[Sherlock Holmes] The Legend of the Nightingale

(Nightingale's Diary)

This should have been a more memorable day in my life, the first time I went to Scotland.If the whole journey is not as tense and busy as a war, I can still have time and mood to wander around the scenery here, to see the churches and castles.

Sholto's family lives at No. 46 Swinton Street (Author: I made it up), a small two-story building with a loft on the top. There is no yard in the middle of the street, but there is a not-so-large backyard, which has been deserted It's been a while, and it can be seen that the family was really not well-off at the time.This dark gray house looks decades old, but it is still solid, one side is covered with vines, and a little half of them have died in bad years, all of which are dry and withered vines.Mei Li nervously rang the doorbell twice.

"Ral, it's me. We're back from London."

The doorbell rang feebly, no one came to the door, no one answered.Meili took out a key from her handbag and took a deep breath the moment she opened the door.

"That's impossible." She sounded crazy nervous. "Lal would have locked the door if nobody was home."

"It seems beyond reason," said Holmes calmly. "The matter is more serious than we imagined. There is no one in the house, Miss Merry, and we must go in."

We walked into the quiet house in silence.As soon as you enter the door is the front hall, there are rooms on the left and right, and the stairs leading to the second floor are in the middle of the living room.Holmes first blocked everyone at the door as if he was facing an enemy, knelt down and inspected the floor before agreeing to let them go.After getting permission, Mei Li frantically looked through all the rooms on the first floor within a minute, and then ran up to the second floor.Watson looked at her with sad eyes, but did not stop him.Without exchanging a word with Holmes, I immediately set about surveying the whole drawing-room.The whole house is furnished in a simple and old style.Meili said, maybe it was a habit developed in the army, Mr. Sholto didn't like gorgeous decorations, he liked simplicity.The tea service was still on the table in the tray, with tea in the cups and the sugar bowl open.The curtains were all drawn, and some windows were left open.Books and newspapers are scattered randomly on the furniture.If the floor under the window sill hadn't been soaked by rain and dried more than once, we would have thought that people had been living here all along.

"No wonder he hasn't answered the telegram for a week," said Merry sadly, running down the stairs.

"I'm afraid it's more than that." Holmes picked up his teacup and frowned. "No one has been here for at least a month."

"Doesn't that mean that something happened to Lal when we left Edinburgh, but we didn't know about it?" Mei Li's face turned pale.

"We can't say that now." These words of Sherlock Holmes have recently become a catchphrase dedicated to appeasing Merry. "Dear Watson, please see if Miss Sholto needs..."

"No, thank you, Mr. Holmes, I am very well," said Merry, with some protest.

"This scene is well-preserved—if it can be called a scene," Holmes said to himself.

"Is this not a scene?"

"Even if Laljoda was in trouble, I don't think it happened here," said Holmes. "Laljoda, like the Colonel, is a seasoned old soldier, and if anyone tried to force him out of the house Or threatening his life, there will definitely be fierce resistance, and the outcome is unpredictable. For example, Watson, you are a military doctor who has not joined the army for a long time. Generally speaking, how many people are needed to beat you?"

"At least two," Watson replied. "Of course, if you don't believe me, you can try it. It will be more accurate."

"No, thanks. But everything is calm now, no signs of fighting, nothing destroyed. No footprints on the floor, no signs of aliens. We can say that Laljoda lived here normally for some time, When I went out one day and never came back, I didn’t make any preparations, it should be said that it was a complete accident, so the family has kept this state.”

"We must call the police, Holmes," said Watson. "It was a risk to act privately before. The matter is more serious than you think."

"You cannot but give the impression that you are deliberately embarrassing me," said Holmes indifferently.

"I know you don't want to ask the police for help," Watson took a deep breath, trying to find a compromise, "but if Laljoda has already suffered misfortune, it proves once again that this is not a treasure hunt Playing games is murder and breaking the law. If the police don’t know about it, the matter will be serious.”

"If you insist that I don't know what murder is and I'm not capable of dealing with murder, I can't help it. Then let the agent answer this question," Holmes couldn't help saying a bitter word to Watson, "Shure Ms. Toh, the current situation is that Laljoda is nowhere to be found. Now we have two options for us to choose: First, call the police. Although it is the same as your brother's case, there may not be any results. Second, we first send Joe to the police. Mr Da found and captured the murderer."

