Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 32 Return 8
Holmes remained composed even after our guest had gone.As soon as Hilton Cupid's back disappeared from the door, my companion ran to the table, put all the papers in front of him, and began to analyze them seriously.He was busy for two hours.When it was convenient, he whistled and sang all at once.When it doesn't go well, he will frown and stare blankly.At last with a cry of triumph, he sprang up from his chair and walked up and down the room, rubbing his hands together.Later, he wrote a long telegram. "If I can get the expected answer in my telegram back, Watson, then you will have another very interesting case in your record," said he. "I hope we will go to Norfolk tomorrow." K, take some very clear information to our friend and let him know what is bothering him."

To tell the truth, I was very inquisitive at the time, but I also understood that Holmes liked to talk about his discoveries in his own unique way as he thought fit.So I just had to wait until he felt it was time to say it.

We waited another two days.The next evening a letter came from Mr. Cupid, saying that everything was all right in his house, except that there was another long line of dancing people at the sundial.He drew a picture and sent it.

Holmes sprawled across the table and gazed at the grotesque picture for some minutes.He stood up suddenly, his face very haggard.

"It can't be left any longer," he cried. "Is there a train for North Walsham in the evening?"

I looked at the train timetable, the last train had just left.

"Then we shall take the first train to-morrow morning," said Holmes, "and now we must do it ourselves. Ah, here comes the telegram we have been expecting. Please wait a moment, Mrs. Hudson, for there may be a reply." Telegram. Oh, no, I expected it completely. After reading this telegram, we need to make Mr. Hilton Cupid understand the situation at once. For he has been caught in a strange and sinister web. "

Everything that happened later proved that what my companion said was correct.Now it's time for me to end this childish, ridiculous and weird story at the time, and my heart is full of the surprise and horror at that time.

We alighted at North Walsham, and the station master hurried up to us as we said where we were going. "You are the two detectives from London?" he asked.

A look of boredom came over Holmes' face.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because Sheriff Martin from our district just passed by here, or you are two surgeons. She is not dead yet, and even if you catch up with her and revive her, she will still be hanged."

Holmes was rather anxious.

"We're going to Racecourse Village," he said, "but we don't understand what's going on there."

"A rather terrible thing happened," said the station master. "Hilton Cupid and his wife were both shot. It is said that she shot the husband first and then shot herself. The man is now It's dead, and there's probably no hope for the girl. Why! They're the best family in Norfolk!"

Holmes hastened into a carriage.On the way, he didn't say a word.He had been restless all the way from London, and I could see his apprehension as he turned carefully over the pages of the various morning papers.His worst fears had come true, and a dazed melancholy had sprung up in him.He leaned back in his seat, thinking silently.There are, however, many very interesting things to attract us in this part of the country, for the country through which we are passing is rather peculiar in England, and the few rambling farmhouses show that the present concentration of people in this part of the country is quite small.The square-towered church towering over a flat, verdant landscape tells of the grandeur of the East Anglian kingdom in the past.Finally, a deep blue Germanic Sea appeared on the verdant shore of Norfolk. The coachman pointed to the old-fashioned brick gable wall exposed in the grove with his whip and said, "That is the horse farm village estate."

When the carriage came up to the gate with the circular porch, the black tool shed and the sundial appeared beside the tennis court.There was another person who got out of the carriage. He was not tall but very capable, quick-moving, and had a beard. He was Sergeant Martin of the Norfolk Police Department.When he heard the name Holmes, he was very surprised.

"It was you, Mr. Holmes. How did you hear about the case in London at three o'clock this morning, and we arrived at the scene at the same time?"

"I came here to prevent it from happening."

"You must have evidence of this, of which we know nothing, for they are a very harmonious couple."

"My physical evidence now is nothing more than some dancing people," said Holmes. "In the future I will explain everything to you slowly. Now that the tragedy has happened, I only hope to use the materials I have to do justice. Shall we cooperate, or shall I go it alone?"

"It's a great honor to be working with you," said the sheriff.

"Well, I want to hear the testimony immediately and start an investigation."

Sheriff Martin was a smart guy who let my friend do what he wanted while he was content to record the results.The local surgeon, a gray-haired old man, had just come downstairs from Mrs. Cupid's bedroom, and reported her injuries, though serious but not life-threatening.It may take some time before she wakes up.As for whether it was injured by others or by herself, he didn't say.But it can be concluded that it was shot from a very close place.Only one gun was found in the room, two of which had been spent.A bullet pierced Mr. Hilton Cupid's heart.It can be assumed that Hilton shot his wife first, or that his wife was the murderer because the revolver fell right between them.

"Ever moved Mr. Cupid?"

"No, we carried his wife out. We couldn't bear to see her lying on the floor in a bruised state."

"When did you get here, doctor?"

"Four o'clock."

"Is there anyone else?"

"Yes, this is the sheriff."

"Did you touch anything?"

"No."

"You have thought very carefully, who will invite you?"

"His housemaid Saunders."

"Where did she arrive at the scene of the incident first?"

"She and Mrs. Jin, the cook."

"Where are they now?"

"Probably in the kitchen."

"I think we should first hear what they have to say."

