Chapter 6 chapter Five

Aixin sat in the study, staring at the letter in her hand.The lines of her facial features are very clear-the cheekbones are on the upper side, the nose is high and pointed, the eyebrows are tall and neat, and the two sides are clear and symmetrical.The delicate lips are tightly closed.With an expression as stagnant as the way she sat, she pored over Heinrich Crossen's letter as an economist examines a report full of statistics; There are obvious contradictions in the data. Knoller stood in front of a curved window at the far end of the study.The window looked out on the meadows and gardens behind their family's Bedford hill house.There were a few patches of undergrowth covered with pieces of sackcloth.The temperature is very low.The morning frost condensed on the grass, making green and gray and white mottled.

Heckcroft's eyes shifted from the window to his mother, trying to hide his panic.He shuddered at the thought of last night, but now he had to control himself.He couldn't let his mother see that he was suffering a terrible attack.He wondered what his mother was thinking at this moment.How would she feel when she saw a letter written in blue ink by the man she had once loved and since then had despised?No matter what thoughts she has in her heart, as long as she doesn't want to say it, it will always be her own secret; because Aixin has always only said what she is willing to say on her mind.

She seemed to be aware of his gaze, and looked up at him; but quickly dropped her head again, and resumed her consideration of the letter.Her hand brushed very quickly a lock of hair that had fallen across her face.Her hair has turned gray. Nuole had nothing to do, walked to the desk, looked at the books on the shelf, and looked at the photos on the wall. He thought that the furnishings of the house reflected the personality of the owner.Everything here is elegant and unique, but it still reveals the owner's strong and active character invisibly. The photos on the wall are all pictures of men and women riding horses, hunting, sailing and sailing in the wind and rain, and following thunderstorms in the mountains.In this woman's room, there is indeed an aura of a great husband.This is his mother's study.When she wants to sit alone and meditate, she comes to this "temple".However, if the study room arranged in this way is used by a man, it is not inappropriate.

He sat down on the leather chair in front of the desk.He took out the golden Colliberry lighter, which was a souvenir given to him by a young female tenant in his apartment a month ago before moving out.He lit a cigarette.His hands trembled again, and he had no choice but to grab the lighter in his hand. Aixin still looked at the letter, but said casually: "Smoking is a very bad habit. I thought you would quit it." "I want to quit, but I tried several times but failed." "Mark Twain said that a long time ago. Don't pick his ready-made words, think of new words yourself."

Heckcroft sat in the chair, cramped and embarrassed.He found a topic and said, "You have read the letter several times, what do you think?" Aixin put the letter on the table and said, "I can't tell you what I think. The handwriting and tone of this letter belong to him. It can be concluded that he wrote it. It's still so conceited, even in confession." "So, you also think he is confessing?" "So it does, at least from the looks of it. There's a lot I have to figure out. I have a lot of questions about this extraordinary act of relief. It's an incredible arrangement."

"Mom, if one person raises a question, it will lead to another question; Geneva does not welcome this." "So what if they don't welcome you? Even though you're just telling me about the situation in Geneva, I understand this: they want you to spend at least half a year, or even more than half a year, on this matter. ?" Knoller was embarrassed again.He decided not to show his mother the paper from the Grand Bank of Geneva.If she insists on seeing it, it's not too late for him to take it out anytime.If she doesn't insist, it's best not to let her watch it.She should know as little as possible.He couldn't let the people in the wolf den hurt her.For that reason the less she got involved in it the better.He knew very well that it was impossible to prevent Aixin from intervening in this matter, so he said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you the important process."

"I didn't say you didn't want to. I meant that you omitted the course of the matter too much. You mentioned a director of the Bank of Geneva without naming him. You spoke of the conditions stipulated in the paper, but Just tell me half of the conditions. You also refuse to say the names of the two heirs. You haven't explained many things clearly." "I don't make it clear, it's also for your own good." "It's very kind of you to do me that! But, since you showed me Crossen's letter, and refused to tell me the whole thing, you don't think that you can't trust me, little boy." Do you see me?"

"I don't deserve to be called benevolent, nor do I underestimate you." Hecroft said, leaning forward. "Anyone connected with this matter will hope that you have had nothing to do with the money in the past. You must have read the letter to understand how involved it was; thousands of people were involved. The money involved is in the hundreds of millions. It is not yet predictable whether someone will come out to pursue your relationship with this sum of money in the future. Because you are the wife of Crossen, and you have sued him. He did not heed your advice, and you broke with him. Then he finally realized the truth of your admonition. Therefore, he set out to give away other people's money and deposit it in the Geneva bank as his own atonement. It must arouse some kind of envy. Such people may still be alive today. They will come to murder you because of it. I don't want you to be murdered by them."

