Case1 Four Families - ch12

Norville Malcolm's House.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson arrived by a carriage and found Lestrade standing in front of the house. It seemed like the inspector had just finished business here and was preparing to return.

"Lestrade, are you sure you can't find the map or the key?"

"I have searched all over the house," the Inspector Lestrade said, annoyed to repeated, even though he had already written it down. "I had my subordinates turn the bed, dismantle the drawers, lift the picture frame to find a hidden hole. But I couldn't find a map or a key you said it."

The map was made of fine paper that began to turn yellow over time, and the key were made of brass, long around an adult finger. The family's four abbreviations are inscribed 'M', 'R', 'L' and 'B'.

"Maybe the murder killed Malcolm and took map and key." muttered Sherlock Holmes, "saying that the murder killed because he wanted the treasure. But why he has to kill Redmond? Both map and key are with Scarlet."

Lestrade raised eyebrows. He just heard the death of the other four heirs.

"Lestrade, I have a request. A shipwreck ten years ago, I want a list of all the survivors."

"Hmm, you owed me," said Lestrade.

"Deduct from the amount of debt you owe me," Holmes teases back with a smile. Then walked into Malcolm's house "I would like to go to the scene first."

The inspector frowned with a semi-tight expression. Allowing an outsider to enter the scene of a murder is illegal. But having Sherlock Holmes investigate allows him to close the case faster. In an era of crime rates rise., he kept his one eye shut.

Sherlock Holmes walked to see where Malcolm had hit the ground. There is a mark showing the shape of the deceased made by Scotland Yard. He looked closely at the scene with an interesting expression. Watson looked at the same behavior he had seen a detective doing in a separate house.

His duty is to follow orders. But this was the first time he had 'suspicious'.

"Are all humans ... be like this?"

A short murmur of Watson. Lestrade was the only one who heard it. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the silver-haired man, before turning to look in the same direction that the green eyes looked.

"Only that guy is stranger than the others. Ordinary people cannot tell what occupation of people who walk past do. He knows about criminal cases than Scotland Yard. Most people call him strange or crazy, and he does not associate with people much. You strange too, can live with that guy."

"What about you?"

Watson turned to look at Lestrade. The other guy just shrugged.

"The people I hate and will never get involved with are the people I put in jail. Beside I don't hate that guy's weird habit."

"Hey, I heard."

Sherlock Holmes crossed his arms and raised one eyebrow, staring at the two people gossiping about him with expressions that almost burst out laughing. Watson said nothing. As for Lestrade, his face was indifferent.

"Watson, can you climb these edges up to the second floor, Malcolm's room?"

The detective pointed out the beautiful pattern edges decorated the wall. But on the other hand, an intruder could use this to climb up to the 2nd floor. Watson looked up and immediately replied.

"Easily"

"Huh...?" Lestrade raised his eyebrows. In theory, the wall edges can climb, but it's only a few centimeters wide and also has a pattern to make it unstable, why was Watson so confident.

"I will go up first. Let me give you a signal to come up. Oh, above, there may be important evidence. You have to be careful. If you find anything, put it in this case. Whether it is just debris of soil."

"Understood"

.......................................

Sherlock Holmes and Lestrade walked up the stairs. The second floor didn't seem clean for days, so the dusty wooden floor's footprints were visible. Holmes told Lestrade not to follow him, and he gets down to examine footprint.

"What shoes did Malcolm wear?" Asked Sherlock Holmes.

"Slipper," answered Lestrade, "one in the room. The other also fell."

"That's right, there are streaks, and the footprints of Scotland Yard usually wearing..." Sherlock Holmes narrowed his eyes, took out a magnifying glass and tape. Examine one of the footprints and check for the same one following the left and right stride to confirm.

"There is a third shoe print."

"Villain?" Said Lestrade.

"Based on the size of the footprint and the footstep, he was a man as tall as me, from the kind of shoes would be a noble person, from the mark on the door before the room that person would be reluctant to enter Malcolm's room. He stopped for a moment. So, debris stuck in the shoes came out."

The detective spoke in a lowered voice, but his eyes gleaming. There is no other person in and out of this house. Moreover, the little man he saw was not wearing shoes. It is possible that the owner of this footprint was either an accomplice or a mastermind. He carefully bent down to collect dirt, look closely.

"Not only soil fragments, but there is also golden dust in it."

"Golden dust?" Lestrade repeated, raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Sherlock Holmes said nothing further. He opened the door to the room before examining it in detail, mumbling nonstop.

"That person is standing here. As for Malcolm ... he is drinking. Sitting in a chair and realized that there was an intruder. He was shocked by something, so the liquor spilled." Sherlock Holmes looked at the window near the chair. Before bending down, check the appearance of the spilled alcohol stain. "Something in the window frightened him. A small person must has invaded through the window. The footprints here are quite confusing. Hmm, he has gone back and ... "

The detective opened the window. Watson was still standing there waiting for a signal from him. Sherlock Holmes leaned his head, told Watson to climb carefully.

Watson found a white hair stuck on the first-floor window, so he carefully took it to the case as Sherlock Holmes ordered and climbing into the second-floor room.

"Thank you, Watson," said Sherlock Holmes, "Let's go back and analyze the evidence."