Chapter 8 Chapter Eight "Today Is Your Last Day"

"I suppose it can't be the Mayor?" said Inspector Kenneth wishing. He tapped the list lightly with his pencil.Dermot Kleda laughed. "Wishful thinking?" he asked. "Suffice it to say," said Kenneth, "that the mayor is a hypocrite!" he went on, "and he's been getting ill-gotten gains for years!" "You don't want him to bow his head and confess?" "No," said Kenneth, "he's too clever, always playing around the loopholes of the law." "That's possible, I agree," said Dermot, "but don't be too careless, Frank."

The two looked at the list together again, and there were eight more people. "We all agreed on the list," Dermot said. "Is there a single person missing?" "I think you can trust this list. After Mrs. Buntry is the Marshal, the Swiss are the Bakers, and there are eight others in the stairwell. That is the Mayor and his wife, Rale Farm. Grace and his wife, Donner of March Bingham, the two Americans, Davek Foyne and Laura Brest, Laura is a film star, and an art photographer from London, She set up the camera on the landing, and like you said, if Mrs. Buntry is right, and Marina Gray's face freezes because she sees someone in the stairwell, then you can pick from there. The Mayor and his wife were sadly eliminated, as were the Graces, and I bet they never left Mary Mead Village, so there were only four left, and the local journalist couldn't possibly, The girl who took the picture had been there for half an hour, which is why Marina Gray was slow that day. Who else was left?"

"That strange American with malicious intentions." Dermot smiled faintly. "You said that." "Yes, obviously they are the most suspected," said Dermot. "They came out of nowhere. Adavik Foyne and Marina haven't seen each other for years. Laura Brest was married to Mary Marina Gray's third husband, he divorced Marina just to marry her. I think it must have been a very rough divorce." "I've got her number one suspect," Kenneth said. "Really, Frank. Is it possible that fifteen years have passed, and she herself has been married twice?"

Kenneth said that women's hearts are hard to tell, and Dermot didn't object. "But you agree that the murderer should remain the same?" "Possibly, but I don't like it. What about the drinkers?" "Bangispo, the head servant in the house, is responsible for the management work, and there are two girls in the studio restaurant. I know these people. Although they are not very smart, they are not malicious." "I'd like to go talk to the journalist, maybe he'll give some clues, and go to London and find Adavek Foyne. Laura Brest and the girl who does the photography, what's her name? Oh, It was Margaret Benz, and she probably saw something too."

Kenneth nodded. "Lola Brest is the one I most want to dispute," he said, and looked curiously at Dermot. "You don't seem to be as interested in her as I am in her." "I think about the difficulty." "difficulty?" "Poisoned in Marino's cup and no one saw it." "It's a really crazy thing." "I'd be crazy to agree to do that, and it'd be even crazier for someone like Laura Brest to do it!" "How?" Kenneth asked. "Because she's an important guest with a lot of background, everyone will notice her."

"It's true," Kenneth admitted. "The locals must have whispered to each other and pointed at her, and after Marina Gray and Jason Luther had greeted her, they must have given her to the care of the secretary. In this case, no matter how much you Agile, you still can't be sure not to be detected." "Did I say it was equally difficult for everyone?". "No," said Dermot, "oh, no, that Bengispo the head butler, he's busy serving drinks to the guests, in which case he could have put a slice or two or some Calmo in the glass." "Ghisper?" Frank Cornish thought. "You think he did it?"

"There's no reason to believe that right now," Dermot said, "but we can always find one, and the motivation is pretty strong." "You mean it was premeditated like everything else?" "We don't know yet," Dermot said angrily, "the most important part we don't know at all, but for example, the secretary Ira Jelinski, she is also busy ordering drinks and handing things to customers, no one Special attention will be paid to her. Same with the tall, thin young man, they both have a good chance. If they want to get rid of Marina Gray, it will be much safer in this public place."

