Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

They all looked at the French detective intently.He looked back at them with a smile on his face. "But yes," he said. "This is real." Then there was a silence, and everyone adjusted some disordered thoughts in general.Then Virginia turned to the Inspector General and said: "Do you know what I'm thinking, Inspector General?" "What are you thinking, Mrs. Rivers?" "I think it's time for us to get to the bottom of it." "To make you understand? I don't quite understand you, Mrs. Redford." "Inspector, you are fully aware. Mr. Lomax probably advises you to keep it secret--George would. But, indeed, it's better to tell us. It's better than letting us stumble upon it ourselves. Do that." There may be unexpected dangers. Do you agree with me, Mr. Lemon?"

"Madam, I completely agree with you." "You can't keep people in the dark forever," said the inspector general. "I said so to Mr. Romax. Mr. Eversley is Mr. Romax's secretary. I have no objection to letting him know the truth. As for Mr. Cade, whether he likes it or not, he is involved." Vortex. I think he has a right to know where he stands. But..." The Inspector hesitated. "I know," Virginia said. "Women are so careless. I've heard George say that often." Lemon had been studying Virginia intently.Now turning to the man from the Metropolitan Police Department, he said:

"I heard you address this lady as Mrs. Rivers, didn't I?" "That's my last name," said Virginia. "" "Your husband used to serve in the diplomatic service, didn't he?Were you in that country with King Herzoslav and his wife just before they were assassinated? " "Yes." Lemon turned his face again. "I thought the lady had a right to our statement. She had an indirect connection to it. And..." There was a little gleam in his eye. "The lady is notoriously tight-lipped in diplomatic circles, and everyone thinks highly of her."

"They gave me a good name, I am very happy." Virginia said with a laugh. "Also, I'm glad you didn't shut me out." "Would you like something to eat?" Anthony said. "Where are we meeting? Here?" "If you please, sir," said the Inspector-General. "I don't want to leave this house until daylight. When you hear my explanation, you will understand why." "Then, I'll find something for everyone to eat," said Anthony. Bill was with him.They came back with a tray of glasses, soda bottles, and other food. The now-expanded team sat comfortably around a long oak table in a corner by the window.

"Of course, it goes without saying," said the Inspector General. "Everything we say here. is confidential.Never divulge.sentence.I always think, one day, it will be clear.A man who conceals everything, like Mr. Lomax, takes unexpected risks.This incident started just seven years ago.There was a lot at that time. Many call it a 'reconstruction' movement - especially in the Near East.There are quite a few such activities in England too, run by that old gentleman, Earl Stiptitch, behind the scenes, very secretly.The countries of the Balkans were involved, and in Britain at the time, there were many royal figures involved.I'm not going to go into the details, but something valuable was missing - in ways that seem incredible.Unless you admit these two things--one, that the thief was a royal;This Mr. Lemon will tell you how it happened. "

The Frenchman bowed very politely, and went on. "You in England probably haven't even heard of our famous and incredible man: King Victor. What his real name was, no one knows. But he was a man of daring man, who speaks five languages, and whose knack for disguise is unmatched. Although his father is known to be either English or Irish, he himself works mostly in Paris. Almost eight years ago he had the audacity to make a series of That's where the burglary happened. He lived there under the alias of Captain O'Neill." Virginia couldn't help letting out a faint exclamation.Mr. Lemon's piercing eyes glanced at her.

"I think I understand why this lady is a little agitated. You will soon understand. We in the French Security Service suspect that this Captain O'Neill is King Victor. However, we have no necessary proof. In Paris at that time there were still A very bright, very young actress, Anshere Molly. She was a member of the White Heat cabaret. We suspected for a while that she was related to King Victor. However, we still have no proof. "About that time, the Paris authorities were preparing for the visit of King Nicholas IV of Herzoslav. On the part of the Security Service, we were given special instructions on what measures to take to ensure the safety of His Majesty King Nicholas. The superiors specially ordered us Monitor the actions of a revolutionary organization that calls itself the Red Hand. Now, we are pretty sure that the Red Hand went to Anshere Molly. They told her that if she would help their plan, they could give her a A lot of money. Her mission was to try to make him fall in love with her. Anshelet Molly accepted their bribe and agreed to take on that mission." But the lady was smarter and more ambitious than her employer thought .

