191 – Five Orange Seeds (6)
Jane Watson began scribbling in silence in a notebook to record and not forget the events that had happened.
Although she was a doctor, she enjoyed reading a lot of literary works, and perhaps thanks to her habit of keeping a diary before, she was able to write them down quickly. The events he witnessed with his friend Holmes clearly became someone’s good story in themselves, so if it were fleshed out a little, it could become a novel that would be valuable as someone’s entertainment.
Actually, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it. No, he actually suggested it to his friend Holmes as he passed by.
“It’s often like that in novels, Watson. Although it is a novel, this story is a true story and I only experienced the incident. Watson, you are going backwards.”
“… But what we experienced is the truth.”
“But often people and times find it difficult to accept the truth as it is. It’s not that it’s a bad thing to write things down for the sake of our friendship and the mission given to us. However, Watson, as you may have vaguely noticed, during this journey we will often encounter sensitive truths, or facts that higher-ups do not yet want to be known to the world. “I’m sorry, but a lot of it may not be revealed until after you die, Watson.”
“… “It doesn’t matter.”
As people who write various types of writing often imagine, it would be a lie if I said that since I started recording the case in earnest alongside Holmes, I had not thought about properly processing it and making it public.
However, the essential reason for keeping records was to not forget, just as Watson himself had done so far.
It was personally painful for Watson not to be able to fully remember the past year with Holmes, who disappeared, which can only be felt in fragments through the diary.
After realizing that I was a witch, my memories always faded, and I was afraid of myself disappearing, so I had the habit of writing things down, but I wanted to keep the truth about my special friend and Professor Moriarty intact under any circumstances.
However, although it may be possible someday, Watson knew that it would be difficult to make these records public for now.
Perhaps, as my friend suggests, only a small part of it may be disguised as a novel and released while Watson himself is still alive.
Perhaps the name is changed slightly, or the gender of oneself or Holmes is changed to avoid arousing more suspicion, and sometimes the existence of Professor Moriarty itself is not mentioned intentionally.
If that happens, Watson may end up writing down the story of a romantic criminal from the past who is not suitable for a detective and who is far from the cold mind of reason, just as he showed Holmes the record of his involvement with American Mormonism and Mr. Jefferson Hope. Thought.
With that, he put down his pen for a moment and glanced at his friend who was silent and lost in thought in the armchair.
This was Holmes’s characteristic posture that was often seen after they started living together in the Baker household.
A posture in which the body is curled up on a single armchair, as if squatting, with the arms between the knees and the feet pulled to the chest.
Watson herself was like that, but her friend Holmes was clearly a cold-looking beauty, so she looked like a statue even in that pose.
Of course, everyone could tell that she was alive because smoke was coming out of the pipe in her friend’s mouth.
However, whether she was aware of her friend’s gaze or if she just happened to finish organizing her thoughts at that time, she opened her mouth.
“This case has become even more complicated.”
“… What are you going to do with the two people who were captured? “You can’t say that those people are the real culprits, right?”
When Watson asked carefully, Holmes took his pipe from his mouth and sighed, as if he was in pain.
If there was anyone to look for in London, the Baker Street Commandos and other vagabonds, as my friend boasted, were clearly outstanding experts.
The Americans, who learned of the location through temporary cooperation with Holmes, headed to that location. But all Watson saw with them was the already cold corpse and five withered orange seeds mockingly placed next to them.
Even Holmes just looked at the scene coldly, and Watson could tell that his friend was surprised. Fortunately, Inspector Macdonald was also present, so the two were able to avoid running into trouble right away.
However, Scotland Yard took in two suspicious Americans as suspects, and Holmes, who watched them obediently, returned with Watson and was lost in thought.
“Oh, that’s no big deal. In fact, even when they were arrested, they were able to easily prove that the Americans were not the criminals. “I just didn’t do it.”
“… What?”
Watson was embarrassed, but Holmes continued as if quickly correcting Watson’s ‘foolish misunderstanding.’
