Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Three Wiretapping

Early on the first morning, Daniel Cooper, Sheriff Rupp Van Duren, and his assistant, Detective Inspector Whitcomb, gathered in the upstairs room to eavesdrop on the conversation in the downstairs room. "Do you want coffee?" Jeff's voice said. "No thanks, baby," Tracy's voice said. "Try the cheese that the waiter brought, it's delicious." A moment of silence. "Hmm...it's delicious. What do you want to do today, Tracy? We can drive to Rotterdam." "Why don't you stay at home and rest?" "That's fine." Daniel Cooper knew what they meant by "rest," and his lips tightened.

"The queen has sponsored the construction of an orphanage." "Great. I think the Dutch are the most hospitable and generous people in the world. They are against all forms of idolatry. They hate rules and regulations." Laugh out loud. "Of course. That's why we both like them very much." The most common morning conversation between lovers.There was so much freedom between them, Cooper thought.Watch how she pays back! "Speaking of generosity," said Jeff's voice, "you know who lives in this hotel? That elusive Maximilian Bilbon. I let him go on the 'Queen Elizabeth 2.'"

"I didn't catch him on the Orient Express either." "He's here, and he's probably going to do something to some company again. This time, Tracy, we should fix him. I mean, as long as he's around . . . " Tracy's giggles. "That would be great, baby." "I know the old guy always carries some priceless treasures with him. I have an idea..." Another woman's voice. "Good morning, sir, good morning, miss. Does your room need tidying now?" Van Duren turned to Whitcomb. "Send a team to custody Maximilian Bilbon immediately. Whitney or Stevens has contact with him. Report to me immediately."

Sheriff Van Duren reports to Superintendent Thun Velen. "They're probably thinking of a lot of targets, Superintendent. They're showing great interest in a rich American named Maximilian Bilbon here. They've been to philatelic fairs, they've gone to the Netherlands to work on diamonds." factory to see the Rucalan Diamonds, and spent two hours in the Night Watch room." "Thinking about The Night Watch? No! Impossible!" The director leaned back in the armchair, wondering if he had wasted a lot of time and manpower without restraint.Speculation, speculation, and few concrete facts. "So, you can't determine their specific goals right now?"

"No, director. I dare not say that they have made their own decision, but as soon as they make a decision, they will notify us." Waylon frowned. "Who informed you?" "Bugs," Van Duren explained. "They didn't know it was bugged." At nine o'clock the next morning, the police finally had a breakthrough.Tracy and Jeff had breakfast in Tracy's room.Daniel Cooper, Rupp Van Duren, and Whitcomb were upstairs listening.They heard the sound of coffee being made. "This project is interesting, Tracy. Our friend is right. You listen to this: 'Amuro Bank will ship five million dollars worth of gold bullion to the Dutch West Indies.'"

In the upstairs room, Detective Inspector Whitcomb said, "There's just no way..." "Shh-" They listened with bated breath. "I wonder how much five million dollars of gold weighs," Tracy's voice said. "I can tell you exactly, honey. Sixteen hundred and seventy-two pounds, about sixty-seven gold bars. Gold is so good that you can't put a name on it. Just melt it down, and whoever gets it gets it." .Of course, it is not easy to get these gold bars out of Holland." "Even if we can get them out, we have to figure out how to get them first. Can't we just walk to the bank and get them?"

"Approximately." "Don't be funny." "I'm never funny about money. By the way, why don't we take a walk around the Amuro Bank and have a look there?" "what's your plan?" "I'll tell you on the way." The sound of the door closing.The talking stopped. Sheriff Van Duren tugged at his mustache. "Impossible! They don't even want to touch the gold. I personally approved the security measures there." Daniel Cooper said drily: "If there is a leak in the bank's security system, Tracy Whitney will find it."

