The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 117 The Return (32)
When the guests had gone, Holmes silently lit his pipe, sat down, and fell into deep thought.I opened the morning paper and read carefully a horrific murder that happened last night.At this moment my friend rose with a deep sigh, and laid his pipe on the mantel-piece.

He said: "There is no better way than to act like this. The situation is difficult, but not hopeless. Now we have to find out who took the letter, and it may still be in his hands. These people care It's nothing more than a matter of money. We have the backing of the British Treasury, and we are not afraid of spending money. As long as he is willing to sell it, I will buy it no matter how much it costs. I can imagine that the person who stole the letter is holding this letter. Look at this purchase How much the family can pay, and then ask another buyer. There are only three people who dare to take such a big risk, and they are Oberstein, La José and Eduardo Lucas. I will go to them separately."

I glanced at the morning paper in my hand and asked: "Is that Eduardo Lucas of Godolphin Street?"

"Yes."

"You'll never see him again."

"why?"

"He was murdered at home last night."

In the process of solving crimes, he often surprised me, but this time I surprised him, and I couldn't help feeling a little proud.He stared at the paper in amazement, then snatched it from my hand.Here is the passage I was reading when he got up from his chair.

The Murders at Westminster Abbey

A mysterious murder took place at No. 16 Godolphin Street last night.The street is halfway between the Thames and Westminster Abbey, almost hidden by the shadow of the house roofs, and the quiet street is lined with old houses of the eighteenth century. NO.16 is a small and exquisite building, in which Mr. Eduardo Lucas, who is well-known in London social circles, lives.He was approachable and had a reputation as the best amateur tenor in Britain.Mr. Lucas, aged 34, is single and has a housekeeper, Mrs. Bollinger, and a valet, Milton.The housekeeper lived in the attic and went to bed early.The valet was out that night to visit a friend at Hammersmith.After ten o'clock in the evening, Mr. Lucas was the only one in the house. What happened at this time has yet to be ascertained. At quarter past eleven, policeman Barrett passed Godolphin Street on patrol and saw the gate of No.16 half open.He knocked on the door, but no one answered.Seeing a light in the room ahead, he walked into the hallway and knocked on the door again, but there was still no movement.So he opened the door and walked in, only to see that the room was in disarray, almost all the furniture was overturned on one side of the room, and a chair was overturned in the middle of the room.The slain homeowner collapsed beside the chair, one hand still clutching the leg, and died instantly after the knife plunged into his heart.The murder knife was a curved Indian dagger, an oriental weapon that had originally hung as an ornament on the wall.The murderer's motive was unlikely to be robbery, as no valuables were lost from the house.Mr. Eduardo Lucas was famous and well-liked, and his tragic and mysterious death must have aroused the deep concern and sympathy of many of his friends.

Holmes asked after a while: "What do you think of the matter, Watson?"

"I think it's just an amazing coincidence."

"Coincidence! He was the most likely performer of the three we have just spoken of, and he died at the moment when the play was about to begin. It is unlikely to be a coincidence, and of course it cannot be concluded. My dear Watson, Those two things could be connected, they must be related. That's what we're trying to find out."

"The police must know by now!"

"No. They only know what they saw in Godolphin Street. As for what happened in Whitehall Estates, they certainly don't know, and never will. Only we know two things, and are able to ascertain The relation between them. At any rate, Lucas makes me suspicious of the fact that it is only a few minutes' walk from Godolphin Street in Westminster Abbey to the Whitehall estates. However, I say The other two spies lived at the end of London's West End. Therefore, it was easier for Lucas than the other two to establish contact with the family of the Minister of European Affairs and get news. It happened within a few hours, so that's also important. Hello, who's here?"

Mrs. Hudson came in with a woman's business card on a tray.Holmes looked at the card, as if seeing a glimmer of hope, and handed it to me casually.He said to Mrs. Hudson, "Mrs. Hilda Trilawney Hope, please come upstairs."

In this humble room we had the loveliest women in London that morning after two famous people.I have often heard people say that the young daughter of the Duke of Belminster is as beautiful as a flower. However, whether it is complimented by others or a picture of her, I have never expected her to be so slender and beautiful.However, the first impression she gave us on that autumn morning was not beauty.Her face, though lovely, was pale with emotion; her eyes, though bright, were restless; and her thin lips were pressed tightly together in an effort to control herself.When she stood erect by the door, the first thing we saw was not her beauty, but her utter terror.

"Mr. Holmes, has my husband been here?"

"Yes, ma'am, he has been here."

"I beg you, Mr. Holmes, not to tell him that I have been here."

Holmes nodded coldly, pointed to a chair and asked her to sit down, saying: "Madame, this is very difficult for me. Please sit down first and then tell me what you want, but I'm afraid I can't agree to your request unconditionally. "

She walked to the other side of the room and sat down with her back to the window.She was slender, graceful, feminine, and queenlike.

