Chapter 27, Chapter 09: Is that you?
Chapter 09 "Is it you?"
In the internet age, almost no event can be completely covered up.
The Baker Street robbery is a case in point. This case, considered one of the most bizarre and controversial bank robberies in modern British history, continues to have scattered clues emerging from the public despite repeated official cover-ups.
It is said that there are a total of 268 safe deposit boxes inside the bank.
Afterwards, the bank released the names of 260 of the safe deposit box holders so they could claim their lost items or file further claims. The identities of the owners of the remaining eight safe deposit boxes have never been disclosed.
There has been no clear explanation from the authorities.
Meanwhile, the news report that was being broadcast live that day was abruptly stopped. Sources say this was at the behest of "higher-ups." As a result, the report was quickly halted, and unresolved questions were buried under a deeper silence.
Public opinion subsequently fermented.
The public is demanding the swift arrest of the perpetrators and hopes the police will provide a clear account of the true progress of the case.
Shortly afterward, rumors circulated from people claiming to be insiders, stating that this information control was related to the so-called "D Notice" (a state secret notice).
As the lockdown intensified, various rumors began to circulate. One of the most unsettling rumors concerned the eight unclaimed safe deposit boxes.
Some claim that one of the safes contained private video footage involving Princess Margaret.
Rumors about Princess Margaret's lifestyle have long circulated among the public, but there has always been a lack of publicly confirmed evidence. As a result, this claim has spread rapidly, yet remains unverified.
Or perhaps, some powerful figure is behind this robbery, orchestrating everything.
This confusion seemed to find an outlet on Milverton's new show, and it all came together in a concentrated burst.
In my opinion, this is a conspiracy theory. Why would important documents be stored in a bank on the street?
[What about the D notification and the police's vague explanation? The 1980 Medford robbery was carried out by an inside police force.]
[The information blackout may also be to prevent the hijackers from gaining information about the progress of the operation.]
The program has been airing for almost a month, and the police haven't reached any conclusions. I think they're unlikely to find the robbers.
In front of the fireplace on the second floor of 221B Baker Street.
Sherlock Holmes leaned back on the slightly worn, dark red leather sofa.
The light from the tablet reflected in his sharp gray eyes. The scrolling comments on the screen did not help him think; instead, it was as if he had been thrown into a bustling city, surrounded by empty, individualistic words.
So the barrage of comments, which lasted for less than a minute, was quickly shut down by Sherlock Holmes.
Lestrade had come to him earlier, asking him to help find out the robbers' movements and location.
But Sherlock Holmes quickly refused.
With the help of state authorities, it's only a matter of time before they find several robbers with prior criminal records.
Furthermore, Sherlock Holmes also believed that MI6 was involved, otherwise the police wouldn't have suppressed all the complaints the fried chicken shop had made, even after four or five complaints.
Even if the robbers in this heist are found, they are capable of escaping unscathed.
Sherlock Holmes's gaze is always drawn to the most subtle clues, rather than the obvious results.
In this case, what he noticed was something that seemed insignificant but could be crucial.
That is, the robbers' radio communication was interrupted.
"What's so special about this?" Lestrade asked, puzzled but with a hint of relief in his voice.
In his mind, the benefits outweighed the consequences of the radio outage that nearly prevented them from pinpointing the location of the crime.
It's important to understand that if the radio signal hadn't been interrupted, they wouldn't have been able to immediately follow Holmes's reasoning and prioritize Lloyds Bank as the focus of their investigation.
More importantly, this interruption meant that the lookout among the robbers could no longer relay outside information to their accomplices in the underground vault. This bought the police valuable time and created a small but decisive advantage for the manhunt.
They have basically determined the number of robbers and their basic physical characteristics.
Sherlock Holmes stood with his hands forming a tower of fingertips, his expression calm and focused. His aloof aura gave him an undeniable air of authority and mystery, even just sitting on the sofa.
He did not believe the radio outage was a coincidence, but rather a quality issue with the walkie-talkies used by the robbers.
The most crucial point is "timing".
Why did the radio stop working just as the police arrived?
