Chapter 9 shepherd ring

December 1943 had just begun, and after two years of marriage, Annabelle told me that she was pregnant (the elderly Dr. Then go on down).This makes me happy, even if this is a world shrouded in war, it can't affect my happiness in the slightest.Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin met for the first time in Tehran, and reached a battle plan to march into Western Europe the following year. We pray in our hearts that the worst time will pass quickly. Our good friend Lincoln Jones, the first black doctor in North Hills, turned his focus to obstetrics and opened his own clinic.His clinic took a long time to build, but we came to a consensus early on: No one in North Hills could be more trusted to deliver babies than Lincoln.On Monday, Annabelle and I's wedding anniversary, Lincoln gave Annabelle a prenatal check-up that morning, and his estimated due date was the end of July.Annabelle had already arranged for an assistant to be in charge of the animal clinic's business during her expected delivery period.Do the math, I had my first child when I was forty-seven, and Annabelle was ten years younger than me, blond, brown-eyed, and pretty.

"I want you by my side, Sam," she said tenderly. "The day is coming, and you will stay away from those murders." I swear on my word that I would be more than happy if North Hills remained a quiet New England town.But God is obviously unwilling to give me this chance to be quiet. I arrived at the office early the next morning.Today is also an anniversary day, but it is not a pleasant past. Two years ago today, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the enemy. I guess nurse Aibo will be particularly concerned about her husband Andre, who is still fighting bloody battles in the Pacific Ocean. .I couldn't help telling my wife the good news of her pregnancy, and she seemed happier than having a baby.I was godfather to her son Sam, who was named after me, now seven years old and in second grade, living with his mother while he waited for his father to return from the front.After I reported the good news, she told me that Sergeant Lan Si would be visiting in a while.My heart trembled, and I knew that it was definitely not a matter of the parents and the west.

Just a little after ten o'clock, the sheriff arrived, and he asked as he entered the door, "Doctor, how are you?" "Very well, Sheriff. Annabelle and I went to Lincoln Jones' clinic yesterday." "Oh? How's his business there?" "It's getting busier. We've also brought him some new business." "Who—" the sheriff understood what I meant in the middle of the sentence, "Could it be you..." "Aha, it's Annabelle!" "Doctor, this is big news. Wait until I tell Vera! When is the birth?" "At the end of July, we can only preliminarily calculate this time."

"By then the battle might be over. The counteroffensive will begin." I shook my head: "When I mention the war, I get annoyed. How many children died on the front line. Let's get down to business. What are you looking for, Sheriff?" "Have you ever had a patient named Julius Finiso?" I pondered: "I don't know if he can be regarded as my patient. A few weeks ago, his tractor overturned, and I repaired his broken leg, but I can't give him the treatment he needs. I'm not a psychiatrist." "There is no such department in Beishan Town," said the sheriff.

"I know." "Then you also think his head is abnormal?" I shrugged: "There is definitely a problem." "Is it an old question?" "I suppose so. What's he doing again?" "He said he was going to kill Ralph Cedric because he sold him a rotten tractor. Finisol's wife Millie was so worried that she called me and asked me to talk to him." "Can you get him to talk to you sanely?" "How is it possible? He said that our efforts are useless, he has a way to hide, and no one can see him go to Cedric's house."

"He broke a leg, whether he can be invisible or not, it's impossible to do it," I glanced at the calendar, thinking that the leg should not have fully recovered, "That's all right, I'm going to McGregor this afternoon One of his kids had chickenpox, and I stopped by Finiso's after that. Whatever nerves he has, it's time for a cast to be checked today to make sure there isn't any swelling." "Perhaps you could reason with him, doctor." The McGregor children were not much trouble, recovering quickly from chickenpox.I finished my rounds and took the short cut off Chestnut Hill Road.My Buick is going strong, I hope it lasts until the end of the war.I turned onto the driveway of Finisoux Farm and admired the main house in front of me once again. Although the old house was built in the 19th century and the walls were in dire need of painting, it still exuded extraordinary grace.After getting off the car, I saw that Mili Finiso had come to the door.She was a small blonde woman, a little younger than me.No matter how you look at it, she is not suitable for the tall and gloomy Julius.As soon as their son turned eighteen, he joined the army on the fly.He should be somewhere in Italy by now.

