Chapter 4 dead christmas eve

When I was a child, Bornlam Manor had brought me a deep shock.It was newly built and gleaming; Victorian ornaments and stained glass stacked haphazardly in a dizzying complexity.But at this time—Christmas Eve, when I stood in front of the manor again, it was completely different, and it couldn't be compared with the appearance in my childhood memory.Time has washed away the original luster; the wood, glass and metal have become one, all turned to a dull gray; every window has drawn curtains, and the whole building has dozens of pairs of empty eyes staring at it. passing pedestrians. I knocked hard on the door with the end of my cane, and Celia opened it.

"Isn't there a doorbell?" She was still wearing an outdated black dress, crumpled as if it had been pulled out of her mother's closet.In her later years, she was indeed looking more and more like old Caitlin: skinny, with thin lips, and all the faded hair combed back, exposing every wrinkle on the forehead.As soon as I saw her, I thought of the kind of professional touch porcelain person, whenever someone accidentally bumped into her, she would immediately blackmail the other party. I said, "I know the doorbell is making a bad connection, Celia," and passed her into the hall.I knew without looking back that she had been staring at me.She sniffed dryly, then slammed the door shut.The eyes dimmed instantly, and the smell of dry rot rushed straight into the throat.I leaned on the wall and fumbled for the light switch, but Celia snapped, "Don't turn it on! Now is not the time to turn on the light."

I turned to look at her pale face, although it was hazy, it was the only place I could see clearly. "Celia," I said, "you don't pretend to be with me." "People died in this house, you know." "Of course I know," I said, "but no matter how hard you try, you can't impress me." "The person who died was my own sister-in-law. She has always been so kind to me." In the darkness, I took a step forward, raised my cane and tapped her shoulder. "Celia," I said, "as your family lawyer, I have a word of advice. The trial is over and you are innocent. But no one believed your affectation, nor will anyone ever half believe it." One word. Remember what I said, Celia."

She pulled back so sharply that my cane almost fell to the ground. "Is that why you came here to tell me?" she asked. I replied, "I'm here because your brother wants to see me today. Also, I suggest that if you don't mind, you better avoid it while we're talking. I don't want anything to happen again." "Then you stay away from him!" she yelled. "He was present at that trial and saw me cleared. After a while, he will forget his suspicion and resentment against me. Let him Stay alone and he will forget." At this point, she was at the height of her rage, and to break her swearing, I made my way up the dark stairs, fumbling cautiously with one hand at the banister.Unfortunately, her swearing followed me closely.Strangely enough, she didn't seem to be complaining to me, but to respond to the creaking and moaning of the stairs.

"If he will come to me," she went on, "I will forgive him. I wasn't sure at first, but now I see it. I pray to the gods for guidance, and the gods say that life is short. So, as long as he Come, and I will forgive him." I managed to get to the top of the stairs and nearly fell.Once I got my feet back, I cursed angrily, "Celia, if you refuse to turn on the light, at least you have to clear the stairs. What are you doing with this pile of stuff here?" "Ah," she answered, "those are poor Jessie's things. Charley is devastated when he sees her things. I think the best thing to do is throw them all away."

Suddenly there was a warning in her voice. "But you're not going to tell Charlie, are you? You're not going to tell him, are you?" I started to walk away, and she kept repeating the question, her voice getting higher and higher.I went into Charlie's room and closed the door like a rattling mouse. The shutters in Charlie's room were closed, and the chandelier overhead had only one light bulb on.It was this sudden light that dazzled me for a while.On closer inspection, I realized that Charlie was sprawled on the bed, with one arm over his eyes.After a while, he sat up slowly and stared at me.

"Well," he said at last, and nodded towards the door, "she didn't give you any light when you went upstairs, did she?" "Well," I replied, "but I know how to go." "She's like a mouse," he said, "in the dark than we are in the light. It's a good thing, otherwise she'd be scared to death when she saw herself in the mirror." "Yeah," I said, "she does look like she's trying to get used to the dark." He let out a short, high-pitched laugh, like a sea lion. "It's because she's always been afraid. Now she's showing how much she loves Jessie, how sorry she is. She thinks if she says enough, people will believe her. But you wait, it won't be long before she's It will be the old Celia."

I took off my hat and threw it on the bed with my cane, and took off my overcoat and set it aside.Then I took out a cigar and waited for Charlie to fumble for a match to light it for me.His hands were shaking badly, and it took him a long time to light it, all the while cursing himself under his breath.I exhale slowly towards the ceiling without saying a word. Charlie was five years younger than Celia, but he looked as if he had aged a decade since the blow.His hair was originally light blond, very close to white, so it was not easy to see if he had added white hair, but the silver-white hairs on his cheeks were clearly visible.There were blue-black bags under his eyes.Compared with Celia, who was stiff, always straightened her back, and exuded a staid air, Charlie was always hunched over, no matter whether he was sitting or standing, as if he was about to fall down at any time.He stared at me while unconsciously tugging at the drooping mustache at the corner of his mouth.

