No matter the era, spinach was one of mankind's favorite pastimes.
Nineteenth-century London was no exception. There were probably hundreds of casinos, big and small, and that didn't include taverns, roadside arm wrestling, and poker players.
The next evening, the three of them, including Villard, met at 221B Baker Street.
"Considering the nature of that guy's job, he wouldn't go to those famous casinos," Holmes said. "Taverns are a good fit for him, and so is the boxing ring. Last night, I had a … um, very friendly conversation with those Prussian barbers. I got the name of the tavern where they met. Let's use that as the center of our search. It will improve our efficiency."
"So, are we going to split up?" Zhang Heng asked.
"Yes, both of us have seen that guy before. You and Villard will team up, and I'll team up alone. But he has seen us before, so we'll have to put on some makeup," Holmes said.
As he spoke, he took out two sets of wigs and other makeup tools. "Your skin color is a problem. Easterners tend to stand out in London, but you can hide your body with clothes. Put some soot on your face. It's night anyway, and you won't be able to tell if you don't look closely. Of course, you'd better not get too close to him."
As he spoke, Holmes got to work. A moment later, a freshly dressed boilermaker was done, and Holmes himself was dressed as a heavy smoker.
Zhang Heng noted down the techniques Holmes used. Of course, this was just a beginner's disguise, and it wasn't nearly as good as the coachman Holmes used to be. As for Irene Adler, she was even better at disguising herself as a gypsy busker.
Once they were ready, the three exchanged some loose change, put it in their pockets, and got to work.
Zhang Heng and Holmes split up at the crossroads, each occupying an area. Zhang Heng and the red-haired detective first went to a tavern called Pigeon, where they had a drink. They didn't meet their target, and most of the patrons here were gentlemen. Generally, they looked more refined, and not many gambled. So, the two went to the boxing ring next door.
There were a lot more people here, and it was very noisy. Two strong figures were fighting in the boxing ring, and his people were watching. Zhang Heng and Villard had to spend some effort to search every corner of the ring. By then, the winner of the fight had been decided. One of the fighters was knocked to the ground, and he did not get up again.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Obviously, the winner had bet on the right side. Of course, there were also some who clutched their heads in frustration, looking like unlucky losers.
After coming here a few times, Zhang Heng could understand why people who came to watch the game couldn't help but want to gamble a little. Most people would be infected by the atmosphere here, and when they saw how easy it was to make money, it was hard to resist the urge to join in the fun. Of course, most of the time, they would lose everything.
The red-haired detective, however, was an exception. Zhang Heng finally understood why someone as strict as Holmes would praise Villard. The short French detective wasn't just good at sucking up to others. Once he got into work, he would be very focused, unwavering by anything. Whenever he found someone who matched the description, he would secretly tell Zhang Heng to confirm it.
So far, the two had yet to encounter the guy who escaped from the theater. Zhang Heng even suspected that the guy had fled London to avoid the limelight after last night's incident.
Holmes, however, firmly believed that the guy was still here.
"A guy like him may not be the decision-maker of the team, but his skills aren't that easy to replace. At this juncture, he won't give up on the plan just because of a small setback," Holmes said before the operation began.
Zhang Heng and the red-haired detective then visited two pubs, one big and one small, and a boxing ring. Perhaps it was bad luck, but they still didn't find anything. The night was getting late.
"I wonder how Mr. Holmes is doing," Villard said as he took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
However, at this moment, Zhang Heng suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Villard followed Zhang Heng's gaze, but the target didn't match the description given by the two. The red-haired detective, however, was very alert. Suppressing the doubts in his heart, he said nothing. Seeing Zhang Heng leaning against the wall as if he had drunk too much and vomited, Villard pretended to be concerned and patted Zhang Heng's back.
The target didn't suspect anything. He only glanced at Zhang Heng and left in a hurry, as if he had something urgent to attend to.
It wasn't until the man's figure disappeared into the night that Zhang Heng stopped retching and stood up.
Villard could finally ask the question that had been bothering him. "Who was that guy?"
"One of the Prime Minister's guards. We met at the theater last night," Zhang Heng explained.
The person who walked past him just now was the one who warned him not to move and planned to handcuff him. Since the two had faced each other before, and Zhang Heng's disguise was relatively basic, he decided to hide his face for safety's sake. Zhang Heng remembered Mr. M's trick in the oil painting case, where he bribed the housekeeper to fake the evidence of a theft. It seemed that the other party really liked this method of committing crimes, and he seemed to be planning to repeat it in this operation.
"What should we do? Should we follow him?" the red-haired detective asked.
Zhang Heng thought for a moment and shook his head. "It's a good thing to confirm his target, but it's pointless to follow the guard. Do you remember where he came from?"
"Of course," Villard said.
"Let's go there first and see if the guy I fought last night is still there."
Zhang Heng and the red-haired detective plunged into the coffee shop where the target had come from. It was late at night, and the cafe was about to close. There were only a few people inside, and even the waitress was yawning. Zhang Heng looked around, but there was no sign of the Prussian.
After that, he and Villard expanded the scope of their search, but they still couldn't find the target. In the end, they could only regroup with Holmes, who was two streets away.
After listening to Zhang Heng's introduction of the situation, Holmes nodded. "You did the right thing. The person who was bribed isn't a member of the team. Let's not talk about whether we can prove that he accepted the bribe. Arresting him won't do us any good other than alert the enemy. On the contrary, now that we know his target in advance, we have the upper hand. Next, we can play this game with them."
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