On the morning of May 10th, as several container trucks loaded with the military collections left by Mr. Henry queued up to drive out of Mrs. Kate’s mansion, Weihan could be considered to have received payment for this historical investigation.
All commissions.
Although on the surface, his investigation process only involved demolishing a few floors, perhaps because he happily agreed to help Mrs. Kate find Vanessa, the other party actually paid an extra bonus.
——A blue and white Volkswagen T2 van imported from Brazil a few years ago.
"Is this car going to be sent back to the small western-style building in Jinmen?"
Suisui, who came over immediately with the Katenka sisters and Lola after finishing her work the day before yesterday, pointed to the van parked in the yard and gave her suggestions.
After receiving Wei Ran's request for help, she immediately came with her dual-card assistant, so she naturally had the right to handle the additional commission - at least that's what she thought.
"Why are you sending them there?" Wei Ran asked puzzledly, "You probably won't be able to get on the road even if you send them back, right?"
“Present to look good”
Suisui gave an impeccable reason, "Don't you think this retro car matches the temperament of that small building?"
"It matches, it matches very well."
Wei Ran gave a 100% correct response without even thinking about it. Then, he asked again, "But how do you transport this thing back?"
"Leave this to me! It can be solved with just one phone call."
Suisui clapped her chest and made a confident assurance, looking confident that "I have a way out."
After arranging the last little thing, Suisui asked, "As for you, how is your job search going?"
"Don't ask me this question. I asked you to bring Sister Katenka here to solve the problem of finding someone, right?"
Wei Ran said as he looked at the Katenka sisters sitting on a bench in the courtyard not far away, "Anfiya, how is the investigation going?"
"Based on the Internet search based on the information given by the boss in the past two days, I found that there is a 'Vanessa Binoche's Tailor Shop' in Saint-Omer, France, which is very likely to be related.
My sister had called the store 20 minutes ago and sent the photos provided by the boss. The tailor shop employee who answered the phone is contacting their boss for verification, and I believe there will be news soon."
Anfiya immediately replied, but the real situation, not to mention Suisui, even her biological sister Anfisa didn't know. Wei Ran gave her not only those old photos and letters, but also provided her with a lot of information.
Few addresses located in various parts of UK, France and Germany.
According to a historian, "The clues and answers are given to you, you just need to solve the problem of how to connect the clues and answers."
There is no doubt that such a lazy and cheating arrangement by the historians has inevitably once again strengthened Anfiya's heart: "The boss really controls a European and American intelligence network that is as terrifying as the Cold War era." This horror will really make her tremble.
guess.
"Have you found anything else?" Wei Ran asked pretending to be curious.
Don’t you know better than me whether I have found it or not?
Anfiya rolled her eyes at the boss in her heart, but said in a pretentious manner, "Another clue came from Rothenburg, Germany. I found Uncle Louis Basten mentioned by Mrs. Kate, and I was extremely convinced.
It's him."
"Have you contacted the other party?"
Suisui hurriedly asked before Wei Ran. At the same time, Anfisa translated the conversation between them into English that Mrs. Kate could understand.
"not yet"
Anfiya said, already turning up the brightness of the tablet in her hand and placing it on the table next to her, "Still searching through the Internet, I found a small local fruit wine workshop in Rothenburg. This is
It was found through a targeted search based on the address mentioned in Mr. Phil's suicide note, so there must be nothing wrong with it.
The most important thing is, I found the exact same photo of Mrs. Kate’s Uncle Louis on their official website.”
After she finished speaking, Anfisa also completed the simultaneous interpretation. Mrs. Kate came to the screen and took a look, and then said with certainty in French, "Yes, it can't be wrong, that's Uncle Louis's photo!"
"
At this moment, the mobile phone in Anfisa's hand also rang a pleasant ringtone. After the girl answered the phone and chatted for a few words, she gently covered the phone and said, "The caller is a person.
A woman named Heidi Binoche said her mother was the Vanessa Binoche we were looking for."