She clasped and unclasped her hands in white gloves, and said: "Mr. Holmes, I would like to be frank with you, and I hope you will be frank with me. My husband and I are in almost everything alike." Totally trusting each other, except for political issues. He never told me anything about it. Now I know that something unfortunate happened in our house last night. I know that an important document was lost, but because it was a political issue, I My husband has not made it clear to me. The matter is very important, very important, and I ought to know all about it. You are the only one who knows, apart from a few statesmen, and I beg you, Mr. Holmes, to tell me what happened. Please tell me the details, Mr. Holmes. Please don't hold me back for fear of harming my husband's interests, for his interests will not be harmed unless he fully believes in me, and he will sooner or later I will understand, please tell me what file is missing?"

"Ma'am, what you asked cannot be said."

She sighed, covering her face with her hands.

"You understand, madam, that is all I can do. Your husband does not think it right for you to know about it; and I, on account of my profession, only learned the whole truth after being sworn to secrecy. Can I not?" Keeping his word and saying what he's not allowed to say? You'd better ask him himself."

"I have asked him. I have come to you as a necessity. Mr. Holmes, since you will not tell me clearly, could you enlighten me? That would be of great help to me, too."

"Ma'am, what aspect do you mean by revelation?"

"Will my husband's political career be seriously affected by this accident?"

"Unless things are undone in time, the consequences are dire."

"Ah!" She took a deep breath, as if the problem was solved at once.

"Mr. Holmes, I have one more question. My husband was horrified when he discovered that the document had been lost, and I understood then that the loss of this document would have dire consequences throughout the country."

"Since he said so, I will not deny it."

"What is the nature of the consequences of losing files?"

"No, ma'am, it's not my place to answer that question either."

"Then I shall waste your time no longer. I cannot reproach you, Mr. Holmes, for being too rigorous in your speech. I am sure you will not think me inappropriate, for I wish to share his concerns, which he does not wish to do. .I beg you again not to tell him I have been here."

She walked to the door and looked back at us again, and again I was impressed by her beautiful and anxious face, her frightened eyes and her pursed mouth.She walked out the door.

The rustling of skirts faded away, and then the front door slammed and the sound died away entirely.At this moment, Holmes smiled and said: "Watson, women belong to the field of your research. What is this beautiful lady playing? What is her real intention?"

"Of course, her intentions were made very clear, and her anxiety was not feigned."

"Hmph! Watson, you have to think about her expression and attitude, the anxiety she is trying to restrain and the questions she keeps asking. You know that she comes from a class that is not willing to show her feelings easily."

"Indeed, she was very emotional."

"Remember, too, that she assured her husband that it would be good for her husband only if she knew everything. What did she mean by that? And you must have noticed that she sat with her back to the window, trying to keep the The shot of her back obviously didn't want us to see her facial expression."

"That's right, she especially chose that backlit chair to sit down."

"The psychology of a woman is very difficult to guess. It was for the same reason that I doubted the woman at Marquite, which you may recall, was inspired by the lack of powder on her nose, and finally solved it. Question. How can you be so credulous? Sometimes a small gesture of theirs has a great meaning, and a hairpin or a pair of curling clippers can reveal their abnormality. Good morning, Watson."

"Are you going out?"

"Yes, I'm going to Godolphin Street to spend this morning with our Scotland Yard friends. Our problem is directly related to Eduardo Lucas, however, I don't know exactly what method to take at this point It is a great mistake to speculate before the matter is clear. My good Watson, please be on duty to receive guests, and I will try to come back to lunch with you."

Counting from that day, three days have passed, and Holmes has been very silent. All his friends know that he is silently thinking, but outsiders think he is depressed.He paced up and down, never leaving his cigarette, sometimes picked up the violin and played it twice and then dropped it, fell into deep thought again, didn't eat on time, and didn't answer my occasional questions.Apparently, his investigation had run into trouble.He didn't say anything about the case, and I only knew bits and pieces from the newspapers, such as the arrest of the dead man's servant, John Milton, but then his release.The coroner made a complaint that it was a case of willful murder, but could not find out what happened and who was involved.The motive for the killing is unknown.None of the valuables in the house were touched, nor were the deceased's documents tampered with.The police inspected the manuscripts and letters of the deceased in detail, and found that he was keen on studying international political issues. He was an excellent linguist with excellent eloquence. Nothing suspicious was found in the files in his drawer.His relationship with women is messy, but they are not deep.He knew many women, but had few friends of the opposite sex, and he hadn't found one he fell in love with.His life is very regular, and his behavior is also well-behaved.He died mysteriously, and it's also possible that there's no way around that.

