[Sherlock Holmes] The Legend of the Nightingale

(God's perspective)

At breakfast the next day, Mrs. Hudson scolded the two male lodgers for a long time, saying that it was their fault that Nightingale had learned to leave early and return late.Nightingale looked normal and showed no signs of crying.But as Mrs. Hudson was setting the plate on the table, Holmes said in a drawling voice:

"Sure enough, using cold water will disappear quickly."

"What did you say?" The doctor was puzzled.Nightingale lowered her eyes with a stiff expression.

"Fortunately you're a doctor. Look at her, it's almost impossible to tell that her eyes are swollen."

She paused for a moment to put her glass on the table.

"I thought you were in a better mood. Even if it wasn't, we had to move on. What happened last night?"

"There's nothing to say." She said in a low voice, "It's just as they said."

Holmes was about to go on, when Mrs. Hudson suddenly appeared:

"Don't talk about work at the dinner table. Do you think she hasn't been tormented enough? Seeing that the child is listless—it seems that he has asked for personal leave to not go to work again?—Maybe I will waive her rent for this month."

"Go ahead, Mrs. Hudson."

"Raise the rent for the two of you and make up for her share."

Watson almost sprayed the milk on the table: Why are I counted again? !

Holmes coughed lightly. "Mrs. Hudson, it involves a thousand-pound emerald necklace. You don't want to hear?"

This method has been tried and tested with women.Mrs. Hudson immediately fell silent.Holmes motioned for the conversation to continue.

"First tell me how you knew the necklace was in the waiting room," the doctor said.

Holmes got up from the table, went to the window and gazed out.It was raining again, and the window was filled with moisture.

"At the end of the road, there are only two possibilities. First, the necklace has been taken. Second, it is still in the house."

"You're kidding."

A vague smile appeared on the corner of Holmes' mouth, and he drew the shape of a goblet on the glass.

"Recall that glass of wine. When Nightingale asked for the wine, they found that the wine hadn't been brought up. At the banquet, guests usually carry their own wine wherever they go, because it is easy to get confused when they put it down. Wait for them to go downstairs When I came to look for it, I couldn’t find the original cup. That means it was dealt with in a hurry.”

"Do you suspect that sleeping pills were put in the wine?" Watson thought for a while, "Because it's too late to make a glass now, so we have to dispose of it entirely. But it was Hattie who took the glass?"

"The one who took the glass was not necessarily the last person to touch it. A glass of wine is not likely to be noticed by anyone, and it disappears easily, and no one will care. At this time, the most important thing to pay attention to is the maid."

"I didn't notice," said Watson. "Well, I don't usually see the role of a maid in such matters."

"From the moment I entered the drawing-room, I had the idea that the necklace might be there," said Holmes calmly. "The maid was restless. She was supposed to stand beside the mistress, but she kept standing in front of the hanger, and every time someone Even when approaching her, she involuntarily made a defensive posture, and then backed away. If Mrs. Neluda was not too impatient, she would also see that the maid was strange. Lisa said that because Nightingale mentioned the wine, she forgot Put the necklace away. But you say you watched her put the jewels away."

"Yes." Nightingale said thoughtfully, "I saw Neluda put the necklace into the jewelry box and handed it to Lisa. She took the necklace with me and went downstairs with me. If she didn't do this, I I'll remind her too."

"Not on the table?" Watson cut her off.

"No. I can still see that clearly."

"Did you not speak to the police officer?"

"I said it, but Lisa insisted that I was wrong. We both hold our own opinions, and we can't say who is right and who is wrong."

"The matter is now simple." Holmes snapped his fingers. "The maid took the necklace around and went back to the lounge, and put the jewelry box into the coat pocket."

"I don't understand what's the point of her doing this." Nightingale raised her hands and made a movement of grabbing the air fiercely.

"Maybe it was bought. It's hard to say." Holmes continued subconsciously to draw something with his finger on the glass. You can also say that your memory is wrong. Although it is absurd, no one can say anything."

"Not so much. With so many people's clothes hanging there, she could fit in anyone's pocket, including Angela's."

"That's pretty accurate, Watson. But that's theft, and it can't be done casually like yesterday. There's still a good chance of finding her after a thorough investigation."

"We have no right to question her." Nightingale took a sip of the soup, trying to warm up her cold heart, but the soup was also a little cold.

"But at least we still have the right to talk to her. I couldn't talk to her last night. I will find an appropriate opportunity to communicate with her alone. She has panicked, and there must be traces to follow. Oh, have you read the morning paper? ?” Holmes suddenly grabbed a newspaper from the desk and threw it at Watson.The doctor saw the report about the necklace incident at a glance.

"The wording is a bit strange."

"It's not weird, it's obvious."

"What do the newspapers say?" Nightingale finally said a word.

"It probably means that Nightingale was suspected of stealing, and her teacher arrived 'in time', found the necklace, and cleared her of the crime..." Watson tried to repeat the suggestive content in the newspaper.

"They want to say that I was originally a suspect, but because of vague reasoning, they cleared me?"

"Unfortunately, that's what it means." The detective habitually put his hands into the pockets of his jacket, and then found that the shirt has no pockets. "There is no evidence that saying anything is in vain, but I don't believe it's a coincidence."

"I know." Nightingale whispered, "Is there anything else?"

"One last question."

Holmes leaned against the window-sill.Every time he did this Watson secretly feared that he would fall out of the window.

"When Nightingale was regarded as a suspect, I realized one thing. She was placed in the position of the most accurate suspect in every link. In their eyes, the most reasonable thief was a thief who relied on luck. A commoner girl squeezed into the upper-class social circle."

"In that case, is there any problem with Hilda asking me?"

