reading the letter, "Now? Mary, what do you plan to write about the next story of "The King of Carnival"?"

"I haven't figured it out yet," Mary answered truthfully.

Inspiration doesn't always come when you need it.During these days, Mary conceived many possible themes and cases, but she felt that they were not suitable for development.

After much deliberation, she silently made a decision: the next story is not her own.

“The last time Editor-in-Chief Hall showed me two reviews,” she said, “one of them listed the names of several retired London police detectives while speculating about the real identity of Philip Luther.”

"so?"

"So I want to visit them," Mary said, "maybe I can find out some cases that can be adapted."

Even if you can't write a long-term one, like "The Collection of Sherlock Holmes", it's better to write a short story with one issue and one case for the time being.Mary felt that she too needed to relax her mind, find a way to cheat, and give herself a short vacation.

"Then when are you going to go?" Catherine asked.

"At least read the letter first," Mary replied, opening another brand new envelope. "I think the letter is much more than the last story."

And Mary's "thinking" was absolutely correct.

Just as they spent the afternoon reading the letters, the next day Editor-in-Chief Hall sent for some new ones—letters, literary reviews, and tabloid lace.

Mary: "..."

She almost fainted!

Before I just moved, I was still thinking that I could handle these things alone, without hiring a secretary.But now Mary has finally suffered a loss in thinking too ideally-if this continues, does she have time to do anything else!

Just as she was planning to push this matter to the magazine office, Lydia, who watched Mary and Catherine read the letter yesterday, quietly put down her needlework.

"Isn't it just reading letters?" she said coldly, "I'll take your place, and you go about your business."

"you?"

Mary was taken aback. She knew that Lydia had restrained her temper a lot recently, and the relationship between the two girls who had always been on the tip of their tongues had eased a bit, but the relationship between the sisters was far from getting along in harmony and helping each other.

Lydia naturally saw Mary's surprise, she snorted coldly: "Of course I won't help you for free, I will help you, and you have to help me too."