Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

As Dr. Fell spoke, he absently stuffed tobacco into his meerschaum pipe, manuscripts, photographs, and letters resting on his knees, staring sleepily at a corner of the ceiling. "If you don't mind, I'll take you back to the day Hervor Brooke was killed in Chartres, the fatal 12th of August. "I'm not as eloquent as Regaud. He can describe to you in exact terms the mansion he calls the Garden of Excellence, the meandering river, and the palace of Henry IV standing amidst the dark woods." The tower, the rumbling of thunder but the lingering heat of rain. In fact, he has said all of these," Dr. Phil tapped the stack of manuscripts, "but I want you to understand People in the circle have some understanding.

"My God! It doesn't get any better than that. "Fay Thurton was going to marry Harry Brooke. She was really in love with him--or she believed she was in love with him--in love with this puny, heartless young man, This man has nothing to offer but youth and good looks. Do you remember when Harry told Reigold that he was rejected the first time he proposed to Fay?" Barbara hangs out again. She exclaimed, "You're not right! This never happened!" "Oh!" Dr. Phil nodded excitedly in agreement. "It really didn't happen. This will help us connect all the details. Fay must have known that she couldn't marry anyone—in the sincerity of her heart—" — Unless she's going to ruin this marriage in 3 months because she's... let's not talk about that.

"But now—no! The time is different. Let's adjust it. At this time, she is immersed in love physically and mentally, and I believe it will have a good result. In this way, after she went to France to work as Hervor Brooke's secretary, No one will say anything against her anymore. "During this period Harry Brooke - who didn't actually see anything, it was all in his imagination - started writing anonymous letters against Fay to drive his father crazy. Harry's only The intention was to achieve his ultimate goal, to go to Paris to study painting. How could he like a girl who was quiet and passive? He was pushed away when he hugged her, and she was cold when he kissed her. Of course not! This is just a short period of his life episode!

"Sarcasm? I thought so. "Next, a very symbolic storm broke the silence. On the 12th of August, someone assassinated Mr. Brooke. I'll tell you how that man did it." Miles turned quickly. Miles strode to the edge of the bed and sat down beside Professor Reigold.The two had different thoughts, and neither of them said a word. "Yesterday morning," Dr. Fell put down his tobacco-filled pipe, picked up the stack of manuscripts, and weighed them in his hands. "My good friend Regaud described the case to me. If I quote anything that sounds familiar to you two, it is because Regaud used the same words when describing the incident.

"He also showed me that evil hidden sword cane," Dr. Phil winked at Professor Reigold opposite. "Did you—uh huh—bring that thing?" Reigold picked up the hidden sword and cane in an unhappy and somewhat fearful posture, and threw it towards the center of the room.Dr. Phil caught it neatly.Barbara took the move as an attack and backed away in fright, leaning against the closed door. "Ah, damn it!" cried Professor Reigold, waving his arms in the air. "Do you doubt my argument?" asked Dr. Phil. "But when I gave you a brief analysis earlier today, you didn't doubt it."

"No, no, no!" said Professor Reigold. "You're all right about Fay Seton, I have no doubts. I'm just making an opinion when I tell you that the characteristics of vampires in folklore also fit the characteristics of sexual maniacs. I'm just a sarcastic cynic, I haven't seen anything with my own eyes!" "Dude," Dr. Phil said, "as you said, you're not very interested in tangible clues, which is why when you wrote this case, you were so careless..." "Watch what?" Barbara asked. "Dr. Phil, who killed Mr. Brooke?"

The distant thunder outside the house shook the window frames and startled them too.In wet June, it's about to start raining again. Dr. Fell said: "Let me briefly analyze to you all that happened that afternoon. You have seen for yourselves that when you try to put together the stories of Professor Reigold and Faye, you ignore some details. "It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon when Hervor Brooke returned to the Superior Park from the Lyon Credit Bank with a briefcase containing money. The whole murder incident started at this time, and we can start from here. At that time Where are the other members of the household?