"And those people?" "Oh, the husbands," said Dermot. "Talking about them again," said Kenneth, with a faint smile on his face. "At first we thought it was poor fellow Bakerk, and now we turn our suspicions to Jason Luther." Then the phone rang, and Kenneth went to answer it. "What? Is it? It took it, yes, here he is." He listened for a while, put his hand on the receiver, and looked at Dermot. "Miss Marina Gray," he said, "She feels better and is ready for an interview." "I must hurry," Dermot said, "before she changes her mind again."

Dermot said here, immediately ended the conversation and moved. Dermot was received at Gautudin by Ira Jelinsky, who was as quick and astute as ever. "Miss Gray is waiting for you, Mr. Creeder," she said.Only then did he discover that Ira Zielinski had a charming personality, and he said to himself, "This is a poker face I've ever seen." Refreshing, there is no sign of concealment.With her agility and shrewdness, nothing was ever going to show itself.Maybe she knew a lot, maybe she only knew that much, but the only thing she could be sure of was that she fell in love with Jason Luther, but he himself had to admit that he couldn't find the reason, which was a common problem in the profession of secretaries.Maybe it's nothing, but at least it doesn't show that she has any motives to hide some facts, maybe out of love, maybe out of hate, or guilt, maybe she just took advantage of the opportunity of the afternoon, she was quick and Taking care of the guests back and forth, handing the cups, picking them up, staring at where Marina put them, and then Marina turned to greet the guests from the United States, she can quietly put the poison in the cups, it takes courage, She possessed both composure and quickness. When she attacked, she probably didn't show any sense of guilt at all.

Dermot had a lot of ideas in his mind, but when he asked Ira Zielinski politely, he had to admit to himself that maybe they were just guesswork. "Miss Zielinski, I want to ask you one thing, is the food prepared by the grocery store?" "yes." "Why was that store chosen in particular?" "I don't know," said Ira. "Mr. Luther thinks it's much more convenient to do it locally than in London. It seems to us a very trivial matter." "Indeed." He noticed that she was standing aside with her head lowered and frowning slightly, her forehead was smooth, her cheeks were firm, her lips were full of sternness and demand, her figure was very provocative, as for her eyes?Looking at those eyes, he was slightly surprised. It turned out that the eye sockets were already rosy. Did she cry?

