Chapter 34, Episode 23: Why did you do this...?
Episode 23 "Why did you do that?"
"Do you want to know how I got all the previous victims to choose that deadly capsule?"
The driver in front of me looked haggard. The instant our eyes met, I saw a strange light in his eyes, like a flame forcibly lit by a dying man, burning away his remaining life force.
Jeff Hope placed the two capsules into two small glass bottles, his movements slow and deliberate.
"I'll let you choose first."
This scene is almost identical to the plot of "Sherlock".
However, Sherlock chose a third path, which was to choose neither.
Jeff Hope pulled out his gun, pointed it at him, and said with a sneer, "Nobody will choose this path."
But his threat had no effect. From the moment he got into the car, Sherlock had already determined that the gun was fake.
The problem is that, even so, Sherlock still chose to get on the bus, and even after being provoked by Jeff Hope's words, he once again went along with the other party's rhythm and played this game of choosing one or the other.
In the final, fatal moment, Watson shot and killed the driver.
I remember feeling a sense of urgency when I saw that scene. But looking back, I feel that the scene didn't show Sherlock's composure in the face of the death game; instead, it was Watson's intervention that brought everything to an abrupt end.
This scene certainly gave Watson a brilliant highlight.
But I've been thinking, what if Sherlock had told Watson afterwards that as long as he hadn't swallowed the capsule, the killer wouldn't have been able to do anything to him? And what if Watson knew that his shot wasn't actually necessary?
So, could this become a heavy psychological burden for him?
But the Sherlock Holmes storyline never gave me such an answer.
I was thinking that the order of the plot could actually be changed.
For example, in a confrontation where one of the two options is chosen, Sherlock, relying on subtle changes in the other party's expression and his own professional knowledge, quickly determined that both capsules were essentially poison, catching the other party off guard and showing them that so-called psychological control was nothing more than a despicable and shameless trick.
As Sherlock prepared to leave, the driver finally lost his temper and decided to break his own rules and take action. Since he had already deviated from the original novel's portrayal of justice, he was naturally willing to use a real gun to deal with Sherlock's special situation.
At that moment, Watson chose to fire decisively. This was not just about getting him out of trouble, but about turning the tide in a truly unavoidable danger.
Of course, these are just my ideas.
After all, a script can strive for more rigorous logic, while reality itself is often absurdly illogical. At least for me, in either scenario, I would never be the one to be saved.
London: "They want you dead. Both vials are poisoned. You have ten minutes. If you don't make it, you're dead."
I asked, "Will someone shoot to save me during this process?"
London's voice remained as flat as ever, but instead carried an undisguised absurdity and astonishment: "Are you crazy? If someone else were to fire at this moment, they would only kill you first."
I see.
"Doesn't this mean I'm doomed?"
"London, why did you only tell me at this crucial moment?"
London remained silent for a moment, as if he didn't know what to say.
I didn't give it a chance to say more: "You don't care about me at all. You promised you'd love me for the rest of your life!"
London couldn't help but exclaim in disdain, "Stop talking nonsense. When did I ever say that?"
Ha ha ha ha!
I said, "You can keep track of the time for me."
To survive for ten minutes in this confined and secluded space, one must definitely find the opponent's fatal weakness.
However, before that, I followed the other person's instructions and started fiddling with the two bottles of medicine, thinking that I could buy myself some time.
This is the true meaning of "time is life".
In fact, in my previous life, I grew up almost entirely surrounded by medication due to my illness.
When I was in elementary school, my drawer was full of all kinds of medicine. When receiving traditional Chinese medicine treatment, sometimes I might have to take a whole bottle cap of brown pills at once. Each time, I had to carefully count them to make sure the number was exactly twenty-eight to thirty pills.
Actually, calculating the multiplier by batch can be easily solved.
Sometimes, I forget which cap it is halfway through, so I just prepare a whole bunch of caps at once, which saves me a lot of trouble.
My long-term experience with medication has instilled in me a certain habit.
Even just by glancing at their shape, casing, and the letters and numbers on them, I can quickly determine which category they belong to and where their dosage range falls.
Capsules are no exception.
The two pieces in front of me, except for the cap area, have transparent and uniform shells, clear seams, and a glossy surface that is not matte.
With just one glance, I dismissed certain possibilities.
This is clearly not an enteric-coated capsule.
Enteric-coated capsules are mostly made of cellulose acetate, which is insoluble in acidic environments, such as the highly acidic stomach. This allows the capsules to exert their medicinal effects effectively in the alkaline environment (intestines).
I originally wanted to exploit a loophole in their knowledge by keeping the medicine in my mouth instead of swallowing it directly.
It's important to know that the oral cavity is also a slightly acidic environment, making it quite difficult to dissolve enteric-coated capsules.
