Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Scapegoat
Spade put his arm around Bridget O'Shaughnessy, smiled faintly, and said, "Okay, let's talk."
Gutman wobbled back a few steps from the door, his flesh bouncing up and down.
Spade went in with the girl, Wilmore and Carol after them.Kylo stopped at the door, and Wilmore put away one of the pistols, and stepped forward to follow behind Spade.
Spade turned his head, looked down at the young man and said, "Go away, don't try to search me."
The boy said, "Stand still and shut up."
Spade's nose rose and fell with his breath, and his voice was very calm: "Go away. If you dare to put your paws on me, I will force you to use a gun. Ask your boss if he wants me to be here." He was shot dead before negotiations."
"Come on, Wilmore," said the fat man, frowning at Spade with impunity. "You're a stubborn man. Come on, let's take our seats."
Spade said, "I told you I didn't like the little bum," and he took Bridget O'Shaughnessy to the sofa by the window, and they sat next to each other.Her head rested on his left shoulder, and his left arm rested on hers.She was no longer trembling or panting, as if the presence of Gutman and his companions had robbed her of freedom of movement and human emotion.Although she is alive and conscious now, she is as still as a plant.
Gutman sat in the cushioned rocker, and Kylo chose an armchair by the table.Wilmer didn't sit down, he stood at the door, where Kylo was standing before, with the gun hanging by his side, his eyes under the curled eyelashes staring at Spade.Kylo put his gun on the table beside him.
Spade took off his hat, threw it across the couch, and grinned at Gutman.His flabby lower lip and drooping eyelids, combined with those V's on his face, made him smile like a lecher. "That daughter of yours has a beautiful little belly," he said. "It would be a pity to scratch it with a brooch."
Gutman's smile could be described as amiable, if not slightly oily.
The boy at the door took a small step forward and raised his pistol to hip height.Everyone in the room looked at him.Bridget O'Shaughnessy and Joe Kylo looked at him in different, strangely reproachful ways.The lad blushed, stepped back, straightened his legs, put the pistol down, and stood where he had been, eyes hidden under lashes fixed on Spade's chest.The blush on his face was light and lasted only for a moment, but it was shocking enough on his usually cool and calm face.
Gutman turned and smiled at Spade with those shining eyes.His voice sounded sophisticated and grunting: "Yeah, sir, that's a pity. But you have to admit it worked."
Spade frowned. "Anything will work," he said. "As soon as I got the hawk, I naturally thought of coming to see you. Since there is a customer with cash, why don't I go to him? I'm going to Burlingame." At the time, I thought this was the meeting that was waiting for me. I didn't know that you guys were running around trying to get to Jacoby before he got to me so I could be kicked out. Too bad you were half an hour late. "
Gutman laughed softly, with contentment in his laugh. "Well, sir," he said, "at any rate, we've met now, if that's what you want."
"That's what I want. When are you going to pay me the first money and take the eagle from me?"
Bridget O'Shaughnessy sat up straight and looked at Spade with blue eyes in surprise.He patted her on the shoulder casually, and looked at Gutman calmly.Gutman's eyes, sunken in the fat, blinked happily. "Well, sir, about this..." He put a hand on the chest of his coat.
Kylo put his hands on his lap, leaned forward, and breathed out through his mouth with his soft lips parted.His dark eyes gleamed like lacquer, and his cautious gaze moved back and forth between Spade's and Gutman's faces.
Gutman repeated "Well, sir, about that," and drew a white envelope from his pocket.The glances of ten eyes—the lad's eyes were only half hidden by eyelashes now—fall on the envelope.Gutman turned the envelope with his swollen hands, studied the blank front for a moment, then the back.The envelope was not sealed, but the fold was tucked in.He raised his hand, and with a friendly smile on his face, he threw the envelope flat at Spade.Although the envelope is not puffy, it is still heavy enough to be thrown a long way.It hit Spade a little below his chest and landed on his thigh.He withdrew his left arm that was holding Bridget, picked up the envelope calmly, and opened it with both hands.Inside are brand-new thousand-yuan bills, smooth and crisp.Spade took out the money and counted it. There were ten of them.He raised his head with a smile and said gently: "We talked more than that."