She really confused King Nicholas, made him fall in love with her madly, and gave her many jewels.At this moment, she had an idea - she should not be Nicholas' mistress, but a queen!She finally got her wish.Everyone knows this.Therefore, she was introduced by King Nicholas to the ruling and opposition parties of Hesoslav as Countess Fradja Popavsky-a collateral line of the Romanov nobles, and finally became Hesoslav's Queen Faraja. It's not bad for a small actress in Paris to get into this position!I've always heard that she was very successful in that role.However, her victory was short-lived.The Red Hands gnashed their teeth because of her betrayal, and twice tried to kill her.

In the end, they aroused the righteous indignation of the whole country, and finally set off the climax of the revolution. As a result, both the king and the queen were killed.Their bodies were horribly decomposed and almost unrecognizable, but they were found at last.This incident proved the extent of the public's anger at the humble foreign empress. "From all these circumstances, it seems certain that at the time Empress Falja was still in touch with her accomplice King Victor. She was probably involved in that extraordinary project from beginning to end. What is known is that she continued to The Hesoslav Palace communicated with him in a secret way. For safety reasons, those letters were written in English, signed by the wife of a British diplomat who was at the British Embassy at the time. Wan Shang began to investigate , and the lady just mentioned denies writing those letters, then her words will not be believed, because they are written to a lover by a woman who knows she is guilty. Mrs. River, she used the your name."

"I know," Virginia said.Her face turned red and white, changing irregularly. "So that's what happened to those letters! I'm still wondering." "What a base deception!" said Bill angrily. "The letters were addressed to Captain O'Neill and sent to his lodgings in Paris. Well, the main purpose of the letters was confirmed by a fact later discovered. After the assassination of the king and queen, the royal jewels were Many of them fell into the hands of the rioters, and they were discovered later. They all went to Paris and found that 90% of them were exchanged for fake gems. Attention, everyone, Hessos refers to the husband's palace Some of the precious stones are very precious. It can be seen that Angselie Jasmine is still doing the old tricks after she became a queen.

