Chapter 4 third chapter

(one) "Seriously, Mr. Li Jun, I really have nothing more to tell you! I've told your officers that 'I' don't know who Mrs. Davis is or where she comes from. Yes. She lived with me about six months, paid the rent on time, and seemed like a nice, respectable person, and I don't know anything else." Mrs. Coppins paused to catch her breath and looked at Sergeant Li Jun with displeasure. He gave her a gentle, melancholy smile—a smile that he knew from experience had its uses. "It's not that I don't want to help. I really can't help." She changed her words.

"Thank you, we just need help. Women tend to know better than men because they have an instinct." This strategy is good, and it really paid off immediately. "Oh," said Mrs. Coppins, "I wish Coppins could hear you. He's always so arrogant and casual. He used to say to me with contempt: 'You! When you have nothing to say, you talk nonsense, say I know it all!' But nine times out of ten I'm right." "Yes, that's why I wanted to hear your opinion of Mrs. Davies. Doesn't she look--unhappy, in your opinion?" "No—no, I don't think so, but she always seemed very competent and organized, as if everything was planned and followed step by step. I know she works in a consumer research unit, The job is to go around asking people what kind of washing powder and flour they use, how much their weekly budget is, how to allocate it, etc. Of course, I always think that kind of job is just to spy on people—I don’t understand, how the government would think Know these things! The results of the investigation are all known for a long time, but it is fashionable now. If you want to know more, I might as well tell you that poor Mrs. Davies has done a good job, not only Pleasant attitude and efficient."

"You don't know the name of the company she works for, do you?" "have no idea." "Did she mention any relatives?" "No, I guess she's a widow, and her husband died years ago. He's a cripple, but she doesn't mention him much." "She didn't say where she came from?" "I guess she's not from London, but from somewhere up north." "Don't you think she's a little—well, a little mysterious?" Li Jun wasn't quite sure, if she was a woman who was easily influenced by suggestions--but Mrs. Coppins didn't take the chance.

"Well, I don't think I've ever felt that way, certainly not from what she said. The only thing I found odd, was her suitcase. Good material, but not new, with redacted initials , now it's JD - Jassie Davis, but I think it was JH or something, but it could be JA or something. But I still don't think there's anything wrong with it, second-hand stuff is often very cheap, buy When she comes, of course the initials have to be changed. She has nothing—just a suitcase." Li Jun already knew this.The deceased had surprisingly little personal possessions, no letters, no photographs.She apparently had no insurance card, bankbook, or checkbook.Her clothes were of good everyday material, almost new.

"She looks happy?" he asked. "I think so." He catches the hesitation in her voice. "Just your 'thinking'?" "We don't usually think about that kind of thing, do we? I think she's rich, has a good job, and is pretty content with life, and she's not the chatty kind of woman. But of course, being sick all her life— " "Oh, what happens when she's sick all her life?" "At first she was in a hurry, I mean when she fell ill with a cold. She said it messed up her plans and had to cancel a lot of appointments. But a cold is a cold, and once you catch it, you don't There is no way to ignore it. So she had to lie on the bed, drink tea, and take aspirin. I asked her why she didn’t see a doctor, and she said it was unnecessary. I don't go near her lest I catch it. When she was better, I cooked her something, hot soup, toast, and occasionally a nice pudding. She did fall ill, of course, that's what colds are for, But I bet it wasn't any worse than the average person. When the fever was gone, I felt lethargic and sluggish--she was the same. I remember her saying to me sitting by the fire: 'I wish people didn't have so much time.' Thinking wildly, I don't like to think too much, or I will be in a bad mood.'”

Li Jun still looked intently at Mrs. Coppins, so she continued. "I lent her some magazines, but she couldn't seem to settle down. I remember once she said, 'If things don't go your way, it's better not to know about them, right?' I said, 'Yeah. , darling.' And she said, 'I don't know - I've never been able to be sure.' I said that's okay, and she said, 'Everything I do is straight and aboveboard, so I have nothing to blame My own.’ I said: ‘Of course, my dear.’ But to be honest, I’m really a little skeptical. The company she works in doesn’t know if there’s any tampering in the accounts, and maybe she knows something about it—— But I don’t think that’s her business.”