"Yes, sir, we said that," Gutman said, "but it was just talk. It was real money, sir, real national currency. A dollar like that was nothing compared to that talk." It's worth ten dollars." He laughed silently, and the flesh on his body shook.After he calmed down, he became a little more serious, and said, "There are more people who want a share of the pie," he turned his head, blinked, and motioned to Kailo, "and—let's put it this way, Mr. , simply put, the situation has changed now.”
As Gutman spoke, Spade tapped the edge of the ten bills, neatly arranged them, put them back in the envelope, and tucked the flap in.Now he sat hunched over with his forearms on his knees, his index finger and thumb lightly grasping the corner of the envelope, letting it dangle between his legs.He answered the fat man casually, "That's right. You're all together now, but I've got the eagle."
Joe Kylo spoke.Leaning forward with his ugly hand on the arm of the chair, he said in his high-pitched, thin voice, "I don't think it's necessary to remind you, Mr. Spade, that although the eagle is in your hand, you In our hands."
Spade laughed. "I'm not going to worry about that." He sat up straight, put the envelope on the sofa beside him, and said to Gutman, "We'll talk about the money later. There's another thing to do first: we There has to be a scapegoat." The fat man frowned puzzled.Before he could speak Spade explained: "The police have to find a scapegoat, someone who can blame him for all three murders. We—"
Kylo interrupted Spade, screaming excitedly, "Two, only two murders, Mr. Spade. Thursby killed your partner without a doubt."
"Well, two," growled Spade, "what's the difference? The point is we've got to feed the cops a little—"
Now it was Gutman's turn to chime in.He smiled confidently, and assured him kindly, "Well, sir, with what we've seen you do so far, I don't think we need to worry about that. We can leave it to you to deal with the police, you We don't need the help of laymen like us."
"If that's what you think," Spade said, "you haven't seen enough."
"Come, Mr. Spade, you can't expect us to believe you're afraid of the police at this point, can you? Or you're powerless against—"
Spade snorted through his nose and throat.He arched again, put his forearms on his knees, and interrupted Gutman irritably: "I'm not afraid of them at all, and I know how to deal with them. That's what I want to tell you. The way to deal with them is to throw Make a scapegoat and let them put the blame on this guy."
"Well, sir, I admit it's a way, but—"
"But shit!" said Spade, "it's the only way." His eyes were eager and sincere, his brow was flushed, his bruised temples were liver-coloured, "I know what I'm talking about. I've done this before and I'm going to do it this time. I cursed everyone in the Supreme Court to die and it was fine. I'm fine because I never forget that debts always have to be paid ;I will never forget that when it was time to pay the bills, I would arrange everything and walk into the police station with a scapegoat in my hand and say: 'Here, you fools, the criminals you want.' As long as If I can do that, I can treat every letter of the law as a joke. If I can't, I'll be trampled underfoot. It's never happened before, and this time is no exception. It's definitely."
Gutman's eyes flickered, and his shrewd eyes became a little dubious, but the smug smile on his pink and fat face remained motionless, and his tone was relaxed.He said: "There's a lot to be said for this, sir, it's true! If it worked, I'd be the first to say, 'That's it, sir.' But this time, unfortunately, it just doesn't work; No matter how good it works, it won't work. This time you have to set a precedent. Smart people know how to work around. Well, sir, there is only one way to do things this time. I can tell you that, in my opinion, you This precedent is really cost-effective. For you, the current way of dealing with it may be trickier than handing over a scapegoat to the police, but—” He spread his hands and laughed, “You are not the kind who will be afraid of such a small Troublesome man. You know what to do, and you know that whatever happens, you'll get out of it." He pursed his lips and half-closed one eye. "You can handle this, sir."
Spade's face was blank, and his eyes became as cold as ice. "I know what I'm talking about," he said in a tone of deliberate patience. "It's my city, my business. I can try to get myself out of it, of course, but just this once. Pass, they won't let me go, I'll just knock out my teeth and swallow my blood. That's no fun. You guys are going to New York, or Constantinople, or whatever, but I'm still Go hang out here."
