Chapter 499 - Gentleman Thief (2/2)

“Who are you tailing?”

Sherlock Holmes wasn’t one for the niceties like the ordinary Joe. He skipped the polite words and went straight to the point.

“A thief. He has committed several crimes so far, but few know of his existence.”

“Oh, why is that?”

“Because he is different from other thieves. He doesn’t target valuable things such as jewelry, relics, or art pieces. Instead, he pays attention to the value behind the items he wants to steal,” Villard explained.

“He usually targets reputable people in society. I must say that he is rather bold because he actually went for some European royal families! Once he locks on to his target, he will start to unearth all the dark secrets behind them. It could be a shameful affair, perhaps a murder the target committed years ago… These are all things they wished dearly that they could hide away. Once he steals something that can be used as evidence, the owner will be left miserable, looking at an obscene extortion fee. The worst part is they can’t go to the authorities for help.”

“Is he a gentleman thief? Or is it more appropriate to call him a blackmailer? What did your client lose?” Holmes asked with interest.

Villard hesitated and said, “If it was someone else, I couldn’t tell you anything due to the agreement I made with my client. However, I believe in you and your friends. All of you are gentlemen of high moral character…”

“That’s enough. Just skip the praising part and talk about the key points.” Holmes waved his hand.

“My client is a Viscount. He likes Ca.n.a.letto’s oil paintings very much. About nine years ago, a well-known collector’s house had been robbed, and he lost a lot of things, including a Ca.n.a.letto oil painting. Two years later, someone approached my client and asked him if he wanted to buy something good. My instant client recognized that the person was holding the missing Ca.n.a.letto painting. He knew that people of his stature should never get his hands on stolen goods, but he l.u.s.ted so badly for the painting. So, he approached the collector and asked to buy it. However, the collector rejected his offer. Now that he has the chance to take it into his possession, he would definitely not let it go. So, he chose an indirect way to purchase the painting.

“On the surface, he refused to buy it, even asking him not to step into his mansion again. Once the left, he secretly found an unrelated person to buy the painting from him. All these years, he never took the painting out for the exhibition. He left it at his residence and indulged its marvel alone. Somehow, it was discovered by that seller later. And this is why I came to London,” Villard explained it all in one breath.

“However, it is more important for me to visit you first,” he added.