At the same time that Klein saw Mrs. Summer, this pretty lady with delicate makeup on her face obviously also noticed the tenant who appeared behind the door opener, and was finally able to relax in front of that handsome face that was so beautiful that it made people confused.

He took a breath, as if he had found a way out:

"...Mr. Sherlock Moriarty?"

Hearing the hesitation in the landlady's voice, Klein automatically pictured in his mind how half of his face was buried in a messy short beard. He couldn't help but smile, and walked past Watson, who was sideways to let him pass, to the door.

:

"It's been a while, Mrs. Summer. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to introduce you to my friend, Dr. Arthur Watson. Due to an error in the schedule at the time, he arrived a few days later than me.

Backlund.”

"Good morning, Mrs. Summer." Leaning against the doorframe, Arthur Watson smiled and nodded gently to the two ladies outside the door, "Please forgive my directness, you or your friends seem to have met each other.

Please, if you don’t mind, please come in and talk.”

Holding the edge of the gauze hat with her fingers, Starling Summer glanced at the young lady standing next to her. She saw the latter wearing a wide-brimmed hat with black gauze covering her face and wearing a dark fluffy dress. She nodded slightly and felt deeply.

Taking a breath, he turned to the unshaven tenant:

"Okay...but before that, I want to confirm one thing. Mr. Moriarty, your profession is indeed a private detective, right?"

Well, it seems that I have never mentioned what I do to the landlady and her family... It is very possible that they first saw the private detective advertisement in the newspaper, and then found a familiar address and name, so they searched for it like this

Come over here...

While Klein quickly figured out the ins and outs of Mrs. Summer's visit, he suddenly felt enlightened. At the same time, he raised a business smile on his face and gestured in the direction of the living room: "Of course, please come in. If there is anything I can do to help you two

Wherever you are, please feel free to speak."

The two ladies said nothing more. Under the leadership of Mrs. Summer, who was familiar with the layout of the house, they walked straight into the living room, found the sofa and sat down.

Of course, Klein keenly noticed that Mrs. Summer's footsteps showed an obvious pause before entering the living room, as if she was pushed by the inertia of the previous steps to take those few steps.

The extra oil paintings hanging on the walls, the tasteful wine racks, the hand-woven wool carpets on the floor, and other furniture that changed too much were naturally the real culprits that confused and hesitated the landlady.

The two ladies invariably looked at the exquisite furnishings in the living room, their eyes resting on the clue wall where Backlund city map and newspaper clippings were posted, until the detective who was a little behind them asked with a smile:

"You two, do you want coffee or tea?"

"No, it's not necessary. Neither coffee nor black tea can solve any problem." The lady with a black veil on her face took off the wide-brimmed hat on her head and said in a sharp tone.

Klein only took a cursory look at her, judging that she was currently filled with complex emotions of anger, sadness, and hesitation, and stopped looking any further, lest his impression of his client be solidified on the somewhat disappointing combination of facial features.

Starling Summer was about to add something in agreement when she saw the handsome doctor who opened the door for her also walked into the living room, shaking her head with a smile on her face.

"Madam, although coffee and black tea can't solve your troubles, they can effectively help relieve your mood and provide a clearer and smoother narrative. This is also a way to improve our work efficiency." He winked lightly.

With his left eye, he showed the two silver-inlaid tin cans in his hand with a gentle smile, "Plateau coffee, or Marquis black tea?"

No matter what era, good-looking people always get special preferential treatment from others. Klein saw the lady with high cheekbones and dark dress gradually relax and no longer tense after being silent for two or three seconds.

He twitched the corner of his mouth, lowered his head and tapped his chin lightly:

"...Then let's have Marquis black tea."

Seeing this, Starling also cooperated and ordered black tea. She watched the young doctor with outstanding temperament go to prepare the tea for the guests. After a moment, she thought of adjusting her posture, so she straightened up and tried to sit like a magazine model.

, began to introduce the lady next to Detective Moriarty:

"This is Mrs. Mary Gale, a shareholder of Coim."

When the steaming Marquis black tea was served on the solid wood coffee table in front of the sofa, Klein had already learned from his client, Mary Gale, about the target of the investigation—her husband, Doragu Gale.

This means that he has also encountered a commission that most private investigators will inevitably experience, investigating extramarital affairs.

"I hope I didn't interrupt you."

Arthur Watson, who did not have the temperament of a waiter at all, smiled, put the tea tray aside, walked behind the single sofa where Klein was sitting, and stood half-leaning on the armrest on the right side of the sofa without moving any further.

"Watson also serves as my work assistant." Klein explained, indicating that the two ladies should not pay too much attention to the man next to him.

Mary Gale nodded, picked up the white porcelain tea cup with a landscape painting inlaid with pure gold, took a sip of the rich and mellow black tea, and fell into a brief silence.

Under the cover of drinking tea, she cast a veiled look at the handsome, tall young doctor, and couldn't help but have a sudden thought in her mind: What if this Detective Moriarty could really get away with extramarital affairs?

Substantial evidence, perhaps you can spend money to hire his assistant and take him to deliberately perform a show of love in front of the hateful Doragu. This is equivalent to a slap in the face of that heartless man...

But soon, Mary Gale rationally gave up this idea.

Putting aside whether you can buy the other party with money, using emotions will not bring any practical benefits after all.

She wanted to grasp the evidence that her husband was looking for a mistress, precisely because she wanted to gain an advantage in the property division rights of the marriage law and make the man who took the position of company manager pay the price through the inheritance shares she inherited from her father. She should not pay the price for

In a moment of revenge, he gives away the wealth that should belong to him to others.

