Chapter 641: Against the World (3)

"When was the last time they cleaned?"

"Are you sure you've been with the child for the last week, or that you've been in the apartment when he's at home, can hear anything, and haven't been out alone."

Because of the maid, Madame Eugenie can guarantee that she will always be by Dick's side.

After all, whether it is going out to buy groceries or notifying certain services to come to the door, it is all done by the servants, so she, the master, is very leisurely.

And through some conversation, Lu Li also knew the reason why Mrs. Eugenie divorced her husband in the first place. The man, like the alcoholic Punch, was addicted to alcohol and liked domestic violence.

However, Eugenie's father was a member of the parliament and her mother was a nobleman, so she quickly sought justice for her. In court, the judge also made a verdict and handed over the child to the mother for upbringing.

After listening to the story, Holmes was thoughtful. Dick didn't follow the crowd when he wanted to see the puppet show "Punch and Judy". Seven or eight-year-old children must have their own ideas.

He felt resentment towards his biological father?

But what does this have to do with the disappearance case...

While Mr. Detective was contemplating, Lu Li opened the balcony, jumped down from it, stood at the place where Dick last appeared, and looked around.

Evidence is limited.

Therefore, he can only string them together as much as possible.

According to Sherlock Holmes, Dick is no longer in the well-known world. First of all, this point stands up to scrutiny, not only the mysterious Sinan from the East can provide evidence, but also the corner cafe.

But how is the different world connected with the traces on the wall?

If it is really related to the disappearance case, how should the two be connected together.

A question has thousands of answers.

The two questions with uncertain answers were superimposed, and Lu Li felt his head would explode at the thought.

Facts have proved that forcibly splicing certain "clues" together is not only useless, but will confuse investigators' sight.

"Can anyone give me some hints?"

With a slightly crazy idea, Lu Li walked back to the apartment again, and first pushed open the iron gate of the small garden, where cold-resistant turf was planted and several potted plants were placed.

Out of habit, not letting go of any possible clues, Lu Li moved the basin away and checked it carefully several times.

Next, is the door into the apartment.

The traces found in the missing person's room just now prompted Lu Li to check behind the door.

crumbs!

The irregular sawdust falling on the corners and the traces matching the shape of the copper handle are exactly the same as those upstairs.

In an instant, Lu Li felt that he had caught something, and began to check the kitchen, bathroom, and underground storage room in turn.

"Did you find anything?"

Holmes came down the stairs.

At this moment, Lu Li was looking at a pile of sundries in the underground storage room, thinking.

"You go through the first door into the living room, go upstairs through the hallway next to the kitchen, and then through another door, then Dick's bedroom..."

"I found impact marks behind all three doors, except for the kitchen, bathroom, and Madame Eugenie's room."

Holmes climbed the wooden ladder into the underground storage room, holding a still-burning pipe in his hand, and asked, "What about here?"

"The opening method is different. If you want to access the underground storage room, you must open the original wooden door from the outside, and then knock the slide lock to close the basement from the inside."

"Because of this, there are no traces of bumps here, but the sliding lock is a bit seriously aged. No matter how lazy those servants are, they will find a way to replace it."

Those traces behind the door made Lu Li immediately think of:

run away.

Dick was in danger, and he instinctively ran home, first entering the house, through the living room, then through the hallway on the first floor, and then to his own room on the second floor.

Outside the room, there is a push-pull balcony. From the looks of it, the designer seems to have referred to the Japanese structure, but it can only prevent moisture, and it does not play much of a protective role.

So... why is Dick running here?

If he had to give an explanation, Lu Li could say it——

For a child, the safest place is undoubtedly the home and the room he is in. When he encounters danger, he will subconsciously run here.

"It's all new traces, and the connected route is still like this...It's worth pondering."

While checking the situation in the underground storage room, Lu Li analyzed, "Assume that Madam Eugenie is not lying. In fact, she is an ordinary woman and a very ordinary mother. There is no reason to lie."

"Yes, I'm sure she has nothing to do with the extraordinary, disasters happen, only forced to accept."

Holmes continued to smoke, staring at the rusty slide lock.

"Ma'am, do you remember the last time your family changed the locks in the basement?"

Hearing the movement from the stairs, Holmes looked up. First he saw a pair of high-heeled shoes with broken heels, and then police leather shoes.

"About a month ago, the servant told me that the lock in the utility room was seriously rusted, and some money was needed to be replaced."

The voice reached Lu Li's ears. He stopped his gaze and turned to look at the door lock. There was not much rust there, but there was copper rust, and it definitely couldn't be produced in a month or two.

"Did you check the lock after this incident?"

Under the two gazes, Madam Eugenie shook her head. How could a woman like her with a good family background, financial independence, be like a housewife?

"All right."

Lu Li was a little helpless, but compared to the accidental discovery, this was only a small problem.

"What's the maid's name?"

"where do you live?"

After getting the answer as he wished, police officer Hawkins left. He had to return to the police station as soon as possible, organize people to go to the target location, and ask an Indian named Alia whether the damn lock was changed or not.

Lu Li repeatedly urged him to get an answer that was consistent with the facts. Regarding this, Hawkins was both helpless and at a loss. A majestic royal police officer in the establishment should be responsible for investigating such a trivial matter.

Of course, since it is a request made by the special counsel, it must be fulfilled without compromise.

After he left, there were four people left in the apartment. A police officer acted as the background and cooperated with Holmes to help Mrs. Eugenie down the wooden ladder into the underground storage room.

"You see what's wrong."

This time, Lu Li didn't ask a specific question, but gave the parties the space to use it.

Intuition as a mother.

How well you know your home as an apartment owner.

...

No matter what it is, as long as it can provide key clues, anyway, she must be better than herself and Sherlock Holmes on this kind of issue.

Sensing the seriousness in her tone, Madam Eugenie also became serious. She carefully scanned the sundries on the ground and on the table, over and over again, and kept recalling.

After a long time, there was a sound echoing in the basement.

"Missing an old shotgun..."