Chapter 588 The Fisherman

The Countess and her friends fell silent.

If there hadn't been this heavy rain, the three of them would have gone to the Whitechapel area to have fun as agreed——

It was Mrs. Ivans' idea, and she said there were a lot of boys there, young, inexperienced, and most importantly, easily satisfied.

Fortunately, I changed my mind temporarily last night, otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

Lying on the bed, the countess looked up and scanned the room, quickly sorting out her thoughts.

But today, a group of investigators who claimed to be secretly entrusted by Scotland Yard appeared. They first sneaked into this private banquet, and then tried every means to get close to them.

"It's impossible for the file to be falsified. If we hadn't issued a sealing order in consideration of the adverse impact of the exposure of the case, the major newspapers would have made this serial murder case public."

Wensli said in a solemn tone, "If you don't believe me, you can go to No. 4 Whitehall Street under surveillance, where there are more detailed files."

"Or, contact a senior reporter in the industry by phone and ask him about the serial murders that happened in the East."

Now, the situation has become obvious.

Lu Li took control of everything smoothly, and the duchess and the two ladies began to believe that they were being targeted by a criminal organization.

"So what should we do? Hire a private security team, or..."

Before the Countess could finish speaking, Lu Kai interrupted:

"During this period, we will be responsible for all security work. You must obey the arrangement and go out properly."

Mrs. Ivans and Mrs. Akers were stunned. Under such circumstances, wouldn't it be safest to stay in the mansion and not go out?

The Duchess Vanessa also thought of this, and wondered: "If I stay in this room all the time, won't I have no trouble? Purchasing ingredients, preparing afternoon tea and snacks are the tasks of a servant. If I really have time If you are bored, you can also go to the garden inside the mansion."

"Have you ever heard of an ancient proverb from the East? It is easy to hide a sharp spear, but it is difficult to guard against a dark arrow."

Lu Li tried his best to translate the meaning, and continued to fool around, "Escape can't solve the problem, the simplest and most efficient way is to catch the murderer all at once."

"After all, if the murderer doesn't come to justice, he won't be able to go out. You don't want to stay in the mansion for the rest of your life, do you?"

The last sentence speaks to the heart of the Countess, she is too social, and wants to date all kinds of interesting boys.

For a week or two, you can still persist by gritting your teeth, but after a long time, you will definitely not be able to stand it.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Several lines of sight fell on Lu Li at the same time.

In fact, the relationship between the people in the room was very strange. Lu Li and the toolmen Bai Yu, Zhao Feng, and Gao Qian were firmly bound together, and Lu Li was absolutely dominant.

Officer Wensley represented Scotland Yard. He hoped to solve the case as soon as possible, and because he had a close personal relationship with Lu Li, he couldn't talk about unconditional support, but he was willing to do some serious things that crossed the line.

The Countess and her two best friends had no choice but to follow the arrangements.

Only the old butler Metz was an exception. He had a revolver in his pocket and came with the intention of cleaning the door, but all plans were messed up when the door opened.

Frankly speaking, Metz was full of expectations for that criminal organization, and he kept thinking in his heart, could he use their hands to help the family get rid of one evil?

"Go out more at night, go shopping in the square first, and then go to the dark alley."

Artificially creating opportunities to catch the blond butcher with bait, although the idea is simple, it is indeed feasible.

After all, judging from the experience of the fight that day, the blonde is not good at insight. This can be deduced from her failure to notice that Pan Ming has been spying from a high place.

"when?"

The Countess was a little reluctant, it was so late and the weather was bad, only people with brain problems were willing to go out.

"The sooner the better."

As he said that, Lu Li motioned Bai Yu to help them open the handcuffs with his eyes.

It might not be an appropriate analogy, but these three sluts together are a feast for the blonde she met last time.

If the other party really has any special needs for the unclean, they will never miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

...

Pantheon.

A very majestic and mythical location, but in the foggy capital of the nineteenth century, it was just a market, between Oxford Street and Regent Street, full of small luxury shops.

After entering the foyer, you can see various antique sculptures, fountains, goldfish, a series of galleries, and glass rooms.

Here, not many people want to shop, it is mainly used for meeting, walking, chatting and experiencing the bustling city, especially on rainy days, wandering in the fashionable street that can be sheltered from the rain is very face-saving.