Time passed by in the gentle conversation. Only half of the tea left in the two ladies' cups gradually lost its temperature. In Mrs. Mary's hand, there was an entrustment contract signed with the names and fingerprints of both parties.

She stood up contentedly, and together with Mrs. Summer, the gentle and courteous doctor sent her away from the private detective's residence.

Klein, who consciously took on the housework, carefully packed the tea set and wiped the low table with dry and soft cotton cloth several times. He was not in a hurry to go back to the room to unpack the two expensive and precious items, waiting for something inevitable.

arrival.

However, before the expected part came, Arthur Watson returned to the living room first and said briskly that he was going out to work.

After sending his cohabitants away, Klein went to the restaurant to get a newspaper, turned to the corresponding report on a major fire in the East District factory, and sighed with a slight twitch in his mouth:

"Don't report it again..."

He opened the newspaper and continued reading the previous progress for five minutes when the doorbell rang again.

Pushing open the door, Klein saw the maid Julian in a black and white dress, a domestic servant serving the landlord's family next door.

"Hello, Mr. Moriarty, Mrs. Summer would like to invite you to come over and talk about the rental of the house." The maid Julian said, and couldn't help but stare at the person in front of her a little rudely.

, with surprise in his tone, "However, if Mrs. Summer hadn't reminded me before... you have changed so much compared to before, I almost didn't recognize you."

"In fact, every time I finish shaving, even I almost don't recognize the person in the mirror." Klein deliberately used a humorous self-deprecating tone and touched his chin. "The problem is that they are very stubborn. As long as you let them go,

If you don't take care of it for a week, it will grow back to what you see."

He tried to use the details revealed in words to complete the setting of "Sherlock Moriarty", so that some doubtful contradictions could be resolved in a softer and more euphemistic way.

And seeing the maid Julian nodding in understanding, seeming to have accepted this explanation, he felt that he had taken the first step to win people's trust. Maybe tonight, Mrs. Summer would ask her casually

After talking about the tenant of House No. 15, the maid will naturally convey this seemingly unimportant information, making the unreasonableness of "Sherlock Moriarty" more acceptable.

But then he noticed that Julian looked around, with a curious look on his face and said in a low voice:

"Actually, I heard Mrs. Summer mention your name to her guest today... Oh, I want to ask, are you really a private detective? You appeared in a serialized story with "Hope Literary Weekly"

A powerful and clever detective like Mr. Hercule?"

Mr. Hercule? What kind of character is that? I’ve never even heard of it... Klein kept the smile on his face politely:

"Unfortunately, I think I haven't solved any case that can make others call me a detective. You know, it's only been half a month since I arrived in the metropolis of Backlund, and my career has just started."

After dealing with the curiosity of the maid Julian in a kind and friendly manner, he put on his coat for going out, followed her into the next door, and met Starling Sa, who had just said goodbye not long ago, in the sofa area of ​​the living room where he had been a guest briefly.

Merle.

The hostess with blond hair and blue eyes and a delicate appearance nodded gently, showing no signs of aging in her early thirties:

"Please take a seat, Detective Moriarty. Would you like some snacks?"

Since she had already had black tea at the house No. 15 next door, Starling did not confirm the taste of the drink with the guest. Instead, she placed a two-layer snack rack with trays in the reception area and invited the guest to sit down.

After tasting a few caramel cookies out of politeness, Klein reservedly put away his interest in sweets and began to wipe his fingers with a napkin, waiting for Mrs. Summer to ask questions.

"Detective Moriarty, the lease we agreed on before was six months, right?" Starling leaned forward slightly, as if she wanted to use this to strengthen her confirmation tone.

Here we go... Anyone would be surprised to see a full set of fine furnishings in a rented house... What's more, when I rented a house before, I cut the original 50 pounds a year's lease in half and decently paid the rent.

Not being able to afford so much money is described as risk prevention and careful budgeting...

Some thoughts quickly flashed through Klein's mind, and he nodded with a subtle smile:

"Yes, 25 pounds for half a year, a very reasonable rent."

It was a rare opportunity to miss the opportunity to show off her favorite white porcelain teacup inlaid with gold when meeting guests. Starling folded her hands on her skirt uncomfortably, and kept thinking about euphemistic words:

"I think there may be a lack of explanation between you and me... I mentioned to you before that the house belongs to my sister and brother-in-law, and it still has a three-year lease. If you only rent it for half a year, it means that I have to

Looking for new tenants in a few months..."

Klein listened patiently to Mrs. Summer's convoluted rhetoric, and gradually understood what she meant: Although the house at No. 15 next door is rented to you, you also have the right to purchase new furniture and ornaments, but if

If you don't plan to rent for a long time, it's best not to replace a lot of furniture. Not only will it be troublesome to move, but it will also easily attract criminals who commit burglaries or thefts. After all, the public security in Cherwood can only be considered good, not as good as Queens.

An aristocratic and wealthy area like the West End.

Why is this... different from the process I imagined? I thought the landlady would be angry with the tenant for modifying the house privately...

Klein listened blankly and nodded. He accidentally noticed that Mrs. Summer had stopped preaching, and quickly stopped her perfunctory movements and sincerely echoed a few words.

But Starling didn't seem to hear these approvals that could satisfy her sense of superiority, and her eyes turned to the window erratically:

"Detective Moriarty, what kind of person is your friend...Dr. Watson?"

Although the process was different from what I thought, I finally asked the key question...

Klein pretended to clear his throat and put on a peaceful but helpless smile:
To be continued...