Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 144 The Last Greeting (6)
Usually, I go back to live for two days at the weekend.If it takes more than a week to load the ship, it will take longer to stay at home, so I often meet my aunt Sarah.She is tall and thin, with dark skin, very fast response, quick movements, and violent temper. She always holds her head up when she looks at me, with a very proud look, her eyes are like the light from something hitting flint.

As long as little Maria is home, I don't think about her at all.She sometimes hinted that she wanted to sit alone with me, or tricked me into going out with her with sweet words, but I never said yes, and I really never knew exactly what Sara was up to.Until one day, when I came home from the boat, Sarah was alone in the house, and my little Maria was not there.I asked her, "Where's Maria?"She came over and said, "Are you so upset that you won't see Maria for a while? Should I be honored that you don't want to be with me for even a few minutes?" To apologize, I held out my hand and said, "That's not it, miss. Yes." Unexpectedly, she immediately took my hand.God!Why are her hands so hot?I looked up at her in surprise, but she was staring into my eyes.I totally read the expression in her eyes.I withdrew my hand in disgust, and she felt embarrassed and stood beside me without speaking.After a while, she patted me on the shoulder and said, "Jim, you are so steady!" After she finished speaking, she laughed mockingly and went out.

Since then, Sarah has gritted her teeth with hatred whenever she saw me, which shows that she hates me to death.How stupid of me to let her live with me and my wife.Maria and I didn't say a word about it, I was afraid she would be upset.So everything is business as usual, nothing has changed.But then, for some reason, I noticed that Maria was changing little by little.Before, she was so gentle, kind, innocent, and upright, but somehow she suddenly became very weird and suspicious.She never questioned me before, but now she asks about everything, where I went, what I did, who wrote me the letter, what was written in it, what was in my pocket, and other trivial matters.She was getting weirder every day, and her temper became more irritable. She would make noise for no reason.This makes me even more confused about why, and I wonder why this is so.I saw later that Maria ignored me all day, but she and Sarah were on good terms, so I knew it all.I knew it was Sara who was talking bad about me, driving us apart, and putting Maria against me.I was so stupid, I didn't notice it at first, and let her live in our house for so long, what a problem!Maria made such a fuss, I was really angry, and then I started drinking again, and I couldn't control myself when I was drinking.Maria wasn't what she used to be either, she was bored with me.If she was as gentle and kind as before, I would stop drinking, but she hates me even more when I drink.The gap between us is even deeper.It was in these uneasy days that Atek Felion stepped in again, and things got more complicated here.

Flynn first came to our house to socialize with Sarah, but then he came to see us and my wife.He had a knack for likability, and wherever he went, he mingled with his friends there.He was a dark, handsome young man, smartly dressed, with curly hair hanging over his shoulders, with a haughty look and small lips with a lot of amusing things to say.

He has traveled almost halfway around the world.He says he's a sailor, but I don't believe it, he's so well informed, well mannered, polite, humorous, witty, he should be a good public speaker and a gentleman.I guess at the very least, he was also an officer on the ship.

During that time, he frequently came and went to our house.I thought he was on good terms with Sarah, or that he really liked making friends, but he had his eye on my wife, and he wanted to take Maria away.

I knew that his handsome appearance and courteous demeanor concealed his sinister intentions, and I was stung again. There is already a Sarah doing trouble, why another one?
We haven't been peaceful since then, it's not as good as it used to be.

Even though it was a small thing, I was wide awake.

One evening, I happily came to the living room.As soon as I opened the door, my wife Maria stood up to welcome me with a happy face.When I was happy, her face suddenly changed, and that look was gone.She must have taken me for Ferion, hence the expression. When she saw my face clearly, she sighed in disappointment, turned and left.

I was so taken aback by this, I just stood there remembering what had happened.I'm so pissed that if Felion is in my living room, I'll kill him with the knife, you bastard!
Thinking about the killing intent in my eyes, Maria saw my expression and hurriedly grabbed my hand and said, "Don't do this, my dear Jim!" This was all done by Sara, who asked Maria and Flynn together.I was so crazy then, I asked her, "Where's Sarah?"

