A rotten smell wafted from the table, and the cream crepes and fish soup were all spoiled. A poodle looked at the guests longingly and let out a distressing whimper. It was obvious that it had not eaten in a long time.

"Before you find Dick, the most important thing you should do is to take care of yourself. Whether it is household chores or family pets, it is best to leave them as they are."

Lu Li looked at the reporter who was unconscious and looked weak, and comforted him: "This way, when the child comes back, you can quickly get on track and not be in a hurry."

After saying that, he continued walking towards the stairs.

As residents of Baker Street, Holmes and Lu Li were particularly familiar with the layout of the apartment, and soon arrived in front of the bedroom.

The room on the left that smells of strong perfume undoubtedly belongs to Madame Eugenie, while the one next to it with a lighter scent belongs to Dick.

During the days when the child was missing, his mother came here often, leaving a bit of a smell.

Apart from this, Lu Li did not notice the second smell of human beings.

Da da da……

With the support of two police officers, Madam Eugenie arrived on the second floor, and then Lu Li opened the door.

What caught my eye immediately caught my attention.

It was a painting, with two deformed-looking creatures that looked slightly like goblins appearing in the center of the painting board.

"Punch and Judy?"

Everyone recognized the content of this painting.

This is a puppet show, which has never been seen in the East District, where poverty is often spoken of, but it is not uncommon in the West District. Lu Li has seen it several times, usually with two people:

One controls the puppets, the other plays the drums and harmonium.

The puppets are composed of twelve characters, namely: Punch, Judy, the child, the official, the clown, the nobody, Jack, the old man, the doctor, the devil, Mary and the blind man.

These gadgets are most popular with children, and his apprentice Mi Gao is obsessed with them. Through his introduction, Lu Li also has a certain understanding of the background of the story.

The story takes place on the seaside in the Middle Ages, in the style of a fairy tale, but with a touch of blood——

Punch was an alcoholic who loved drinking and domestic violence. One day, he killed his wife Judy. Fortunately, Judy was saved by a witch. Finally, through a series of struggles, Punch got the punishment he deserved.

On the drawing board, the figure with a slender nose and a big chin is the drunkard Punch, and the puppet wearing a hat next to him is the witch.

One evil and one good.

Domestic violence man + witch + revenge.

Frankly speaking, the combination of these elements can really attract people, especially children with immature worldviews, who are most easily aroused by others.

On the side, Madame Eugénie saw that everyone was silent and thought there was something fishy in it. Like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving straw, she hurriedly said:

"This was the afternoon three days ago. Dick said he wanted to watch a puppet show. Just then, two people passed by on the street with this kind of tool in their hands..."

"You invited them in to perform?"

Generally speaking, puppeteers will perform paid performances in wealthy areas and business districts, but they will also perform in designated areas at the invitation of certain wealthy guests.

Following Madame Eugenie's narration, Lu Li and others figured out the details. In order to make the children happy, she invited the puppeteer to perform downstairs, while Dick stayed at the second floor window to watch the performance.

This thirty-minute performance cost a total of one pound, but according to memories, Dick thought it was worth it. He ate a lot of dinner and often had a smile on his face.

Three days ago, the spiritual tide surged at night for the first time, causing a lot of strange things to appear, and during the day...

There were two more puppeteers on Lu Li's list of suspects, but they were just suspicions, without any clues. After all, there had to be a breakthrough.

"You two take note of this, take Madame Eugenie to the police station, ask her to recall the appearance of the person involved, and find a way to investigate." Gu Tui

After speaking, Lu Li continued to explore the room.

Due to his wealthy family, Dick's children's room was filled with toys, building blocks, tin animals, puppets, and even some disassembled mechanical watches.

A little guy with great talent in painting, hands-on ability and rich spiritual world.

Holmes made a silent assessment in his mind.

Compared to Lu Li, who was always active, he seemed more calm, smoking and pacing around the room, not missing any corner.

From the parliament to the edge of the bed, to the back of the door...

"Ma'am, have you had any arguments with your children recently?"

Looking at the traces behind the door, Holmes bit his cigarette holder, raised his eyes and asked.

"No, this child has been obedient since he was a child. Especially after his father and I divorced, he became very sensible. He never asked for anything, except to watch a puppet show."

Lu Li ignored Madam Eugénie's subsequent cries. After all, sadness had no effect on the situation. In addition, the comfort work could be left to the two police officers responsible for taking care of her.

At this moment, he came behind Holmes and observed the scene behind the door with him.

That's a dent.

Corresponding to this is the door handle.

It was obvious that the person who closed the door was either in a bad mood or in a hurry, and pushed the door in in a hurry, causing the handle to hit the wooden wall panel.

"Then have you heard any loud noises recently?" Lu Li asked following Holmes' words, while raising his hand to touch the traces, "To be more precise, it was the impact caused by pushing the door."

In his opinion, this thing is very new, not that it has appeared recently, but it is not far behind.

"Since last week, I have been on vacation and will take my children with me wherever I go."

Madame Eugenie came over, sobbing, and looking at the traces, she added: "Maybe one of the maids acted recklessly while we were not at home..."

"You mean, servants work with emotions, are you sorry for them in any way?"

"No, absolutely not. I have never scolded them, especially when they have children. The salary and benefits cannot be said to be the best in the city, but they are definitely not bad."

Seeing Madam Eugenie's face full of determination, Lu Li nodded, indicating that he already knew.

"Can I go to your room and have a look?"

Holmes took up the conversation.

"Of course, as long as it helps find the child, you can do anything."

Not long after, everyone came to a room full of fragrance. Lu Li was the first to open the door and looked at the blind spot behind the door.

“Very clean.”

"Well, the servants are very attentive."

Lu Li and Holmes sang together and said words that were incomprehensible, but the expressions on their brows showed that things were not that simple.

"You said before that the servants have stopped coming to work since the great changes in the world, and they even stole a sum of money."

"Yes, about ten pounds. Dick told me the day before yesterday. He said his piggy bank was gone and it contained pocket money."
Chapter completed!