Zhang Heng returned to 221B Baker Street at four in the morning. The Whitechapel area was relatively peaceful tonight, with only a few drunkards fighting behind the tavern. When the patrol officers arrived, other than the drunkards, they all dispersed. After that, nothing else happened.
After sending Noomi back to her place, Zhang Heng laid in bed for three hours and opened his eyes at seven o 'clock.
He walked out of the room and saw that Holmes had finished his breakfast as usual. He was sitting at the dining table, smoking a pipe and flipping through the newspaper.
"Morning."
"Morning." Zhang Heng sat in his usual seat, rang the bell, and waited for Mrs. Hudson to serve his breakfast.
"You came back late yesterday. How was it? Don't tell me you still don't have a clue. I have high hopes for you," Holmes said as he flipped through the newspaper.
"I did find a very important clue. I think I know how Jack the Ripper chose his targets."
"Oh?" A look of interest appeared on Holmes' face. He finally shifted his gaze away from the newspaper and looked at Zhang Heng. "Tell me about it."
"Don't forget that we are still competitors. If you want to know, you can look it up yourself," Zhang Heng said.
Holmes laughed when he heard that. "Are you still angry that I chose the opera in advance? Alright, I take back what I said. However, I did gain quite a bit. Since that's the case, let's see who can find the answer first. "
He put down the newspaper in his hand, took his hat and cane from the hanger, and said to Zhang Heng, "I have to admit that you really put pressure on me. It seems that I have to work harder."
"I hope you can catch up with my summary of the case," Zhang Heng replied.
… …
After breakfast, it was 7: 15 am Sherlock Holmes had been gone for some time. Zhang Heng sat in his seat for a while, sorting out his thoughts. He didn't lie to Holmes about what he did to Sherlock Holmes.
He had learned a lot last night, especially when he talked to Naomi. He had found a very valuable clue. According to the Swedish prostitutes, they were not very welcome in the churches of the East End, except for a small church called the Sacred Heart, where the priest treated the prostitutes equally. Sometimes homeless prostitutes would go there for the night if they had no place to stay. Apart from that, the priest would give them bread from time to time.
Noomi might not have realized that there was a problem, but Zhang Heng was keenly aware of what it meant.
He finally found the answer to the question he had been searching for all night.
Who could openly approach these prostitutes without attracting any attention? The answer had always been right in front of them. It was the clergy.
They didn't even have to deliberately collect information about these prostitutes, because these prostitutes would take the initiative to find them and reveal all their secrets when confessing.
Zhang Heng glanced at his pocket watch. The reason why he didn't leave immediately was that it was not time for the Sacred Heart Church to open yet.
So Zhang Heng used the remaining time to make a simple plan of action. After that, he put on the outfit he wore last night, walked out of the house, and hailed a carriage.
When the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Sacred Heart Church, he unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.
Sherlock Holmes was standing outside the door, watching him with interest.
"Interesting. It seems that although we chose different directions, in the end, we will reach the same destination."
Zhang Heng looked a little helpless. He had tried his best to race against time and successfully got the clues he wanted. However, he couldn't control Holmes' progress.
The abilities of this great Victorian detective didn't disappoint.
"How about it? Should we exchange the information we have before we go in?" Holmes suggested.
Zhang Heng agreed after pondering for a while.
Unlike Holmes who directly announced his deduction, Zhang Heng used it to his advantage. The two were now in a temporary alliance, and an equal trade should not affect the final outcome. He just didn't know who would win if the two of them caught the murderer in the church together. But now that they had come this far, there was no point in thinking about it.
"I'll go first," Zhang Heng said. He briefly introduced his analysis and the information he got from Noomi. He paused and added, "And the wounds on the faces of the previous three victims. The first one's is not very obvious, but the second and third victim's knife marks are different. I thought they looked a little familiar at first glance. Now that I think about it, it does look a little like a cross. The murderer is likely to have religious overtones."
"Impressive analysis and reasoning," Holmes exclaimed. Holmes also let out a sigh of admiration. "I'm glad that your work yesterday was so effective. As for me, it was simpler. I went to the newspaper office in the afternoon."
"The newspaper?"
"Yes, I noticed the letter and the red ink on it. As you know, I have done a lot of research in this area. I can tell which paper mill produced it from the material of the paper. The same goes for the ink. However, the information I can get from the ink is limited. Basically, half of London uses this red ink. But the letter made my trip worthwhile."
Holmes smiled and continued, "This stationery is different from ink. It's not the cheapest type, and it's quite eye-catching to see it in the East End. But when I heard who the biggest customer of the paper mill is, I thought it was only natural that this piece of stationery would appear here."
"The church?"
"Yes, the church's letter paper is purchased uniformly and distributed to every church," Holmes said.
"But there is more than one church in the East End."
"Yes, but this church is the closest to the three murder scenes. And while you were leisurely eating breakfast at home, I asked around. This Church of the Sacred Heart is the church frequented by prostitutes." Zhang Heng sighed and finished the sentence for Holmes. "There are two priests in the church.
"There are two priests in the church. Father Matthew is eighty years old and semi-retired. Five years ago, he moved to the suburbs for retirement and rarely manages the church's affairs anymore. Basically, he is only a nominal member of the church. With his age and physical strength, it's unlikely that he would become a murderer. So, the only one left is Father Jacob. He is fifty-six years old this year, still in the prime of his life. He is also the actual person in charge of the church. Usually, the prostitutes come to him to confess their sins. What they don't know is that Father Jacob, for some reason, has a great hatred for prostitutes who have given birth to children, are alcoholics, and cohabitate with him. So, when they reveal their secrets to him, it will only serve to hasten their deaths."
"As I said, we are now on the same page," Holmes laughed.
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