On September 6, at 8:20, the crisp sound of horse hooves and the sound of carriage wheels rubbing against the curb stones on the street came. Then, someone started ringing the doorbell.
Mr. Cat, who was leaning on the armchair, put down the coffee in his hand: "It sounds like a two-wheeled carriage." He stretched his neck and looked out the window: "Hmm... a very cute little carriage, and a pair of beautiful
of pure horses, worth at least one hundred and fifty guineas each, and it seems that we have a very wealthy client on our first case here."
Wang Xu was playing poker boredly at the side: "How do you know you are the client? Didn't you say yesterday that before a certain relationship is established in the private detective circle, there may not be any business coming to your door within a month?"
Mr. Cat didn't bother to explain how he deduced the fact that the other party was the client. Anyway, it was the same whether he said it or not, because the landlord, Mrs. Hodson, had already arrived at the door. After a brief knock on the door, she walked in with a hand in her hand.
A tray with a business card on it.
This sudden visit obviously made Mrs. Howardson quite unhappy. She said, "There is a gentleman downstairs who wants to see me."
Master Cat replied: "Ask him to come up."
Two minutes later, slow and heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs. The sound moved from the stairs to the hallway and finally stopped at the door.
A tall man walked in, really tall, at least no less than six feet six inches, with a broad chest and strong limbs. His clothes were gorgeous, and could even be described as magnificent.
The front of the double-breasted coat has lambskin trim at the slits. The dark blue cloak draped over the shoulders is lined with scarlet silk. There is a flame-shaped brooch pinned to the collar, and there is also a piece of inlaid in it.
Quite a small emerald.
In addition, he wears a pair of calf-high leather boots with dark brown fur trimmed on the boot cuffs, which directly gives people the impression of a rough and luxurious appearance. In the UK, guys who dress up like this on weekdays usually go out.
It is regarded as "typical vulgarity" by those "upper-class" cultural people.
"Who is Mr. Logan?" He looked at Mao Ye and Wang Xu with questioning eyes.
Cat Master said: "I am, this is my assistant Mr. Atkinson." (The pseudonym used by Wang Xu on his passport is Rowan Atkinson, because this is his favorite British comedian...)
"Are you... Chinese?" It was difficult to conceal the surprise on his face. You know... these days, the chance of meeting a Chinese in London is almost zero, and these two don't have pigtails.
"I think this has no impact on what we are going to talk about next. At least I think my English is pretty good."
The man glanced at Wang Xu again: "Mr. Logan, I hope your assistant is a decent young man and acts very prudently, otherwise I would rather talk to you alone."
Wang Xu thought to himself: This is not because I don’t know the goods, but because I am afraid of comparing goods. Maybe putting me in a crowd is not considered decent, let alone acting prudently. But when I stand next to a guy like Master Mao,
That awareness... that level...
Mr. Mao didn't know what Wang Xu was thinking about distracting him, so he replied without hesitation: "You can rest assured that in my business, I do the best job, especially in keeping the client's private information confidential, and Mr. Atkinson is like
He is my Boswell (the right-hand assistant of the famous British writer Johnson), he has a very professional professional ethics."
The man thought about it again and again before speaking: "Okay... first of all, I must clarify that the dignitary who sent me here is unwilling to reveal his true identity, so please don't ask..."
Mr. Cat interrupted him directly: "This nonsense will only take up my precious time. Please answer me a question first, who are you?"
Wang Xu was sitting next to him and was a little stunned. What he said just now sounded like human speech. Why did he change his attitude all of a sudden?
The man's expression obviously changed, and his palms were sweating: "What do you mean, I should have given you my business card. I am Count von Kram..."
Before he could finish the sentence, Mr. Cat snapped his fingers as if by magic, and the business card appeared in his hand, and then he threw it into the fireplace with a flick of his hand.
"Oops... I accidentally burned it. I didn't have time to see it..."
The client's eyes followed the flight path of the business card to the fireplace. He clearly saw that the business card was inserted into the stone on the edge of the fireplace... and then slowly turned into ashes.
Mr. Cat stood up, walked over and patted the man on the shoulder: "This business card is too new. It was just printed today. I have no interest in a fake name."
Wang Xu has no doubt about the correctness of this reasoning. Just a few days ago, Mr. Mao also talked to him about the production techniques and identification methods of various fake documents, etc., using their fake passports as an example, and also said
The story is roughly about how he used his excellent reasoning skills to find a local counterfeiting professional in London, and provided help and guidance to him, which raised his business level to a big level. As a result, people were so impressed that they fell into admiration.
