Chapter 30 Chapter Thirty

Kendall said in agony, "What's the matter, Mark? My God, what's the matter?" "It's your fault." "No! I told you...it was an accident! I..." "I'm not talking about the accident, I'm talking about you! You're a wonderful successful wife who's too busy to spend time with her husband." After hearing his words, she seemed to be slapped by him. "You're not telling the truth. I..." "Kendall, you only think of yourself, you are always a star wherever we go, let me follow you like a pug dog." "You have wronged me so much!" she said.

"Isn't it? You go to fashion shows all over the world and your picture is in all the papers and I'm sitting at home alone waiting for you to come back. Do you think I'd rather be 'Mr. Kendall'? I A wife is what you want. Don't worry, my dear Kendall, I take comfort in having other women to fill your place when you are away." She turned pale. "They are real women of flesh and blood, not fake shells. They have time for me." Kendall yelled, "Shut up!" "When you told me about the accident, I found a way out of you. Would you like to know what happened, dear? It was a pleasure to see you read those letters in such agony, because I finally got a little compensation for the humiliation I once suffered."

"Enough! Pack your bags and get the hell out of here. I never want to see you again!" Mark grinned. "That's unlikely. By the way, are you still planning to go to the police?" "Go away!" Kendall snapped. "Get out of here immediately!" "I'm going. I'm going back to Paris. I'm sure you'll be going too, my dear. I wish you well." An hour later he left. ※※※ At nine in the morning, Kendall called Steve Sloan. "Good morning, Madame Renaud. What can I do for you?" "I'm going back to Boston this afternoon," Kendall said. "I want to surrender myself."

※※※ She was pale and depressed, and she sat blankly opposite Steve, unable to speak. Steve encouraged her by saying, "You told me you were going to turn yourself in." "Yes. I... I killed someone." She began to cry. "It was an accident, but... I ran away at that time." She had a painful expression on her face. "I ran away myself . . . and left her there." "Take it easy," Steve said. "Please tell me what happened." She began to narrate. ※※※ Half an hour later, Steve sat there contemplating what he had just heard. "So you want to go to the police station?"

"Yeah, I should have done it. I... I don't care what they do with me now." Steve said thoughtfully: "Because you voluntarily surrendered, and it was an accident in itself, I think the court will handle it leniently." "I just want to get this over with," she said, trying to be calm. "What about your husband?" She looked up and said, "What happened to him?" "Racketeering is a crime. The Swiss bank has your account number, and he smuggled the money you sent there. You just have to sue in the papers, and—" "No!" she said angrily, "I don't want to have anything to do with him. We will go our separate ways from now on."

Steve nodded. "No matter what you say, I am ready to hand you over to Police Headquarters. You may spend the night in jail, but I will have you bailed out quickly." Kendall smiled wearily: "This way I can do things I didn't want to do before." "What's the matter?" "Design a striped garment." ※※※ That night, Steve went home and told Julia what had happened. Julia was terrified. "Her own husband blackmailing her? Horrible!" She looked at Steve for a long moment. "I appreciate your willingness to help others in times of crisis."

Steve looked at her and thought: I'm in a bind myself. ※※※ The aroma of coffee and the smell of burning bacon woke Steve from sleep.He sat up in bed in surprise.Did the housekeeper come back today?Steve put on his dressing gown and slippers and hurried to the kitchen. Julia was making breakfast when she looked up just in time to see Steve walk in. "Good morning," she said cheerfully. "What kind of eggs do you like to eat?" "Hmm... scrambled eggs." "Well, bacon is my specialty. To tell you the truth, I'm a bad cook, and that's all I can do."

Steve laughed, "You don't have to cook. You can hire hundreds of cooks if you want." "Can I really get such a good amount of money, Steve?" "That's right. Your inheritance will exceed a billion dollars." She couldn't believe it. "A billion...? I don't believe it." "Indeed." "There's no money in the world, Steve." "Yes, but most of the money in the world is in your father's name." "I... I really don't know what to say." "Then let me speak?" "of course can."

