196 – Invitation (1)
Inspector Alec McDonald sat alone in the moving carriage and sighed deeply. He was tensed without realizing it, tidying up his clothes once again, and checking his pocket watch several times, as was his habit, feeling anxious.
Of course, that didn’t make the clock run any faster. The appointment time was still far away, and the carriage heading to a mansion near Oxford wasn’t late, so I wasn’t anxious about making an appointment and then being late.
Inspector Alec MacDonald was a rugged Scottish man with a sturdy physique, and was clearly a capable inspector in that he was promoted to inspector at a young age and was able to work in London.
Of course, Holmes might have sarcastically said that he was competent by Scotland Yard standards and that he was relatively competent.
However, the current Inspector Macdonald could have laughed and taken it positively even when hearing Holmes’s sarcasm. Although Holmes secretly disliked his attention, Inspector Macdonald was clearly a person who was close to Holmes’ follower, which was rare among Scotland Yard police officers.
Holmes, who had gained a fanatical following within a short period of meeting, could not help but feel burdened by the attention. Are all Scottish people like that?
Once, Holmes discussed this topic with Watson as a joke. If you think about it, Watson, Holmes’ first follower and friend, was an honorary Scot because his parents were from Scotland, as was Inspector McDonald, and Mrs. Hudson was also from there.
Of course, even Holmes’ ancestors were probably people from Scotland and Ireland, so someone might sarcastically say that they are gathering among themselves.
The important thing is that Lieutenant McDonald was usually a blunt person who only cared about formal etiquette, so it was definitely not unusual for him to be nervous and adjust his clothes.
It was like that.
This young lieutenant, who entered police work as soon as he graduated from school and could be considered a veteran in his own right, felt like a scout spying into the midst of enemy forces.
Lieutenant Macdonald stared at Professor James Moriarty’s mansion visible from afar, ruminating on what had happened a few days ago.
When Holmes meaningfully mentioned the name of the ‘enemy’ they had to deal with, most people just listened calmly.
Watson and Mycroft Holmes, who already knew this, did not show an indecent reaction to what they knew.
In the case of Americans, they were calm for the opposite reason. Even if I heard the name, I couldn’t tell who the person was, so I calmly accepted it.
Of course, his facial expression was not good. The fact that he was literally someone they had never heard of meant that he was a civilian who had never even been considered a suspect. Above all, the two were Americans and were not very interested in academics.
However, even though Inspector McDonald, who was British, knew that it was Mr. Holmes’s opinion, he could not help but shout it out without even realizing it.
“Professor James Moriarty? That… Are you referring to the famous mathematician, Mr. Holmes? Mind… “This is ridiculous!”
“Well… …. “I’m sure a lot of British people would react that way, but I didn’t know Inspector MacDonald was that interested in maths.”
“… You know that’s not what I meant! That… That person… I… He’s a prominent socialite, and he’s… “He must be a scholar who made a big contribution to the recent arrest of the Thames River serial killer, right?”
In fact, up to this point, Lieutenant Macdonald was showing a sufficiently common sense reaction. He would have finally accepted the seemingly impossible truth if dear Mr. Holmes had persuaded him by the wondrous knowledge and proof he had shown so far.
But Holmes just looked at him with a bitter smile. Unfortunately, Holmes still wasn’t able to solve the homework the teacher assigned.
Until now, no one has been able to convincingly prove that Teacher Moriarty is a villain. It was all thanks to her very personal experience and intuition.
It was Mycroft Holmes who interrupted MacDonald, who was about to open his mouth again while looking at Holmes who was silent.
“Calm down, Lieutenant McDonald. Sherlock… Well, I will deny it, but as I said, it is a ‘hypothesis’, so it does not necessarily mean that Professor Moriarty is M and the leader of the organization we are chasing.”
“Do… Mr. Mycroft Holmes, that… okay.”
Although he did not know the exact position of Mycroft Holmes, Inspector Macdonald, who knew that he was literally a high-ranking man, gave a hesitant answer.
Holmes glared for a moment as if he disapproved of his brother’s answer, but Mycroft inadvertently added something that confused Inspector Macdonald even more.
“To be honest… I tend to agree that Sherlock’s ‘hypothesis’ is still vague. Although the probability has only recently increased slightly, there is about a 5 percent chance that Professor James Moriarty among those living in London is M.”