"in the kitchen."

I yelled and went into the kitchen: "Sarah, Sara, I tell you, don't let Felien come to our house again!"

"why?"

"My order! Do you understand?"

"What? You don't allow my friend to come, so I'll go."

I said sharply, "You can figure it out!"

"What if not?"

"If I see Felion come to my house again, I will cut off his ear and give it to you."

She must have been frightened by my face, she didn't say anything, and moved out of my house that night, but God was against me, that nasty woman actually found a house to live in, which is the same as our house Only two streets away, very close.I hate her from the bottom of my heart.

The worst part was that she rented that house and let it out to sailors.I couldn't help being a little scared.That way Felion could go to her, and Maria could meet him when I wasn't home.

I know Maria goes there, but how often I don't know.I remember one time, I followed her quietly and saw her enter the house.I broke in, and Felion jumped over the wall in the back garden in a hurry. He was like a mouse seeing a cat.I hated him and Sarah so much.When Maria saw me, she was so frightened that she couldn't say a word.In front of Sara, I told her that if I ever saw Felion again, I would definitely kill him.Maria and I went home still terrified, pale, crying, and looking at me from time to time.My heart went cold, she stopped loving me and started hating me.There is no love between us.When I think of this, I drink in anger, but Maria despises me even more when I drink.Sarah later learned that things were bad, and she went to Martin Eden to live with her sister.But my wife is still dating.I don't want to do this, it's not good for anyone.So that happened last week.

The thing is this: My "May Day" sailed for seven days, a large barrel came loose, and knocked the shell plate, so I had to go to the port for repairs, and stayed in port for a day.

After such a long time, I just happened to be able to go home and have a look.I thought to myself, go home and have a look, my wife Maria will be very surprised, she must be very happy.I didn't expect to be able to go home so early, so I went back humming a little song.

I happily walked down the street where we lived, thinking how happy I would be to see my wife.At this time, I passed a carriage in front of me, and Felien and Maria were sitting in the carriage!I was stunned, why are they together again?

All my joy vanished at once.They talked and laughed in the carriage, and they didn't think of me at all!I was so angry that I couldn't control myself.

Thinking about that time now, it's as vague as a nightmare, and I don't know where it is.In recent days, I have been drinking more heavily, and when I drink, I will be irritable and unable to control myself.

These two things made me unable to restrain the anger in my heart.It was like a clock was beating in my head, and it was like the loud sound of a helicopter taking off.At that time, I seemed to feel that the whole Niagara Falls could not stop roaring, and I couldn't control myself.I followed them secretly, and I didn't know when I took a stick in my hand.Following the carriage, I was so angry that my nose was on fire at this time, I followed at a trot all the way, but I was still very careful.

I kept a distance from their carriage so that I could see them, but they could not see me.I suppressed the anger in my heart, and after a while, they arrived at the station.There were too many people at the train station, and it was packed.So many people happened to provide me with good cover, so I was not far from them, and they didn't see me.

Later, they bought tickets to Triton.I also bought a ticket to go there, my car was behind theirs, and just like that, without saying a word, I arrived at my destination.They walked hand in hand towards the parade ground, and I was about six to seventy meters away from them.Later, they rented a boat and wanted to go rowing. Since the weather was too hot, they must want to go to the water to cool off for a while.It was foggy that day, and no one could be seen for hundreds of meters.I thought to myself, God really helped me.

I also quickly rented a boat and followed them.Their boat was going very slowly, and I was perfectly able to catch up.By this time the fog was thicker and I picked up speed.

We were surrounded by fog and there were only three of us in it, so I rowed towards them hastily.Now, I remember their reaction, she screamed, she must have been afraid I would kill her.Felion cursed loudly and poked me with an oar.