"Hello, Millie. I've just come from a round at the McGregors' and wanted to drop by to see how Julius's leg is doing." "Dr. Hawthorne, I'm worried about him. He's more off than usual. I had Sergeant Lens come over and have a talk with him yesterday." I followed her into the living room, which was scattered with tables and bookshelves lined with plants and china figurines. "I gave him the painkillers you prescribed, and he slept drowsily at night, but during the day, he became incoherent again." "Let me examine him." She walked up the creaking stairs to the second floor.Finiso was resting in a room next to the bathroom, in a wheelchair by the window, his injured leg resting on a footstool, still unable to move, but glad to see he was recovering.A bare right foot was exposed under the plaster bandage.The furnishings in this room are very simple, and there are no bookshelves in sight.On the desk was a Sears catalog, which seemed to be the only material he read.

"How are you feeling, Julius?" I opened the black medicine bag I carried with me. "It's okay, but after I kill that bastard Cedric, it will definitely be much more enjoyable than it is now. The bullshit tractor he sold me almost killed me, and he actually said it was my own driving skills. " "You have been noisy for most of your life, when will it stop?" "Unless he hangs up." "When will he hang up?" I asked jokingly. "It's midnight tomorrow." "You can't, Julius. You still have a cast on your right leg."

"Nothing can stop me." "I really can't do anything about you. I'd better find an assistant to the sheriff to come over and watch you." He smiled slyly: "You are welcome, I will always be invisible." I sighed: "Julius, you need a more professional doctor to help you recover, I am just a general practitioner." "It seems that you don't believe me?" He stretched out his right hand and showed me a gold ring with precious stones, "This is a genuine shepherd's ring, as mentioned in Plato, the shepherd's name is Ji Keith, he serves the King of Lydia. As long as I hold the gem in the palm of my hand, I can become invisible."

"I really want to see your skills." I said cooperatively. "I can't do it now, I have to wait until tomorrow night when I take the bird man's life." "Where did you get this ring? This fetish must be very valuable." "Someone gave it to me." He obviously didn't want to go into details on this issue. "Julius, why don't I bring Ralph Cedric over tomorrow morning, and you two should talk like civilized people." "If you bring him here, he will die, and it will save me the trouble of traveling long distances." Speaking of this, he waved a knobby crutch leaning against the bed with a vicious look on his face.

I glanced at Millie, who looked helpless, clearly powerless to respond to her husband's madness.I put the subject aside to examine his cast and injured leg. "Healing well," I told him, "and the cast will be removed in a few weeks." He raised his eyes and glanced at me, and his eyes met. I immediately determined that this person was not normal.If there is no problem with his leg, he might go to seek revenge and kill people along the way tomorrow night. "See my ring, doc? Cool isn't it? I can be invisible." Before going home, I went to the police station and spoke with Sergeant Lens about my opinion. "Sheriff, this man is delirious. He may not be able to hide, but if he really meets his enemy, Cedric's head may be blown off." Sergeant Lan Si muttered, "You don't need to face each other when you kill people. Every farmhouse on Chestnut Hill Road has a shotgun. How far is the distance between the two houses? About a hundred yards? He just needs to sit in the bedroom and aim at the gun." Out the window, as soon as Ralph Cedric pokes his head out of the house, it's a shot." "His windows aren't on Cedric's side." I pointed out the sheriff's mistake. "It doesn't matter, the big deal is to climb to the other side of the house, or use crutches and guns to support it." "Sheriff, you can't arrest a mentally ill person, let alone he has not done any substantial dangerous behavior." "Tonight, I