Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 1

Chapter 5 Research on Scarlet Characters 5
I didn't notice this until later, because my attention was all on the horrible body lying frozen on the floor.It was lying on its back on the floor, its tarnished eyes staring blankly at the faded ceiling.The deceased was about 43 years old, of medium build, broad shoulders, with curly black hair and a short beard.He wore a thick black tweed dress jacket and waistcoat, and light-coloured trousers with spotless necklines and cuffs.A well-brushed top hat lay beside the dead man.His fists were clenched, his arms were outstretched, his legs were crossed, and he seemed to have had a painful struggle before his death.There was a look of horror on his stiff face, a look of hatred I had never seen before.The dead man's hideous face, with his sunken forehead, flat nose and protruding chin, coupled with his unnatural twisted posture, looked hideous and terrifying.I have seen dead people of all kinds, but never have I seen anything more horrific than that found in this dark, gloomy, forbidding empty house on a high road in the outskirts of London.

Remy Reid, who was as thin as a dry monkey, stood by the door and greeted my companion and me.

"This case is sure to make a sensation in the town, sir," said he. "I am not a novice, but I have never seen such a bizarre case."

Gregson asked, "Any clues?"

Remired responded, "Not at all."

Holmes walked up to the body, knelt down and examined it carefully.

"Surely there are no wounds here?" he asked, pointing to the pools of blood all around him.

The two detectives said together: "No."

"Then the blood belonged to someone else—if it was a murder, that person was probably the murderer. It reminds me of the death of Van Jansen in Utrecht in 1834. Gray Gerson, do you remember that case?"

"Don't remember, sir."

"Then you'd better find it and read it. There is nothing new in this world, it's all been done before."

He touched the corpse with his hands while talking, and untied the dead man's clothes for inspection; I found that his eyes showed the blank expression I had seen before.He checked quickly and carefully.Finally, he sniffed the dead man's lips and examined the soles of the dead man's patent-leather boots.

"Is the body untouched?" he asked.

"Except for necessary inspections, there has been no movement."

"That can now be buried, and there is nothing worth examining," said Holmes.

Gregson had prepared a stretcher and arranged for some stretcher-bearers.As soon as he said hello, those few people came in and lifted the dead up, ready to be transported out.Just as they lifted the dead man up, a ring clanged and tumbled to the floor.Remired picked it up quickly and stared at it in bewilderment.

"It's a woman's wedding ring," he exclaimed. "Looks like a woman has been here."

As he spoke, he showed the ring to everyone.The ring was indeed worn by the bride.

"That complicates the case even more," Gregson said. "God knows, it's complicated enough."

"How did you know it would complicate the case?" said Holmes. "What is the use of looking at it? What have you just found in the dead man's pocket?"

"It's all here," said Gregson, pointing to things on the last step. A gold watch from Barrod & Co. of London--No. 97163; a precious gold Albert chain; an engraved a gold ring with the Masonic emblem; a gold brooch with a puppy's head on it, and two rubies in the dog's eyes. In the card holder were Inauq Din Draper of Cleveland , with the initials matching the initials EJD on the shirt. There was seven pounds and thirteen shillings in change, but no purse; a pocket copy of Boccaccio's Decameron with Joseph St. Jason's name. Two letters were also found, addressed to Draper and Joseph St. Jason."

"What's the address for the mail?"

"America Exchange, Riverside Road, for my own collection. Both letters are from the Gouen Steamship Company, telling them when the steamer departs from Liverpool. The man appears to be returning to New York."

"Have you investigated Ster Jason?"

"I investigated at that time, sir," said Gregson. "The advertisement draft was sent to the newspaper, and people were sent to the American Exchange to find out the news, and they have not returned yet."

"Have you contacted Cleveland?"

"The telegram went out this morning."

"What did the telegram say?"

"We explained the details of the case and asked them to provide useful information."

"Haven't they been asked to provide details on key issues?"

"Ask them to provide the situation of Site Jason."

"Is there no crucial question in the whole case? Can't you send a telegram to ask something else?"

"I've said all I have to say," Gregson said impatiently.

Holmes smiled secretly, and went on to say that Remired entered with an air of excitement, nervousness, and self-satisfaction. He had been in the front room when he spoke, and now he was rubbing his hands happily.

"Mr. Gregson, I discovered an important problem just now. Thanks to my careful inspection, otherwise I would have missed it." His eyes were bright as he spoke, as if he was proud of his important discovery.

