Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Troublemaker and the Red Notebook
This night, the dinner in the manor was different from usual.When they hurried home, it was past seven o'clock, and they learned that Mr. Desus Landau, the lawyer of the deceased, had arrived not long ago, accompanied by Miss Betty Dibbing, who took the afternoon flight from Paris to London.
The former had a private meeting with Dr. Phil and Inspector Moore in the library.The latter was slightly unwell and stayed in the room.Patricia said frankly that her father's death might not have hurt her more than airsickness.However, this reason for poor health seems to be described as too romantic by Colonel Standish's daughter.Patricia floated into the house, and there was a commotion in the house.She went to accompany Betty Debbing as carefully as she presided over a socialite.Patricia welcomes her, and what seems to be a commotion.There are only some cold simple meals on the cutlery counter in the restaurant, and the dignified guests sway to the table and quietly nibble on sandwiches.
Hugh met the long-famous Moer Standish here.She swaggered down the stairs to welcome him—a well-built woman, five feet ten inches taller in high heels, with light-blond hair adorned with what looked like war medals, a tough but gracious Face.She told Hugh he would love the manor.Comparing the several portraits on the wall with his fingers, he knows the names of those artists very well.
She knocked on the wall of the stairwell and petted the delicate carved border around the mirror, "!"
Du Nuofan immediately responded, "That's right!"
She then proceeded to list a few notable people who had visited the house: the statesman Cromwell, Judge Geoffrey King of England, and Queen Anne. Cromwell left a pair of boots, and Jeffries broke a piece of inlay. board; and Queen Anne seems to have abdicated at the height of her prestige.She introduced him carefully, smiling faintly, as if wondering if he was worthy enough to inherit the property; then, saying that her patient needed attention, she went upstairs.
He found the manor to be a comfortable place, cool enough and quiet enough, with large rooms on three sides of a rectangular building.The interior is fairly modern.There are electrified lighting fixtures in the wall brackets and high ceilings, and the only antique is the flagstone floor in the main hall.Large white sandstone fireplaces and red-painted walls are covered with gold-rimmed portraits of non-familial people.There is a formal dining room at the back of the hall, and a large holly plant is planted in front of the bay window; Burke is sitting by the window drinking beer at this time, strolling to the west wing expressionlessly, Huge found a luxurious and comfortable room decorated by his predecessors But a parlor in poor taste.The entire wall is full of Venetian scenery, in which each person in the painting leans on a narrow flat-bottomed boat at a natural angle from the head down; mirrors inlaid with gold leaves; cabinets full of porcelain ornaments; crystal glass candlesticks.Through the long corridor, murmurs could be faintly heard behind the library door.It looks like this is about to become a courtroom.As he looked around, the door opened to reveal a butler, who glimpsed a rectangular room filled with cigar smoke and Dr. Fell writing notes on a desk.
The window of the reception room opens to the slate balcony, and the flames of cigarette butts are faintly visible in the twilight.Xiu Ge went outside.Below the balcony is a sloping garden where the color cannot be discerned in the dark sky; a few lights are lit in the windows of the west wing building.Molly Standish leaned against the stone railing and stared out the window.He heard footsteps and turned his head immediately.
"Who? Oh, hi!" he said, returning to his original position.
Hugh lit his cigarette and said, "What happened later? Your sister took me to Morgan's house. Did they find out—"
"That's what I want to know, too," said Morley. "I think they're hiding something. But I see there's something. My mother said I should go and see Betty...you know, Miss Dibbing; she They've arrived. I don't know what they're doing. They've summoned all the servants into the library. God knows what they're doing." He threw away his cigarette butt, shrugged his shoulders, and leaned on the railing full of thoughts, "Again It was a beautiful night," he said out of nowhere, "where were you the night the murder happened?"
"I?"
"They're going to question all of us—it's routine. It seems appropriate to start with the servants. Where are we? Where do we go after dark? We're all safe and sound in our own beds. I wish I could explain that." Know those damn shoe prints."
"Have you checked?"
"I asked Kenneth, the servant I told you about. He didn't know anything. He remembered it as if it had been put in the storage room a while ago. Anyone could have taken it. It's no big deal. But now They're gone...Jesus!"
Huge followed his gaze, and a light in the building on the west wing was on.
"I was wondering," said Molly, rubbing his mustache with a thick hand, "who was in the oak room at this time?"
"The oak room?"
"Our rascal lives there," Molly told him gravely.After hesitating for a while, he turned towards the lamp and said, "Am I thinking too much? Or, do you think we should go up and find out?"
They look at each other.Huge could feel the other party's nervousness, and Molly seemed to hide a bomb under his cold appearance.Hugo nodded.They left the balcony immediately.
