Chapter 4 Chapter Four

The blue and brown shirts were already waiting for them in the hall downstairs.Ellery deliberately stood up straight and walked in front of the security guards.However, the three security guards didn't even look at them. The brown shirt said, "This way." The blue shirt had already opened the door for them to go out. When they got outside, the father and son breathed a sigh of relief.The sun had gone down, and the sky over there was as colorful as strawberry and copper.A small black car with the initials of the Ministry of Public Relations and Internal Affairs was parked at the entrance of the building. The body was not long, but the inside was durable.Blue Shirt drives the car himself, while Brown Shirt sits in the middle of the back seat, separating the father and son.

Neither father nor son wanted to talk.They all enjoy the scenery outside through the windows on their respective sides.They have traveled along the footsteps of North American Indians in the quiet canyons and slopes of the Berkshire Mountains. The tall buildings on the flat ground are all under their feet, but the phytoplankton in front of them is just like what they have seen and heard just now. It is the first time in this life to appreciate it. "Who's calling the shots?" Ellery asked. "We'll take you to your quarters, Mr. Quinn," Brown Shirt said. "Mr. Able arranges everything."

"How much freedom of movement do we have?" "You are temporary secondary treatment, sir." "What do you mean?" the police officer asked in surprise. "You can go anywhere you want, sir, except for those facilities that say no entry." "From what we've seen, it's quite dangerous. The people on the island don't know us." "I know everyone who should know." Blue Shirt said with certainty while sitting in the driver's seat. The officer's expression suggested he didn't believe it. At this time, the car has driven into a densely wooded area.If it weren't for the fluttering flags flashing everywhere, they would have thought it was a primeval forest.

"Is it for beauty?" Ellery asked suspiciously. "Carla likes it," said Brown Shirt. "Lady Bendigo?" The Inspector looked carefully at the trees, but he didn't want Brown Shirt to notice it. "The king's queen," said Ellery. He was also aware of it, but like his father, he also pretended not to see anything.There are camouflaged anti-aircraft guns among the trees.It was a cannon, the kind used by the Coastal Air Defense Forces.Probably the whole wooded area was covered with gunfire, and the jungle itself, Ellery thought, was hard to tell if it was real or not.

So suddenly they arrived at King Bendigo's house. But they could only see a little bit of this home, because it was almost submerged by tall and low trees and shrubs.The terrain is deliberately messed up. Some trees are taller than the buildings, and some thick branches almost touch the window.The same is true even for taller tower-shaped buildings. From the ground, they seem to soar into the sky, but when viewed from the air, they blend into a piece of green. Still for secrecy.Presumably the camouflage had been considered in the original plan, but why didn't Bendigo clear these trees and shrubs when the island was rented out?Is he afraid that someone will take this precious anchorage in the middle of the ocean from him? "

The residential building, like the office building, has only four floors, but it has a larger footprint.The part next to the front of the house is a courtyard, and the grass and trees do not grow randomly.Even if the tall trees are not regularly planted, the driveway is concealed because the canopies meet each other to form a natural canopy.Two buildings, one large and one small, stand shoulder to shoulder.Still, Ellery suspected, it was a need for context.Brown Shirt confirmed this as the spokesperson of the two and explained the strange architectural arrangement.It turns out that it was modeled after an office building, except that the office building has eight arms, while the residential building has five.

They were received in the hall by servants in livery.The black and gold uniform is slightly different here: shorts and socks meet at the knee.The police officer stared dumbfounded. Here, at least, there was a little flexibility in dressing for utility.The furniture was much more modern, and there were also decorative medieval French or Swedish tapestries on the walls, and a few paintings by old and new masters, mostly abstract. Everything in the hall is large, and the hall itself is three stories high; here and there you can also see one or two classical objects—such as those traditional oil paintings—it seems that the person in charge of housekeeping still hopes to be in this new environment. There is a somewhat antique atmosphere in it.

A waiter-like person led them into one of the side buildings through one of the five doors. As soon as they entered the corridor, the blue shirt had already opened the elevator door.In the blink of an eye they had reached the second floor.Get out of the elevator, step on the carpet that doesn't make any sound, and come to a door.The door was open, and there stood a bald man in the doorway, wearing a black suit with a wing collar. He was not very tall, and he looked abnormally short against the high wall.He is bowing. "This is your servant," said Brown Shirt. "Your needs can be met, gentlemen, just tell this man and he will do it right away."

