Chapter 238: Rui Mystery (K)
Chapter 237 Rui Mystery (4K)
Disraeli led Arthur to step into the second floor, and although the shelves on the second floor were not as densely placed as those on the first floor, the decoration of the place was significantly more luxurious.
Four or five bright glass chandeliers, the wooden facade frame is slightly mottled, but the good thing is that the paintings hanging on the walls are very good to cover up its staleness, greedily absorbing London’s few sunlight floor-to-ceiling windows coupled with the Persian carpet spread all over the room, composed of gold and red intricate ornamentation is the set off this place of classical upmarket.
Perhaps due to the high value of the goods here, the owner of the second floor of the entrance to the store, especially set up two guys to guard.
Arthur just walked up to the second floor, and his eyes were attracted by the wide array of goods.
Intricately decorated ivory pipes, Ceylon black tea packaged and sold in golden tins, exquisite mechanical pocket watches lying in the container turning the hour hand and gears, but what Arthur cared about the most was the gentleman’s umbrella that leaned against the corner of the wall in pure black simplicity, but claimed to be the same model of Sir Isaac Newton.
Normally, Arthur would tend to think of such things as self-marketing, but given that Sir Isaac Newton’s home was right next door, plus the fact that the store was more than a hundred years old, and that the shopkeeper had emphasized to him that his grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa had been Sir Isaac Newton’s eight-time friend, Arthur could only believe him for a moment. Arthur could only believe him for the time being.
But Arthur’s trust did not last long, because after a cursory stroll around the second floor, he realized that there were too many things linked to Newton in the store.
These include, but are not limited to, Newton wigs, Newton smoked gyroscopes, Newton wrote manuscripts, of course, things so full, naturally, can not be missing that the legendary smashed Newton’s head apple.
Arthur squatted in front of the glass window, leaned over and stared at the apple marked as not for sale for a long time, suddenly, he saw the skin of the apple move, and from the inside, a hole broke open, and a small green worm burrowed out of it with its fat belly.
Arthur cupped his chin and contemplated for a while, then suddenly nodded at the little green worm, “To have survived until now, you are much more powerful than gravity.”
Speaking of which, he didn’t forget to shout at the shopkeeper who was snoring at the counter on the second floor, “Sir, come and meet your grandfather’s grandfather’s grandfather’s friend.”
With those words, he left the counter called ‘Newton’s Strict Selection’ with a stride on his cane.
And at the other end, Disraeli was holding a brownish-yellow cigar to his nose and sniffing it gently.
When he saw Arthur coming, he hurriedly waved at him: ”Arthur, you should be tired of smoking the usual tobacco. How about some whole Havana cigars today?”
“Cigars?” Arthur took the cigar box from Disraeli’s hand and just took a light sniff, then nodded, “That’s fine, something to smoke is better than nothing.”
“Wow, Arthur, look what you’re talking about.”
Disraeli scornfully said, “Smoking cigars is a delicate work, a fashion, you do not take this thing as ordinary tobacco. To smoke a good cigar, you have to learn a little. Oh yes, I almost forgot, you have cigar tongs at home? If not, stop by and buy one today.”
“Cigar tongs? What’s that for?”
“It’s for cutting the head of a cigar, do you have one at home?”
Arthur sniffed and just shook his head, “No, but I have Alexander, a French tenant, at home, so I don’t think I’d need to buy something specifically for cutting cigar heads.”
Disraeli was puzzled, “Why? Is Alexander good at biting into cigars? It’s a pretty astringent thing to bite into!”
Arthur said, “No, it’s because the French have always been good at making machinery used to cut the head, and I know there’s a big one in Paris, and anyone who’s ever used it hasn’t said that thing is bad. I’ll beg Alexander later to make me one just like it for the sake of his friends.”
Disraeli laughed so hard when he heard this that even tears came out of his eyes, “Wouldn’t it be a bit of a big deal to cut a cigar with a guillotine? But well, since you said you don’t need it, we won’t buy it. Shall we check out the cologne next?”
Arthur fished his pocket watch out of his chest and glanced at it, “Counting the time, the perfumers should be at work, let’s go around the backyard.”