will ask my men to follow up, in case he acts a day earlier." I nod. "Tomorrow I'm going to find a reason to go to Cedric's house. No matter what happens, I don't believe that Julius Finiso has such an ability to kill people invisible." The next morning, the sun was surprisingly warm, not like the weather in early December, wondering if it will snow for Christmas.I parked the car in front of Ralph Cedric's house and rang the bell.His wife, June, welcomed me into the house with a smile.She was in her thirties, tall and slender, with undiminished charm, brown curly hair mixed with a few strands of gray hair. "Dr. Hawthorne! A rare visitor, what brings you here? Is there any new drug for free trial?" "No, June. Your neighbor Finisol broke his leg. I just went to help him with some insurance claims. I wonder if Ralph can provide some information about that tractor?" June became alert: "That accident had nothing to do with the tractor! No normal person would drive a tractor down such a steep hill, except for that madman." "Is Ralph home? I see his car parked in the drive." While talking, Ralph came out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee.He is stocky, older than his wife, but has lost all his hair.His Cedric tractor dealership business had been thriving for the past decade, but when the war broke out new farm implements were as rare as new cars.Even so, as part of logistical support, agriculture is still one of the industries that the country must support, so his business has not stopped, but the business volume has been much smaller because his main supplier has gone to transform tanks. "You want me, doctor?" "It's nothing special. I want to talk to you about Finisol. He broke his leg while driving a tractor. I fixed his leg, but when I asked him how he fell, he always stuttered and couldn't explain clearly. He It seems that you have a big opinion on your tractor." Cedric leaned against the bookshelf, sipping the coffee in his cup leisurely. "I really can't figure out how Mili would marry him. This man is really unreasonable. Although it is not a factory product, there is no better second-hand one. I also warned him to drive on relatively flat ground. Knowing that he has only been driving for a week, he went to the hillside to plow in a whimsical way. He only broke one leg and it is a blessing in misfortune." June also intervened in our conversation at this time: "He told Millie that he would come and kill my husband as soon as he could walk. He also said that he could be invisible. He is so lawless, can't he go to jail?" "He's been talking so far," I pointed out, "but I've asked Inspector Lens to keep his neighborhood under close watch." "Look, who's that coming?" Cedric asked, looking out of the window. "Is that Milly? They even brought a snowman with them." He was right.In the blink of an eye, Millie Finiso has arrived before us, holding a three-foot-tall snowman—a body made of large cotton balls, with carrots and briquettes for the nose and eyes, and a snowman in her mouth. A corncob pipe and a little top hat.June greeted the door and asked, "Milly, what is this?" "My mascot. It hasn't snowed yet, but you can put this snowman in the yard, or even in the living room, as long as you like." June took the snowman from her and entered the house holding her arm. "It must have taken you a lot of work, Millie," she said, placing the snowman by the fireplace. "It's okay, I like to tinker with these things. Leave my business-" She hesitated, and we all knew what her expression meant. This was supposed to be my time to speak, so I asked, "How is Julius today?" "Fine, sleeps most of the time. I think those pain pills have quieted him down, not at all like his usual self." I nodded: "It's better to sleep more, it's good for recovery. I have to go, you two talk slowly." The tense atmosphere was relieved by Mili's visit, and I left the room after watching them happy.With or without the shepherd's ring, it was impossible for her husband to be an invisible murderer in the middle of the night today. For dinner, Annabelle and I went to our favorite - Marx's Steakhouse, and we also told him the good news of his wife's pregnancy.Since the wedding ceremony was also held here, we always considered Max Verdic to be part of the family. "That's great!" he exclaimed excitedly, and brought a bottle of red wine to our table, "This way, I have another customer in my restaurant, haha." "That will have to wait a few years." Annabelle said with a smile. At this moment, Sergeant Lan Si came in from the door. He might have something to do with me, so he came straight over and sat down at our table. "Vera and I are happy for you," he said as soon as he sat down. "I may not be a godfather at my age, but we will treat him like our own child. Vera has even planned to knit the child." shoes." "Thank you so much, Sheriff." We then asked him to stay for a few drinks, which he readily obliged, since Annabelle was pregnant so she didn't drink too much.I told the sheriff about the fact that Millie made a snowman for Cedric's family today as a gift, and he felt the same as me, thinking that the situation is still under control so far. "But I still have to get out and go to Chestnut Mountain Road in the middle of the night, just in case." "That would be great," agreed Annabelle, "because Sam has to stay home tonight." She was smiling, but I knew what she was thinking, every time I went out at night to deal with cases, she was always very unhappy. Usually I go to bed before eleven o'clock, but this night I didn't sleep until very late. I found a lot of reasons to stay by the phone, and Annabelle hurried upstairs several times. "I'll be fine in a few minutes." I made up my mind to wait for the outcome of the matter. If something happened, Sergeant Lan Si would definitely call the police station. I was about to give up waiting and go back to sleep when the phone rang.It was a subordinate of Lens who was speaking. The sheriff had notified other personnel of the police station to go to Ralph Cedric's house for support, and hoped that I would be there as well.I immediately reported the situation to my sullen wife, put on my coat hastily, and went out.There was not even a hair on the road, and it took me only ten minutes to reach Chestnut Hill Road. The lights of the three police cars flashed in the dark, which was really dazzling. Sergeant Lens was apparently waiting for me at the front door.There was a faint light streaming from the window, but I could clearly see the irritated expression on his face. "Sheriff..." "This fellow Finisol..." he said through gritted teeth, "I've been staring at the road, and no one is crossing it. But in the blink of an eye, he suddenly appeared in front of the house. He smashed the door with his stick. through the glass, reached in and turned the lock. As soon as he was in, June rushed out, screaming in grief as he ran. God, what the hell was—" I followed him into the house.It was a mess.Even the cotton ball snowman was not spared, its body was torn apart, a desk lamp was smashed to pieces, all the books on the bookshelf fell to the ground, and clothes were everywhere.Ralph Cedric lay in a pool of blood in the kitchen, his head punched wide open by Finisoux's knobbly cane, and the murder weapon lay beside him. "Where's the Finiso?" I asked. The sheriff shook his head helplessly: "We searched the house thoroughly, but we couldn't find it. There are more than a dozen people on standby at Finisau's house, but we haven't entered the house yet." There was the sound of sobbing in the dining room. "How's June?" "It's terrible, doctor. Maybe you can comfort her." I went into the next room, where an adjutant was comforting a frightened woman with kind words. "Is there any other family members who need our help to contact?" He asked, but June just kept shaking his head. "Leave her alone for a few minutes," I said to the adjutant, and sat down at the table. "June, tell me, what's going on?" "He...he smashed the door glass with his cane, and then came in and made a mess." "Is it Julius Finisoux himself?" She nodded. "He had on a coat with a hood, but I knew him. He walked stiffly because of the plaster