"I never put on shows."
Sherlock looked at the four Ravenclaw girls with so regret:
"Although clues were indeed erased considerably, unfortunately the thief overestimated their own abilities. You've already provided sufficient information, and I've carefully examined the cri scene again. If I still couldn't deduce what happened in this dormitory, that would be strange indeed!"
At this mont, the three girls present simultaneously felt Sherlock's unwavering confidence.
"First, Ravenclaw's common room is different from others—anyone who can correctly answer the door knocker's questions can freely enter and exit. On the surface, this thod seems less secure than other houses' fixed passwords, but actually it's not.
As far as I know, many wizards lack logical reasoning abilities. So, the question-and-answer thod of entry has maximally excluded students from houses other than Ravenclaw. Even if students from other houses could correctly answer the questions and enter Ravenclaw, they might still be recognized. Of course, this isn't absolute. But in this regard, it does strengthen the logic of internal suspects from the side.
Second, before this incident, Ravenclaw students' cabinets were all unlocked."
When Sherlock reached this point, the girls' faces all looked rather unpleasant.
It was precisely because of this incident that the phrase "Ravenclaw is absolutely safe" beca less absolute.
"Fixed storage locations for items, unlocked cabinets, plus Miss Chang's regular schedule—all of these provided sufficient convenience for the thief. Through my examination just now, I also found no prying marks on the cabinet—of course, there was no need for any.
If I were Miss Chang's roommate, I could think of at least seven ways to take the sandalwood box without her noticing. By the ti Miss Chang discovered the theft, there would have been enough ti to eliminate all traces. Even if another ca to investigate then, it would be useless. In fact, the thief did exactly this."
Hearing this, Penelope couldn't help but interject:
"Mr. Hols, you an the eyeshadow wasn't lost when Cho went to Potions class?"
"Of course not."
Sherlock looked at Alicia Kirke with a half-smile: "If that were the case, this young lady's suspicion could be directly ruled out!"
"What do you an by that?!"
Alicia Kirke stood up imdiately.
"You an I took Cho's eyeshadow?"
Although Marietta Edgecombe didn't stand up, her gaze toward Sherlock was equally impolite.
And her words were even less polite:
"This is slander, naked slander! What great detective? Hols, you're just living off false reputation! I think you're just a charlatan who shows off!"
"Miss Kirke, please remain calm."
Sherlock's tone remained as composed as ever.
"Although the eyeshadow had already left its owner's cabinet before you discovered it was missing, it was precisely your desire to examine it that caused trouble for the thief—after all, she had originally thought Cho Chang wouldn't discover this until after returning from Easter break."
As soon as Sherlock said this, Alicia Kirke and Marietta Edgecombe couldn't help but look at each other.
Please don't pause dramatically when speaking!
This made their previous behavior seem very awkward!
Just then, Marietta Edgecombe seed to think of sothing. She murmured:
"Could it be—no, impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Marietta, what's impossible?"
Alicia Kirke quickly asked.
"Nothing, I must be overthinking."
Marietta Edgecombe forced a smile: "I did hear Lucy muttering quietly 'Why does she have such nice things' before going ho for the holidays. But I think she was talking about Gemma Farley's Felix Felicis.
I heard she perford excellently in Professor Snape's Potions class and received a small bottle as a reward. Lucy was always envious. Speaking of which, Professor Snape has always favored Slytherin students. Even if we did the sa things as her, we wouldn't get rewards."
Penelope, Cho Chang, and Kirke all nodded.
Edgecombe was absolutely right. Except for Slytherin students, no matter how excellently others perford in Potions class, they shouldn't expect rewards. If they happened to be Gryffindor, not having points deducted would already be Professor Snape showing great rcy.
Seeing everyone agreed with her view, Edgecombe smiled slightly.
The seed of suspicion had been quietly planted, just waiting for the right mont to take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree.
But she never expected that this seed would be uprooted along with the soil as soon as it was planted.
"Sherlock!"
Hermione's voice ca from the entrance to the common room. She leaned against the doorfra, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with each breath, clearly exhausted, but her eyes sparkled with excitent.
"My dear friend, it looks like you really need more exercise."
