Chapter 8 Chapter 8 The Trap

The veritable Mr. Ellery Queen gently put down the shoe and the two spikes. "Kelly has figured out it was her," Beau said. The tone of his words made Mr. Quinn look up at him.Afterwards, Mr. Quinn lowered his eyes again, showing a flat and gentle expression.He picked up a hoof nail and twisted it back and forth with his fingers. "That's great," he said, "and quite frightening. A woman who has become a murderer out of jealousy and greed doesn't usually commit murder with such subtlety. To think of loosening a horse's shoe!" "You bastard." Beau turned away.

"If a female killer can think of such a scheme, I'm afraid she also got advice from ordinary channels or ordinary people. Since she is deeply involved in pure viciousness and madness, she may not feel too much fear and shrink back. There won't be too many scruples. I think it's more reasonable for her to use poison. Poison is more practical. And this-this is a bit weird." He stared at the crooked hoof nail After looking at it, he threw it aside. "It's not the same as how to do it," Bo said weakly. "In that respect, I also took precautions. I put a woman who used to be a policeman in the kitchen as a helper."

"Are you sure Margo Cole did it?" "I learned from the groom that Margo managed to be alone in the stable with the filly before Kelly went riding. It was Margo, that's right." Beau lay down on the sofa. , and turned his face to the wall. "What happened that night?" Mr. Quinn felt quite sympathetic to Bo, and knew that he was indeed in a dilemma.Plus the girl is— "We went into town, that pretty Miss Cole and I," said Beau openly, "for some fun. Just going out and drinking like innocent kids. That's all, you know?" He sat up suddenly.Mr. Quin did not interrupt him.

"We sat down on the terrace afterward and had a couple of drinks. She seemed very intimate with me. I guess I wasn't as rapturously invested in her that night. I actually tried my best not to let her see that. A bit, but she's...too shrewd." Mr. Quinn noticed that his eyes were red.Moreover, he has added a problem these days: he twists his upper and lower jaws from time to time, as if he is hungry and wants to eat. "I knew from the way she looked at me that she must have seen what was bothering me. She knew it was Kelly who was making me uneasy. The way she smiled... made me shudder," Beau said hoarsely. "Actually I should have understood. But I never expected to... She said good night to me, and everything seemed to be all right. I sat up a little longer, and then I went to bed. I couldn't sleep. Then the poor girl let out a screamed horribly—"

"Oh?" Mr. Quinn said softly. Beau was laughing, and there was a certain stark hatred in that smile. "De Carlos is unlikely to climb that wall. When I checked him, he was pretending to be asleep. He was not asleep at all. But he was also drunk. If he tried to climb to Kelly's room, She had to fall on the balcony and break her neck. But what about Margot..." He stood up abruptly from the sofa, walking back and forth, "Her bedroom is in the opposite wing, but it happens to be on the balcony. That night When people are quiet, she can sneak out on the patio, turn around, and climb up the vines and trellises, which is a piece of cake for her. This bitch has an athlete's body... Maybe it was that day What she saw in my eyes at night made up her mind."

Mr. Quinn sighed: "Why does this matter half feel like a movie about deliberate murder?" "That's not the worst of it, though God only knows it's unfortunate enough for a man in such an embarrassing position!" cried Beau, "and the worst is that I have to hurt Kelly ...everytime I show a little interest in her, her eyes light up like light bulbs. It's like a little kid standing under a Christmas tree. She... and then I have to be mean on purpose The act of betraying her extinguished the light in her eyes. At the end of the day, if she no longer hated them, she would hate me to the core."

"That's what you want, isn't it?" asked Mr. Quinn.At the moment, however, he was thinking about other things. "Yeah," Beau said calmly, "that's what I wanted," he finally exploded, "but it turned out to be more than I wanted! She thinks Margo and I are in collusion to kill her!" "It was very natural. On the face of it, it looked like an attempted murder out of angry vengeance... It was very natural for her to think so." "Of course it's easy for you to keep your cool about it," said Beau indignantly, "because you're not in love with her."