“That… then… “Isn’t he literally unrelated?”
“It’s a case of doubt, given that less than 0.5 Percent of all Londoners passing by are usually affected. However, I just know that there are still too many variables to speak with certainty like Sherlock said, and I hope you can help his younger brother in the future.”
Lieutenant Macdonald could only nod his head with a shocked expression at the words of Mycroft Holmes.
After that, not much was said.
A few days later, Inspector Macdonald was informed that the two Pinkerton Detective Agency agents had safely returned to the United States.
However, he wanted to act alone as his detective. Holmes sensed what adventure Inspector Macdonald was up to, but he let the foolish attempt go by.
Just as detectives who have worked for a long time have blind faith in their own senses, Inspector Macdonald still could not believe Mr. Holmes’s ‘hypothesis’, so he secretly contacted Professor James Moriarty to confirm it for himself.
Of course, there were excuses. The other person readily agreed to the meeting on the grounds that he would seek advice on a new investigation related to the Thames Serial Killer, which he was involved with.
If Professor James Moriarty is truly a villain as Mr. Holmes claims, he might be entering a dangerous den alone.
Therefore, Inspector Macdonald had no choice but to knock on the door of his mansion with great nervousness.
When the door opened a moment later, Inspector McDonald couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed inside, unlike usual. This was for a very human reason, because the maid at Professor Moriarty’s mansion who opened the door was a rare beauty.
Of course, I was not surprised for that reason alone since Mr. Holmes and Miss Watson, who was with him, were beautiful women who would become legendary in social circles.
The young maid, about the same age as Miss Holmes, had wolf ears sticking out on her head, and Inspector MacDonald, instinctively thinking that she was related to werewolves, tensed and passed the neck strap without realizing it.
“…… “You made an appointment with the master, right?”
“… Yes, Inspector Alec McDonald. “Excuse me, Professor James Moriarty—”
“I’m waiting for you, so please follow me.”
The young maid coldly interrupted him and guided him inside her. She looked like she was the hostess of the mansion rather than a low-ranking maid, but Inspector McDonald couldn’t care less.
After a while, there was a drawing room decorated with many colorful paintings and bookshelves, where Professor James Moriarty, a prominent social figure, stood there to welcome him.
“Welcome, Inspector McDonald. “This is Professor James Moriarty.”
“Yes, I came here unexpectedly. Thank you for your hospitality, Professor.”
Despite her blunt appearance, the maid brought out tea and refreshments, and they all tasted great. The sight of her maid secretly guarding the professor’s side was reminiscent of her loyal hunting dog.
What was strange was that it was a fairly large mansion, and although Professor Moriarty was a wealthy man with a certain social status, there were no other maids or servants in sight.
But Inspector McDonald could not care less about that point. She began to quietly observe the man in front of her and her surroundings with the eyes of a detective, slowly bringing up everyday topics and work-related stories one by one.
Professor James Moriarty was a few years older than Inspector Macdonald, but he was still a young man.
In fact, if you only looked at his appearance, you would have mistaken him for being younger than the blunt Inspector Macdonald himself, and perhaps even for someone of a similar age to Mr. Holmes.
He was taller than Inspector McDonald, but because he was thin, he was a man who could easily be subdued one-on-one if a physical fight broke out, so contrary to Professor Holmes’ warning, I did not feel any threat.
However, the other person was clearly a rare handsome man. If Inspector MacDonald had been a woman looking to marry or a sodomite, he was a handsome man whose appearance alone would have captivated him, but he was just fine with Inspector MacDonald.
The eyes shone sharply, but it was closer to the intelligence of a scholar and far from that of a criminal.
No matter how you look at it, the detective’s intuition was that he was just an ordinary and respectable social figure.
“Oh, are you interested in asteroids, Inspector McDonald? “It’s already my specialty.”
Rather, at some point, Professor Moriarty was leading the conversation. As if he had misunderstood Inspector MacDonald’s eyes as he was secretly looking around the room, he took out a thick thesis from the bookshelf where his eyes had rested and began to brag about himself.
Although he was embarrassed at first, Lt. Macdonald seemed to be fascinated by the professor who spoke to him kindly, like a father encouraging his child, and at some point he began to listen to the small lecture he gave on the spot on the movement of the planets.