Sergeant Van Duren's hair stood on end with anger, but he could only hold back.This ugly American has been his heart disease since the day he arrived.His arrogance and arrogance are really intolerable.But Sergeant Van Duren was a real policeman; he had been ordered to cooperate with this unassuming little man. The sheriff said to Whitcomb: "I order you to expand the surveillance and tracking team. Act now. Wherever they go, they must take pictures, and everyone they come into contact with must be questioned. Clear?" "Yes, Sheriff." "Attention, be sure to hide. They must not let them find out."

"Yes, Sheriff." Van Duren looked at Cooper. "Well, do you think this is safer?" Cooper didn't bother to answer. For five days, Tracy and Jeff kept Sheriff Van Duren's men busy.Daniel Cooper carefully read the daily reports.During the night, while the other detectives left the listening post, Cooper insisted on staying.He knew what was going on upstairs, and he really wanted to hear the voice of the man and woman making love.He couldn't hear anything, but in the back of his mind, Tracy was moaning and moaning, "Oh, yes, baby, yes, yes. Oh, God, I can't take it... so comfortable... This way, ah, this way..."

Then, that long, shuddering sigh, that sweet velvet silence.It's all about him. Soon, you'll be mine, Cooper thought.No one else can get you. During the day, Tracy and Jeff moved separately, and wherever they went, they were followed and watched.Jeff went to a printing factory near Lesseplain.As he conversed primly with his boss, two detectives watched from across the street.As soon as Jeff was gone, one detective followed him, and another entered the store and showed the owner his plastic-sided police ID card, which had a photo on it, stamped with the official stamp, and stamped diagonally In red, white, blue way.