Aixin got up from her chair and strolled to the bay window at the other end of the room.As she walked, she said repeatedly in a long voice: "I understand what you mean. Is this what those people in Geneva are concerned about?" "Not the ones in Geneva: it's the one in Geneva. He didn't say that in his words, but he did say he was very concerned about that." "I don't believe that's the only thing he's focused on." "of course not." "So, may I speak for him about other concerns he has?" Nolle froze.Although he seldom—except on very rare occasions—underestimated his mother's insight; yet, whenever she preempted him from expressing something deep in his heart, he would feel at a loss."I don't think his other concerns are mysterious," he murmured.

Ai Xin turned around by the window, looked at him, and said, "You think so?" "In fact, those issues were all mentioned in the letter. If the public knew how this huge sum of money was collected, then someone would pursue it legally, or even file a claim for compensation to the international court." Ai Xin cast her eyes elsewhere, and said, "You've just got to the point. Wear this little bit, and this matter will not be mysterious. I'm very surprised, how dare this person in Geneva let you talk about this matter?" Tell me?" These words of hers disturbed Knoller greatly.He leaned on Chi's back in a daze, and said after a while, "So, do you really want to take some kind of action?"

Still looking out of the window, she replied: "I really want to. You know, it is very difficult for a person to give up the idea of ​​revenge on his enemy. Although the enemy's injury has made this person lucky, he still will not give up revenge." The idea of ​​a grudge. Heaven knows, I—my mother and son—became lucky after that. From a hellish life to a better life than I dared to dream of.” Knoller said, "You're saying Daddy gave us mother and son a good time?" Aixin turned around, looked at him and said, "Yes. You can't imagine the price your father paid to protect our mother and son. I'm the number one fool in the world. But he took me in. Me, and you—a foolish child. What he gave us was not only love, he also allowed us mother and son to see the sun again and hold our heads up as human beings. He didn’t ask for anything else, but asked us to return our love to him.” "You repaid him with love." "As long as I live, that's what I'm going to do. Your stepfather, Richard Heycroft, was really the perfect man I'd imagined, and at first I mistook Crosson for that. How wrong I was.... Heinlech has been dead for many years, but that doesn't make me any less bitter about him. I want revenge." Knoller kept his excitement from showing.He had to try to make his mother give up the idea of ​​revenge; otherwise, the survivors of the wolf's lair would surely murder her.He said calmly; "If you want revenge, you can only take revenge on him in your memory; you should not take revenge on him who wrote this confession letter. Perhaps, those noble qualities you saw in him at first , did not lose in the end, and in the end still gained the upper hand on him." "You're very consoling." "I think I'm telling the truth. The person who wrote this letter didn't mean it. He's suffering from a conscience." "He's tortured enough, and he deserves it himself. He's the cruelest man I've ever met. Yet, on the surface, he's a whole other kind of man, and he looks so good." Ambition. I didn't know what ambition he had until the end!" Knoller interrupted her: "Mom, he was converted. You were a factor in his conversion. At the end of his life, his only hope was to work towards atonement for his past sins. In his letter Said, 'If you are guilty, you should atone for your sin'. You might as well think about how the three of them tried to atone for their sins!" "I haven't forgotten that, and I understand it, and I haven't forgotten some of the things he said. I can still imagine the look on his face when he said them; but he only learned them when he was young." I said those things. At that time, he had great ambitions, and there was a very young and unrestrained girl following him." Having said this, Aixin paused; What do you mean by showing me your letter? What is your intention in bringing all these letters and documents back?" "I did this because I had made up my mind to do what he said in his letter: that is, I would close my company, go out for a while, and end up working in Switzerland for a few months. The one in Geneva Someone once said that if I didn't explain the situation to you, you wouldn't agree with me. He was worried that sooner or later you would hear some rumors, and if I didn't tell you first, maybe you would make some rash things come." Ai Xinjie asked: "Are you afraid that I will do something reckless that will harm you?" "I'm afraid so. The guy in Geneva doesn't think it's impossible for you to do that. He says you can't forget the past. His words are, 'Indelible' in your mind." She also said along with the voice: "It's 'Indelible'!" "His opinion is that this huge sum of money is subject to legal action. Therefore, it is best to dispose of it in accordance with the method mentioned in the letter; that is, to use it to atone for crimes." "Perhaps his opinion is correct. It is of course good to follow the method stated in the letter. This sin should have been atoned for long ago. However, according to my past experience, everything that has anything to do with Heinleich will end up being It's either worthless, or it's ridiculous." Aixin suddenly stopped talking, and the expression on her face suddenly became tense, and then she said: "Only you, although you are his son, are an exception. There is also the Geneva incident, It might be an exception." Knoller got up from his chair, went to his mother, put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her against him."The guy in Geneva said, 'You're incredible. You really are,'" he said. Aixin jerked her body back and asked, "What did you say about me? 