"It's possible." Li Jun agreed. "Anyway, she got better—I mean almost better, and went back to work, and I told her to rest for a day or two, and not to go out so soon. You see, listen to me! She went After going to work, as soon as I came back the next night, I immediately saw that she had a high fever again, and she could hardly even climb the stairs. I told her that she must see a doctor, but she refused, and became more and more ill. All day long, her eyes had no energy, her face was burning like fire, and her breathing was heavy. Another night, she said to me weakly: "Father, I want to find the priest. Hurry up, or it will be too late." Late.' But she doesn't want a priest, only a Catholic priest. I never knew she was Catholic because she never wore a cross or anything."

But there was indeed a cross stuffed under her suitcase. Li Jun didn't mention this, and still sat and listened to her. "I saw little Mike on the street, so I told him to go to the Church of St. Dominican to find Father Goldman. I called the doctor and the hospital, but I kept it on my own account. I didn't tell her anything." "When the priest came, did you take him upstairs?" "Yes, and then leave the two of them together." "Did they say anything?" "Well, I don't remember much now. I just said to myself that since the priest is here, she'll be all right, and try to cheer her up—by the way, I remember now, when I closed the door Heard her mention something wicked, yes—and some horses—maybe racehorses. I like to gamble a bit sometimes, but they say there's a lot of tricks in horseracing."

"Evil?" Li Jun felt very surprised. "Catholics have to repent before they die, don't they? I think that's what it is." Li Jun didn't doubt that, but the words she used stimulated his imagination.evil…… He thought, if the priest who knew the inside story was indeed followed and deliberately beaten to death with a stick, then this word does have an unusual meaning... (two) The other three tenants did not have much information to provide to Li Jun.Two tenants — a bank clerk and an older man who works in a shoe store — have lived here for a few years.The other tenant was a twenty-two-year-old girl who had just moved in and worked in a nearby department store.The three of them and Mrs. Davis were only nodding acquaintances.

The woman who told police she had seen Father Goldman in the street that night had little useful information to offer police.She was Catholic and had seen Father Goldman in church.At ten minutes to eight she saw him turn into Tony's shop from Ben Hart Street.That's all. Another eyewitness, Mr. Osborne, who owned a pharmacy on the corner of Barton Street, did give some clues. Mr. Osborne was a thin, middle-aged man with a bald forehead and a round, shrewd face, wearing spectacles. "Good night, Inspector, please come in, please come in, please come behind the counter?" He pulled up a movable panel on the old-fashioned counter, Li Jun walked in, walked through the dispensing room, there was a young man who looked like a professional magician Same, wearing a white coat, skillfully handling bottles of medicine.Then through an archway into a small room with rocking chairs, a table, and a desk.

