The female singer watched helplessly as the pale-skinned man on the bed walked towards her.
The latter's eyes shone with excitement, like a child who had discovered a novel toy, or with some kind of twisted attachment. The sick smile on his face was reflected on the scalpel in his left hand.
Irene Adler closed her eyes in despair.
But the next moment, there was a rumbling sound above the heads of the three people. This was the sound of the entrance to the secret room being opened.
However, when Zhang Heng and Holmes rushed down with revolvers raised, they froze on the spot.
They never expected that they would see such a bizarre scene.
The female singer was still tied up hand and foot, unable to move. Father Jacob stood there with a numb expression, while a strange middle-aged man at his feet fell in a pool of blood.
The latter had an expression of disbelief on his pale face, as if he had seen the most incredible thing in the world. His eyes were wide open and he looked at Father Jacob, as if asking why.
When Father Jacob saw Zhang Heng and Holmes, he threw away the bloody knife in his hand and said calmly, "You came just in time. I killed him."
Holmes squatted on the ground and checked the middle-aged man. Seeing the wound on the back of his head, he shook his head at Zhang Heng, "It's hopeless."
Zhang Heng stepped over the corpse, came to the female singer, untied the ropes from her hands and feet, and took away the rag from her mouth. As soon as Irene Adler was free, she rushed to the ground He was spitting, as if he wanted to get rid of the strange taste in his mouth.
Zhang Heng was actually ready to use the [Wall of Evil Thoughts] for the last time, but fortunately Holmes found the entrance within three minutes.
When they rushed in, they both thought they would encounter the murderer taking hostages, but the result surprised everyone.
The next moment, Zhang Heng heard the reminder that the main mission was completed. Although he still had a lot of doubts in his heart, now was not the time to dwell on such things. He and Holmes first used the tools they had obtained from the female singer. The rope tied Father Jacob up and nearby patrol officers were notified.
Holmes stayed where he was, guarding Father Jacob and waiting for the police to send additional manpower, while Zhang Heng sent the female singer home first.
Zhang Heng stayed at Eileen's residence until six in the morning before returning to 221B Baker Street. By this time, Holmes had also returned from the police station.
He looked contented and completely ignored the protest of his landlord, Mrs. Hudson. He took out his violin and played it. The melodious sound of the violin echoed in the room, but he didn't know that the neighbor in the next building was awakened. Do you also want to rush over and kill someone?
"It seems that you have figured out all the ins and outs." Zhang Heng said.
"It seems that you can go to the theater to listen to operas for free from now on." Holmes also said.
"…………"
"This may not be the most complicated case I have ever encountered, but it can indeed be regarded as the most interesting case." Holmes put down the violin and finally turned the topic back to the case.
"Father Jacob made a mistake when he was young and had an illegitimate child with a prostitute. Although I personally don't think it was his child, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that it was his child all along. In his heart, he is willing to regard that child as his own flesh and blood, or in other words, he is using this method to punish himself and atone for the mistakes he made back then."
Zhang Heng had actually already learned about these things from Irene Adler, so he was not surprised at all and motioned for Holmes to continue.
"The birth of this child was a mistake. He was the product of an impulse between a priest and a prostitute. The relationship between the two of them was not even love. He was abandoned by his mother since he was a child, and his father was in love with him for his own sake. His reputation can only send him to an orphanage. Growing up in such an environment, his character will inevitably become withdrawn and gloomy. Father Jacob said that there are seeds of evil buried in his body, but in fact I hold a different view on this. View."
Holmes lit his pipe, "Both the police and Father Jacob himself believed that Jack the Ripper murdered the prostitutes out of revenge for his biological mother hastily giving birth to him and then abandoning him, but I think he was more likely to take this scene seriously." Murder was used as a ritual to search for the origin of his life. Of course, at the same time, like many serial killers, he also longed for the world's attention. The letter sent to the newspaper is the best illustration."
"Uterus?" Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, I think the uterus is a very important symbol in this case. It is related to reproduction and is also the place where embryos are gestated. Jack the Ripper took away the victim's uterus, which means that he hopes to find his own place. The targets he chose were prostitutes who had given birth to children, drank alcohol and lived with others. Through these characteristics, he connected these victims with their biological mothers. When he committed the crime, he could indeed feel the connection between himself and the target again. The connection is like finding his mother, and it's amazing, isn't it? Emma gave him life, and he took life away from those substitutes, just like a complete reincarnation."
Holmes blinked, "Of course, the latter part is just a conjecture of mine. Jack the Ripper is dead. I guess this conjecture of mine will never be confirmed... Speaking of Jack the Ripper, we Going back to Father Jacob, I must admit that his role in this case was beyond my expectation. Do you remember our previous speculation?"
"Um?"
"We all agreed at the time that there was no conspiracy, so I was briefly confused when you ended up reconnecting Father Jacob and Jack the Ripper through Mark Cohen, and it turned out that Father Jacob was not an accomplice of Jack the Ripper."
Holmes continued, "Jack the Ripper lived silently in the secret room under the confessional of the Sacred Heart Church, which allowed him to hear many secrets that should not have been known to a third person. When he first committed the crime, Father Jacob Indeed, he did not know that he had committed the case until he took the initiative to confess to Father Jacob. Father Jacob was thus caught in a dilemma. Of course, he did not want Jack the Ripper to kill anyone, but on the other hand, the latter It was his and Emma's child again, and he had reason to protect this child out of the desire to make up for his previous debt.
"So he made another wrong choice. He decided to conceal the matter and hoped that he could control the beast. At the same time, he also made other preparations and began to consciously guide Mark, who also had mental illness. Cohen, using the latter as bait to mislead the police investigation was a reasonable choice from the father's position.
"But he obviously overestimated his abilities and underestimated Jack the Ripper's long-suppressed morbid psychology, so there was a second and third murder, and things were spiraling out of control. It was also at this time that Father Jacob began to realize that he had no ability to prevent Jack the Ripper from committing the crime. It happened that Miss Adler came to the door at this time. The characteristics she displayed were perfectly in line with what Jack the Ripper had been looking for. , so Father Jacob kidnapped her, but not as a sacrifice to the devil, but as a test question for Jack the Ripper.
"He wanted to see with his own eyes whether his son had really defeated the devil in his heart and would not commit crimes again, as he had promised many times, but the result disappointed him... Judging from Jack the Ripper's reaction, he Knowing that as long as the latter is still alive in this world, there will be another victim and innocent souls will die, so in the end, he can only choose to kill the demon he created himself."