This way I can avoid swallowing poison.
But now it seems that that bit of luck was quickly crushed by reality.
These were just empty capsules that could be found anywhere on the market, but he filled them with poison himself.
To prevent the atmosphere from becoming too dry and the time from seeming to drag on, I asked, "You know which capsule is poison, right?"
Jeff Hope responded simply, "That's natural."
"So, if I let you choose first, you can accurately leave the poison for me, right?" I asked.
Jeff Hope looked a little strange and said, "You actually want me to choose first?"
I nodded.
The other party said, "Then I will definitely kill you."
I remained unmoved.
Because this is a fact that is visible to the naked eye, there is no room for surprise.
I put the two medicine bottles back in their original positions, and as I listened to the bottoms of the bottles hitting the wooden tabletop, I said to myself, "I know, you're not a bad person."
Do you know why I willingly got into your taxi?
“Because I found the dead woman’s phone.” I looked up at Jeff Hope and said, “Her browsing history was a news report about the murder of that girl four or five years ago. The report was abrupt, as abrupt as the death message ‘Rachel’ that the deceased left behind.”
"Judging from the way the message was written, the writing style was steady and composed, which is not like what the victim wrote before he died."
"Then who could have left a message? The only ones present are the dead and the murderer."
"Why did the murderer leave this message? Just like why the murderer didn't dispose of the phone in time, the murderer actually wanted to be discovered and wanted everyone to know the truth of the case."
"All the previous victims should be related to that case, am I right?"
At this point, I looked at Jeff Hope.
He wasn't panicked; instead, he smiled calmly, though the smile seemed more like self-mockery and disgust: "So you know why you were dragged here?"
I raised my chin. "It's obviously not because I know too much. After all, I'm only saying this now. If it's not because I'm afraid I'll reveal your identity and the whole truth, then it's obviously because I'm also on your blacklist. I'm also your murder target."
“But aren’t you afraid?” Jeff Hope found it unbelievable. “You even let me choose first.”
I smiled. “When I’m dealing with my opponents, I always have a habit of first understanding their weaknesses. After I learned the whole story of the case, and considering your motives, I initially guessed that your weakness was your daughter.”
"But when I saw you give me a choice between two options, letting me choose my own future, I saw your conscience. I realized that if you really just wanted revenge, you certainly wouldn't have left a death message. This is the first time in a series of 'suicide' cases that a message has been left behind. You even actively searched for the original case on your phone, making people start to speculate on the causes and consequences behind it."
"What truly causes you pain is not your deceased daughter, but this unjust society, this flawed world."
"Then I believe your weakness is your 'conscience.'"
"And I am willing to give my life to you."
London was astonished. "What are you talking about?"
I continued looking at Jeff Hope: "If you think I deserve to die, then I deserve to die, show no mercy. If you think that if I live, I might be able to speak for you, then that's your choice too."
“…You’re not what I imagined.” Jeff Hope was filled with doubt and struggle.
But it only lasted for a moment.
He quickly picked out a bottle for me.
This clearly means that even though he was somewhat moved, he still didn't believe my sweet talk, and he didn't believe that crocodiles could shed real tears.
"I've said enough. Choose this bottle."
Jeff Hope said, "To be fair, we eat at the same time."
“No, you can watch me eat. If I'm fine after eating, you don't have to eat. I don't want to see a poor father die so tragically. If I die after eating, that's your judgment.”
I unscrewed the cap, poured out the red and white capsule, and couldn't help but smile: "May you get the result you want."
No sooner had I said that than Sherlock Holmes’ voice came through my earphones.
"Both capsules are definitely poisonous, you shouldn't eat them."
I chuckled. "How much time do we have left?"
"Three minutes."
That's enough.
I swallowed the capsule without hesitation.
The next second, a bitter taste inevitably rose in my mouth, as if something was gently scraping the back of my tongue.
I opened my mouth, deliberately gesturing towards Jeff Hope, my tongue empty.
This is an undeniable proof.
He stared at me for two seconds, as if confirming something.
Then, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, unscrewed his medicine bottle, poured out the capsule, and, imitating me, raised his hand to his lips.
In that instant, I suddenly reached out and knocked his medicine bottle over onto the table.
The capsules rolled to the ground, making a soft, grating sound.
"Don't do this." I lowered my voice, almost shouting, "If you want to die, this isn't the way to do it."
Jeff Hope froze.
He slowly raised his head, and for the first time, his eyes showed a violent wavering.
You know?
His voice tightened, "You knew those two pills of mine were poisoned?"
"I know."
"Then why are you still eating?"
At that moment, the disbelief on his face was almost on the verge of collapse.
That's probably because...
Before I could finish speaking, my throat tightened, and a wave of coughing rose up, punctuating my voice into fragmented pieces. "Because I know... I deserve to die."