Watson and I looked at each other helplessly.Mei Li said in a positive tone:

"I have come to London to see you, Mr. Holmes, because I believe in your ability to deal with the difficulties I face."

"Then, I will act in accordance with the agent's decision." Holmes cast a meaningful glance at Watson.The doctor simply turned his face away and didn't want to look at him anymore.

"It's not so bad, actually," I said to Watson. "We all know Holmes will succeed."

"I hope you will succeed too." A faint smile crept on the doctor's face, but it disappeared in a moment.

"I need to have a look at the other rooms, but I'm sure there won't be much useful stuff there." Holmes didn't hear, or pretended not to hear, our conversation in his presence, but Watson and I knew it well and affirmed him directly. The ability and effect of praising any girl is the same. (This sentence uses the content of "A Study in Scarlet", the original sentence is said by Watson)

"Do we live here?" I asked, looking around.

"That depends on what Miss Meili wants."

"If Mr. Holmes thinks it won't spoil the scene, then there's no problem." Meili frowned and sat down on the sofa. "This is my home, and I should treat guests. Angela can stay here." Holmes and Dr. Watson have separate rooms for my brothers—oh, if you don't mind, because..."

"We should be concerned whether you mind, Miss Merry," replied Holmes. "Perhaps you don't want us to mess up their rooms."

She bit her lip and shook her head.I really don't want to see her forcibly suppressing her emotions, she is obviously in a mess, but she sits there as stiff as a rock.

"None of that matters now," she said. "What matters is that we get things straightened out."

"And your safety," I said, "I personally think we've been there for you as much as possible."

"Then it's decided." Holmes said, "Go and rest first. Nightingale, you'd better share a room with Miss Meili, it's safer."

"Is there anything else you want?" Watson asked.

"Have."

"What? Do you need our help?"

"think."

"Then see you later."

I wondered a little what Holmes meant by this reflection.Instead of sitting down and sorting out the whole thing carefully like before, he paced round and round on the first floor.In fact, neither Watson nor I left. We stood in the middle of the living room and followed him with our eyes.He walked back and forth along each wall of the living room a few times, sometimes fast and sometimes slowly, talking to himself silently, then turned into other rooms and walked around a few times.In the end, he stood opposite the two of us, looking up at the upstairs, frowning slightly, and there was no wave in his eyes, but it is unknown what kind of kaleidoscope unfolded in his mind.The only thing that is certain is that, although Watson and I were within five feet of Holmes, he was not looking at us.After a while, a slightly sarcastic smile appeared on his face.

Although physically and mentally exhausted, neither Mellie nor I slept well that night.Her mental state was very bad, and she poured out endless words.She told me many, many stories about her childhood and her life in this house, and although I didn't want to hear them now, I listened to them all without saying a word.She said that this house contained all her memories from childhood, even far surpassing the memory of her biological parents who died young.Which flower pot has buried the treasures of the three children, which drawer is their secret warehouse, which door is the best hiding place for hide-and-seek, and the oil paintings they painted together are still treasured in her memory book... ...faithful old Lal, because of him, she never felt like leaving her home.And Mr. Sholto, who told everyone that he had two sons and a daughter, all of his own.I think she was tired from crying in the end, and fell asleep in a daze without knowing what she was talking about.

I can not sleep.I sat in the dark, looking up at the ceiling, and the gun was on the little cupboard beside me, within reach.The house, the password on the note, the two mysterious murderers, and the treasure hidden somewhere.The point is to find connections between seemingly unrelated things.Holmes must have been awake. From time to time I heard footsteps in the quiet house, sometimes impatient and sometimes steady.The last thing he said this evening was a slight complaint that Watson would say that. If even Watson didn't trust him, the world would be hopeless for him.I quite understood why Watson was so worried about Merry, but Holmes didn't even think about paying attention to these things.

Of course I want to know more - what happened in this house?

The author has something to say: Uh... It seems that I can't be serious anymore, maybe I also feel that the atmosphere is too weird and I need a joke to protect my body, I can't help but gag.