“It was a protective measure, Watson. Well, it could really be just a coincidence. This London is a place where all kinds of crimes occur, and it is not impossible that you may have been accidentally robbed and murdered. But think about the orange seeds lying provocatively at the scene. If those being chased died suddenly, we would have to think about the safety of those chasing them at least once. If this were America, it might be London. “At least it was safer for them if Scotland Yard took them.”
“… “What are their personal doctors?”
“You followed me obediently. If you don’t want to, since you’re a member of Pinkerton, you’ll have to use the organization’s power. Even if it’s not as bad as in the US, it’s easy to be released as a foreigner. What matters is the mystery we face, Watson. “You may have vaguely noticed, but it is highly likely that you, or rather M, received a request from dead former KKK members.”
“Did the professor intervene?”
It was an unexpected truth for Watson, but Holmes opened his mouth, looking at his friend’s reaction as if he were pitiful.
“Watson, I often envy you because you seem to have such an easy life in this world. “The world we live in through Watson’s eyes must be truly monotonous and peaceful.”
“… Paddle… “Don’t make fun of me.”
“Well, let’s say so. Maybe it was the teacher who got rid of those KKK friends. Sort of… It must be something like a welcome greeting. Wouldn’t you? So, I’m worried. “Actually, you have to be lucky to catch the criminal, Watson.”
“Holmes, you? You… “You are a detective.”
“Of course, I don’t deny looking for more clues that idiots can’t find. However, I am not God, Watson. Just… He’s just a kid who hasn’t yet been able to properly prove that his teacher is a villain. The world is still too advantageous for criminals. In Europe, the vast majority of places have stupid legal systems that do not recognize that fingerprints are a clue to identifying criminals, and it is easy to escape in cities where only a small number of police officers patrol. Well, I just want to say that it might be difficult to catch the killer in this case. “But we will have to entertain guests from America.”
With that, Holmes stood up. Watson followed suit and slowly stretched and stood up, but he had no choice but to look at Holmes’ gaze.
“Where…” Are you planning to go?”
“Because we concluded that it would be better in the end to free the Americans who were falsely accused. “Let’s go see those stupid Scotland Yard people, Watson.”
Of course, Watson, as a British citizen, did not agree with Holmes’ sarcasm. However, he was walking with his friend, who seemed to be going on an adventure, as always.
What happened right after that was something that even Watson did not need to record and remember in detail. With Holmes, he was able to face new dangers every time, but at the same time, there were some scenes that were repetitive and cliché.
The most common was the scene where Holmes ridicules the mistakes of ‘stupid’ police officers. If Holmes had been simply a civilian, he might have ignored him by asserting his authority, but because he had a ‘friendship’ with Inspector Lestrade and Inspector Macdonald, and because he received the protection of a high-ranking person, Watson seemed uncomfortable with the presence of two Americans on Baker Street. I was able to see the car being poured while looking at it.
In one corner, there was Inspector McDonald, half-crouching in an uncomfortable position.
“Coffee is better than tea.”
“Let’s pretend we’re in Boston, not London, Tom.”
“It’s not the land of cowboys. Should I mix some brandy? Come to think of it, I heard cowboys use socks as filters to drink coffee. I hope they don’t do that here.”
“… I’m from Mississippi. “It has nothing to do with cowboys.”
There was a lot of trivial conversation going on, but Watson felt like the calm before the storm. He couldn’t help but get a strange intuition that if he spent time with Holmes, they would often have unusual conversations.
“Anyway, I thought the lady over there was disloyal and just abandoned us.”
“It was for safety reasons, but when I think about it again, it seems like a fuss.”
“Ha, thank you. “He will live a long life under the protection of his lady.”
“Because I want to talk about the purpose of the two of you coming to London.”
“Purpose? You probably already told me, Detective Lady. “We’re going to catch the KKK’s henchman.”
“Purpose? “What do you mean, Mr. Holmes?”
The Americans grumbled, and Inspector MacDonald couldn’t keep up with the topic of the story and asked, but Holmes spoke out coldly.
“M.”