"Fay left the house with her bathing suit and towel by 3 p.m. and strolled north along the embankment. Mrs. Brooke was in the kitchen talking to the cook. Harry Brooke was in his room on the second floor— He was writing a letter. We know that from the letter." Dr. Phil held up the letter. Made a grimace, and continued: "Mr. Brooke came home at 3 o'clock and asked where Harry was. Mrs. Brooke told him that Harry was in his room on the second floor. Harry thought his father was in the office at this time. Gold's records indicate that he thought so at the time), completely unaware that his father was on his way home, dropping the half-written letter into the garage.

"Mr. Brooke went up to Harry's room, and came down shortly afterwards. Now we find an interesting change in Mr. Brooke's demeanor. He is less irritable than before. We can tell from Mrs. Brooke's description of his behavior when he came down. : 'He looked so pitiful, he was much older, and he came down the stairs sluggishly, as if seriously ill.' When he went upstairs to Harry's room, what did he find? "He saw the half-written letter on Harry's desk. He glanced at it first, couldn't help looking again, and froze; he simply picked it up and read it from beginning to end. All his happiness The day was ruined in an instant.

"Letters to Jimmy Moore detailing Harry's whole plan to smear Fay Seton. Anonymous letters, fabricated scandals, vampire hoaxes, all from his son Harry. His favorite, He thought that the most innocent and ignorant son did not hesitate to use dirty and indecent means to deceive his father to achieve his goal. "Can you imagine how much Howo was so shocked that he couldn't speak? Can you imagine him walking down the stairs, very slowly—slowly, so to speak!—slowly along the river Dying towards the Stone Tower? He had an appointment with Fay at 4 o'clock. He still kept the appointment. In my opinion, Brooke is such a honest and sincere man that he must think that his misunderstanding of Fay is far more serious than Harry's. What he has done is even more inexcusable. He must go to the top of the tower for an appointment, and he must go there to apologize to her seriously."