"The eggs are burnt." "Oh, I'm so sorry." She immediately removed the pot. "Let me make a pot again." "Don't bother. There's more than enough burnt bacon for us." she laughed. "I am so sorry." Steve goes to the cupboard and pulls out a box of cereal. "How about a delicious cold meal!" "That's great," Julia said. He poured some cereal into their bowls, took milk from the fridge, and they sat down together. "Have you no one to cook for you?" Julia asked. "You mean do I have a lover?"

She blushed. "That's pretty much what it means." "No. I was in a relationship with someone once for two years, but then it blew up." "I'm very sorry." "do you have?" She thought of Henry Wesson. "I don't think so." He looked at her curiously. "You don't even know yourself?" "It's hard to tell. One of us wants to get married and the other doesn't," she said tactfully. "I see. Are you going back to Kansas when things here are over?" "Honestly I don't know. It's a novelty to live here. My mother used to talk to me about Boston. She was born here, and she has a kind of attachment to it. So it seems like I've come back to myself. home. Wish I knew my father before."

Steve thought to himself: No, you won't understand. "Are you familiar with him?" "Unfamiliar. He only dealt with Simon Fitzgerald." ※※※ They sat and talked for more than an hour, talking very speculatively with each other.Steve told Julia many things that had happened before—the appearance of the strange woman who called herself Julia Stanford, the grave without a body, and the disappearance of Dmitry Kaminsky. "It's incredible!" said Julia. "Who is manipulating all this behind the scenes?" "I don't know, but I'll try to find out," Steve assured her. "During this time, you will be very safe living here." "It does feel a sense of security here, thank you," she said with a smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped again.He looked at his watch. "I have to get dressed and go to the office. I have a lot to attend to." ※※※ Steve and Fitzgerald have a meet and greet. "Is there any progress?" Fitzgerald asked. Steve shook his head. "Still in the fog. What a genius the mastermind. I'm trying to track down Dmitry Kaminsky. He's flown from Corsica to Paris and on to Australia. I've spoken to the Sydney Police. They were all stunned to learn that Kaminsky had arrived in their country. Interpol had issued a warrant and was hunting him. I think Harry Stanford had already signed his own death certificate. Someone tried to stop him from doing that. The only witness to what happened on the speedboat that night was Dmitry Kaminsky. If we can find him, we can figure out a lot thing." "I wonder if we should call the police to investigate this case?" Fitzgerald suggested. Steve shook his head. "It's a moot point, Simon. The only sure crime was that someone dug up the body—but we don't know who did it yet." "What about the detective they hired, who proved the woman's fingerprints?" "His name is Frank Timmons. I've left him three messages. If he doesn't call me back by six tonight, I'll fly to Chicago. He's the number one suspect." "What do you think they intend to do with the share of the property that the imposter will get?" "My hunch is that the mastermind had her sign off the share of the property into their names. This person may have used a forged power of attorney as a cover. I'm sure we should be looking for this person among family members. I think, yes. Rule out Kendall as a suspect.” He told Fitzgerald about his conversation with Kendall. "If she was the mastermind, she wouldn't come forward and confess, especially at this time. She should wait until the property is divided and the money is in her hands. As for her husband Mark, I think that can also be ruled out. He is just a A crappy swindler. He's not up to the task of devising such a plot." "And what about the others?" "Judge Stanford. I talked to a friend of mine at the Chicago Bar Federation about him. My friend said people were saying good things about him. He was promoted to chief judge not long ago. Another factor that worked in Judge Stanford's favor was his Pointed out the first liar impersonating Julia who insisted on a DNA test. Woody got my attention. I could tell he was doing drugs. That would cost a lot of money. I investigated his wife Paige and found she didn't have The ingenuity behind this conspiracy. But rumor has it that she has a brother, and business is doing badly. I'm going to find out." Steve said to his secretary over the walkie-talkie, "Please contact Lieutenant