Mr. Osborne mysteriously lowered the curtain over the arch and sat down on one chair, while gesturing for Li Jun to sit on the other.Then leaned forward, blinked excitedly, and said: "I happen to be able to help you guys. It wasn't busy that night, the weather wasn't great, and there wasn't much to do. The lady I had was standing at the counter. We don't usually close until eight o'clock on Thursday nights. The fog was getting thicker and there wasn't anyone out there, I went to the door to check the weather, thinking, the fog came so fast, the weather report was right. I stood at the door for a while—the lady can handle everything inside—the guests just bought some creams and bath salts Or something. Then I saw Father Gorman coming down the street, and of course I knew him as soon as I saw him. The murderer was real, killing a good man like him.' It was Father Gorman. ' I thought to myself, he's walking towards West Street, you know, the second turn on the left of the train station. There's another man not far behind him. I wouldn't have noticed anything wrong at all. , but the man behind him stopped suddenly—very suddenly—as he passed my door. I was wondering why he stopped when I noticed that Father Goldman, who was not far in front of him, also slowed down. The priest did not Didn't come to a complete stop, just seemed so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost forgot to walk. Then the priest went on and the man followed--quickly. I thought--maybe the man knew Father Gorman, I want to catch up with him and say a few words." "But in fact, he just followed him all the time?" "Now I believe it was - but it never occurred to me at the time because the fog was so thick I couldn't see them almost immediately." "Can you describe the man?" Li Jun's voice was not sure. He thought he would hear ambiguous descriptions like ordinary people, but Mr. Osborne was different. "Well, I suppose," he said in a complacent voice, "he's tall—" "Tall? How tall?" "It's—probably five foot eleven to six feet at least, but it might look taller, because he's very thin. Slender shoulders, Adam's apple, long hair under a top hat, hooked nose, very attractive Note. Of course I can't tell what color his eyes are, you know, I only see him in profile. From the way he walks, he is about fifty years old. If he is younger, the way he walks is different gone." Li Jun estimated the distance from the door to the street in his mind, then looked back at Mr. Osborne, and at the same time was suspicious in his heart.He is suspicious... Like the pharmacy owner's description, it may represent one or two meanings.Perhaps his imagination was too rich—he had heard many such examples in the past, mostly from women.The murderer's appearance he described is just the image of a murderer in his mind, but this imagination usually includes some fake details-such as rogue eyes, beetle-like eyebrows, ape-like jaws, and some ambiguities atrocities. Mr. Osborne described it as if he were a real person, so this witness is really a rare one out of a million people-who can accurately and detailedly describe the people and things he saw, and can not be influenced by others. Li Jun estimated the distance from the street to the door, then stared thoughtfully at the owner of the pharmacy. Li Jun asked: "If you see that person again, do you think you will recognize him?" "Oh, of course," said Mr. Osborne confidently. "I never forget people's faces, because I've got into the habit. I keep telling people that if some wife murderer comes into my store Bought a small packet of arsenic and I would have recognized him in court. I have always hoped that one day this would actually happen." "But it hasn't happened so far?" Mr. Osborne admitted sadly that he was right. "It's less likely now," he said wistfully. "I've given up the roof for a pretty good price. I'm going to retire in Bournemouth." "This place looks nice." "Very classy," said Mr. Osborne proudly. "We've had our shop here for nearly a hundred years. It's been run by my grandfather and my father. It's a good old fashioned family business. I was a kid I didn't think so at the time, I just thought it was monotonous and rigid. Like many boys, I suffered setbacks on stage. I thought I could act, and my late father didn't stop me. He just said: 'Try and see what you can come up with. Well, you'll find out later that you're not Sir Henry Irving.' He was so right! My late father was a very clever man. I was in the theater company for about a year and a half before I finally came back to it. I'm sure The shop is very proud that we've always kept some good medicine, old fashioned, but good quality. But these days"—he shook his head sadly—"it's a disappointment to us apothecaries. It's all There is no way not to keep some sanitary products, and almost half of the income depends on them, a lot of flour, lipstick, face cream, shampoo and so on. I never touch those myself, and hired a lady to take care of them. Alas, open a pharmacy It’s very different. But I saved a lot of money and the shop got a good deal and bought a nice little bungalow in Bournemouth for a bargain.” He added: "Retire as early as possible while you can still enjoy yourself. That's my motto. I have many hobbies, such as collecting butterfly specimens, occasionally observing bird life, and gardening-there are many good books to teach people. Start learning gardening. By the way, there is also travel, I may join a tour group to go out and see, so as not to regret not grasping life in time later." Li Jun stood up. "Well, I wish you all the best." Li Jun said, "If you happen to see that person before you leave—" "I'll let you know right away, Mr. Li Jun, of course. You just trust me, I'm glad to do it. As I said, I'm good at remembering people's faces. I'll keep an eye out. Really, believe me Me, it's my honor."