012

Ripper's Advance Letter

F * ck him!

I'm very irritable. I'm going to turn evil!

"You …" Libella's lips trembled. "You're making me so angry …"

That's Sherlock!

A living Sherlock!

I can even hear his voice!

I can even see the corner of his shirt!

And you actually pulled me away!

Of course, Benben didn't know what Libella was feeling at the moment. He just blinked and asked blankly, "What's wrong?

Let's, let's wait until tomorrow. There are police there now … "

Libella didn't want to wait until tomorrow!

… But there seemed to be no other way.

She looked down speechlessly at Benben who was holding her hand. Obviously, he didn't want her to go. Hearing the word police, Benben looked like a squirrel that had been dug out of a tree. He was terrified.

Alright … Haste makes waste. Everything that is worth waiting for is a beautiful thing.

Calm down, calm down.

Libella squeezed out a sinister smile. Her movements were stiff as she patted his hand comfortingly. "Okay, but … Why are you so afraid of the police?"

Benben was stunned. He thought for a long time and couldn't think of a way to persuade Libella. After a long time, he said, "The police aren't good people. They took the others away. Libella, don't believe them …"

This …

Libella frowned and wanted to ask more, but Benben refused to say a word. She tried for a long time before she finally gave up.

On the other side, in 221b Baker Street, Sherlock quietly listened to Lestrade's narration. He was holding the advance letter in the sealed bag in his hand.

It was signed by Ripper. The handwriting was the same as the letter he had received. Of course, he wouldn't hand his letter to Lestrade. There were no fingerprints on it. Why would he hand it to him?

"Why don't you look excited at all?"

Lestrade couldn't help but ask him. "Didn't you always jump in excitement when you saw such things in the past?"

Sherlock silently looked away.

Cough.

She had already skipped all the necessary steps.

"The Ripper's announcement is on the 20th of this month." Sherlock ignored him and continued, "But there's no address or specific time."

Lestrade saw that he had turned his attention to the letter, so he changed the topic and said to Sherlock, "Yes, so now I'm thinking about which direction to investigate …"

"Investigate in the direction of Ripper," Sherlock said casually.

"Ah?" Lestrade obviously didn't quite understand.

But how could Sherlock waste his breath on him? He said, "This case is interesting. I have to think about it."

The challenge came from Jack the Ripper, and he was confident that he could catch this guy alone. Since he had the time to chat with Lestrade, he might as well think about something else.

"Detective," another police officer, Sally Donovan, obviously didn't want to be at the mercy of the "consulting detective" who didn't look like a normal person. She didn't even roll her eyes at him and walked straight to him from the side. "The police station said that an old police officer remembered a Ripper case five years ago."

She glanced at Sherlock with ridicule in her eyes. "Should we go back and take a look?"

In fact, Sherlock wasn't the kind of person who would argue with Donovan, but he didn't have a good impression of the police officer who had casually broken into his apartment.

"Yes, we do need to go back and take a look." Sherlock casually glanced at her and casually reminded her, "Remember to check the photos of the deceased."

In the two cases he found in the newspaper, the time of the crime was either summer or winter, but the clothes on the deceased weren't seasonal. So, it was very likely that the murderer had kidnapped the deceased in advance and dumped the body in Whitechapel a few months later.

This was also why he asked Davis if anything strange had happened in Whitechapel since April.

It was now the end of September, and he had pushed the season forward by two seasons, starting from April. Something must have happened in Whitechapel during this period.

The main reason why he was sure that the Ripper would do it in Whitechapel was that the victims of the Ripper's previous cases were all prostitutes, and the one thing these prostitutes had in common was children.

His search on Facebook and Instagram led him to a non-governmental website that called for the protection of children. The website had collected many cases that had been published in the newspaper, and one of them was a case of the Ripper.

Not to mention, in the first case, the Ripper had even cut open the belly of the deceased's unborn child and took it out.

Was there any place in East London that had anything to do with children?

Davis, Whitechapel Orphanage.

Of course, ordinary people couldn't keep up with Sherlock's train of thought. When Sherlock went through the case in his mind again, Lestrade was still immersed in the matter of the photos.

Photos?

"Do you know something?" Lestrade asked.

"No."

Sherlock denied flatly and then stopped talking. He closed his eyes and rested his mind. He looked like he wouldn't be affected by anything.

Lestrade looked at him anxiously. Of course, he knew the character of the detective. He had his own thoughts and was good at telling the conclusion when everyone was still distressed.

Well …

Sometimes, he didn't know whether to believe him or not.

Lestrade was very tired. He rubbed his forehead and decided to go back to listen to the old policeman's story. He asked, "Where's Doctor Watson?

Did he go out to buy groceries again? "

Went out to buy groceries "again"?

Sherlock looked at him with an ambiguous expression and answered, "He moved out."

"Ha," Lestrade shrugged and turned to leave. "Finally, another roommate is driven crazy."