As they went upstairs, Molly said, "See that guy?" he asked, pointing to a portrait in the stairwell.In the painting - a man with a fleshy face, wearing a satin coat, a wig on his head, fat hands in an indeterminate posture, and a pair of blinking eyes, "He is the councilor of Bristol, I guess He once participated in the Western Mutiny in 2885. In fact, he did not make any military exploits—to put it bluntly, he had no courage—it is said that he supported the Duke’s mutiny back then, and waited for Chief Judge Jeffreys to come here to punish the rebels , let his family be ruined. During Jeffries' stay here, the manor was owned by the local squire Rhett Lady. Another city councilor named Laidy came here to protest Jeffries' judgment, and Jeffries was furious. In a rage, he reprimanded him severely. In the end, Reidy cut his throat in the oak room. Therefore..."
They walked along the corridor at the top of the main staircase in the hall: it was narrow and dark, and Molly looked back from time to time, as if someone was following them.The entire house has been vacant for a long time.Molly stopped at the door at the end of the corridor.He waited for a while, straightened his shoulders, and knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside the door.Dunovan felt the creeps, because they could see the light from the bottom of the door.Molly knocked again: "In that case!" he said, pushing the door open.
The room was spacious but gloomy, with a paneled ceiling and the only light coming from a lamp with a frosted glass shade on the bedside table.The four-poster canopy has neither sheets nor curtains.On the wall facing them was a wooden mantelpiece, and a leaded window on either side of the sloping walls.There is another door in the wall on the right hand side.The room was empty.
Molly's footsteps creaked on the planks.He shouted, "Hello!" and walked to another closed but unlocked door.He pushed the door open and stared into the darkness of the room.
"That's," he said, "the storage room. It—" He turned sharply.Xiu Ge instinctively stepped back.There was a harsh sound from the fireplace, and the lights were dimmed and turned on.The paneling between the fireplace and the sloping wall of the window was pushed aside: a panel at the height of the door was opened, and Bishop Manpohan appeared through the crack of the door, holding a candle in one hand.
Huge pretended to be calm and didn't let himself laugh: "Hey, sir," he protested, "I hope you don't do this again. Only mysterious murderers go in and out of secret passages like this. When you appear—"
By candlelight, his father looked tired and heavy.He confronted Molly. "Why," he said, "didn't anyone tell me there was this—secret passage?"
Molly met his gaze blankly and said for a moment, "What? I thought you knew that, sir. You know, it's not a secret passage, and if you look closer, you'll see those hinges .Your finger is on the switch. It goes to—”
"Of course I know where it leads," said the bishop. "It leads to the hidden door in the garden below, from which I found the secret passage. Neither door is locked. Don't you think that such a stranger Can you come in and out of this house at will?"
Molly's deep, almost expressionless eyes seemed to be thinking otherwise.He nodded slightly.He said: "Outsiders can really come in and out of this entrance. We never lock the door."
The Bishop placed the candles on the mantel and brushed the ashes off his coat.The serious expression appeared on his face again, as if he had just lost his temper or had a sleepless night: "Anyway," he said, "someone has been in and out of here recently. The dust has been disturbed. There is a cabinet over there, Your shoes..."
He shrugged heavily and walked over to the bed.Hugh saw the bishop observing a few splashes of red stains on the wall and the ground.In an instant, a man with a cut throat and a wig travels through time and space from the seventeenth century and invades this old room that has been emptied.Then, with a flash of thought, Xiu Ge remembered the bottle of red ink.This is where the troublemakers come in.Everything that happened here was absurd and terrifying.
"Our authority figures," he continued with a heavy tone, "Dr. Phil, who has rich experience in investigating crimes, and the outstanding Patrolman of the Mo District, can't convince me—so, I decided to rely on my own clues to start the investigation." Investigate. Tell me, this room is usually unoccupied, isn't it?"
"Never," said Molly, "it's humid and unheated. Why do you ask, sir?"
"Then why did Mr. Pringleme sleep in this room that night? Would such a thing be exciting?"
Molly glared at him. "You should know, sir! You and I were there when this happened. Just because he asked..."
The bishop was displeased and said, "I am asking you questions. I am doing this for my son. I hope he can understand what is the orthodox investigative procedure."
"Oh!" said Molly, with a mocking look in his eyes, "I understand. The other day, you, my father, Mr. Primm and I were talking about the man who committed suicide in this room. Mention to the "strange powers." So, when Mr. Pringleme had to stay overnight, he asked to stay in this room—"
"That's right, that's right." The bishop nodded, chin tucked up. "That's what I want to confirm. Listen, Hugh. However, Mr. Primlem didn't intend to stay overnight, did he?"
"No, sir. He missed the last bus home, and then he—"
"I must remind you, Hugh, that no outsider will know that the vicar is going to spend the night here, and no outsider even knows that he is here. This is a temporary decision, made very late. Let alone any outsider who knows that Primley Mr. Mu wanted this room... so it couldn't have been the work of an outsider who came to play tricks on Mr. Primm?"