"But," began Gutman, "surely you can—"
"I can't," Spade said earnestly, "and I won't. I mean it." He sat up straight, with a pleasant smile on his face, and the previous dull numbness was swept away.He said quickly, in a convincing tone, "Listen, Gutman. What I'm telling you is the best solution for us. If we don't hand over a scapegoat to the police, they're likely to It's only a matter of time before you learn about the eagle by accident, and you'll have to hide with the eagle wherever you are, which won't help your plans to make a fortune out of it. Give the police a scapegoat and they'll stop right away."
"That's the point, sir," Gutman replied.He was the same as before, only with a little uneasiness in his eyes, "Will they stop? Wouldn't this scapegoat become a new clue? In this way, they are still very likely to be led to that eagle. Moreover, from another On the one hand, don't you think they're in trouble now? The best solution for us is to get out of here."
A forked vein bulged across Spade's forehead. "My God! You don't even understand what's going on!" he said, trying to control himself. "They're not dozing off, Gutman. They're just crouching down and waiting. Try to figure it out. I It has a lot to do with this matter, they know it well. As long as I can explain something to them at that time, nothing will happen. But if I don't, it will be a big problem." He began to be persuasive again, "Listen, Gu Terman, we definitely have to hand someone over to them. There's no way to avoid it. Let's give them this little bastard." He nodded cheerfully at the boy at the door, "In fact, he did kill these two, Seth Bee and Jacobi, aren't we? Anyway, he was born for the role, and let's send the necessary evidence along with him to the police."
A sneer flashed across the face of the young man at the door, and then his mouth tightened.Other than that, Spade's proposal didn't seem to have much of an impact on him.Joe Kailo's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, his dark face turned yellow, full of surprise.He opened his mouth and panted, his woman's limp chest heaved and heaved, and he stared at Spade dumbfounded.Bridget O'Shaughnessy had moved away from Spade and was now twisting from the sofa to gaze at him.On her terrified and dazed face, there was a faint hysterical smile.
Gutman remained motionless and expressionless.After a while, he decided to laugh out loud.He laughed heartily for a long time, until his bright eyes were colored with joy, and then he stopped laughing and said, "My God, sir, you are a character, and you are worthy of you!" He took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes, "That's right, sir, there is no way to guess what you will say or do next, there is only one thing - you will definitely shock people's jaws."
"It's not funny at all." Spade didn't seem offended by the fat man's laugh, but he wasn't bothered by it either.He spoke as though he were reasoning with a stubborn but not unreasonable friend, "It's our best bet. With him, the police will—"
"But, my dear friend," objected Gutman, "don't you understand? Even if I did think about it for a moment--but it would be ridiculous. I feel about Wilmer the way he It's like my own son. Really. Even if I thought about your proposal for a moment, what do you think can stop Wilmore from telling the police about this eagle and us?"
Spade grinned stiffly. "If necessary," he said softly, "we can kill him first for resisting arrest. But we don't have to be so extreme. Let him talk as much as he likes, and I promise you no one will talk to him. It's very Easy to do."
Gutman frowned, and the pink flesh on his forehead squirmed.He lowered his head, pressed his chin on his collar, and asked: "How can I do it?" Then he raised his head suddenly, the fat all over his body trembled, turned his head to look at the young man, and said with a big smile: "This What do you think, Wilmore? Interesting, huh?"
The boy's light brown eyes were hidden under the eyelashes, shining with an icy light.He said in a low but clear voice, "Yeah, it was interesting—the son of a bitch."
Spade was talking to Bridget O'Shaughnessy: "How are you feeling, baby? Feel better?"
"It's better, it's just—" She lowered her voice so the next words couldn't be heard two feet away, "I'm scared."
"Don't be afraid," he said casually, putting a hand on her gray stockinged knee, "nothing serious will happen. Would you like a drink?"
"Not now, thanks." Her voice dropped again. "Be careful, Sam."