"Private waiter, right?" Ellery asked probingly. "No, sir," replied the servant with a British accent, "middle level. My name is Jones." "Well said, Jones. Is there formality for dinner?" "No, sir," said the servant, "except for rare occasions, dining occasions are not to that extent. A dark suit and a slipknot tie will do." "They'll appreciate my brown overalls and love it," the officer said. "Yes, yes, Dad," said Ellery soothingly. "Hey, Jones, where are you going?" "Fill your tubs, sir," Jones said, disappearing quietly.

Quinn and his son turned around again, and found that the brown and blue shirts had walked a long way side by side. "Hey, wait!" cried the officer, "when are we going to see..." But they have gone too far. Their living room was almost a grand salon, and the two bedrooms were large and had high ceilings, with canopies on the beds, and furniture that looked old.The decor, at least, was traditional—the court style of the ancient dynasties, and all the odds and ends of any suite in Louis XIV's Tuileries Palace were picked up here.Fortunately, Ellery was relieved to find that the antique momentum had not spread to the sanitary equipment; but when he saw the phone carefully placed in a small cabinet made of inlaid wood, the surface of the cabinet was covered with gold shell tortoise shell. He couldn't help laughing when he saw the engravings of the same type, the cartouches made of white gold, and the cursive script popular in the era of Louis XIV.