'Unbelievable'?" "right!" She said softly: "He must be Ernst Manfradi." "You know him?" Knoller asked. "Many, many years ago. So he's still alive?" Noller didn't answer her question directly, but instead asked, "How do you know it was he who called you 'unbelievable'?" "It was a summer afternoon. In Berlin. He was there. He helped us get out of Berlin, mother and son. He put us on the plane and gave me the money. Oh!" She pushed her son away hands, stood up and paced the room.Then set to the desk, she said: "On that afternoon, on the plane, he said I was 'unbelievable'. At that time, he said that the Germans would follow me, that is to say, they would follow me and you. He He also said that he would try his best to save me. He taught me what to do when I was killed and how to speak when I saw people. An insignificant bank clerk became my savior that afternoon. In a blink of an eye, it was like that For many years..." Knoller looked at her mother in amazement.He asked, "Why didn't he mention a word of these past events, and didn't tell me a word?" Aixin turned her face away, but did not look at her son.She stared blankly.She was recalling some past events that Noelle didn't know at the moment.Then she sighed; "I think he did it so that I could find out who he was. He's not a man who asks for his debts without looking at them. Now let's talk about Crossen. I'm It has not eliminated any doubts about his arrangement. I have not made any wishes to you today. If I want to take any action in the future, I will inform you in advance. However, today, I do not intend to interfere with your actions. .” "You still have a backhand! Don't you?" "My current attitude is enough to take care of you. You have to know, those past facts are 'indelibly engraved' in my mind." "However, you promised not to impede our actions for the time being, did you?" "I mean what I say. I don't promise others easily. Once I promise, I won't go back on my word." "Under what circumstances will you intervene in our actions in the future?" "For example, if you disappeared." "I will always keep in touch with you." Aixin watched his son walk out of the study.The tense, stern expression on her face a few minutes ago had relaxed.A smile played on her thin lips, and her large eyes, though still brooding, beamed with a quiet sense of well-being and full confidence. She reached for the phone on the desk and dialed the number 'zero'.A few seconds later, she said into the microphone, "Undersea operator, I want to make a long-distance call to Geneva, Switzerland." Knoller would have to find a solid business case for closing Heycroft Construction & Engineering.He also had to keep some people from asking him substantive questions about why the company closed, because the survivors of Wolf's Den were murderous monsters who tended to treat people with substantive questions like that. , as a figure attempting to interfere with Crossen's ideals.In order to avoid this, he has to hide legally... However, if he wants to hide, he can't talk about the word legal; so, in fact, he is just looking for a specious and seemingly legal reason for hiding. "Plausible legal", this is the key. In that case, find Mr. Sam Bunovantola! Not that Sam had done anything unruly, or had no legal status.He was a thoroughly gentleman, and he was one of the best engineers in the building trade.However, since he has always been used to being free and unrestrained by himself, he never likes to be fettered.He is in his fifties, but he is still at home all over the world, and he is alone.He graduated from the City College of New York on Telamont Road, the most northern part of New York City's Pelonx borough.He used to feel that he was very much attuned to the warm climate of South America.After a short stint in the Army's Corps of Engineers, he felt strongly that there was a world beyond the borders of the United States, ideally those places south of the Keith River.The way he makes a living is to find a large construction project with strong funds and work hard on a specific project under it. Knoller puts through a call to Sam Bunovantola. On the phone, Sam shouted excitedly: "Noelle, are you all right? We haven't seen each other for how many years? It's been four or five years? How are you doing with your marksmanship now?" "I haven't touched a gun since I broke the killing ring with you years ago; I hope I won't touch it again. How are you doing?" "There are a few rich men who want to cremate a few sacks of banknotes here, and I just strike a few matches for them. You want to find some work for me?" "I'm not looking for a job, but I want to ask you for a favor." "What help?" "I've been away from America for months on personal business. I want to find an excuse for myself to get out of New York. An excuse that won't raise suspicions. Now that I've got this idea, Sam, I wonder if you can help?" "Tell me, if the two of us can have a good talk, I will definitely help." Of course the two of them got it right, because Noller's idea was not perverted. At that time, there was a custom that American builders often hired some architects from the United States as consultants for certain large-scale long-term construction projects abroad; investors in these projects only paid for the skills and skills of consultant engineers. experience without ever having their last name on the blueprints or drawings of the project.In some countries, the locals would consider it disrespectful not to employ local engineering and technical personnel.However, local engineers and technicians have always been unable to undertake such large-scale projects, regardless of their professional level or