Spade looked at Gutman with a smile, and Gutman was looking at him with a friendly smile.After a moment of silence, the fat man asked, "What?"
Spade didn't respond: "What?"
The fat man felt the need to laugh a few times, and when he had had enough, he began to explain: "Well, sir, if you are really serious—I mean your proposal, out of basic courtesy, we can at least listen to it." Go on. Now, how are you going to deal with it so that Wilmo—" He paused and laughed again, "can't harm us?"
Spade shook his head. "No," he said, "I don't want to take advantage of anyone's politeness, no matter how basic. Forget it."
The fat on the fat man's face wrinkled. "Well, well," he protested, "you really make me feel sorry. I shouldn't have laughed, and I offer you my most humble and sincere apologies. As much as I disagree with what you say, I don't want to sound like I'm mocking your proposal, Mr. Spade. You have to know that I have a lot of respect and admiration for your intellect. Now I want to remind you that even ignoring Wilmore is like my I don’t see the slightest bit of feasibility in your proposal because of the fact that I was born to you. But if you continue to finish your proposal, sir, I will accept my apology wishfully.”
"It's fair," Spade said. "Brian, like most district attorneys, cares most about his record. Something went wrong against him. I don't know if he ever intentionally framed people he knew were innocent, but if he could amass or piece together evidence against them, I can't imagine him believing they were innocent. To make sure Convict one man, and he'll let go of half a dozen equally guilty accomplices—because convicting them all would make the case too messy.
"That's the kind of sweet we'll offer him, and he'll gobble it up greedily. He won't want to know the story of the eagle; he'll happily convince himself that what the little rascal says is nothing but nonsense, It's to mess up the case. Just leave it to me. I can make him understand that if he goes crazy and tries to arrest everyone, his case will be a mess and the jury won't be able to sort it out Clue. Conversely, if he sticks to that punk, his conviction is a certainty."
Gutman smiled and shook his head slowly, mildly disapproving. "No, sir," he said, "I'm afraid it won't work, not at all. I don't see how you, the D.A., can connect Thursby, Jacoby, and Wilmer without— —”
"You don't know the D.A.," Spade told him. "It's easy on Thursby's side. He's a shooter, and so is you little bastard. Brian's got a theory about it, get them in touch." It's not too hard to say. They can only hang the brat once, though, for God's sake. Since he's already been convicted of Thursby's death, why not put Jacoby's murder on him as well Just write it down as his doing and close the case. If he killed the two men with the same gun - and that's quite possible - with two bullets in the same pair, everyone's happy. "
"Yes, but—" Guttmann stopped, looking at the young man.
The young man walked from the door with his legs apart, walking stiffly, until he walked between Gutman and Kairo, probably in the middle of the room.He stopped, his upper body leaned forward slightly, his shoulders arched forward, his hands were still hanging by his side, but he held the gun tightly, his knuckles turned white.His other hand was clenched into a small fist, hanging on the other side of his body.The fanatical hatred and malice on his face, against his childish face, revealed an indescribable evil and cruelty.He said to Spade in a distorted voice, "You bastard, get up and get your gun!"
Spade smiled at the lad.It was just a faint smile, but he seemed genuinely amused.
The young man said: "You bastard, stand up and fight me to the death. I have had enough of your anger."
The smile on Spade's face grew wider, and he looked at Gutman and said, "." There was also a smile in his voice, "Maybe you should tell him that killing me before you get the eagle would be a big deal. shit."
Gutman wanted to laugh but couldn't, his face was blue and red, and he looked awkward.He licked his lips parched, trying to sound like a father admonishing his son, but his voice was too hoarse. "Well, well, Wilmer," he said, "we can't let this happen." .Don't take these things so seriously, you-"
The boy never took his eyes off Spade.He muffled a word from the corner of his mouth: "Then tell him not to mess with me. If he continues like this, I will beat him dizzy. No one can stop me."
"Well, Wilmer," said Guttman, turning to Spade, his expression and voice now at ease again, "your plan, sir, as I said at the beginning, will not work at all. .Let's stop talking about this."