The police officer didn't think it was funny.He passed hostilely from room to room, surveying the luxury and extravagance in which they were placed; and at last he cast his eyes on the servants standing with their hands down, who were waiting to undress them. Untie.In order to avoid a heated scene, Ellery asked Jones to stay at the door for a while. Bathed, shaved, and dressed in clean clothes from the trunk, they waited.There was nothing else to do, not even a newspaper, richly bound in leather, of the eighteenth century, and either in French or Latin. Look out of the window and see nothing but leaves.The sergeant spent some time searching the entire suite, trying to find hidden bugs, which he was sure at first were probably somewhere in the living room; So the fire started again. "Damn it, what kind of delaying game is this? What do you think, here to die and rot? I'm going downstairs, Ellery!" "Let's wait, Dad. There's a purpose to this." "Thinking to starve us away!" And Ellery was frowning and staring at a cigarette in his hand. "I'm thinking about what brought us to the island." The officer was startled. "According to Abel, he hired us to investigate several threatening letters by post. The mail was all sent from the mainland by plane in Bendigo, so there should be no doubt. If that is the case, it should be Let's start with the mainland first. But why does Abel want us to investigate on the island? "Because he believed that those letters came from this island!" "Yes. Somebody slipped a letter into a pouch or sorted pile, maybe from a residence or from an office." Ellery dropped the cigarette butt into a bank worth roughly the entire amount of his bank. In the Royal Sèvres porcelain plate of the deposit, "Who is it? A clerk? A secretary? A servant? A guard? A factory worker? A coolie? If it is such a role, there is no need for the Prime Minister to go to New York at all. Visit Washington and hire an outsider to intervene in the matter. It can be done in two hours by Colonel Spring's department." "So, what conclusion can one draw..." Ellery looked up at his father. "It's a bigger role, Dad." But the police officer shook his head: "If this is the case, it is even more unlikely that Bendigo will call outsiders to intervene." "That's right." "Is that so? But you just said..." "I did, but I might be right or I might be wrong. I'm not sure. In fact," Ellery said, lighting another cigarette irritably, "I'm in a mess, too." Then the phone rang suddenly, and Ellery nearly knocked his father over as he leaned over to answer it.It was Abel Bendigo's calm voice, saying that he was very sorry, but that his brother had some trouble to deal with tonight, and judging from his past experience, it wouldn't be over for a while.Finally, Abel asked in a slightly nasal voice if the father and son cared about eating alone... "Of course not, Mr Bendigo, but we are more anxious to investigate." "It's best to wait until tomorrow," said the voice in the tone of a doctor comforting a worried patient. "Then shall we wait in the house for your call?" "Oh, no, Mr. Quinn, you can do whatever you want and go wherever you want. I can find you at any time." Perhaps to cover up the inadvertent domineering in the last sentence, the Prime Minister The minister hurriedly said "good night" and hung up the phone. Dinner is served in their suite.A master butler and three servants, under the cold eyes of the self-proclaimed head chef of the residence, delivered the meals one by one from the warming device, and no one said a word. This meal seemed to be eaten in a grave, and Quinn and his son didn't bother to liven up the atmosphere occasionally.They ate without saying a word, and after eating, they could no longer remember what they ate, only remembering that it was rich, clean, very French, and very particular about visual effects. Still later, since there was nothing else to do and sitting still was boring, I simply went to bed. The next morning there was no notification from Abel Bendigo, no phone call.So after breakfast, Ellery decided to take a walk uptown. The police officer's anger continued unabated: "I want to know how far they want me to go. Can you push me where is the Royal Garage here?" "garage?" "I want to borrow a car." He went out, so sullen that Ellery didn't see him again until the afternoon. Ellery navigated the building with its five wings alone.It took him half a day to identify the place.This is indeed a way to identify the place. He wanted to get to know a few more people, but he didn't meet a single member of the Bendigo family during the trip. Treat him with indifference. He was blocked only once, and that was on the top floor of the main building.There are uniformed armed guards, and the petty chief among them is very politely intransigent. "This is the personal quarters of the family, sir. No entry except with special permission." "Oh, of course, I'm not going to break into anybody's bathroom, but from Mr. Abel Bendigo, I can go anywhere." "I have no orders to allow you to come to this floor, Mr. Quin." So Ellery had to obediently go back down there. He visited the VIP room, the ballroom, the salon, the reception room, the memorabilia room, the gallery, the kitchen, the wine cellar, the servants' quarters, the storeroom and even the bathroom. There are no less than 20,000 volumes in the library made of oak and genuine leather, all of which are covered with high-grade black Moroccan leather bags, covered with the logo of two balls and a crown, and the coat of arms itself is golden.Ellery was amazed at the neat arrangement of so many rare books that were missing their original covers.The few books he took out to look through were basically unused. Towards noon, Ellery strolled into the music salon, which had a stage big enough for a symphony orchestra.In the center of the stage is a golden grand piano.Wondering if the biggest instrument was in tune, Ellery stepped onto the stage, lifted the piano's keyboard cover, and hit a note on the middle C.He was answered with a bang, which was not at all the sound such an instrument should make. He tried the chords in the alto again.The series of