Dr. Phil stopped. Barbara shuddered, glanced at Miles sitting on the bed listening intently, and restrained herself from speaking. Dr. Phil continued: "We're back in time now. Mr. Brooke arrives at the tower for an appointment in a raincoat and fedora, the same way he dressed for the Crédit Lyonnais. Five minutes later, who shows up? Harry! Surprise Well - he'd heard his father come home and asked where the others were. Mrs Brooke told him what had happened. Harry ' stood there thinking, muttering words' and decided to follow his father." Dr. Phil leaned forward gravely. "Now. We're going to mention an important point that neither Reigold nor the official police report mentioned. No one thought it was important, and the only person who mentioned it was Fay Thurton, although when it happened She wasn't there and didn't know about it, unless she had some other reason to know. "That's what she told Miles Hammond last night. She said that when Harry Brooke decided to follow Mr. Brooke out of the house, she immediately grabbed his raincoat." Dr. Phil looked at Miles. "Do you remember this passage?" "Yes," Miles replied, throat tightening, "but what's wrong with him wearing his raincoat? After all, wasn't it drizzling that day?" Dr. Phil waved him to silence. "Professor Reigold," Dr. Phil said, "after hearing this, he followed Brooke and his son to the tower out of good intentions. At the gate of the tower, he met Fay unexpectedly. "Fay told him that Harry and Mr. Brooke had had an argument at the top of the tower, and she said she hadn't heard what they were arguing about; and she looked at Reigold 'like someone remembering a terrible past'. She said she didn't want to get involved at the time and ran away in a frenzy. "Rigold found their father and son at the top of the tower, both pale and emotional. Mr. Brooke asked Harry to agree. He wanted to use his own way - whatever it was - to deal with this matter. Harry seemed to be still While begging bitterly, Mr. Brook insisted that Reigold take Harry away. "Harry was clearly not wearing a raincoat at this time - 'Harry had no hat and coat', as Regauder described him in only a corduroy suit. The blade of the cane was screwed into the scabbard intact Here, leaning against the parapet of the tower, the briefcase bulged. "As I was reading this manuscript, this adjective caught my attention. "Bloat! "Back then the briefcase was not quite the same as the one Horn Brooke showed Professor Regaud in front of the Lyon Credit Bank. Inside - and I quote Regaud - four small bundles of notes. Nothing else! But Now, Reigold took Harry away, leaving Mr. Brooke alone on the tower with other things stuffed in his briefcase..." "Look here!" said Dr. Phil. He raised the yellow wooden hidden sword cane. Unscrew the handle with extra care, pull out the thin sword body from the hollow wooden staff, and lift it up. "This weapon," he said, "was found in the ground in two parts when Mr. Brooke was killed. The blade was near the victim's feet and the scabbard was rolled to the parapet. The two parts were found a few days after the murder. , were not tied together. The police separated them and brought them to experts for inspection as they were at the scene. "In other words," Dr. Fell explained loudly, "the two halves of the cane were not put back on until the blood was all over. But there was still blood in the scabbard. What do you think of that?" Dr. Phil raised his eyebrows, glanced at the people around him, and encouraged them to answer. "I've got a horrible thought, and I think I know what you're referring to!" Barbara said in a vocal voice. "I don't quite get it, but what's on my mind is—" "What is it?" Dr. Phil asked. Barbara said: "It was Mr. Brooke who came out of the house after reading Harry's letter. He walked slowly towards the tower. Trying to understand everything his son had done. Thinking in his head what he should do." "That's right," Dr. Phil said softly. "We'll follow him." "I dare say it. When Harry Brooke heard from his mother about Mr. Brooke's unexpected return home, he felt something was wrong. He heard his father come upstairs, and remembered the half-written letter upstairs. He Did father see the letter? It was very important to him. So Harry put on his raincoat and - let's just make a guess - ran after his father. "He chased to the tower and found Mr. Brooke climbing up the tower alone. Harry followed him up. When he saw his father's face in the dim light of the wind blowing, he knew that Horn Brooke knew everything. . "Mr. Brooke had hardly had time to tell what he had just learned. Fay heard the whole thing on the stairs. "She came back from a walk along the embankment to the north, and as she told us, it was 3:30. She didn't go for a swim, with her swimming gear hanging on her arm. She stepped into the tower. She heard voices coming from the top of the tower. The sound of arguing came. She crept upstairs in white leather net sandals. "Standing hesitantly on the dimly lit winding staircase, Fay