Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 121 The Return (32)
"She looked really excited."

"You will remember that she was always pleading with me that it would be good for her husband if she knew everything, and what did she mean by that?
"I think you must have noticed that her back was against the window, and she didn't want us to see her expression at that time."

"Yeah, she seems to have chosen that chair with the backlight on purpose."

"A woman's psychology is the most difficult to guess. For the same reason, I once suspected that woman in Margate. Maybe you remember, I only got inspiration from her unpowdered nose, and finally put the question It's settled. You can't be so gullible in other people's words. Sometimes, a small gesture of theirs may have great meaning and reveal their abnormality. Good morning, Watson."

"Are you going out now?"

"Yes, I would like to go to Godolphin Street this morning to spend some time with my friends at Scotland Yard. The problem we are dealing with has a lot to do with Iduardo Lucas. But what How to solve it, I really have no idea. It is too arbitrary to draw conclusions before the matter has happened. My dear Watson, receive your guests at home, and I will return to lunch with you as soon as possible."

Three days have passed since that day, and Holmes has been silent. I know he is thinking hard there, but outsiders may not think so.He came in and went out, smoked continuously, played the violin a few times, fell into fantasies, and didn't eat on time, and didn't like to talk to me.It was clear that his investigation was not going well.He never said a word about the case, and I only got scraps from the papers, that John Milton, the dead man's servant, had been caught, but later released.The coroner said it was a premeditated murder, but the circumstances and the parties were unclear.The motive for the killing is even less clear.Although there are many valuables in the house, they have not been touched at all, and there is no sign that the deceased's documents have been checked.After examining the documents and manuscripts of the deceased in detail, I learned that he was keen on studying international political issues and was a very good linguist.He usually has a lot of correspondence and knows the main leaders of several countries, but no suspicious documents have been found.Regarding his relationship with women, it is very complicated, but they are not deep.He knew a lot of women, but he had very few real girlfriends, let alone a special liking for any one.He has no special living habits, and his behavior is very regular.He died mysteriously, a complete mystery.

The arrest of the servant John Milton was merely a superfluous act of dismay, to avoid the perception that the authorities were doing nothing.That same night the servant visited a friend at a place called Hammersmith, and there is good evidence that he was not at the scene of the crime.Judging from the time when he got up and went home, the murder should not have taken place when he arrived at Westminster Abbey.But he explained to us that the night was beautiful that night, so he walked for a while, so it was already twelve o'clock when he got home, and when he got home, he was terrified by what he saw.His relationship with his master has always been good.Some items related to the deceased were found in the servants' chests, a box of razors attracted attention, but John Milton explained that it was given to him by his master, and the housekeeper also proved the truth of the matter sex.Lucas had hired Milton for three years, and he had never taken Milton to the Continent.Sometimes he lived in Paris for a long time, while his servants stayed in the Rue Godolphin to look after the house.On the night of the accident, the housekeeper said that she didn't hear any sound, and if there was a guest, it was invited by the host himself.

I haven't seen any news about this case in the newspapers for three days.Maybe my friend knows more, but he hasn't said so far.He told me, however, that Inspector Lethrider had told him all that he had, and that I believed he would be able to quickly understand the progress of the case.By the morning of the fourth day, when a long telegram from Paris appeared in the papers, all problems seemed to be settled.The telegram is as follows:
The Paris police authorities have made a discovery (according to the Daily Telegraph) that could shed light on the mystery surrounding the death of Mr. Eduardo Lucas.The reader may recall that Mr. Lucas was stabbed to death in his own house in Godolphin Street on Monday night.His valet had been suspected, but after investigation he was released in his alibi.Yesterday some servants came to the police station to report that their master, Mrs. Henri Fourneyer, was insane and lived in a small house off the Rue Austerlitz.It has been proved by relevant departments that Fourneyer suffers from mania, which is very dangerous.Since her return from London that Tuesday, it has been established that she has made some movements in connection with the Westminster Abbey murders.After many verifications and photos, the authorities believed that Henri Fourneyer and Eduardo Lucas were the same person, and the deceased may have lived alternately in Paris and London for some reason.Mrs. Fourneyer was a Creole, eccentric, excitable, and maddened by jealousy. It was estimated that the patient might have been attacked with a dagger from the madness, so that the whole London was shocked.

So far all the activities of the patient on Monday night have not been ascertained, but on Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Station a woman who resembled her was particularly attractive because of her strange appearance and very manic demeanor. Notice.Therefore, some people think that she may have been in a state of madness at that time and killed someone, or she may have gone crazy after the killing.As of now, she has not been able to give a full account of what she has done in the past, and the doctor thinks that there is not even a shred of hope for her recovery.It was confirmed that on Monday night a lady had been in the Rue Godolphin and had been staring at the house for hours, perhaps it was Madame Furneyer.

When Holmes was about to finish his breakfast, I read the telegram to him, and said: "Holmes, what do you think this report means?"

He got up, walked up and down the room, and said: "You are quite calm, Watson, and you don't say anything. I haven't said anything for the past three days, mainly because I have nothing to say. Now This news from Paris is of no use to us."

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

"Lucas' death was purely accidental. It was a trivial matter compared with our real purpose - to find the documents and avert the catastrophe in Europe. The only thing that mattered in the past three days was what Nothing. I've been getting government reports every hour for two days now, and I'm pretty sure there's no sign of unrest anywhere in Europe. If the letter is lost, no, never. It may be lost, but where is it now? Who has it? Why is this letter withheld? These questions are like hammers, constantly hitting my head. Lucas' death and Was the loss of the letter really a coincidence? Did he really receive the letter? If so, why did it disappear? Was it really his mad wife who took it? If so, did the letter belong to her? At home in Paris? How can I find the letter without attracting the attention of the Paris police? My dear Watson, in this case not only the criminals are against us, but the law is against us. People are hindering us, But the stakes are high, and if I solve this case very successfully, it will be my most glorious page. Ah, there is a new development!" He glanced at the letter in his hand hastily, and said: "It seems that Leslie De has made some important inquiries, Watson, put on your hat, and we will go to Westminster Abbey together."