Spade looked at the others in turn.He put away his smile, and there was no expression on his face. "I can say whatever I like," he told them.
"Of course," Gutman said hastily, "I've always admired you for that. But the problem is, as I said, it's not feasible, so it's useless to discuss it any further, and you know it yourself."
"I don't understand," Spade said, "I don't understand what you said, and I don't think you can make me understand." He frowned at Guttmann, "Let's open the skylight. Am I wasting my time talking to you? I thought it was up to you. Should I talk to this bastard? I know what to say to him."
"No, sir," Gutman replied, "you are quite right in dealing with me."
Spade said, "Okay. Now I have another proposal. Not as good as the first one, but better than nothing. Want to hear it?"
"of course."
"Give them Kylo."
Kai Luo hurriedly grabbed the pistol from the table beside him, holding the gun tightly on his lap with both hands, and pointing the muzzle at the ground beside the sofa.His face was brown again, and his dark eyes scanned the faces of the others.His opaque eyeballs look painted, not three-dimensional.
Gutman seemed not to believe what he heard, and asked, "What?"
"Hand over Kylo to the police."
Gutman looked like he was about to laugh, but he didn't.At last he exclaimed vaguely, "My God, sir!"
"It's not as good as handing over the bastard," Spade said. "Cairo doesn't use a gun very much, and his gun is smaller than the one that killed Thursby and Jacoby. We'll frame him It's a little more troublesome, but it's better than turning nobody over to the police."
Carol squealed indignantly, "What if we give them you, Mr. Spade? Or Miss O'Shaughnessy? If you've got your heart set on giving them someone, so what?"
Spade smiled at the Levantine and replied calmly, "You guys want the eagle, and I've got it. A scapegoat is part of my asking price. As for Miss O'Shaughnessy—" he said flatly She glanced at her bewildered, pale face, then turned her gaze back to Kylo, and shrugged, "If you think she can play this kind of role, I'd be more than willing to discuss it with you."
The girl put her hands to her throat and let out a short, muffled scream, and sat a little further away from him.
Kai Luo was trembling with excitement, and shouted: "You seem to have forgotten that you are not qualified to insist on your own opinions."
Spade let out a harsh chuckle.
Gutman tried to defuse the tension by saying, "Come on, gentlemen, let's keep this discussion on a friendly level, but what Mr. Carroll said—" he said to Spade, "does have a few It makes sense, you have to consider—"
"Must be a fart," Spade said in a rude, nonchalant way that added weight to the sentence more than artificial emphasis or raising the volume, "If you kill me, what are you going to do?" How about the bird? If I already know that you won't kill me until you get the bird, how are you going to scare me into giving it to you?"
Gutman turned his head slightly to the left, thinking about these questions, his eyes flickered under those wrinkled eyelids.At this point he replied kindly: "Well, sir, there are other ways of lobbying than killing and threatening to kill."
"Of course," agreed Spade, "but none of those methods are very good, only the threat of death makes people succumb. See what I mean? If you want to do something I don't like, I won't say yes .I know you're afraid to kill me, so I'll throw the question at you. You either stop or kill me."
"I understand what you mean." Gutman laughed softly, "Sir, because of your attitude, both parties must make judgments carefully. As you know, men tend to get hotheaded and forget what is best for them. Emotional dominance."
Spade also said with a relaxed smile: "The attitude you mentioned is exactly the trick I use," he said, "It will make you helpless and you can only do what I say, but it will not force you. Crazy, kick me out regardless of your own rational judgment."
Gutman said fondly: "My God, sir, you are a character!"
Joe Kylo jumped up from his chair, walked around from behind Wilmore to the back of the fat man's chair, bent down, put his mouth close to the fat man's ear, and covered his mouth with his hand to whisper.The fat man closed his eyes and listened intently.
Spade opened his mouth and smiled at Bridget O'Shaughnessy.She responded with a feeble smile, her eyes still staring numbly ahead.Spade turned to Wilmer again: "Two to one, they're going to betray you, kid."