As for the arrest of John Milton, the servant, it was only a measure at the time of the police's helplessness, lest people should talk about the inaction of the authorities.The servant was visiting friends at Hammersmere that night, and there is ample evidence that he was not there when the crime occurred.Judging from the time of his departure home, the murder was still undiscovered when he reached Westminster Abbey.But he explained that it was a fine night, and he had walked some distance, so he didn't get home until twelve o'clock, and when he got home, he was panicked by this unexpected tragedy.His relationship with his master has always been good.Some of the deceased's belongings were found in the servant's chest, among which a box of razors attracted attention, but which he claimed had been given to him by the master, and which was confirmed by the housekeeper.Lucas has employed Milton for three years. It is worth noting that Lucas has not taken Milton to the European continent. Sometimes Lucas lives in Paris for three months, while Milton just stays in Godolphin. Street housekeeping.As for the housekeeper, she heard nothing on the night of the accident, and if any guests came, she said that the master himself would open the door.

For three consecutive mornings, there was no news about the case published in the newspapers.If Holmes knew more, he did not tell.However, he told me that Inspector Lestrade had told him all he knew, and I believed he would be able to quickly understand the progress of the case.Until the morning of the fourth day, a very long telegram from Paris was published in the newspaper, which seemed to solve all the problems.The telegram is as follows:
[The Daily Telegraph reports] The police in Paris have made a major discovery which could solve the mystery of the tragic death of M. Eduardo Lucas.The reader will recall that Mr. Lucas was stabbed to death in his flat in Godolphin Street on Monday night this week.His valet was suspected, but later released due to his alibi.Yesterday several servants reported to the Paris police that their master, Madame Henri Vernaille, was insane.She lived in a small house somewhere on Austria Street.After a hospital examination, it was confirmed that Mrs. Vernay had been suffering from dangerous mania for a long time.According to investigations, Mrs. Vernay returned from London on Tuesday this week, and there is evidence that her whereabouts are related to the murder at Westminster Abbey.After verification and multiple verification of the photos, the authorities believe that M. Henry Vernay and Eduardo Lucas are in fact the same person.For some reason, he was commuting between Paris and London.Mrs. Vernail was a Creole, eccentric, excitable, and driven to madness by jealousy, and it was estimated that she might have committed the murder that shocked the whole of London due to the madness.At present, the full activities of the patient on Monday night have not been ascertained.But early on Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Station a woman who looked exactly like her attracted the attention of the servants because of her strange appearance and violent manner.Therefore, relevant people believe that either the patient killed someone because he was in a state of madness, or the patient committed a murder, which caused the patient's madness to relapse.At present, she cannot give a complete and coherent account, and the doctors think that there is little hope of restoring her sanity.It was attested that a woman, perhaps Mrs. Verneuil, had gazed at the house for hours on Monday evening this week in the Rue Godolphin. "

I read the report to Holmes as he was finishing his breakfast, and said: "What do you think of this report, Holmes?"

He got up, paced up and down the room, and said: "I know, Watson, you can't wait. I haven't told you anything for the past three days because I have nothing to say. Paris is here now." Reporting is also of little use to us."

"It has something to do with Lucas' death, right?"

"Lucas' death was an accident and nothing compared to our real goal - to find the documents and save Europe from a catastrophe. The only thing that mattered in the last three days was that nothing happened I have been receiving reports from the government almost every hour for the past two days, and I can be sure that there is no sign of uneasiness in Europe, no matter where it is. If this letter is lost, no, it cannot be lost, if Lost, where is the letter? Who holds the letter? Why is it being withheld? This question is like a hammer to my head. Lucas' death and the letter Is it a coincidence? Did he ever get the letter? If he did, why wasn't it in his papers? Did his crazy wife take the letter? If so, is the letter At her home in Paris? How can I find this letter without arousing the suspicion of the Paris police? My dear Watson, in this case not only the criminal is against us, but the law is against us. We have many obstacles, but the stakes are high. If I can successfully solve this case, it will be the culmination of my career. Ah, there is another update!" He glanced hurriedly at the letter that had just been handed into his hands. Said: "It seems that Lestrade has found something important, Watson, put on your hat, and we will go to Westminster Abbey together."

This is my first visit to the site. The house is relatively tall and looks very old, but it has a rigorous layout, beautiful appearance, and durability. It has the style of the [-]th century.Lestrade was looking out the front window when a tall policeman opened the door and let us in, and Lestrade welcomed us.We went in and saw nothing but an ugly, irregular bloodstain on the carpet.There was a small square rug in the middle of the room, surrounded by a beautiful old-fashioned floor of small squares of wood, polished and polished.The wall above the fireplace is covered with seized weapons, the murder weapon is a dagger hanging on the wall, a valuable writing desk is placed by the window, and all the furnishings in the room are oil paintings, rugs and wall decorations , all appear exquisite and luxurious.

Lestrade asked: "Have you seen the news from Paris?"

Holmes nodded.

(End of this chapter)