This is the first time I have come here. The houses here are very tall and look old, but the layout is very strict, beautiful and durable, with the architectural style of the [-]th century.

Lethred was looking out the front window when a big policeman opened the door for us.Lethred ran towards us warmly to welcome us.When we entered, there was nothing but an irregular and very ugly bloodstain on the carpet.A square rug was placed in the center of the room, surrounded by a beautiful Japanese-style floor made of small wooden blocks, polished and polished.The captured weapons, one of which was a dagger, hung on the wall beyond the fireplace.There is a very expensive writing desk next to the window, and every piece of decoration in the house shows its exquisite luxury.

Lesred asked, "Have you read the news from Paris?"

My friend nodded.

"Our French friends seemed to get the point this time, and they spoke reasonably, when she was knocking at the door. It might have been an unexpected visit, since the deceased had very little contact with the outside world, but he would never have let her Standing alone in the street, that's why she was let in. Madame Fourneyer told the dead man that she had been looking for him for a long time, and blamed him. Things are connected, and there are daggers on the wall, so it is very convenient to use ...However, it doesn't necessarily kill him all at once. If you look at the surrounding chairs, almost all the chairs are tilted to one side, and Lucas is holding a chair in his hand. He may be using the chair to resist her. It seems that things are very serious. Understood."

Holmes stared at Lethyred with wide-eyed eyes.

"Then why did you bring me here?"

"Oh, that's another little thing, but one that will surely interest you. Because it's very special, and as uncharacteristic as you think it is. It has nothing to do with the main fact, at least on the surface it seems."

"Then what the hell is going on here?"

"You should understand that whenever this kind of thing happens, we always take great care to secure the place. We have people on guard day and night, and nothing is allowed to be touched, and indeed no one has touched anything. This morning, we wanted to bury this man. Well, the investigation is over now, after all, so we're going to tidy up the house. The rug wasn't fixed to the floor at all, it was just there as a display, and we happened to pull it off and found that..."

"What? Tell me you found out..."

My friend's expression became even more tense with anxiety.

"I promise you a hundred years and you'll never guess what we found. Do you see that pool of blood on the carpet? Most of it has soaked through the carpet?"

"should be."

"But don't you find it surprising that there is no blood at all on the corresponding white floor?"

"Why is there no blood? But it must—"

"Although you say there should be, there must be, but in fact there is no."

Holding a small corner of the rug in his hand, he turned it over to prove that he was right.

"The blood under the rug should be the same, it will definitely be able to leave a mark."

Lethred baffled my friend, and laughed smugly.

"Let you take a look now. There is a second bloodstain here, but it is not in the same location as the first one. Take a closer look."

As he spoke, he lifted the other corner of the carpet, revealing a purple-red bloodstain on the clean white floor. "Mr. Holmes, what do you think of this?"

"It's clearly supposed to be two identical bloodstains, but someone has tampered with it. The rug is square, not nailed down, and it can be easily moved."

"Mr. Holmes, we the police don't need you to tell us that the rug must have been turned. It's obvious because the blood on the rug should have just covered the blood on the floor. But I want to know who moved the rug and why. Woolen cloth?"

I could see from Holmes' dull expression that he was very excited.

After a while, he asked: "Lethred, has the policeman at the door never left here?"

"Yes."

"Do as I say, and ask him carefully. Better not in front of either of us. Take him into the back room and talk to him alone, and maybe he will tell the truth. Ask him why So boldly let anyone in, and leave that person alone in the room, never ask him if he has been let in, but say that you know someone has been, press him, tell him to confess everything is beneficial to him Good. Remember to do this!"

After Lethreid left, Holmes said to me ecstatically, "Look, Watson!" He couldn't conceal the joy in his heart, and he was full of energy, which was completely different from the calm appearance just now.He quickly pulled the carpet away and lay on his stomach, trying to grab every square plank.He kept flipping the boards with his fingers, and suddenly found that one of the boards moved, flipped up like the lid of a box.There was a small hole under it, and my friend quickly put his hand in, but when he pulled it back, he looked very ugly.Unexpectedly, the cave was empty.

"Come on, Watson, put the rugs away!" Just as the boards were put down and the rugs tidied up, Lethred's voice was heard in the passage.My friend, languidly leaning against the mantelpiece with nothing to do, seemed patient, yawning with his hands over his mouth.

"Mr. Holmes, I am sorry to have kept you waiting. You are a little impatient! He confessed. MacPherson, come and tell them what you have done."

The big policeman, flushed with regret and pain, came in softly.

"Sir, I really don't mean to do anything wrong. A young lady came here yesterday, and she said she got the house number wrong, and we got into a chat. very lonely."

"Then what happened next?"

"She said she wanted to see the murder scene, that she had seen it in the papers. She was a very respectable woman, and I thought it would do no harm to let her see it. When she saw the blood on the blanket, she wanted to see it. There she was passed out, as if dead. I ran back to get some water, but I couldn't wake her up. Then I went to the 'Ivy Store' and bought some brandy, but when I got the wine When I came back, she had already woken up and left. I think it was because she was too embarrassed to see me again."

"But why was the carpet moved?"

"When I came back, the carpet was uneven. You see, she fell on the carpet, and the carpet wasn't attached to the smooth floor, so it was uneven. Then I smoothed the carpet."

(End of this chapter)