Chapter 26 Chapter Fourteen

"Now, please, Tony, tell me what's going on?" Iris was lying on the sofa, and the November sunshine was bravely breaking through layers of dark clouds outside the window of the "Little Official Mansion" and filling the earth. Anthony looked at Colonel Race sitting on the edge of the window and grinned: "I don't care to say, Iris, I've been waiting for this moment to come. If I don't hurry up and find someone to explain how smart I am, I'm going to die. In this recap, it's not necessary at all Pleasant. It's going to be a braggart I'm not ashamed of personally, with some pauses in between for you to say 'Anthony, you're so smart' or 'Tony, you're awesome' or something like that. Ahh Ha! The show is starting now, listen to me carefully."

"On the whole, it's really a simple matter. I mean, it looks like a case of clear and easy causality. Rosemary's death, which was thought to be a suicide at the time, was not. George got suspicious and started investigating. , approached the truth, and by the time they revealed the murderer, it was his turn to be murdered. The afterthought connection, it seemed to me, was quite clear. "But we immediately run into obvious contradictions. Things like: (A) George couldn't have been poisoned. (B) George was poisoned. And (A) nobody touched George's glass. (B) George His wine glass was tampered with.

"In fact we overlooked a very significant point - that is, the different meanings of the possessive. If I say 'George's ear', of course I mean George's ear. Because it is attached to his head, no It cannot be removed by surgery! But if I say 'George's watch', I mean the watch that George wears on his arm - which may raise the question whether it is his own, or it may be that he gave it to him. Someone's borrowed watch. And when I say George's wine glass, or George's teacup, I'm starting to understand that I mean very vaguely. When I say George's wine glass or teacup, what I really mean is that George ended up using A cup for drinking—and this one is no different from the others of the same type.

"To illustrate this, I conducted an experiment. Reese drank unsweetened tea, Kemp drank sweetened tea, and I drank coffee. On the surface, the three drinks were almost identical. color. We were seated at a small marble-topped table surrounded by similar tables. On a whim, I urged them both to leave the table and follow me into the hallway. When we pushed our chairs away and walked out, I Sneakily moved Kemp's pipe by his glass to the same place by mine. Once outside, I found a mouthful, and we walked back, Kemp first, and he pulled the pipe. Chair, sat down in front of the glass next to his pipe. Reese sat on his right as before and I sat on his left—but watch what happened!—a new (A) and (B) Contradictions! (A) Reese's cup is tea with sugar. (B) Kemp's cup is coffee. Both cannot be true at the same time, but they are. The illusion is that' Camp's Cup'. The 'Camp's Cup' when leaving the table is not the same cup as the 'Camp's Cup' after returning.

"And this, Iris, is what happened that night at the Luxembourg restaurant. After the sideshow, when you were all off dancing, you knocked your bag off and 'a' waiter picked it up— — not 'the' waiter, the waiter who serves you and knows where you sit- but a waiter, a waiter who is hurried around, rushing to deliver soy sauce to customers, Just passed by, quickly picked up the bag, and put it back on the table beside a dining table—actually, by the plate in the place to the left of where you were sitting. You and George went back first, and you didn't Without thinking about it, go straight back to where your purse is - just as Kemp went back to where his pipe was. George takes what he thinks is his seat, to your right. And when he proposes a toast in Rosemary's memory, he drinks what he thinks is his cup, but it's actually yours—

"Looking back now, the whole situation was completely different! It was you who were framed. Not George! So it looks like George was being used, isn't it? If nothing goes wrong, what the world will hear A reenactment of a banquet a year earlier—and a suicide! Apparently, the family is said to be suicidal! You have another paper bag of potassium cyanide in your purse. Obviously Poor girl is heartbroken over her sister's death. Very heartbreaking. But then they say these rich girls are so neurotic sometimes!" Iris interrupted him.She called out: "But why would anyone want me dead? Why! Why?"

