Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

"Come on!" Dr. Phil struck the floor with his cane, looked around the crowd with a kindly persuasive look, and said with interest and anger, "Don't tell me this will surprise you, don't tell me this To shock you. You, Miss Dan! Don't you know her? Don't you know that she hates you?" Madeleine wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, then put her hand around Page's arm. "I think so," Madeleine said. "I don't know her very well yet. But I can't tell you, can I? I'm afraid you think I'm cruel enough." Page felt the need to make some revisions of thinking.It seems to be the same for everyone else.However, this idea has not yet been digested, and Brian's mind is occupied by new ideas.The idea is to:

The case is not over yet. Whether it was because of a slight expression in Dr. Phil's eyes, a change in the gesture of holding the cane, or a slight tremor of his mountainous body, Page wasn't sure.But he just felt that way, and besides, Dr. Phil was still sitting in the study, and he didn't seem to have finished his conversation.Someone is lying in ambush in the dark.In the dark there's a gun aimed at someone's head. "Go on," Murray said quietly. "I believe in you, go ahead." "Yes!" Barrow said blankly, and sat down. The doctor's drowsy voice echoed in the quiet study.

"From all the physical evidence, there is nothing suspicious about this case from the beginning," he went on. "The source of all confusion has been 'here', whether spiritual or otherwise, and the source of all confusion is that in the attic. Only a locked cabinet. Someone has been using it. Someone has been going through the storage in there, removing the books, changing them, playing with the knickknacks inside. Someone who is naturally energetic uses it as a den generally. "The idea that some outsider or neighbor crawled into the lair is too general to be seriously pursued. It's impossible, spiritually or physically. You wouldn't Create a space like a personal club in someone's attic, especially with an army of curious servants staring at you. You can't come and go at night without being caught by the servants or others. You can't It is easy to open the newly replaced door lock by the owner. Take Miss Dan as an example," Dr. Phil said with an innocent radiance on his face, "you know, even though she once held a key to a small attic room, she has now It doesn't work anymore.

"The next question is: what is Sir John Farley's vexation? "Think about it, ladies and gentlemen. "Why couldn't this restless, self-conscious Puritan find comfort at home? Did he have anything else on his mind? Why, on the night when his title challenged him, all he did was sit in the house pacing back and forth and bringing up Victoria Daly? Why was he so disturbed by the fact that there were people snooping around 'folklore'? What was the meaning of his cryptic code words to Miss Dan? That he had been 'sentimentally Looking up at the church and saying how much he wished he had a stand to go'.

"What to do? To denounce the unrighteous in the church loudly? Why did he once go up to the attic with what looked like a dog's whip, and when he came down, he was pale and sweaty, unable to swing the whip to punish the intruder A domestic servant in the attic forbidden area? "The psychological aspects of this case are at the heart of it, as much as the physical evidence I'm going to talk about; and all I can do is to unravel it a little bit." Dr. Phil paused.He stared gravely, even sadly, at the desk.Then he took out his pipe. "Let's go back to the background of this woman, strong woman and perfect hostess: Molly Suden. Patrick Gower mentioned a fact two nights ago. He seemed to freak you all out, Because he said she never loved the Sir Farley you know. He said she was just a 'phantom' attached to and married to a boy she knew years ago. True. And then she found out, It wasn't the same boy or the same person at all; we'll probably never know about her anger.

"What is the source of this obsession, even if it's just in the head of a seven-year-old? "It's not hard to find out. This is the age when impressions from the outside world take root in us through early tastes. These impressions never fade, even when we think we have forgotten. I will play chess and draw pottery until the day I die. I have a soft spot for pictures of fat old Dutchmen with long pipes, because I remember them hanging on the wall of my father's study when I was a kid. For the same reason you might like ducks, or ghost stories, or electromechanics. "Well, who is this man who idolizes a boy John Farley? Who is the only one who defends him? Who is John Farley taking to the Gypsy Camp—I say the Gypsy Camp is hoping you Pay special attention to this—take who to take into the woods? What kind of stuff does this guy put in her head when he's still ignorant about the subject of Satan worship, and hasn't even learned about it in Sunday class? Satanic thinking?

