Chapter 17: Professor Moriarty

"Mr. Monet, you guessed it right. After I returned from your place yesterday, I interrogated Jack once again. It turns out that there was indeed someone behind him orchestrating things!" Early the next morning, Chief Klein hurriedly arrived at Monet's place to inform him.

"Oh? So, who was behind instructing him?" Monet asked curiously.

To his surprise, Chief Klein shook his head and replied, "Jack said he never actually met this person. He carried out his actions based on the letters he wrote to himself. He doesn't know how this person got information about him, but he found the suggested methods of murder to be feasible. Moreover, he was in urgent need of his brother's inheritance, so he took a desperate risk and committed this act!"

"So, what's the name of this instigator? And can I see the letters he wrote to Jack?" Monet inquired further.

Chief Klein shook his head again, saying, "Jack mentioned that he destroyed the letters as instructed by this person after reading them. However, this person has been referring to themselves as Professor Moriarty!"

"Professor Moriarty? Well, I might not be Holmes, but it's quite interesting that Jack obeyed this 'Professor Moriarty'," Monet grumbled sarcastically. (In 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle had already published "A Study in Scarlet," and by 1893, Professor Moriarty had appeared in his works.)

"According to Jack, even if the letters were preserved, they wouldn't be of much use. The letters were all typed, so it's impossible to verify handwriting," Chief Klein added.

"Even if the letters were typed, different typewriters produce subtle differences in the typeface, and elements like writing style and language habits could still provide clues. Unfortunately, there's nothing left now," Monet responded frustratingly.

After hearing Monet's words, Chief Klein looked at him for a moment and then sighed, "Mr. Monet, I must say, you really resemble Mr. Conan Doyle's Holmes!"

"I'm nowhere near as brilliant as Mr. Holmes, and I certainly don't possess the same deductive reasoning skills," Monet humbly replied, but then he added with pride, "However, there's one skill I have that Mr. Holmes doesn't—I can create a visual representation of a perpetrator based on eyewitness descriptions, even if I haven't seen the culprit myself."

Upon hearing this, Chief Klein was momentarily taken aback, but then he quickly realized and exclaimed, "Oh, right, I almost forgot—you're a painter!"

Monet waved his hand and said, "I wouldn't call myself a painter. At best, I'm an artist. I don't have any particular talent in painting; I just enjoy it. Ironically, I seem to have some talent in writing novels according to recent events."

"I believe you have a natural talent for solving cases," Chief Klein added.

"It was mostly luck this time."

At that moment, Chief Klein seemed to recall something suddenly and hurriedly continued, "Oh, and Jack mentioned something else. In the letters Moriarty sent him, he was instructed to kill five people, including his brother. This way, placing his brother in the middle would create a symmetrical pattern. However, after killing the fourth victim, Jack felt safe, busy claiming his brother's inheritance. He didn't act against the fifth victim. Care to guess who this fortunate fifth victim was?"

"Where should I even begin to guess? After all, there were over seven hundred survivors of the Titanic. But halfway through saying that, a dreadful thought arose in Monet's mind. With a trembling voice, he asked, 'C-could it be me?'

Chief Klein nodded and answered, 'Yes, it's you.'

'It can't be. W-why would he want to kill me? I-I've only been in New York for a few days. I haven't offended anyone!' Monet asked anxiously.

"I'm not certain about that. Perhaps he just happened to come across your information. Your article about the 'Titanic' is quite famous, after all. Even though Jack has been captured, I believe you should still be cautious. There's a chance that Professor Moriarty might come after you in the future," Chief Klein kindly warned.

"In that case, I must find a way to expose this Professor Moriarty. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep peacefully!" Monet muttered to himself.

After pondering for a while, aside from Carl, Monet couldn't think of a second person who might be involved. Moreover, he hadn't offended Carl to such an extent, and Carl wouldn't go through so much trouble if he wanted to harm Monet. With his wealth, he could simply hire an assassin.

As Monet struggled to think, in the Indian state of Kerala, on the other side of the ocean, a British officer turned to his companion and asked, "George, did you read the novels from those newspapers I gave you the day before yesterday?"

George nodded and said, "Mervyn, you're talking about 'The Treasure of the Indian Temple,' right? I read it, very captivating!"

"You find it merely captivating? Didn't you notice how the author fervently assures that everything he's describing is true? That there's a vast treasure buried in the secret chamber of the Paduwanabha Swamy Temple?" Mervyn reminded him.

Surprisingly, George sneered, "Do you actually believe that? It's obvious the novelist just made it all up."

"But the legend of the Paduwanabha Swamy Temple treasure has been circulating for a while; it's not something the author invented out of thin air," Mervyn argued.

"Why, do you plan to follow his instructions and give it a try?" George asked, taken aback.

Nodding, Mervyn responded, "Yes, I do want to give it a shot. After all, even if it fails, we won't have much to lose. At most, we'll treat our soldiers to a few rounds of drinks."

"What about the Valmha family?" George inquired.

Mervyn let out a cold snort, saying, "Do we, the British Empire's army, need to care about the opinions of these natives?"

"That's true, but to prevent the situation described in the novel, it might be wise to share some with them," George cautiously replied.

Mervyn teasingly remarked, "You're thinking further ahead than I am. I can't even be sure if there's any treasure, and you're already considering how to distribute it!"

As a result, George's face couldn't help but show embarrassment as he said, "So, are you going to dig or not?"

Quickly reassuring him, Mervyn said, "Dig, dig, of course we will!"