In the evening, Wiggins came back to report that the Baker Street Squad had been keeping an eye on Pearson for a long time but to no avail. He went to work at the chemical plant as usual, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Holmes was not in a hurry. He asked the kids to keep an eye on Pearson while he began to wrap up the paper on the influence of professional adversaries.
The next morning, Wiggins rushed to the door, startling Mrs. Hudson who was baking bread in the kitchen. Zhang Heng was also woken up by the noise. When he came out of the house, he saw Holmes laughing downstairs. He gave Wiggins seven shillings and said, "One for each of us, and two for yourself. Go find Sergeant Gregson and tell him that Holmes wants him to come to 221B Baker Street." He then looked up and saw Zhang Heng coming down the stairs.
"Done. This case can finally be closed. Once Pearson is arrested, the main culprit will not be able to escape."
"Huh?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. "You have collected all the evidence."
"That's right," Holmes said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's have breakfast first and wait for Gregson. I'll talk to him later."
About an hour later, Sergeant Gregson reluctantly arrived at 221B Baker Street. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted, "I said that the case is over. Why are you still looking for me? We police officers are very busy. I didn't sleep much last night."
"Really? What are you busy with? A new case? Or are you waiting for the chief's commendation? "Holmes laughed.
Gregson blushed and muttered, "After all, I have contributed to the city. This case has been all over the newspapers for the past two days. It's normal for the chief to pay attention to it."
"Yes, yes, yes. But I think it's not too late to celebrate after we catch the real murderer," Holmes said.
"The real murderer?" Gregson was stunned.
"Come with me. It won't take up much of your time," Holmes said. "By the way, do you have handcuffs?"
"Yes, I have," Gregson said impatiently. "I also have a gun. I always carry these things with me."
"I don't think we'll need a gun. After all, the other party is not a vicious person. Besides, we have experts on our side," Holmes said as he glanced at Zhang Heng. Holmes glanced at Zhang Heng as he spoke. It was hard for him to forget what happened yesterday, and his eyes were still a little swollen.
"Let's go, gentlemen."
The three of them did not rush to the chemical plant immediately. Instead, they took a carriage to a pawnshop. "Someone pawned a carpet earlier. Where is it?" Holmes asked the owner of the pawnshop.
When the pawnshop owner heard this, a look of nervousness appeared on his face. He cursed in his heart, "I knew it."
"Hmm?"
"I'm not talking about you, gentlemen. I'm talking about the kid who came to pawn the carpet. I was suspicious of him at that time. To tell you the truth, I've been in this business for so long and I've seen a lot of people with my eyes. Judging by the way he dressed, I could tell that he was a poor man. How could he have such a good carpet? Moreover, he purposely chose to do the transaction in the early morning when the shop had just opened. At that time, I was muttering in my heart, 'Don't tell me he stole it.'"
"Hey, then you still dare to accept it?" Gregson said.
The boss smiled sheepishly.
"How much did you give him?" asked Holmes.
"Two … two pounds," the boss said. "I thought about the workmanship and materials. If I were to sell it, it would cost at least twenty or thirty pounds."
"So, you can get ten times the profit as soon as you sell it?" Holmes said. "Come on, don't feel bad. This thing is evidence, and it's involved in a murder case. We might be able to return it to you after we're done with it. Now, take us to see it."
"Okay … okay."
The boss brought the three of them to the warehouse where the pawned items were kept. Holmes squatted down, and he did not need a magnifying glass to see the bloodstains in the middle of the carpet.
It was obvious that someone had cleaned and wiped it, but it had not been wiped clean.
"This doesn't prove anything," Gregson said. Gregson said, but his tone was shaken. He was a little flustered at this time, as if to comfort himself. He then said, "And the boss also said that this thing is probably stolen."
"This is the carpet in John Jones' office," Holmes said. "To be honest, I didn't expect things to go so smoothly. I thought he would deal with it in a more secure way."
"Why does this name sound so familiar? Wait … is this the current owner of John's textile factory?" Gregson finally remembered where the name came from. "He was the one who received us when we went to the textile factory. He seems like a nice guy."
"The women in the textile factory do not think so. This is not the first time he has harassed them," Holmes said. "Although no one wanted to talk about it, I still managed to find out that after he took over the textile factory from his father two years ago, the female workers here often had unplanned pregnancies. Of course, in the end, most of them didn't say anything about it. They just took a severance pay and left the textile factory."
"This is indeed not something to be proud of," Gregson's attitude softened. He paused, then said, "Well, I admit that I may have missed something before. Mr. John seems a little suspicious, but I still have to say that the kid named Paul is still my number one suspect. After all, the bloody clothes under his bed are real."
"Don't worry, listen to me," Holmes smiled.
"On the night of the incident, it was Molly's turn to clean the factory. She was the last one to leave, and it just so happened that the lights in John's office were on. So, only the two of them were in the factory, which gave him time to commit the crime. The next day, Zhang and I visited the textile factory, and the guy at the door told us that John was not there. That in itself is very suspicious. After what happened, he should have been at the factory trying to calm the women's emotions. I sneaked into John's office and noticed that his carpet had been changed. The new carpet was obviously not the right size. It was probably brought over from home for an emergency. There were also faint bloodstains on the corner of his magnificent desk, seeping into the wood grain. But as you said, this still doesn't explain Molly's clothes under Paul's bed."
He shook his head and said, "Don't tell me that John framed Paul. First, Paul works in the chemical plant next door. John may not even know him. Second, even if John knew of Paul's existence, he wouldn't know where the latter lives. John would be confused by the slums. If someone of his status were to go in and out of the slums, it would be impossible for him to go unnoticed."
"Yes, that's right. So, I think there is an accomplice in this case," Holmes said.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