"What about the next few years? We don't know how this interest developed in her head. Just one thing: she spent a lot of time dealing with the Fang Lei family, and also because she was obviously quite influential on two generations of Sir Dudley. You can only arrange Knoss to be the housekeeper here—isn't it Knoss?" He scanned the crowd. Kronos hadn't moved from the moment he started talking.He is 74 years old.His pale face, which was full of emotion, was completely gone now.He opened and closed his mouth in a pantomime nod; but he never spoke.There is only fear in his whole body to describe.

"We can deduce," continued Dr. Phil, "that she began to read books from the attic library at an early age. Exactly when she began to study satanic books, Elliott could not trace, but probably It happened a few years before she got married. There are enough men in this area who have had a relationship with her to surprise you. But some of them don't understand Satan worship, and some don't want to talk about it. And this The point is, after all, what matters most to us. It is what concerns her most, and it is the source of the tragedy. So, what happened? "After a long period of mysterious disappearance, so-called 'John Farley' returned to his so-called ancestral homeland. Molly Sudden was a different person. Her idol returned. Her first teacher returned. She Determined to marry him no matter what. So just over a year ago—1 year and 3 months to be exact—they got married.

"Oh, my God, is there a worse marriage in the world? "I want to ask a very solemn question. You know who and what she thought she married. You know what she married. You can guess what secret feelings he has for her." contempt; and the indifferent decorum he maintained with her when he found out the truth. You can guess how she felt, too, having to put on the mask of a beloved wife knowing inwardly that he had seen it. A false decorum was maintained between them , pretending not to know that the other had discovered the truth. For, as he knew about her, she of course soon discovered that he was not the real John Farley. And so they held each other's secrets in secret hatred .

"Why didn't he expose her? She was the most reprehensible thing in his Puritan mind. If he had the guts, he'd go to her with a whip. Not only that, but she's a criminal. Don't get me wrong, folks." The poison she supplied was worse than heroin or cocaine. She was an accomplice to Victoria Daly's murder, and he knew it. You've heard his complaints, and you know what he thinks. So why? Why doesn't he just expose her behavior? "Because he was in no position to do so. Because they held each other's secrets. He couldn't be sure he wasn't Sir John Farley; but he was afraid it was the truth. He couldn't be sure that she would prove he wasn't Farley once he had exposed her. Well, she could bite back; but he's afraid it's true. He's not quite the bright and cheerful character Miss Dan describes him to be. No, he's not a conscious imposter. His memory is blank, and he can only Groping in the dark. Most of the time he is very sure that he is Fang Lei. But from the perspective of a normal person, unless he is cornered and has to face the facts, he would rather not make too many demands on fate. Because he himself Or maybe a criminal."