Seton not only heard, but witnessed what happened next. She saw Harry and his father both wearing raincoats. When Horn Brooke gestured with his hands , she saw the yellow wooden cane leaning against the parapet, the briefcase resting on the floor. "What did the emotional father say? Threatening to disown Harry? Possibly. He swore until he died that Harry would never have a chance to see Paris or learn to draw? Possibly. He recounts the nasty stuff, about how Harry beautifully ruined the reputation of a girl who loved him so much? It seemed so. "Fay heard it all. "Obviously what made her suffer was not only what she heard, but also what she saw. "The scene must have gotten out of control. My father turned around suddenly after he had finished speaking, his back to Harry, in the same position as he was later. Harry saw his plans all ruined, and all he could think was that there would be no good days in his life. A thought suddenly flashed in his mind. Like an angry child, he grabbed the sword-hiding cane, unscrewed the sword from the scabbard, and stabbed his father in the back." Dr. Phil's huge body became stiff because of these words, he combined the two parts of the hidden sword cane into one, and gently placed it on the ground. Barbara, Miles, and Professor Reigold were silent, and no one made a sound during this period of time, which was enough to count silently from one to ten.Miles stood up slowly.Gradually become more flexible.Gradually recovering... "So," Miles said, "that's when the sword was stabbed?" "That's right, it was stabbed at that time." "the time is?" Dr. Phil continued: "It's almost 3:50. Professor Reigold is almost arriving at the tower. "The wound by the sword was small, but extremely deep. After the forensic examination, we knew that this would make the victim think that he was not seriously injured. Howard Brooke saw his son standing there with a pale face. , still don't understand what he's done. How will this father react to all this? If you know a guy like Brooke, you can expect that. "Fey Seton slipped downstairs unnoticed. She ran away when she met Reigold at the entrance. Reigold heard voices from the top of the tower. Sticking her head in Terry, shout at them. "According to Reigold, the voices above stopped immediately. That's right, they stopped arguing! "Let me repeat, how did Horn Brooke feel at the time? He heard the call of his friend Reigold, and knew that the pudgy Reigold would climb to the top of the tower as soon as possible. In this embarrassing confusion Well, would Brooke still berate Harry out of instinct? It's a family scandal, of course he wouldn't do it! Instead, his last hope was to calm things down and pretend nothing happened. "I think the father yelled at his son, 'Give me your raincoat!' I daresay, he just did it. "Can you - um - understand? "The hole pierced through the back of his own raincoat began to soak with blood. A good raincoat not only prevents the outside rain from getting in, but also prevents the blood from seeping inside. If he puts on Harry's raincoat, he will dispose of himself. If you drop it, you can cover the bleeding wound on your back... "Guess what he did. Immediately he took off his raincoat, rolled it up in his briefcase, and tied the tie. He put the sword back into the scabbard (that's why there was blood in the scabbard), and put the The cane tightened and swung back against the wall. He put on Harry's raincoat. Regaud had already climbed to the top of the stairs, and Horn Brooke was ready to cover up the scandal. "The tense and thrilling scene on the top of the tower is completely different from what we thought! "The pale son stammered: 'But, Dad——!' The father said coldly without showing a trace of expression: 'This is the last time, can you let me handle this in my own way? ?' And that's it, then suddenly said: 'Can you please take my son away until I get this done on my own terms? Anywhere!' And the father turned and walked over. "His voice was cold, chilling. You must have felt it, dear Reigold, when you said that Harry followed you down the stairs like a deflated ball. Later in the woods, Harry was gloomy. The blinking eyes were actually thinking about what the old guy was going to do? "What's the old guy going to do? He's going home, of course, with that bloody raincoat he's stashed in his briefcase. Don't let the family scandal out. My son's trying to murder me! It's the worst. He was going to go home. And then..." "Please continue, please!" When Dr. Fell's voice gradually dropped, Professor Reigold flicked his fingers and urged. "Next thing I don't know, he's getting ready to go home. And then—?" Dr. Phil looked up. "He found he couldn't," Dr. Fell said simply. "Horver Brooke knew he was going to go down. He suspected he was dying. "He was so sure he couldn't get down the 40-foot spiral staircase that he would have fallen. He'd be here unconscious in Harry's raincoat, with his own blood-stained raincoat in his briefcase. Lie. Then people will know