This made Sherlock a little depressed.

In fact, John didn't show any negative emotions towards him. Of course, it was also possible that he didn't notice. But overall, he felt that nothing unpleasant had happened during the period when he shared the apartment with John. He was a good roommate.

Sherlock … was very confident.

However, compared to the current situation, Watson also felt that Sherlock was a good roommate.

At least, Sherlock would obediently think of puzzles when he had something to do, unlike a child who always needed someone to take care of him.

Last night, his girlfriend, Teacher Hathaway, picked up an orphan named Suni from Whitechapel Orphanage. He didn't have a problem with it. He admired his girlfriend's kind character, but he didn't like the child.

First, the child would have nightmares at night, so she needed someone to sleep with her. His girlfriend kicked him out of the bedroom to sleep on the sofa. He now had to sleep on the sofa.

Second, Hathaway had to go to school every day, so the responsibility of taking care of the child fell to him. Of course, he also had to go to work, but compared to his diligent girlfriend, his work hours were much more flexible and he had a lot more free time.

"Suni," Watson looked at the child who wanted to squeeze the juice by herself with a headache. "You have to peel the mango before putting it in."

Suni looked at him blankly and timidly retracted her hand.

This pitiful look made him feel a little sorry. Watson walked over to the kitchen, gently patted the child's head, and began to teach her how to peel the mango.

Watson looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already seven o 'clock in the evening, but Hathaway still hadn't gotten off work …

Was the music teacher's homework also so heavy?

Watson thought to himself.

Compared to the warmth at this moment, some places were not so beautiful.

After arriving in East London, Libella and Benben got off the subway. She put her fingers on the collar around her neck. When she opened her eyes again, except for Benben's voice in her ear reminding her that she was still in the normal world, she actually saw a different scene.

In fact, there were not that many people who died unnaturally in the city. The reason why it was said to be unnatural was that Li Bella had deliberately tested the graveyard when she was on the subway. There were no ghost-like existences there.

East London was not a simple place.

Libella followed Benben all the way from the subway station to the path back to the orphanage. There were ghosts lying miserably on the side of the road.

East London, East London …

Libella looked at everything around her and slowly closed her eyes.

She had to protect herself and leave this place.

As usual, Sherlock didn't come out of the apartment upstairs. Mrs. Hudson was very tolerant of him. Even if he didn't want to go out, the kind Mrs. Hudson was still willing to take care of him.

This day was no different from usual. Except for Watson's absence, the whole apartment was very quiet.

Mrs. Hudson finally brought some dinner upstairs. Probably because the night made her sentimental, she actually sympathized with Sherlock again.

"Sherlock, are you okay?"

Mrs. Hudson put the dinner on the coffee table and said worriedly, "You haven't been out for almost a week. In the past … at least when Mr. Lestrade came, you would go out for a walk."

Sherlock sat up from the sofa and walked to his friend. "I'm fine, Mrs. Hudson.

By the way, where are the two children today? "

"They —" Mrs. Hudson recalled. "They ran away after Mr. Lestrade came."

Sherlock frowned. Yes, he had forgotten that they used to steal for a living. How could they not be afraid of the police?

"Didn't they leave anything behind?" Sherlock's voice was calm as he asked calmly.

Mrs. Hudson shook her head. "No, the child named Libella said that it was a very important letter, so she had to give it to you personally. I saw them go up and come down. I thought you had received the letter."

However, he didn't receive the letter.

Sherlock frowned, but didn't pay attention to the letter. Instead, he asked, "You mean Libella?"

"Yes, that beautiful girl," Mrs. Hudson recalled. "She was really beautiful. She didn't look like an Englishwoman."

"Of course not. Libella is an Italian name." Sherlock continued to ask, speaking faster. "Was she beautiful?"

"So she was Italian. No wonder she was so beautiful." Mrs. Hudson didn't seem to hear his question. She murmured to herself, "That child seemed to like you very much. By the way, when did you meet them? You should ask them to come over often in the future."

This sentence reminded him —

"Ask them to come over often?

You're right. In fact, I never told them my address, "Sherlock said." And with the character and courage of those children, they wouldn't come to my place to find me, unless someone told them they could come here — "

Libella.

It must be Libella again.

That strange Libella.

"Did Libella say when she would come again?

After all, I didn't receive the letter. "Sherlock continued," Did she leave any message before she left? "

Mrs. Hudson was a little confused by his attitude. "Sherlock, please, don't tell me you're interested in a child. God, please let her go. Besides, how can you chase a girl and wait for her to come to you?"

Sherlock said, "No, I'm not chasing her.

Tell me quickly, Mrs. Hudson, did she say when she was going to come again? "

You're still saying you're not chasing her?

Mrs. Hudson looked at him with a look of obvious disbelief, then stepped back. "She didn't say!

You just wait. You don't know how to take the initiative to find her — No, Sherlock, she looks like a child. "

Sherlock was speechless.