Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Blood on the Pavement

"I hate to bring it up again," said Joyce. "It was a long time ago, five years to be exact, and it haunts me like a ghost, with a sin under the bright smile. Oddly enough, the picture I painted at that time had the same atmosphere. Every time I looked at the picture for the first time, I saw the gently sloping streets in Cornwall, and the sun was shining. But after staring at it for a while, a cold mood emerged from the painting. I neither sold the painting nor wanted to see it again, so I put it in a corner of the studio , facing the wall. "It happened in a place called Latour, which belongs to Cornwall, an unusual small fishing village. The scenery is charming, there are many places to paint, and the 'Old Cornish Teahouse' is everywhere. All kinds of shops can be seen everywhere, and the girls in the shops have short hair, wearing blouses, and are printing "sweet sayings" on parchment. Although this small place is compact and exquisite, it is simple and elegant, but in my opinion , there is always some inconsistency.”

"I'm reminded of that spell," said Raymond sadly, "no picturesque village is ever safe, however narrow the road to it may be." Joyce nodded and said, "There are many small roads leading to Rathol, and the slopes of these small roads are very steep, almost at the same angle as the side of the roof. In order to make it easier for everyone to understand, I would like to briefly describe the story The place where it happened. There is a very old inn in La Torre called 'Bohaves Arms'. Some people speculate that this inn was built by the Spaniards when they plundered this land 1500 years ago. The only one left.”

"It's not plunder," Raymond said, frowning. "When you tell history, use the right words, Joyce." "Well, no matter what word you use, anyway, they went ashore with guns, opened fire on the residents on the shore, and the houses collapsed, ah! I'm going too far, let's go back to the topic. There is a verandah in front of the small hotel , supported by four pillars. I chose a very good angle on the opposite side of it, and opened the portfolio to prepare for work. At this time, a small car came slowly from the hill and stopped in front of the hotel. The parking position made me feel very awkward. A man and a woman got out of the car. I didn't pay special attention to them. I only saw that the woman was wearing a linen fuchsia suit and a purple hat.

"After a while, the man came out again, and to my relief, he drove the car to the dock and parked it there. He walked back and walked right past me to the hotel. At this moment, another goddamn car came this way along the winding mountain road. The woman who got out of the car was wearing a very bright polished calico blouse. I've never seen it The color of the clothes, a scarlet like a poinsettia, and a big straw hat from Cuba, also scarlet. "The woman didn't park the car in front of the hotel, but drove the car to a hotel on the other side of the street. When she got out of the car, the man who had just stepped into the hotel gate recognized her at a glance and shouted in surprise Come out.' Carol, hi! It's great to see you in such a remote place, I didn't expect to see you in many years. Margery is here too, my wife, you know Yes, you have to see her.'

"Side by shoulder they walked up the hill to the Bohaveth Arms Inn. The other woman came out the door and went down to meet them. When the woman named Carol passed me , I glanced at her and saw only her chalky chin and piercing scarlet lips. I really doubted that Margery would be happy to see her. I wondered what Margery looked like up close, But from a distance, she is not beautiful, but neat and decent. "It's none of my business, of course, but there are so many strange glimpses in life that keep your brain spinning. Their conversation floated to me in fits and starts, and I could hear a few words, They were talking about going swimming. The husband, who seemed to be called Dennis, wanted to rent a boat and go around the coast. There is a famous cave worth seeing, he said. Carol wanted to see it too The hole, but she suggested going by land along the rock face by the sea, she said she hated boats. In the end they found a compromise: Carol followed the rock face path, and Dennis and Margery rowed across , meet up in the cave.

"Listening to them talking about swimming aroused my desire to swim. It was a sweltering morning, and my painting was not going well. I estimated that the sun in the afternoon would be more charming, so I packed my painting tools and went to A small beach that only I know is opposite to the direction of the cave. This is a small discovery of mine. I swam very well. I ate a can of snake meat and two tomatoes for lunch. I returned to the hotel happily in the afternoon , ready to continue drawing my picture. "The whole Latour seems to be asleep. My guess is right. The afternoon sun is indeed beautiful, and the shadows cast by the sun are wonderful. The Bohavis Arms Hotel is the main body of this painting. A ray of sunlight slanting down on the porch floor had a strange effect. The three swimmers seemed to have come back, for two bathing suits, one scarlet and one dark blue, were drying on the balcony. .

"There was something wrong with one of the corners I had drawn, and I bent down to fix it, but only for a moment, and when I looked up again, there was a man leaning against the door of the Bohaves Arms Hotel. on a post. The man seemed to have sprung out of the ground, wearing clothes that only people who work at sea would wear. I guessed that he might be a fisherman with a dark beard all over his face. If I I couldn't think of a better model for a Spanish corsair captain. I was so excited to pick up my paintbrush that I wanted to paint him before he was gone, though, it looked like he was going to be there for generations supporting that pillar."