Nathani Barrow jumped up. "I can't take it any longer," he said in a trembling voice. "I refuse to take it any longer. Inspector, I solemnly request that you stop this man from speaking! He has no right to judge a case without trial. As a law enforcement officer, you have no right to speak out against my client." "You'd better sit down, Mr. Barrow," said Elliott softly. "But--" "I say sit down, Mr. Barrow." Madeleine asked Dr. Phil: "You mentioned that earlier," she reminded him. "Says he's 'distressed' by some sort of guilt, but he doesn't know exactly what. His 'guilty' makes him less of a Puritan, and it seems to run through all the episodes. Seriously, though. Yes, I really don't see how it has anything to do with the case. How do you explain it?" Dr. Fell put the empty pipe in his mouth and sucked on it. "Explain," he replied, "the twisted door hinges, and the white door that the hinges support. That's the secret of the case. We'll get to that part later. "These two men each held secrets like daggers up their sleeves, and played tricks in public, even in front of each other. Just three months before their wedding, Victoria Daly, the victim of a secret demonic ritual, The victim died. You can imagine how Fang Lei felt at that time. If I have a position to go—this idea has become a lingering belief in his heart. As long as he has no position to expose her, she will be safe. So for more than a year She sits back and relax. "Unexpectedly, there was a thunder on the ground, and a claimant for the ownership of the royal property came. At the same time, a series of practical problems as simple as ABC approached her. It is: "She already knew he wasn't really a knight. "In the end it is very likely that the complainant will prove to be the real Sir. "Once this complainant wins, her husband will be stripped of his title. "If he loses his title, he can tell about her without any scruples, and he will definitely tell. "Therefore he must die. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's as simple as that." Kenny Murray squirmed restlessly in his chair and took his hand away from his face to block the light. "Wait, Doctor. So this is a long-planned crime?" "No!" replied Dr. Phil with the utmost earnestness. "No! No! No! That's exactly what I want to emphasize. It was hastily planned and executed at a critical moment two nights ago. Like a robot puppet being pushed down the stairs, it was just a sudden inspiration. "Let me explain. When she first heard about a complainant - and I suspect she knew about it earlier - she didn't feel the need to worry. Her husband would fight, she Will urge him to fight to the end; Ironically, for himself. She not only can't let her enemy be defeated, but she has to hold him firmly. Because of the current legal regulations and the courts are not too good at appealing for vested property If he is enthusiastic, his chances are great. No matter how long the case is delayed, she will always have some room to breathe and think. "What she didn't know was that the opponent carefully concealed it until two nights ago, the magic weapon, the fingerprint record. This is concrete physical evidence. It is irrefutable. With this fatal fingerprint record, all disputes It will end within half an hour. From what she knows about her husband, she knows that once the result is confirmed, once he confirms in his heart that he is not a real Sir, he will be honest enough to admit that he is a fake Sir. "When this grenade detonated, disaster was imminent. Remember Fang Lei's mood swings that night? If you would relay to me exactly what he said and did, I would say that there was a boldness to it all:' Well, let's test it. If I can pass, then it's all right. If I don't pass the test, then at least one reward will be enough to comfort me: I will be able to expose the scandal of this woman I married.' Keke, that's right. Do I describe the atmosphere well enough?" "Apt," Page agreed. "So she resorted to dangerous means. She must act immediately. Immediately! Immediately! She must act before the fingerprint comparison is completed. She resorted to means - like yesterday in the attic, she took advantage of me before I even opened my mouth. Hit me like that, and it's beautifully done; she managed to kill her husband." Baro, who was pale and sweating just now, slammed on the table to stop, but to no avail.Now there seemed to be a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "There seems to be no way to stop you," Barrow said. "Since the police are ignoring me, I can only protest. But I don't think your glib theories stand. I don't mean that you have no basis at all. Unless you can point out how Sir John Farley Murdered—he was alone, mind you—unless you can come up with an explanation—" His words caught in his throat; he stammered and spread his hands. "And for that, doctor, you have no explanation at all." "Oh, of course I can," Dr. Phil said. "Our first important clue appeared in the interrogation court yesterday," he continued as he recalled. "It is a good thing to put testimonies on the record. The evidence was there in the first place, and we just need to extract the pieces we need from it. Behold, the miracle is before our eyes. We are Got enough evidence for hanging. We took it, put it together and gave it to the prosecutor. And—" he gestured, "the scaffold is ready." "You found the testimony in the interrogation court?" Murray stared at him, "From whose mouth?" "Kronos," Dr. Phil said. The butler let out a whimper.He took a step forward and raised his hand to caress his face, but he still didn't say