"Actually, deducing all of this is quite simple." He walked back to the corpse and pulled up the arm of the deceased woman.
"Look, the entire arm is stiff like a wooden stick and slightly bent outwards. This isn't rigor mortis; it's the result of the axillary tendons being severed. This completely paralyzes the corpse's arm."
As he spoke, he nonchalantly pointed to the victim's legs: "The inner muscle groups of the lower limbs were cut using the same technique.
This way, the victim was completely immobilized on the ground, allowing the killer to dissect her slowly.
She couldn't struggle, and she couldn't even scream, because the killer used a hook through the throat to destroy the victim's vocal cords and glottis…"
His pace was fast, his tone conversational, yet every word conveyed the extreme despair and agony of the victim.
"And this technique is a long-standing method of preparing beef in the town of Rochester."
"Preparing beef?" Katherine couldn't help but question him again.
"That's right. People there handle live cattle this way to ensure the meat stays fresh.
They used to slice the meat while applying Prunus salicina juice to stop the bleeding. The cow's body would keep twitching throughout the process—quite interesting.
But about twenty years ago, a local councilor had the practice outlawed under the guise of animal cruelty. Such meddling…
However, if you ever want to try it, I can introduce you to a few decent underground restaurants. They are a bit pricey, though." Sherlock smiled at Katherine.
"Focus on your case!"
"Fine." Sherlock continued his analysis at a breakneck speed: "In any case, the killer's mastery of this technique certainly wasn't acquired overnight.
If the arteries under the brachial plexus were punctured, the victim would quickly bleed to death. The killer has extreme patience and experience in this regard and likely takes pleasure in it.
However, the few underground restaurants in London couldn't provide the necessary environment for this kind of training. The killer must have his own source, or more likely, he raises large livestock himself—I lean towards the latter, as it's more secretive.
The juice of the Prunus salicina is excellent for stopping blood, but prolonged contact causes skin irritation and hair loss. A close-fitting cotton undershirt would effectively relieve this itching.
Also, the victim's mouth. I mentioned the killer destroyed the glottis. There's a very obvious laceration mark on the mouth.
You should know that when destroying the glottis, the hook needs to be pressed down, right? It's hard to achieve that angle without forcing the mouth open."
No one responded, perhaps they couldn't keep up with his speed, or were thinking, who would know such a thing?
Sherlock didn't wait for an answer, accelerating his pace even more: "In short, during the dissection, the victim's face would have been horribly contorted due to pain and the tearing of her mouth. Yet, after that, the killer patiently arranged her facial muscles back to normal.
I said this happened around five or six in the morning. For the killer to still insist on doing this at that time suggests an obsession with the face of beautiful women.
Something along the lines of 'ugly women don't deserve to be killed by me,' even risking leaving a witness.
If such a person also comes from an affluent background, they would either frequently invite beautiful women home for pleasure—the crude solution—or, the more refined one, collect portraits of beautiful women.
I even suspect he might be quite skilled at painting himself. Anyway, these two methods are the most common ways to satisfy this kind of obsession and still maintain a respectable façade."
"But none of what you're saying is evidence; it's merely conjecture," Katherine seemed intent on refuting him.
"I didn't say I had evidence," Sherlock smiled. "This is just the most reasonable speculation at this stage.
You might want to put your effort into investigating this direction. I assume you aren't the kind of people who wait for irrefutable evidence before making an arrest, are you?
Oh, and yes, the killer has an injury on his right ribs. I can confirm this. There are obvious dull marks on the victim's sternum incision. His arm would have trembled slightly when making precise horizontal movements, indicating muscle adhesion."
Sherlock mimed the action of holding a knife and cutting.
This large block of explanation contained an immense amount of information, but it was delivered incredibly quickly, taking only about a minute.
Sherlock poured it all out in a clear tone, sped up by what sounded like three times, with no regard for the listeners' ability to keep up.
It was as if he neither expected nor wanted people to follow his train of thought and be astonished by it. Or perhaps he simply regarded this kind of analytical reasoning as entirely commonplace.
A detective, after all, should have some deductive ability. He simply stood at the crime scene for a short while and absorbed all the deducible information.
This skill was simply not worth showing off or praising.
However, the people around him clearly didn't see it that way.
Katherine, for example, her expression gradually shifted from detached coolness to contemplation, and finally became remarkably impressed.
Executor Balthur, who had been standing in silent rigidity, moved his expression back and forth between a frown and a moment of relaxation.
Honestly, this level of reaction was slightly outside Sherlock's expectations.
Based on his preconceived notions of the Judgment Division, he assumed they were bloody-minded pragmatists who only needed the killer's name to immediately start a brutal pursuit. He hadn't expected them to actually listen carefully to his reasoning.
Balthur even gave a slight nod at the end. This indicated he had followed Sherlock's logic and, after processing the vast amount of information, offered a silent affirmation.
In contrast, the young security officer encased in steam armor outside the alley looked utterly lost, his mouth simply hanging open.
"Based on the scene, this is probably the limit of what can be deduced. That is why I said I am no longer needed here." Sherlock finally brought the conversation back to where it started.
"Therefore, taking the unresolved questions home to ponder slowly is the action most conducive to the case right now."
Katherine hesitated for a moment, her gaze darting between the corpse on the ground and Sherlock several times before finally settling on Executor Balthur's face. She paused for a few seconds, seemingly gauging the mind of the bereaved husband.
After another short while, she slowly spoke:
"Remember, you have less than 20 hours left. If you succeed, you will naturally receive the Church's gratitude. But if you fail, you will receive the appropriate punishment."
"Punishment?" Sherlock's tone lacked much confusion. "With all due respect, gentlemen, given the ridiculously harsh conditions you've set for solving this case, failure to find the killer would be the rational outcome, wouldn't it? Why would there be a punishment?"
"Pressure focuses the mind on the work." Katherine offered this statement coolly.
This implied she knew the demands were unreasonable. But she didn't care; punishing a commoner required no reason.
Sherlock thought that if stabbing him right now would cause the killer to appear, the people here would not hesitate to hack him to pieces.
Yet, such an utterly unreasonable, almost murderous action seemed entirely appropriate to everyone present.
This was due to the crushing gap in the social structure, which completely transcended ethics, morality, and all other factors.
No one would question why a Church official would wantonly butcher an innocent man, just as no one would care if a blade of grass was trod upon while walking.
Naturally, Sherlock was too lazy to pass judgment on the merits of this social hierarchy. He was merely a humble detective, so he smiled politely:
"May I request a carriage to take me home then? Lower District, Baker Street… it's quite a distance."
——————
Thanks for Reading
Dear readers,
Thank you for joining me on this literary journey. If you enjoy my novel and wantto keep reading, I invite you to support my work through Patreon. Your contributions will allow me to continue creating and sharing more exciting chapters.
I hope to count on your support and continue bringing you unforgettable stories!
https://www.patreon.com/c/Naughtypanda253