I think my eyes must have been full of murderous intent at that time, and he must have seen it before he would resist.I dodged his oars and hit him back with the wooden stick in my hand. Unexpectedly, this casual blow was so accurate that it smashed his head into pieces like a stone smashing an egg.

At that time, I had already lost my mind, and I wanted to let her go!She is my lovely wife after all.Unexpectedly, she pounced on him and hugged his body, calling out his name without even looking at me.This enraged me even more, and I hit her again with the stick, and she fell too.

I was such a beast, so murderous, I wish Sarah had been there so I could finish her off.Later, I pulled out the knife, and you have seen the physical evidence, so I don’t need to talk about it.When I think of Sarah's reaction to the physical evidence, I have an indescribable joy.

I later lashed them together, and broke a plank, and the ship sank.I watched the boat sink until I rowed back.I understand that the boat owner thought that they might have lost their way due to the fog, so they would not pursue it.I tidied up my clothes and went back to the ship as if nothing had happened.I prepared the package that night and sent it to Sarah at the post office in Belfast the next day.That's the way it is.

You can deal with me as you like, but don't use the punishment I have received to deal with me, it will make me feel more uncomfortable.Now I can't close my eyes, once I close my eyes, their faces will appear in front of me immediately, those two faces!I'm afraid when I think about it.I just killed them in a split second, and they tortured me for so long, I couldn't stand it.If I were left alone in a cell, I would go crazy.Gentlemen, please, don't torment me, do whatever you want.

"What does this mean? He killed people to achieve his goal, but he suffered unspeakable torture for it. Then many things in this world cannot be explained. This is really incredible. Watson, it is dominated by chance The whole world! I am afraid that human intelligence cannot solve this kind of problem."

After Holmes finished speaking, he put the confession on the table, his face full of thought.Code Words Revealed

"Hello, Mrs. Warren, I have very little time at the moment. I have to get my work done. I don't know what it is that makes you so excited. I'm so sorry, but I don't have time."

As he talked, Holmes busied himself with his work, filling the thick notebook with the material he had recently collected.

However, the stubborn Mrs. Warren did not budge at all.

"You helped my lodger, Mr. Feder Hobbs, last year, my dear Mr. Holmes."

"Yes, I still remember."

"Because of your help, he kept thanking you in front of me. He kept saying that if you help, any problem can be solved. Even if there is no breakthrough, you can find out. Just when I was wondering , When I was restless, I remembered his words again. I know you have a good heart, as long as you are willing to help me, any problem can be solved. "

Mrs. Warren made so many compliments that I was a little dizzy.

Holmes is also very soft-hearted. If someone says something nice to him, there will be a force to support him and uphold justice.He sighed, put the glue brush down, put the notebook in the bookend, and sat down.

"Mrs. Warren, tell us what happened. May I smoke? Thank you. Pass me a match, Watson. Thank you!"

"Your new tenant stays in the house by himself and doesn't come out. You can't see him, so you worry? God! If I were your tenant, then you wouldn't see me for many days, or longer. What's so strange about that? ?"

"Yes, sir. I'm not only curious about it, I'm even a little scared. I'm so scared I can't sleep at night. I'm sure I'm right. I'm in the downstairs room and I can hear him walking up and down. sound.

"I can't see people, I only hear voices. Can I not be afraid? I was made nervous by him, even very nervous. My husband goes to work every day and doesn't go home. I'm only at home with that little girl, and I I couldn't avoid him, so I had to stay at home. What did he do? Why didn't he come out while lying in the room? Did he commit a crime? Or was he afraid to see people?

"I can't take it anymore, it's torturing me."

Holmes drew his chair forward and patted Mrs. Warren on the shoulder.She was quiet all at once, and her frightened face relaxed.Sherlock Holmes had this comforting magical power, and she was no longer nervous.

Her breathing is calmer and her complexion is normal, which is what we want to achieve.Holmes said: "If you want me to help you, I have to know what happened. You think about it carefully before telling me. If you want to talk about the details, they will give me important hints. You said he came more than ten days ago. , paid half a month's rent and meals in one go?"