it's bloody Harry's work. "This man loves his son so much. He's been terrified of two things in the same afternoon. He thinks the boy has made a big mistake. But he can't bear to see Harry—the stupid, spoiled Bad Harry - got himself in trouble. So he had to do something, do something to make people think he was killed after Harry left. "He struggled to get the raincoat out of the briefcase and put it on. Harry's raincoat was blood-stained now, and he stuffed it into the briefcase. He had to find a way to get rid of the briefcase. The easiest The way is to throw it into the river below. "It's not as simple as just pushing it over the side, though. Although the policeman in Chartres closed the case with suicide that he accidentally knocked the briefcase into the river. He couldn't just throw it into the river. The reason here is not difficult to understand, the briefcase will float on the water. "The emplacement parapet facing the river already had a few fragments of loose rock that could easily be pulled off and put in a briefcase and relaced. A briefcase heavy enough would sink to the bottom of the river. "When he had done his best, he drew the sword-hiding cane out of its scabbard, wiped Harry's fingerprints off the grip - that's why there were only his own on it - and threw the two halves of the cane on the ground. Then Howard Brooke collapsed. He wasn't dead when the kid who found him screamed; he was dying when Harry and Reigold arrived. He died in Harry's arms, sadly Clutching Harry, trying to let Harry know that all evidence of his father's murder had been wiped out. "God rest his soul," Dr. Phil said, slowly covering his eyes with his hands. At this time, only Dr. Phil's panting sound was heard in the room.A few drops of rain splashed on the window. "Everyone," Dr. Fell moved his hands over his eyes, and looked calmly at his companions, "I've told you everything I know. From reading Regaud's manuscript last night, and listening to tells the story of Fay Thurton, and presents the only plausible explanation for Horn Brooke's death. "The bloodstains inside the sword-hiding staff showed that the blade had been sheathed and drawn out before it was discovered! And that bulging briefcase! Harry's disappearing raincoat! The rocks from the parapet! There are also puzzling fingerprint suspicions! "The mystery of these mysteries is actually very simple. It is that the raincoats of the two people are very similar. "We don't put our names on the raincoats. The raincoats are the same color and the same size. As Regold said. We know that Harry Brooke is about the same height and build as his father. Most English people think that He is proud that no matter what class he is, no matter how old his raincoat is, he will not be a thorn in the eyes of others. Next time you go to a restaurant, you can observe it and see the whole row of rumpled clothes hanging on the coat on the hook, it's not hard to understand what I'm talking about. "So, our friend Reigold never dreamed that the Mr. Brooke he saw at two different times was actually wearing two different raincoats. And he was wearing his own raincoat when he died, so no one would Suspicious. No one will notice, except Fay Thurton." Reigold stood up and paced back and forth in the room. "She knows?" he asked. "There is no doubt about it." "But when I met her at the gate of the tower, she was in a hurry. What had she done?" "I can tell you that," said Barbara unhurriedly. Professor Reigold made a gesture of disapproval and was about to boo her. "Depending on you? Miss, how would you know?" "I can tell you," Barbara replied simply, "I would do the same thing if it were me." Barbara's eyes flashed with pain and sympathy. "Let me go on, I can totally imagine it! "Fay, as she said, she went for a swim in the river afterwards. She wanted to cool off and wash herself. She was really - really in love with Harry Brooke. It's easy to be sure of your feelings in a situation like this." Is it true or not..." Barbara shook her head, "No matter what! The past is in the past. Now is the beginning of a new life. "When she crept up to the top of the tower and heard what Harry said about her, it was like he knew intuitively that it was true! It was like the whole world was watching her and knew it was true. She saw it with her own eyes. Harry assassinated his father, but she also thought that Mr. Brooke was not seriously injured. "Fay dived into the water and floated towards the tower. Remember, there were no witnesses on the other side of the tower! Then—" Barbara cried out, "Fay saw that briefcase thrown from the tower! Barbara was very excited, and turned to Dr. Phil, "Am I right?" Dr. Phil bowed his head heavily. "Ma'am, you've struck gold." "She dived for the briefcase. She took it with her when she left the river. Of course Fay didn't know what was going to happen. Until then, what happened..." Barbara hesitated for a moment. . "We were on our way here and Miles Hammond told me her story, and I don't think she