Just this sentence made Mrs. Kate cover her heart and burst into tears. However, Marta, who seemed to be standing right next to her, had already rushed to Mrs. Kate's daughter and ex-son-in-law with the words of a field doctor before Mrs. Kate's daughter and former son-in-law could react.
With professionalism, she quickly put the blood pressure monitor cuff on her arm and began to inflate it. Lu Xinda, who was waiting next to her, also quickly took out the electronic blood pressure monitor that Marta had just bought yesterday and pressed the start button.
Ready.
While Marta was taking Mrs. Kate's blood pressure, Anfisa also handed the phone to Mrs. Kate with Wei Ran's nod.
What was said in the subsequent communication between the two on the phone was not clear to Wei Ran and others who deliberately gave up the space for conversation. Even Marta and Lu Xinda, who were closest to Mrs. Kate, were also confused because of Kate and the phone.
The person on the other end switched to French to communicate and could no longer understand what was being said.
The call lasted far longer than everyone expected. It took almost an hour. When the retro van that Suisui was interested in was taken away and sent to an unknown place, Mrs. Kate finally
Hang up the phone and return the phone to Anfisa.
"Aunt Heidi lives in Liverpool now"
Mrs. Kate wiped her tears and said, "She said that her mother spent the rest of her life cursing Mr. Spear for killing her sister, but she never expected that the truth would be like this."
"Is Ms. Vanessa still alive?" Wei Ran asked deliberately, "I mean, Ms. Heidi's lost sister, is she still alive?"
"She passed away 20 years ago"
Kate sighed, turned to look at Alice beside her, and said in English, "Alice, call Henry's children. Aunt Heidi is planning to rush over tomorrow to go to Heidi's grandmother's cemetery.
have a look.
By the way, she also wanted to move Grandma Heidi and Mr. Spear to Liverpool for her mother, but these matters must be present in the presence of Henry's children, and only they are qualified to make decisions.
And I think we should take the initiative to find ways to resolve the conflicts and misunderstandings that have been left to our generation."
"I'll call them right now." Alice had already taken out her cell phone before she finished speaking.
Seeing that he no longer had anything to do, Wei Ran waited for Anfiya to help translate, then said in French carefully, "Mrs. Kate, it seems that my work is over. I believe that the next communication between you will be unnecessary.
We are the last historian, so we plan to say goodbye first and take advantage of the beautiful weather to have a nice walk around Brighton and even the whole of the UK.
Also, I’m afraid you need to contact the German brewery that the girl just found through the Internet.”
She had just finished speaking when Anfiya had already handed over a piece of paper with her contact information written on it.
"I'll contact Uncle Louis personally later."
Kate gratefully took the note, "Victor, I don't know how to express my gratitude. I didn't expect that the mystery that has troubled Henry and I for most of our lives would be..."
"Let the tragedy end soon"
Wei Ran smiled and said with relief, "And I also got Mr. Henry's collection. This is the best thank you."
After bidding farewell to Mrs. Kate in a few words, Wei Ran, Suisui, Katenka and others got into the commercial vehicle driven by Carlos' lawyer and left the mansion.
"Will you stay here next?" Wei Ran asked Carlos' lawyer as the car drove out of the yard.
"certainly"
Lawyer Carlos looked like he was used to it, "It is also the job of lawyers to deal with family disputes."
"In this case"
Wei Ran smiled and said, "Please let me know if there is any progress on Mrs. Kate's side. I'm also curious about how they will end."
"I will share the information with you without reservation within the scope permitted by the law," lawyer Carlos said jokingly, "What about you? Go back to Kazan?"
"That depends on where the girls plan to go." Wei Ran spread his hands, "Unless there is any new job."
"I don't have any jobs to recommend to you recently."
As lawyer Carlos spoke, he had already driven the car into the parking lot of a beach not too far away. "However, if you are interested, I can try to persuade Mrs. Kate and Henry's children to continue discussing the matter.
