Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Miss Bloom Appears

They took a taxi to the city center. "How did Dad find out about this?" Bo asked, after he had recovered from the shock. "Because I don't like her." "Speak seriously!" "What I mean is serious. I gradually began to think about the woman who called herself Margo Cole, herself and her story made me associate flies and honey, if you know what I mean. She seemed It's too worldly." "Is that considered deduction? Well," Bo muttered dissatisfiedly, "it's just a random guess!" "Of course." Ellery laughed, "except for one small detail. She mentioned an 'associate' to Kelly before she was murdered. An accomplice is a conspiracy, and a conspiracy— He shrugged. "Anyway, I just suggested that Dad take the fingerprints of the dead woman. He did, and telegraphed pictures of the fingerprints to Scotland Yard and the French Security Service. Scotland Yard replied."

"Who is she? I still don't understand!" "A woman named Ann Bloomer. The product of a London slum - alcoholic father, lazy mother - who has lived by crooked means since puberty. Arrested by the British police at the age of nineteen for conspiracy to blackmail Sent to prison for a year. After her release in 1925, she disappeared from England. 1925, remember? The year the real Margot Cole's mother died in France." "But the French police investigated this woman!" "We've all been subtly deluded. Can't you see what's going on? When this woman Bloomer showed up in this country, claiming to be Margo Cole, she made up a story. Well, that story It is composed of two stories intertwined. That is, until 1925, she told the real story of Margot Cole; from 1925, she told her own history. This means that the real Margot Cole disappeared in 1925 - or, at least, there is no record of her existence since that year."

"You think it started that long ago?" Beau whistled. "The murder happened in 1925?" "No idea." Mr. Quinn stared melancholy out of the window, "but Pa's news opened up a new area of ​​reasoning and investigation for us. Anyway, we know that Ann Bloomer—she said she changed her name Ann Strange—an English adventurer, and she had no possible ties to the Cole family. Dad looked into the situation, too. And it was this woman who tried to murder Kelly, but with all her cunning Then she herself was murdered!" "I said, how did she get Margot Cole's identification? Guess it—"

"Dad already called Goossens to bring all those proofs." Beau told the driver to stop at Tumbers Prison. Seeing him, Kelly let out a soft cry and threw herself into his arms.After a while, Mr. Quinn coughed a few times. "You should introduce me to this lady, Beau." After Beau had done his courtesy, under the protection of his arms, Kelly looked at Ellery with some confusion: "I am so happy to meet the man I thought I married me. So, You are Ellery Queen!" "And you're Kelly Sean." "A little weathered, I'm afraid," sighed Kelly. "Mr. Quinn, have we met somewhere before?"

"There are such possibilities, and they are unsettling," replied Mr. Quin quickly, "that you had better not let it bother you. Now that we do know each other, Miss Sean, I have a chance to Seeing it with my own eyes, I realized that it is no wonder that Bo's entire self-centered life has been disrupted by you!" "I've been looking a lot these days," Kelly said with a wry smile. "I'm a little flattered by the lovely attentions life has given me... honey." She squeezed Beau's hand. "Listen, boy." Beau was embarrassed. "I'm only here for a while, to put my arm around you, you know, to make sure you're not mad at me. But we have to go."

"So fast?" Callie called. "Someday we'll rest for a thousand years and walk far away together, hand in hand forever. But right now Ellery and I have work to do." "Okay, Beau." She kissed him. "That's a good name. Beau Rumel. Well, you know—" "No time for small talk," Beau said quickly. "Kelly, are you okay? Are you okay with them?" "Yes, Beau." "Is there anything I can get you before I leave?" "Vee came and brought me something she knew I'd need. Beau...the police are watching Vi."