cast. Ralph heard the sound, and ran out of the kitchen, and I told him to hurry back. , but it was too late, Finisso had already rushed up with his cane. I ran towards the door in a panic, calling for help while running. The sheriff immediately ran towards this side when he heard the shout, but it was too late, Ralph is dead." "Where's the Phiniso?" "He... he just disappeared." I turned around and asked Sergeant Lansi: "What did you see?" "Like I said, he just showed up on the way to the front door without warning, and when he shattered the glass, I jumped out of the car and ran towards the house. If I could get the car Park a little closer to the house and maybe save Ralph's life, eh..." "We'd better go and see Finiso," I said bitterly, "and Millie." We were a little apprehensive about what might happen to Finiso's family, but the doorbell rang for a while before Millie answered the door.She was wearing pajamas and slippers and had clearly just gotten out of bed. "What happened?" she asked. "Is Julius at home?" Sheriff Lan Si completely ignored the other party's question. "What's up...I think he's still sleeping. I gave him another painkiller." She went ahead and led us to Julius' room, and I noticed the sheriff stealthily remove the pistol from its holster, which he held close to his lap to avoid attracting attention.Millie opened the door and turned on the light. Julius was lying on the bed with his broken leg wrapped in plaster on the pillow. When he heard someone coming in, he opened his eyes immediately.Seeing that it was me, he smiled slyly: "I did what I said, and I killed Ralph Cedric." This matter seemed unbelievable, but his words couldn't help but be unbelievable.In the blink of an eye the gnarled cane from my visit yesterday turned into a bloody murder weapon lying in Cedric's kitchen.There were still traces of mud on the bottom of the slippers beside the bed, and there was a hooded jacket on the ground not far away. "I want to take your pulse." As I said that, I grabbed his right wrist.The heartbeat was a little faster, but I don't think it reached the level of the strenuous exercise just now. Maybe a large group of us broke in in the middle of the night and frightened the old man. "You don't share the same bed?" Sergeant Lan Si asked Mi Li. "It's gone after the accident. His leg was in a cast. It's more comfortable to sleep alone in a big bed. I sleep in another room these days," she took a deep breath and summoned up her courage to ask, "Ralph How is Cedric?" "He's dead, Millie. June and I both saw a Julius look-alike burst into their house." I'm curious how Finisoux would explain this. "Tell everyone how you did it," I urged. He smiled, like a cunning fox, and you couldn't tell if he was a complete villain or a pure madman. "Milly was in her own room and I was left alone, and towards midnight I got out of bed on crutches, put on my coat and slippers, and was invisible." "You're hiding it for everyone to see." I provoked him like yesterday. "I won't do it, mana cannot be abused." "How did you kill Cedric?" Sergeant Lens asked. "I canceled the invisibility when I got to his door, because I wanted him to die clearly, I smashed the glass, then went in the door, and then did a flurry of crutches, June screamed at me, I'm so sorry where." "You left your crutch over there," I said, "how did you come back?" A sly smile appeared on his face again. "I don't need crutches when I'm invisible, because my body has no weight and I float in the air." "If you admit to murder, I'll have you arrested right away," said the sheriff. "No problem. But let me give you a piece of advice. It is impossible for an invisible person to be locked up in a cell for too long." "We'll see." I said.Before he knew it, I grabbed his wrist and with my other hand pulled the shepherd's ring off his finger. "Stop!" he yelled like a pig, but it was too late. "Now you are no different from ordinary people," I handed the ring to Chief Lan Si, "keep it safe." Finiso was so angry that he pounded on the bed. "Millie!" he cried, "they've taken my ring!" Standing at the door, she