Chapter 8 Chapter VII

1 Outside Jefferson's door, Superintendent Harper said, "Sir, true or false, we've found a motive." "Well," said Melchett, "fifty thousand pounds, is it?" "Yes, sir. There have been far fewer murders than that." "Yeah, but—" Before Colonel Melchett finished speaking, Harper understood what he meant. "You don't think it's possible in this case? Well, I don't think it's possible, either. But we'll have to look into it." "Oh, of course." Harper continued: "If Mr. Gaskell and Mrs. Jefferson were well-fed and received a good income, as Mr. Jefferson said, it seems unlikely that they would have planned such a monstrous murder."

"That's right. We'll have to look into their finances, of course. I don't really like Gaskell's looks - he seems like a sharp, unscrupulous fellow - but that alone is far from enough to make him a For the murderer." "Oh, yes, sir. I don't think either of them could be the murderer. From what Josie says, I don't think they've got a chance. They've been playing bridge from ten-forty to midnight, So there's no way they did it, and I think there's a more plausible possibility." Melchett said, "Ruby Keane's boyfriend?"

"Exactly, sir. Some disgruntled young guy—perhaps not very strong-willed. Probably someone she knew before she came here. If he found out about this adoption plan, he might be determined to die. When he knows he's going to To lose her, to see her and to live a completely different life, he went berserk, enraged. He asked her out last night, got into an argument about it, and killed her completely out of his wits." "Then why is she in the Bantry library?" "I don't think it's out of the question. Let's say they came out in his car. When he came to his senses and realized what he had done, his first thought was what to do with the body if they had been near The gate of a big house. His idea is that if the body is found here, the investigation of the wanted criminal will focus on this house and the surrounding residents, and he can get away with it. The girl is not heavy, and he picked it up Easy. He had a chisel in his car. He pried open a window and plopped her down on the hearth rug.

Because the girl was strangled, there was no blood or marks in the car that would have given him away.Do you see what I mean?sir? " "Oh, I see, Harper, it's very likely. But there's one more thing to do. Cherchezlhomme." ①French: You have to find that man. ——Annotation. "What? Oh, well said, sir." Superintendent Harper tactfully praised his superior for his joke.Colonel Melchett's French pronunciation was very standard, but Harper almost didn't understand the meaning of these words. 2 "Oh - er - I said - er - can - can I talk to you for a moment?" George Bartlett stopped them both.Colonel Melchett was not interested in Mr. Bartlett at first, but at this moment he was anxious to know about Slack's investigation of the girl's room and his inquiries about the hotel maid, so he said loudly angrily: "Okay , what is—what is it?"

Little Mr. Bartlett stepped back a step or two, opening and closing his mouth like a fish in a pond. "It's—er—probably not important, you know—thought I should tell you. I can't find my car." "Can't find your car? What do you mean?" Mr. Bartlett stammered and managed to understand that he meant his car was missing. Superintendent Harper said, "You mean your car was stolen?" George Bartlett turned gratefully to the softer voice. "Yeah, that's right. I mean, no one knows for sure, do they? I mean someone might have taken my car in a hurry, with no malice, if you know what I mean."

"Mr. Bartlett, when was the last time you saw your car?" "Well, I've been thinking about it just now. Interesting, why is it so difficult to remember things, isn't it?" Colonel Melchett said grimly: "I'm afraid it's not difficult for a person of normal intelligence. I remember you just said that the car was parked in the hotel yard last night—" Mr. Bartlett ventured to interrupt him.He said, "It's so—is it?" "What did you mean 'is it?'? You said it was there." "Oh—I mean I thought it was there. I mean—Nah, I didn't look out, you understand?"

Colonel Melchett sighed.He said patiently, "Let's get this straight. When was the last time you saw your car—really saw your car? And, what make?" "Minoan 14." "When was the last time you saw it?" George Bartlett's Adam's apple twitched convulsively. "Been thinking about it. Was there yesterday before lunch. Wanted to go for a drive in the afternoon. But somehow... you know how it goes... went to bed again. After tea, and then a little bit of squash and stuff, and then go swimming." "Was that car in the hotel yard?" "Probably. I mean, usually I park the car and try to take someone out for a drive. I mean after dinner, but last night I was unlucky and had nothing to do, didn't take that old chap out at all .”