"The man who left just now, what is he going to do?" "He ran out of business cards and needs to print some more." "show me." The boss of the printing factory handed him a handwritten proof sheet: The next day, Tracy walked into a small pet store in Lesseplain, and 1st Class Constable Finn Hall was waiting outside the door.Fifteen minutes later, Tracy left, and Fern Hall entered the store and showed his ID. "The lady who left just now, what is she going to do?" "She bought a pot of goldfish, two lovebirds, a canary, and a pigeon." Weird combination. "A pigeon? Do you mean an ordinary pigeon?" "Yes, but little pet stores never sell pigeons. I told her we could find a way to get one for her." "Where are you sending these things?" "To her hotel, Emstel." Across town, Jeff was talking to the vice president of Amuro Bank.They talked for thirty minutes in the cabin.After Jeff left, a detective entered the vice president's office. "The man who left just now, please tell me what he is doing here?" "Mr. Wilson? He's the chief inspector of the security firm our bank is linked to. They're going to modify some of the security systems." "Did he let you talk about the current security system?" "Oh, sure, he let me talk." "Did you tell him?" "Of course. But I called first and found out his identity." "Who did you call?" "Security Office—his ID card has a phone number on it." At three o'clock in the afternoon, an armored delivery truck stopped in front of the Amuro Bank.Jeff was across the street taking a photo of a delivery truck, while a detective snapped his photo at another doorway a few yards away. At the police headquarters on Ehrengracht Street, Inspector Van Duren sent the rapidly increasing variety of evidence to the desk of Superintendent Thun Wellen. "What does all this mean?" the Director asked in his dry, thin voice. Daniel Cooper answered. "I can tell you what she's planning." There was confidence in his words. "She's planning to rob the gold." They stared at him intently. Director Waylon said, "It seems that you know how she will perform this miracle?" "Yes." He knew something they didn't.He understands Tracy's roots, from psychology to soul.He had become one with Tracy, so he could think like her, plan...and anticipate her every move. "Drive a fake security truck, get to the bank before the real one, and steal the gold bullion." "That's a bit too far-fetched, Cooper." Sheriff Van Duren interjected. "I don't know their specific plot, but they must be planning something, Director. Their voices have been recorded on tape." Daniel Cooper thought of the sounds he had imagined: whispers, shouts and groans.She looked like a total flirtatious whore.Hmph, what to do with her?No man would want to touch her again. The sheriff was still saying, "They've got the general rules of the bank's security system, they know when the armored delivery truck picks up, and..." The Superintendent was poring over the report before him. "Lovebirds, pigeons, goldfish, canaries...do you think this mess has something to do with the robbery?" "No," said Van Duren. "Related," Cooper said. 1st Class Constable Finn Hall, wearing a baggy acrylic shirt, followed Tracy down Prinsengrahit Street, across the Macquarie Bridge, and across the canal.Tracy suddenly flashed into a public phone booth and hung up on the phone for five minutes. Fern Hall was anxious, but he could only watch helplessly.In fact, even if she could hear the phone call, it would be equally inexplicable. Gunther Hartog, in London, said: "We can count on Margo, but she needs time - at least two more weeks." He listened to the other party for a while. "I see. I'll get back to you when it's ready. Take care. Say hello to Jeff for me." Tracy hung up and stepped out of the booth.She nodded friendly to the woman in the acrylic shirt standing outside the kiosk waiting to make a phone call. At eleven o'clock the next morning, a detective reported to Sheriff Van Duren: "I'm at Walter Truck Rental, Sheriff. Jeff Stevens just rented a truck." "What kind of car?" "Deliver truck, Sheriff." "Ask about the size, I'll wait." A few minutes later, the detective picked up the phone again. "The size is there, the truck is..." "Stairway enclosed van, twenty feet long, seven feet wide, and six feet high, double-axle," said Chief Van Duren. The other party was too surprised to speak. "Yes, Sheriff. How did you know?" "Never mind. What color?" "blue." "Who's following Stevens now?" "Jacob." "Okay. You come here to report." Rupp van Duren hung up.He looked up at Daniel Cooper, "You're right except the color is blue." "He took the truck to a car paint shop." The paint shop is in a gas station on Demlake Street.Jeff stood by and watched as two workers painted the truck iron gray.A detective climbed onto the roof of the gas station to capture the footage from the skylight. An hour later, the photo was on Sheriff Van Duren's desk. He pushed the photo toward Daniel Cooper. "The truck has been painted the exact same color as the security delivery truck. We can catch 'em now, can't we?" "On what charge? Fake business