Personality V: I will save everything

"By the way, Mrs. Hayes, my wife and I just came here yesterday afternoon. While strolling around, we saw a gentleman in a top hat coming out of your store. May I ask what happened to your horse?"

Holmes deliberately asked this question while Mrs. Hayes was in a daze.

Mrs. Hayes replied casually, "It was the veterinarian in the gray coat," but then she seemed to realize what she had said and immediately changed her words, "No, I remembered it wrong."

When people are suddenly asked a question, they will instinctively tell the truth, and then change their words when they realize the danger. This "corrective answer" is a typical sign of lying.

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It seems there is no need to ask.

Holmes made an excuse, saying that he was going to the guest room on the second floor to see if his wife needed any help.

He walked up the stairs slowly, thinking to himself how to get along with Miss Violetta next.

After all, they are now pretending to be a couple, and if they check into two rooms, it will inevitably arouse suspicion from others.

Arriving at the guest room on the second floor, Holmes stood at the door, took a deep breath, and then knocked gently. He waited quietly, with his ear close to the door, listening to the movement inside. After a while, there was no response from inside, and Holmes thought that Miss Valletta might not be in the room, or she might be changing clothes.

He hesitated for a moment and decided to knock on the door again, a little harder this time. The knock echoed in the silent corridor, seeming a little abrupt. However, no sound came out of the room.

Holmes frowned and began to worry. He didn't know if Miss Violetta was safe or if she was in any trouble. He decided not to wait any longer and pushed the door gently. It was not locked.

He pushed open the door carefully and looked inside. The curtains in the room were drawn and the light was a little dim. Holmes looked around but did not see Miss Violetta. He was relieved that at least she was not changing in the room.

Holmes entered the room and closed the door behind him. He went to the window and drew aside the curtains to let the sunlight into the room. Then he sat down on the edge of the bed and thought about what to do next.

"What's the matter, Mr. Holmes?"

The voice seemed to come from nowhere, with a hint of teasing and curiosity. Holmes's eyes quickly turned to the ceiling, and sure enough, there, Miss Violetta was leisurely lying on the huge spider web she had just woven, looking down at him condescendingly.

Due to his previous experience at the Golden Rose Theatre, Holmes was mentally prepared for this kind of scene, so he did not show too much surprise.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile, and he responded, "Nothing special, Miss Valletta, I'm just a little curious about what you are doing up there."

Miss Violetta moved lightly on the spider web, her movements were graceful and flexible, just like a real spider. She smiled and said, "Oh, I'm just enjoying the quietness. The air here is very fresh."

Holmes nodded, but he was secretly thinking about where to stay for the night.

He had been planning to sleep on the floor, but now it seemed that Miss Violetta preferred sleeping on her spider webs.

He couldn't help imagining himself lying on the floor with Miss Violetta hanging high above his head, which seemed a little funny.

However, Holmes did not dwell on it too much. He knew that Miss Valletta had her own unique lifestyle, and he respected her choice.

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Okay, enough of that, it's time to get down to business.

"I have put the skirt away. After all, the dirt on it is physical evidence. You have also noticed, Mr. Holmes. Is there something wrong with this hotel?"

Does Miss Violetta need to tell me? It's obvious that Mrs. Hayes is hiding something, but...

“It is still unclear whether they are the masterminds.”

"Hmm? How do you put this?"

A strong curiosity surged in Valletta's heart. Since she had already noticed that there was something wrong with this hotel, why didn't she just break in and catch all those suspicious people in one fell swoop?

"Because if we do that, there will be a loophole in the logic..."

Indeed, the inn was located near the Abbey School, and all the students in that school were children of the nobility.

If Salter was kidnapped just for money, it could be barely explained. After all, kidnapping a student from there and extorting a ransom could easily make the kidnappers rich.

However, the reality is not that simple.

Salter's experience was obviously not accidental. The other party deliberately forged a letter to make him mistakenly believe that his mother was seriously ill. He was so anxious that he hurriedly ran away from school.

This series of arrangements was obviously carefully planned and was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

More importantly, the other party not only knew Salter's family situation very well, but also knew that his mother was in France and that his parents had separated long ago.

Only insiders could know such private information.

"There is no way an ordinary innkeeper would know that there must be a mastermind behind such a thing."

After listening to Holmes' analysis, Violetta thought that this was indeed true. However, she had another thing to tell Holmes.

"I already know where the child is. He's in the stable."

"Varied..........."

Holmes was about to ask, but his mind was as fast as lightning, and he understood it in an instant. Yes, there is indeed a problem with the area of ​​​​the hotel. The length of the corridor on the second floor of the hotel is 3 feet shorter than that on the first floor!

"This hotel must have a secret room!" Holmes' voice revealed a hint of excitement.

"That's true," Violetta responded with a smile, but her discovery did not come from this observation. "But that's not how I discovered the Chamber of Secrets."