"You have a cold," he said. "It's not a cold, it's hay fever, which is an allergy that I always get this time of year." At this time, a bell rang, and Ira Zielinski went to answer it. She put down the receiver and said, "Marina can see you." Marina Gray received Dermot in a downstairs room.Marina was half-slumped on the sofa, full of energy. Although she didn't wear makeup on her face, she couldn't tell her actual age.The graceful jaw, the sea-green eyes, the arched eyebrows slightly modified, and the warm and sweet smile, all contained an indescribable charm.She said, "Inspector Cleder? Please forgive my faux pas. I am broken physically and mentally after this dreadful thing." "You feel sad," he said, "and that's natural." She looked at him for a moment and said, "You have a good understanding. I am a coward. Someone wants to murder me, but I don't want to die." "Why do you think someone is trying to murder you?" She couldn't help but stare. "Because it was my glass, and my wine was poisoned. It was just by accident that the poor, stupid woman became a scapegoat. How terrible and tragic it is. Besides..." "How is it, Miss Gray?" She seemed to want to say something, but wasn't quite sure what to say. "Have you any other reason to believe that it was you who were really going to be murdered?" She nodded. "Miss Grey, why?" She paused before saying, "Jason told me I should tell you everything." "Have you ever confided in him?" "Yes . . . I wasn't going to do it at first, but Dr. Gilkes told me it should be." "Miss Grey, you haven't told me why you think someone is going to kill you." She was silent, and after a while, she suddenly reached for her purse, opened it, took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. On it was a sentence typed on a typewriter: Don't think you can escape next time. Dermot immediately asked, "When did you get it?" "I came out of the bathroom and saw it on the dresser." "So the people in this room..." "Not necessarily. It is also possible that someone climbed in through the balcony window. I think their purpose is to intimidate me, but it didn't. I just feel angry, so please come and talk." Dermot smiled. "Probably from an unexpected person. This is the first time you have received a paper like this?" Marina didn't know what to say, and after a while said, "No, it's not." "Can you tell me anything else?" "When we first moved here three weeks ago, there was a note, untyped, that said 'Prepare for Dying' in large letters," she smiled, a little hysterically. , always get those threatening and outlandish notes, I think it may be out of a religious point of view, some people have a dislike for actresses, and when I get it, I tear it up and throw it in the wastebasket." "Miss Gray, have you told anyone about this?" Marina shook her head. "No, I didn't say a word to anyone. I thought it was a joke, or some religious weirdness against acting or something like that." "Have you received any more in the future?" "Yes. On the day of the banquet, a gardener gave me another one. He said that someone left me a note and asked me if I wanted to call back. At that time, I thought it was related to arranging a meeting, but when I opened it, it said' Today is your last day'. I rubbed it off and said, 'No answer.' Then I asked the gardener who gave it to him. He said it was a man on a bicycle and wearing glasses. Do you know anything about this kind of thing? How? I thought it was ridiculous. I didn't think about it — I didn't think about anything at the time, I just thought it was purely a threat." "Miss Grey, where is that note now?" "Don't know. I was wearing an Italian silk coat at the time, and I think I scrunched it up and put it in my pocket. But it's not here now, it might have fallen." "Miss Grey, you have no idea that it was written? Or who instigated it? Not even now?" Her eyes widened in ignorance and doubt. "How can I say it? How can I say it?" "Miss Gray, I think you know very well." "No, tell you, I don't know anything about it." "You're a celebrity," Dermot said. "You're so successful, professionally and personally, how many men fall in love with you, want to marry you, and how many women are jealous of you. Men are eager Got your favor and you turned it down. It's wide-ranging, but you always kind of know who might have written it." "It's possible for everyone." "No, Miss Gray, it cannot be for everyone. There may be one in the crowd. It may be a low-born tailor, electrician, servant, or any of your friends. You must know." At this moment, the door opened and Jason Luther walked in. Marina turned to him and stretched out her arms, which was charming. "Dear Jake, Mr. Creeder always thought I should know who wrote those dreadful notes, but I don't, neither of us actually." "This is very important," thought Dermot, "very important. Was Marina Gray afraid of what her husband might say?" Jason Luther's eyes were darkened, he looked very tired, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper than usual. He walked over and held Marina's hand. "Inspector, I know you'll be surprised," he said, "but to be honest, Marina and I don't know anything about it." "So you're glad you have no enemies, aren't you?" Dermot's tone was clearly sarcasm. Jason Luther's face turned red. "Enemies? I can tell you plainly that I can't think of any enemies. A man who hates another can find a better one, but it's not enough to