experience.Therefore, American builders working in this country especially need to adopt the above-mentioned practice; Supervise the construction of the entire project. Knoller asked on the phone: "Can you give me some advice? Which country should I say I should go to as a consultant engineer?" "Well, there are six or seven underdeveloped countries, you can choose. You can say countries in Africa or South America; even some of the islands here, that is, the Antilles Islands or the Grenada Islands. Now Builders from various countries are flocking to these countries and regions, and the national pride of the residents there is particularly strong. Therefore, the American businessmen who build there often secretly hire people from China with a lot of money to serve as consultants architect." Knoller said, "Listen, Sam, I'm not looking for a job as a consulting engineer, but for an excuse to retire from America. That is, I want someone who will stand in the way of me." The builder of the wall. He will lie for me. Once I leave New York, even if I don't go to him as a consulting engineer, he can tell others that I have. Can you find such a person for me? " "You can just ask me. I've been staying here almost all year. Maybe next year. After the hotel is signed, there are two marinas and a standard yacht club waiting for me to build. Miles, Knoller, we're settled, and you command." "Are you willing to agree? That is really what I wish for." "I guess you also want me to agree, right? I can tell you in detail about my situation here, so that you can use me as an air-raid shelter. You might as well tell me your future whereabouts. Just in case your When my friends in the upper class have something to tell me, I can contact you at any time." By Wednesday Heckcroft had found new employment for his secretary and two draftsmen, and sent them off.It went well because all three had been doing well in their jobs. Some time ago, he had submitted the bidding drawings to fourteen bidding departments for review.Now, he called the business leaders of these departments one by one, explaining that he would withdraw his drawings.During this negotiation process, he found that eight projects had already decided to use the drawings he designed.There are eight!If the blueprints designed by him are used in these fourteen projects, the income is equivalent to the sum of all his profits in the previous five years. However, what was in front of him was two million dollars!This huge sum of money always lingered in his mind.Moreover, even if this sum of money does not linger in his mind, there are still shadows of survivors of the Wolf Cave Incident hovering in his mind. He specially notified the person in charge of answering the phone at the concierge of his New York residence: "Hycroft Construction Company is currently going all out to contract a large-scale overseas project, so it will no longer contact domestic business for the time being. If something happens If you want to contact the company, please leave your name and phone number." In addition, Knoller left the following address: "Netherlands Antilles Post Office to Sam Bunovantola Ltd. Box, Curacao" in order to defuse troublemakers' inquiries about his whereabouts .If some of them still insist on knowing the phone number of Noller's new address, Sam's number can be given to them. Knoller promised to speak to Sam once a week, and also to the man who answered the phone at his New York residence concierge. On Friday morning, he hesitated again.He felt now as if he had been exiled from a well-kept garden and exiled to a strange forest. He suddenly remembered the letter written by a madman thirty years ago that he found in his room: "For you, now and then, everything is different. Nothing will ever be the same again." So what, he thought, if the children of Tabor couldn't be found, if they were dead and there was a vacant grave in Brazil?They disappeared from Rio de Janeiro five years ago.What clues did he have to find them?If he can't find them in the end, will the survivors of the wolf den punish him for it?Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel scared. As he walked, he came to the intersection of Seventy-third Street and Third Avenue. He comforted himself by saying that it was no use being afraid, and that something had to be done to deal with the situation. So he thought: He can take the Geneva paperwork to report to the government authorities, to the US State Department, and to report all the deaths of Peter Baldwin, Ernst Manfred and Jack the gatekeeper to the authorities. illustrate.He can also reveal how Crossen collected this huge sum of money from the taxes and treasury of Nazi Germany thirty years ago; Sympathy made them willing to rise up to defend his life. This method is the safest.But then again, compared with the significance of Crossen's good deed, what is his personal safety and security?So his own safety should not be considered first now.One should think of the pain of the man who was condemned by his own conscience thirty years ago.That person should be the driving force behind all actions in front of him. So he hailed a taxi.At this time, a strange idea suddenly flashed in his mind—in fact, this idea had already vaguely appeared in the depths of his soul, but he never took it seriously.This idea is: the reason why he wants to drive himself out of the well-cultivated garden and exile to a strange forest is purely for "retribution for others". He took the blame for the crimes committed by others, and he took it on behalf of Heinrich Crossen. Because "If you are guilty, you should make atonement!" He got into the car and said to the driver, "Go to 635th Street." This is the address of the Brazilian Consulate in New York. He made up his mind to start looking for the descendants of Tabor.