Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

In one of the rooms of the Hotel Mamenia in Marrakech a man named Jessop was talking to Miss Hetherington.This lady was very different from the ones Hilary knew in Casablanca and Fez.Although they looked alike, behaved the same, and had the same ugly hairdos, they looked very different.This lady is lively and capable, and her style is much younger than her appearance. The third person in the room was a stocky dark-skinned man with large intelligent eyes.He tapped his fingers on the table and hummed a little French tune. "...so far as you know," said Jessop, "these were the people who spoke to her in Fez."

Janet Hetherington nodded.she says: "There was a Calvin Baker, the woman we met in Casablanca. To tell you the truth, I'm still not sure about her. She was friendly with Olive Betterton, as was I. .But Americans in general are friendly, they talk to people in hotels, and they like to hang out with people when they travel.” "Yes," said Jessop, "she's a little too much like what we're looking for." "Also," continued Janet Hetherington, "she was on this plane." Jessop said, "You're assuming the crash was premeditated." Then he turned to the stocky man and said, "What do you think, LeBlanc?"

"It's possible," he said, "that the plane crashed as a result of deliberate sabotage. We'll never know. The plane went down in a huge fire and none of the passengers survived." "Do you know the pilot?" "His name is Arkady. Young and capable. That's all he knows. Also, the salary is too low." He paused a little before saying the last words. Jessop said: "So, he probably wanted to change careers, but it would not be suicidal." "There were seven bodies," said LeBlanc. "All charred and unrecognizable, but they were seven people. One cannot fail to see the fact."

Jessop turned to Janet Hetherington and said, "What did you just say?" "Mrs. Betterton had a conversation with a French family in Fez. There was a rich Swede with a A flirtatious girl. And a rich oil tycoon, Mr. Aristides." "Ah!" LeBron said, "it turned out to be the legendary figure himself. I often ask myself: If I also have so much wealth in the world, I don't know what it would be like. For me," he said frankly "I want horses and women and--everything I can get. But old Aristides is reclusive in his castle in Spain--that is to say, in his castle in Spain, my friend, people Said he was there collecting Chinese Song Dynasty pottery. But people should know," he went on, "that he was at least seventy years old. It's possible that at that age one would only be interested in Chinese pottery."

"According to the Chinese view," said Jessop, "the sixties and seventies are the period of great ambition. This is the age at which people can most appreciate the beauty and joy in life." "I don't!" LeBlanc said. "There were a few Germans in Fez," continued Janet Hetherington, "but as far as I know, they didn't talk to Olive Betterton." "Perhaps talked to the waiter or servant," Jessop said. "Of course it is possible." "She has been to the Old Town alone, you said?" "She went with a regular guide. She may have been approached by someone on that tour."

"Anyway, she decided quite suddenly to go to Marrakech." "It wasn't sudden," she corrected him. "She's already booked." "Oh! I was wrong," said Jessop. "I mean Mrs. Calvin Baker suddenly decided to accompany her." He got up and paced up and down. "She flew to Marrakech," he said, "and then the plane crashed and burned. It seemed a bad omen for anyone named Olive Betterton to travel by plane. The plane crashed first in Casablanca , and then this time again. Was it an accident or a premeditated event? If someone wanted to kill Olive Betterton, I can say there are many easier ways than destroying an airplane."

"It's hard to say," said LeBlanc. "Please see what I mean, my friend. Once you're mentally deprived of human life, and if you put a small packet of dynamite under your seat in an airplane than hide in the middle of the night It's much more convenient to stab someone in the back in the corner, and you'll put the explosives there. The fact that six people died with them is simply out of the question." "Of course!" Jessop said. "I know no one supports me, but I think there's a third answer—they made a fake plane crash." LeBlanc looked interested.

