"It could also be a burglar breaking and entering," Russell said. "It just depends on which one you're willing to believe."
"Where was he hiding?" Charlotte ignored Russell's attempt at wit and asked instead.
"He was hiding next door in Mrs. Joey's home like a parasite, then using a mechanism inside the room to sneak into Ms. Davey's home." Russell shared his findings with Charlotte.
Hearing this, Charlotte raised an eyebrow, then stood up and walked into the bedroom.
As soon as she entered, her gaze was drawn to the bookcase. It had been pushed a certain distance to the right, revealing a space large enough for a person to pass through. Through this space, one could go directly to Mrs. Joey's bedroom. The section in the middle of the wall was just big enough to accommodate a person.
No wonder she had ruled out this place at the beginning; after all, this part was blocked by the bookcase from the start.
Charlotte stood up, left the bedroom, and returned to the living room.
She glanced at Russell, who was suppressing Lucas, and suddenly felt a bit curious.
"I couldn't tell before, but your skills are actually quite good?"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Russell replied.
Charlotte then turned her gaze to the telephone in the corner.
Sure enough, the telephone line had been cut. She fingered the severed end for a moment before letting go.
Just then, a surprised voice rang out from the doorway.
"My heavens, what are you doing!"
The two turned their heads simultaneously to see the doorway now crowded with people. Charlotte's flying kick earlier had nearly knocked the entire apartment loose.
[The onlookers, neighbors, felt fear and confusion regarding your violent behavior, Malice Points +40]
"Uh... although I really want to explain to everyone what happened, before that—"
Russell paused, ignoring the System notification in his mind, and flashed a smile at the elderly people at the door.
"Could you help me call the police first?"
·
·
Five minutes later, the carriage from Scotland Yard arrived downstairs.
Lestrade walked into the room, his first reaction being to look at the wooden door that had been kicked out of shape.
"Nice kick," he commented faintly.
He then shifted his gaze to Russell, Charlotte, and Lucas. At this moment, Lucas was tied up hand and foot, head hanging low, not saying a word.
"So..." Lestrade took a cigarette out of his pocket, then silently put it back under the gaze of the elderly neighbors. "Can someone explain to me what exactly is going on?"
"Do you remember a woman named Holly Davey?" Charlotte asked.
"Holly Davey..." Lestrade mused for a moment, then nodded. "I remember, the woman who said she was haunted by a ghost—wait, isn't this her home?"
Lestrade looked around, an expression of sudden realization dawning on his face. "What are you doing here?"
"We caught that ghost," Russell said, pointing at Lucas with his chin. "Illegal entry, hiding in neighbor Mrs. Joey's home, stealing the old lady's biscuits and milk. Then, taking advantage of Ms. Davey's absence, running over to her house to do some shady, perverted things."
Hearing this, the expression on Lestrade's face became even more complicated. What is all this?
"You say he ran to Ms. Davey's house when she wasn't home... but how did he do it?"
"Regarding that, just go take a look in the bedroom and you'll know," Charlotte didn't explain much.
Hearing this, Lestrade walked into the bedroom with a confused look, and walked out a while later with a face full of shock.
"My God..."
He looked at Lucas in disbelief, seemingly pondering how this guy managed it.
"Uh... Inspector, just a friendly reminder—that mechanism was there a long time ago, he didn't build it," Russell said. "He just accidentally discovered and utilized it."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" Lestrade turned to look at Russell.
"You wrote it on your face." Russell shrugged.
Hearing this, Lestrade subconsciously touched his face, then realized what happened and coughed twice in embarrassment.
"Ahem... alright, leave the rest to us," he said, then waved to his subordinates behind him. "Take him away."
Two officers stepped forward and hoisted Lucas, who had already given up resistance, off the ground.
Just as they passed Russell, Lucas suddenly stopped.
"I just... I just loved her..." he muttered to himself, as if making a final defense for himself.
"Save it for the judge, or tell Ms. Holly Davey herself," Russell had no interest in his defense. "See if she accepts your story."
Hearing this, the last glimmer of light in Lucas's hollow eyes extinguished. He no longer defended himself, no longer struggled, like a puppet whose soul had been drawn out, allowing the officers to drag him away.
[Lucas has fallen into deep self-doubt, Malice Points +60]
After Lucas was dragged away, Lestrade was pulled aside by the apartment manager. The manager seemed to say something to him, and when Lestrade returned to the two, his face wore a look of helplessness.
"So, about this... what do you plan to do?"
"Just deduct it from my consulting fee, you're welcome," Charlotte said without changing her expression, then put her hands in her pockets, preparing to leave.
Russell blinked, glanced at Lestrade, and seeing no reaction, immediately followed her. "There's actually such a thing as a consulting fee?" he asked curiously.
"Otherwise? Mycroft isn't going to send me living expenses." Charlotte shrugged.
The two got into the carriage and returned to Baker Street.
"Russell, how come you're back so early today?" Mrs. Hudson asked with some surprise upon seeing Russell.
"Today... didn't have many classes today, so school ended early," Russell made up an excuse casually, then followed Charlotte upstairs into the room.
"How did you and Mary Morstan think of the mechanism aspect?" Charlotte asked, sitting on the sofa.
"Call it a coincidence," Russell pulled up a chair and sat down. "When we were discussing this issue, Professor Fields discovered us. In a moment of desperation, Mary packaged the problem we were just discussing and pretended it was an academic discussion."
"And then?"
"And then Professor Fields got interested and started analyzing the problem. Mary and I saw this, so we simply added a few conditions, and finally came up with the result." Russell shrugged.
"Thanks to that, my final assignment is also settled. If you have a conscience, you'd better help me write a thesis proposal."
"I dare to write it, provided you dare to hand it in?" Charlotte asked back with a straight face. "Or do you expect me to defend it for you when the time comes?"
"...Then forget it." Russell shrugged.
Pausing for a moment, he thought of something else and asked curiously, "By the way, why did you kick the door down back then? You even pulled your gun out; it gave me a jump."
"...."
Charlotte didn't answer, only silently drank a mouthful of cold coffee. The porcelain white coffee cup hid the girl's expression, preventing Russell from seeing her reaction clearly.
It wasn't until the air had been silent for quite a while that her voice rang out in the room.
Very light, very low, very fast.
"I just didn't want to go find another assistant."
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