I am creating a esoteric religion in London

Chapter 14 Shedding clothes?molt!
Watson returned to No. 221B Baker Street in a rented carriage. He hadn't seen Holmes visit in the past few days. He guessed that Holmes was trying his best to investigate the clues of Lance's case secretly.

There was a luxurious four-wheeled carriage parked in front of the detective office. The door was printed with an extremely complicated coat of arms. It seemed that it was a famous family with a long history.

Even the equipped groom is wearing a well-tailored uniform. The other party is standing on the side of the road with Victor, puffing clouds and fog, and the two seem to be quite familiar with each other.

Watson speculates that the aristocrats in the luxury carriage should have a deep relationship with the Holmes family.

He picked up the new cane from Stanford Jr. and got out of the carriage. Victor, who was chatting, saw Watson limping with a cast on his left arm, and hurried forward to give him a hand.

"Mr. Watson, you have been discharged from the hospital so soon!"

"Thank you."

Watson waved his hand to reject the good intentions. He just looked at the severe injuries and was actually healthier than the two grooms, but he imagined that in the eyes of outsiders at this moment, he must look as if he was physically disabled and not disabled.

Watson also imitated them and took out a pack of Ship brand cigarettes and lit it up, "Is Holmes meeting guests inside now?"

"Yes, Mr. Watson." Victor said, "It's the lady's cousin, the Marchioness of Bute."

Watson nodded, and it was another complicated noble relationship.

They chatted outside the door for a long time before the Marquise Bute, who was wearing a gorgeous long dress, and the servant holding the umbrella for her came out.

Seeing this, the groom of the Marquis of Bout hurried back to the carriage, put down the pedal and opened the door, welcoming the Marquise into the carriage.

As soon as Watson walked into the detective office, he saw Holmes sitting in the living room writing and drawing in a notebook, with a trace of worry and distress on his face.

When the female detective heard the sound of entering the door, she looked up and saw that her assistant had returned. She was overjoyed and said, "Watson, you came back just in time!"

"How is the injury recovering? I happen to have a case here that needs your help."

Watson showed her his left arm, which was hung around his neck in a plaster cast, "It's okay, as long as you don't encounter a monster like Lance again, other small things will be fine."

But what he actually thinks in his heart is that I have recovered my skills to the peak state, even if I encounter a deformed insect monster again, I will never leave me alive in just three or five!

"That's good. This case will never involve those strange things. It's just an ordinary disappearance case. You can handle it by yourself, right?"

"The disappearance case? How could such a small case fall on the head of a big detective like you?"

Holmes sighed, "This matter involves my careless cousin, Harris Bute. The Marquis of Bute has a deep friendship with my family, and it is really hard to refuse."

"It just so happens that I'm too busy to get away today, so I have to trouble you to investigate first." The female detective pointed to the mountain of files beside her.

Watson glanced at them, and they seemed to be strange and unsolved cases with unknown causes of death. It seemed that Holmes was investigating similar cases to Lance's case.

"My cousin is a dissolute guy by nature. He likes to do pornographic things on weekdays. He said he disappeared, maybe he was intoxicated in some gentle town and couldn't get out, but it's really strange that he hasn't contacted his family for half a month. .”

The female detective said as she tore off a note from her notebook and took out another key, "This is the address where he rents a house in the city. Victor is under your command today. Go and see if there is any violent kidnapping." trace."

"All right……"

When Watson heard that it was just a case of a nobleman's disappearance, he couldn't help but feel a little uninterested, and his face unconsciously showed a look of disappointment.

Seeing this, Holmes smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, I have been investigating the files related to Lance's case, and I have some clues. I think I will get the results soon. You have to take advantage of this time to recuperate your injuries. What we will then face is a vicious criminal with supernatural powers!"

Watson nodded, went back to the upstairs room to pack up the equipment, and then got into Victor's carriage and rushed to the residence of the missing man Harris.

Harris lives downtown in an upscale, resplendent apartment building with a dedicated butler and doorman/security guard.

Watson made it clear that he came and showed the key left by the Marquis of Bute, and he was allowed to enter after some hard talking, because he was crippled, limp, and non-threatening.

A housekeeper of the apartment led him in the front under the name of assisting but monitoring.

The apartment butler is a standard British butler with a meticulous hairstyle, a black tuxedo, a starched white shirt, a pair of crisp black trousers, a pair of shiny black leather shoes, and an always straight figure.

He led Watson to Harris' rented house.

Watson took out the key and clicked to open the door. The room is very spacious. There is a large crystal chandelier hanging on the ceiling of the living room. , soft and comfortable sofas, and expensive drinks all over the walls...

The apartment is well-secured and the door locks are intact. It doesn't look like it was kidnapped violently, at least it doesn't seem to be the place where the kidnapping took place... This is Watson's preliminary judgment.

He hesitated to observe, walked back and forth in the hall, and found that the house was extremely clean and tidy.
The apartment housekeeper behind him seemed to see the question of the disabled detective, and said: "We have a dedicated cleaning staff in the building, and they will come to clean and clean regularly according to the requirements of the tenants."

Watson was speechless. If you hadn't said it earlier, what traces could I find.

"When was the last time it was cleaned? Have you seen Harris in person lately?"

"According to Mr. Harris' request, we clean every three days. The last cleaning was in the afternoon two days ago." The housekeeper quickly gave a precise time, "And the last time I saw Mr. Harris was In the afternoon nine days ago, he had just finished a party the day before, and he rested until the next afternoon before going out."

Watson glanced at the housekeeper thoughtfully, and answered so quickly and accurately, either the housekeeper was well-trained and able to record all the residents' information; or...the other party had already prepared this set of arguments in advance!

"That is to say, during this period, you have cleaned this room three times as required?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can I meet the cleaning staff for these three times?"

"Sir, if you have any questions, you can ask me directly. I have supervised the three cleanings on site."

"The first cleaning after Harris left, what's the situation at the scene, is there anything suspicious?"

This time the butler didn't answer directly, his pupils looked up as if recalling.

"Food crumbs everywhere, spilled wine and broken glass bottles, the smell of pick-me-ups lingering in the air...it was no different from any party Mr Harris has thrown in the past."

Watson nodded and walked into the bedroom, where there was an extremely wide bed.

In the corner of the closet, a very conspicuous small card caught Watson's attention. The card seemed to be made of gold and iron, hard and cold. The background of the card was as dark as night. Xin has long beautiful legs, and the bright red stockings have faded to her knees, revealing half of her plump and fair thighs.

The card screen is full of ambiguous hints. It seems that you can see a charming beauty sitting alone at the bar, exhaling a puff of green smoke in the blurred neon light. Charming and enchanting...

"Seems like an unremarkable bar..."

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but Watson seemed to see a pair of hands outstretched from the card in the darkness, resting on the round, white and tender thighs, peeling off the skin like stockings, exposing the scarlet muscle fibers, as if being dissected and skinned... …

The illusion was fleeting, and he came back to his senses and stared at the card obsessively, frowning suddenly and then immediately relieved, his face showed a dignified and frivolous expression, and suddenly let out a strange smile that seemed to be either happy or sad.

The apartment butler standing like a sculpture behind him was amazed by the weird performance of the disabled detective. He looked curiously at the card in the opponent's hand, and saw the shop name and address printed on the corner of the card. The name was a bit weird, which caught the butler's attention. muttered:

"Shedding Club..."

　In fact, the card name of the Shelter Club [Location Cabaret] is a place for singing and dancing performances. The word Shelter is purely an artistic processing of the Sinicization group, but it is indeed much more flavorful than the literal translation, so it is used as the full name by default.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)