Chapter 24 Charlotte on the run
There is a British proverb: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."
Even the Duke of Holmes's family can't escape from this law: bacon slices selected from Berkshire pig back meat, dark smoked sausages, six-mature fried eggs, thin slices of toast, sweet and sour eggplant Baked beans in sauce, fried potato wedges, black pudding (blood sausage), grilled tomatoes and pan-fried mushroom slices...this is their sumptuous breakfast today.
While Charlotte Holmes was dining, she suddenly had an ominous sixth sense, as if something bizarre would happen next.
She no longer cared about chewing carefully, said goodbye to her father and mother, and hurriedly got on the carriage and rushed to London.
The uncertainty and worry in her heart grew stronger along the way, and she urged Victor to hurry up.
When she returned to Baker Street and saw that the door of the detective agency was closed, Charlotte knew that something must have happened - as usual, Watson should have opened the door to welcome customers at this moment.
Could it be that... Watson encountered something unexpected? !
She took out her key and pushed the door open. She saw that the house was clean and tidy, with no signs of fighting. On the dining table was a vase with a piece of paper pressed on it, which read:
[Miss Charlotte, this morning I received a message from Evie from the Black Crow Gang, saying that useful clues have been found. I will rush there first on my own initiative, and please go directly to the Black Crow Bar afterwards. 】
Phew—Charlotte let out a long sigh of relief, and her anxious heart was relieved.
"It turned out that I was going to follow up on clues...but I was overly worried."
But thinking about it, even though Watson has disabled his hands and feet now, I'm afraid there are not many people in London who can hurt him...
The female detective locked the door again and put up a sign saying it was closed today.
"Victor, let's go to the Black Crow Bar."
…………
When Charlotte arrived at the Black Crow Bar, there was a familiar face silently wiping the wine glass. It was the old Bach whom she had met last night. There were still clear bruises from the five-finger mark on his face.
Old Bach, who was immersed in his work, heard the sound of the door opening and thought about which old drunkard came so early?
When he looked up and saw that it was the tall and graceful lady from last night, he remembered the specific message that Boss Jacob had given before going out.
"Good morning, Miss Holmes, you are here for last night's commission. Your male companion came early in the morning. He found out that your target is likely to be hiding near Whitechapel. You should next Go there."
"Whitechapel area...thank you!"
The female detective nodded slightly, turned around and stepped onto the carriage, continuing to run to the next destination.
"Victor, go near Whitechapel."
…………
As soon as they arrived near Whitechapel, they saw smoke as thick as pillars rising in the distance, rising straight into the clouds and connecting with the hazy sky, as if they were stone pillars standing tall in the sky.
There are many passers-by looking up at the sky curiously and talking a lot, but this is just a joke on the way to work. Although it can relieve the frustration and dullness of daily life, it does not deserve too much attention. At most, it is A small interlude.
After the busy workers smiled, they returned to their indifferent expressions and continued to repeat their monotonous life.
On the contrary, the fire operation team responsible for extinguishing fires in the area immediately dispatched from the fire sentry after observing the fire.
There are three people in the team, wearing fire helmets with a curved strip cavity on the top that is enough to withstand falling objects at the disaster site. They work together to push a wooden truck equipped with a water storage barrel and a hand pump. This is the backwardness of the current era. fire extinguishing machinery.
Fortunately, it was working time in the factory, there were few pedestrians and vehicles on the road, and the road conditions were good so we could pass smoothly, but the slow speed was really hard to compliment.
Charlotte saw the fire engineer lagging behind the car in an instant. Because of her generous family background, she was still able to maintain a pure and kind heart. She couldn't bear to see this and wanted to lend a helping hand.
She stopped Victor, stuck her head out the window and shouted: "Hey everyone, let me give you a ride!"
The three fire engineers looked at each other and saw the complicated noble coat of arms printed on the wall of the carriage. On the contrary, they were timid and did not dare to agree. The three heads shook their heads in unison to decline the kindness.
"Thank you for your kindness! But we..."
Seeing that they seemed to be trying to shirk, Charlotte jumped out of the carriage with a long step, rolled up her arm sleeves to reveal her white arms, and helped push the heavy fire engine, "Don't hesitate, putting out the fire is important!"
The fire engineer refused in every possible way, but it was really difficult to resist the kindness of this kind-hearted lady, so he had to take the rope handed over by the coachman and tie the fire engine to the carriage carriage.
They originally thought that they would let the fire truck go first and the three of them would catch up from behind, but they did not dare to be in the same car with this noble lady.
Until Charlotte opened the car door, waved her hand and urged: "Hurry up and get in the car, why are you still hesitating?!"
The three of them just squirmed and got into the carriage. Hey, don't tell me that the carriage cushions of this noble gentleman are very comfortable. They are softer than the sofa in the captain's house, and these eight legs are indeed better than our six legs. Run much faster!
Charlotte originally wanted to complete this random act of kindness before going to the nearby iconic White Church - she believed that Watson would be waiting for her there regardless of whether the search was fruitful or not.
But she never expected that when she and the fire engineers arrived at the courtyard of the building, which was burning like a furnace under the scorching sun.
Charlotte's eyes passed through the crowd of onlookers, and she saw a blackened Watson sitting in a corner drinking whiskey alone in a courtyard with lush flowers and plants, and the grass next to it was even more neatly arranged. His pale body was covered with a thick blue cloth, as if he were displaying a corpse!
A few morally corrupt people were squatting outside the fence, waiting for an opportunity to peek at the beautiful scenery under the body that could not be covered by the cloth.
"Watson!"
Charlotte jumped out of the carriage before the fire engineers took action. She pushed through the wall-like crowd, rushed to her assistant in three steps at a time, knelt down and asked with concern: "Watson, are you okay? Bar?!"
Watson's face was covered in black ash, as if he had just emerged from a coal mine, and there were burn marks on the ends of his hair. His windbreaker jacket had long since disappeared, and his inner clothes were stained with large amounts of dried dark red blood. There was only one firearm left in his gun bag, and he looked like he had just experienced a tragic battle.
Moreover, with the keen eyesight of the female detective, it can be seen that although Watson's face is slightly red due to the influence of alcohol, under the cover of dark ash, the bottom layer of his face is weak and pale, obviously suffering from the pain. Not a minor injury.
Upon hearing Charlotte's inquiry, Watson first sighed deeply, shook his head and sighed:
"I'm fine, it's just Harris—"
He raised his head, a trace of guilt and intolerance flashing across his face.
"Harris has come into contact with forbidden knowledge and has transformed into a monster like Lance!"