Disraeli casually summoned a small fellow to lead them to the perfume room in the backyard, and while walking, he also inquired, “Why did you suddenly think of buying a cologne? I remember that you don’t usually smell good, even if you do, it shouldn’t be so bad that you need to use cologne to suppress the odor, right? Arthur, tell me the truth, which girl do you have your eye on?”
Hearing Disraeli teasing himself, Arthur returned without any concern, “Benjamin, there are still quite a lot of chicks I have my eyes on. I’m different from you, although I’m not as fraternal as Elder, but in general, I’ve always been open to beautiful ladies. But you’re different, I really can’t figure out why you always prefer ladies who are quite a bit older than you.”
When Disraeli heard this, it was as if he had been struck by lightning, and he shuddered and said, “Damn it, Arthur, how did you know that?”
Arthur, of course, would not tell him that Benjamin Disraeli’s file was numbered 001 in the archived documents of the London Police Intelligence Service.
He just came up with that sensible and foolproof reason: “As I said, Benjamin, I’m a detective, and it’s only natural for me to have a keen sense of perception as Scotland Yard’s most distinguished detective. Your observation of the eyes of the lady in the upper department of the year was decidedly different.”
Disraeli looked like he had seen a ghost, “Thank God I have only one detective friend like you in my life. If I had a few more, I would probably be able to tell what color panties I’m wearing today.”
Arthur sniffed and suddenly remembered the Disraeli file that had just been updated a while ago.
These days, the social climate was still relatively conservative on the surface, so except for some upper class ladies who would have the need to pick up lace underwear, most people’s choice for intimate apparel was to buy fabric and go home to make their own.
The Police Intelligence Bureau agent had stumbled upon Disraeli buying a small piece of dark green fabric at a fabric store, so small that he couldn’t think of anything to do with it other than sewing a pair of pants.
Therefore, Arthur thoughtfully and casually replied, “Dark green.”
The moment Arthur said this, Disraeli was directly shocked, he stopped and stayed in place, two eyes staring at the big road: “And how do you know this?”
Arthur shook his finger, “Don’t be nervous, Benjamin, it’s just my guess, it just happened to be right.”
“Of course I knew it was your guess! You can’t stand on my windowsill every day and watch me change my underwear, can you?” Disraeli asked, “I’m talking about how did you guess?”
Arthur glanced at his tawdry to the core attire and spoke faintly, “Like you said Benjamin, you’re a bit of a fashionista in the London social scene, and you’ve always had a very elaborate style of dress. Today, for example, you’re wearing a Byzantine purple tuxedo with a pair of burgundy pants, so from a color-coordination standpoint, I’m inclined to think that you’d be pairing it with a pair of dark green bloomers.” Hearing this, Disraeli couldn’t help but applaud and exclaim, “Arthur, I really didn’t expect that your observation was actually meticulous to this extent. Although I used to think that detectives are not something that ordinary people can do, they have to know chemistry, museum science and even criminal psychology. I didn’t expect that you would even be so attentive to fashion trends and color schemes. It’s really not without reason that you can become a police celebrity that the citizens of London look up to.”
Arthur just smiled and took off his hat in return, “Benjamin, you’re really flattering, my observation of London fashion is ultimately far inferior to yours.”
Disraeli asked again, “But you haven’t told me yet, what exactly are you suddenly thinking of buying cologne for? You really don’t smell like anything.”
In response to Disraeli’s questioning, Arthur still chose to change the topic, after all, this case involved a councilor, and he still didn’t intend to reveal too much to the public before he had a clear picture of the situation.
He just interrupted, “There is no body odor because I bathe often, Benjamin, you’re fine and don’t listen to those scientific magazines nonsense, bathing less and washing less doesn’t reduce the probability of you getting sick. Just wiping your body with a wet towel every night won’t solve your hygiene problem. As for the cologne, I’m planning to use it as a deodorizer, I’m going to hire a manure digger to clean out the toilet landfill pit in my house in a while, so I can’t help but use the cologne to make the air fresh at that time.”
Hearing this, Disraeli couldn’t help but ask, “Speaking of which, it’s time to empty my family’s toilet. By the way, is the cleaning price still two shillings now?”
Arthur replied back, “It’s gone up slightly, the economy has been doing well lately, so wages for all kinds of jobs have gone up, but it’s only right to pay a few more pence for this kind of dirty and tiring work.”