Michael Kennedy of the Boston Police Department." A few minutes later the secretary told Steve: "Lieutenant Kennedy is connected." Steve picked up the phone. "Lieutenant, thank you for taking my call. This is Steve Sloan of Longcaster-Longcaster-Fitzgerald LLP and we are looking for a disposition with Harry Stanford. related relatives." "Mr. Sloan, I will be at your service." "Please check with the NYPD if they have a file on Mrs. Woodrow Stanford's brother. His name is Hope Malkovich. He works in a bakery in the Bronx. " "No problem, I will definitely reply to you." "thanks." ※※※ After lunch, Simon Fitzgerald stopped by Steve's office. "How is the investigation going?" he asked. "Too slow to keep up with my needs. The plotters cover up their ruse so well." "How is Julia?" Steve smiled. "She's wonderful." There seemed to be something in his words, which made Simon Fitzgerald look him over. "She is indeed a very charming young lady." "I know," Steve said thoughtfully, "I know." ※※※ An hour later, the call from Australia came. "Mr. Sloane?" "yes." "I am Sheriff Sydney MacPherson." "Oh, Sheriff." "We've found what you're looking for." Steve felt his heart pounding. "Great! I want to send someone to extradite him immediately..." "Oh, I guess you needn't be so anxious. Dmitry Kaminsky is dead." Steve's heart sank. "what happened?" "We just found his body. His fingers were chopped off and he was shot several times." The Russians have a curious custom.They chop off your fingers, then make you bleed slowly, and finally shoot you. "I see. Thank you, Sheriff." ※※※ The thread is broken.Steve sat there, staring blankly at the wall.All his leads were broken.He knew in his heart how much he expected from Dmitry Kaminsky's testimony. Steve's secretary interrupted his thoughts. "Mr. Timmons on line three for you." Steve looked at his watch, it was three fifty-five in the afternoon.He picked up the phone. "Is that Mr. Timmons?" "Yes, I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner. I was out of town the last two days. What can I do for you?" There's so much to do, Steve thought.You can tell me how you forged those fingerprints.Steve said cautiously, "I'm looking for you about Julia Stanford. You were in Boston not long ago, confirmed her fingerprints, and..." "Mr. Sloan..." "right?" "I've never been to Boston." Steve was surprised. "Mr. Timmons, the Holiday Inn register records that you have been here on the date-" "Someone has stolen my name." Steve was dumbfounded when he heard that.This last road was blocked again. "I don't think you're at all ignorant of who did it?" "Well, that's a strange thing, Mr. Sloan. There's a woman who claims I've been to Boston and identifies her as Julia Stanford. I've never met this person before." Steve suddenly had a glimmer of hope. "Do you know her name?" "Yes. Her name is Posner, Margo Posner." Steve picked up his pen. "Where can I find her?" "She's at the Reed Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center in Chicago." "Thank you, I really appreciate your cooperation." "I hope we can keep in touch. I also really want to know the truth of the matter. I hate people pretending to be me." "Okay." Steve put the phone down. "Margo Posner." ※※※ When Steve got home that night, Julia was there to greet him. "I've got supper ready," she told him. "Well, I didn't make it myself, exactly. Do you like Chinese food?" He smiled. "I love it!" "Great, I have prepared eight boxes." Steve walked into the restaurant and saw flowers and candles on the table. "Is there any progress?" Julia asked. Steve said cautiously, "Maybe we've found our first opening. I've looked up the name of a woman who seems to be involved in this conspiracy. I'm going to fly to Chicago tomorrow morning to talk to her. I have a hunch we There may be an answer tomorrow." "Great!" Julia said excitedly. "I really hope this gets over as soon as possible." "I'm just like you," Steve told her.Do I really think so?If she becomes a member of the Stanford family, I will not be able to reach her high. ※※※ Dinner lasted two hours, but they didn't give a damn about the taste of the food.The two talked about everything, and seemed to be old friends who had known each other for a long time.They talk about the past and the present, but not a word about the future.There is no future for both of us, Steve thought dejectedly. Finally, Steve reluctantly said, "Okay, we gotta go to bed." She rolled her eyes at him, and they both laughed. "I mean……" "I see what you mean. Good night, Steve." "Good night, Julia."