The story of the buoy was made into a movie.”
"You'd better talk to Mr. Culp about this matter."
Wei Ran opened the car door as he spoke, "I'm just a historian, I'm not interested in directing the filming of any movies."
"I will contact him," lawyer Carlos said with a smile, "I wish you a happy stay in Brighton."
"thank you for your good wishes"
Wei Ran smiled, and after the girls got off the car, he watched lawyer Carlos drive away from the parking lot.
While Lola was driving over the business car they rented last night, Wei Ran asked Suisui, "Now that the matter has been resolved, where are you going to go next?"
"It's up to you"
Suisui is quite experienced, "From what I know about you, every time you investigate something, you will always come back to see it like a murderer.
Anyway, we all have time, and the overseas students and employees at home have also organized a group trip to Moscow during the holidays, so you can arrange it, we can go anywhere."
Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled and said, "If you don't plan to spend two days in Brighton, let's go to France across the English Channel!"
"Then go to France! Anyway, no matter how beautiful the scenery is, there is no special food here."
After Suisui finished speaking, she asked, "Where should we go in France? Is it Saint-ul-April or Paris? If you go to Paris, you can find a rich woman to have a meal with."
“Let’s all go and see”
While Wei Ran was talking, Lola had already driven the car in front of everyone. He was busy carrying the girls' luggage into the trunk and said, "But before that, let's go to Castle Philip first."
"Philip's Castle? Where is that place?" Suisui asked curiously.
"There is a very beautiful lighthouse there, and it is close to Dunkirk." Before he finished speaking, Weiran had already stuffed the last suitcase into the trunk, letting Lola drive the car and carry them all.
Unhurriedly, we drove towards London.
Not to mention the journey from Brighton, which belongs to the United Kingdom, to Chateau Philippe, which belongs to France. They even took a leisurely rest in London for a day before continuing on their way.
When Wei Ran once again saw the lighthouse of Castle Philippe painted in a black and white spiral, he could not help but feel a little sad that things have changed.
Today, nearly eighty years after the war ended, this lighthouse has long been retired and converted into a niche attraction similar to a rural museum.
Walking into the interior of the lighthouse, the former basement no longer exists, and even the outside of the original brick lighthouse seems to have been reinforced with concrete.
According to the exhibition board in this lighthouse, at the end of World War II, the entire head of this lighthouse was blown off, and the tower was also covered with bullet marks. Even when the war was defeated, the retreating Germans took away the top of the tower.
lens.
Of course, this is just an introduction on the display board. According to a local old man their group met at the lighthouse, the person who stole the lighthouse lens was actually the British from across the strait.
But after all, the British helped them drive away the invaders, so the charge of stealing lights could only be left to the Germans.
However, compared to this rumor, which is impossible to tell true from false and is both absurd and true, no matter whether I asked the local old man in his fifties or sixties or read the display boards in the lighthouse, there was no mention that in 1940, there was a
There was a Jewish lighthouse keeper named Spear, and there was no mention that the lighthouse once had a basement containing fine wine.
The only detailed record here is that in 1949 after the war, the locals finally remembered that the lighthouse had been renovated and rebuilt, and that it had no longer been used for ship navigation since 1979.
Lola was still driving the rented car. In the car, the girls headed by Suisui were chattering about where to go and what local delicacies they should try after arriving in Saint-Omer.
Wei Ran, on the other hand, looked out the window at the familiar yet unfamiliar A He, who was inevitably a little distracted. Fortunately, this time there was no German chain dog chasing them behind them, and the road was much easier than before.
During the drive of more than an hour, Lola followed the navigation set by Anfiya and drove the car smoothly to Saint-Omer, and finally stopped at the door of "Vanessa Binoche's Tailor Shop".
Although a long time has passed, and although the surrounding buildings are completely different from before, Wei Ran noticed before getting off the bus that this tailor shop was not opened on the original site of "Heidi's Tailor Shop", but on
across the road where the "Reynold's Grocery" used to be.