Lu Li, who was leaning on a cane, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, acted very naturally, there was no need to pretend at all, because he was just a passerby.

First stroll, then shop, and finally swagger, which is what many gentlemen do.

Same as Lu Li, Bai Yu and Police Officer Wensley and others are also the same. The former comes from an acting department and can act like anything, while the latter is an out-and-out Londoner, so he can act in his true colors.

Some people walked slowly holding newspapers, and some people visited the windows along the way. They seemed to be careless, but they had already firmly watched the protected objects.

"This is probably the first commercial district in the world to achieve modernization."

Lu Li muttered in his heart.

In the Pantheon, you can't feel the coming of night at all. There are bright lights everywhere, of all kinds, and there are almost no overlapping styles.

Many gentlemen drove along the wide avenue in luxurious carriages, and at the same time, greeted the ladies who looked towards them.

On both sides, various luxury goods are displayed in transparent windows. On Lu Li's left is a bird taxidermy shop, with birds of paradise, parrots and hummingbirds, and on his right is a funeral shop. —

Hanging plaques, obelisks, extinguished torches, and urns of various colors and materials.

In addition, there are high-end watch shops, photography shops, exquisite stationery shops, corset shops, jewelry shops, lace shops, French glove shops, perfume shops...

Judging from the blonde's past crime style, she doesn't like to make publicity, so the Duchess is not in danger for the time being.

During this period, Lu Li can distract himself and go shopping to see if there is anything he can miss. He doesn't want to be able to adjust the world line, time line, and causal line like the pocket watch in his hand, as long as it has some effect.

It is worth mentioning that, unlike the East District, the shops here are very quiet. The waiters stand silently in the shop, smiling and waiting for the customers to come to the door. Because of this, it is necessary to judge what they sell or what kind of service they provide through observation. .

A roll of tobacco, which is undoubtedly the tobacconist's mark.

An arm holding a hammer in the shape of a hammer, Lu Li guessed it was a blacksmith's shop, but looking through the window, it was actually a gold leaf shop.

"A boot shop?"

Lu Li saw a giant boot model.

In fact, many people have noticed this thing.

In the eyes of Her Majesty the Countess, it is big enough to be worn by the giant statue of the Sun God on Rhodes Island.

At this moment, the lady is in a good state, she keeps hinting to herself that she is in a very safe situation, protected by armed policemen and skilled investigators—

Lu Li led Wensley into the second floor of the mansion with ease, leaving an impression of agility on the Countess.

I have to say that sometimes ignorance is really a kind of happiness. If she knows how weird the blonde girl's murder method is, or if she sees the original appearance of this world, the countess will be crazy about it and question her previous life authenticity.

"Sir, what do you want to buy, or pawn?"

After observing for a while, Lu Li turned into a shop, and was immediately greeted by a male clerk in a white shirt and black vest.

This turned out to be a pawn shop!

The door is decorated with three golden balls, there is no transparent window, there is only a notice with a few gilded characters on it:

A fire safe is provided.

Therefore, Lu Li subconsciously thought that this place was a private bank, and for the purpose of protecting customers' privacy, transparent glass was not used.

When I first came in, a series of small cabinets and private boxes further verified this guess.

But the result was unexpected. This place is actually a pawn shop. The reason for this design is probably to prevent customers from being seen by acquaintances and avoid all kinds of embarrassment.

This is not difficult to understand.

When a person needs to go to the pawn shop, it means that his financial resources have problems and he must mortgage things to tide over the difficulties. The people who come here are at least the middle class and value the face most.

After staying in place for a while, Lu Li said casually, "Look around casually, and shoot if you find something suitable."

Frankly speaking, there was nothing on Lu Li's body that could be pawned, except for his clothes, the mysterious pocket watch, the soul-binding bolt, and the wolf's head sword crutch in his hand.

However, the sword crutches disguised as walking sticks attracted the clerk to look up frequently.

In the eyes of a knowledgeable person, whether it is its workmanship, material, or even its own historical background, it is extremely extraordinary.

Unfortunately, customers are unwilling to pawn.

Coats, mechanical watches, nanmu pipes...

In any case, this pawn shop is also opened in the Pantheon of every inch of gold, and it is difficult to see defective products.

"What if a guest comes to redeem me?"

Holding a mechanical watch in his hand, Lu Li asked while adjusting it.

