Sherlock Holmes Complete Works 2

Chapter 51 Return 27
"The clips of the glasses are lined with cork to keep the nose from being pinched. This one is faded and a bit worn, while the other is new. That means one of these has been dropped and replaced with a new one. Yes. The old one over there is only a few months old, and the two pieces of cork are identical, so I can tell she's been to the same optician twice."

Hopkins said enviously: "Your explanation is really wonderful. I have all the evidence in my hands, but I still can't do anything. But I also thought about going to various optical shops to have a look."

"Of course you should go. Is there anything else you want to say to me?"

"Finally, maybe you know more. We have checked in detail the people who appeared on the main road and the train station. We have not found anything. What is even more incomprehensible It is the murderer's purpose and why."

"Ah, there is nothing I can do to help you on this matter. Shall we go and see tomorrow?"

"I would be very grateful if I could bother you to come and help with the investigation. There is a train from Charles Cross to Ketham at six o'clock in the morning, and you can get there around eight or nine o'clock."

"Then we'll take this train. The case really interests me, and I'd like to look into it."

The next morning, the wind died down.We alighted at a railway station a few miles from Kesham after a tiring journey.We had a quick breakfast while we waited for the carriage, so we set to work as soon as we were on the spot.A policeman was waiting for us at the garden gate.

"Mr. Wilson, is there anything new?"

"No, sir."

"Has anyone come to report seeing a stranger."

"No, not a single stranger entered or exited the station yesterday."

"Have you inquired about the hotel and other places of lodging?"

"I asked, but I couldn't find a single person connected with the case."

"Mr. Holmes, this is the lane of which I speak, and I assure you that yesterday it was free of footsteps."

"Which side of the trail are the footprints found in the grass?"

"Sir, on the very narrow edge between the path and the flower-bed, which is now out of sight."

Holmes bent down and looked at the grass, and said: "Someone is indeed passing by here. This woman must be very careful walking, otherwise, she is likely to leave marks on the path, and if she walks on the other side of the path, she will also leave marks on the wet ground." Make clearer footprints."

"Yes, Mr. Holmes, she must be a level-headed person."

Holmes concentrated his thoughts.

"You think she must have gone out this way?"

"Yes, sir, there is no other way."

"From this meadow?"

"Definitely."

"Well, it's a well-done murder! Has the lane come to an end yet? Let's go on. I suppose the little garden gate is usually left open, ah, the lady must have come from here She entered the house. At that time, she did not even think of killing someone, and the murder weapon was the knife on the desk. She walked down the hall without leaving a mark on the coconut hair mat, and then she entered the study. We cannot Find out how long she has been in the study."

"Sir, it was only a few minutes before and after. Mrs. Marco, the housekeeper, was cleaning in the study not long before the accident. She stated in the testimony that it was about a quarter of an hour before the accident."

"That gives us a time frame. The lady came in and went to the desk, but not for the contents of the drawer, because valuables must have been locked. She was going to take the In the cupboard, eh! Something seems to have scratched the cupboard. What is the mark? Watson, strike a match. Hopkins, why don't you tell me about the mark?"

Holmes examined the scratch, which had begun on the brass plate to the right of the keyhole, and was about four inches long, along with which the paint had been scratched off the surface of the cabinet.

"I have, sir, but I think it is quite normal to have scratches around the keyhole."

"But this scratch is new, because the place where it was scratched on the copper is very shiny! The color of the old scratch should be the same as the color of the surface of the copper. You use my magnifying glass to look at the paint here, this trace The paint on the sides is like dirt turning up the sides of a furrow. Is Mrs. Marko there?"

An older woman entered the house.

"Did you wipe the cabinet yesterday morning?"

"Clear it, sir."

"Did you see the scratch at the time?"

"No, sir."

"You can be sure that there is no one, because there are still powder chips of paint on the table. Who is the key to this cabinet?"

"It's kept by the professor himself."

"Is this an ordinary key?"

"It's a license plate key."

"Well, Mrs. Mark, you may go. This lady came to the cupboard after entering the room, and either opened it or tried to open it. At this moment, Willoughby Smith walked into the house. She hastily withdrew the key, and inadvertently drew a mark on the cabinet door. Mr. Smith caught her, and she seized something close at hand, which was the knife, and asked Will. Lobi struck, and tried to get Willoughby to let her go. But the blow was fatal. Mr. Smith fell instantly, and she fled, perhaps taking what she wanted, or perhaps not yet. Maid Sue Is Susan there? Susan, is it possible for her to escape through that door after hearing the shout?"

"Sir, that's quite impossible. If there is someone in the passage, I don't have to go downstairs to see it. This door has not been opened, otherwise I would have heard the sound."

"There is no problem with this exit. The murderer must have escaped the same way. I know that the aisle on this side leads to the professor's bedroom. There is no exit there, right?"

"No, sir."

"Let's go see the professor together. Hey, Hopkins, this is important, really important: Are there coconut wool mats in the hallway leading to the professor's bedroom, too?"

"Does it matter?"

