Chapter 523

Zhang Heng and Holmes rushed to the church as fast as they could. The rusty copper lock on the door was obviously impossible to stop them. Holmes knocked on it with his cane... Unexpectedly, nothing happened to the old lock. .

Then he stepped aside and watched Zhang Heng take out his revolver and shoot the lock. The two finally rushed into the church.

Like Father Jacob's residence, there is no one here, and the moonlight falls on the bench through the stained glass, creating an inexplicable sense of tranquility and silence.

"Find the entrance." Zhang Heng said something to Holmes, and the two dispersed.

…………

At this time, Irene Adler who was underground also heard the movement above. She twisted her body, but now her hands and feet were tied up, she couldn't move at all, her mouth was blocked, and she could only utter The sound of woo woo woo.

Father Jacob didn't seem to hear the gunshot above his head. He was standing in front of a wooden table and praying.

But it was another person in the room that terrified the female singer. It was a man, between thirty and forty years old, his skin was abnormally white compared to ordinary people, and it seemed rare Seeing the sun, his beard looks like he hasn't shaved for a long time. His figure is very thin, but his arms have a lot of muscles. He is wearing an old coat. He is sitting by the bed and looking at Irene with interest. .

The priest seemed to know what the female singer was thinking, and said calmly, "They won't be able to get in for a while, this secret room was built in the Middle Ages, and it was used for people in the church to avoid wars, even if you want to dig it. It’s not something that can be dug out in a short time.”

The female singer finally stopped twisting after hearing this.

At this time, the pale-skinned man sitting on the bed spoke, and said impatiently, "Is it still not good, can I do it?!"

"Don't worry, wait a little longer." Father Jacob didn't look back.

He took out a blood-stained leather apron from under the table, and continued to say to Irene, "You must be wondering why we chose you... It's all because of me, because of a mistake I made when I was young. "

"Can't we save the story for later?" the pale-skinned man on the bed said impatiently. He shifted his gaze to the leather apron and immediately became excited.

"It won't take much time," said Father Jacob, "remember how I taught you to be polite and patient."

The pale-skinned man on the bed closed his mouth again, but a sickly blush appeared on his face.

Father Jacob's voice continued, "As I said, I made a mistake. I was only 19 years old at the time. Father Matthew wrote to the church saying that the Sacred Heart Church was not staffed enough, but At that time, few priests were willing to come to the East End. I was young and energetic, so I volunteered to help.

"I have to admit that at the beginning I was a little uncomfortable with the life here. I came from a squire family. I came to London when I was 16 years old. I have been with Father Abelson. We have also visited the East End. Poor people, but this is completely different from living here, so I was a little depressed at that time, I wanted to go back to find Father Abelson, but I was afraid that people would think that I could not bear the hardship, and at this moment I met a girl .”

"She is a prostitute in this area, her name is Emma, ​​but she just entered the industry not long ago, only sixteen years old, because her father died and her mother ran away with another man, she had to engage in this industry to support herself, But unlike other prostitutes, she comes to church every week, and that's how we got to know each other."

"Probably because we are about the same age, she felt that I was different from other people in the church, so she would come to chat with me from time to time. It happened that I was also depressed at that time, but she was comforting me in many cases. "Father Jacob seemed to be lost in memory.

"Father Matthew warned me, but I didn't take it too seriously. On the contrary, I felt that I was doing a good deed, guiding a lost soul, and I was complacent about it. Until one night, she came to me again. It was late, and she was beaten by a savage guest, and her arm was cut by glass shards. I bandaged her, and when I got up, she secretly kissed me. Then she rushed forward, and I wanted to push her away, but I couldn't use the strength for some reason, so the next thing happened naturally.

"She left before daybreak, leaving me alone, and it wasn't until then that I realized what I had done, and I regretted and was embarrassed, and I knew I had failed a lot of people, Abelson, Father Matthew... Especially myself, for whatever reason nothing should have happened that night, I wanted to fix it, since then I consciously distanced myself from Emma, ​​she came to church to see me a few times, and I pretended not to be there , At night, I locked the door tightly, no matter who knocked, I would not open it, so after a while, she finally disappeared from my life.

"I took a long breath of relief, thinking that I could be relieved, but I didn't expect that this was just the beginning of a nightmare."

Father Jacob said that the pale-skinned man on the bed urged again, "Shall we start?" He took out a scalpel from under the pillow while talking.

"Give me some more time." Father Jacob's voice was unquestionable, so the pale-skinned man had no choice but to put the scalpel back.

"About a year later, I picked up a baby at the door of the church, and there was a letter, which was not signed, but I could recognize it as Emma's letter, and she said it was our baby, there was no evidence, but unknown Why, I believe what she said." Father Jacob paused, then repeated, "...I just, believe what she said."

When the female singer looked at the pale man on the bed, her eyes also changed.

Seeing Irene's surprise, Father Jacob nodded and said, "That's right, he is that child back then. I sent him to the orphanage, but he didn't live well there. After he came out, I helped him in the orphanage." I found several jobs in the hospital, but he didn’t last long. Just five years ago, Father Matthew almost retired and moved to the suburbs. I was the only one left in the Sacred Heart Church, so I let him move down to live, I told I told him about his mother and me, I originally just wanted him to know about my life experience, but I didn’t expect him to believe that the reason why he had such a miserable life was all due to his mother.”

"Can we start now?! Father Jacob." The pale-skinned man on the bed urged me for countless times, his patience was almost completely exhausted.

"She is yours now. I have never let you call me father, but now, you can call me father." Father Jacob said lightly.