tinkling noises this time convinced him that it was not a problem with the piano itself, so he lifted the entire lid. Six airtight glass bottles, exactly the same size and shape, are neatly arranged between the piano and the strings. He picked up one of the bottles curiously.Bell-shaped, long-necked, dark green, you can't see through it at all.The old trademark reads in French: Segonzac VSOP brandy, the bottle is so tightly sealed that it cannot be opened by hand, and the other five bottles are the same.Ellery couldn't help but sigh.He has never tasted the special vintage of the brandy estate in France, and the reason is simple: the special vintage of Segonzac is very expensive, about 50 dollars a bottle-about the same price in bars everywhere.He put the heavy bottle back where it should have been, and closed the harp with reverence. The man who hid the six bottles of aged brandy in a grand piano was an alcoholic.Judging from the information disclosed privately by the Ombudsman, Juda, the second eldest of the Bendigo brothers, is a drunkard.It seems plausible that this is Judah Bendigo's wine stash.Ellery wasn't too surprised by the incident, which shed light on the Bendigo family's attitude to music, as it did to the books in the library. Judah Bendigo is apparently not too interested in his brother's large vineyard. Unless the brand of Segonzac has also been included in the name of the omnipresent king... Ellery was increasingly uncertain about this. With this discovery at the music salon, Ellery looked suspicious everywhere. An alcoholic who has one stash may have two or three.He will not let himself down. The best aged bottles were found wherever he suspected.Seven bottles in the gym and four near the 100-foot indoor pool.Ellery was found in both the billiard room and the bowling alley.There are also chess and card rooms.When he ate alone on the balcony, he thought there would be no more here, but finally he found the familiar bell-shaped glass bottle in a stone magnet with a flagpole on his left foot. In the afternoon, he walked around the residential buildings, and everywhere he went, he could still witness Judah Bendigo's deep and shallow storage skills.Eight bottles were found around an outdoor swimming pool that craftsmen had built to mimic a natural pond, but Ellery wasn't sure that was all.He felt that the possibility of the stables was unlikely—there were too many people there—so he pulled out an Arabian horse from inside, rode on the horse path, and walked to the low-lying bushes, where the high branches could be seen clearly from the tall horse. . There was also a stream full of carp, which on horseback wouldn't show much; but Ellery suspected that if he put on his waist-length waterproof trousers and went down and felt around, he might find something between the rocks. "I didn't mean to find them all," he said to his father in the living room at night. "Juda must have a distribution map with him, and the X's are where the burials are. There's a guy here who really likes his brandy." people." "You also seized a few bottles," his father said. "I'm having a rough day." "how?" "Speaking of which, I just drove around the island. Isn't this what tourists often do?" But he spoke in a tone of no interest at all.Then, the police officer took out several rolled up papers from the outer inner pocket with exaggerated movements, and waved them at his son. "I must admit,"— said his son, looking at the papers—"this passive vacation is beginning to tire me too."—he held out his hand to take the papers—"You When will our investigation begin?" "From what I've seen, it's not going to start." "How's it going on the island, Dad?" Ellery opened the scroll as quietly as possible.The drawings above are all sketches of industrial facilities, ranging from simple to complex. "There is no difference from domestic industrially developed areas. Factories, houses, schools, roads, trucks, planes, people..." The police officer pointed on the map. Ellery nodded frequently: "What kind of factory is it?" "Mostly arsenals, I guess. Hell, I'm not sure. A lot of places are marked no entry, and there are armed guards, electric wires, high walls, iron bars. It's impossible to get close." There are a few sketches of factories that look strange and look quite large. "Meet anyone interesting?" Ellery asked, pointing to the pictures. "Only Colonel Spring's men. They don't seem to be very friendly. Or they're ashamed of strangers. I'm not allowed to understand the situation at all." The officer added a shake of his head and a shrug of the shoulders.Ellery frowned at the sketches. "Come on, son, I think it's time for me to take a dip in the lake surrounded by marble. It's comfortable and I can get some punches." The police officer stood up and took his work back. "I still need to use it myself." His father tucked the drawings into his clothes, and Ellery knew that unless something like a body search happened, the sketches would never leave their current hiding place until they were handed over to Washington. That night, they finally walked through the golden curtain wall. Miracles happen with a piece of paper.The paper was presented in a square envelope of purple velvet, respectfully presented by a footman with overly muscular calves, the inspector thought as he watched the footman stoop to step back, nothing but descriptions of English aristocrats Movies of life, where do you find such servile people these days?Those who nodded and bowed explained the contents of the letter, but they still opened the envelope. There were engraved letters on the top of the letter paper, which were the same color as the envelope. The text was also written in purple ink. It was a woman's handwriting, but it also showed a few words. Men's toughness.Constable Richard Quinn and Mr. Ellery Quinn are invited to a cocktail and dinner at the private estate of the Bendigo family at 7 p.m.Dress casually.Signed is Carla Bendigo.This is the general content of the letter.The essay states that she heard a lot about the Quinns from her uncle, Abel Bendigo, and that she looked forward to meeting them with joy, and at the end she did not forget to