"You know why I called you here, don't you?" he said. "I can imagine," I replied, "but I'd still like to hear it from you." "I will tell you in no uncertain terms," ​​he said, "that it is because of Celia. I want to see what happens to her. I don't want her to go to jail, but I want the law to bring her down with the death penalty. I want to see it with my own eyes." That scene." A large chunk of ashes fell to the floor, and I carefully balled them up with my shoe and stuffed them into the rug.I said, "You were there on the day of the trial, Charlie, and you saw Celia cleared. Unless there is new evidence, Celia is innocent."

"Evidence! My God, who needs any evidence! They were arguing on the stairs and Celia pushed Jessie down the stairs to her death. Isn't that murder? They happened to be on the stairs, and if there were no stairs, she would have killed Jesse with a gun, with poison, whatever." I sat wearily in a leather armchair, contemplating the ashes left by the burnt tobacco on the end of my cigar. "Let me help you analyze this matter from a legal point of view." I said calmly, as if reciting a well-known formula, without any emotion, "First of all, there are no witnesses."

"I heard Jessie screaming, and the sound of her rolling down the stairs." He insisted stubbornly. The sound. After she pushed Jesse down the stairs, she ran away like a mouse." "But you didn't see anything. Celia's claim that she wasn't there was further proof that there were no witnesses. In other words, Celia's statement was accepted by the court because it was more credible than yours. And You have no right to say that it was a murder because you didn't witness it when it happened. It was probably just an accident." He shook his head slowly. "You don't believe me," he said, "you don't believe me at all. If it were anyone else, I'd tell him to get out of here right away, and stay away from me." "It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not. Now I'm talking about the law's decision on the case. The motive? What did Celia get out of Jessie's death? It's clear she doesn't get money or any other property, Financially she is as independent as you." Charlie sat on the edge of the bed, leaning towards me with his hands on his knees. "Indeed," he murmured, "no money and no property." I opened my arms helplessly. "look." "But you know what she's doing it for," he went on, "for me. One is a woman with a heart attack at any moment, my darling, my dearest Jesse; Celia will spare me. From the time I open my eyes in the morning to the time I go to bed at night, she is almost by my side. She has no husband, no children—she has only me!" I said quietly, "She's your sister, Charlie. She loves you." He laughed again, the same sharp, uncomfortable sound. "She loved me like ivy loves a tree trunk. As long as she looked at me like that, all the strength in my body would disappear. Looking back now, I still don't know how she did it. Until I met Jessie... I remember the day I brought Jessie home and I told Celia 'we're married' and she didn't say anything but the look in her eyes... definitely the same as when she pushed Jessie back Same as going down the stairs." I said, "However, you also admitted in court that you never saw Celia threaten Jesse or do anything to hurt her." "Of course I can't see it! But when I see Jesse holding his chest in silence every day and crying in bed every night without telling me why, damn it, I can guess what's going on. You know Jesse , she's not smart enough or pretty enough, but as time goes by you'll find that she's kind-hearted and loves me deeply. After only a month, she became lethargic and I know exactly what caused her to lose her vitality I talked to her, I talked to Celia, but they both just shook their heads. There was nothing I could do. When that happened, I saw Jessie down the stairs, and I wasn't surprised at all. Maybe it sounds like It's kind of weird, but I'm really not surprised at all." "It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows Celia," I said, "but you can't invent a murder from it." He clenched his fist, hit his knee, and shook his fist and said, "Then what should I do? That's why I called you here, and you tell me what to do? It's because of her that I can do nothing in my life. This is also What she wants most now is that I will do nothing and she will get away with it. After a while, things will clear up and life will return to the way it was before." I said, "Charlie, you're doing no good." He stood up, staring at the door, then at me, and whispered, "But there's definitely something I can do, do you know what I can do?" He waited expectantly for my answer, as if he had just uttered a difficult riddle, knowing that it would confuse the audience, but expecting someone to respond.I also stood up, facing him and slowly shaking my head. "I don't know," I said. "Whatever idea you're thinking about, give it up." "Don't disturb my thoughts," he said. "You know a man as clever as Celia can get away with murder. Do you think I'm not as clever as Celia?" I gripped his shoulders tightly. "My God, don't talk such nonsense." He shook off my hand and stumbled back to the wall.Now his eyes lighted up and his teeth bared. "What should I do?" he screamed. "Forget that Jesse is dead and buried? Should I just sit here and kill Celia when she can't bear me?" My age and body betrayed me at this moment, and I found myself a little bit overwhelmed and out of breath. "Listen," I said, "you haven't stepped out of this room since that trial. You should go out, even if it's just for a walk, and look around." "And wait for everyone I meet to laugh at me?" "You could try it," I said, "and see what happens. Al Sharp said some friends were going to his pub for a roast tonight, and he'd like you to come too. That's my suggestion - anyway ,You can