Chapter 2 Chapter One

Narrative by Colin Lamb According to the police records: At 2:59 pm on September 9, I walked west along Wilbraham Lane. It was the first time I went there. To be honest, I was confused. dizzy. For several days I have had a strange feeling in my heart, which is getting stronger every day, and it seems impossible to clear it.That's how I felt at the time—— The door number I was looking for was sixty-one, but I couldn't find it.I carefully found 35 from 1. At 35, Wilbraham Lane ended, and across the front was a road called Albany.I look back.There are no houses in the north, only a wall, and there are modern high-rise buildings on the other side of the wall. Obviously, the entrance is on another road, and there is no one nearby.

As I walked, I looked up and noticed the number: 24, 23, 22, 21, "Diana's Boarding House" (probably No. The cat is adding face), the door of No. 19—No. 19 opened, and a young girl came out, galloping along the path in a panic, as if a bomb had fallen from the sky, with thrilling screams, in a very miserable state.The girl rushed out of the iron gate and bumped into me, almost knocking me off the sidewalk.Not only did she bump into me, but she grabbed me—twitching like crazy. "Calm down." I regained my balance, and as I spoke, I gently shook her: "Don't panic, calm down."

The girl managed to calm down. Although she was still grabbing me, she stopped screaming and was just panting—whimpering and sobbing again. I have to admit that my reaction at that time was not quick enough. I asked her if she had any questions and said it out of my mouth. "What happened?" The girl took a deep breath. "In there..." She pointed behind her. "how?" "There's a man lying on the floor...dead...she's going to step on him." "Who would step on him? Why?" "I think—she's blind.' There's blood on that man." She dropped her head and let go of her hand. "I've got blood on me too, and here it is."

"Ah, it's blood," I said, looking at the stain on my sleeve, "I got it too." I sighed.Consider the situation. "You'd better take me in and have a look." I say. But she trembled violently. "No, no... I don't want to go there again." "Maybe you're right." I looked around, but I couldn't see a suitable place to put the half-paralyzed girl, so I slowly helped her sit down, leaning her back against the iron railing. "Wait here for me," I said. "I'll be right back. If you feel dizzy, you might as well rest your head between your knees."

"I—I guess it doesn't matter now." Even though she said that, she didn't seem very sure, but I couldn't talk to her any more, so I gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, and then walked quickly on the path.I went through the front door and entered the house. After wandering in the corridor for a while, I first checked the room on the left and found an empty dining room, then turned back and walked into the opposite living room. The first thing I saw was a gray-haired middle-aged woman sitting on a chair.When I stepped inside, she immediately turned her head and asked, "Who?"

Immediately I realized that the woman was blind.Her eyes, although looking directly in my direction, focus on the back of my left ear. I cut to the chase and said straight to the point: "A young woman ran into the street and said someone died here." When I said it, I felt a little absurd.In such a clean and tidy room, with a calm woman sitting on a chair with her hands folded, it seemed impossible that there would be a dead person. But she immediately replied: "Just behind the couch." I walked around one end of the sofa and saw—outstretched arms—glazed eyes—clogged blood stains.

"How did it happen?" I realized my abruptness. "I have no idea." "So—who is this man?" "I am not sure." "We need to call the police." I looked around and asked, "Where's the phone?" "I don't have a phone." I took a step forward and stared at her. "You live here? Is this your house?" "yes." "Can you tell me what happened?" "Of course. I'm back from shopping—" I found a shopping bag on a chair near the door. "I walked in here, and immediately realized that there was someone in the room. Blind people are very sensitive to such things. I asked who it was, but there was no answer. I only heard the sound of rapid breathing, so I walked in the direction of the sound. Then someone screamed, probably saying that someone died, and I was about to step on him. Then that person brushed past me and rushed out the door screaming."

I nodded. There was no conflict between what the two of them said. "Then what did you do?" "I felt my way carefully until I bumped into something under my feet." "and then?" "I got down on my knees and felt something - a man's hand, cold - no pulse... I got up, walked over here, sat down - waited. In time, I thought, someone would come. Then Young woman, whoever she is, she's going to call for help, and I'd better not leave the house." I was very impressed by the calmness of this woman.She didn't scream or panic and stumble out of the house.It was a wise move for her to sit and wait calmly, but we still had to act.

There was doubt in her voice: "Who are you?" "My name is Colin Lamb, and I happened to pass by here." "Where is the young woman?" "I made her sit against the railing by the gate and she was terrified. Where's the nearest phone?" "About fifty yards down the street, just before the corner. There's a public phone booth over there." "Yeah, I remember passing it. I'm going to call the police right now, and you're going to..." I hesitated. I don't know how to put words like "Are you going to stay here?" or "Are you okay?"

Instead, she solved the problem for me. "You'd better bring that girl into the house," she said decisively. "I don't know if she will." I'm not sure. "Of course you didn't ask her to come into this room. You put her in the dining room opposite and told her that I was making tea for her." She got up and came to me. "But—can you do it?—" There was a smile on her face, with a slightly stern look. "Dear young man, fourteen years ago—from the first day I moved into this house, I prepared my own meals in my own kitchen. Blind doesn't necessarily mean useless."

"Sorry, I'm stupid. Maybe I can ask the daimyo..." "Milesin Pebmarsh—Miss." I walked out the gate and onto the path.The girl looked up at me, struggling to get up. " "I—I think it's better now." I helped her up and said happily, "Excellent." "There—there's a death in that house, isn't there?" I nodded immediately. "Exactly. I'm going to call the police. If I were you, I'd wait in the house." I raised my voice, as if to prevent her from retorting immediately. "Go to the dining room—left hand the room at the other side. Miss Pebmarsh is making your tea." "That person is Miss Pebmarsh? Is she blind?" "Yes, it was a terrible thing for her too, but she acted very calm and sensible. Come on, I'll take you in. A cup of hot tea will do you good while you wait for the police to come." I put my arm around her shoulders and half pushed her up the path.I set her up at the dining table, and immediately rushed to the phone again. A cold voice said: "Crow Town Police Station." "Is Inspector Hardcastle there?" the voice answered cautiously. "I don't know if he is. What is your name, please?" "Tell him I'm Colin Lamb." "Just a moment, please" I waited, and then Dick Hardcastle's voice came. "Colin? Long time no see. Where are you?" "Crowding. To be more precise, I'm in Wilbraham Lane. On the floor of house number nineteen lies a dead man, stabbed to death, I think, for about half an hour." "Who found it? You?" "No, I was just passing by by accident. Suddenly a girl ran out and nearly knocked me down. She said there was a dead body lying on the floor. A blind woman was about to step on him." "You're not looking for my amusement, are you?" Dick asked me suspiciously. "It does sound unbelievable, but it is so. The blind woman is Miss Milesyn Pebmarsh, and she owns the house." "Is she the one who is going to step on the corpse?" "Actually, the situation is not what I said. It is probably like this. Because I am blind and can't see anything, I don't know where he is lying." "I'll get everything ready right away, and you'll wait for me there. What did you do with that girl?" "Miss Pebmarsh is making her tea." Dick said, "Sounds pretty comfortable."