Charlotte drained the last of her coffee, then pushed the empty cup across toward Russell.
"Alright, that's enough with the pointless banter. A refill, if you please, Mr. Assistant."
Russell shrugged, took the empty cup, and brewed Charlotte another cup of richly fragrant coffee.
"So, what's next?" Russell asked, setting the coffee down in front of Charlotte.
"Shall we save a spot for Emily Collins on the wanted list too?"
"No, of course we can't do that," Charlotte said, then picked up the cup and blew on it gently.
"Emily Collins is our key to finding Pilsen. How could we possibly put her on a wanted list?
If she ends up on it too, then they'll know we've uncovered the connection between her and Pilsen.
By then, Emily Collins going into hiding would be the least of it. If Pilsen abandons her, that would be the worst possible outcome."
Charlotte took a sip of coffee and continued.
"Emily Collins is Pilsen's safe harbor, and she's also his eyes and his hands and feet.
Pilsen can use her to make contact with the outside world—which means, conversely, we can use Emily Collins to trace Pilsen's location in reverse."
"So the situation right now is... cast a long line to catch a big fish?" Russell grasped her meaning.
"Mm," Charlotte nodded slightly.
"We'll have Lestrade ease up on the patrols in the Southwark District first, to create the illusion for Pilsen that the heat is gradually dying down.
Only then might he let his guard down, and only then might he let Emily Collins—or even himself—come out into the open."
As she spoke, she rose to her feet, walked over to the evidence board, and reached out to touch the map on it.
"Southwark's level of policing and cost of living are both more than Pilsen and Emily Collins can afford right now.
The main thing is to have Lestrade send plainclothes officers to keep a close eye on those three areas—Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, and Walworth.
Especially the cigarette peddlers. If Pilsen wants a smoke, chances are he won't go buy them himself.
His face is far too recognizable. There's no way the people of the Southwark District wouldn't know him, so in all likelihood he'd send Emily Collins to buy them for him.
So all we need to do is watch which cigarette peddler has recently sold cigarettes to a woman."
"Cigarettes still aren't all that common among women, but it's not as if none of them smoke, is it?" Russell couldn't help but point out.
"Especially for people living in places like Bermondsey or Rotherhithe—smoking is one of the few ways left to relieve stress, regardless of gender."
"But Emily Collins is a special case, isn't she?" Charlotte countered.
"With her looks and her air, in a place like Bermondsey or Rotherhithe she'd be no different from a glowing firefly. It would be hard for her not to draw attention."
Charlotte leaned against the evidence board, arms folded across her chest.
"Going by what you just said—even if there really are quite a few women who buy cigarettes, they'd surely all be regulars.
And a young, beautiful woman who obviously doesn't belong in a place like that, buying cheap cigarettes at five for a penny—if it were you, would you forget her at a glance?"
"No," Russell shook his head honestly. "I'd only wonder whether it was one of the Master's tasks."
"Well, there you have it." Charlotte shrugged.
"As long as Lestrade's men are sharp enough, finding them is just a matter of time."
"It does... seem to make sense when you put it that way," Russell nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the most basic common sense," Charlotte corrected, then turned and walked back to the sofa, sitting down again.
"Actually, I'd originally been thinking of making a trip to Walworth."
She held her coffee cup, suddenly speaking up.
"What for?" Russell was puzzled.
"To visit Emily Collins's apartment, of course," Charlotte said. "Even though Moriarty has already been there once, I still wanted to go see it with my own eyes.
Who knows, there might be some new discovery?"
"So why did you drop the idea?"
"To be precise, I didn't drop it," Charlotte paused. "It's more that I've shelved it."
"So, what's the reason?"
"I'm not certain whether Emily Collins might suddenly go back to check on the place," Charlotte said.
"It wouldn't be good if she noticed someone had been there and it made her needlessly suspicious."
At that, Russell raised an eyebrow, suddenly struck by a thought.
"But didn't Moriarty already go there once... and even dig through the person's rubbish bin?"
"Wouldn't that—" he said hesitantly, "wouldn't that cause a problem?"
"If that fellow only dug through the rubbish bin, then it shouldn't be enough to—" Charlotte thought for a moment, then said.
"That area's a mess to begin with. Even if it were noticed, at most she'd suspect one of the neighbors had sticky fingers."
Hearing this, Russell relaxed a little, then cast his mind back for a moment.
If he remembered correctly, judging from the state of the room at the time and the household refuse in the rubbish bin, it seemed Emily Collins hadn't been back for quite some time.
Several days on end without returning to the apartment, yet without renting a new one either.
So where could she be hiding?
Russell couldn't help but knit his brow.
"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Russell drift off, Charlotte reached out and snapped her fingers at him twice.
Russell came back to himself, glanced at Charlotte, then shook his head.
"Nothing, just wondering where these two might be hiding."
"The Southwark District is so vast—hiding two people is hardly a difficult matter," Charlotte said. "Rather than waste time pondering that sort of question, you'd do better to think about how you're going to make my two fried eggs tomorrow."
"And how do you intend to have them?" Russell shot back.
"One with a runny yolk, one cooked through," Charlotte said.
"..." Russell looked at her in silence.
"What, is that too difficult for you?" Charlotte arched an eyebrow. "If it's too hard, both cooked through is fine too, I don't mind."
"No, I'm just marveling," Russell shook his head.
"How does someone manage to perform 'give an inch, take a mile' so vividly?
Don't tell me this is what they call the science of deduction."
Charlotte paid no attention to Russell's snide remarks, merely picking up the still-steaming cup of coffee and sipping it in small mouthfuls.
Seeing this, Russell sighed helplessly and nodded in resignation.
"Understood."
As he spoke, he gave a yawn.
"I'm off to rest. Look after yourself—if you stay up too late and can't get up, breakfast waits for no one."
"I don't need you to remind me," Charlotte waved a hand, shooing Russell away.
Once more, only Charlotte was left in the room.
She flipped through a few more pages of the files, but her attention wasn't on them.
Only after the room had gone quiet did Charlotte set down what she was holding and look toward the door, recalling in her mind what Vanessa had said to her during the day.
"Controlling the variables, is it..."
the girl murmured softly.
"This variable isn't nearly as easy to control as one might imagine..."
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