【探案集】The Norwood Mystery 12

Holmes followed her into a small room at the back of the house, where a fire was burning brightly. They sat down. &`&John is not a murderer,&`& she began immediately. &`&I know my son, Mr Holmes and...&`& Holmes held up his hand. &`&Mrs McFarlane,&`& he said, &`&I can see that you&`&re very worried, but there are some questions that I must ask you.&`& &`&Anything,&`& she replied. &`&Please ask me anything.&`& &`&What can you tell me about Mr Jonas Oldacre?&`& At this question Mrs Mcfarlane was suddenly very excited. &`&He is - or was - a very bad man,&`& she said. &`&A long time ago, he and I were friends. He wanted to marry me, but I found out that he was a cruel man, a dangerous man. I told him that I didn&`&t want to see him again and six months later I married my husband, John&`&s father. He wasn&`&t rich like Oldacre, but he was a good man - he is a good man, Mr Holmes, and a good father to John. We&`&ve always been a happy family. And now this!&`& &`&What did Oldacre do when you sent him away?&`& Holmes went on. &`&He was angry, very angry. He sent me this in the post.&`& Mrs McFarlane got up and took a photograph from the desk in the corner of the room. It was a photograph of her as a young woman. There were black lines across her face, where many years before Oldacre once slashed the photograph with a knife, but Holmes could see that she was a very beautiful woman. &`&It arrived the day that I married my husband.&`& Holmes took the photograph from her and looked at it thoughtfully. &`&A dangerous man,&`& he said. "oh yes,&`& Mrs McFarlane agreed, &`&a very dangerous man.&`& &`&It is strange then,&`& Holmes went on, &`&that in his will he left everything that he had to your son.&`& &`&We don&`&t want anything from that man, Mr Holmes. If he&`&s dead, then I&`&m happy, but I know that it wasn&`&t John who killed him.&`& Holmes stood up. &`&Mrs McFarlane, thank you. Is Mr McFarlane not at home?&`& Mrs McFarlane shook her head. &`&He&`&s taken the train to London to see if he can help John,&`& she explained. &`&Then I won&`&t stay any longer,&`& said Holmes. Try not to worry too much, my good woman. If your son is really innocent, I&`&m sure we can convince the police. Inspector Lestrade is sometimes a little slow, but he is a good detective.&`& &`&Thank you, Mr Holmes,&`& said Mrs McFarlane. &`&I&`&m sure that you will do everything that you can to help John.&`& &`&Mrs McFarlane, you can be sure of that,&`& Holmes replied with a warm smile. Mrs McFarlane said goodbye to the great detective at her front door and watched him walk quickly away to the station.