If someone is manipulating things behind the scenes, how is it being done, who did it, and what is their purpose?
According to Lestrade, in addition to the CAME professional team, the following people were present at the time:
The first discoverer of HAM was Robert Rowlands, an enthusiast.
Lloyds Bank manager Tucker Rich;
Albert James Moriarty, representative of the trading company;
Charles Milwaldton, representative of CAME Corporation;
And his personal secretary, Jenny Agnes.
Cui Bono?
(Who benefits?)
Clearly, judging from the outcome, Charles Milverton, represented by CAME, is the one who benefited the most from this turmoil.
His show was far ahead of other online programs in the UK, taking a commanding number one spot. This outstanding achievement not only brought substantial profits to CAME, but also made Milwaldton a household name.
Beyond money, the advantages he gained were more subtle and crucial.
The Scotland Yard Commissioner, who had previously been investigated for police corruption, admitted to orchestrating a car accident to avoid being blackmailed by Milverton. This matter was ultimately resolved amicably by Milverton's legal team. From this perspective, the conclusion of this case signifies that Milverton has completely escaped the threat posed by the Scotland Yard Commissioner, and has regained control of the situation.
Therefore, he had a clear motive.
Perhaps he even reached some kind of tacit understanding with MI6, convincing the agents that they had to retrieve Princess Margaret's private video recordings from the underground vault. If every step was meticulously planned, there would be no need for an accidental event like a "walkie-talkie malfunction."
This is because it brings unknowns and unstable changes, and could very well lead to unexpected complications.
If everything had been prepared so thoroughly from the beginning, with even Manager Tucker Rich being able to make the necessary arrangements, they could have had CAME directly pinpoint the robbers' location and the Lloyds Bank.
In this context, the term "malfunction" seems superfluous.
Was it really just an accident?
Is it really just a problem with the walkie-talkie?
Sherlock Holmes stared at the program broadcast at the fried chicken restaurant on the night the crime occurred.
The fried chicken shop was still open at around 1 a.m., and offered a late-night beer discount, which attracted a small number of customers.
His gaze swept across every corner of the screen.
At 1:37 a.m., using the reflection on the wall of the fried chicken shop, Sherlock Holmes noticed that the automatic door of the fried chicken shop suddenly opened slightly by itself for a moment without anyone touching it, and then slowly closed.
In real life, it's not uncommon for these automatic doors to open and close on their own occasionally for no apparent reason. Neither the diners nor the restaurant staff gave them a second glance, paying no attention. Only Sherlock noticed the enhanced contrast of light and shadow on the walls in the program.
Similarly, this piqued the interest of Sherlock Holmes.
Just three or four minutes later, at 1:41 a.m., just as the police entered the Rowlands’ house to check the results of the radio search, the automatic door opened and closed again for no apparent reason.
Sure enough, someone was interfering with the radio waves.
Sherlock Holmes arrived at his answer, a bright smile appearing on his face like moonlight breaking through the clouds, but it was quickly replaced by calmness and dissipated in his sharp and deep gaze.
"It seems that this matter involves two forces."
It is extremely rare for two completely different styles of operation to appear in the same case.
After all, on the one hand, they arrange every step in an orderly manner, allowing the entire case to proceed step by step according to plan; on the other hand, they arbitrarily interfere, act arbitrarily, and are almost unpredictable, yet they are also leading to the same result.
Unless the planner has a split personality, there's no need for this kind of internal conflict between the left and right hemispheres.
Sherlock Holmes's soliloquy reached the ears of Lestrade, who was standing nearby.
Lestrade looked up from the case report in his hand, his brow furrowing even deeper. "Two forces? This case is already murky enough, is there more?" His voice was hoarse and filled with despair after working continuously.
Sherlock Holmes picked up his coat, poised to leave. "Your request isn't of any interest to me. Figure it out yourself."
Lestrade put down the file, the movement a little heavy. "If I could handle this, I wouldn't be here. Sherlock." He tried to sound businesslike, but a barely perceptible urgency lingered. "I'm the only one in Scotland Yard who has always believed in your abilities. You clearly have ways of convincing more people..."