kept shaking her head, almost crying. "We have to take your husband away," the sheriff told her, "I'm sorry." He arranged for an ambulance and a stretcher, and when Finisol resisted, I sedated him.No doubt there was something wrong with the man's head, but what couldn't be explained still couldn't be explained—in the normal world—how on earth did he kill Ralph Cedric? Finiso was admitted to a hospital under strict surveillance, and a grand jury soon indicted him on murder charges.In the testimony, Sergeant Lan Si frankly stated that because of the dim light, he did not see the true face of the murderer clearly. "What else can I say, doctor," he told me during the adjournment, "no one will believe the story of the invisible man. Finiso has confessed to the murder and described the process to us in detail, Except for the part of being invisible, everything else is in line with the traces of the scene.” "Except for the stealth point, yes, but this is precisely the most important point." "There are no street lights on Chestnut Hill Road, maybe it was too dark so I didn't see him before, and then he got a little light when he arrived at Cedric's house." I disagree with this explanation: "Even without the ability of invisibility, I doubt whether he can walk more than a hundred yards of mountain roads with a cane. Without crutches, it is impossible for him to return to his bed." "What do you think is possible?" he asked. "Cedric's wife." "June? It can't be her. Before I arrived, she had rushed to the door and shouted for help. There wasn't enough time. And if she did it, how would Julius know that Cedric was dead? " "That's true." I admit it with my mouth, but I always feel that something is wrong in my heart. The trial of the case progressed slowly, and Christmas passed in a blink of an eye, and it was January of the New Year.Much of the war news was about the Soviets recapturing territories captured by Hitler the previous year.Between the world wars and my pregnant wife, I've almost forgotten about Julius Finiso. So when Millie called me in mid-January, I was quite surprised. "Dr. Hawthorne? I'm Millie Finiso. I've got a Sean Point advocate for my husband. He wants to talk to you. Do you have time this week?" I glanced at my calendar. "I'm free tomorrow afternoon, about two o'clock, is this time okay?" "Great, in your office?" "Okay, see you then." They arrived on time, and Millie wore a fur coat to keep out the winter winds.Terrance Melknap was more packed—a leather trench coat with a hood and leather boots.He shook hands with me and presented his business card. "The snow in Cape Sean is heavier than that in Beishan Town." He probably wanted to find a reason for his attire today.Then he added: "Nice to meet you, Dr. Hawthorne. I've heard a lot about you over the years." "Hope it's all good." "Of course," he continued, unpacking his briefcase. "There will be a preliminary hearing next week. Our strategy is simply to assert that the defendant is insane and to demand an acquittal." "Well, a good way." I glanced at Mi Li. "Because he has never been examined by a neurologist, we would like you to provide evidence of his mental state for reference. This will go a long way in convincing the judge to order a psychiatric examination." "I'll report everything I know to the judge when I testify. How is he doing now, Millie?" "Very depressed, he was clamoring to get the ring back." I shook my head: "This is impossible, he must be possessed." "So what if you give it back to him?" Melknap asked. "Anyway, everyone knows that invisibility is something in novels." "We think so, but he doesn't think so. If the ring is returned to him, he thinks he can be invisible again. The next time he goes to court, he might run away." When I said this, the lawyer had no choice but to nod in agreement: "You make sense." On Monday, I testified in court at the first hearing, and the judge indeed arranged for a psychiatric examination of the defendant.I suspect that the case may be heading toward Finiseau's insanity.During recess, Sergeant Lens and I had lunch at the counter of the