"Probably not a problem at that time. It's too late to make plans when you are invited. The problem is this: It is a vital condition that you and Lisa leave the lounge together. The reason you left is that you asked her how the wine was." If this is planned, this item must be in the plan. So Angela, is it you who want to ask, or someone asked you to ask. "

Nightingale raised her head in amazement when she heard that unusual address for her.

"That's what I wanted to ask myself." She said, "Mrs. Neluda said that the taste of that wine is not right except for Lisa's."

"Then, that's where things get interesting." Holmes looked away from her.

At this moment Mrs. Hudson came in with a letter.None of the three realized when she was out.

"Mr. Holmes, will you sit down at the table and eat well? A boy has just asked me to give you this letter."

"A kid from the squad?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. I haven't seen the boy. He says a gentleman gave him money to bring the letter. Don't know anything else."

Holmes took the envelope. "Thank you, Mrs. Hudson—I will eat now."

The topic of Nightingale came to an end.Holmes looked at the envelope in his hand and held it up to the light.

"What letter?"

"Someone gave it to me."

"Does that even need to be said?"

"I mean, I don't know who gave it to me." Holmes picked up his untouched knife and cut open the envelope, taking out a piece of paper.He unfolded the letter paper and looked at it left and right for a long time, and then looked at it up to the light before reading it seriously.

"Is it signed?" Watson asked.

"No. He has some refined habits." Holmes sounded as if everyone knew whom he was referring to.After a while, no one answered, he looked up at the two blank faces opposite him.

"Look here." Holmes turned the paper towards them. "Look at the letter, and this. Be careful not to spill the coffee."

The whole letter is written in beautiful round letters, as if it were a printed matter.There are two sentences that begin with a capital letter J and M, the only two words that are written in rigid print.

"That's the signature. His initials."

"It's the exact opposite of what I thought," said Nightingale.

"Instead of what?" Holmes looked at her.

"I thought a person would write his name in round letters alone."

"Strange aesthetes. The point is to stand out, nothing else matters."

"Who is this JM?" Watson brought the topic back.

"James Moriarty, forgot so soon?"

"Last time you said very little," said the doctor, "such as not telling us, did you have any previous contact with this Moriarty?"

Holmes frowned slightly.

"He was one of my...teachers."

"My God."

He made a "stop" gesture. "No one knew it would turn out like this. At that time, my father wanted me to be an engineer, so he specially invited a mentor, this is him."

"incredible."

"But we soon fell out. Since he left Mycroft Park..." Holmes smiled ironically. "This is the first contact."

"You are one of his best students."

"Do you think I'm an engineer now?"

"What did he say in his letter?" Watson was good at getting back to the point before Holmes changed his attitude.

"What else can I say? Greetings to old friends, and, I'm not sure what it means, but it probably means..." Holmes looked at the letter again.

"He's going to kill me."

Watson really spit out the coffee this time.

"I'm not joking." Holmes handed the letter to Nightingale.The font above is too fancy, and it takes a little effort to understand.The content of the letter is as follows:

dear sherlock,

I haven't seen you for many years, but I believe you have never broken the news about me.Just wanted to express my regrets about what happened to Brook Street and Miss Adler.I don't like a genius dying because of his cleverness, especially if it can't bring him any substantial benefits.A little interlude at the banquet counts as a welcome gift for your elementary school student.Of course, I know that student who was conceited and smart back then, he will not listen to opinions easily.You have your assistants and I have mine.We have plenty of time.

My advice to you is - if you really can't get the point of my letter - draw the curtains.

Nightingale's original troubles were temporarily put aside, "Even a student of literature can't understand it. What is 'please close the curtains'-but you said just now that he wants to kill you."

"I see that you understand," said Holmes. "Keep the curtains drawn so that the sight outside cannot be seen too clearly."

Nightingale clutched his collar tightly with his hands.

"The previous inference seems to be established. Not only is it related to the Brook Street case, but he also knows about my affairs at the banquet. This is a bit extraordinary."

"You don't know Moriarty." Holmes sat back at the table.

"I just heard of it."

"Would a person who regards mathematics as poetry not know such a poetic person in mathematics?"

"Sorry, don't run on me, now is not the time. I don't understand... how he did it at the banquet. I didn't hear that he was among the people invited."

Watson read the letter countless times while bowing his head and said, "He doesn't need to worry about such trivial matters, he just needs to handle them. Such people have their own influence."

"What I can't understand also includes how he cultivated those forces when his life is short."

"Short? Not everyone wants to read the Alexandria library. People like Moriarty who keep all the books in their heads probably don't need it." Speaking of this, Holmes revealed to Nightingale A stick figure smile.After Holmes had ridiculed the intelligence of the Liberal Arts students countless times in various terms, she began to have the urge to punch him and break his beautiful hooked nose.After a round of struggle with the destructive tendency, aestheticism still prevailed, and she pretended not to hear what he said.

"What he means is that he admits that he instigated the previous two cases and that we blocked his way. The banquet is a warning to us not to interfere in his affairs in the future." Watson casually put the letter paper aside, "This The letter does not appear to have achieved its intended purpose."

After pondering for a moment, the doctor turned around and called Mrs. Hudson.

"Please check whether the windows in each room are normal. It is best not to open the curtains casually in the future."

"Mr. Holmes, what does this mean?" The landlady pinpointed the real culprit.

The detective did not speak at once, but took a sip of the soup with a spoon.

"My soup is a bit cold, can you reheat it?"

The author has something to say: In fact, there is nothing to say. The foreshadowing of this volume is very long, and it takes a lot of brainpower. I really want to say that I only abuse the heroine because I am reluctant to abuse the heroine...