Chapter 8 chapter eight

On that same Thursday afternoon, Virginia Redford was playing tennis at Lanella.All the way back to Bond Street she had been leaning in the long, luxurious car, rehearsing her part in the coming interview.At the same time, a smile appeared on his lips from time to time.Of course, within the realm of possibility, that blackmailer might not show up again.But she was pretty sure he would show up.She has presented herself as an easy trap.Well, maybe this time, it's going to surprise him. When the car arrived at the house, she turned her head and said a few words to the driver before walking up the steps.

"What's the matter with your wife, Wharton? I forgot to tell you." "Better than I thought, ma'am. The doctor said he'd be at the house about six-thirty. Do you still need the car?" Virginia considered for a moment. "I'm going out this weekend. I've got the 6.40 train from Paddington. I don't need you to see me, though - just a taxi. I think you'd better see the doctor." All right. If he thinks your wife's health would be better off if she spends the week-end elsewhere, take her somewhere. I'll pay for the trip." The driver thanked him repeatedly, but Virginia interrupted him with an impatient nod and walked up the steps.She searched in her handbag, and then realized that she hadn't brought the key, so she hurriedly rang the bell.

No one answered the door right away.But while she was waiting, a young man came up the steps.It was a ragged man with a bundle of pamphlets in his hand. He took out one and showed her.I saw the headline clearly printed on it: "Why should I serve the country?" He held a money collection slip in his left hand. "I can't buy two volumes of that damn poetry in one day," said Virginia entreatingly. "I've already bought a copy this morning. Truly, a personal guarantee!" The young man threw back his head and laughed.Virginia laughed too.She glanced at him casually, and she felt that this man was more pleasing to the eye than the unemployed people usually see in London.She even hoped to give him a job.

However, at this moment, the door opened.So Virginia immediately forgot about unemployment.It turned out that she was surprised to find that the door was opened by her maid Alice. "Where's Chivers?" she asked suddenly, as she entered the hall. "He has gone, ma'am, with several others." "Who are the others? Where did they go?" "Go to Ducket, ma'am—to the villa, as you have telegraphed, ma'am." "My telegram?" Virginia was in a fog. "Didn't you telegram, ma'am? That must be right. But it was only an hour ago."

"I didn't telegraph. What did it say?" "I think the telegram is still on that table down there." Alice stepped back, and presently clapped the telegram triumphantly, and handed it to Virginia. "Look, madam." The telegram was to Chivers, and it read as follows: "Go to the villa with the servants, prepare the weekend banquet, and take the 5:49 car." There's nothing unusual about this.It was the telegram she used to send when she arranged dinners at her river house on a whim.She always took all the servants with her, leaving only one old maid at home to look after her.Chivers did nothing wrong with that telegram.He was a faithful servant, and had faithfully carried out what she had commanded him to do.

"As for me, I stayed," Alice explained. "I knew my wife would want me to collect my luggage." "It's a ridiculous hoax!" cried Virginia angrily, throwing the telegram on the ground. "You know perfectly well, Alice, that I'm going to spend the weekend at Chimney House. I told you this morning. " "I thought ma'am had changed her mind. It does sometimes, doesn't it, ma'am?" Virginia acknowledged her accusation with a smile.She was busy trying to figure out a reason why someone would play such a big joke on her.Alice made a guess.

"Lord!" she said, clapping her hands. "Could it be those bad guys, the thieves, they send a fake telegram, send everyone in the family away, and then start stealing things." "I think it may be so." Virginia said uncertainly. "Yes, yes, ma'am. There is no doubt about it. You read about it in the papers every day. Ma'am, you must call the police at once--right away--before they wipe it." our necks." "Don't be so nervous, Alice. They don't come to wipe our necks at six o'clock in the afternoon." "Ma'am, I beg you. Let me go out and get a policeman right away."

"What the hell? Don't be stupid, Alice. If you haven't packed my trunks, go upstairs and do it now. Pack that Gallio new evening dress, white crepe and black velvet." Go in. A black velvet tux would be fine for a political party, wouldn't it?" "Mrs. is most charming in a vert (green) evening gown!" said Alice, showing her expert nature to the fullest. "No, I'm not taking that one, come on, Alice! My dear, we don't have much time. I'm going to send a telegram to Chivers, and talk to the policeman on patrol while we're going out, Tell him to stay where we are. Don't roll your eyes at me any more. Alice—nothing happened now, and you're so frightened. What if a man jumps out of a dark corner and stabs you? Woolen cloth?"

Alice gave a scream, and ran quickly upstairs, looking back at her nervously all the way. Virginia made a face at her.Alice suggested that it would be well for her to telephone the police, and she meant to do that at once without delay. She opened the door of the study and walked to the opposite telephone.She put her hand on the phone receiver and stopped.It turned out that a man was sitting on that big sofa chair, huddled together strangely.In this tense moment, she had completely forgotten about the expected visitor.He obviously waited for her and fell asleep. With a little mischievous smile on her face, she walked up to the man.But then, the smile on her face disappeared.

