Zhang Heng and Holmes rushed to the church as quickly as possible. The rusty copper lock on the door obviously couldn't stop them. Holmes knocked on it with his cane... Unexpectedly, nothing happened to the old-looking lock. .
Then he stepped aside and watched as Zhang Heng took out his revolver and fired a shot at the lock. The two finally rushed into the church.
Just like Father Jacob's residence, there is no one here. The moonlight shines through the stained glass and falls on the bench, creating an inexplicable sense of solemnity and solemnity.
"Find the entrance." Zhang Heng said to Holmes, and the two dispersed.
…………
At this time, Irene Adler, who was underground, also heard the movement above. She twisted her body, but now her hands and feet were tied up, unable to move at all, and her mouth was blocked, so she could only utter The sound of whining.
Father Jacob seemed oblivious to the gunshots above his head. He was standing in front of a wooden table praying.
But what frightened the female singer was another person in the room. He was a man, aged between thirty and forty years old. His skin was a little abnormally white compared to ordinary people. He seemed to have very few Seeing the sun, his beard looked like it had not been shaved for a long time. His body was very thin, but his arms had a lot of muscles. He was wearing an old coat and was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at Eileen with interest. .
The priest seemed to know what the female singer was thinking, and said calmly, "They won't be able to get in for a while. This secret room was built in the Middle Ages to protect people in the church from wars. Even if they want to dig it, they can't." It cannot be dug out in a short while.”
The female singer finally stopped twisting after hearing this.
At this time, the pale-skinned man sitting on the bed spoke and said impatiently, "It's not ready yet, can I do it?!"
"Don't worry, wait a moment." Father Jacob did not look back.
He took out a blood-stained leather apron from under the table and continued to say to Eileen, "You must be curious why we chose you... It's all because of me, because of a mistake I made when I was young. "
"Can't we save the story for later?" The pale-skinned man on the bed said impatiently. He moved his eyes to the leather apron and immediately became excited.
"This won't take long," Father Jacob said. "Remember what I told you, be polite and patient."
The pale-skinned man on the bed closed his mouth again, but a sickly blush appeared on his face.
Father Jacob's voice continued, "Like I said, I made a mistake. I was only 19 years old at that time. Father Matthew wrote to the church saying that there were not enough manpower at the Sacred Heart Church, but At that time, not many priests were willing to come to the East District. I was young and energetic at the time, so I volunteered to come and help.
"I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable with the life here at the beginning. I come from a squire family. I came to London when I was 16 years old and have been with Father Abelson. We have also come to the East End to visit here. A poor family, but this is completely different from living here, so I was a little depressed at that time. I wanted to go back to find Father Abelson, but I was afraid that others would think that I couldn't endure hardship. At that time, I met a girl. .”
"She is a prostitute in this area, her name is Emma, but she just entered the industry not long ago, she was only sixteen years old. Because her father died and her mother ran away with another man, she had no choice but to engage in this industry to support herself. But unlike other prostitutes, she comes to church every week, and that’s how we met.”
"Probably because we are about the same age, she felt that I was different from other people in the church, so she would come to chat with me from time to time. It happened that I was also depressed at that time, and she was the one comforting me most of the time. "Father Jacob seemed to be lost in memories.
"Father Matthew warned me, but I didn't take it too seriously. On the contrary, I felt that I was doing a good deed and guiding a lost soul, and I was very proud of it. Until one night, she came to me again. By that time, she was already very old. It was too late, she was beaten by a savage guest, and her arm was scratched by glass fragments. I bandaged her, and when I got up, she secretly kissed me. I froze on the spot, and my mind went blank at that time. Then she rushed forward. I wanted to push her away, but I didn't know why I couldn't use the strength. So, the next thing happened naturally.
"She left before dawn, leaving me alone. It was only then that I realized what I had done. I regretted and was embarrassed. I knew that I had failed many people's expectations, Abelson, Father Matthew... Especially for myself, whatever happened that night should not have happened for whatever reason. I wanted to fix everything. From then on, I consciously began to distance myself from Emma. She came to the church several times to find me, but I pretended not to be there. , I locked the door at night and refused to open it no matter who knocked. So after a while, she finally disappeared from my life.
"I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I could be relieved, but I didn't expect that this was just the beginning of a nightmare."
When Father Jacob said this, the pale-skinned man on the bed urged again, "Can we start?" As he spoke, he took out a scalpel from under the pillow.
"Give me a little more time." Father Jacob's voice was unquestionable, so the pale-skinned man could only put the scalpel back.
"Almost a year later, I picked up a baby at the door of the church and a letter. There was no signature on it, but I could recognize it as Emma's letter. She said this was our child. There was no evidence, but I didn't know. Why, I believe what she said." Father Jacob paused and repeated, "...I just believe what she said."
The female singer's eyes also changed when she looked at the pale-skinned man on the bed.
Seeing Irene's surprise, Father Jacob nodded and said, "Yes, he is the child back then. I sent him to the orphanage, but his life there was not good. After he came out, I helped him in the orphanage. I found several jobs in the hospital, but they didn’t last long. Father Matthew had almost retired five years ago and moved to the suburbs. I was the only one left in the Sacred Heart Church, so I asked him to move downstairs. I told him He told me about his mother and me, and I originally just wanted him to know his life experience, but I didn’t expect him to believe that he had such a miserable life entirely because of his mother.”
"Can we start now?! Father Jacob." The pale-skinned man on the bed urged him countless times. His patience was almost completely exhausted.
"She is yours. I have never allowed you to call me father in the past, but now, you can call me father." Father Jacob said lightly.