"Oh, that's just playing by the book," Beau whispered. "They ain't getting paid if they don't play smart." "Have you--have you hired a lawyer for me?" "What's wrong with me? I'm a lawyer!" "Oh, dear, I know, but—" Beau kissed her. "We don't need a lawyer. Ellery and I just need one more day to close this case." Kelly's eyes widened: "You mean you found out—" "Be patient, smug face. We'll try to get you out of custody, you won't be able to put a murder charge on your head. Either way they have to act fast. Either release you, or change the charges —" Beau's face darkened, and then he grinned at her again, "You just need to stay here a little longer."

"Please make sure it's a very short period of time," Kelly whispered. "Miss Sean, do you know that Margot Cole is not actually Margot Cole?" Mr. Quinn asked suddenly. "What did you say?" Kelly asked, gasping. "nothing." "Bo, what did he mean?" Beau told her.She was confused: "But I don't—" Mr. Quinn held her hand: "Don't think about it. Don't answer too many questions when you stay here, and take a good rest. Prison is really a good place to rest." She responded with a forced smile: "I will remember this sentence—the next time I go to prison."

"I assure you, you won't stay in prison for long this time." "Thank you, Mr. Quinn." "Call me Ellery, Miss Sean." "Call me Kelly, Ellery." "I'm so honored! By the way, Beau and I have a lot to explain to you. Do you think you'll be patient enough to wait until later?" "I listen to Bo." Beau kissed her again, and they both walked away quickly. "That trust," Mr Quinn commented, "should not be betrayed." Beau answered without words, but something in his eyes and jaw made Mr. Quinn stop. They found Constable Quinn with Lloyd Goossens in elbow-deep piles of files.Both men looked worried.

"Well, they're all in their places," said the officer disgustedly, "every one of them deserves their name. I don't understand a thing." "Neither do I," said Goossens, puffing nervously on his empty pipe.He looked Beau and Ellery in turn. "Who's who, officer?" "That's the real Ellery Quinn," the officer said angrily, "and this guy who stopped playing Quinn was Beau Rumel, my son's partner. And I won't blame you, Mr. Goossens." "Now I'm afraid it won't do any good," said Goossens mournfully, shaking Ellery's hand. "You must tell me some other day, sir, why you have lied to me. At present, this matter of Margot Cole, or , or rather the Ann Bloomer affair has stumped me."