offer her apologies—which, in Ellery's opinion, was entirely It's superfluous - in order to "arrange until today". Before the invitations had been read, their servants appeared, bringing two double-breasted suits, shiny black shoes, new black stockings, and conservative blue silk ties.Ellery dismissed the man, pushed him out, so to speak, before the officer's yell could be heard. "Try it, Dad. Maybe they won't fit, and you'll have a reason not to wear them." But they fit perfectly, even the shoes are not too big or too small. "That's all right, Dodger," the sergeant said angrily, "but I was taught at school that if your guests want to show off their vests, the hosts have to take them off too. These people Who do you think you are?" And just like that, at five minutes to seven, Ellery, in his best dark gray suit, and the officer himself, bound by the finery Jones had brought him, left their living room and headed upstairs. . The guard on the top floor has changed.Their commander was a little younger than the daytime one, and he took Cara Bendigo's invitation for a long time.Then he took half a step back and raised his hands in salute.The Quinns entered the door, with a feeling of boredom in their hearts. Maybe they should take off their shoes and crawl on their belly. "The little boss will be removed," Ellery murmured. "Huh?" his father asked nervously. "If we denounce him. He didn't let us get our fingerprints." What they walked into was the reception room of the first floor, where there were black iron or stone goddess statues, huge crystal chandeliers, and most of the furniture was Italian Baroque style.Both high doors were open, and the waiters on either side stood like lifeless sculptures.A vigorous-looking footman bent over to guide them with outstretched white-gloved hands, leading them all the way to the door. "Officer Queen and Mr. Ellery Queen." "Just come to argue with the Bendigo family." Ellery whispered, and the two stopped at the same time. A woman as beautiful as a movie star was walking towards them across the terrazzo floor.She was so unreal that not even color prints could properly reproduce her snow-white skin and teeth, fiery red hair, and rich green eyes.If artistic exaggeration is allowed, it seems to be possible to say that even those who are deliberately looking for awkwardness will become calm in front of her amazing beauty. Probably because of the frank intimacy of her evening dress, which showed off the shoulders.The tender green evening gown flared out at the knees, like a flower plate.She was not Scandinavian, regardless of the color of her skin, and Ellery was judged on the basis of feeling, and she conjured up women from Venice, San Marco, the Adriatic, or Genoa.In the short time that she walked, Ellery saw everything in the world from her figure, the blood of breeding from her face, and read a certain kind of love from her gait. Style and nobility.A titan goddess.A born queen. "Good evening," she said loudly, shaking hands with each of them.Her voice is equally colorful, a lively contralto with a subtle Southern finish.She wasn't as young as she first looked, Ellery found out. Early 30s? "How glad I am to receive you two, and you will forgive me for my negligence?" "After seeing you, ma'am," said Inspector Quinn sincerely, "I forgot all about it." "How magnanimous!" She smiled, very shallowly. "And you, Mr. Quinn." "No additions," Ellery said.Now he sees something else - there seems to be a deep hole in the sunny sea-like eyes, a cold area. "I've always loved the compliments from American men because there's nothing hard to understand." She laughed aloud and led them across the room. King Bendigo stood by the Italian marble fireplace taller than he was, listening in silence to his brother Abel talking to three other men.The Bendigo monarch looked refreshed, and Ellery knew he must have just had a long working day.The jester Max I is at a table eating pre-dinner crepes.While munching, he did not forget to look up at his master now and then, like a dog. On a lounge chair opposite the king, a man with a slightly dark complexion and uneven clothes sat spread out.It can't be said that the face with a bad complexion is devoid of aura, but the gray mustache gives off a gloomy and even sinister feeling.It was a peculiar face, with a high and broad forehead, a pointed and hooked nose, and underdeveloped cheeks.There was already a bell-shaped dark green wine bottle at his elbow, and a small, pot-bellied wine glass was being squeezed between his hands and he was shaking his head lazily on the back of the chair.Yet from those sunken eye sockets, he was staring at Ellery with unmistakable alertness. The king himself greeted them with enough courtesy, but he took Abel aside again, and it was Carla Bendigo who introduced them to the others.The man in the easy chair was none other than Judah Bendigo, the second of the Bendigo brothers; he neither stood up nor offered to shake hands.He swished the pot-bellied wine glass between his hands, and just stared at them intently.He was not drunk, and it was hard to say that rudeness was part of the Bendigo heritage. Anyway, Ellery was relieved when they had to join the conversation of the fireside group. The short and stout one among the three had already bald, and his interests could not be seen from his expressionless gaze, as if there was nothing important except what he could directly see.The hostess introduced him as Dr. Storm, the director of the island's health bureau and her husband's personal doctor, who lived in this building.So Ellery was less surprised to learn that the second person, the tall, dark, lanky man with the cat's smile, was also a long-time resident.His name was Emmanuel Peabody, and he was chief counsel to the Bendigo King.The third in the group looked like a seriously ill rugby player, young, fair-haired, broad-shouldered, pale, with an overworked face. "Dr. Axter," said Carla Bendigo, "we all rarely see this young man; today is a rare honor. He's over the island tinkering with those dangerous little atoms, and he's about to bury himself in the experiment in the room." "Tinning what?" Officer