Subconsciously looking out the window at the other side of the road, he couldn't help but smile. There was a two-story building there. On the glass window on the side of the store door on the first floor, "Heidi" was clearly written in colorful paint.
"tailor shop", and a smaller one "also engaged in clothing repair, cleaning and ironing".
"Heidi's tailor shop! It's Heidi!" Suisui, who was sitting next to Wei Ran, couldn't help but exclaimed after following his attention.
"You go to Vanessa's tailor shop first." Wei Ran pointed to the other side of the road, "I'll go over there and have a look."
"Remember to come find us later"
As Suisui spoke, she already bent down and got out of the carriage. Following Sister Katenka, she took her personal doctor Marta and little nurse Lucinda into Vanessa's tailor shop.
After waiting for a moment, Wei Ran opened the car door on the other side, looked around, and walked through the not-so-wide street to the door of the tailor shop.
Through the extremely clean glass windows, he could see that the layout inside was the same as before.
The only regret is that the sliding anti-theft mesh door of this store has been locked, and there is a sign on it that reads "Closed for business, please go to the opposite side for custom-made clothing."
Smiling silently, Wei Ran strolled around to the side and took a look through the decorative hole on the courtyard wall.
After all this time, there is still a simple family air-raid shelter surrounded by flowers in this yard.
However, there is a lonely tombstone beside the air-raid shelter - "Vanessa Binoche".
"Heidi will be able to go home soon..."
Wei Ran muttered silently, turned back to the roadside, and walked into Vanessa's tailor shop with Lola, who had just parked the car.
The layout here is really not much different from that of the store opposite, and even the clothing styles sold are slightly retro.
Naturally, except for a few old people who come to mend clothes, the business here does not look very good.
But the female shopkeeper who looked to be in her fifties or sixties didn't seem to care. She didn't even stand up to greet so many young people who suddenly walked into the store. She just politely greeted the sound of the wind.
He said hello with the ringing bell and continued to concentrate on ironing a gray suit.
"Do we want to buy something?" Suisui lowered her voice and asked Wei Ran who had just come in.
"Is there anyone you like?" Wei Ran let the other person hold his arm.
"The card girl just asked for help. The ones displayed here are all trial samples. All styles of clothes can only be made to order. One set will take at least half a month, which is too long."
After finishing speaking, she pointed to the counter closest to the bar and said, "But they actually sell antique pocket watches here. I'm going to buy one."
Hearing this, Wei Ran walked over with great interest, only to find that there were at least hundreds of second-hand pocket watches in the display cabinet.
Copper cases, silver cases, and gold cases are all available. Correspondingly, the prices of these pocket watches are also ranging from low to high.
After some picking and choosing, Suisui bought a fashionable and accurate silver pocket watch at a high price of 55 euros, and ended her shopping in this store happily.
"Going to Paris next?"
After getting back into the car parked at the door, Suisui didn't wait for Lola to pick up the speed and asked while shaking the pocket watch in her hand.
“Go to Paris”
Wei Ran nodded happily. This time he asked Suisui to bring Kamei for help. He wanted to use the simplest and most direct excuse to let Mrs. Kate find Vanessa's descendants as soon as possible. On the one hand, with the cover of these girls,
A reasonable trip to Paris is another.
After hearing what Wei Ran said, the young driver Lola immediately increased her speed slightly. According to the navigation display, this place is more than 250 kilometers away from Paris, and it would take her three and a half hours of continuous driving to get there.
Almost at the same time that Lola drove the car out of Saint-Omer, Wei Ran's cell phone also heard a pleasant ringtone.
"It's Lawyer Carlos calling."
As Wei Ran spoke, he answered the phone and pressed the speakerphone button.
"Victor, are you still in Brighton?" Lawyer Carlos asked as soon as the call was connected.
"We are on our way to Paris"
Wei Ran smiled and replied, "We can see the Eiffel Tower in ten minutes at most."