"Are you sure these identification documents are genuine?" "Sure. See for yourself. I brought Miss Sean's as well for comparison." "How do we know she's not an imposter too?" Officer Quinn asked suddenly. Bo was angry: "The records in her file are all right! Besides, there is a photo of her when she was about ten years old—" "I don't like that," complained the old man. "It messes up the whole case." "I'm so sorry for you," Beau grinned. The officer looked at him oddly. "Oh, I didn't mean the case against Kelly. Finding out that this woman who claimed to be Margot Cole was a fake wouldn't really change Kelly Sean's motives. Lee Shaw thinks the woman is Margot Cole. Or even if she knows, the motive is still valid. In this case, she will count on the woman's disguise never being exposed. I don't think that. " "Then what are you thinking?" The police officer couldn't answer. "What bothers me," says Goossens, "is my position as executor and trustee in this matter. And working with someone like De Carlos isn't going to -- um -- make things any different. better." He ran his fingers through his thinning hair, "and handed over all this money from Cole's estate to this woman named Bloom—" "You shouldn't be blamed for that," Mr Quinn said. "We all make the same mistake. Because the IDs are genuine, we assume whoever holds the document is the owner of it." "Oh, I won't be in trouble legally," said the lawyer, "I'm not worried about that, Mr. Quinn. The papers will be talking about it, a scandal—it won't do the honor of my institution Any benefit, you know, is likely to scare away future customers. Well, that's my problem, not yours." "Speaking of legal matters," Beau began, "the estate is still there and the real Margot Cole has to be found. Kelly is back as the heir - with a murder charge hanging over her head. The attorney won't like that." Variety--" Goossens looked sullen. "Yeah, yeah, I'm aware of that." He frowned. "By the way. Mr. Quinn, strictly legally speaking, you let Mr. Rumel Pretend that you have violated the testator's orders. You have no right to assign Mr. Rummel the work you were hired to do." "If you mean," said Beau, "we've got to give back the fifteen thousand dollars, my friend—you're not going to get it!" "No, no," said the attorney, smiling nervously, "I won't insist on that. But in the circumstances, I think Ellery Queen should withdraw from the case." "What do you mean?" asked Mr. Quin. "The agent won't like the little thing, Mr. Quinn. I think he'll insist that I hire another agency, or that I do the job myself." "You mean that now that the woman Bloom has been exposed, the search for Margot Cole will start again?" "yes." "We stand," Mr. Quinn said firmly, "our rights." Goossens laughed. "I don't believe you have any rights. But, it's possible that this is a problem in name only. In name - great!" Mr. Quinn also smiled politely: "What does that mean?" "I mean—Margot Cole could be dead. She must be dead. So it's just much ado about nothing." "Very likely," admitted Mr. Quinn. "Well... I guess, Sergeant, you want to study these papers for a while?" "Yeah, leave them here." The lawyer nodded gloomily and left. "What a queer fellow, timid as a mouse," said the inspector. "Well, I think he's in trouble." He sat down at the table and ran his fingers over the statuette of Portillon. "Like me, Beau, you and Kelly are lucky that this is happening now. It obscures the case. The D.A. regrets that he suggested arrest so soon. And yesterday he tried to arrest you too!" "On what charge?" "Assassinated murder." The old man paused, then said softly, "I talked him out of it. I know you had nothing to do with that—not because the facts are in your favour, but because many factor." "But Beau couldn't have done that murder," protested Mr. Quinn, exasperated. "I don't mean murder," said his father impatiently, "I mean synergy." "Thank you, Dad," said Beau coldly. "Likewise, I'm not quite clear myself. The magistrate is considering removing me from the case. Now with this new circumstance..." He shook his head. "It seems to me," remarked Mr. Quinn, "that we've been going round in circles. Let's deal with it with some logic." The police officer showed joy on his face: "Have you seen the dawn?" "Very dazzling." "So you don't think Kelly Sean killed the Blooming woman?" "I do not think so." The police officer sat down again: "You are biased!" "Not at all. I have reason to think she is innocent." "Reason? What reason? God knows I'm a reasonable man. But if you can make sense of the case -- and not some nonsense like Kelly Shawn's -- I'll be at Madison Square Garden Dip my hat in ketchup and mayonnaise!" "I can accept your challenge," said Mr. Quinn, and he got up and walked about the room, frowning at the floor. The woman carrying Margot Cole's real-life ID, so to speak, has been proven to be an imposter named Ann Bloomer. Now, since the woman is an imposter, this begs the question : Cadmus Cole's real niece, Huntley Cole and Nadine Cole's real daughter - where is the Margot Cole that Ann Bloomer impersonates? "You will admit that there are two possibilities involved: either the real Margo Cole is alive now, or she is dead. Let's see what happens if she's alive. If she's alive, Why didn't she come to claim her share of her uncle's estate? We