pharmacy across from the courthouse. "Is Annabelle all right?" "Very well, she's going to Lincoln Jones next week for a routine check." "July is here in the blink of an eye." "I hope so," I said sullenly. "What's the matter, doctor, you don't seem happy." I shook my head and said, "It has nothing to do with Annabelle. I'm thinking about Finiso's case, and the more I think about it, the more I think there is something wrong." "What's wrong?" "Because Finisol can't actually be invisible, the process of committing the crime is still unclear. Even if you don't notice him sneaking into Chestnut Hill Road in the dark, he still can't go home after killing people. Killing Ralph Cedric The murderer must have left through the back door, it is very dark there, which is the best protective color." "But Finisoux's confession fits perfectly with the crime scene. It would be strange if he hadn't done it." "Exactly, Sheriff. To explain it, there is only one possibility: that the murderer was Millie, who wore her husband's clothes all the way, killed Cedric, escaped home through the back door, and told the details of the crime. husband." This explanation sounds plausible, but Sergeant Lens immediately dismissed my statement: "Doctor, that's impossible. Millie is a whole head shorter than her husband. I can't confuse the two, even if It was at night. Within minutes of the incident, one of my adjutants was at the Finisoux house to block his escape. He illuminated the surrounding area with spotlights, but saw no suspicious persons." I scrutinized the situation and found it to be a nasty dead end. "The murderer can't be Julius, unless he can really be invisible; the murderer can't be June Cedric, because time is too tight, and she has no chance to tell Julius what happened to the crime; the murderer can't be Millie, because she's too tall for the killer, and there's no way she can get home undetected. Are there any other suspects?" The sheriff shrugged: "A homeless man who happened to pass by? Temporary thoughts of burglary?" "You forgot that the murder weapon was Julius Finisoux's crutch, which I saw at his house the day before." "Then it could only be Finiso, doctor. No matter what spells he casts, he must be guilty. But what difference does it make to him if he's guilty or not? He's going to a mental hospital anyway." I felt that all my brain cells died suddenly: "This is the first time I have been trapped by a certain case since I came to Beishan Town." This mystery keeps me on my toes, whether at the office or at home. "You've got to forget about it, Sam," Annabelle said a few days later. "You're going to be a father soon." She was right, but the next morning, I still decided to make another trip to the sheriff's office. "What's the matter, doctor?" he spoke to me imitating a famous movie cartoon character. "I want to talk to you about something serious, Sheriff." "Don't be so serious, what's the matter?" "Do you still keep Julius Finiso's invisibility ring?" "Of course. If the case goes to trial, it may be called up by the lawyer as evidence, but it's still in my file." He dumped the ring from an envelope on the table, and I took it and studied it carefully. "It doesn't look like a precious antique or a priceless treasure." "Well, Ross Jewelers sells it for nineteen ninety-five cents, I checked." "I believe something convinced him that this was the shepherd's ring of Gikis, Plato's..." In the middle of the sentence, I froze on the spot. "What's the matter, doctor?" "I see, Sheriff! The answer is here! Come on, I'll tell you on the way." We got in the sheriff's car, and as the car started, I started to explain. "Julius Finisoux is a mentally ill farmer. He can't even understand the simple common sense that a tractor needs to be driven on flat ground. How could he read Plato? Obviously it can't be in his own home, theirs potted plants and china figurines in his bookcase, and the only thing he can read is in his bedroom—the Sears catalog." "I don't understand, doctor..." "The book is in another house - down Chestnut Hill Road, Ralph Cedric's house. Think back to the