The two just chatted along the way, and it didn’t take long before they arrived in front of a hut in the backyard.
Before they even entered, they could feel various fragrant aromas overflowing in the air.
When they took a gentle sniff, they felt refreshed, nowadays, places like this are not often seen in London.
Just after stepping into the door, they saw a middle-aged man wearing only a white shirt, holding a medicine spoon in his left hand and a perfume bottle in his right hand in front of a long table full of colorful bottles and jars, saying something in a broken voice.
“Mediterranean Passion for the Marquess of Londonderry, 8 drops of bergamot, 1 drop of grapefruit, 5 drops of orange, 1 drop of cardamom …… Bordeaux Fields for the Earl of Winchelsea, 4 drops of lavender, 4 drops of happy sage, 2 drops of orange blossom, 2 drops of rosemary … …”
Seeing this, the little fellow stepped forward and softly shouted, “Mr. Rui Mystery, another guest has come to you to configure a custom-made special cologne.”
Remy?
When Arthur heard this name, he instantly remembered the Book of Perfume that he had shunted from Fiona’s hand, that French perfumer Rui Rui who had recently been making a name for himself in London was the broken-hearted gentleman in front of him?
Rui Mystery just rubbed her hair in annoyance when she heard the little fellow’s voice.
“Alright… You leave the list and I’ll match it later. Right now I have to focus on finishing a few big orders, matching perfume is a delicate job, one drop more or less of essential oil and the aroma will show a very different effect. I have to think hard about how to make these noble men and women exude a distinctive scent at the banquet, so that people will think that the guy who made the perfume for them is absolutely extraordinary with just one whiff.”
Seeing this, the little fellow wanted to say more to Rui Rui, but he wanted to stop talking.
Because he knew that the perfumer in front of him was the one that the boss had spent a lot of money on, if he got him angry and quit, he could not afford to take the responsibility.
Arthur saw the situation, just patted the shoulders of the little fellow, indicating that he can go to go busy with his go, do not worry about here.
The little man saw the situation is first a sigh of relief, and then took off his hat to Arthur revealed a slightly apologetic smile, and then retreated out.
Seeing him walk away, Arthur paced behind Remy with both hands behind his back.
He watched as Remy trembled as he reached into the jar of essential oils with the medicine spoon, then carefully added it drop by drop into the concoction cup.
Arthur suddenly spoke up and asked, “I’m told there’s a cologne here that Sir Isaac Newton used?”
It was fine if Arthur didn’t make a sound, but when he did, it scared Remy so much that her hand shook and she almost pushed the moderator jar to the floor.
He jerked his head back, and the half-length hair on his forehead jerked back behind his head with the motion of turning back.
Rui Miao said angrily, “What are you doing? This is my private space, you can’t enter without permission, didn’t Mr. Baxter tell you that?”
The Baxter in Rui Rui’s mouth was precisely the owner of this store, looking at his appearance, he probably took Arthur as a new fellow.
However, for Arthur, it didn’t matter what RuiMi took him for.
Relying on his previous experience with Vidocq, he fully grasped the essentials of how to deal with a Frenchman.
Arthur simply fished out his police officer’s card from his pocket and laid it in front of Rui Mystery: “Arthur Hastings, Superintendent of the Criminal Crime Investigation Department of the Greater London Police, may I come in now, please?”
“Police?!”
Hearing this identity, Rui Mystery was so shocked that she hurriedly leaned back and protected her perfume jar.
“What are you …… doing here? I’m a decent businessman, and I haven’t done anything illegal or criminal, what gives you the right to arrest me?”
Arthur put away his police officer’s card and smiled, “Mr. Rui Puzzle, you’re right. The French police don’t need any reason to arrest someone, but the British police more or less still need a reason. Therefore, I am not here to arrest you today, but I am here to find you to configure some cologne that suits me. What kind of fragrance do you think I really need in order for criminals to be able to sense the scent of danger on my body with just one whiff when they come near me?”
When Rui Mystery heard this, his lifted heart was finally half lowered, and he gulped and said, “Please forgive me, you are dangerous enough right now, perfume or something else is really not needed.”
Later.
(End of chapter)