anything. Dr. Phil studied him carefully. "Ah, I know," growled the Doctor. "It's obviously a mess, but you still help clean it up. It's obviously a bad shot that went wrong, but you still help clean it up. Knoss, you love that woman deeply. She is your little baby. But you The testimony given in the trial court, which only wanted to tell the truth, inadvertently sent her to the gallows, just like you pulled the peg from the gallows with your own hands." His eyes were still on the butler. "I daresay some people must have thought you were lying," he went on easily, "but I know you haven't. You say Sir John Farley committed suicide. There's a point in your statement—your subconscious mind." Told you—you said you saw him throw the knife away. You said you saw the knife fly through the air. "I know you're not lying, because you didn't remember very well when you described this incident to Elliott and me the day before. You hesitated. You tried to recall this memory. When Elliott urged you , you are confused and shaken. 'It depends on the size of the knife,' you say. 'Besides, there are a lot of bats in the garden. Sometimes you can't even see a tennis ball clearly. You have to wait until—'Your The wording is clear. In other words: You saw something flying through the air at the same time as the murder. Your subconscious mind got confused because you actually saw the thing before the murder, not after. .” He said spreading his hands. "Curious bat," Barrow said sarcastically. "It's even more peculiar when it comes to tennis." "Something that looks like a tennis ball," Dr. Phil agreed gravely. "Smaller than a tennis ball, of course. Much smaller. "We'll talk about that later. Come back and think about the character of the wounds. We've heard too many startling or sentimental things about them. Our Mr. Murray has mentioned that they resemble sharp fangs or claws; he mentioned it could never have been made by the bloodstained jackknife. Even Patrick Goyle - if I recall correctly - made a very similar Comments. What did he say? 'I've only seen a wound like that once, when Penny Poole, the number one trainer west of the Mississippi, was killed by a leopard.' "The suspicion of the claw marks runs through the entire case. We found Dr. King's medical testimony in the trial court somewhat biased and intriguing. I have some fragments of his testimony here. Cough cough! Cough! Let me see: "'There are three fairly shallow wounds,' said Dr. King," as Dr. Fell stared sternly at his audience. "'A slight upward curve from the left side of the throat to the neck on the inside of the right chin. Two of them intersect each other.' The following description is more critical: 'There is severe tearing of the muscle tissue.' "Tissue tearing, eh? Gentlemen, it would be strange to say that the murder weapon was this sharp knife that Inspector Elliott is showing you now, although it is dented. Throat muscles are tearing. express-- "Let's see. Let's come back and study the claw marks. What are the characteristics of the scars caused by the claws? How can they be connected with the death of Sir John Farley? Claw marks usually have the following characteristics: "1. The wound is very shallow. "2. Wounds will be caused by sharp points pulling, scratching, tearing, not cutting. "3. The scars were not formed successively, but were created at the same time. "We found these points to be very consistent with the characteristics of the scar on Fang Lei's throat. I would like to draw your attention to the strange testimony of Dr. It's hard to explain it as suicide! Why? It's very simple, because he is just like Knox, Molly Fanglei is their little baby, her father is his old friend, she always calls him 'Uncle Ned', maybe He also knows her character quite well. But unlike Knoss, he covered her; he didn't send her to the gallows." Konos stretched out his hands, as if begging for something.Sweat dripped from his brow, but he still said nothing. Dr. Phil continued: "Not long ago Mr. Murray revealed to us the basis of the case. He spoke of something flying through the air, and repeatedly questioned why the knife, if it had been the murder weapon, had not fallen into the pool. Well, what What's going on? We know there's something flying toward Fang Lei in the twilight, something smaller than a tennis ball. We know it has claws, or spikes big enough to make claw marks—" Nathani Barrow let out a thin chuckle. "Flying claws," he teased. "Really, Doctor, what kind of myth is this? Can you tell me what this flying claw is?" "It's more than that," Dr. Phil said. "I can still show it to you. You all saw it yesterday." He removed an item wrapped in a red bandana from his bulky side pocket.He opened it carefully so that the thing's spikes wouldn't catch on the towel.Page recognized what was exposed there, and was surprised and confused.That was the thing in the wooden box that Dr. Phil found in the attic bookcase yesterday.A small but heavy shot put, to be exact, with four very large hooks equally spaced in it, resembling those used to catch stubborn deep-sea fish. "Do you doubt that this curious contraption can do anything?" asked the Doctor kindly. "Do you doubt that this thing can be of any real use to man? In fact, it had a very practical and dangerous use for medieval gypsies—I repeat, gypsies. Please. Pass me Gro's book, Inspector?" Elliott opened his briefcase and produced a large paperback book in a gray slipcover. "Here," Dr. Phil flipped through the pages of the book, "this book contains a complete record of all criminal incidents in history. I sent someone to the city to