"Yes, it might have been done that way too. The plane could be brought down and set on fire. But you can't help but look at the fact, my friend Jessop, that there were passengers on the plane. Burnt bodies do exist." "I know," said Jessop, "that's the tricky part. Well, no doubt I'm a bit wild. But we've gone to such lengths in the pursuit, and the end is so simple, so simple. It's me. feeling. Our work is over. We write in the margins of the report: REST THEM! And close the case, leaving no trace.” He turned to LeBlanc and said: “You are still investigating ?"

"It's been going on for two days now," said LeBlanc. "Several able men have been sent. Of course, the place where the plane crashed was in the middle of nowhere. By the way, the plane also went off course." "That's important!" Jessop put in. LeBlanc said: "The nearest village, the nearest settlement, the traces of cars nearby, these have all been fully investigated. In this country, as in yours, we are fully aware of the importance of investigation. In France, We've also had several of our best young scientists go missing. My friend, my opinion is that it's easier to control a couple of capricious opera stars than one scientist. They're smart, these young men, capricious, with Rebellious, but dangerously, they are very gullible. What is that place they imagine? Fun, light, hope of truth, and peace? Alas, poor children, what awaits them is disillusionment."

"Let's look at the passenger list again," Jessop said. The Frenchman reached into a wire basket for a list and spread it out in front of his colleagues.The two watched intently. "Mrs. Calvin Baker, American. Mrs. Betterton, English. Thorkyr Eriksson, Norwegian—by the way, do you know this man?" "I can't remember," said LeBlanc. "He was young, no more than twenty-seven or eight." "I don't know his name," said Jessop, frowning. "I seem to remember . . . I'm almost sure he read a paper at the Royal Society." "Then a religious person," LeBlanc said, turning the list over, "a nun named Mary, whoever it is. Andrew Peters, also American. Dr. Barron is a man of repute , very talented, an expert in virus research.”