"I'm sorry, Beau," said Mr. Quinn softly. "My specialty is murder, not love." "What can I do? I have to find a way to get out of this mess!" Mr. Quinn was silent. "Damn it, you're not even listening to me!" Mr. Quinn raised his head: "I'm half listening, and half thinking about a big mystery. Bo, you said the attack on Kelly Sean and the previous incidents related to Cole's death. What is the connection between them?" "All I know is that Margot Cole wants Kelly's life. Kelly is a barrier between her and me - she thinks so - and more importantly, Kelly's death means her death. The income will be doubled. I understand Margo, between her two motives, the motive for money is probably stronger. However, for a deceased person, why he was killed is not so important."

"Don't you think that these attempts have roots in the past, that these events were planned months ago?" "I think," said Beau irritably, "that Margot had something to do with Cole's death!" Mr. Quinn raised his eyebrows: "You think she was on the Argonaut?" "Why not?" Beau yelled. "Either she wasn't here, and De Carlos did the dirty work for her. It's not impossible for these two to work together. They kept their distance from each other." — De Carlos is staring at Kelly, the fucking nymphomaniac! — but that doesn't mean much. It's just a cover-up."

It seemed that Mr. Quinn was not very satisfied with this deduction: "There are too many things we don't know," he complained. "Any news from the crew and Angus?" "I got a report this morning. One of my men found a trail of three crew members and the radioman. They're working on a cargo ship and they're on the other side of the world right now. No other No clues from anyone, and no news from Angus. It's like—" "Like?" Mr. Quinn repeated. Their eyes met. "They're dead," Beau said. Mr. Quinn picked up his hat: "Go ahead and guard your light of love. And again, don't let your doubts about Margo blind you so that you can never see... other possibilities .”