have to rule out the possibility that she didn't hear of her uncle's death and didn't know of the will he left. This is the history of the legal profession One of the most widely publicized will cases of all time. Cole's death, and the queer conditions of the will, were covered in newspapers, magazines, and radio all over the world, not once but many times—reaching as far as North America, South America, Europe, Australia, even Africa and the South China Sea. And the reports went on for several months - first Cole's death, then the publicity of the will, then the news that two heirs had been found, and since then Keep reporting on their movements. Would you disagree that if the real Margo Cole were still alive, it would be reasonable to assume that by now she would have known of Cole's death and that she herself was qualified heiress?" "Do you mean," asked the inspector, "that because Margo Cole didn't show up, you think she's dead?" "Not yet," Ellery said quickly, "I'm just painting the background. But I do think that if she was alive, she must have seen or heard this unusually wide coverage. So, On this reasonable speculation—that she would have known had she lived—why did she not show up? The answer may be, even quite likely, that she knew she did not meet the conditions laid down in the will...for example, that she was married , or had been married—a condition that automatically disinherited her." "I'd rather think," objected Beau, "that even if she's married or has been married, she'll show up to fight for her interests. That's just human nature." "But she didn't, that's a fact. Let's not dwell on the reverse theory, let's go down the line. What if she's married because she didn't show up? You said she would fight for it. Yes, I agree, she would. But how? Protest the will? She didn't. Could she fight for it in other ways? Sure—if she knew A woman like Ann Bloomer and made a deal with her." Both listeners looked blank. "Like a deal like this: Ann Bloomer shows up with the real Margot Cole giving her identification, is accepted as the legal heir, starts taking her share of the money, and then they split it 50/50. In Margot Cole's view, Ann Bloom only needs to meet the following two conditions: single and never married, and her history and Margot's history can be connected at a certain point-indeed, Just like what actually happened." "But that means," said the Inspector excitedly, "that this partner is—the real Margot Cole! According to Kelly, the woman talked about her having a partner. Why, if Ann is accepted as He cheated Margot after inheriting the income, if Ann didn't share the money, it might be the motive of murder..." "Then it's possible," Ellery chuckled. "By the way, I thought you didn't believe Kelly's story!" "I don't believe it," said the old man, blushing. "I'm just—arguing. For argument's sake." Beau and Ellery both laughed. "At any rate," said Ellery, "that's not the conclusion I want to come to by argument, though it may be true. The only conclusion I want to come to is that you've accepted, Pa—that's That is, if it is true that Margot Cole is still alive, she likely hired Ann Bloomer to replace her, equipped Ann with identification papers, and acted as Margot's secret associate in the scheme to acquire half of Cole's estate , she was not entitled to the inheritance. In other words, Ann Bloomer must have an accomplice. "Now, look at the other possibility—that the real Margo is dead. How did Ann Bloom get those identification documents? According to the investigation report, the Bloom woman and Cole No family connection at all, certainly no blood ties. But those identification papers must have been in the hands of someone close to the dead Margot - remember, our current presumption is that the real Margot is dead In whose hands? A blood relative? The only blood relatives of the real Margo who are still alive are Kelly Sean, her cousin, and Cadmus Cole. Go Cole contacted and, as far as is known, was never able to get in touch with her. "Then who else is left who might hold these documents? A man like this, the real surviving husband of Margot Cole. That's a good possibility, though it could be another One of a number of people with whom she has various relationships. Either way. Now that Ann Bloomer has Margot Cole's identification papers, she must be from someone who has been with Margot Cole Cole had them in the hands of a person with whom Cole had a close relationship, and since this person had given these documents to Ann Bloomer, it meant that there was a deal, an association. So that vital Again the conclusion emerges: Ann Bloomer has an accomplice." The police officer lost his temper: "Can't it be like this? Margo Cole and Ann Bloom are friends. Ann Bloom murdered Margot, stole her identification, and then pretended to be here Margot Cole shows up. That way there's no accomplice at all!" "There are two reasons for disproving that theory," Ellery replied, "which, of course, came to me by accident. One, if Margo and Ann were friends, why did the French police find nothing about the friendship?" What about the evidence? They've checked every detail of Margot Cole's activities from her birth until 1925, and they've checked Ann Bloom's life from 1925 until now. Every detail of every move. They investigated