"You can now see how far this matter of ours has come. Nicholas IV and Empress Faraja were invited to England to be guests of the then foreign minister, the late Marquis of Jadham. Herzoslav is a small country, But it must not be overlooked. Of course, Queen Faraja must entertain her guests. So there is a royal guest here, who is also a skilled thief. Then, there is no doubt about it. The - oh - the fake representative Supplies are so cleverly made that anyone unless they are an expert will be fooled. Only King Victor can make such a thing. Moreover, this whole plan is so daring. From this point of view, it is not difficult to imagine that it was really written by King Victor. " "What happened next?" Viknia asked. "Concealed it," said the Combat Inspector-General succinctly. "Until now, we have never mentioned this matter publicly. We have all done our best in secret - and, I can also tell you by the way, there are many things that you can't imagine. The methods we use ourselves may surprise you.That jewel was taken out of England by Empress Hezoslav - that's all I can tell you.Yes, Her Majesty has it hidden in one place - but where, we keep going "what?" Both detectives looked at him intently, as if not believing themselves. "When McGrath gave me the manuscript to bring to England, he told me of his encounter with Lord Stiptitch. It was at Paris McGrath took a considerable risk and rescued the Count when he was attacked by a group of Parisians. He was, I hear, sort of—is it okay to say that? —Drink two more glasses?He said two interesting things in that excitement.One is that he knows where the 'Courciunot Diamond' is--that's a word my friend doesn't pay much attention to.He also said that the gang of rogues who attacked him belonged to King Victor.Putting those two things together makes a lot of sense. " "Alas!" cried the Inspector-General. "This is very important! Even the murder of Prince Michael has a different meaning." "May we assume that he was accidentally attacked while searching for the jewel?" "So, is he in England?" Anthony asked suddenly. "You said he was released a few weeks ago. Did you follow?" A somewhat remorseful smile appeared on the French detective's face. "We tried to follow him, sir, but he's a douchebag, that fellow. Immediately he dodges—instantly disappears.Of course, we thought he would have fled all the way to England.But no.He's... where do you think he's been? " "Where?" Anthony asked. His eyes were fixed on the French detective, and his hand was "to America—to America." "what?" Anthony's tone of voice was tinged with consternation. "Yes. What do you think he said his name was? What part do you think he was playing there? He was playing the part of Prince Herzoslav Nicholas." The matchbox fell from Anthony's hand suddenly, but his astonishment was equal to that of the combat inspector general. "impossible!" "Not impossible, my friends. You will read about it in the papers tomorrow morning. It is a case of the greatest fraud! Prince Nikolai is rumored to have died in the Congo several years ago. This is your Known. Our old man, King Victor, jumped at the chance—because such a death is hard to prove. He brought Prince Nicholas back to life, and used him to swindle a large sum of dollars. Purpose - all because of those supposed privileges to buy oil. However, just because of an accidental oversight, his secret was exposed. So, he had to leave that country hastily.This time, he really came to England.That's why I'm here.Sooner or later he would come to Chimney House.That is, if he's not here yet! " "You look..." "I think he was here the night Prince Michael was killed, and he was here last night." "That's another attempt, isn't it?" said the Combat Inspector-General. "Another attempt." "I'm disturbed—" said the Chief Inspector of Combat, "that I don't know what's happened to Mr. Lemon here. I've had word from Paris that he's on his way to cooperate with me. I don't know why he hasn't Show up." "I really have to apologize," Lemon said. "You know what? I arrived the morning after the murder. I thought right away that it would be better to investigate from an informal standpoint, not formally as your colleague. I figured I might get more out of it that way. Of course, I also know that I must become a suspicious target. However, that will also help my plan a little, because it will make the person I want to track unsuspecting. I believe that in the last two days I saw a lot of interesting things.—"But, I want to ask you," said Bill. "What actually happened last night? " "I'm afraid," said Mr. Lemon. "I made you do a strenuous exercise." "So, it was you I was after?" "Yes. I'm going to tell you everything. I'm here to see what's going on. I'm sure the secret must have something to do with this room, because that's where Prince Michael was killed. I'm standing outside in the porch. Soon , I felt someone moving in this room. I could see the light of a flashlight flickering from time to time. I tried the window in the middle, and I found that it was not bolted. Could it be that person who was The window came in, or he didn't close it on purpose, so that he could hide it in case he was disturbed, I don't know. I pushed the window open very lightly and slipped into the room. I walked through it step by step , until I walked to a place where I could see the activities inside, but I couldn't be found. That person, I couldn't see clearly. Of course, that was because his back was turned to me. The light of the flashlight only reflected He was in profile, so I could only see his outline. But I was amazed by his actions. First he removed the pin armor piece by piece from one of the two figures, and then from the second. A pin armor on a portrait. When he was convinced that what he was looking for was not there, he began to knock on the panel under the portrait. What he would do next, I don't know. The business was interrupted. You broke in suddenly. 