"Oh!" Huge said, hesitating for a moment, "You mean, someone sneaked into the secret passage to the storage room and stole those shoes; but he didn't expect someone in this room..."
"Exactly. I have to warn you that you did not listen to my reasoning step by step." The bishop stopped him in an exasperated tone. "However, this is exactly what I meant. He didn't expect that there would be anyone in the room, and he didn't know whether to enter or exit. ——Probably the latter—he woke Mr. Pringleme, and had to hide himself by pretending to scare him.” The bishop’s bushy eyebrows were frowned, and he put his hands in his pockets, “Next, I can tell you How this person plans can also prove that he has been here."
He took out a red leather notebook from his pocket, dusted it off, and the cover was printed with gold initials: "This most interesting clue fell around the corner of the secret passage staircase. God help me find it. This man is so unfortunate. The abbreviations are H.M. Do you still want me to clarify whether this man is young Mr. Henry Morgan, or to expose his hypocrisy for assisting Inspector Moore's investigation? I believe he was the one who dispersed Moore. Pay attention to search the footprints in the reception hall, and kindly suggest that plaster casts be filled for physical evidence."
"Nonsense!" Xiu Ge blurted out excitedly, and swallowed hard, "I mean—sorry, but this is really far-fetched. It can't be like this. Things—"
Molly cleared his throat: "You have to admit, sir," he argued hastily, "that your inference does have some credibility. I don't mean the evidence of murder—it's about Henry. Mr. Primlem or anyone who lives in this room. But nothing else."
The Bishop spread his hands. "Young man," he said, "I don't need to persuade you, I just tell you. Does Henry Morgan know that Mr. Pringleme is staying here that night?"
"Oh, he didn't know. But he might just happen to see Mr. Primlem come in."
"So under no circumstances would he have known in advance that Primlem was staying that night?"
"I don't think he knows."
"Or, he lived in this room before? Thank you." He carefully put the notebook back into his pocket, patted his vest, and pretended to be friendly, "I think I'd better wait for the time we are still talking in the library The authorities come out. Shall we go downstairs now? Molly, please blow out the candle . . . no, keep it. It may come in handy later."
After they had gone down the corridor, Molly said, "I must say, sir," said Molly, "that your hypothesis—it's just ridiculous, please don't make a fuss about such trivial matters. The old guy has a cold, and that's true, everyone knows that, including Henry himself. But he doesn't have to..." He hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know how to phrase it, "sneak upstairs to get my shoes No, no. That's not going to happen. It's purely hypothetical."
"Be careful, boy. I want you to make it clear that I have no intention of accusing anyone. It's not even my intention to accuse or insinuate a murderer. However, if this respectable gentleman, Phil The doctor decided to use the documents exercising his power while I was away, if I can help him not to fall into the trap, he will not regret it at that time."
Huge had never seen his father's extreme and resentful mentality.Not only that, he suddenly realized that the bishop was really old and not as stable as before.In the past, no one doubted his fairness and wisdom, even if it was harsh public opinion.What Huge saw in front of his eyes seemed to be only a gray-haired head, a loose jaw, and a bitter mouth.He has lived too long and been too active, and now he is unconsciously becoming more and more childish.In just one year... Xiu Ge thought to himself, what impact would being betrayed have on him?The God he had praised all his life was going to make a fool out of him—these pompous ostentations had become the laughing stock of all.But, it's not funny at all.So was all the craziest jokes; he took it seriously.There must be some moral existence in the world...
Xiu Ge also didn't believe that Morgan was guilty, he only vaguely felt that it was impossible for someone like Morgan to kill someone.Especially when these writers tend to write about their affairs, seeing murderers as the most fascinating monsters besides the real life of human beings, like unicorns or Greek mythological griffins.He doubted his father would understand that.He suddenly had an uneasy thought that if the bishop found evidence, believe it or not, he would desperately sue that person.
At this moment, his thoughts were becoming more and more complicated by the whole case, how long it would take to see Patricia, and why this chaos happened at this very time.He followed his father to the reception room and saw the door of the library being slammed violently.Burke had a sarcasm on his face, and a smile of satisfaction with the results of the battle appeared behind his glasses.He stared at the comer, grinning.The pipe was drawn from his mouth and pointed over his shoulder.
"Good night," he said to the Bishop, "they want me to fetch you. And you, young man. I've told them my evidence, and they can smoke it on their pipe." He tilted his head on one side, Gloating, "Please go in. This matter is getting more and more interesting, and the amazing thing is yet to come!"
The Bishop drew him toward him. "I can imagine," said he, "that I must offer my gift sooner or later. I'm glad I can surprise them now—what's going on in there, Mr. Burke?"
"About Dibbin's lawyer," Burke explained with a chuckle. "He is not only Dibbin's lawyer, but also Spencer's lawyer. He skillfully mediates...collusion. You and your son will also go in."
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