carefully, as you know. The answer is: No such evidence can be found, no such friendship exists. Besides, your reasoning implies that Ann Bloom was a lonely The man who was — uh — a wolf. But she told Kelly she had an accomplice right before she was murdered.” "We've only got Kelly Sean to say about it," said the officer stubbornly. "And a lot of what El just told us confirms what she said," Beau yelled. "Don't be so police-minded, Dad!" The officer waved Ellery back. "Then, by corollary," said Ellery, "we establish that there is a hitherto unsuspected individual—Ann Bloomer's associate in crime when she boasted that she and When Li attacked, she was referring to this person. "Beau told Ann she was going to marry Kelly, told her he was going to take Kelly to the Villanoy Hotel, and he even assured Ann that he would leave Kelly alone that night, which he did—even though he Is another reason. "Ann Bloomer must have informed her accomplice, or how would the accomplice know? So shortly after Beau and Kelly entered the Villanoy Hotel, the accomplice went to the hotel and found out where they were staying. which room, and then wired the hotel to reserve room 1726. I happened to research the telegram, which was from a pay phone to the West End Telegraph Office—no doubt from inside the Villanoy Hotel or One of the nearby phone booths. Of course, this trick covered his whereabouts. "After booking room 1726, the mysterious accomplice entered the room with something like a master key and waited for the situation to develop. Through the open window, the accomplice heard Ann's arrival, heard the whole conversation, and heard whether An Wisely said he had an accomplice in the attack on Kelly, and shot her before Ann revealed the identity of her accomplice—himself. He then threw Kelly’s revolver through the window into the 1724 room. Ann herself said she planned those attacks on Kelly with an accomplice, so it should come as no surprise that the accomplice was in possession of Kelly's stolen 22-caliber pistol." The old man was silent. "I suppose," continued Ellery grimly, "that the accomplice had three motives for killing Ann Bloomer. "Keep in mind Ann's character, her immorality, her undisciplined way of life in England as we know it from the records, and her self-disclosure when she confessed to her attempted murder of Kelly. Then, consider her and her accomplices What would it be like in between. When identification was presented and accepted by the executive trustee and agent, she found herself in the driver's seat. She no longer needed an accomplice—any accomplice, he put Margot Cole's identity card has been handed over to her, and her mission has been completed. She can renege on her deal with him without endangering herself-that is, she can refuse to share the benefits with her accomplices, Although he provided her with the means to gain that benefit. And is there anything the accomplice can do about it?—No. To reveal the false identity of this woman is to expose and implicate himself. The accomplice is thus irretrievably lost A large sum of money due to him. His natural motive? Revenge. "Second motive: Fear. Ann Bloomer, a woman on file with the police, could be unmasked at any moment, even if it were only a small disaster. Once caught, she Certainly her unknown accomplices will come out. In fact, when Ann bragged to Kelly in the hotel room that she and another man planned the attacks that attempted to kill her, here's what she actually said: I And another one. Me and the—the accomplice shot her instantly. He dared not let her reveal his identity. Dead men can't talk. So, for that matter, dead women can't either." Ellery paused, and then Beau asked, "You said there were three motives. What's the third one?" "The third," Ellery replied, "can wait. Aren't two enough?" "Why can't Kelly be an accomplice of this woman Bloomer?" the officer demanded. "Forget about room 1726, forget about Kelly's story." "Come on, come on, Dad, you're confused. Callie is the last person in the world to be Ann's accomplice. If Callie had Margot Cole's identification in the first place - that in itself is extremely unlikely —Would Kelly be willing to devise such an imposter to set herself up with a competing heir whether the real Margot Cole was alive or not? Because if the real Margot didn't show up, Kelly would have it all income from the property, not half. No, Pa, Kelly doesn't need an accomplice." The officer twirled the tip of his beard: "Where's the evidence for all your reasoning?" "We're not ready to present the evidence yet." "The circumstantial case against the girl is too strong, Ellery. Even if I'm convinced by you, and Sampson. The D.A. won't drop the charges until they see the evidence." Beau winked at Ellery and pulled him aside.They discussed in low voices for a while. Ellery looked concerned, but he finally nodded and said to his father, "Okay. You'll see the evidence. I'm going to let Beau run the show. Because it's basically his. inspiration." "Let me do this," Beau said eagerly, "and you'll have the murderer in twenty-four hours—yes, and a whole bunch of other things!" "Not more than twenty-four hours," agreed Mr. Quin. "Yes, I think we can guarantee that." The officer hesitated.Then he suddenly raised both hands: "Okay, what do you want me to do?"