Chapter 21 Chapter 21

"Oh, I seem to wake up from a nightmare." Hilary stretched her waist.said with a sigh.She and Betterton sat on the balcony of a hotel in the northern Moroccan port of Tangier.They flew here this morning.Hillary continued: "Is this all true? It seems not." Thomas Betterton said: "It's all true. But I agree with you, Olive, it's been like a bad dream. Well, I'm out at last." Jessop went out on the balcony and sat beside them. Hilary asked, "Where's Andy Peters?" Jessop said, "Go do some errands and be right back." "Then Peters is your man!" Hilary said. "He painted something with glowing phosphorous, and a cobalt cigarette case that gave off radioactivity. I never knew any of that stuff before." .”

Jessop said: "Both of you are cautious and guarded against each other. But strictly speaking, he is not one of us. He represents the United States." Hillary said: "You said if I could find Tom, I would be protected. Did you mean Andy Peters?" Jessop nodded, and said seriously: "I hope you don't blame me for not providing convenience for you to achieve your desired purpose." Hillary didn't understand, and asked, "What purpose?" "A more aboveboard method of suicide," he said. "Oh!" she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "That was a nightmare, like everything else. I was Olive Betterton for so long, and now I'm Hilary Craven, I'm so confused."

"Hey!" Jessop said, "that's my friend, LeBron is here, I want to talk to him." He walked away along the balcony.At this point Thomas Betterton said quickly, "Do me a favor again, will you? Olive, I still call you Olive because I'm used to it." "Of course. How can I help?" "Walk with me along the balcony, and then you come back here, just say that I went back to the house and lay down." She didn't understand what he meant, and asked, "Why? How do you..." "Honey, I'm leaving, it's better to go." "Go? Where are you going?"

"Anywhere." "Then why?" "Think about it, dear girl. I don't know the situation here, but Tangier is a strange place, not under the jurisdiction of any country. I know what it would mean to me if I went to Gibraltar with you. The first thing I did was get arrested." Hilary looked at him worriedly.During the tense escape from the leprosy, she forgot about Thomas Betterton's troubles. "You mean the secrecy or something? But you didn't really get away. Could you, Tom! Where could you go?" "I told you, go anywhere." "But will it work now? It will take money, and there will be all kinds of difficulties."

He smiled and said, "There is no problem with the money. I have a sum of money deposited under another name, and I can withdraw it at any time." "That means you did take other people's money." "Of course I took it." "But they'll catch you." "That's not easy. Don't you know, Oliver, that I don't look the way I used to? That's why I'm so passionate about this plastic surgery. You see, that's the point. I'm leaving England, Put money in the bank, change my look, and I'll never have to worry about it for the rest of my life."

Hilary looked at him suspiciously. "You're wrong," she said, "I'm sure you're wrong. You'd better face the consequences. Besides, it's not wartime, and I think you might get a short sentence. Otherwise what's the point of being hunted all your life?" What are the benefits?" "You don't understand," he said, "you don't have the slightest idea how it all started. Get up, and let's go, this is the time." "But how can you leave Tangier?" "I can go, don't worry about it." She got up and walked slowly along the balcony with him.She felt very uncomfortable and had nothing to say.She had done her duty to Jessop and to the dead woman, Olive Betterton, and there was nothing more to do now.She had lived with Tom Betterton for some weeks, but she felt they were strangers to each other.There was no companionship, no friendship between them.

They walked to the end of the balcony.There is a small door here, and a narrow winding path leads down the hill to the port. "I'm going to slip out of here," said Betterton, "without being seen. Good-bye!" "I wish you success!" Hilary said slowly. She stood there watching Betterton go to the door and turn the handle.When the door opened, he took a step back and froze there.Three big men stood at the door, two came in, and one of them officially announced: "Thomas Betterton, here is your arrest warrant, and you will be detained here until the extradition procedures are completed."

Betterton turned away abruptly, but the other man turned quickly in front of him.Betterton turned back and smiled and said, "That's all right, except I'm not Thomas Betterton." A third person also came in from outside the door, stood beside the two and said, "You are Thomas Betterton." Betterton smiled and said, "You mean you've been with me for a month and heard people call me Thomas Betterton and hear me call myself Thomas Betterton. The thing is, I'm not Thomas, Betterton." I met Betterton in Paris and I named him. If you don't believe me, you can ask this lady." He went on, "She came to me pretending to be my wife, and I admit that she is Is that right, my wife?"

Hillary nodded. Betterton said: "Because I'm not Thomas Betterton, of course I don't know who Thomas Betterton's wife was. I thought this lady was Thomas Betterton's wife. Then I made up Every explanation satisfies her. That's the truth of the matter." "That's why you pretended to know me," Hillary shouted. "You asked me to join you in this deception." Betterton smiled confidently again. "I'm not Betterton," he said. "If you look at any picture of Betterton, you'll know I'm telling the truth." Peters took a step forward.His voice was not like the voice Hillary had been used to.Now the calm, angry voice said: "I've seen the picture of Betterton, and I agree with you, I should not have recognized you, all right, but you are Thomas Betterton, I have evidence."

He seized Betterton, tore his coat, and said: "If you were Thomas Betterton, you'd have a Z-shaped scar on the elbow of your right arm." He tore open Betterton's shirt as he spoke. "Right here," he pointed out the scar like a war, "the two laboratory assistants in the United States can also prove it. Elsa wrote to tell me when you got this scar." "Elsa?" Betterton was dumbfounded, trembling with terror. "Elsa? How's Elsa?" "See what the accusation says against you!" The officer stepped forward again and said, "The charge is the willful murder of your wife, Elsa Betterton."