Holmes looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue her explanation.

Violetta took a deep breath and began to tell the story of her discovery: "Mr. Holmes, do you know how spiders catch their prey? They weave a huge web, and when the prey accidentally hits the web and struggles, the vibration will be keenly sensed by the spider, and then the prey will be swallowed by the spider without any suspense."

She paused and continued, "I deliberately wore a pair of hard-soled shoes so that I could feel the vibrations of the ground more clearly when walking in the stable and the entire hotel. After careful exploration, I found that there was a secret room under the stable, and there seemed to be a living creature there."

Who else could be the living creature hiding in the secret room of the stable other than the kidnapped man? This seems to be an obvious answer.

However, Violetta's original plan was to tell Holmes about the discovery directly, and then the two of them would go to the rescue together. But after listening to Holmes' analysis, Violetta changed her mind.

Holmes pointed out that if they acted rashly like this, they would only alert the enemy.

The mastermind behind the scenes is likely to be aware of their intentions and take the opportunity to escape. After all, the hotel couple is just a pawn in this incident, and the real key figure may be hiding deeper.

Valletta realized that they could not easily expose their actions, otherwise it might make the whole situation more complicated and difficult.

Therefore, she decided to wait for a better opportunity.

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However, as the old saying goes, technological progress is often accompanied by the growth of human laziness.

This view seems to be quite consistent with the image of Sherlock Holmes.

"Miss Violetta, I would like to ask you if you and Mr. Antonio have mastered some kind of mind-reading technique?"

After all, Holmes has two non-human beings by his side, which is undoubtedly an absolute advantage. No matter in any case, such help is enough for him to defeat all evidence and reasoning with overwhelming advantage.

"How is this possible? Not to mention me, even if Antonio really has the ability to read minds, he wouldn't be deceived." Violetta answered without thinking.

However, as soon as she said this, she seemed to suddenly realize something, her face turned pale in an instant, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Unfortunately, words once spoken are like water spilled, how can they be easily taken back?

But the words had already been spoken, and Violetta was ready to give up. "Mr. Holmes, do you want to know about Antonio's past? It will definitely shock you after you hear it."

"I'm all ears."

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After learning about what happened to Miss Violetta, Holmes thought to himself, "Well, I think I should have become immune to those tragic things. After all, what Miss Violetta has experienced is heartbreaking enough. How can it be worse? Could it be worse than what she has experienced?"

However, the facts ruthlessly gave Holmes a loud slap in the face, making him realize how naive his ideas were.

As he continued to investigate, what he discovered was far beyond his imagination.

These things are like a living version of Les Miserables, full of endless suffering, despair and misfortune.

Holmes couldn't help but sigh that his previous self-confidence was simply ridiculous arrogance.

He begins to understand that there is no limit to human suffering, and no matter how much misery you think you have seen, there are always more heartbreaking stories waiting to be revealed.

But even so, Holmes still wants to know. This is the principle of being a detective - to pursue the truth.

"Antonio was born in a poor area of ​​a country. His parents died very early. As an orphan, he was not in good health. He suffered from malnutrition, catalepsy, excessive stress, neurasthenia, scarlet fever, pneumonia and muscle spasms.

It was only by God's mercy that he survived.

He grew up eating at various people's homes, and one day when he was scavenging, he accidentally found an abandoned violin.

The gears of fate began to turn. Antonio showed amazing violin talent and gradually evolved from a street performer to a street musician, and finally stepped onto the stage of the theater.

Antonio made more and more money, but he never spent it recklessly. The most extravagant thing he did to himself was to order a bottle of the lowest quality wine. He sent all the rest of the money back to the slums to repay those who raised him. "

Hearing this, Holmes felt very strange. If that was the case, Antonio's life should be bright, with increasing fame, more and more money, and he also sent all the money to the civilian areas. Logically speaking, it should be a very glorious life.

However, Valletta's next words cleared up his doubts.

"Until one day, a princess from the royal family came to Antonio's concert, and an invitation letter from the royal family was sent to Antonio. Antonio wanted to refuse at first, but it was said that he could make more money by becoming a royal violinist. In order to help the children in the slums survive the winter, he went."

Miss Violetta paused at this point, and Holmes looked up and saw that her eyes were filled with tears.

"Antonio's lifelong belief was to dedicate his music to everyone, because he felt that music was equal, and both commoners and nobles could enjoy it equally. But when he came to the palace, he found that after becoming the royal violinist, he could no longer play for common people.

If it were just this, Antonio could still bear it, as long as he gave the money, as long as the children in the slums could survive.

But Antonio's idea was too simple.

If the princess just wanted to listen to Anthony playing the violin, then forget it, but unfortunately... unfortunately she is not..."

As Violetta was about to continue, a knock on the door interrupted what she was about to say.