"It's not that difficult," Holmes said. "To be honest, when I heard what Grigson said, I thought I had come across a rare case, like the one that happened on the Isle of Allen in 1832. But when I went to the scene, I didn't find anything remarkable. Let's talk about John's Textile Factory first."
Holmes paused. "Do you remember what we talked about in the afternoon?"
"You mean the influence of professional opponents?"
"Yes, I've been doing research in this area recently. I've interviewed a lot of people from all walks of life in London, including masons, fishermen, cooks, typists, and so on … I go out every morning at dawn and stay in the slums until the sun goes down. I spend a lot of time studying their hand shapes, comparing them with each other and with others in the same industry. The results are remarkable, and I'm planning to compile it into a paper," Holmes said. "Just now, by the river, I focused on the child's palm and compared it with my research results. Although her body had been soaked in the water for a long time, there is no doubt that she worked in the textile factory. So, your previous observation is correct. Because of the long hours of work, her body was a little weak. She was probably still sick when the incident happened."
"But there are many textile factories in London. How can you be sure that she worked at John's Textile Factory?"
"Good question," Holmes said. "I tend to think that the place where the body was dumped and the place where the body was found are very close. This is also easy to explain. The body was found during the day, and although the river was a little foggy, visibility was actually good. Plus, there are pleasure boats and cargo ships passing by from time to time. If there was a body on the river, it would be difficult for it to drift too far without being discovered."
"Wait a minute, but you said that her body was soaked in the water for a long time."
"Yes," Holmes smiled slyly. "But please watch my words. I said her body was soaked in the water for a long time, not floating for a long time."
"What's the difference between the two?"
"Of course, judging from the condition of the body, the victim's time of death should have been last night. The murderer accidentally killed her, and then panicked. He threw the body into the river and probably tied some rocks to it so that no one would find out. People would just think that the child went missing. Every day, there are people who can't survive in this city who come and go, especially for a low-class person like her. Not many people care where she went. You have to know that the police's attitude toward a missing person and a murder is completely different."
"Then why was her body found by the patrolmen?"
"There are many possibilities. Maybe the murderer was too nervous and didn't tie the rope properly. Maybe something happened to pass by and broke the rope …" Holmes said. "I'm not making wild guesses. Other than the time problem I mentioned, I did find traces of rope on the victim's wrists. This makes sense. Her body was soaked in the water for a long time, but it didn't take long for her to get to the place where she was found."
"John's textile factory is the nearest textile factory upstream, and it was the first place I suspected. I also found some blue crystals in her hair, which are copper sulfate pentahydrate formed when copper sulfate meets water. Coincidentally, there is a chemical factory next door to John's textile factory. This is the most important basis for my final inference," Holmes said.
"Seeing is believing. This has elevated criminal investigation to the level of precision science, right?" Zhang Heng also expressed his sincere admiration.
Although Holmes didn't say anything when he heard the compliment, the expression on his face showed that he was enjoying it. After a pause, he continued, "As for the inference about the murderer, it's no big deal."
"I'd like to hear the details."
"We all know that the assailant wanted to take advantage of the victim, but the child resisted fiercely. She was very brave and kept fighting with the assailant, but the difference in strength between the two sides was too obvious, so she couldn't escape in the end. However, the assailant didn't feel comfortable for too long. His skin was scratched by the victim. Although the body had been soaked in the water for a long time, there was still some skin tissue left in the fingernails. This was probably the reason why the assailant became angry and strangled her to death in anger."
"Wait … you said your child was strangled to death?"
"That's right," Holmes said with certainty.
"But didn't she get a heavy blow to the head?" Zhang Heng asked.
"As I said, there was a struggle between the two. Judging from the wound marks, I tend to think that her head hit the table, but it wasn't fatal. The real cause of her death was suffocation. She didn't suffocate in the water, but someone strangled her. There were bruises on her neck, but they weren't obvious after she was soaked in the water. The average person probably wouldn't have noticed it. As for the fact that they knew each other, it's normal. It was already dark at that time. If a man and a woman didn't know each other, it would be almost impossible for them to be in the same room."
"What about the height? You said he was about six feet tall. How did you deduce that?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Well, this requires a little skill," Holmes said. "I simulated their position at that time. The woman was on the bottom, and the man was on the top. Then, by comparing the bruises on the neck, I can determine the direction and angle of the palm. From there, I can calculate that the murderer's approximate height is about the same as mine."
Sherlock Holmes spoke with fervor and assurance, finally clearing up all his previous inferences before the dishes were served.
Many things in this world were like this. When you first heard the conclusion, it felt magical and incredible. But once you knew the process of inference, it didn't seem so mysterious anymore. It was like a magician's magic trick.
"Positive inference is easy. For example, when you see bread, you know it's breakfast. But vice versa. This is also an ability that detectives need to practice. If you want to learn, you can start by guessing a person's profession. You can guess a person's occupation from their sleeves, shoes, calluses on their index and thumb, fingernails, shirt, expression, and so on. For example, the gentleman at the table behind you. I can tell that he just came back from Afghanistan and is a military doctor."
Zhang Heng had a strange look on his face for the first time tonight, thinking that it couldn't be a coincidence.
Holmes thought that Zhang Heng didn't believe him, so he said, "Let's make a bet to see who can accurately tell us more about him. Don't worry, I've never seen him before."
。 Le Wen mobile version of the fastest updated website:
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
