Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 178: Investigating Strange Cases (20)
"Mr. Holmes," said he, "I doubt the telegram. Who is he? How did he know of it at such a distance? It seems to me to be a hoax. I do not believe it."

"He is a pastor, he will not lie to you lightly, act quickly."

He still doesn't want to go.

Holmes said: "Mr. Amberley, this clue is very important. In order to solve the case as soon as possible, you must cooperate with me and the police, otherwise, I will not be able to handle this case."

Seeing that Holmes was angry, he reluctantly agreed.

"Okay, to show my sincerity, I'll go. But this time I probably won't get anything."

"Stop talking, just do what I say."

Before leaving, Holmes specifically told me that Amberley must be taken there, and that he must not escape.If you find this kind of thing, call him as soon as possible.

Although I don't fully understand the real reason for this trip, seeing Holmes being so careful and mysterious, I decided that I must follow Holmes' instructions to do this matter well.

After a long train ride to Barton, and a long carriage ride, he finally arrived at his destination and found Reverend Elman.The pastor, with a dignified air and a steady demeanor, said politely:
"Are you two looking for me?"

"You sent a telegram asking us to come."

"I don't even know you. What kind of telegram? This joke is too outrageous."

"You signed the telegram. You said you had information about Mr. Amberley's wife and property."

The pastor was very angry: "Sir, please be careful with what you say. I don't know the gentleman you mentioned at all, let alone send a telegram."

We were both taken aback and didn't know what to do.

I hastily apologized and asked him if there were any other priests here.He said impatiently that he was the only priest here, and told us to leave quickly.

This telegram is not sent by the pastor, so who could it be?What are you doing to create this illusion?It's really inexplicable.

I must get in touch with Holmes.The telegraph office was closed, and it was only with difficulty that a call was discovered.When I told this to Holmes, he too was surprised.

"Watson, you've run for nothing this time. I'll see you staying there tonight. Maybe the inns in the country are not good, but it's not easy to enjoy nature once, so you and Amberley will keep company, he said. won't bore you."

After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. He seemed to be joking with me. I don't understand how could he be in the mood to make a joke?Amberley and I were back in town early the next morning.The stingy fellow complained all the way that this time cost him a lot of money.Just for this, the people who live with him can't bear it.We broke up in London and it was finally easy.

I went to Holmes' house, but he was not there, leaving a note telling me to go to Lewisham and look for him.What is he doing there?Although I hated to see that mean guy, I went anyway.Amberley and Holmes were both sitting in the drawing-room when I entered.To my surprise the tall man with the gray glasses who was following me was also there.Seeing my surprise, Holmes immediately stood up and said, "You are here at last. We have been waiting for you for a long time. First, I would like to introduce you to my friend Buck. He has the same responsibilities as I do."

I finally know why Holmes got his characteristics right at once.

"Mr. Amberley, you are all here," said Holmes. "I want to ask you a question. Please answer it accurately."

Amberley sat on the sofa, looking as if a catastrophe had come.

He asked in a low voice, "What's the problem?"

"Where did you put the body?"

He suddenly yelled and slid from the sofa to the floor, shaking all over his body.His cunning old fox has shown his tail.He covered his mouth with his hands, and Holmes hurried to catch him by the neck.A white pill spit out from his mouth.

"Want to commit suicide? You must first tell the police station the specific situation."

Buck said, "I'll go with him!"

Holmes said, "I'm going too. Wait here, Watson. I'll be back in half an hour."

It was useless for Amberley to resist, for he had been taken away by two detectives.And I am left alone in this terrible place.Fortunately, Holmes returned before the time he said, and brought back a young police officer.

"The fellow has been taken to the police station by us," said Holmes. "Buck stayed there to deal with the formalities, and I came back first. He is a very good detective. We are friends and rivals. He has solved many big cases. The police also admire him."

The police officer said coldly, "He did a little work for us."

Holmes said: "That stubborn miser didn't say anything, it really made the police feel bad."

"We have a solution," said the young officer. "Forgive our annoyance when you step in and take away our credit in a way we can't use."

"Don't be angry, Mr. Inspector. Buck and I will get out of the case at once."

"Forgive me for my rashness, Mr. Holmes. You have never valued fame and fortune very much. But we are different, and the whole police will be embarrassed by reporters."