put poison in the cup." "Speaking of your wife, I asked her who wrote those notes or who instigated them. She said she didn't know, but if we were more practical, the scope would be narrowed. In fact, someone poisoned the cup, so the scope would be narrowed. Some." "I still can't see it," Jason Luther said. "Me too," Marina said, "oh, I mean—if I saw someone put something in a glass, I wouldn't drink it, would I?" "I do think," said Dermot softly, "that you know more than you say." "Nothing," Marina said, "Jason, tell him it's not." "Let me tell you," Jason Luther said, "I really don't know how to put it. It's really strange. I believe it was a joke. The joke was wrong, and it ended up being dangerous." There was a hint of doubt in his words, and he shook his head shortly afterwards. "No, I know you haven't thought about that." "There's one more thing I want to ask you," said Dermot. "You should remember when the Baecocks arrived. You greeted them in a moving way, as you greeted other guests, but according to an eyewitness Is it true that when you greeted them you stared behind Mrs. Backcock as if frightened by something? If so, what was it?" Marina immediately said, "That's not true, freaking out - what's going to freak me out?" "That's what we want to know," said Dermot patiently. "My witness is sure of that." "Who is your witness? What did he (or she) say they saw?" "You were looking at the landing," Dermot said, "and there were people coming up the stairs, a reporter, and the Graces, an old man from the country, and Adavek from the United States. Foyne, Laura Brest. Miss Gray, is it one of them that makes you feel bad?" "I'm not sorry to tell you," she almost growled. "But you greeted Mrs. Bakerk with an absent mind. You seemed to be watching something behind her." Marina Gray kept her composure, and she spoke at once, and said it well. "I can explain that, if you're clear about the character—it happens a lot. When you're mechanically doing something, you're smiling, you're posing, you're saying your lines, but your heart isn't there, and all of a sudden There's a moment when your mind goes blank, it's called 'forgetting'. Oh, that's what I was, I wanted the party to be a success, everyone had a good time, the host and guests had a good time, but Mingren was always there talking about the same thing , all of a sudden I felt very tired, my mind went blank, and it took me a while to realize that Mrs. Becker was talking to me at length, she was looking at me eagerly, and I didn't answer or say anything, all because I was too tired." "Too tired," said Demetra in a long sentence. "Miss Grey, do you think so?" "Yes, I don't see why you don't believe me." Dermot turned to Jason Luther. "Mr. Luther," he said, "I think you know what I mean better than your wife. I'm worried, very worried about your wife's safety. Those threatening letters, that someone has something wrong with her life, it may mean that The murderer who appeared on the day of the banquet is still here. This person is already a little mad. The only way to be safe is to tell me all the clues you know." Jason Luther shook his head slowly, "Marina, you heard what Inspector Cleder said, maybe you know more than I do. If that's the case, for the sake of safety, tell us now Bar." "But I didn't," her voice was sad, "you have to trust me." "Who were you afraid of that day?" Dermot asked. "I'm not afraid of anyone." "Listen, Miss Gray, two of those people on the stairs, or going up, are your friends, and they surprise you, and you haven't seen them for a long time, and you didn't expect them to appear that day. , these two are Ardavek Foyne and Miss Brest. What strange feeling do you have when you suddenly see them coming upstairs? You don't know they're coming, do you?" "No, we didn't even know they were in England," Jason Luther said. "I'm very happy," Marina said, "very happy." "Good to see Miss Brest?" "Oh—" She gave him a quick, suspicious look. Dermot said: "I believe Laura Brest's ex-husband was your third husband, Robert Chasco?" "Yes, that's right." "He divorced her to marry you." "Oh, everybody knows that," said Marina Gray impatiently. "Did she threaten you?" "Oh, yes. But honey, I want to explain that no one took the threat seriously. It was at a party, and he had a lot of drinks, and if she had a gun, she would have shot Me. Glad she didn't, that was years ago! Jason, didn't you?" "It's true," said Jason Luther, "I can tell you, Mr. Creeder, that Laura Brest never had a chance to poison my wife's cup at the banquet, and most of the time I with her. Laura and we have had a long friendship, and the idea that she should suddenly come to London and come to my house and poison my wife's cup is absurd!" "I know what you're thinking," Dermot said. "Not only that, but she wasn't near my wife's glass," "Where's the other guest, Ardavek Foyne?" Jason Luther thought for a while before answering. "He's an old friend of ours," he said. "While we haven't seen him for several years, we've been in regular contact and he's well known in American television." "Is he an old friend of yours too?" Dermot asked Marina. She seemed to be breathing heavily as she answered. "Yes, oh, yes. He—he's always been a friend of mine, though I haven't seen him in the last few years." "Thank you, Miss Gray," said Dermot calmly, "if at any time you feel that you should reveal more, please don't hesitate."