"But, as far as you know, that car is still in the yard?" Harper said. "Oh, naturally. I mean, I usually put him there--don't I?" "Would you have noticed if the car wasn't there?" Mr. Bartlett shook his head. "I'm afraid I didn't notice. Lots of cars coming and going. Lots of Minoans." Superintendent Harper nodded.He had just glanced casually out of the window.There were no fewer than eight Minoans parked in the yard at that time—cheaper models that were popular back then. "Do you have a habit of putting your car back in the garage at night?" Colonel Melchett asked.

"It doesn't usually cost that," said Mr. Bartlett, "you know, if the weather is nice and all that. Parking the car in the garage is a hassle. " Superintendent Harper looked at Colonel Melchett and said, "Sir, I'll see you upstairs later. I'll go to Sergeant Higgins and have him take down the details of Mr. Bartlett's account." "All right, Harper." Mr. Bartlett murmured: "Look, I thought I'd let you know. Maybe it's important, isn't it?" 3 Mr. Prescott boards and boards his extra dancing girls. The food is not so good, but the accommodation is the worst in the hotel.

The room where Josephine Turner and Ruby Keene lived was at the end of a narrow, dark passage.The room was small, facing north, across a section of cliff behind the hotel.The scattered objects in the room once represented the luxury of the suite thirty years ago. Now that the hotel has been modernized and the bedrooms have closets for clothes, the bulky Victorian oak and mahogany wardrobes are relegated to the rooms where the hotel staff live, or for guests when the hotel is full during high season . Melchett saw at a glance that Ruby Keane's room was located so that it would be easy to leave the hotel unnoticed, and it was even more unfortunate to think that she might leave under the circumstances.