"In that case, let me take up these few minutes before you see the Eiffel Tower."
Lawyer Carlos said with undisguised pleasure, "Now is the time for intelligence sharing."
"It seems there is good news?"
“Good news indeed”
There was already a deep smile in Lawyer Carlos' tone, "Just now, Henry's children, Kate and her daughter understood each other, and as a family, they entertained Heidi who came from Liverpool.
Ms. Binoche, and Mr. Louis Basten, whom Kate personally invited from Rothenburg, Germany."
After a pause, lawyer Carlos continued, "According to their deliberations, Heidi Binoche, of course, I am talking about the lady who escaped from France to the UK in 1940. She and her fiancé Mr. Spear,
It will be moved to a farm in Liverpool on September 15 this year. At that time, Vanessa, who was separated from them back then, will also be moved to that farm."
"It seems that their family can finally be reunited," Wei Ran said with a smile.
"Yes, there is no better ending than this."
Lawyer Carlos said as if he just remembered, "Also, Mr. Louis, whom you haven't met yet, plans to give you a gift."
"What gift?" Wei Ran and Suisui, who was listening to Kami's translation, looked at each other.
However, lawyer Carlos gave it a try and said, "The gift is already on the way. You will probably see it when you return to Kazan."
"Looks like I have to go back early."
"It doesn't matter if it's late, that gift probably won't come too soon."
At this point, lawyer Carlos also changed the subject, "So you are going to Paris to find Miss Kou Kou?"
"Afflor was busy with her business all around Labor Day."
Wei Ran looked at Suisui again and continued with a smile, "So she wants to find good friends to go on vacation together."
"I wish you a happy stay in Paris" Carlos sent his blessing again.
After Wei Ran exchanged pleasantries and hung up the phone, Suisui opened the car window, holding the pocket watch she just bought and peering out.
"What are you touching?" Wei Ran asked curiously.
"I'll see if I can see the Eiffel Tower in ten minutes." Suisui's serious tone immediately made all the girls in the car laugh.
"Lola, Aurora hopes to see the Eiffel Tower within ten minutes, so please drive faster." Wei Ran said equally seriously.
"We should have rented a French fighter jet and rushed on the road," Lola said helplessly.
Among the many girls joking with each other, the three-hour drive seemed much shorter. But even so, when they arrived in Paris, it was already the evening when the sun was setting.
"You are finally here!"
Before Lola could park the car, Kou Kou, who had greeted her at the school gate in advance, opened the car door from the outside and got in familiarly, "Go directly to my house! We can have a good drink tonight!"
"Isn't your grandfather at home?" Suisui asked the other party to sit down next to her while the Indian housekeeper Tantu replaced Lola's driving job.
"He went back to the town where we used to live."
Coco waited for Laura to get into the carriage, and immediately closed the door and said, "We will continue to run our old butcher shop, and by the way, we are going to get married to the widow who runs the bakery."
"What an enviable old age life," Wei Ran joked with a smile as the car started moving.
"You said that, I must have misunderstood something." Kou Kou laughed and made a joke about Wei Ran.
There was still laughter all the way, and in less than 20 minutes, the car drove into the underground parking lot of the high-end apartment where Kou Kou lived.
Deliberately one step behind, Wei Ran took advantage of helping the Katenka sisters unload their luggage and heard Anfisa say in a low voice in Italian, "Boss, you have bought all the things you want, and now they are just a few steps away."
It is placed in the fire exit of a shopping mall less than a kilometer away. We will suggest going to the shopping mall later, and I will remind you then."
"Okay" Wei Ran responded, not forgetting to pick up a huge suitcase.
"Do we need to arrange a route to transport it?" Anfisa asked in a low voice.
"Need not"
Wei Ran lifted the second suitcase down as he spoke, "I have already made arrangements."
Hearing this, the Katenka sisters couldn't help but look at each other, and then each nodded slightly.
