Chapter 20 Chapter Twenty

Anthony didn't say anything, he was still staring out the window.The Combat Inspector looked at his motionless back for a moment. "Good night, then, sir," he said at last, and made for the door. Anthony turned around. "Wait a minute, fight." The Inspector paused at his words, and Anthony moved away from the window. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and said as he smoked: "You seem to be interested in the Steins thing, don't you?" "I'm not that far, sir, it's just unusual." "Do you think that man was killed where he was found, or that he was killed elsewhere and moved there afterwards?"

"I thought he was beaten to death elsewhere and his body was brought there by car." "I think so too," Anthony said. He spoke in a strong tone, so the chief detective looked up at him alertly. "Any idea, sir? Do you know who drove him there?" "Yes." Anthony said. "it is me." Anthony was a little perplexed by the resolute composure of the other party. "I have to admit, you take the amazing news with a grain of salt," he said. "'Don't show your affection,' that's a life rule I learned once and found useful."

"You do act on that principle," Anthony said. "I've never seen you lose your temper. So, would you like to hear how that happened?" "Go ahead, Mr. Cade." Anthony pulled up two chairs.The two sat down.Then Anthony related what had happened the previous Thursday night. Fighting listened to him calmly.When he finished speaking, his eyes flickered, as if looking into the distance. "You know what, sir," he said. "One day, you're going to be in trouble." "So, this is the second time, won't I let you be detained?" "We always try to let others go," said the Combat Inspector General.

"Very clever," said Anthony. "Don't finish that." "That's what I don't quite understand, sir," said Battle. "Why are you fully confessing this matter now?" "It's kind of hard to explain," Anthony said. "You know what? Fighting? Now I have a very high evaluation of your ability, and you will always show up at critical moments.Take this evening for example, I feel that I would be hindering your work if I withheld what I knew.You deserve to know all the facts, I've done my best, and up to this point, I've messed things up.Before this evening, I couldn't vouch for Mrs. Redford's conduct.But now it has been proven that those letters have absolutely nothing to do with her, so I think it would be ridiculous to suspect her of complicity.First of all, my advice for her was wrong.But it seemed to me at the time that there might be some credibility in her claim that she gave the man some money on a whim to keep him from publishing the letters. "

"Perhaps the jury will," Battle said. "A jury has no imagination." "But, you believe it so easily?" Anthony looked at him curiously and said. "This—you know, Mr. Cade. I do most of my work among these people, I mean, what people call the upper class. You know, most people always want to know What people think. Not so tramps and aristocrats--they do what they think and don't care what other people think of them. I'm not talking about the idle rich who always like to feast , etc. I mean people who have been born with it for so many generations and have been brought up that way. They think that no one else's ideas are worth a penny except their own. I have always thought that the upper class All of them are of the same species—brave, honest, and sometimes stupid.”

"That's a very interesting precept, fighting. I think someday you'll write your memoir, and that'll be a good read." The detective chief smiled at his suggestion, but said nothing. "I want to ask you something," Anthony continued, "Did you think that I had something to do with Steins? I can guess from your attitude that you have this idea." "Very well, I had such a guess. But there is no evidence to support it. Mr. Cade, you have a good manner, and you have never been too negligent." "I'm glad to hear that," Anthony said. "I have a feeling that you've been setting little traps for me since I met you. In general, I've managed not to fall into your traps. But the pressure I've been under has been intense."

Fighting smiled stubbornly. "Sir, that's the way to deal with thieves, playing hard to get: first let him run around, turning around. His energy will always be exhausted, and in the end, you will have caught him." "You are a Very cheerful person, fighting. I don’t know, when will you catch me?” "We've 'leaved' yours, sir." The Inspector General quoted the proverb: "Leave as much as you can." "Meanwhile," Anthony said. "Am I still a cameo assistant?" "Yes, Mr. Cade." "Actually, it's Sherlock Holmes' Watson!"

"Most detective novels are empty talk, and the battle is expressionless." But it is very interesting to read. ” Then, thinking about it afterwards, he added, “Sometimes it is also useful. ". "How does it work?" Anthony asked curiously. "That kind of fiction gives the general idea that the police are dumb. When we have a crime committed by an outsider, like a homicide, that's really useful." Anthony stared at him in silence for a few minutes, and Battle sat there very quietly, blinking now and then, his quiet face expressionless.Presently he stood up.