At the end of the passage a short flight of stairs led to an equally dim passage on the first floor.There is also a glass door that leads to the side balcony of the hotel, which is not very useful and therefore rarely visited.From here it is possible to go all the way to the main balcony on the front, or follow a winding path to a path that eventually joins the road on the far side of the cliff.This route is poorly paved, so few people use it. Inspector Slack has been busy questioning the waitress and checking Ruby's room for clues.He was lucky, because everything in the room was exactly the same as last night, without any movement. Ruby Keene was not in the habit of getting up early.Slack learned that she usually slept in until about ten or ten-thirty, then called for breakfast.Since Conway Jefferson had found the manager early in the morning, the police had secured everything before the maid came into the room.They didn't actually even go down that aisle.Due to the low season, other rooms on this floor are only opened for cleaning once a week. "Everything we can do," Slack said weepingly, "meaning that if there was anything to look for, we'd be able to find it, but there's nothing to be found. The Glenn County Police have taken all the fingerprints in the room." , but none of them speak for themselves. Ruby's, Josie's, and two waitresses - one on the morning shift, one on the evening shift. And a couple of Raymond Starr's Fingerprints. They were left when he and Josie went upstairs to find her when Ruby didn't show up on time. There were some letters and useless things piled up on the big mahogany desk in the corner. Slack had been carefully picking through it just now Classified, but found no clues of value. Some of the letters were from a 'Lil', who was apparently a friend of Ruby's when she worked in the fancy ballroom. The letters were all gossip, saying They miss Ruby a lot. It's pretty much the same here as it used to be. Always complaining about being mean to us girls as before. He gave Ada a good beating for being intimate with a man." Slack took careful note of all the names that were mentioned.He's going to investigate each of these—maybe he'll find some valuable clues.Colonel Melchett agrees; Superintendent Harper, who comes up later, agrees.Besides, the room offered no clues at all. On the chair in the center of the room was the bubbly pink dance dress Ruby wore earlier in the night, and a pair of pink satin heels and two balled up pure silk stockings were strewn about. , one of them snagged.Melchett remembered that the dead girl had nothing on her legs and feet.Slack learned that this was her habit.To save money, she usually puts make-up on her legs, and only wears stockings when dancing.The door of the wardrobe was open, and there were all kinds of gaudy evening dresses inside, and a row of shoes underneath.Some dirty underwear in the clothes basket, nail shells in the wastebasket, dirty washcloths, cotton pads with rouge and nail polish—in fact, nothing special: everything is clear at a glance.Ruby Keene had run upstairs, changed her clothes, and hurried off again—where?Josephine Turner probably knows Ruby's life and friends best, but there's nothing she can do about it.Inspector Slack didn't think that was surprising.He said: "If what you've told me is true, sir—I mean about the adoption—then Josie's going to get Ruby and all the old friends and all the guys who might screw it up. I see this crippled gentleman is completely captivated by Ruby Keene's sweet innocence. If Ruby had a great boyfriend--he wouldn't accept the old chap. So Ruby has to hide it Thing. Josie didn't know much about the girl after all—her friends and all. But there was one thing she wouldn't agree with—Ruby screwed it up by going out with some guy who wasn't ideal.So Ruby has every reason (in my opinion, she is a crafty lady :) to conceal her dealings with any former friends.She wouldn't let Josie know anything - otherwise Josie would say, 'No, no. ' But you know what it's like for a girl - especially a young one - to always be silly for a tough guy.Ruby wants to see him.He comes, throws a fit over the whole thing, and breaks her neck. " "I think you're right, Slack," said Colonel Melchett.He tried to hide his usual distaste for Slack's unpleasant way of speaking. "If that's the case, then we should have no trouble identifying this powerful fellow." "Leave it to me, sir." Slack said with the same confidence as before, "I'll go to the fancy ballroom to find that 'Lil' and turn everything upside down about her. We'll be able to find out the truth soon .” Colonel Melchett doubted they could.Slack's energy and activity always made him feel tired. "Sir, you might get a little information from another person," Slack went on, "that's the dancing and tennis expert. He sees her a lot and will know more than Josie. Chances are Ruby's He said something." "I have spoken to Superintendent Harper about this." "Okay, sir. The waitresses are very thorough! They don't know anything. As far as I know, they look down on them both. The service to them is so-so. Last night the maids ended up here making the beds, drawing the curtains, a little It's seven o'clock to clean up. There's a bathroom next door, would you like to see it?" The bathroom is in the middle of Ruby and Josie's slightly larger room.The lights were on, and Colonel Melchett secretly marveled at the abundance of cosmetics women used for their beauty.Rows of cleansers, face creams, foundations, skin nourishing creams, 2 boxes of various shadow powders of different colors, a lot of unevenly placed lipsticks, and hair creams and brighteners. Eyelash blackening cream, mascara, blue-enhancing powder for under-eyes, at least a dozen different shades of nail polish, face wipes, odds and ends of cotton pads, and soiled powder puffs.Bottles of lotion - shrinking water, lotion, toner and so on. "You mean," he whispered feebly, "that all women use these things?" Slack, who always knew everything, kindly pulled him out: "Let's put it this way, sir. A woman mainly uses two different colors in her life, one for the day and one for the night. They know which one suits them, so and these career girls had to change them often. One night they danced the tango, another night the Victorian crinoline skirt dance, another night the apahi dance, and then the Ordinary ballroom dancing, so of course the makeup has to be changed accordingly.” "By God!" said the colonel, "it's no wonder the people who produce these oils and cosmetics have made a fortune." "Well, it's easy money," Slack said. "Easy money. Of course you have to spend some money on advertising." Colonel Melchett gave no thought to the bewildering, outdated ornaments of women.He said to Superintendent Harper, who had just come up, "I'll leave the dancing professional to you, Superintendent." "Yes, sir." As they came downstairs Harper said: "Sir, what do you think of what Mr. Bartlett said?" "About his car? I see, Harper, this young man craves attention. He can't be trusted. But what if he did go out with Ruby in that car last night?" 