"It's all about that lovely money, my little angel. Money, money, money! When Rosemary dies, that fortune will go to you. Now suppose you die--die unmarried, what will happen to the money?" The answer is passed down to your next of kin - your aunt, Lucilla Derek. But no matter what she is, I can't see Lucilla being the number one killer. So is anyone else going to profit Yes, yes. Vito Derek. If Lucilla has money, it means Vito has money. Vido knows that! His mother is always there for him. And it's not hard to see Vito as the prime killer. From the beginning to the end, there's always signs of him, references to him. He's always looming, a shadowy, unreal, sinister figure."

"But Vito is in Argentina! He's been in South America for over a year." "Really? Let's talk now about the so-called basic plot in every story, 'girl meets boy'! This particular story begins when Vido meets Ruth Lessing, and I think she must be right He fell in love at first sight. Quiet, steady, self-contained women were the type who often fell for real bad guys. "If you think about it a little bit, you'll understand right away that this testimony of Vito in South America is all about Ruth's statement, which will not be corroborated by any investigation, because that is not the point! Ruth said she died in Rosemary Before, saw Vido go on board! On the day George died, it was Ruth who suggested calling to Buenos Aires - and she resigned the man shortly afterwards which may have given away that she hadn't The switchboard lady who made the long distance call.

"Of course it's easy to find out now! Victor Derek left England for Buenos Aires on the day after Rosemary's death a year ago. Buenos Aires Ogilvy did not get a call from Ruth the day after George died. And Victor Derek had left Buenos Aires for New York a few weeks ago. He wanted It was a simple matter of arranging for a telegram to be sent in his name on a certain day--a telegram proving that he was thousands of miles away demanding money. And in fact--" "How is it, Anthony?" "In fact," Anthony smugly said of the orgasm, "he was sitting with a blonde who wasn't as dumb as she looked, at the little table next to ours in the Luxembourg restaurant!"

"Isn't that man with a scary appearance?" "A sickly yellow face and bloodshot eyes are easy to disguise, but they can transform a man. In fact, I was the only one of us, other than Ruth Lessing, who had seen Vido Derek's, only he didn't use that name back then! Anyway, I was sitting with my back to him. I do think I recognized a guy I met in prison in the cocktail lounge outside Man - Monkey Coleman. But I've rehabilitated and lived a highly respected life so I don't want him to recognize me. I don't suspect him at all - and he and Vido Derek is the same guy."