"He moved anyway, thankfully I had drawn what I wanted to draw before he left. Oh, the man finally spoke. "'La Thor,' said he, 'is a very interesting place.' "It's beautiful here, I've said before, but that doesn't get me out of that shadow after all. My head is full of a history of aggression, and I mean the destruction of this little village. Bohavis Coat of Arms The owner of the shop was the last one to be killed. He was pierced through the chest by a Spaniard's sword when he stepped out of the threshold of his house. His blood was sprayed all over the sidewalk. Wash away the blood on the ground.

"That afternoon, the quiet village might have matched the atmosphere of a hundred years ago. There was something flattering in the man's tone of voice, and I felt that there was some kind of threat lurking beneath the flattering tone. On the surface, his attitude was very humble. , but I feel that there is cruelty behind this humility. He made me more than ever feel the cruelty of the Spaniards. "I had been drawing while he was talking to me. It occurred to me that while I was listening to him, I was painting something on the canvas that I shouldn't have painted. The coat of arms of Bohaves in the slanting sunlight On the white sidewalk in front of the store, I painted blood! This is a total brain joke, but when I looked at the hotel again, I was even more surprised, I painted exactly what I saw - white blood on the pavement.

"I stared wide-eyed for a minute or two, then finally closed my eyes and said to myself, 'Don't be stupid, there's nothing there.' I opened my eyes again and the blood was still there. "I couldn't take it all and interrupted the rambling fisherman. "'Tell me,' said I, 'that my eyes are not very good. Is there really blood on the pavement over there?' "He looked at me in a friendly, tolerant way. "'There will be no blood now, and I am telling you the story of five hundred years ago.' "'Yes,' I said, 'but now . . . on the pavement . Shaking hands, packing up my painting supplies. While I was busy packing, the man who drove up in the morning came out of the hotel and stared blankly across the street. His wife was putting away her bathing suits to dry on the balcony.