cards and repainting the truck a different color? The only way for the prosecution to stand is to catch them while they're extracting the bullion." The kid looked like he was in charge of the police department. "What do you think he will do next?" Cooper was poring over the photo. "The truck can't handle the weight of those gold bars. They have to strengthen the chassis." This is a very small gas station in the middle of nowhere on Myrd Street. "Good morning, sir. What do you need?" "I'm going to use this car to haul some scrap metal," Jeff explained. "I don't know if the chassis will handle the weight. I want to reinforce it with metal brackets, can you guys do that?" The mechanic walked over to the truck and looked. "OK, no problem." "it is good." "Friday can do it." "I hope to pick it up tomorrow." "Tomorrow? No, I..." "I pay double." "Thursday." "Tomorrow. I'll pay three times as much." The technician scratched his chin and thought for a moment. "what time tomorrow?" "noon." "Okay. Okay." "thanks." "You're welcome." Not long after Jeff left the gas station, a detective came to question the mechanic. That same morning, a team of detectives assigned to watch Tracy followed her down the Udeskon Canal, where Tracy spoke for half an hour with the owner of a large yacht on the river.After Tracy left, a detective boarded the yacht.He showed his ID to the yacht's owner, who was sipping red wine. "What is the young woman going to do?" "She and her husband want to take a trip down the canal and rent my yacht for a week." "When did it start?" "Friday. It's a lovely vacation, sir. If you and your wife are also interested..." The detective is gone. The pigeons Tracy had ordered from the pet store had been packed into a cage and delivered to her hotel.Daniel Cooper went back to the store to question the owner. "What kind of pigeon did you send?" "Oh, you know, it's just an ordinary pigeon." "Are you sure you're not a carrier pigeon?" "Of course not." The boss giggled. "I know it's not a carrier pigeon because I caught it last night from the Vondelpark." A thousand pounds for an ordinary pigeon?Why?Daniel Cooper pondered. In five days, Amuro Bank will transfer gold ingots.A stack of photographs sat on Sheriff Roup Van Duren's desk. Every photo is a link leading to the ultimate capture of her, Daniel Cooper thought.The police in Amsterdam have no imagination at all.Cooper had to convince them that he was on the case, never ambiguous.Every step leading up to the crime that was about to begin has been photographed and documented.Even if Tracy Whitney has great ability, she can never escape the law. Only by punishing her severely can I be saved. As soon as Jeff got his freshly painted truck back that day, he drove to the old city of Amsterdam, Uzikok, where he had rented a small garage.Six empty wooden crates stamped "Mechanical Works" have also arrived here. A photograph of an empty wooden box sits on the desk of Sheriff Van Duren, who is listening to a recent recording. Jeff's voice: "When you're driving from the bank to the yacht, always stay within the speed limit. I need to know the exact time of the trip. Here's a stopwatch." "Will you come with me, darling?" "No. I have other things to do?" "What about Monty?" "He's coming Thursday night." "Who's this Monty?" asked Sheriff Van Duren. "He's probably the guy who's going to dress up as the second guard," Cooper said. "They will need two uniforms." In a clothing store in the commercial center of Peter Cornelitz Hoofertstrasse. "I need two uniforms for a masquerade ball," Jeff explained to a salesperson. "Same as the one in the window." An hour later, Sergeant Van Duren was looking at a photo of a guard uniform. "He ordered two of these uniforms. He told the clerk to pick them up on Thursday." Judging by the dimensions of the second uniform, the man was much taller than Jeff Stevens.The sheriff said, "That old chap named Monty is about six foot three and weighs about two hundred and twenty pounds. We can get Interpol to put that data into a computer," he said confidently to Daniel Cooper. Said, "We can learn the identity of this person." In the private rented garage, Jeff squatted on top of the truck, and Tracy sat in the driver's seat. "Ready?" Jeff asked. "start." Tracy pressed a button on the bridge.Two large pieces of canvas had fallen over the side of the truck, and the words "Hanniken Dutch Beer" were written on the canvas. "All right!" Jeff cheered loudly. "Hanniken beer? Impossible!" Van Duren glanced at the detectives gathered in his office.The walls of the office are covered with enlarged photos and various memo notes. Daniel Cooper sat in the far corner, not saying a word.For him, such meetings are a waste of time.He had foreseen every move of Tracy Whitney and her lover.They are getting into a snare, and the noose rope is being tightened bit by bit.While the detectives in the office were excited one by one, Cooper had a strange indifferent thought. "All the clues have now been brought together and gradually formed a clear thread." Sheriff Van Duren said. "The