4 Superintendent Harper's demeanor was unhurried, pleasant, and absolutely non-intrusive.It was always difficult for the police in two counties to work together, and he liked Colonel Melchett and thought he was a good chief of police, but he was glad to be alone now.The purpose of Superintendent Harper is not to be greedy too much at one time, and the first interview is only a routine questioning.Doing this will relax the other person and make him or her less wary of you in the next interview. Harper recognized Raymond Starr immediately. He was handsome, tall, agile, with white teeth in an auburn face.He was dark, elegant, friendly, and very popular in restaurants. "I'm afraid I can't be of much help, Superintendent. I know Ruby very well, of course. She's been here for over a month, and we've been practicing dancing and all. But there's really not much to say. She's a wonderful person." Pleasant but silly girl." "What we're eager to learn about is her network. Her dealings with men." "I guessed right. Really, I don't know anything: there are young people around her at the hotel, but nothing special. See, she's almost always with the Jeffersons." "Yes, the Jeffersons." Harper pondered for a moment, then took a sharp look at the young man in front of him. "What do you think of the matter, Mr. Starr?" Raymond Starr asked calmly, "What's the matter?" Harper said, "Did you know about Mr. Jefferson's formal adoption of Ruby Keene?" Starr didn't seem to have heard of it.He lifted his mouth and whistled: "This clever kid: Oh, look, there is no one more stupid than that old man." "Do you see it that way?" "What—what else can you say? If the old chap wants to adopt a girl, why doesn't he choose one from his own circle?" "Ruby Keith never mentioned it to you?" "No, she didn't mention it. I know she's secretly smug about something, but I don't know what." "And what about Josie?" "Oh, I think Josie must know what's going on. Maybe she planned this whole thing from beginning to end. Josie is not a fool. This woman has a brain." Harper nodded. It was Josie who had brought Ruby Keene.There is no doubt that Josie encourages this kind of intimacy.No wonder she was upset and Conway Jefferson panicked when Ruby wasn't there for the dance that night.She was afraid that her plan would be in vain. He asked, "Do you think Ruby will keep it a secret?" "Very likely. She doesn't talk much about herself." "She said nothing—anything—about any of her friends—someone from her old life was coming here to see her, or who she was in trouble with—surely you know what I mean. " "I quite understand. Well, as far as I know, there's no one like that. She never mentioned it." "Thank you, Mr. Starr. Will you now describe to me in your own words exactly what happened last night?" "Okay. Ruby and I did the ten-thirty dance—" "Didn't she look unusual at the time?" Raymond thought about it. "No. I didn't pay attention to what happened afterwards. I had to take care of my partner. I do remember noticing that she wasn't in the ballroom. She didn't show up at midnight. I was very angry and went to Josie. Josie was in the Playing bridge with the Jeffersons. She had no idea where Ruby was, and I thought she was a little flustered. I noticed she was giving Mr. Than the room called. No one answered.So I went to Josie again.She said Ruby may have fallen asleep in the room. It was a stupid thing to say, of course, to the Jeffersons: she said we'd go upstairs and see, and we went upstairs together. " "Okay, Mr. Starr. What did she say when she was alone with you?" "I just remember her looking pissed off and saying: 'Damn little fool. How could she do that. It's going to ruin her future. Do you know who she's with?'" "I said I didn't No idea. Last time I saw her she was dancing with Bartlett Jr. Josie said: 'She won't be with him. What is she doing? Is she with the guy in the movie?' Superintendent Harper hurriedly asked: "The filmmaker? Who is he?" Raymond said: "I don't know his name. He didn't live here. A good-looking guy - he had black hair and looked like a showman. I think he has something to do with the movie business - he Said the same thing about Ruby. He ate here once or twice and danced with Ruby afterwards, but I don't think she knew him at all. So I was surprised when Josie mentioned him. I said I thought He wasn't here tonight. Josie said, 'Look, who must she be out with. What the hell am I going to say to the Jeffersons?' I said what does it have to do with the Jeffersons? Josie says it's a lot .She also said that if Ruby screwed up, she would never forgive her." "By this time we were in Ruby's room. She wasn't there, of course, but she must have been, because the dress she was wearing was still on the chair. Josie looked in the closet and said she thought Ruby was wearing the old dress. She wore a white dress. Usually when we danced the Spanish dance she would change into a black velvet dress. I was so angry and thought Ruby was going to tear me down. Josie tried to comfort me, saying she danced for Ruby so that old Prescott wouldn't bother us both. So she went to change, and we went downstairs and danced a tango, which was dramatic but not too tiring on her feet.Josie was persistent—because she could tell she was in pain.Then she asked me to help her comfort the Jeffersons. She said it was important.Of course, I do my best. " Superintendent Harper nodded.He said, "Thank you, Mr. Starr." He said to himself secretly: "It's important, indeed! Fifty thousand pounds:" He watched the departing back of Raymond Starr, who walked gracefully down the balcony steps, picking up a bag of tennis balls on the way and a racket.Then Mrs. Jefferson, also with the racket in her hand, walked with him to the tennis court. "Sorry, sir." Sergeant Higgins stood beside Harper, out of breath. The superintendent's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and he was taken aback. "Just got a message from headquarters, Changgong. Migrant workers reported seeing fire-like flames this morning. They found a burned-out car at the quarry half an hour ago. Wien Quarry - about Two miles. There was the charred remains of a body in the car." Harper was suddenly furious.He said, "What's the matter with Glenn County? Contagious violence? Don't tell me we've got a big crime now!" He asked, "Have they got the car number yet?" "No, sir. But they'll find out by the engine number. They think it's a Minoan 14."