Ask him for money...
Getting back to the topic, the client stood up suddenly and was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He paced back and forth quickly in the room. After about a minute of intense ideological struggle, he finally sat down again with an almost desperate attitude: "
Mr. Logan, you are much more capable than I thought... Please don't mind if I offended you in any way."
Mr. Cat also sat down again and returned to his polite attitude: "Of course I don't mind, then... please answer my previous question first, so that I can serve you better."
"Okay...my real name is Georg Gervais Giesmond von Elstein."
A sneer appeared at the corner of Mr. Cat's mouth: "Haha...a member of the royal family..."
Elstein replied: "Hey... it's no longer the case. As far back as the last century, my family was exiled because of a dissolute and spendthrift person. During the Regency period, my grandfather
All that was left was an old house passed down from his ancestors and a few acres of barren land. He drank and drank all year round, living the life of a lonely prince.
But my father changed everything. He borrowed money from some relatives to get a medical degree. He later went to Calcutta to practice medicine and made a prosperous life with his medical skills and natural resilience. He married my mother while he was in India.
My grandfather was a major general in the Bangladesh Artillery Regiment. He died young of a tropical disease, so after my father got married, he took my mother back to England and started a business.
In fact, his talent for business seemed to be even more outstanding. By the time I was a teenager, our family had become one of the richest families in England, with our property extending beyond the borders of the county, stretching as far north as Berkshire and as far west as
Our family's influence is spread throughout Hampshire.
I have said so much, and you may find it wordy. In fact, I just want to explain that my father attaches great importance to my character. He does not want me to repeat the behavior of the prodigal sons of my ancestors, so if I do something, he will This is intolerable, and he will even disqualify me from inheriting the inheritance."
Master Mao smiled and said: "So...your commission must be related to a certain lady."
Elstein sighed: "Yes, that's the thing. A few years ago, I had a relationship with a woman named Eileen Jones. She was so talented and beautiful that all other women paled in comparison. , all the men who have met her have fallen under her pomegranate skirt, and of course, I am no exception."
Master Mao interjected: "There is no need to tell me about your love history with her. I think you don't want to reveal too many private things. Just tell me what you need me to do."
Elstein replied: "It has been a while since we broke up, but she still has something that is very detrimental to my inheritance. It is an envelope. I have tried many ways to negotiate with her, but she She just refused to return it, and later I even hired someone to steal it from her house, but I searched her house three times and still couldn't find it."
Mr. Cat asked: "Oh...that's right...let me ask a few questions. First of all, have you ever been secretly married?"
"No."
"Then there shouldn't be any legal documents to prove your relationship, right?"
"No."
"I don't understand this. If it's just a few poorly worded love letters, how can she prove that the things are not forged? You know, with your status and worth, anyone who wants to forge something to blackmail you will never Not in the minority."
"That word is my note."
"Bah! I copied it!"
"I use personal letterhead."
"Stealed."
"The letter has my own seal."
"fake."
"And my photos..."
"I found someone to follow and take the photo."
"It's a photo of me and her..."
"Cut... PS."
"what did you say……"
"Hmm... slip of the tongue, wait... a group photo... could it be... that..." Mr. Cat's eyes suddenly became very ambiguous.
Wang Xu ignored them from the beginning and was playing cards by himself. At this time, he complained in Chinese: "If there is a chance, I should introduce him to Brother Guan Xi..."
Elstein said: "You should understand now. This matter has a great impact on me. I would like to ask you to use detective methods to deduce where she hid the things. As for how to get them, I can do it separately." Find someone to do it.”
Mr. Cat sneered: "You must have deigned to go to a very dirty tavern and ask the bartender who is the most unqualified and unknown detective in London, and then you found me here?"
"Yes..." He could only admit.
"You are pretending to be a messenger, as if you are seeking help on behalf of your boss or a friend. You are undoubtedly planning that when the matter is successful, we will still know nothing about your real customer, so there is no danger of leaking the secret."
"That's right." He continued to nod.
Mr. Cat took a sip of coffee: "You are lucky, sir, because you met us. If you find someone who can't see through the above things to help you, you will only fail in the end."
Elstein wiped his sweat with a handkerchief: "So, Mr. Logan, have you accepted this commission?"
Mr. Cat said: "Of course, but in terms of reward, I don't want money. I want you to do something for me."
Elstein thought for a while: "What is it?"
"Haha... don't be nervous, it's just a piece of cake for you."