suspects know when the real armored truck will arrive at the bank. They will dress up as security guards and arrive half an hour earlier. When the real pick-up truck arrives, they will have already fled." Van Duren pointed to the photo of the armored truck. “They’ll leave the bank like this, and then they drive a block down a quiet street,” he said, pointing to a photo of Hanniken’s beer truck, “and suddenly the truck looks like this again.” "Do you know how they're going to steal the gold across the border, Sheriff?" asked a detective sitting a little further away. Van Duren pointed to a photo of Tracy aboard a grand yacht. "First of all, rely on this big yacht. The canals in the Netherlands are densely covered with crisscross networks, and they are easy to hide." He pointed to a photo taken from the sky of a truck speeding along the canal bank. "They have accurately timed the journey from the bank to the yacht. They have plenty of time to transport the gold ingots to the yacht, and then drive the ship away without anyone noticing." Van Duren walked to the last picture hanging on the wall In front of the photo, this is an enlarged photo of a freighter. "Two days ago, Jeff Stevens booked a cargo space on the Oresta. The Oresta will set sail from Rotterdam next week. The declared goods are mechanical products, and the destination is Hong Kong." He turned to face the crowd. "Well, gentlemen, we're going to make a small change in their plans. We're going to have them move the bullion out of the bank and onto the truck." He glanced at Daniel Cooper and smiled. "Catch them on the spot. We'll catch these extremely smart guys on the spot." A detective followed Tracy to the office where the American traveler's checks were processed, saw her take out a medium-sized package, and immediately returned to the hotel. "It's not possible to ascertain what was in the package," Sheriff Van Duren told Cooper. "We searched their room while they were out and found nothing new in the room." The Interpol computer couldn't provide any information on Monty, who weighed two hundred and twenty pounds. In the Emstel Hotel on Thursday night, Daniel Cooper, Sheriff Van Duren, and Detective Constable Whitcomb were in a room one floor above Tracy's room, listening to conversations downstairs. Jeff's voice: "If we can get to the bank twenty minutes before the guards arrive, we'll have plenty of time to get the gold ingots out. By the time the actual delivery truck arrives, we've already started loading the gold ingots." On board the yacht." Tracy's voice: "I've had the truck checked out by a mechanic and filled up. Ready to go." Detective Sergeant Whitcomb said: "It's really impressive to see how thoughtful they are at every step of the way." "But sooner or later it will be a mess." Sheriff Van Duren said calmly. Daniel Cooper listened in silence. "Tracey, after this is done, would you like to go on the archaeological dig we talked about last time?" "Tunisia? That's great, honey." "Well, I'll arrange it. From now on we'll do nothing but rest and enjoy ourselves." Inspector Van Duren said to himself, I think they have a good place for the next twenty years.He stood up and stretched. "Well, it's time for us to go to bed. Everything is arranged for tomorrow morning, and a good night's sleep tonight." Daniel Cooper couldn't sleep for a long time.He seemed to see Tracy being captured by the police, and they ravaged her in every possible way, and there was a look of panic in her eyes.He was suddenly excited.He went into the bathroom and poured scalding hot water into the bathtub.He took off his glasses, stripped off his pajamas, and soaked in the steaming bath water.It was going to end, and she was going to be punished, just as he punished the other whores.By this time tomorrow, he will be heading home.No, that's not home, Daniel Cooper corrected secretly.back to my apartment.Home was a warm and safe place where his mother loved him more than anyone else in the world. "You are my little boy," she said. "I really don't know how I'm going to live without you." Daniel's father went missing when he was four, and at first he blamed himself, but his mother explained it was because of another woman.He hated that woman because she made his mother cry.He'd never met her, but he knew she was a piece of shit, he'd heard his mother call her that.Afterwards he was glad that the woman had taken his father away, so that his mother belonged entirely to him.The Minnesota winters were cold, and Daniel's mother made him curl up under her blankets under the comfort of her bed. "One day I'll marry you," Daniel told his mother, who laughed and stroked his hair. Daniel has always been the best student in the class.He wants his mother to be proud of him. How clever your boy is, Mrs. Cooper. I know there's no one in the world smarter than my little boy. When Daniel was seven, his mother invited their neighbor—a big, hairy man—to their house for dinner once, and Daniel became ill.For a week he lay in bed with a dangerously high fever, and his mother promised never to do it