My esoteric uncle Jules

Chapter 12 Sherlock Holmes
After changing into an inconspicuous coat and top hat, Jules called a public carriage and went to the nearest commercial square.

According to Mrs. Boleyn, their apartment is located on Whitethorn Street, which is a relatively remote place in London.

The nearest newsstand is in the commercial plaza.

After getting off the carriage, he took out a few pennies from his pocket and handed them to the coachman, who then left happily.

As Jules turned around, the prosperity of Victoria came into his eyes.

Gentlemen and ladies walk together in the square and go to the theater or restaurant together. On the benches in the square are old people and children sitting, chatting about family matters. Even the old people with wrinkles on their faces have happy smiles on their faces.

Occasionally, a few single gentlemen, speaking in strange accents, would argue with the cafe staff, and the newsboys would take the opportunity to slip in and start selling newspapers.

Looking at these scenes, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic and sigh.

He had come to a similar place before when he made a fortune from patents.

This place is similar to the commercial plaza in my memory.

Its prosperity is no less than before he traveled through time.

Unfortunately, ever since he was cheated into owing a huge debt, he has never been able to come to such a place again, and instead spends all day with oysters.

Jules found the newsstand with ease, knocked on the window, and said:
"The Daily Dock and the London Times?"

"Sir, you're wrong," the news vendor inside said with a smile, adjusting his hat. "As a professional newsstand, even if London were to burn down, these two newspapers would still be published as usual."

"Very good." Jules curled his lips slightly and took out a pound and handed it over.

"Give me a copy of everything from April 10th to today."

Because Jules deliberately lowered his hat, the newspaper dealer could not see his appearance, but this did not affect their business at all.

They should not be curious about any needs of the guests.

"Okay sir, please wait a moment."

The newspaper vendor was only slightly surprised, then he rummaged around and took out a bundle of newspapers.

"Here, your newspaper."

Along with the newspaper came a few pennies in change.

Jules examined it briefly, nodded, tucked the newspaper under his arm, and left the newsstand.

……

In the cafe, Jules brought the hot coffee to his lips and blew gently on the hot steam, while his eyes remained on the newspaper.

April 15th is the day the Titanic sank.

The reason why he bought everything during this period was, firstly, to conceal his tracks, and secondly, to avoid missing any possible information.

Jules started by reading the earliest newspapers.

"The Irish famine is getting worse. When will Parliament show sympathy for the people?"

"Franklin's expedition disappeared during their exploration of the original island. It's said they left behind a string of ancient text, which is being deciphered..."

Among all kinds of news, he soon found the news related to the Titanic as he wished - after all, this thing did attract a lot of attention.

However, most of these news items are just retellings of the ship's history, the captain's honors, interviews with the designer, etc., and there is little valuable information.

He was not discouraged, but continued to read slowly.

The 11th, the 12th...

His brows furrowed tighter and tighter, until finally, when a piece of news from the 17th caught his eye, his brows finally relaxed.

"The Titanic, known as the unsinkable ship, sank, and all its passengers died."

Putting aside the meaningless known information, what gained him the most was that in this news, the writer mentioned that he had interviewed the manager of the dock at that time.

The administrator mentioned a key memory—a group of members of the Church of Steam once inspected the Titanic, and several nobles appeared to have clashed with the church. Later, the two sides seemed to reach an agreement and left together. Of those nobles, only one was mentioned in the report: the steel tycoon, Carl.

His name is Carl, and he's a steel tycoon...

It's exactly the same character as Rose's fiancé in Titanic.

Jules determined the other party's identity almost instantly.

"But the identities of the others weren't mentioned...and why is the Church of Steam involved?"

He was lost in thought.

The beliefs in this world are quite peculiar.

They do not believe in common figures such as "God of Light", "Mother Goddess" or "God", but believe in machines.

Scientific knowledge was written into the scriptures, and the operation of any machine was regarded as a gift from the gods.

Of course, as to how pious he was, Jules was skeptical.

But it is true that at least any income from scientific research must pay a tax to the Steam Church.

He suddenly remembered what the chef who served him meals said in the police station.

Was the Church of Steam also responsible for the design of the Titanic?
Could they be involved in this conspiracy?
Jules only felt that the situation, which was originally somewhat clear, gradually revealed its confusing inner meaning as he explored it in depth.

……

After a while, Jules, who had finished reading all the newspapers, sighed softly and left the cafe.

When he left, he made sure that no one was paying attention and quickly threw the newspaper into a nearby trash can.

Sitting in the public carriage, his thoughts were bouncing up and down with the carriage.

"I only got information about Karl, and I can't confirm the information about the other nobles..."

Jules returned to the apartment with a sad face. Seeing his expression, Mrs. Pauline asked casually:

"What's the matter, Mr. Jules? Has anything troubled you?"

Jules glanced at Mrs. Pauline and said with a helpless smile:
"I wanted to investigate something, but I found nothing."

Mrs. Boleyn said with a smile:
"Why don't you ask your neighbor? He's a great detective! He can easily find out anything."

"detective?"

Yule raised his eyebrows and asked with some interest, "May I ask the name of that gentleman?"

Detective, a profession that wanders on the edge of mainstream society and often appears in literary works.

If I get to know that detective well, I might be able to ask him to handle many troublesome matters in the future.

"His name is Sherlock Holmes. You haven't met him in recent days because he's been coming home late at night. I can introduce him to you next time you meet him."

"...Holmes?" Jules was stunned and almost suspected that he had heard it wrong.

"Yes, and have you also heard of your neighbor's name?"

Mrs. Boleyn's smile is very friendly:

"Although he's young, he's already made a name for himself in London's detective world. Many people say that if he's given time, his future is limitless!"

As she was speaking, she suddenly looked surprised.

"Ah, what luck! He came back early today, Mr. Jules, look behind you!"

Jules turned his head mechanically and stared blankly at the handsome detective wearing a beret and a plaid vest behind him.

This world must be in chaos...

(End of this chapter)