look for it last night, so that it can be used as an important reference. You can find it in On pages 249 to 250 find a detailed introduction to this shot put. "Gypsies of the day used this as a throwing weapon, and as a means of some mysterious, almost supernatural theft. This ball had a very light but extremely strong long fishing line attached to one end. Throw the ball Go out, and whatever you hit, these hooks will catch it lightly—regardless of which direction the hook falls, like a ship's anchor. The lead ball provides the gravity needed to cast, and the fishing line will pull the The booty is pulled back. There is such a description in the usage book about it: In throwing, gypsies, especially children, can be said to be extremely skilled.The children of all tribes play stone throwing as a game, but this game has a special purpose, which is to practice throwing as far as possible.The younger Gypsy child doesn't do this; he starts by collecting a bunch of rocks about the size of a walnut, and then chooses a target about 10 to 20 paces away, such as a large rock, a small wooden plank, or an old piece of cloth: Then he started throwing pebbles one by one... and practiced this for hours, and soon his technique was good enough to hit anything bigger than a fist.When he achieves this goal, he can get a throwing hook... The training of the young gypsy ends when he can hit and hook a piece of old cloth that has fallen between the branches of the trees. "Think about it, hitting a tree! With such proficient skills, he can naturally hook things like cloth, clothes, etc. in bars or closed courtyards. But if you use it as an attack weapon, you can imagine how it would be Terrible power. It's enough to stab a man in the throat and retract—" Murray let out a grunt.Barrow said nothing. "Yeah, that's right. We already know that Molly Farley possesses an astonishingly superb throwing technique, which she learned from the gypsies. Miss Dan told us. We also know about her terrible decision." Strength, and the ability to attack instantly. "So, where was Molly Farley when the murder happened? I don't tell you: she was on the balcony of her bedroom overlooking the pool. God, right over the pool. We know her The room was upstairs from the dining room. Like Wei Kai who was downstairs at the time, she was no more than 20 feet away from the pool, and she was at a high place. Is it very high? Not at all. Just like Kronos who was present—— The clues he gave us to incriminate her were invaluable—we were told that the new wing of the house was 'kind of like a low doll's house', so that the balcony was no more than eight or nine feet above the pool. "Well, she was looking down at her husband in the twilight, high enough for her to stretch her arms. The room behind her was dark--she said it herself. Her personal maid was in the next room again. What prompted Did she make this fatal resolution? Did she make a noise to raise her husband's head? Or was he already stretching his neck, looking up at some star?" The fear in Madeleine's eyes gradually emerged, and she repeated: "Looking up at a certain star?" "Your star, Miss Dan," said Dr. Fell deeply. "I've had a lot of conversations with people involved in the case; I think it's your star." Page remembered again.On the night of the murder, as he walked through the garden to the pool, he also thought of "Madeleine's star," the lonely star from the east, for which she had poetically named, standing in the pool. You only have to lift your neck to look at the top of the chimney above the new wing and you can see it... "Yes, she hated you. It was her husband's attention to you. Perhaps it was the sight of him looking up at the stars and staring blankly at her that inspired her to kill. She held the fishing line in one hand and Take the shot put and raise your arms to launch an attack. "Guys, please note the unbelievably strange reaction of that poor devil when he was attacked. Everyone who tried to describe the situation was a little stumped. The shuffling, choking, struggling before falling into the pool-this What makes you think? Ah! Comes to mind, doesn't it? Pretty obvious, isn't it? Like a hooked fish; that's what it is. Those hooks didn't go very deep: she was careful. Everyone seemed to Those wounds are very opinionated. The direction of those wounds is obviously curved upward from left to right, which is caused when he lost his center of gravity; the posture of his falling into the water is that his head is slightly facing the direction of the new wing. When he fell into the water, she Withdraw the weapon." Dr. Phil picked up the shot put with a serious face. "And what about this little thing? "Obviously it was brought back without a trace of blood. For it fell into the sink and was washed clean. You remember that the water in the pool was agitated quite a bit—of course, the victim struggled desperately. —and the overflow wet several feet of sand around it. Yet the ball left no trace—only a snag in the bushes. "Recall, who was the only one who heard this strange noise? It was Wei Kai who was in the dining room downstairs at the time, and he was the only one who was close enough to hear it. The rustling sound was very interesting An important point. Apparently that's not anyone's fault. If you do an experiment, try walking between a thick and broad barrier of yew trees - as Sergeant Burton found out there 'upside down' What I felt when I touched the knife with the fingerprints of the dead--you'll see what I mean. "Let's not talk about these details. Anyway, that's how she planned and carried out one