again.Daniel, I don't want anyone in this world but you. The joy in Daniel's heart was indescribable.His mother is the most beautiful woman in the world.When she wasn't home, Daniel would often sneak into her bedroom and open the drawers of her wardrobe.He often picked up her underwear and rubbed it gently on his cheek.Ah, what an intoxicating fragrance that is. Lying in the bathtub of his Amsterdam hotel, eyes closed, he recalled the day his mother was killed.It was his twelfth birthday, and he left school early to go home because of an earache.He said the pain was bad because he wanted to go home, and when he got home, his mother would try to comfort him, let him sleep in her bed, and do this and that for him.Daniel walked into the house and went straight to his mother's bedroom.She was lying naked on the bed, but not alone.She was doing that unspeakable thing with the man next door.Daniel heard his mother's hoarse voice: "Ah, I love you!" This is the most unspeakable thing.Daniel ran into his bathroom, throwing up and splashing dirt all over him.He undressed carefully and wiped himself clean, for his mother had always taught him to be tidy.At this moment, the ear hurts really badly.He heard someone talking in the hall, and he strained his ears to listen. His mother said, "You'd better go, baby. I have to shower and change. Daniel will be home from school soon. I'm throwing him a birthday party. See you tomorrow, honey." .” All he heard was the slamming of the front door, and then the running of water in his mother's bathroom.She was no longer his mother, she had become a scumbag, doing the kind of bed dirty things with men that she had never done with him. He walked into her bathroom, naked, and she was lying in the tub, the bitch still smiling.She turned to see him and said, "Daniel, baby! Are you there?..." In his hand he held a pair of tailor's shears. "Daniel——" before she opened her mouth into a pink O-shape, he had already raised the scissors and stabbed the chest of the "stranger" lying in the bathtub.She yelled desperately, and he kept yelling, "Damn! Bitch! Bitch!" The two sang a death duet, and in the end, only his own voice remained. "Damn...bad..." He was spattered all over with her blood.He stood under the shower head in the bathroom, scrubbing furiously until his skin felt hot. It was the man next door who killed his mother, and that man will be punished. Everything that happened after that seemed to be inspired by the gods, so unhurried, it was really unpredictable.Daniel wiped the fingerprints off the scissors with a rag and threw them into the bathtub.It hit the enamel with a dull clang.He put on his clothes and called the police station.Two police cars, sirens whining, pulled up to the door, and soon another car full of detectives came, and they asked him a lot of questions, and he told them why they left school early and came home early, and how they saw their neighbor Frey De Zimmer slipped out by the side door of his house.They questioned the man again, who admitted to being Daniel's mother's lover but denied committing the murder.Daniel testified in court and finally got Zimmer to justice. "When you came home from school and saw your neighbor Fred Zimmer running out the side door?" "Yes, sir." "Did you see clearly?" "Yes, sir. He has blood on his hands." "So, what did you do, Daniel?" "I—I'm terrified. I know something terrible has happened to my mother." "So, have you gone into the house?" "Come in, sir." "What happened?" "I yelled, 'Mom!' She didn't say yes, so I ran into the bathroom, where..." At this point, the little boy sobbed hysterically and was taken off the witness stand. Thirteen months later, Fred Zimmer was executed. During this period, little Daniel was sent to Texas to be raised by a distant relative, Aunt Mattie whom he had never met.She was a very stern woman, a very old-fashioned Baptist, a fanatical pursuit of moral perfection, and she believed that all sinners would fall into the fire of hell.In such a home, without love, without joy, without sympathy, Daniel grew up in such an environment, filled with fear in his heart with an ulterior sense of guilt and a premonition that he would one day fall into hell.Shortly after his mother was killed, Daniel began to experience visions.Doctors say it is a psychosomatic disorder caused by the mind. "He can ignore what he doesn't want to see," said the doctors. The lenses of his glasses are getting thicker. At the age of seventeen, he ran away from home, from Aunt Marty forever, from Texas forever.He came to New York by car and was hired as a messenger boy by the International Insurance Protection Association.Three years later, he was promoted to detective.He became the best of all the detectives in the club.He never asked for a salary increase or better working conditions.He can ignore them completely.He is my Lord's right arm and whip to punish evil. Daniel Cooper climbed out of the tub to go to sleep, tomorrow, he thought, would be the day that bitch came to terms with it. He wished his mother could be there and witness all this.