"Can't you see? I don't necessarily think it's related, but I think it's helpful to us. Let's go there together, and you need to introduce me."

We walked down a hallway with a flight of stairs at the end and a door at the end of the hallway.Hopkins knocked on the door, and we were led into the professor's bedroom.

This is a big house, the room is full of books, and the owner of the house is lying on the bed with pillows.The stale, foul smell of tobacco filled the room.When he held out his hand to Holmes, it showed the yellowish nicotine stains on it.

He spoke carefully with his words and in a slow voice.

"Mr. Holmes, do you smoke? Have one! I'd like you to have a taste of it. They send a thousand at a time, and I have to ask him to do so every fortnight. An old man has nothing to entertain." Yeah, I'll just have to smoke and work."

While Holmes was lighting a cigarette, he scanned the room with his eyes.

The old man said with emotion: "Cigarettes and work, but now there are only cigarettes. This unfortunate thing has tortured me so much that I have no intention of working! This is really a disaster from heaven! What a wonderful young man! I promise to train a few more In a few months, he'll be a great assistant."

Holmes was walking up and down the room, while the old professor was still talking.

The old man said: "Sir, this incident has dealt a great blow to me. The stack of manuscripts on the small table is my book. I have carefully studied the theoretical basis of the Apocalypse sect, and I have also studied in Syria and The documents found in the Coptic monasteries in Egypt were thoroughly analyzed. So, this book will be very valuable when it is published. However, with my body weakening and my assistant being killed, I really don't know if there is any more There is no way to finish this book. Ah, sir, you suck faster than I do."

Holmes laughed.

He took another cigarette out of the pack, this was the fourth one.He lit the remaining end of his cigarette, and said: "I am very appreciative, and I cannot ask you for too long, and give you trouble, Professor Cowles. I just want to ask one question, and the poor young man finally said:' Professor, it's her.' What do you think he means by that?"

The professor shook his head blankly.

He said: "Susan is a country kid. This kind of person is ridiculously stupid. I think the young man just muttered some incoherent words and she misunderstood it as a vague sentence." if."

"So, how do you understand this matter?"

"It may be an accident, or it may be a suicide, but I only say this at home. Young people always have inner depression and troubles, such as things about love, which are difficult for us to fathom. Maybe murder less likely."

"What about the glasses?"

"I'm a nerd, I can only imagine out of thin air, but, as we know, love is capricious, and it changes when it changes. When a person wants to end his life, he can put a fan, a pair of gloves, a pair of glasses, etc. Waiting for everything worthy of remembrance to be held in hand as a treasure. The gentleman spoke of footprints left in the grass, and such a speculation could easily be mistaken. As for the knife, it is likely that he dropped it when he fell. But I said it very well. Could be wrong. But on the whole I think the young man committed suicide."

The old professor's explanation surprised my friend, but he continued to pace up and down, absorbed in his thoughts.

After a while, he said, "Professor Corris, can you tell me what is in the small cabinet of the desk?"

"Things that don't interest thieves: family papers, letters from my unfortunate wife, my degree certificates from some colleges, here's the key, you can open it yourself."

Holmes took the key and returned it to the professor.

He said: "I don't think the key will be of any use to me. I'd rather go quietly into your garden and think about the situation. We should take your suggestion of suicide into consideration. At two o'clock in the afternoon, I'll let you know about it."

Strange to say, Holmes walked up and down the garden path many times in an absent-minded manner.

Then I asked, "Any clues?"

He said: "It depends on the cigarettes I smoke, or I may be completely wrong. However, the cigarettes will tell me the result."

I was surprised and said: "Dear friend, how do you..."

"You'll see, it won't hurt if I'm wrong. Of course, then we can go scouting the optical shop again. But if the optical shop lead doesn't work, I can find a shortcut to solve it quickly This problem, ah! The housekeeper is here! We should have a good talk with her for five minutes, and it will help solve the case."

I should have stated long ago that my friend was very attractive to women if he wanted to, and that he could gain their confidence in a short time.No, in less than 5 minutes, he gained the trust of Mrs. Marco, and the two of them talked very speculatively, as if they were two old friends for many years.

"Yes, Mr. Holmes, as you say, he must have had some evil business to keep him smoking, sometimes all day and all night. One morning I went to his The bedroom, filled with smoke as thick as the London fog. Poor Mr. Smith smokes together, but not so much as the professor. I really don't know whether smoking is good or bad for the professor's health. "

"But at least smoking will reduce his appetite," said Holmes.

"Sir, I don't understand that."

"I guess the professor must eat very little."

"To be precise, his appetite fluctuated."

"I bet he didn't have breakfast this morning and he probably couldn't even eat lunch from all the cigarettes he smoked."

"Sir, you guessed wrong. On the contrary, he ate a lot this morning. I have never seen him eat so much. But since yesterday morning, I have seen Mr. Smith eating on the floor of the house, From then on, I didn't even want to look at what I ate. Yes, there are all kinds of people in the world, and the professor still ate as usual after the incident."

(End of this chapter)