"He went down the street, went first to where he had parked, turned suddenly, and ran across the street towards the fisherman. "'Excuse me, sir, did you see the lady in the second car over there come back?' "'The lady in all the flowered dresses? No, sir, I have not seen her come back. This morning she followed the path on the rocks towards the cave.' "'Yeah, yeah, we swam together, and then she said she was going to walk back, and I haven't seen her since. It's been so long and I haven't walked back, has it? The cliffs nearby aren't very dangerous, yes. ?' "'It depends on which way to go, sir, and you'd better get someone who knows the way to show you.' "The man was very clever, and he wanted to take the young man himself. So he began to make a fuss about it, when the young man interrupted him impatiently, and ran to the hotel, towards his wife on the balcony. shouted: "'Majry, don't you think it's strange that Carol hasn't come back yet?' "I couldn't hear Marjri's answer, and the husband continued: 'We can't wait any longer, we have to keep going, to Poleta. Are you ready? I'll go and start the car.' "He went to drive the car over, and after a while, they both left the village. Just now I have been nervous about my hallucinations, and now I want to prove how ridiculous it is. After the car disappeared from sight, I walked up to the hotel and checked the sidewalk carefully. Of course, there wouldn't be any blood there, no, nothing, it's all just my wild imagination. That's what made it all the scarier People. I was standing there in a daze when I heard the fisherman's voice. "He looked at me strangely, 'You really see blood here, eh, ma'am?' "I nodded. "'It's queer, queer. We have a superstition here, ma'am, if anyone sees blood here...' "He stopped talking. "'How so?' I said. "He spoke with a strong Cornish accent, but in a natural flow, without the affectation of the Cornish accent. He went on in a conciliatory tone: "'They say if anyone sees the blood on the ground, within twenty-four hours someone will go to God.' "It's horrible! A feeling of dread runs down my spine. "He went on to persuade: 'There's an interesting sign in the church, it's about death...' "'No thanks,' I said decisively, walking uphill to the hut I rented. I had just arrived at the hut when I saw the woman named Carol walking along the edge of the rock. Walking along the path, she panicked, against the background of the gray rocks, she was like a bright red poisonous flower, and the color of the hat was like bright red blood. "I have shudders, really, blood in my head. "After a while, I heard her start the car, and I wondered if she was going to Pouleta too, but she turned the car on the left side of the road, completely in the opposite direction, and I watched the car go up the hill , until the shadow disappeared. I let out a long sigh of relief, and Rathor regained his composure." As soon as Joyce stopped, Raymond West couldn't wait to ask: "That's it? I'll tell you what I think about it, what's hard and what's confusing." "It's not over yet," said Joyce. "You should hear the story after that. Two days later, the newspaper carried a headline 'Unfortunately Died While Swimming' and it said that Mrs. Decker, Dennis Decker His wife died at nearby Landy Bay, where she was staying with her husband in an inn; and said they had intended to go swimming, but a cold wind blew up, and Colonel Dirk, saying it was too cold, told the lodger. Some of the others in the shop went to the nearby golf course; Mrs. Decker, not feeling cold, went to the bay by herself and never came back; On going to the sea, they found her dress on the edge of a rock, but could find no trace of the unfortunate lady; her body was found a week later, washed up on the shore not too far away, where she There was a blow mark on her head, from before she died, of course. Theoretically, she may have hit a rock when she jumped into the water. I timed her death and it happened just before I saw the blood within twenty-four hours." "I protest," said Sir Henry, "that there is no question for us to find an answer to here. It is only a ghost story. It is evident that Mademoiselle Raymond-Pierre is playing the part of the wizard." Patrick coughed as usual. "One thing that interests me," said he, "is the blow to the head. I don't think we can rule out murder, but we can't find any evidence. The hallucinations or visions of Mademoiselle Raymond-Pierre were indeed Interesting, but I don't know what she wants us to analyze?" "Those incomprehensible things and those coincidences," Raymond said. "Besides, you can't be sure that the man in the newspaper is the man you saw. Besides, those spells can only be used on local people." Residents work." "I think," said Sir Henry, "that there must be something implied in the tale told by the fierce-looking fisherman, and I agree with Patrick that Mademoiselle Raymond-Pierre has indeed not given us enough material." Joyce turned to Dr. Pender, who just smiled and shook his head. "It's an interesting story," he said, "but I can only agree with Sir Henry and Patrick that we have too little basis for speculation." Then Joyce turned to Miss Marple, looking at her curiously, and Miss Marple smiled back. "I do think you're a little unfair, Joyce dear," she said. "Of course, it's different for you and me. I mean, we both, as women, have a special sensitivity to dress, But it's not fair to put an issue like this in front of gentlemen, which requires many quick switches. A vicious woman, plus an even more vicious man." Joyce stared at her with wide eyes. "Aunt Jane," she said, "I mean, Miss Marple, I'm absolutely sure you've guessed the truth." "Oh, my dear," said Miss Marple, "I'm sitting here listening to you, and I'm closer to the truth than you are. As an artist, you're more susceptible to circumstances, aren't you? Sit quietly Here, with knitting in the hands, it is easier to discover the truth of the matter. The blood you see is dripping from the bathing suit hanging on the balcony. The criminal did not expect blood to drip from the bathing suit, because the bathing suit is red. . Poor thing!" "Excuse me, Miss Marple," said Sir Henry, "you must understand that we are kept in the dark. You and Miss Raymond-Pierre understand what you say, but we men seem to be in the dark." In the fog." "Now I will tell you the end of the story," said Joyce. "A year later, I went to a seaside resort on the West Coast. I was painting, and the same scene came back to me. On the pavement in front of me were two people, a man and a woman, chatting with another woman, one of whom was wearing a scarlet dress like a poinsettia. 'Carol, how nice! It is very rare to see you here. Do you know my wife? Joan, this is my old friend Miss Harding.' "I recognized the man at once. It was the same Dennis I had seen in Latour. The wife was another woman, not Margery, and this new wife was Joan. The name was different though. , but they were the same type of people, young, plain, unremarkable. For a minute or two, I thought I was going crazy. They started talking about swimming. I'll tell you what I did. I Headed straight for the police station, they might think I was out of my mind, but I didn't care. It was going well, and there was a man from Scotland Yard who had come all the way to the police station, and he was on the case. The police were after Dennis Decker, that's not his real name. He took different aliases according to different occupations. He was looking for girls everywhere, especially those unremarkable, withdrawn young girls with few relatives and friends, Marry them. Buy them huge life insurance. Oh, horrible! That Carol is his real wife. They have the same plan, and that's what gave the cops a clue. , tracked here. The insurance company also began to suspect. Every time he took his new wife to a secluded seaside, another woman would appear by chance. They went swimming together and killed the new wife Afterwards, Carol put on the dead man's clothes and returned to the ship, no matter where they were, when they left, he said that he would ask others for the whereabouts of that 'Carol'. As soon as they left, Carol immediately changed Putting on the flashy dress and carefully changing her makeup, she returned to the original place and drove her car away. They found out the direction of the water, and the planned next scene of "wife's unfortunate drowning" was downstream The next beach at the next beach. Carol pretends to be the new wife again, goes to some deserted beach, takes off the suit she is wearing, puts it on the rock, and puts on her scarlet coat to sit quietly. and waited quietly until her husband would join her." "I guess when they murdered poor Margery, blood spattered Carol's bathing suit, which happened to be red, so they didn't notice. As Miss Marple said, they hung the bathing suit When we were on the balcony, blood dripped down. Hiss..." She shuddered, "I seem to see that blood again now." "Now that I think of it," said Sir Henry, "Davis was his real name. How I forgot that one of his many aliases was Dirk. What a cunning pair! Let I was amazed that no one recognized her change of status, probably as Miss Marple said, clothes are more noticeable than face. In any case, they were very well planned. Although We also suspect Davis, but each time he has an alibi, so it's not going to be easy to bring him to justice." "Aunt Jane," Raymond said, looking at her curiously, "how did you find those suspicious clues? You live a peaceful life, and nothing particularly surprising happened to you." "In this world, many things are surprisingly similar." Miss Marple, "You know that Mrs. Green, she buried five children, and each child was insured. Of course people have to suspect her .” She shook her head. "There is much evil in country life. I wish you dear young men would never see the evil side of the world."