"Germ warfare," said Jessop, "clear. All clear!" "A man who is underpaid and dissatisfied," LeBlanc said. "How many are going to St. Ives?" Jessop murmured. The Frenchman glanced at him quickly, then smiled apologetically. "As the old nursery rhyme says," he said, "going to St. Ivers is a question mark. Traveling to the Otherworld." The phone on the desk rang.LeBron picked up the phone. "Hullo!" he said, "Which one? Ah, yes, please come up." He turned to Thorpe, who seemed suddenly beaming and energized. "One of my men is reporting," he said. "They have found something. It is possible, my dear colleague. . . . I shall say no more . . . Perhaps you are right in your optimism." A few minutes later, two people came in.The first was the LeBlanc type: stocky, dark-skinned, intelligent, well-mannered, but also excited.He was dressed in European clothes, but he was very dirty and covered with dirt, obviously he had returned from a trip.The other was a native in the white robes of the country, with the dignified poise of a backwoodsman.His attitude is neither humble nor overbearing.He looked around the room with mild curiosity while the former spoke in rapid French. "The native has been notified of the prize for the find," said the first, "and the native, with his family and all his friends, has searched carefully. I asked him to hand over to you what he found in person, and it may be that you have something to do." I'm going to ask him." LeBlanc turned to the North African Berber and said: "You've done a good job," he said in the native language. "You've got the eyes of a hawk, sir. Show us what you've found." The robed native took a small object from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of the Frenchman.This is a rather large, pink-gray fake pearl. "It's like that pearl you showed us," he said. "It's valuable, and I've found it." Jessop reached out and took the pearl.He took out a pearl that was exactly the same as this one from his pocket and compared it carefully.Then he went to the window and examined the two pearls with a deep magnifying glass. "Yes," he said, "there's a sign here." His voice was full of joy, and he went back to the table and said, "Good girl! Good girl! Good girl! She's doing well!" After questioning the Moroccan in Arabic, LeBlanc said to Jessop: "I'm sorry, dear colleague," he said, "but the pearl was found half a mile from where the plane crashed." Jessop said: "This shows that Olive Betterton is not dead. Although seven passengers were flown out of Fes and there were seven charred bodies, one of them was definitely not her." "We are now expanding our investigation," LeBlanc said.He then spoke to the Berber again, the native smiled happily, and left the room with the man who had brought him. "Give him a sum of money as promised," said LeBlanc, "and the whole village will come out in search of these pearls. These men have the eyes of eagles, and word will spread quickly that there will be a great reward for finding them. .. I think... I think, dear colleague, we'll get the results, as long as they don't discover her intentions." Jessop shook his head and said: "It was a natural thing," he said, "that a necklace that most women wear suddenly broke, and he picked up whatever beads he could find and stuffed them in his pocket, which happened to have a small hole. Besides, they On what basis is she suspected? She is Olive Betterton, and is anxious to find her husband." "We should re-examine this matter with fresh eyes," LeBlanc said.He pulls out the passenger list.Tick ​​two names and say: "Oliver Betterton, Dr. Barron, at least these two people are going...where they are going. As for the American Mrs. Calvin Baker, let's not draw conclusions about her. Torquil Eriksson, you said he had read a paper at the Royal Society, American Peters's passport stated that he studied chemistry. As for the nun, well, she disguised herself very cleverly .The fact is that all the passengers were subtly brought on board this plane from different locations on the same day. Then the plane caught fire and there were charred bodies inside, not a few. I don't understand how they arranged it? All in all, it's amazing!" "Yes," said Jessop, "it was a last-ditch attempt at convincing. But now we know that six or seven people have started new journeys, and we know where they started. What do we do next?" Do? Go to the scene to see?" "Exactly," said LeBlanc, "we're going to establish a forward command post. If I'm not mistaken, other evidence will follow if the right approach is made." "If our calculations are correct," said Jessop, "it will work." Calculations are numerous and tortuous.Such as the driving speed of the car, how long the car has been driving, the approximate distance to refuel, the village where the passenger may spend the night, and so on.The signs are many and confusing, and there are constant disappointments, but occasionally positive outcomes. LeBlanc said: "Yes, my captain! Following your instructions, we went to find the toilet. In a dark corner of the toilet in Abdul Mohammad's house, a pearl was found embedded in a piece of gum. Upon inquiry The father and son of this family, they didn’t say anything at first, but later admitted that a car with six people came. They said that it belonged to the German archaeological expedition team, who gave the family a lot of money, and they were not allowed to disclose it to anyone, because they might Going to do some illegal prospecting. The children of El Cave Village also found two pearls. We have now found out the direction. And, Mr. Captain, as you predicted, people have seen the 'Hand of the Maiden' .This one can tell you." "This one" is a rough-looking Berber. "I was driving my cattle that night and a car drove up and I saw the 'Hand of the Maiden'. It was glowing in the dark," he said. "Phosphorus is very effective on gloves," muttered LeBlanc. "Thank you, my dear, for figuring it out." "It works," Jessop said, "but it's dangerous. I mean it's easy for other fugitives to spot." LeBron shrugged and said, "You can't see it during the day." "But if one stops and they get out in the dark..." "Even so - it's just a popular superstition among the Arabs. They used to paint their cars. People would think it was some devout Moslems putting luminous paint on their cars." "True. But we must be vigilant. Because if we are discovered, the enemy may use the phosphorescent 'Hand of the Maiden' to create false marks to trick us into tracking." "Ah! I agree with you on that. People should be on their guard. Always be on their guard." The next morning, the locals gave LeBlanc three fake pearls embedded in a triangular shape on a piece of gummy candy. "That means the next leg of the journey is flying," Jessop said. He looked at LeBron questioningly. "You're absolutely right," said LeBlanc. "It was found in a remote, deserted military airfield. There are indications that a plane landed and took off here not long ago." He shrugged. , "A plane of unknown origin. Then they took off to an unknown destination. This brought our work to a halt again, and we didn't know where to go next to track it down."