"Come with me, please," he said as he hurried back to the front room, where the body had been carried away and the air was much cleaner. "Just stand there."

He struck a match on his boot and held it up against the wall.

"Look at this!" he said proudly.

I have said before that the wallpaper has peeled off in some places in the haunted house.With the help of the dim light from the match, everyone stared at the place Remired pointed at.On the corner, most of the wallpaper peeled off, revealing the rough yellow powder wall inside.On the wall was a scrawled word in blood:

RACHE

"What do you think about this?" Remy Reid yelled like the boss of Xihongtuan boasting about his show, "No one has seen this, because it happened to be in the darkest place in the room when I checked it just now No one thought that they needed to go there for inspection. This was written by the murderer dipped in his own blood, and there are traces of blood running down the wall! It can be concluded that the deceased did not commit suicide. Why did he write the words here? ?Let me tell you, look at that piece of candle on the mantelpiece, if it's lit, it's the brightest place here."

"What does that mean?" said Gregson contemptuously.

"It shows that the writer was going to write a woman's name, which was 'Rachel', but for some reason, it didn't finish. I can guarantee that when the truth of the case comes out, there will be a woman named Rachel. 'Rachel's' woman has something to do with the case. You may laugh at me, Mr. Holmes, but remember, Ginger is as old as you are, in spite of your brilliant judgment."

My companion laughed aloud when he had finished, and so annoyed the little man.Holmes said hastily: "I am so sorry! You are indeed the first to discover the word, and, as you say, it was indeed written by one of those who were present at last night's tragedy. I have not yet examined the room." house, if you agree, I will start to check it now."

As he spoke, he pulled out a tape measure and a round magnifying glass.Holding these two tools, he checked them silently, sometimes standing still, sometimes kneeling down, and once even lying on the ground.He was so engrossed in his work that he seemed to have completely forgotten about the people around us.Sometimes he was talking to himself, sometimes he let out a happy cry, sometimes he hummed in a low voice, sometimes he whistled, sometimes he let out a cry as if he had discovered something and was encouraged, and sometimes he shook his head and sighed.As I watched him, I couldn't help thinking of a well-trained hound running up and down, barking anxiously until it sniffed out its prey.He inspected for more than 20 minutes, measuring the distance between some traces that I didn't even see with great care, sometimes measuring the wall with a tape measure.Carefully snatched a pinch of gray powder from a spot on the floor and put it in an envelope.Finally, with a magnifying glass, he examined the blood writing on the wall, examining each letter with great care.He looked very satisfied when all this was done, put away the tape measure and magnifying glass, and put them in his pocket.

He laughed and said, "People often say that 'genius' is the ability to endure hardships and stand hard work. This definition is very inappropriate, but it is very accurate in the detective industry."

Gregson and Remired had been watching the actions of their amateur colleague with great curiosity and some disdain.They evidently failed to grasp what I had already realized—that every tiny movement of Holmes had a definite purpose.

"What do you think of this, sir?" they both asked in unison.

My companion said: "If I help you, I will take the credit from both of you. You are doing well now. Wouldn't it be a pity to let someone else get in the way?" There was strong sarcasm in his words mean.He went on to say: "If you tell me about the investigation at any time, I will do my best to help. Now I want to talk to the police who found the body. Can you tell me his name and address?"

Remy Read looked at his notepad and said, "His name is John Lance. He is off duty now. You can find him at 46 Audley Court, Kennington Park Road."

Holmes took note of the address.

"Come on, doctor, let's go find him." Then, he turned to the two detectives and said, "I can tell you a little about the case, which may help you solve it. This is a murder case, and the murderer is a A man, six feet tall, in the prime of his life. His feet were small in proportion to his stature. He wore rough leather square-toed boots and smoked chegars. He had come in the same carriage as the victim, and the The horse has three old shoes, and only the right front shoe is new. The murderer may have had a red face and long nails on his right hand. These are just a few signs, but they may help you solve the case."

Remy Reid and Gregson smiled at each other, each with suspicious expressions on their faces.

"If this man was murdered, how did he die?" Remired asked.

"Poisoned." Sherlock Holmes succinctly answered and strode out, but stopped at the door and added: "One more thing, Remired. 'Lache' is German.' Revenge' means, so don't waste your time looking for something Miss 'Rachel'."

Having finished speaking, Holmes turned and left with me, leaving the two detectives standing there bewildered.

(End of this chapter)