"After that, I sneaked into the bedroom and spent some effort to find the relevant evidence. I've also heard rumors that the senator is a good man, but he's very henpecked. That's probably why he only dared to meet his illegitimate daughter secretly."
As Holmes spoke, he cut a potato with a knife and fork and stuffed it into his mouth with bacon.
It was obvious that he was hungry. He hadn't had breakfast since he got up early in the morning. At noon, the effects of the drug probably hadn't worn off yet. He only took a few bites of the lunch Mrs. Hudson served him, and after that, he threw himself back into work energetically. It was amazing that he could endure it until now.
If it weren't for the previous incident, Zhang Heng would have almost forgotten that the man in front of him not only possessed extraordinary observation and reasoning skills, but his makeup skills were also pretty good. Most people would have a hard time seeing through his disguise, especially after Watson wrote about him in the original novel. Since then, Holmes had become more and more famous. Many times, to avoid being recognized, he would choose to put on makeup.
He could disguise himself as a coachman, an old man, a beggar, an officer, and even a woman … If there was a chance in the future, it would be good to learn his makeup skills.
Holmes gobbled up the food in front of him like a whirlwind, put down the knife and fork, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"I have a friend from France coming tomorrow. Do you want to go with me to meet him?"
"Hmm, what does he do?"
"He's a detective like me. His name is Francois Le Villard. He's a rookie and not very famous. However, I worked with him when I was working on a case in France last year. He's a very interesting young man. Although a little rough around the edges, he has a lot of potential. He didn't say anything in the telegram, but obviously, he didn't come all the way to London just for a vacation. Let's see what he wants from me this time."
…
Early the next morning, Holmes and Zhang Heng arrived at the pier. The two waited in the thick fog for the steamship called The Seagull to dock.
"Before Watt invented the steam engine, no one thought that ships could sail on the water without sails and oars, but this amazing machine has indeed changed a lot of things. Whether it's factories, ships, or trains, they are all inseparable from it. This is the charm of science. The world is changing every day, and no matter what industry you are in, if you don't notice the changes, you will soon be eliminated by the world. For example, alkaloids, this highly toxic substance was only discovered a few decades ago, but I have noticed that it has been appearing more and more frequently in some recent cases. This is because, compared to traditional murder methods, the use of alkaloids is more subtle and not easy to detect."
"I can't agree to more." He was living in an era of information explosion, and all kinds of new crimes were emerging all the time. Whether it was criminal investigators or powerful criminals, they needed to keep learning.
For Holmes to become the best detective in all of Great Britain, and even Europe, he certainly wasn't one to be complacent. His research and small papers played a significant role in this.
Of course, some of the experimental research he conducted had yet to be verified in terms of safety and morality.
A quarter of an hour later, Villard stepped down from The Seagull. He was a young man with red hair, and his face was dotted with freckles. When he saw Holmes, there was a mixture of excitement and shyness on his face.
It was like a little fangirl meeting his idol.
"I finally get to see you again, Mr. Holmes," Villard said excitedly as he shook hands with Zhang Heng.
"It's nice to meet you too, Villard," Holmes said, and then made a simple introduction for both of them.
"I came to London to track someone, and I came to visit you on the way," Villard said after shaking hands with Zhang Heng.
"Who are you tracking?" Holmes was indeed different from ordinary people. He skipped over the pleasantries and went straight to the point he was interested in.
"A thief. He's committed many crimes since his debut, but few people know of his existence."
"Oh, why is that?"
"Because he's different from other thieves. He doesn't target priceless items like jewelry or art. He pays more attention to the value behind the object," Villard explained. "His targets are usually celebrities. This guy is audacious, and even the royal families of European countries have become his prey. Once he sets his sights on you, he'll start digging up the unspeakable secrets behind you. Perhaps it's a shameful extramarital affair, or perhaps it's a murder you committed in your early years. In short, it's something you feel guilty about. Once he steals something that can be used as evidence, the owner will be in deep trouble. They'll face a hefty extortion fee, and what's worse, they'll have no choice but to suffer in silence. They won't even be able to contact the police."
"A reputation thief? Or perhaps a blackmailer would be more appropriate. What did your employer lose?" Holmes asked with interest.
Villard hesitated for a moment. "If it were someone else, I wouldn't be able to tell you. But I believe in you and your friend. You are all gentlemen of noble character …"
"Okay, okay. Skip the flattery part. Just get to the point." Holmes waved his hand. "Oh, okay. My employer is a viscount.
"Oh, okay. My employer is a viscount. He likes Canaletto's oil paintings very much. About nine years ago, a very famous collector's house was burglarized, and a lot of things were lost. One of them was a Canaletto oil painting. Two years later, someone came to my employer and asked him if he wanted something good. My employer recognized at a glance that the person was holding the Canaletto oil painting that the collector had lost. He knew that a person of his status shouldn't touch stolen goods, but he really liked the painting so much that he had been longing for it for a long time. He tried to buy it from the collector several times, but he was rejected. Now that he had the opportunity, he chose a more roundabout way.
"On the surface, he rejected the man's request to buy the painting and asked the man not to set foot in his house again. But behind the scenes, he found an unrelated person to buy the painting. He hasn't exhibited the painting for years and has been admiring it alone. Somehow, the man found out about it. I came to London to deal with this matter," Villard said.
But he quickly added, "Of course, visiting you is more important to me."
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.