"What do you mean by that?" Beau asked eagerly. "That's the meaning of this sentence. Regarding this case, there is only one thing I can be sure of, that is, it is far more than it looks. I feel that this is a complex and delicate case that uses the reverse purpose method. You've got to be very careful, Beau, and I'll do my best to help you out of the dark. You've got to be on your toes—watch out in every direction. You might find a breach where you least expect it." "I just don't understand what you're talking about!" "That's not surprising," said Mr. Quin, shrugging his shoulders. "Even I don't quite understand it myself." Vi begged Kelly to leave. "Even if that vicious woman didn't kill you," she yelled, "you would be tortured to death by worry and tension all the time. Kelly, you are so stupid, I really have to pour some cold water on you, let you Sober up. Do you really love him that much? Or are you reluctant to part with the money? This money has not done you any good! You are being punished by God. Give up, let's get out of here Let's go now while you can still go!" "No," Kelly said morosely, "I don't. I don't. They can't drive me away. I won't give in. Unless they kill me first." "They will!" Kelly's voice began to tremble. "It's as if there's a power greater than myself that won't let me go. Maybe it's just sheer stubbornness. I'm afraid - I'm afraid, Vivian." , but I'm more afraid of something I don't know. I have to know what it is. I have to find it." Wei looked at her with a slightly terrified expression. "I think you'll think I'm crazy," Kelly said, and she smiled wretchedly. "Maybe I've...I hate him!" Looks like it's really because of him.Vi shook his head. Then, the opponent struck for the third time. It was Sunday. In the morning, when Kelly woke up, she opened her eyes and saw that the sun was bright and the sky was cloudless. "Vie, let's have an old fashioned picnic, you and me!" she called. "Let's drive to the country, find a place to pitch camp, eat some pickled vegetables, boom bugs, and if we can find a stream, we can swim naked!" They found a creek and ate a hearty meal around a basket full of delicacies that the chef had prepared for them, and for the first time in weeks Vee heard her friend laugh loudly. It was dusk when their car drove into the gate of the manor, and in a blink of an eye, it was dark. Vi yawned, "What a breath of fresh air. Kelly, I have to go to bed right away." "Want to sleep? Don't watch the beautiful stars that just came out? Well, I'll put you at the door. If you want, you can go to your lovely bed. I'll go and park the car." Vee got out of the car in the garage doorway, and Mr. Scrum (she called him the butler) opened the gate for her, and she disappeared as soon as she ducked in.The butler took the basket out of the car again, and went into the house too. Kelly sat quietly in the driver's seat for a while, looking up at the darkening sky with ecstasy, all kinds of dreamlike feelings intertwined in her mind, as if floating in the boundless tranquility.However, after a while, the brighter stars reminded her what a wonderful night it was, and the beauty of the night naturally stimulated romantic thoughts and romantic... She quickly started the car and drove towards the garage. The garage is at the rear of the stables and is a real garage of six side by side under one roof. The large brick house, wide and shallow, had six pairs of double doors, and each store-shop was separated from one another by walls of brick and mortar, so that it was entirely independent of itself. Kelly's convertible is in the second room on the right.As for the two adjacent rooms on the left and right, one is for the van, and the other is for De Carlos' limousine.Visible in the headlights of the convertible, the four pairs of garage doors on the left were closed, while the pair on the far right was open.Kelly saw the van in the garage and wondered why the garage door was still open.However, this is just an extremely weak thought in my mind. She pulled into her garage, let the gear go, turned off the fire, pulled out the key, and reached for the headlights. Her arm paused in mid-air for a moment, and it felt like a door slammed shut.She twisted around in the driver's seat and looked back: her garage door was closed. "There's not much wind outside," she thought with a little doubt, "the door must have closed by itself after I drove in." So, without turning off the lights, she got out of the car and went over to turn on the garage dome light.Then she went to the garage door, pressed the latch, and pushed the door out.Just as she pushed the door, she heard a click, the sound of the hasp lock being locked on the outside of the door. Kelly stood there motionless. Some consciousness gradually emerged in her mind. If the door could be hit by itself, the lock would not lock itself.The lock required a hand to first remove it from the ring, a hand to pass the ring through the narrow slit above the hasp, and finally a hand to lock the lock. "Hey, out there!" she cried, "you locked me in! I was just going to—" No one answered. Kelly finished half of her sentence, but she stopped talking.She realized that shouting was useless, and she realized why shouting would be useless.Her heart jumped suddenly, as if rushing into her throat. But it's not wise to do so.He actually locked her in the garage.Sooner or later someone would come and set her out.Even if she stays here all night... This is probably another attack, a soft voice in her heart said to her.Vi went to bed.The butler also forgot about it.Nobody else knows you're here - nobody cares.It's another attack... Kelly laughed a little nervously.It's ridiculous. Whoever had locked her in hadn't he (perhaps she, Kelly thought bitterly) locked himself out at the same time? !There wasn't even a single hole in the four walls that a mouse could crawl through.Not even a window.There is an air vent at the top of the right wall