“Lestrade, I don’t need anyone’s approval.” Holmes’ tone was calm, but full of undeniable certainty. “Have a few more coffees in your office. Someone will take over your task in the next couple of days. You don’t need to worry about so much.”
Lestrade watched his silhouette as he walked toward the door, knowing that asking any further questions would be futile.
He silently gathered the scattered documents on the table, only muttering a sentence to himself as Holmes' figure disappeared through the doorway, as if trying to convince himself: "Indeed, it's the Sherlock Holmes I know."
The sound of rapid footsteps descending the stairs could be heard.
Lestrade sat back in his chair, his gaze returning to the "radio interruption" log. After a long while, he sighed softly.
Even though they were in the same room, he couldn't keep up with Sherlock's train of thought at all.
Is the gap between us and geniuses really that huge?
Lestrade sighed again.
*
On the other hand, Sherlock Holmes was already standing in a minimalist and cold office at MI5 headquarters.
Mycroft Holmes sat behind a large solid wood desk, with no documents in his hand, seemingly having anticipated the intrusion.
The only sounds in the room were the low hum of the thermostat and Sherlock's undisguised footsteps.
"Albert is an MI6 agent."
Mycroft didn't reveal Albert's true identity completely, but Sherlock gleaned some answers from that statement. He noticed his brother's fingers tapping very lightly on the table.
This means "the topic ends here".
Mycroft was not only the elder brother, but also a representative of the British government.
Sherlock didn't care. He glanced at the security camera indicator in the corner of the room and made a direct request, "I need to access the surveillance footage from Baker Street."
Mycroft leaned back in his chair, adopting a scrutinizing posture.
He didn't ask why, nor did he say yes or no; he simply turned the monitor on the table in silence. The cold light from the screen reflected on his face, making his expression, which resembled Sherlock's but was even more enigmatic, seem unfathomable.
"I want to see Milverton on the night of the incident."
If Milwald could remotely control a radio in full view of everyone, he must have had the corresponding remote control. Since he was with other people the entire night, he couldn't possibly have dealt with the remote control; he could only have discarded it when he was alone.
The entire street has almost no blind spots or dead angles.
As dawn pierced the darkness, the world welcomed the twilight and sunrise that had been absent for a night.
After parting ways with Albert, the silver-haired youth's expression quickly returned to normal. But while waiting for his private car to pick him up, he found himself laughing to himself. Then, standing under a streetlamp, he talked to himself in a light and cheerful tone, as if he were having a pleasant conversation with himself.
After saying a couple of sentences, he paused, as if reminded, and then looked at the roadside camera, seemingly trying to make eye contact with Sherlock Holmes on the other side of the screen.
Milverton's lips curved slightly upward, carrying a flippant and nonchalant smile.
Who would actually believe I could get the whole of London on my side?
Is that you?
Milwaukee looked up, his gaze deep, staring at the camera for a long time, as if he were certain that someone was looking back at him from afar.
In the last second before leaving Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes did not see Milwaldton drop the remote control.
Perhaps he's not in a hurry, or perhaps he's being cautious.
However, what caught Holmes's attention even more was Milverton's smug and fearless demeanor.
This made him squint slightly. The cold light from the screen flickered for a final moment in his sharp gaze before he reached out and extinguished it.
Darkness instantly swallowed Milvolton's last image, but turned the screen into a blurry mirror, reflecting his own gray eyes, like the surface of a frozen lake.
"Is that you?"
The question hangs in the air, more like a blatant provocation, akin to naming and swearing when choosing an opponent.
Two cold, restrained flames burned in Sherlock Holmes's newly raised gray eyes.
It seems things are far more interesting than I imagined.
Mycroft's cold office, Lestrade's weary sighs, the rumors flying around the internet... all of these set the perfect stage for this confrontation.
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Author's note: He Ji once asked London for help with his program; the answer lies in "interrupting the radio".
Still from a third-person perspective, this "Pink Study" is being advanced.
20 random small red envelopes!! Thank you for your support! Special thanks for the comments! [cheering][cheering][cheering] Good night!
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