Sherlock looked Hermione up and down, then smiled: "It seems you found it?"
Hermione nodded vigorously and took a deep breath: "Just as you predicted."
"Excellent! Wonderful!"
Sherlock praised, then turned to face the four Ravenclaw girls:
"That's enough."
All four showed surprised expressions, with Edgecombe's heart skipping a beat.
Penelope asked in confusion: "Mr. Hols? What do you an—enough?"
"Poor acting, pathetic motives, crude actions... I really didn't expect you'd still be playing tricks even now."
Sherlock sighed: "Ravenclaw's wisdom ultimately cannot overco the thorns growing wild in the heart. Am I right, Miss Marietta Edgecombe?"
As soon as this was said, Penelope, Cho Chang, and Alicia Kirke all gasped.
All three looked at Marietta Edgecombe with disbelief.
Facing the gazes of her prefect, roommate, and friend, Edgecombe put on a confused expression:
"Mr. Hols, I don't understand what you're saying—"
"Miss Edgecombe, you don't need to put on this innocent act."
Sherlock seed sowhat impatient. As he had just said, he really couldn't stand Marietta Edgecombe's poor acting.
Hermione's arrival had perfectly completed the final piece of the puzzle, so he decided to lay all his cards on the table.
"From the mont I first saw you, I knew Miss Chang's eyeshadow was in your hands."
"You're slandering !"
Marietta Edgecombe stood up imdiately.
She was emotionally agitated, with tears in her eyes, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
The three Ravenclaw girls showed more or less doubt in their gazes, only Hermione, who had walked to Sherlock's side, looked contemptuous. Through Sherlock's earlier instructions, she now knew what kind of person this girl really was.
Sherlock shook his head gently:
"You might not believe this, but before I knew about the magical world, I could deduce a person's inner thoughts from their montary expressions, including muscle movents and eye movents. I could determine that soone was a software designer from their tie, or know they were a comrcial pilot from their left thumb. Fortunately, when I ca to the magical world, I found this ability still worked."
At this point, eting everyone's skeptical gazes, he chuckled softly but didn't explain further, continuing to look at Edgecombe:
"More fortunately, you can hardly be called a skilled deceiver. So, from the mont I first saw you, I knew you were lying, and that what my client was looking for was in your hands."
At this point, Sherlock turned to Penelope, his eyes bright as he said:
"Miss Penelope, I can now formally report to you—mission accomplished. Marietta Edgecombe, standing beside you, is the thief who took Miss Chang's eyeshadow."
Silence.
Long silence.
"Hols, I really don't understand—" It was still Penelope who spoke first.
However, even she, who was known for wisdom and intelligence in Ravenclaw, was sowhat confused at this mont.
This couldn't be blad on her; mainly because Sherlock had just output quite a lot of information.
"No matter, this small case has concluded. Next, I welco any questions from you and everyone present. I will not refuse to answer."
Penelope first glanced at the still bewildered Edgecombe, then took a deep breath:
"You just said you knew it was Marietta the mont you saw her?"
"Correct."
"How could you tell?"
"Hmph, the fake sympathy on her face was simply insulting to ."
Sherlock looked disdainful: "When I questioned her, she acted calm, but her eyes flickered uncertainly, like a cat that had stolen fish, afraid of being discovered.
When I questioned Miss Kirke, she repeatedly emphasized that Ravenclaw students would never steal—she's not the type to defend house honor. Just now, when I ntioned seven ways to take the eyeshadow, her breathing imdiately beca rapid.
This stupid physiological reaction was like announcing to the world that she was a criminal. She didn't even notice that until now, her fingers are still unconsciously rubbing her sleeve cuff—a typical anxiety manifestation."
The others followed Sherlock's gaze and indeed saw Marietta quickly lower her right hand.
"Do you think I'm blind, or do you think you're clever enough to fool everyone?"
Sherlock leaned close to Marietta, his voice low and cold: "Your biggest mistake wasn't stealing sothing—it was thinking you could deceive . From the mont you t , you've been using body language to desperately tell one fact: you're a clumsy thief and an even worse liar."
After Sherlock finished speaking, Marietta Edgecombe's face had turned completely pale.
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