Jeff Hope stared at me with a completely frozen expression: "Why are you eating this?"
Almost at the same time, police officers who had rushed from the adjacent listening room burst open the door where we were.
Police officers swarmed forward and swiftly pinned Jeff Hope to the ground, the sound of cold handcuffs closing clearly almost jarring.
He completely forgot to struggle and just kept looking back at me.
There was no anger or resentment in those eyes; there was even confusion, hesitation, and vulnerability.
Watson practically ran to my side.
"Call an ambulance immediately!" He grabbed me, his voice urgent and decisive. "We can still do a gastric lavage; there's still time. The capsule needs time to take effect in the stomach, don't give up."
I leaned on his shoulder, but my gaze never left Jeff Hope's expression.
Even after Jeff Hope was dragged away, he kept looking back.
Until his figure was completely swallowed up by the door at the end of the corridor.
I slowly closed my eyes, my breathing so light it was almost inaudible.
But Watson was still thinking about giving me emergency treatment. I grabbed Watson's arm and said, "Mr. Watson, I have never had any worries in my life. No one expects me to live. You are the first person who hopes that I will not die."
This sentence brought tears to the eyes of the fragile and emotional Watson.
Even when facing strangers, he remained so sincere and friendly.
"You'll be alright," Watson encouraged me.
I didn't reply, I just looked at him and said:
“You weren’t using a cane when you ran over here.”
This statement is an established fact.
I said, "Your heartache is already improving."
"Then I believe that no matter what you encounter in the future, you will continue to move forward for the people you care about. Watson, you will get better and better."
Watson shook his head: "...Don't say anymore."
no.
Me: "How many seconds left?"
London: "Thirty seconds."
I weakly raised my eyes and looked at Watson.
"Watson, I've never had any great ambitions in my life, I just crave a good meal." My breath was weak, each word as if I were using up my last strength. "You know... if I missed something during my last meal in London... would it become... a regret for the rest of my life?"
Watson's eyes welled up with tears. Through the glistening tears, he suppressed his emotions and almost instinctively raised his hand to gently cover my eyes, as if he didn't want me to see his expression at that moment, or as if he was rehearsing a farewell.
“Mr. Milverton,” his voice trembled, “don’t think about it anymore… go in peace.”
In this atmosphere filled with warmth and sorrow, Holmes's flat voice broke in, "Jeff Hope has been taken away by the police. Stop acting."
London: "It's time."
Indeed, the key to my death lay in Jeff Hope's accomplice. As long as that man left the area because of him, I wouldn't have been targeted.
I was wondering from the beginning, why ten minutes?
If I subdue the murderer directly, it won't even take ten minutes.
Clearly, Jeff Hope had someone else to help him snipe me so that he could make sure the shot was perfect.
The other party has implemented double insurance.
Now we are completely safe.
Watson was completely bewildered by Holmes's words: "?"
I burst out laughing.
A breath escaped from his throat, carrying a lighthearted, teasing tone.
"Didn't Mr. Watson just say that 'there's nothing good to eat in London'?"
I laughed so hard my chest was shaking, and my previous near-death state vanished completely.
Watson was clearly stunned.
He slowly moved his hand away, his eyes shifting from grief to utter bewilderment, even showing a hint of being mocked.
Under his bewildered gaze, I stuck out the tip of my tongue and pulled out a capsule from under my tongue.
It was slightly softened by body heat and its edges were slightly deformed, but it was still intact.
Since I'm an expert at taking medicine, Tibetan medicine is naturally no problem for me either.
"The capsule shells commonly found on the market are made of either plant-based HPMC or animal-based gelatin. Compared to traditional gelatin, HPMC is less sensitive to moisture and less likely to dissolve in the mouth."
I spat the wet capsule into my palm, waved it at him, and smiled as if I had just pulled off a prank. “Mine happens to be an HPMC capsule. If you really want it to dissolve, you’ll have to hold it in your mouth for at least five minutes.”
When I was studying the capsules, I guessed with the least hope that they were enteric-coated capsules. The real question was between two options, and the key lay in the capsule's seams and sheen. The gelatin seams were more noticeable and not completely transparent, unlike what I had seen; Jeff was using HPMC.
Sure enough, heaven never closed off my path.
God still favors me.
I paused, looked at Watson and Holmes, and then spoke.
I know that what I said was definitely not directed at the two of them.
“London,”
I softened my tone, but my voice carried a triumphant air.
"I'm back."
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Author's Note: 20 random small red envelopes!!! [Hugs][Hugs][Hugs]
After cleaning up this case and adding a third-person perspective, we'll move on to the third case: the Noah cruise ship murder case!
Sending love! Please leave a comment if you like it!
Comments are my motivation. [Pitiful][Pitiful][Pitiful]
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