of the most vile murders I've ever seen. Happened, hated; and it worked. She's catching men like she always did." , hooking her victim. Of course, she cannot stay out of it. She will be arrested by the first policeman she meets and then hanged. Glad that justice has been done, and it is all thanks to Kronos for his kind heart Tell us about the tennis ball flying through the air in the twilight." Kronos suddenly waved his hand lightly, as if he was greeting the bus.His face was like greased paper, and Page was really worried that he would pass out.But he still couldn't speak. Baro's eyes were burning, and he seemed to understand something. "Very clever," Barrow said. "Very clever. But it's all lies, and I will definitely refute you in court. Your words are so wrong, and you know it very well. Because other people have also testified. For example, Wei Kai! You can't deny his words Wei Kai said he saw someone in the garden! He said he saw it! How do you explain that?" Pei Ji noticed with vigilance that Dr. Phil's face was pale.Dr. Phil stood up slowly.He looked down at the crowd from a height, and stretched out his hand to point to the door. "Mr. Wei Kai has come," he replied. "Standing right behind you. Ask him. Ask him if he's still so sure of what he saw in the garden." Everyone turned their heads to look.No one knows how long Wei Kai stood at the door.His always neat, flawless, and somewhat innocent demeanor betrayed uneasiness at this moment.He bit his lower lip. "Uh—" He cleared his throat. "Speak!" Dr. Fell snarled. "You heard me. Tell us, are you sure you saw something looking at you? Are you sure there was something outside the door?" "I thought about it," Wei Kai said. "how?" "I—uh—everyone," he paused. "I would like to ask you to bring your thoughts back to yesterday. You all went to the attic, and I later learned that you found several strange objects there and studied them. I regret that I did not go upstairs with you, and I did not see Those items. Until today, those things that Dr. Phil mentioned attracted me, and I—uh—noticed that you found the dirty black Janus double-faced door god mask in that wooden box," he coughed again Throat. "It's all a trick," Barrow quickly looked left and right, as if he was standing on the side of the road facing people who were at a loss in the busy traffic. "You will never succeed. This is a completely planned conspiracy, and you all have a part in it." "Please let me finish, sir," Wei Kai retorted impatiently. "I said I saw a face looking at me from the lower pane of the glass door. Now I know what it is, the Janus mask. I knew it as soon as I saw it. After being reminded by Dr. Phil, I Thought it must have been that unhappy Mrs. Farley, trying to trick me into thinking someone was in the garden, had thrown the mask down with another fishing line, and unfortunately hung it too low, over the window, so— —” Konos finally spoke. He walked to the desk and put his hands on the table.He wept; for some time he could not cry.When he was finally able to speak, he startled all the audience, thinking that some piece of furniture had spoken. "It's all lies," Knoss said. Old, confused and pitiful, he suddenly slapped the table with his palm. "As Mr. Barrow said, it's all lies! Lies! Lies! And you all have a share," his voice was trembling with panic, and he tapped the table frantically with one hand. "You're all against her, that's what you are. None of you will give her a chance. So what if she did make a mistake? Even if she did read the books, maybe hang out with a kid or two So what? Is it any different from the games they played when they were kids? They were just kids. She meant no harm. She never meant to hurt anyone. You can't hang her. God, you Absolutely not. I will not allow anyone to hurt my little girl, I will do what I say." His voice became a scream mixed with tears, and he wiped it away with a flick of his finger. "You're full of great theories and pretty conjectures, and you're being coaxed. She didn't kill the crazy beggar who came pretending to be Lord John. No wonder he was Lord John! The beggar was from the Farleys." Man? Just the beggar? He deserved what he deserved, and I'm sorry he didn't die again. From the piggery, that's where he came from. But I don't care about him. I tell you, you must never Hurt my lady. She didn't kill him; she didn't; I can prove it." In the silence, there was the crisp sound of Dr. Phil hitting the floor with his cane, and his urgent panting.He walked towards Konos and put his hand on his shoulder. "I know she didn't kill him," he said gently. "Could it be," growled Barrow, "that you sat there and told us that great fairy tale just to—" "You think I like doing it?" Dr. Phil asked back. "Do you think I like every word I say, every action I make? What I just said about the woman's secret love of demon worship and her relationship with Fang Lei is true. Everything It's all true. She instigated the murderer to commit the crime and manipulated the murder. The only difference is that she didn't kill her husband herself. She didn't operate the robot puppet, and she wasn't the one who was hiding in the garden. But—" He tensed Squeeze Knox's shoulder. "You know the law too. You know how it works and how unforgiving it is. And I've activated the mechanism. Unless you tell the truth, Mrs. Farley will hang more than Haman in the Bible Higher. Do you know who committed the murder?" "Of course I know," Knox growled. "Humph!" "Then who is the murderer?" "It's such an easy question," Knoss said. "That stupid beggar got what he deserved. The murderer was—"