"But I still don't understand how he did it?" Colonel Race took over from Anthony and continued: "Easiest way in the world. While the sideshow was on, he went out to answer the phone, and passed our table. Derek used to be an actor—and more importantly, he used to be a waiter. Disguised as Ped Lou Monos is child's play to an actor, but it takes a real waiter to walk expertly around a table and pour champagne. Possess knowledge and skills. A slight clumsy action will attract the attention of the guests, but a skilled waiter, none of you will go to see him or pay attention to him. What you pay attention to is watching sideshows, but Won't pay attention - waiter!" Iris said in a hesitant voice: "And Ruth?" Anthony said: "Ruth, of course the one who put the potassium cyanide paper bag into your purse—perhaps in the dressing room. In the same way—a year ago—on Rosemary." "I wonder," said Iris, "that George didn't tell Ruth about those two letters. He asks her opinion on everything." Anthony gave a short laugh. "Of course he told her, first. She knew he'd tell her, that's why he wrote those two letters. Then she arranged all his 'plans' for him—to keep him busy first. Then She's got the stage - all set for murder number two, and if George wants to believe that you killed Rosemary out of remorse and guilt - well, that's not for Ruth. It doesn't matter!" "To think I like her, very much! And want her to marry George." "If she hadn't met Vito, she might have been his wife," Anthony said. "Every female murderer was a good girl at one time, morally speaking." Iris trembled. "It's all about money!" "You naive, this kind of thing is all about the money! Of course Vito is doing it for the money. Ruth is partly for the money, partly for Vido, and partly, I think, because she hates Rosemary. Yes Yes, she stalked you for a long time, tried to run you over with a car, and then went further, after saying goodbye to Lucilla in the living room, she slammed the front door, pretended to have left, and sneaked into your bedroom .How did she look then? Nervous?" Iris thought about it. "I don't think so. She just knocked on the door and walked in and said everything was all right and she hoped I was fine. I said I was fine, just a little tired. Then she picked up my stick wrapped in a rubber sheath flashlight, said it was a really good flashlight, and then I didn’t seem to remember anything.” "Honey," said Anthony, "that's because she used your flashlight and gave you a nice little gash on the back of your neck, not too bad. Close all the windows, turn on the gas, go out, lock the door, throw the key under the door, plug the door with a square rug outside the door to keep the gas from leaking out, and go downstairs. Kemp And I dodged her just in time to hide in the bathroom. I rushed upstairs to find you, and Kemp followed her to her secret park—you know, when Ruth tried to hide it from us by saying she was taking the bus Come on, that kind of appearance will make me feel a little bit wrong, it doesn't fit her personality!" Iris shrugged. "It's horrible—to think someone was so determined to kill me. Does she hate me too?" "Oh, I don't think so. But Miss Ruth Lessing is a capable young woman. She's already been an assistant in two murders, and she's not going to take any chances. Lucilla Drake, I think. Will no doubt object to your decision to marry me immediately, but she knows you will marry me anyway, and in that case she cannot afford to miss the opportunity. Once married, I am your next of kin, not Lucilla." "Poor Lucilla. I'm so sorry for her." "I think we all feel sorry for her. She was so kind and innocent." "Has he really been arrested?" Anthony looked at Reese, Reese nodded and said: "This morning, as soon as I landed in New York." "Will he marry Ruth—if it happens?" "That was Ruth's idea. I think if it works, she will." "Anthony, I don't feel very fond of my money." "Well, sweetheart, we can do something noble with it if you want. I've got enough money to live on, and my wife can live comfortably. We can give it all away if you want." , donate to nursery homes or free senior tobacco, or start a campaign across England for better coffee?" "I should keep it a little bit." Iris said, "Fortunately, when I want to leave you, I can leave with my head held high." "I don't think, Iris, it's the right thing to go into married life with that mindset. And, by the way, you didn't say 'Tony, that's great' or 'Tony, you really clever'!" Colonel Race stood up smiling. "I'm going to have tea at Farley's," he said.He blinked at Tony: "Aren't you going?" Anthony shook his head, and Reese walked out.He paused at the door and spoke back. " "Good show." "That," said Anthony, as he closed the door, "is the highest English approval." Iris asked in a calm voice: "He thinks I did it, doesn't he?" "You can't blame him for that," Anthony said, "you know, he knows too many beautiful female spies, all of whom are stealing secret recipes and getting the secrets of high-ranking generals, which makes his nature surly, and It also distorts his judgment. He thinks it must be the beautiful girl who committed the crime!" "How do you know it's not me, Tony?" "Just because of love, I suppose," said Anthony softly. Then, his face changed and suddenly became serious.He touched a small vase beside Iris, which contained a single gray-green stalk with a lavender flower on it. "What kind of ghost flower is that, why is it still blooming at this time?" "Sometimes it's like that—it's just a queer plant—like it's a nice autumn." Anthony took it out and stuck it to his cheek for a while.With his eyes half closed, he saw walnut-colored hair, smiling blue eyes, and lovely red lips... He said in a calm voice: "She's not hanging around anymore, is she?" "Who are you referring to?" "You know who I mean. Rosemary . . . I think she knows you're in danger, Iris." He kissed the scented green stalk lightly and tossed it gently out the window. "Goodbye, Rosemary, thank you..." Iris said softly: "That name means memory..." Then, more softly: "May love remember..." -End of full text-