The lad said nothing.His knees began to chatter, and the legs of his trousers shook.
Spade told Gutman: "I hope you don't let yourself be swayed by a gun in the hands of this pocket version of an outlaw."
Gutman opened his eyes.Kylo stopped, straightened up and stood behind the fat man's chair.
Spade said, "I've practiced disarming both of them, so there's nothing wrong with that. The little punk—"
Wilmer exclaimed "Yes!" in a voice choked with excitement, and raised the gun sharply to his chest.
Gutman hurriedly dragged his fat body to stand up from the rocking chair, and at the same time stretched out a fat hand to cut at the young man's wrist, and then grabbed the wrist joint and broke it, letting the muzzle of the gun rush down.Joe Kylo walked quickly around to the other side of the boy and grabbed his other arm.They wrestled with Wilmer, lowered his arms and held on tightly, and the lad struggled in vain.Voices continued to be heard during the fight.Wilmer said incoherently "Okay... go... bastard... smoke", Gutman repeated "Okay, okay, Wilmore" several times, and Kylo kept saying " No, don't" and "Don't do this, Wilmore".
Spade's expression was stiff and his eyes were a little absent-minded.He got up from the sofa and walked over to the fighters.The young man couldn't bear the force on his body and stopped struggling.Kai Luo was still holding his arm, standing in front of him, comforting him.Spade gently pushed Kylo away, and punched Wilmore on the jaw with his left hand.The lad's head jerked back, only to bounce forward because his arms were caught and he couldn't move anymore.Gutman had just said angrily, "Hey, you—" and Spade gave the young man another punch in the jaw with his right hand.
Kylo lowered Wilmer's arms and let him collapse on Gutman's swollen belly.Kylo rushed towards Spade, stretched out his crooked and stiff fingers and grabbed Spade's face.Spade exhaled and pushed the Levantine away.Kylo charged at him again, tears in his eyes, red lips squirming angrily, trying to say something, but nothing came out.
Spade laughed, muttered, "My God, you're so good!" and slapped Kylo in the face, knocking him down on the table.Kylo charged at Spade for the third time as soon as he regained his balance.Spade stretched out his long arms, and put his head in his hands.Kylo's arm was shorter and couldn't reach Spade's face, so he had to beat Spade's arm hard.
"Stop it," growled Spade, "or I'll beat you." Kylo cried "Oh, you big coward!" and backed away.Spade stooped to pick up Kylo's gun from the ground, then picked up the boy's gun, then stood up straight, holding the gun in his left hand, with his index finger hooked on the trigger safety, and dangling the gun upside down in his hand.Gutman had put the lad down in the rocking chair, and stood looking at him wistfully, his face wrinkled and hesitant.Kylo knelt beside the chair, took Wilmo's weak hand and began to rub it.Spade put his finger under the lad's chin. "No broken bones," he said, "let him lie on the sofa." He put his right arm through the young man's armpit and wrapped his arms around his back, and put his left forearm on his knee, lifting him easily and hugging him. to the sofa.
Bridget O'Shaughnessy stood up quickly and told Spade to put the lad down.Spade patted Wilmer's clothes with his right hand, found his second gun, put it in his left hand as well, and laid him on his back on the couch.By this time Kylo had sat down beside his head.
Spade jingled his gun and smiled cheerfully at Gutman. "Well," he said, "we have a scapegoat."
Gutman's face was ashen, and his eyes were gloomy.He didn't look at Spade, but at the ground, and said nothing.
Spade said: "Stop playing dumb. You let Kylo whisper to you, and you held him when I beat him. It's not something you can just laugh at and pretend it didn't happen, and you'd be very upset that way." Might get shot."
Gutman moved his feet on the carpet and said nothing.
Spade said, "Also, you're either going to say yes right now, or I'm sending that eagle and all of you bloody bastards to the police station."
Gutman looked up and complained vaguely, "I don't like this, sir."
"You wouldn't like it," Spade said, "eh?"
The fat man sighed, and said sadly with a bitter face, "He's up to you."
"Excellent," Spade said.
Notes:
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