"Yes. If the reporter asks you how you found the doubt? None of you can answer. So prepare the answer in advance."

The officers had lost all poise because they couldn't prepare an answer.

"Mr. Holmes, his wife and her lover were murdered by that miserly fellow. We have only evidence that he intended to kill himself on the spot, and nothing else."

"Have you brought your men?"

"Coming."

"Tell your men to search this house. The body is nearby, such as the cellar, the garden, etc. The house is very old, and the water pipes are connected to the back. There must be an old abandoned well. Try your luck. .”

"Are you that confident?"

"Let's analyze his morbid psychology first. The standard miser is so stingy that no one can bear it. His wife can't bear it either, so she ran away with others. This stingy guy is also very jealous. He looks at the young His wife had a good relationship with the doctor, so he was jealous and thought they were having an affair, so he planned to kill them."

Holmes led us to the vault door.

The police officer said, "The smell of paint is so strong!"

Holmes said: "I doubted this at first. When Watson told me about his oil room before, I knew that his house had not been repaired for many years, and the ground was full of weeds. It was obvious that he didn't like tidiness. Has he become more diligent after being hit? The room is full of paint smell, and he wants to cover up the stench that may arouse suspicion. Looking at this very strong vault, we must find out what is in it. I have to check it myself Take a look at the house. Watson said that the old man was going to the theater with his wife that night, but I knew that there was no one at No. 32 and No. 30 in the second row. It was obvious that Amberley was lying, which made me start Suspected him. So I used the trick of diverting the tiger away from the mountain, and asked Watson to go with him to a very remote place. I took the name from the who's who, and then sent the telegram. You know now, Watson!"

The police officer said: "I really admire your insight!"

"So I went into the house. I saw the gas pipe in the skirting, and it went up into the vault, which had a hole at the end of the rose window in the roof, so it was hard to know without looking carefully. If the switch was turned on from the outside , the room will be full of gas and airtight. How can the people in it survive? This miserly fellow is very cunning, and if he tricks them into it, he will kill them."

"The investigators also mentioned gas, but when we arrived, the criminals had tampered with it, the doors and windows were open and there was a strong smell of paint, so we ignored it," the officer said.

The police officer continued: "You have done very well, but I have a question, Mr. Holmes, are you going to hand over the case to us, including what you just said?"

"Yes," said Holmes.

"Then I thank you on behalf of the police department. Once the body is found, we can close the case."

"There is one more fact," said Holmes. "What does a man who is about to be killed want to do before he dies?"

"Tell me who the murderer is?"

"Yes. The two victims were not willing to be killed by this miser, so they kept something. 'We are-' is evidence in purple pencil above the bottom of the wall."

"The dead want to say: 'We were killed.'"

"Very true," said Holmes. "It is the dead man's last writing. It would be more certain if the purple pencil could be found on the body. I am afraid that the miser has overlooked this point, and he has not completely wiped out the trace."

"Don't worry, we will search carefully. Mr. Holmes, where are the missing bonds and money?"

"It was a thief crying catch thief. He hid the stuff ahead of time. Much later, he said that the guilty couple found out, sent the stolen goods back, or lost it somewhere when they ran away. In any case, he will make up a very good story. For good reason."

The police officer said: "He can't hide it from you after all. You have solved all the problems. How dare he go to you?"

"He is too confident. He thinks his plan is infallible, and he has no one else in his eyes. He can tell his neighbors who are still suspicious of him: Look, I have done my home. I have not only called the police, but also Holmes. "

All is at an end, and my friend Holmes can rest for a while.After a few days, I went to see him.He showed me a magazine——"North Surrey Observer", with "Haunted House" as the first title and "Excellent Detective" as the last title, which exaggeratedly praised the whole process of the police station to solve the case.In the end, the article blew the young police officer into the sky:
The young policeman had great insight: he could tell the smell of gas from the smell of paint.Through investigation, it is known that the most likely place of the crime is the vault, and the body was found in the abandoned well in the backyard of the house.Although this case is peculiar, the talents of our police officers are even more extraordinary. All these will be recorded in the annals of criminal cases as a model for full-time police detectives to solve cases.

"Well, well, he is a fine fellow," said Holmes, smiling indulgently. "You may enter it into our own files, Watson. Someday the truth of the story will be revealed."

(End of this chapter)