The clerk closely followed Lu Li's footsteps, staring fixedly at the handle of the wolf's head.

At the same time, he answered patiently: "Our shop has regulations. If the owner does not bring the pawn ticket to redeem the item within fifteen months, the pawn shop has the right to sell it."

"How is the ransom calculated?"

With that said, Lu Li put the adjusted watch back on the counter and walked towards the next one.

At the same time, the clerk showed a happy expression on his face. He thought that the customer wanted a pawn, so he immediately introduced: "Before the pawn, we will sign an agreement with the customer to agree on the value of the pawn, such as the pawn you are carrying. Stick, suppose you wish to sell."

Speaking of this, the clerk deliberately paused, and praised in a slightly exaggerated tone:

"It's worth at least five hundred pounds."

"I think it's worth two thousand pounds."

After casually making a joke, Lu Li picked up another watch and turned the crown.

"That's right, this cane is indeed worth this amount. If you are short of money recently and want to use it as collateral, our shop will facilitate this transaction with the utmost sincerity."

The clerk believed it, probably because Lu Li's not-so-expensive clothes gave him an illusion, and hurriedly said: "You should have heard that this business is very deep, and there are many tricks."

"Unscrupulous pawnshops will let customers take two pawn tickets, each of which is half the value of the goods, because the interest is calculated based on the base price. In this way, when the owner comes back to redeem, he needs to pay a ransom that is more than twice the agreed value."

This time, Lu Li finally stopped and turned around. He hadn't taken it seriously, but now he could hear the desire from these words.

Frankly speaking, among the people I have contacted, there are not 10,000, but a thousand, and no one has ever shown such a strong interest in this sword crutch.

Two thousand pounds?

A huge sum of money unimaginable to ordinary people, enough to buy two apartments on Baker Street.

Therefore, Lu Li was very curious, why a small shop assistant was so obsessed with the wolf-headed cane.

You must know that it has not yet entered its complete form. People who don't know the inside story will only recognize it as an ordinary silver-plated object, which belongs to daily necessities. Almost every gentleman on the street has one, including gold walking sticks, nanmu cane.

"What about your store?"

Lu Li remained calm, and casually picked up a square iron stove, engraved with Asclepius, the god of medicine in Greek mythology.

About the size of a palm, it should not have much practical value, but there are burn marks on it.

"This store only has one pawn ticket, and we never play any tricks. Within fifteen months, the customer can redeem it when they have enough money. The interest is 12% per month. This is a very sincere condition. Other stores It's 15% to 20%..."

"What should I do if I take the money to redeem the item and accidentally lose it?" Lu Li opened the furnace lid and asked while carefully examining it.

Hearing this, the clerk obviously hesitated for a while, and it took a while before he realized it, and assured him:

"Since the store has been in operation, this kind of thing has never happened. If the customer is worried, you can write this item into the contract. If the store accidentally loses it, you will be compensated according to twice the agreed value of the collateral. "

"Well, let's talk about it in a few days, I have to go back and think about it." Lu Li's tone was tactful, before waiting for the clerk to answer, he said, "How much is this thing? I bought it."

"Ten pounds, pawned by a young man addicted to bad drugs, who claims to be a descendant of Johann Rudolf Glauber."

"Forgive my ignorance."

"Well, that's an alchemist two centuries ago who has been working on the research of elixir."

The clerk gave a brief introduction, and then said: "We don't know whether the ancestor of that customer is really Glauber, but after identification, this small stove does have a history of nearly two hundred years."

"Um."

Lu Li nodded, without haggling over the price, he took out a money bag from his pocket, which contained exactly ten gold coins, which was the initial activity funds provided by Scotland Yard.

ps. I don’t know if there is a trading square called the Pantheon in London now, but it did exist in the 19th century, and the address is between Oxford Street and Regent Street. Please don't look for me. The information is based on the well-known writer Dickens. He lived in that era and shouldn't be talking nonsense.

In addition, the alchemist is not a fiction. Modern people classify him as a chemist, because Mr. Glauber discovered that sulfuric acid acts on table salt to produce hydrochloric acid, but he himself has no interest in this, but pays special attention to the experimental residue. It is mild in nature and can cause mild diarrhea, so it is called panacea and magic salt (at that time, it was believed that unblocking the intestines was of great benefit to the body)