Chapter 501 The Stolen Oil Painting

After a whole morning of getting along, Zhang Heng was sure that Mr. Vuillard was indeed a fanatical fan of Sherlock Holmes.

His words and the look he looked at Holmes all confirmed this fact.

On the other hand, although Holmes doesn't say anything, it can be seen that he actually enjoys this kind of worship in his heart. No matter how lonely and noble an artist is, he also hopes that his works can be accepted by the world. Although Holmes is not an artist in the traditional sense, But his accomplishments in criminal investigation can indeed be called a Victorian artist.

Of course, Holmes still focused more on the case mentioned by Vuillard.

It was obvious that he was also very interested in the honor thief.

In the carriage, I asked the red-haired young man, "How much information about him do you have now?"

A look of shame appeared on Vuillard's face when he heard the words, "I tried my best to investigate, but I did not get much information. The main reason is that it is not easy to find the victims. Most people don't want to mention what happened back then. That guy... how should I put it, he is quite a gentleman in a sense. As long as you pay the ransom, he will keep his promise to return the things to you, and he will never come to harass you again, so most people Just obediently pay the money."

"It's alright, a thief can manage his own reputation." Holmes praised, "It seems that our friend regards this profession as his life's work. How can we not meet such an interesting person? Will."

Vial was in high spirits, rubbing his palms and said excitedly, "So you are planning to make a move. That's great. As long as you are willing to make a move, that thief will probably end up here this time. He must not know that you are in London. , otherwise I definitely wouldn’t have come here.”

"My friend, you are flattering me too much." Holmes laughed. "Let's talk about the case first."

"Don't worry, I know it's inconvenient for you to go to France. I've almost done the site survey and collected all the seemingly useful and useless information for your reference."

Vuillard took out a small notebook from the suitcase while talking.

Zhang Heng glanced at it, and found that almost every page was filled with dense notes, and there were even carefully drawn pictures. Even Holmes was full of praise when he got it, "This level of care alone, Vuillard You have surpassed most of your peers."

"Hey, it's nothing, I just believe that hard work can make up for one's weakness." Vuillard scratched his head and said, his face was so happy to be praised by his idol.

Holmes flipped through the notebook quickly, then spent another half an hour reading it from beginning to end, and handed it to Zhang Heng, "You should read it too, it's very interesting."

Zhang Heng took the notebook and took a rough look at the contents.

Mr. Viscount’s Canaletto oil painting was lost half a month ago. Because of the particularity of this painting, he did not put this oil painting in the collection room like other collections, but specially found it They stored it in an unremarkable small room, and at the same time stored an exquisite large porcelain vase from China. Compared with that large porcelain vase, the value of that large porcelain vase was higher, but the other party did not move at all, and only took away the oil painting. I have done a lot of homework.

"What do you think?" Holmes asked Zhang Heng.

The latter thought for a moment and said, "There are a few questions. First, even if this painting is lost, no one can prove that it once fell into the hands of Mr. Viscount."

"Oh, it's like this. Mr. Viscount has a little eccentricity. He likes to sign the back of the oil paintings in his collection. Although he knows the origin of this painting is a bit unclean, he still can't help but sign his name on it," Wei Wei said. Al said helplessly, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have to chase all the way from Paris to London."

"Second question, who knew that he secretly traded this oil painting back then?"

"Your question is on point," Holmes also nodded. "This is the most interesting part of this case. You also said before that Mr. Viscount completed the transaction secretly through an intermediary. How did the honorary thief After so many years, there are other victims who know about this matter. Since he is specifically eyeing the most unbearable secret in a person's heart and does not want to be known by others, he first needs to dig out this secret first. come out."

"This is also what confuses me the most," Vuillard said, "I have no idea about it at all. Just imagine that even if he learns one person's secret by chance, he has no reason to know other people's, otherwise this People are too amazing, if he has some kind of black magic, can directly see through a person's eyes to see what is in his heart, then our opponent this time must be too scary."

"I don't believe in the witch doctor's theory of black magic," Holmes snorted. "As far as I have handled so many cases, all things that seem mysterious and unreasonable on the surface, as long as you are willing to study them patiently, you will eventually be able to solve them." Get a common sense explanation, eliminate the impossible answers, and what's left is the truth."

"You're right, you've been taught." Vuillard said humbly and seriously. He looked like a primary school student listening carefully in class. Instead, Holmes was a little bit dumbfounded. He could only say to Zhang Heng, "Continue talking. Come on, my Eastern friend."

"Thirdly, it involves the modus operandi of the crime," Zhang Hengdao, "Mr. Viscount went to see the oil painting the night before, and the maid who did the cleaning the next morning found that the oil painting was gone. In other words, the time of committing the crime was between this time, but the viscount’s mansion was closely guarded and had a few hounds. The hounds did not make any noise that night. There is a small garden at the back. There was a light rain in the morning, the soil was loose, and there were no footprints on it, and the main entrance was facing the housekeeper's room. He didn't hear any unusual sounds at night, so how did the honorary thief get into Mr. Viscount? The mansion, and took this painting out before dawn?"

Vuillard also said distressedly, "Yeah, this guy is really powerful. He came and went without a trace. The maid cleaned up in the morning and found that the frame was still there, but the oil painting inside was gone. He left a letter signed by Mr. M on the ground, and commented triumphantly on the decoration of the Viscount's Mansion, as if he regarded it as his own backyard, which really makes people angry."