Quinn asked. "Mrs. Bendigo has always thought of Dr. Uxter as the alchemist of the twentieth century," said Peabody, the attorney, smiling. "A physicist can't avoid dealing with small atoms, of course, but there's no danger in that, yes. No, Dr. Axter?" "It's dangerous to say that, Doctor," Carla said playfully.But she glanced at the lawyer.Ellery felt as if there was some kind of disgust in that glance. "Only when experimenting," said Peabody stubbornly. "Like always playing with something unknown." "Can't we talk about something else?" suggested Dr. Axtor.He spoke with a strong Scandinavian accent, and his tone was younger than his appearance. "Lady Bendigo's eyes," Ellery suggested. "That's the real danger." The crowd laughed, and by the time Ellery and the officer had cocktails, Peabody began telling the story of a criminal trial in England in which a woman's eye color had saved the defendant's life.And what Ellery was thinking about, whether his father knew it or not, was that this weary young man with a sense of humor and a Scandinavian accent was one of the most famous nuclear physicists in the world today. .He also sensed that Emmanuel Peabody was trying to conceal the nature of Axter's work on Bendigo, only to draw attention to it.After that night, Axtor kept his words and deeds cautious, trying to downplay his presence, and Ellery ignored him. Carla Bendigo didn't mention him again. The meals were sumptuous, and the feast seemed to never end.They dined in an adjoining room, which was even more splendid, and served by countless servants.One dish is like wine, it is brought up and then removed, and several dishes are still burning with blue flames on the plate when they are served.Therefore, the whole feast process is like a torchlight parade in the Middle Ages. Emmanuel Peabody and the pudgy Dr. Storm are opposite each other. You tell a horrible criminal case, and I tell a surgical pornography.Max No. 1, who was at the bottom, was the most devoted listener. His eyes flickered sinisterly for a while, and blinked lewdly for a while. When he wanted to laugh wildly, he arranged it between two swallows. In this way, nothing is delayed.Max 1 wears a napkin around his neck and always uses his elbows to secure the plate when he eats with his cheeks open. Only once, because Storm's description is so vivid, he slammed an elbow into Ai. Lerry's ribs. To the disappointment of the Quinns, neither of them were able to sit next to King Bendigo or Carla Bendigo.The police officer is sandwiched between the overly talkative lawyer and the lewd little Surgeon General, while Ellery sits diagonally between the unsmiling physicist Uxter and Max One - father can't get in , On the one hand, the son was rejected thousands of miles away, and on the other hand, his ribs had to be protected from heavy blows.This arrangement was intentional, and Ellery knew that nothing here would happen by accident. Because most of the lawyers and doctors spoke to the Quinns, they had no chance to talk to the Bendigos.Carla spoke to Abel in a low voice at the end of the long table, and occasionally raised her voice to say a word or smile slightly, as if expressing some kind of apology.King Bendigo, sitting at the other end of the long table, just listened.Only once, when he turned his head suddenly, did Ellery catch her master's dark eyes looking at her amusedly.That meaning seems to be saying: be patient, super size should be patient. It's a really weird banquet, full of tension and an undercurrent of mystery, only Judah Bendigo seems to be completely out of it.On his brother's left, the thin man enters a state of non-existence: the chewing and chewing of Max One (who sits between Judah and Ellery), Storm's banter, the Bodie's anecdotal gossip about the courtroom, even the delicious food in front of him, was within the purview of his senses, but none of his passions... All he could focus on was the sliver by the plate. A fine vintage of Gonzac in bottle.No servant had touched the bottle, Ellery noticed, and Judah had been pouring it himself.He drank slowly but also solidly throughout the evening. Most of the time he stared at a point above Emmanuel Peabody's head. He only touched the last of the things the waiter brought up: black coffee with brandy.When the first bottle was gone, the waiter immediately opened another bottle and put it by his hand. The dinner lasted three hours; at 10:45, the Bendigo King made a tiny gesture, and Peabody ended his story in a matter of seconds.Ellery, like a man who survives a desperate situation, wanted to thank him loudly for that.The father sitting across the table was pale, sweating profusely, and looked completely exhausted. The deep, sonorous voice said to the Quinns: "Gentlemen, I must excuse Abel and I. We have business to do tonight. I have reason to regret it, because I still look forward to hearing it." What about your adventure stories?" Then why are you ordering Peabody and Storm to have all the talking time?Ellery thought. "However, Lady Bendigo will continue to entertain you." He didn't wait for Carla to say: I'd love to, dear, and pushed back his chair and stood up.Abel, Dr. Storm, Peabody, and Dr. Axter stood up immediately.Abel followed his tall brother out one door, and doctors, lawyers, and physicists went out another.Quinn and his son watched them leave, and it never occurred to them that they should move as well.It can be said that this long dinner is just one scene in a big drama, everyone plays a role, and it ends as soon as the curtain falls, and how to remove makeup is one's own business. Ellery met his father's gaze over Carla Bendigo's smooth red hair as he pulled a chair for her. For three hours, all the main characters are present, but not a single word touches on what brought the Quinns to the island. "Shall we go, gentlemen?" King Bendigo's wife took their arms. At the door, Ellery looked back. Max One and Judah Bendigo sat on either side of the disheveled table. The ex-wrestler stuffed food into his own mouth, while the silent Bendigo brother poured himself another generous brandy of fine wine with one still steady hand, with an air of concentration.