try." "It's not worth doing at all." It was Celia's voice.The door opened suddenly, and she stood angrily at the door, her eyes narrowed by the sudden light.Charlie turned to face her, the muscles in his jaw twitching. "Celia," said he, "I told you not to come into my chamber!" She remained expressionless. "I didn't go in. I just came up to tell you that dinner is ready." He took a step closer to her menacingly. "Have you been eavesdropping on our conversation outside the door? You heard everything I said, do you need me to repeat it?" "I've only heard one very vile and vile thing," she said quietly, "that an invitation to drink and merry-go-round has been sent while the house is mourning the dead. I think I have a right to stop it. .” He looked at her suspiciously, as if he didn't know what to say. "Celia," he said at last, "tell me you didn't mean it! Only the most wicked villain or madman would say what you just said." This sentence ignited her anger. "Crazy!" she yelled, "you used that word? Shut yourself in the room, talking to yourself, wondering what!" She turned to me suddenly, "You've already talked to him, now You should know, is it possible—" "He's as sane as you are, Celia," I said emphatically. "Then he should know that this is not the time to go to a bar and have fun. How can you invite him to do something like that?" When she posed the question, she exasperated me with a vicious sense of triumph. "If I hadn't seen you ready to throw Jesse's things out, Celia, I'm afraid I'd have thought about it more carefully!" I was so reckless that I regretted it as soon as I said it.However, before I knew it, Charlie had grabbed Celia's hand and twisted her into an uncomfortable position. "You actually entered her room?" He roared, shaking her wildly, "Tell me!" He immediately got the answer from her flustered expression.Then he put down her arms that were red from pinching, lowered his head, and stood there lifelessly. Celia held out a hand to comfort him. "Charlie," she whimpered, "don't you understand? Looking at her stuff just makes you sad, and I'm just trying to help you." "Where are her things now?" "Just by the stairs, Charlie. Everything's there." As he walked through the corridor, the sound of staggering footsteps became farther and farther away, and I finally felt my heartbeat return to its normal frequency.Celia looked at me with violent hatred written all over her face.I just wanted to get out of the house right now.I got my things off the bed and went to the door, but she blocked the way. "See what you've done?" she growled hoarsely. "That's great. I have to pack again. It wears me out every time. It's all because of you. Pack once." "The matter is entirely up to you, Celia," I said aloud. "You," she said, "you old trick. You were with her then—" I put the tip of my cane firmly on her shoulder, and she flinched. "As your lawyer, Celia," I said, "I advise you to keep your tongue under control when you are not sleeping, especially if you cannot take responsibility for what you say." She said nothing more.But it wasn't until I stepped out into the street that she disappeared from me. Al Sharp's Grill Bar is just a few minutes' walk from Borne Lamb Estate.I arrived just in time, and the crisp winter air along the way stimulated my cheeks and made me feel refreshed.Al was busy wiping glasses by himself behind the bar, and he greeted me cheerfully when he saw me coming in. "Merry Christmas, lawyer." "You too." With that, he put a nice-looking bottle of wine and a pair of glasses on the bar. "You are like the seasons changing, and you always come at such a good time." Al said while pouring wine into the glass, "I was thinking that it was time for you to come." We respected each other, and Al leaned against the bar and approached me as if he was about to whisper something. "From where?" "yes." "Have you seen Charlie?" "And saw Celia." "Oh," Al said, "it's nothing unusual, I've seen her when she was out shopping. She was running with her head down, wrapped in a black scarf, as if she was being chased by something. I guess she was present." "I think so too," I said. "But it's Charlie I'm thinking about and haven't seen him. Did you tell him when I'd like to see him?" "Yes," I said, "I did." "what did he say?" "He didn't say anything. Celia said he shouldn't be here in mourning." Al whistled softly and meaningfully, and quickly bent his fingers on his forehead to look around. "Tell me," he said, "do you think it's safe for the two of them to be together? I mean, thinking about the situation, and thinking about Charlie's feelings, there might be trouble." "Nearly had an accident tonight," I said, "but it worked out." "There will be another time," Al said. "I'll watch them," I said. Al looked at me and shook his head. "Nothing has really changed in that house," he said, "nothing has changed. That's why you can predict everything in advance. And I know, you'll come to me right away and tell me everything." I can still smell the putrid smell that permeated the house, and it will take at least a few days to get the smell out of my clothes. "I wish I could permanently delete this day from my schedule," I said. "Let them work out their own troubles. Maybe that will save them." "Not just the two of them," I said, "and Jesse. Jesse will be with them until the house and everything in it is destroyed." Al frowned. "Without a doubt, this is the strangest thing that has ever happened in our town. One of the men who lived in a dark house, one was running wildly through the streets as if chased by something; Lying in the room, staring at the wall, since—when did Jesse fall down the stairs, lawyer?" I blinked and saw my face reflected in the mirror behind Al: red, lined, and tinged with disbelief. "Twenty years ago," I heard my voice say, "it was exactly twenty years ago tonight."