That person is not asleep.He is dead. I know right away.There was a shiny pistol on the floor.Just above the man's heart there was a little hole, and blood was oozing around it; and his pendron was hanging down, and his mouth was open, and it was terrible.She knew instinctively what was going on even without seeing the pistol or noticing the man's condition. Her hands were clinging to her sides, and she stood there motionless.During this silence she heard Alice running down the stairs. "Ma'am, ma'am!" "Ah, what's the matter?" She walked quickly to the door.She had instinctively thought of hiding what had happened--for a while, at any rate--from Alice.If Alice found out, she would immediately become hysterical.She knows it all too well.

She feels that she needs to calm down very much now, and she must quietly consider what to do. "Madam, wouldn't it be better to fasten the safety chain on the door? These bad guys, they'll come any minute." "Well, you can pull it up if you want to. Do whatever you want." She heard the snap of the safety chain, and then heard Alice running back upstairs again.Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. She looked at the man in the chair, then at the telephone.It was safe now, and she had to call the police immediately. However, she still didn't do that.She stood there, motionless, petrified.At the same time, many contradictory thoughts were running through her mind at once.That forged telegram!Does that thing have anything to do with this?What would have happened had Alice not stayed at home?Then she would have opened the door herself—that is, assuming she had the key with her as usual—and then she would have found a murderer alone in the house—that is, the other day She deliberately let him blackmail people.Of course, she could have a reason for doing that.However, when she thought of that explanation, she felt uneasy again.She thought of George and thought it was obviously unbelievable.Anyone else have the same thought?Now for the letters—she didn't write them, of course.But wouldn't it be easy to prove it? She clasped her hands tightly and placed them on her forehead. "I've got to think," thought Virginia. "I just have to think about it." Who opened the door to let this man in.Definitely not Alice.Had she done that, she would have mentioned it right away.The more she thought about it, the more incredible it became.There is really only one thing to do now, and that is to call the police station. She was already reaching for the phone, but suddenly thought of George.Someone—someone with a cool head and absolutely no emotion, someone who could see the situation and show her what was the best course of action—that was all she needed. Then, she shook her head.Don't look for George.George's first thought would be his own position.He would not like to be involved in such a thing.It was impossible to find George. Then, she suddenly smiled.Bill!Of course it was Bill!So she called Bill right away. The phone said he had gone to Chimney Building half an hour ago. "Ah, damn it!" Virginia said, putting the phone down forcefully.It's really a nuisance to be locked up in a room with a dead body, with no one to talk to. Just then the bell rang at the gate. Virginia was taken aback.After a few minutes, the bell rang again.She knew that Alice was upstairs packing the boxes now, and would not hear her. Virginia went out into the vestibule, and undid the safety chain of the front door, and opened those bolts which Alice had so kindly fastened.Then, she took a deep breath before opening the door.Standing on the steps was the unemployed young man. Virginia's overstretched nerves suddenly relaxed. "Come in!" she said. "I thought maybe I could give you a job." She took him into the dining room, pulled out a chair for him to sit in, and sat down opposite him, staring at him very attentively. "I'm sorry," she said. "You're—I mean—" "I'm an Etonian and an Oxford graduate," said the young man. "That's what you're asking, isn't it?" "That sort of thing," she admitted. "I failed because I couldn't hold on to a regular job. I hope you didn't give me a regular job?" A brief smile played on her lips. "It's a very unconventional job." "Good," said the young man, with a look of satisfaction in his tone. Virginia was pleased with his sunburned face and tall, lanky figure. "You have to know," she explained. "I'm quite embarrassed now, and most of my friends are - this - most of them are of high social status, and they are afraid of losing something because of it." "I have nothing to lose. Go on, then. What is your difficulty?" "There's a dead man in the next room," Virginia said. "He was killed. I don't know what to do." She blurted it out like a child.The equanimity with which he heard her words raised her opinion of him immediately.He seemed to have heard such words every day before. "Excellent," he said with some enthusiasm. "I've always wanted to do some cameo detective work. Shall we go and see the dead body first? Or will you explain the actual situation first?" "I think it's better to explain the actual situation first." She paused for a moment, thinking of how to condense her words best, then she said to him calmly and briefly: "This man came here for the first time yesterday and asked to see me. He brought some letters—invitations, with my name on them—" "But you didn't write it," the young man put in calmly. Virginia looked at him with some surprise. "how do you know?" "Ah, who came up with me. Go ahead." "He's going to blackmail me—and I—this—I don't know if you understand me—but I let him do it." She looked at him with pleading understanding.He nodded, reassuring her. "Of course, I understand. You want to see what happens." "How clever you are! You said exactly what I felt at the time." "I'm smart," said the young man without exaggeration, "but watch out. Very few people get that idea. Most people don't have that kind of imagination, you know." "Probably so. I said to the man to come today—six o'clock. I found a false telegram upon my return from Lanna.The telegram lured all the servants out, except for one maid.Later, when I went to the study, I found that the man had been shot dead. " "Who opened the door to let him in?" "I don't know. I think if my maid had let him in, she would have told me." "Does she know what happened?" "I didn't tell her anything." "The young man nodded and stood up. "Go and look at that corpse now," he said quickly, "but I'll tell you this—in general, it's best to tell the truth, once you tell a lie, you'll tell a lot—to keep lying is Annoying." "So, you advised me to call the police?" "Maybe it's best like this, but let's see that person first." Virginia leads the way out of the room.She hesitated at the door, then looked back at him. "By the way," she said, "you haven't told me your name yet." "My name? My name is Anthony Cade."