"It's no good going to sleep now," he said. "I shall have a few words with the lord when he is in bed, and now anyone who wants to leave the mansion is free to do so. In the meantime, if the lordship can informally invite his guests to stay, I am very grateful to him." Sir, if you have no objection, you must accept his invitation. Please, Mrs. Redford too. "Did you find that pistol?" Anthony asked suddenly. "Do you mean the pistol that killed Prince Michael? No, I haven't found it yet. But it must be in the building, or somewhere around the building. Mr. Cade, I got a revelation from you. I once Send some men to look in the trees. If I can get the pistol, I'm going to make some progress on the case. That thing, and the bunch of letters. You say one of the letters has 'Chimney Building' on it. letterhead? It must have been the last one written, in which were coded instructions for finding diamonds."

"What do you think about killing Giusep?" "I think he's a habitual thief; he's been ordered by King Victor, or hired by the Red Hands. I wouldn't be surprised if King Victor and the Red Hands did it together. There's a lot of Money, a lot of power, but not strong enough in the brain trust. Giusep's mission is to steal the memoir - they can't know it's in your hands - by the way, that coincidence is really strange." "I know," Anthony said. "When you think about it, it's an incredible thing." "It was the letters that Giusep got instead, and he was at first dismayed. Then seeing the cutout from the letter, he thought of a clever way of using it himself to blackmail the lady. It never occurred to him, of course. The really important value of those letters. The comrades of the Red Hands found out what he was doing, thought he was deliberately deceiving them, and as a result, decided to put him to death. They love to execute traitors.

There's a very special element to that sort of thing, which seems to hit it right.What I don't understand is the pistol that has 'Virginia' engraved on it.Such a thing requires too many tricks, and it is definitely not something that the Red Hands can think of.As a rule, they like to post their red hand signs everywhere--in order to frighten those who betray them. They could not think of such a trick.It seemed to me that King Victor had a hand here. But what his motive was, I don't know, it seemed to be a deliberate attempt to marry Mrs. Rifford.And, on the face of it, there doesn't seem to be any particular point in doing that. " "I had an idea once," Anthony said. "However, that didn't have the desired effect as I had planned." He told the Inspector that Virginia had recognized Michael, and the Inspector nodded. "Oh, yes. He is, without a doubt. By the way, the old Baron thinks very highly of you, and he talks about you with great interest." "Thank you for his kindness," Anthony said. "Especially because I've told him that. I'll do my best to find that lost memoir by next Wednesday." "It's not easy for you to do that," said the Inspector-General. "Yes. Do you think so: I think King Victor and his accomplices have the letters." The Inspector nodded. "It was snatched by Giusep that day in Bond Street. That, it was all planned. Yes, they got it. They deciphered the code and they knew where to look for it." It's gone." The two were about to leave the room. "Is it in there?" Anthony said, throwing his head back. "Exactly, it's in there. But they haven't got what they're desperately after, and it's going to take a lot of risk to find it." "I think so," Anthony said. "Have you got a plan in your clever head?" The fight didn't answer.He appeared to be particularly dull and not at all bright.Then, he blinked slowly. "Can I help you?" Anthony asked. "Yes, and at the same time I need another person to help." "Who is that?" "Mrs. Redford. As you may have noticed, she's a woman especially for accountants." "I've noticed it," Anthony said. He looked at his watch. "I agree with you. You don't need to sleep now. Fight. It would be more appropriate to soak in the lake and have a hearty breakfast." Upstairs he went briskly to his room, whistling to himself as he took off his night clothes and took a dressing gown and bath towel. " Then, suddenly, he stopped in front of the dressing table, staring intently at something quietly placed in front of the mirror. After a while, he couldn't believe his eyes, he picked up the thing and checked it carefully.Yes, that's right. That was the bundle of letters signed Virginia Redford, untouched and not missing a single letter. Anthony sat slumped in a chair with the letters in his hand. "My brain must be broken," he murmured to himself. "I don't understand at all what happened in this mansion. How did it come back like a magic trick? Who put it on my dresser? Why?" He could not find a satisfactory answer to these pertinent questions.

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