crime scene where the books were thrown from the shelves to the floor." By this time we had turned onto Chestnut Hill Road, and the sheriff asked, "Where are we going now?" "No, let's go to Finiso's house first." It was a wise choice, as we arrived just in time for Miri and June to have their morning tea together. "What's the matter?" Millie stood at the door holding a cup of coffee. "There's a new development in the case," I said. "Come in and talk, I'll pour coffee for you two." Seeing us, June Cedric asked, "Another bad news?" "Well. I want to tell you both a story. Two women, a pair of neighbors, with failed marriages and husbands they'd love to get rid of." Millie's coffee cup slipped from her hand: "My God!" "Don't say anything," June reminded her. "There was no need for you to open your mouth," I said calmly, "I know everything. When Julius broke his leg, he threatened to kill the profiteer Ralph. Maybe at this time, you have a preliminary idea." Maybe at some morning tea time, you guys discovered a once-for-all plan—Julius killed Ralph, and he himself was imprisoned in a mental hospital. Julius’s mental state is really bad, as long as If you stimulate him a little, he will really have the illusion of killing himself. You should be the one who read the story of the shepherd and the invisibility ring, June. You even found a ring for Mi Li and asked her to take it. To Finiso, trick him into believing that he can really become invisible." "How could I make him believe such nonsense?" Millie questioned. "He's been taking painkillers, which keeps him in a dazed state for a long time. Combined with his mental problems, it's not difficult to convince him that he can gain invisibility by manipulating the ring. Time of murder It was also carefully designed, and Finisuo had to have a strong enough motive to kill psychologically, but not physically capable of killing. At this time, your plan has entered the critical second stage. That night, Millie gave Julius After taking an extra dose of painkillers that left him completely dizzy, June played the role of Julius the murderer and beat her husband to death with a club." "Wait a minute, doctor," the sheriff interrupted me. "You forgot one thing. The murder weapon was Finisol's crutch. Did it grow wings and fly to Cedric's house?" "Actually, the murder weapon was delivered right under our noses—the cotton snowman made by Mi Li. The height of the snowman was about the same as a crutch, and the crutch could also be used as the skeleton of the same cotton ball. The reason why the snowman was dismembered after the incident was Here, and to make it less obvious, other things in the house have been extensively destroyed." “这么说来，我看到的那个人影其实是朱恩？她走进了自己家？” “只能是她，警长。米丽太矮了，不适合扮演菲尼索，但是朱恩长得高，所以没有问题。她穿了和裘力斯那件带帽外套一模一样的衣服，然后在腿上包了一圈白纸，模仿打了石膏的样子，接着一瘸一拐地拄着拐杖从后门出去，再绕到前门。所以你才会觉得这人像是凭空冒出来一样。” 没想到警长的问题还没完：“医生，我们早些时候不是已经把这个可能性排除了吗？她没有足够的时间啊，杀了人还要在屋子里搞破坏，然后立即出现在门口。” “人事先就被杀了，警长。所有的一切提前都布置好了。她来到前门敲碎玻璃的时候，塞德里克已经躺在厨房的地板上了。她要做的只是将衣服留在现场，并且把包在腿上的纸混在凌乱不堪的房间里，最后把拐杖放在靠近尸体的地方。完成这一切后，再装模作样地回到门口呼救。” “米丽这段时间在干吗？” “趁裘力斯神志不清，巨细无遗地向他灌输杀人的细节，怎样隐身，怎样穿过马路，打碎玻璃，用拐杖杀了塞德里克。她甚至还用泥土把拖鞋底弄脏，以提高这个故事的可信度。这样一来，拉尔夫·塞德里克死后，菲尼索就会主动招供。后面这部分你自己也看到了，警长。整个计划完美无缺，只是她们在商议过程中发现无法解释裘力斯是如何回家的。所以她们只能丢出隐身一说。” 两人都因涉嫌谋杀而被拘留，审讯只进行了一天，米丽就崩溃了，她供认了全部的犯罪事实，我的推测完全正确。事情过去一段时间后，有一次蓝思警长曾经和我说：“医生，没准儿那个戒指真的可以让他隐身哩。你没考虑过这种可能吧？” “我们活在一个理性的世界上，但有些时候，连我也禁不住怀疑某些超自然的事情。所以那天晚上我握着菲尼索的右手给他把脉的时候，悄悄地转动戒指，使宝石朝向手心，但是他没有隐身。”

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Notes: 第二卷中，柏拉图借古希腊著名的智者格老康之口讲了一个故事，这是一个关于牧羊人的传说，他的名字叫吉基斯，Gyges，为吕底亚国王服务的。有一次，在他牧羊的时候，发生了一场风暴，牧羊的地方裂开了一个大口子。牧羊人被这一景象所震惊，于是，他就来到这个裂缝之中。更使他惊奇的是，他发现了一座空心铜马，铜马上有一个门，他弯腰向里看，发现了一个塑像，塑像没有其他什么东西，只有一个金戒指。牧羊人就取下戒指，又回到了地面上。按规定，牧羊人每月都要聚会一次，向国王报告有关羊群的事。这一次，吉基斯带着这枚金戒指来了，当他坐在这群牧羊人中间时，发现了一个奇怪的现象：当他把戒指埋在手心里时，其他人就看不见他了，他成了隐形人，而其他人也就像他不在那样在背后议论他。但是，当他把戒指露出来时，他又会出现在他人的视野中。吉基斯试了几次，都得到这样的结果。后来，吉基斯被选为宫廷的信使，他就利用这枚戒指，潜进了王后的房间，并诱奸了王后。同时，在王后的帮助下，牧羊人杀死了国王，夺取了王位。格老康问：现在，如果有两枚这样的戒指，其中一枚让道德公正的人戴上，另一枚让道德不公正的人戴上，那么，这两个人都会按照同样的行为方式行动。没有人会站在道德公正的一方。because.人们可以戴着这枚戒指在市场上偷自己想要的任何东西，可以走进任何房间而不会被发现，也可以睡在任何他所喜欢的女人旁边；如果他自己是罪犯的话，他可以杀死管他的人或释放罪犯。At this time.人就变成了神。