knew what was going on until..." "Until," Miles went on excitedly, "until Harry ran home in a scurrying look of fake shock and yelled at her, 'My God! Fay, someone killed my dad.'" There was a look of contempt on Yi's face when she told me." "Wait!" said Professor Reigold. Professor Reigold stood up just now, so everyone thought he wanted to stand up, but in fact he didn't move. Professor Reigold raised an index finger to attract attention. "I can see the meaning behind this contemptuous expression," Reigold said. "All the living are dead, yes! That woman—" he shook his index finger, "—now has enough evidence Guillotine Harry Brook! Won't you?" He looked at Dr. Fell. Dr. Phil agreed, "Dam dong, you've hit gold too." Professor Reigold continued triumphantly: "There are stones in the briefcase that are used to increase weight, which were once worn by Brooke, but they were Harry's blood-stained raincoat. These are the testimonies in court. They can prove the truth of the matter. ,” he paused to think, “but Fay didn’t take that as evidence.” "Of course not," Barbara said. "Why do you say of course not, miss?" "Don't you understand?" said Barbara, "she's in a state of languid misery, she hardly smiles anymore? It doesn't mean anything to her. She doesn't even want to let Harry know what he is. What kind of person? "She is an amateur prostitute. He is a hypocrite who also accidentally became a murderer. Just treat these as each other's flaws, and each can do it for himself. There is no such thing as right and wrong in this world. I——I don't want you It sounds ridiculous, but you can feel that the situation should be like this. "So I thought," Barbara went on, "she told Harry. I guess she said she wasn't going to expose him unless she got caught by the police. She'd hide the briefcase and its contents in a The place. "So she kept the briefcase! That's it! She kept it for 6 years! She brought it back to London. She could have opened it anytime, there was just never a reason to do so, until...until... " Barbara's voice dropped.She suddenly felt vaguely afraid, as if wondering if her imagination had taken her too far.Dr. Fell leaned forward, eyes wide and snorting, to listen to her with great interest. "Until—" Dr. Phil urged her, the buzzing sound like the wind passing through a subway tunnel. "You said it so well! Don't stop! Faye never had a reason to open it until...?" Miles was barely listening, a choke of hatred rising from his throat. "So Harry Brook got away with it again this time?" Myers said. Facing Dr. Phil, Barbara suddenly turned around: "What did you say?" "His father wanted to protect him," Miles said contemptuously. "Even when he was bending over the dying man, he could pretend to ask, 'Daddy, who did it?' Now we know that Fei E Seton is trying to protect him, too." "Calm down, young man! Calm down!" Miles said: "Harry has always been able to get away with it in this life. Whether it is his dog luck or innate good luck, I don't want to guess. This guy should have been sent to the guillotine, or in the Alcatraz for the rest of his life. Instead, Fay Thurton, who never hurt anyone, took the blame for him..." He raised his voice. "I wish I knew Harry Brooke six years ago! I'd like to settle the score with him myself!" "It's not that hard," Dr. Phil said. "Are you going to settle accounts with him yourself now?" Suddenly there was a burst of thunder, and intermittent reverberations spread to the roof, shaking the room rumbling.Dr. Phil, who was sitting by the window, was splashed by the falling raindrops, holding an unlit pipe in his hand, with a strange expression. Dr. Fell suddenly raised his voice. "Hydley, are you out there?" he yelled. Barbara jumped from the door, startled, and groped her way to the corner of the bed.Professor Reigold was swearing in French, which was unusual in a generally polite social situation. A gust of rainy wind blew in from the window, shaking the chandelier on the chest of drawers, and the sound of heavy footsteps came from the corridor outside the closed door.The doorknob opened with a slight twist, but a few hands were still frantically wrestling with it.The door swung open and bounced against the wall.The three of them staggered in a ball and rushed in, kicking the tin box, almost losing their footing. On one side stood Hadley, clutching a man's wrist, and on the other was a uniformed police officer.in the middle is... "Professor Reigold," Dr. Fell said in a bright voice, "can you point us to the young man in the middle?" Miles Hammond found himself staring at the man intently.The corner of the man's mouth was tightly pursed, and his twisted legs stubbornly and forcefully kicked his captors.It was Miles who answered. "Identify him?" "Yes," said Dr. Phil. "Hey," Miles called, "what's all this going on? He's Stephen Curtis. My sister's fiancé! What the hell are you trying to do?" "We're going to—" Dr. Phil said sternly, "identify. I think we've done that. This man called Stephen Curtis is Harry Brook."