This ancient hall was temporarily used as an investigative chamber.Holmes sat very haggard in a large old-fashioned chair, but his eyes gleamed with impatience.You can see his determination in his eyes, he will do everything in his power to find out the case until he avenges Mr. Cupid.In the hall sat Sergeant Martin, the country doctor, myself and a village policeman.

The two women gave a clear account of the events.They were awakened from their sleep by a bang, and then another.They were asleep next door, and Mrs. King ran to Sanders' room after hearing the first explosion.They ran downstairs together.The study door was open, and a candle was burning on the table.The master was dead, lying face down in the middle of the study.The hostess huddled near the window.Her head was pressed against the wall, and her injuries were very serious. She was panting heavily, her face was covered with blood, and she could no longer speak.The window was plugged in from the inside and was closed.They were both sure of that.They sent for the doctor and the police at once, and then they carried out the mistress with the help of the groom and the little shepherd.The couple had already slept before the accident. The woman was wearing pajamas, and the man wore a dressing gown over the pajamas.Nothing changed in the house, and they knew that the couple never quarreled.

They then answered questions from Sheriff Martin.They were sure that the door was locked from the inside, and that neither could get out.When answering my companion's questions, they all affirmed that they smelled a strong smell of gunpowder as soon as they ran out of their rooms. "I beg your attention to this," Holmes reminded his companion. "Now, it is time to examine that room thoroughly."

The study is small, with books on three sides.There is a desk under a window that opens onto the garden.We first saw Mr. Cupid's body, lying on his back with his limbs spread out.The bullet was fired from the front of him, hit the heart and remained in the body, and he died at the scene.There was no trace of gunpowder on his dressing gown or on his hands.The country doctor said Mrs. Cupid had gunpowder marks on her face, but not on her hands.

"The presence or absence of traces of powder means nothing," said Holmes. "A suitable bullet will contain no powder, and no trace will be left of any number of shots. I think Mr. Cupid's body can now be removed. Doctor, you haven't taken out the bullet that wounded the mistress, have you?"

"An extremely complicated operation is still required. There are still four bullets in the gun, two of which were fired, causing two wounds, and this is where the six bullets fell."

"Apparently so," said my companion, "how about the bullet in the window frame?" He turned suddenly, and pointed with his finger to a small hole in the window frame.

"What a loophole!" exclaimed the Inspector. "How did you see that?"

"Because I've been looking for it."

"This is a very astonishing discovery!" said the country doctor. "You are very correct, that is to say, there was a third person at the time! Who was he? How did he escape?"

"That is our task," said Holmes. "Sergeant, when the two maids said that they smelled gunpowder as soon as they left the room, I reminded you to pay attention, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, but I didn't care."

"We can say that the doors and windows must have been open when the gun was fired, otherwise there would be no smell of gunpowder upstairs."

"why?"

"Because the candle is not blown to shed wax."

"That's it," said the sheriff loudly.

"After the fact that the window was open when the tragedy happened, we can infer that a third person was present and fired a shot into the house from the window. If the shot is fired from the inside at this time, it is likely Hit the frame of the window, I just saw there was a bullet hole there."

"But why is the window closed again?"

"Instinctively, the hostess closed the window immediately. Ah, what is this?"

Holmes opened the purse on the table and poured out its contents.One was a roll of Bank of England notes, twenty fifty-pound notes bound together with rubber bands.

"This handbag must be kept safe. It will definitely be useful." Holmes said, handing the handbag and banknotes to the sheriff. "Now what are we supposed to do to explain the three bullets? From the fragments of wood, it can be seen that this is a bullet fired from the inside out. I want to ask Mrs. King again. Mrs. King, you said that you were shot Awakened by a very loud explosion. Do you think it sounds louder than the second?"

"It's hard to tell, sir, it's just the sound."

"Don't you think that those were two shots fired at about the same time?"

"I'm not sure of that either, sir."

"I think it was indeed the sound of two guns, Mr. Sheriff, and there is no need to doubt it here. We can go into the garden if we like, and hope to find some new evidence."

In front of the study window is a flower bed.The flowers were trampled down in a large area, and the wet mud was covered with footprints.These are the footprints of a man, with thin and long toes.Holmes searched carefully in the grass and on the ground.Suddenly he gave a cry of excitement and picked up a small copper cylinder.

"Exactly as I imagined it," he said. "That gun had a pusher on it, and that's the casing of the third shot. Sergeant Martin, it's time for a conclusion."

The sheriff's face clearly showed his surprise at Holmes's superb and ingenious detection.

"And who did it, sir?" he asked.

"I'll talk about it later. There are still a few things I can't explain to you about this question. Now that I've reached this point, I will explain this matter once and for all according to my own ideas."

"Mr. Holmes, if you can catch the murderer, you can do whatever you want."

"I can't give a long explanation at the time of the action. I have all the clues. Even if the mistress is seriously injured, we can still deduce what happened last night and get the murderer. But first I want to know if there is a There's a little inn called 'Elrich'?"

All the servants do not know.Then the little horseman remembered a farmer named Elrich who lived not far from here in East Rolston.

"Is that farm remote?"

"Yes, sir."

"Maybe the people there don't know what happened here last night."

"Very likely, sir."

"Son, I have a letter which you must deliver at once to Elrich Farm," said Holmes.

(End of this chapter)