that communicates with the garage of the van next door. However, the air duct covered with iron bars is sandwiched between the two garages, and only flies or insects can pass through this passage. flew by. "Let me out!" She thumped the heavy door hard.But they didn't even shake, "Let me out!" She kept beating until her hands hurt. After a while, she seemed to hear a low humming sound that seemed to come from the van garage on the right. She stopped banging on the door and listened attentively. It was the sound of the engine of a van.Someone started it up and opened its damper, and the hum got louder.She smelled its foul, pungent exhaust, which must have come from the ventilator. "Help me!" Callie yelled. "Over there!" She ran and threw her head back and yelled at the vent. "I'm locked in the garage next door! Help me!" There was a reply, but it wasn't a human voice, but the sound of the garage door closing next door.And, over the low growl of the idling engine, Kelly heard footsteps fading away. Now she understands.She thought of death, but it was too late. Someone locked her in the garage, started the engine of the car in the garage next door, and then walked away, leaving her here to let the colorless, odorless and deadly carbon monoxide gas produced by the car next door pass through the ventilation. The mouth came in and slowly poisoned her to death. Now, the god of death revealed its face without any concealment.Kelly no longer yelled or knocked on the door, she began to calmly and carefully sort out her thoughts; and her originally confused, restless and helpless self was shocked by this sudden calm and careful state of mind. Withered and retreated. The garage was far from the big house and the quarters of the servants.The only building within range of the shout was the stables, and at this time of night there were only horses there.Therefore, screaming loudly is useless. In fact, it's best to keep your mouth shut and stop talking.As she thought so, she sat down on the running board of the convertible.It's best to spare the air in this garage, so be sure not to do anything that is too strenuous or drains you.If it is as close to the ground as possible, it may last a little longer.Doesn't the gas just go up?What if carbon monoxide could possibly be heavier than air.If so, it will sink to the ground... Well, there is only one way to test it... Kelly lay down on the ground, rolled over, and pressed her cheek and nose to the cool concrete. This is probably not a very good way.Only to live longer.Sooner or later the warehouse would be filled with poisonous gas, and sooner or later her breathing would consume what was left of the oxygen, and she would die. die! She sat up, thinking wildly.What can she do?She must be able to do something! In theory, there are two ways to save her: Either keep the gas from coming in, or she escapes from the garage.Is there something she can do to keep that carbon monoxide out of the way? She glanced up and immediately dismissed the possibility.It seemed that she could tear up her own clothes and plug the holes in the grille of the vent so that most of the poisonous gas could not get in.However, the wall was so high, and the air vent was at such a high position in the high wall, even if she put up the hood and stood on the hood, she still couldn't reach it. So can she get out of this garage? She can't break through the wall.Might be able to knock out the plaster on the surface, but the inside is full of bricks.There are no windows.And the gate...it's impossible to break through, it's too thick.If there was an ax, maybe, but there is no ax. Suddenly, she felt a little tightness on her forehead, as if the skin was about to stretch out to both sides, and her temples on both sides also started to jump, and her whole head seemed to be about to burst into severe pain. so fast! Think about it.Think hard! She peered doggedly at the door.After a while, she suddenly burst out laughing.How stupid!Why didn't I think of that door hinge! All she had to do was get some tools from the tool box in the car—yes, a screwdriver would do the trick!It doesn't matter if she can't reach the top hinges of the door, she can pry the lower hinges off and push the door out from below, so she can climb out and be safe! She stood up immediately, walked around to the front of the car with some staggering steps, lifted the seat happily...but the tools disappeared. Kelly was so anxious that she burst into tears. She took out the contents of the emergency kit and threw them out—matchboxes, pieces of paper, rags, this kind of thing, that kind of thing, all useless things... She was like He writhed desperately like a lunatic, with a lot of crumbs dug into between his nails, and a finger was cut, and the blood flowed out glisteningly.Anything will do.A wrench or something.anything... All tools are gone. was secretly taken away. She ran back to the door and slammed herself against the door.Hit it again.Hit it again.No, it can't be like this.This is so silly.Think about it.Think quickly... She leaned back against the door, limp and exhausted.The severe pain hit the temple, and I began to feel dizzy and feel like vomiting. Like a signal light flickering in the fog that hangs over the sea—the revolver.That revolver!This morning she put it in the side pocket of the car door.Of course, she'd left the car for a while after that... no, it was still there.It's definitely still there.She could shoot the hinges off with it--and the lock, the hasp, shoot, shoot... She yelled with a half-cry, half-smile, staggered back to the car, opened the door feebly, put her hand limply into the pocket inside the door, ready to taste the cold metal in her hand. The happy feeling in the palm of your hand, that comforting, loaded revolver... It was as if every drop of blood in her body had frozen—and the little revolver with the pearl-encrusted handle had been stolen. That was the last chance, the last ray of hope.