1" He looked at Bill. "Our kind of obstruction operation is well-intentioned, but it's a pity." Virginia thought. "One thing, ma'am, yes. The man put out the flashlight. And me? I didn't want to be forced to reveal my identity until then. Now I have to run to the window. I collided with two other people in the dark , fell headlong to the ground, I got up quickly, and escaped through the window. Mr. Eversley took me for the one who attacked him, and came after me." "I'll go after you first," Virginia said. "Bill was second in that race." "The other guy was very clever. He stayed there very quietly and slipped out the door. I wonder if he ran into the people who came to the rescue." "That would be no difficulty," said Lemon. "He can run at the front and be the one who comes to the rescue and then he'll be fine." "Do you really think this Arson Robin in a French detective novel is really among the staff of the mansion now?" asked Bill.His eyes sparkle. "Why not?" Lemon said. "He could impersonate a servant with great success. Perhaps, he might be Barris Antrickoff, a trusted servant of the late Michael dear Lord." "He's a weird looking guy." Anthony, however, was laughing. "That's hardly worth your troubles, Lemon," he said gently. The French detective laughed too. "You've got him as a valet, haven't you, Mr. Cade?" asked the Chief Combat Inspector. "Battle, I take my hat off to you. You know everything. But, I'm just telling you the details. He came on his own, I didn't hire him." "I should ask, why is that, Mr. Cade?" "I don't know," Anthony said easily. "A person's likes and dislikes are strange, and more information may be obtained. Of course, I also know that I must become a suspicious target. However, that will also help my plan a little, because that will enable me to track People are not on guard. I believe I have seen a lot of interesting things in the last two days." "But I'm going to ask you," Bill said. "What actually happened last night?" "I'm afraid," said Mr. Lemon. "I made you do a strenuous exercise." "So, it was you I was chasing?" "Yes. I want to tell you everything. I came here to see what happened. I believe that the secret must have something to do with this room, because Prince Michael is here Killed. I was standing outside in the hallway. Soon, I noticed people moving around in this room. I could see a flashlight flickering from time to time. I tried the middle window, and I found that there was no Whether it was the man who came in through that window not long ago, or whether he left it open on purpose so that he could hide it in case he was disturbed, I don't know. I pushed the window open very lightly, and slipped Into the house. I groped my way step by step, until I came to a place where I could see the activity inside, but I couldn't be seen by myself. The man, I couldn't see clearly. Of course, it was because he was The one with his back to me. The light from the flashlight only reflected his profile, so I could only see his outline. However, I was very surprised by his actions. He first removed the pin armor from one of the two figures. One by one, and then the aluminum armor on the second portrait. When he was sure that what he was looking for was not there, he began to knock on the panel under the portrait. What he did next, I don't know Yes. There's a break. You barge in. He looks at Bill. "Our kind of obstruction operation is well-intentioned, but it's a pity." Virginia thought. "One thing, ma'am, yes. The man put out the flashlight. And me? I didn't want to be forced to reveal my identity until then. Now I have to run to the window. I collided with two other people in the dark , fell headlong to the ground, I got up quickly, and escaped through the window. Mr. Eversley took me for the one who attacked him, and came after me." "I'll go after you first," Virginia said. "Bill was second in that race." "The other guy was very clever. He stayed there very quietly and slipped out the door. I wonder if he ran into the people who came to the rescue." "That would be no difficulty," said Lemon. "He can run at the front and be the one who comes to the rescue and then he'll be fine." "Do you really think this Arson Robin in a French detective novel is really among the staff of the mansion now?" asked Bill.His eyes sparkle. "Why not?" Lemon said. "He could impersonate a servant very successfully. Perhaps, he could be Barris Antrickoff, a trusted servant of the late Prince Michael." "He's a weird looking guy." Anthony, however, was laughing. "That's hardly worth your troubles, Lemon," he said gently. The French detective laughed too. "You've got him as a valet, haven't you, Mr. Cade?" asked the Chief Combat Inspector. "Battle, I take my hat off to you. You know everything. But, I'm just telling you the details. He came on his own, I didn't hire him." "I should ask, why is that, Mr. Cade?" "I don't know," Anthony said easily. "A man's likes and dislikes are very strange. But maybe he likes my face. Or maybe he thought I killed his master and wanted to find a more convenient place to take revenge on me." He got up, went to the window and drew the curtains. "It's dawn," he said, yawning softly. "There will be no excitement now." Lemon stood up too. "I'm taking my leave," he said. "Maybe we'll meet again later today." He bowed gracefully to Virginia, and then walked out through the French window. "Go to sleep," Virginia said, yawning. "It's all exciting enough. Come on, Bill, and go to sleep like a good boy. I'm afraid we won't be seen at the breakfast table." Anthony stood at the window, watching Mr. Lemon walk away. " "You probably wouldn't imagine that," Battle said behind him. "But that man is the cleverest detective in France." "I don't know if I can imagine it," said Anthony thoughtfully, "I kind of think I can imagine it." "Well," said Battle. "He's right. The excitement of the evening is over. By the way, do you remember what I said to you when they found a murdered man near Steines?" "Remember. Why?" "Nothing, they already know who he is, the man who seems to be Giuseppe Manelli, the waiter at the Grand Hotel Remblitz. Strange, isn't it?"