Chapter 486 The Unknown Female Corpse on the Thames

The pleasant reception didn't last too long, and was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. The visitor was a tall man with a fair complexion and gray-yellow hair, but he looked a little frowning now , as soon as he entered the door, he said, "Something happened."

"When did you come to me not because something happened," Holmes sat on the sofa, but he was not in a hurry, and introduced Zhang Heng.

"Gregson, the best player in Scotland Yard, of course, compared with his companions," he looked at Gregson again after speaking, "Zhang Heng, my mysterious and lovely new roommate in the East, we are discussing together The influence of professional opponents, by the way, destroy my treasured port wine, you came just in time, do you want to have a drink together?"

"I'm afraid it's not a good time to drink now." The sheriff said, and glanced at Zhang Heng at the same time.

"Don't worry, this friend of mine has a very strict mouth and won't talk nonsense." Holmes said, "So you can talk about anything with confidence."

"Well," Gregson obviously wasn't dealing with Holmes for the first time. Hearing this, he no longer dwelled on Zhang Heng's question, and said bluntly, "I have encountered a very difficult case."

"I doubt it, but you can go on."

"In the afternoon, the patrolling police found a body on the Thames River. They asked nearby boatmen to help salvage it. It was a young girl, but we had no other clues other than that. There was no body on the poor child. Clothes, jewelry, and nothing else that can prove her identity. We don’t know her name, where she lives, what job she does, whether she has any friends or relatives. In short, we don’t know anything about her. No one has reported missing recently, you said that you are most interested in this kind of case that has nowhere to start, so I came to you as soon as possible."

"A wise move." After hearing Gregson's description, Holmes really showed a look of excitement on his face. He turned to Zhang Heng and said, "My friend, I'm sorry that our reception will end early."

"It's okay, work is important." Zhang Heng expressed his understanding.

Holmes got up and put on his coat again, but then he said, "Where is your hat? The theory lesson is over, and we should go to practice."

Zhang Heng was a little surprised. He could see that Gregson didn't really want him to participate in this case, and he and Holmes had just known each other for less than two hours. There was no need for Holmes to be with him when business was in order.

Although Zhang Heng has the main task, he never expected to meet the opportunity immediately on the first day. Holmes is a person with excellent observation skills, and Zhang Heng happens to have a lot of secrets, so the two hours just now It was not easy for him. Even though he had mentioned before that he wanted to learn from Holmes, Zhang Heng didn't want to be too eager, lest he go too far.

But now it seems that Sherlock Holmes's problem of liking to pull roommates when handling cases is still as serious as in the original book. Not long after he and Watson met, he couldn't help but drag the latter to the scene of the crime, but if Zhang Heng remembers correctly at that time Watson has been living with Holmes for a few weeks, and they have figured out their respective tempers, but this time he and Holmes are really better than passers-by.

The sheriff on the side opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Naturally, Zhang Heng would not be polite when he saw this, he followed Holmes out, and the three of them got into a carriage parked outside the door.

Most of the stories in "The Collection of Sherlock Holmes" happened in the late 19th century, when Britain was in the Victorian era. During this period, Britain completed the industrial revolution and expanded its colonies overseas. With more capabilities than the rest of the world combined, the Empire on which the sun never sets at this time is truly the center of the world.

As the capital, London is also the world's largest city with a population of more than six million.

However, the gap between the rich and the poor here is also very huge. In the words of Dickens at the beginning of "A Tale of Two Cities", this is the best of times and the worst of times.

The rapid population expansion in a short period of time has made the city of London extremely crowded. Zhang Heng still remembers a certain data that later generations saw. In a place about 1,200 feet in size, there were a total of 2,795 families with a population of more than 10,000. The three generations are crowded into a small room, like piglets locked in a pigsty.

Ordinary workers earn less than ten pounds a year, and most of it falls into the pockets of the landlord. They eat poor-quality bread mixed with expired flour, potato flour, even alum, and chalk. They dare not get sick. There is no money to buy clothes or toys for my children, and it is difficult to get enough rest time.

In contrast, take Watson as a military doctor in the book as an example. Although he is not a rich man, he can already live comfortably in London. He can receive an allowance of 11 shillings and 6 pence a day for a month You can have an income of about 17 pounds. As for the big landowners and factory owners, they have more money in their pockets. They hang around in various dance theaters every day, and the bed partners around them change again and again.

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The carriage drove towards the Thames River, and Holmes was in a good mood along the way, chatting endlessly about the concert he went to before, but unfortunately, the two companions around him had difficulty talking about this topic. There are too many words in common with him. Sheriff Gregson is still having a headache with the case at hand, and he seems a little absent-minded. Although Zhang Heng has practiced the piano for a period of time, his understanding of nineteenth-century musicians is limited. Limited to the more famous ones.

"I like music, it is one of the few things in this boring and boring world that can excite my nerves, other than that there are all kinds of cases, the more unbelievable codes, heavy and complicated analysis The more I work, the happier I am, but unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer criminals who are willing to use their brains," Holmes seemed to be in a good mood, and opened the conversation.

"In most cases, you can actually find similarities or similarities from the previous cases, so when you are at a loss, you can always gain something by looking through the old files."

"What, do you have an archive where you live?" Gregson interjected.

"I do have the habit of collecting newspaper clippings to record difficult and miscellaneous cases, but more records are here." Holmes pointed to his head and smiled.