"Yes, sir. He came to ask me how much the rent was, and I told him fifty shillings a week. Asked where the house was, and I said it was on the top floor, with a bedroom and a small bathroom, and everything was complete. He was very satisfied."

"that is all?"

"He said again: 'I'll pay you five pounds a week, but on one condition!'

"Sir, you understand that I am very poor. My husband does not earn much money and has never received so much money, so I hastened to agree. He offered me ten pounds, and at the same time made a condition. If I agree, then I get the same money every fortnight, and if I don’t agree, there’s nothing left.”

"What's his condition?"

"His condition is to be in charge of the keys himself. That's normal, almost all tenants have to get their own keys."

"That's all?"

"No, there is one more thing. He has to do things, and no one is allowed to disturb him. He wants absolute freedom, and I agree."

"Is this special?"

"I didn't think it was special, so he stayed here. We lived here for more than ten days. We, my wife, our youngest daughter, and others have never seen him. We can only hear him walking back and forth in the room in a hurry. From On the first night I stayed in, I never left the room.”

"What? The first night, he went out?"

"Yes, sir. We slept that day, and he was late."

"You haven't seen him?"

"No, he paid and told me to come back late at night and leave the gate alone. So I left him and he didn't come back until after midnight, so we didn't see him."

"Has he not eaten?"

"He told me in advance that he would ring the bell when he wanted to eat. Only after he rang the bell, I could put the food he wanted on the chair outside. After eating, he rang the bell again and let me take it away rice bowl."

"Did he ask for anything else?"

"Sir, I want to pass."

"Then how did he notify you?"

"He wrote what he wanted on a piece of paper, put it on the chair, and I sent it to him as written."

"What did he write in?"

"It's strange to write in lead letters with a pencil and never write an extra word. I got these slips, and you see, this one is just one word, soap. The other is a match. He wrote the first morning. Bottom: The Daily News. So I put the daily newspaper and breakfast on the chair."

Holmes and I took the notes and looked at them very carefully. Holmes said, "Watson, this tenant is so strange. It's not very strange that he hasn't come out all the time, but why use a pencil! Write it in lead letters." Is there any benefit?"

"He wanted to hide the handwriting."

"For what? That is to ask the landlord to see it? What can it do if he sees it? Is it against her? Or something. But perhaps he really wanted to conceal the handwriting. Besides, why is his note written so simply, Watson?"

"I do not know."

"We have to think a little bit more about this. The writing pen is different from ours. It is thick and purple, and it is torn off after writing. Look carefully, the letter S in the word 'soap' is torn off A small part, what does this mean?"

"He's very careful."

"Yes, he is very careful. He is afraid of being found out. He is very scheming. Of course, there will be other things, such as fingerprints or other clues to provide us with evidence."

"Have you seen him, Mrs. Warren?"

"Yes, I've seen him. He's of medium height, with a beard and dark skin."

"How old is it?"

"30s.

"He speaks English, and he speaks it very well. But his accent sounds like a foreigner, and he doesn't speak it as well as we do."

"Are you well dressed?"

"Wearing all black, very elegant, like a gentleman."

"what is his name?"

"I didn't say it."

"Has anyone else found him?"

"no!"

"Has he ever had a letter?"

"no!"

"You must have helped him tidy up his room in the morning?"

"No, he packed it all himself."

"Oh, so strange."

"Did he not have any luggage?"

"Oh, he's only carrying a big brown handbag, and the rest is gone."

"That's not much useful to us. Has anything been brought out of his room?"

"Had."

The landlady took out an envelope, took out a cigarette butt and two burnt matchsticks from the envelope, and put them on the table. "I saw these on the breakfast plate this morning. Hence bringing you, they say you can see big problems in little things."

He said: "There is nothing to see here! The cigarette must have been lit by a match. You see, there is only such a little match left. Most of a cigarette has been used up, but the end of the cigarette is very strange. How can it be so short? Does he have a beard?"

The landlady said, "Yes."

(End of this chapter)