Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Romance Under the Mask

When Mason returned to the office, Secretary Tai Na told him that the police had come and turned the office upside down. "They put the girl in handcuffs and took her away." Tai Na showed a surprised expression: "Didn't you hide her somewhere else? She didn't come." "Hmm...that's weird, where did the girl escape to?" Mason had a straight face, lost in thought. "Detective Drake asked someone to deliver a package just now." Secretary Taina handed over a small cardboard box, Mason opened the lid, and saw six bloodshot glass prosthetic eyes wrapped in cotton.

"Tina, do you know Mr. Burnett's phone number, please call him immediately." Taina dialed the dial, handed the receiver to Mason, and the call was connected quickly. "Well, Mr. Burnett, come here at once, or you will be in very serious trouble!" "Is he in trouble?" Secretary Taina looked at Mason worriedly. "The moneylender Hartley Barshad was murdered. Died with a bloodshot false eye in his right hand." "So the murderer was the one who stole Mr. Burnett's false eye. If the false eye held in the dead man's hand belonged to Mr. Burnett..."

"If what Hazel said is true, the murderer is probably Burnett. When she was beaten by the murderer, she took off the murderer's mask and saw his face. It is said that it was a one-eyed man. Burnett is a one-eyed man. I think Hazel Zell was a key witness in this case, and yet she disappeared without a trace." Mason felt very displeased with the woman's behavior. "But does Mr. Burnett know the victim, Mr. Bashard?" "No idea. But he met Harry when he came to my office this morning, and he said hello, and maybe Burnett knew Shad through Harry." "Also, the blankets and black masks are inexplicable."

"Yes, the murderer hid the pistol in the blanket and walked into the manager's room to cover up the sound of the gunshot. In this way, Bashad was shot almost without resistance. Why didn't he become suspicious when he saw the murderer?" "Because of the shot from behind." "No, it was shot from the front, very close up." "Then the murderer must be someone who would not arouse Bashad's suspicions. Who is he?" "First Mrs. Bashard. Then there is my son Dick. Besides, since Miss Hazel is Dick's wife, Bashad will probably believe her without doubting her."

"What else?" "There are two more people. One is the driver James, and the other is Secretary Kulmer. But the prisoner who came out of the manager's room covered his face with a black mask, which was prepared hastily." "Why is it necessary to wear a mask after committing a crime?" Taina found it difficult to understand. "Of course I don't want people to see my face. The most incredible thing is that even though this man has one eye, he has two holes in the mask!" At this point, Mason pondered, and then asked Taina to call Drake.The call was quickly connected:

"Hey, Drake, hurry up and gather as much information as possible about the usurer Bashad. Bashad was murdered tonight, and the situation of Mrs. Bashad and her son Dick is to be investigated, and, Please do a thorough check on Pete Burnett as well." "Hey Mason, do you know what time it is!" "No, we have to race against time. Please mobilize your subordinates to take the fastest action." Drake reluctantly agreed. Mason had just put down the phone when Pete Burnett barged in.He was out of breath, his forehead and neck were dripping with sweat, when he suddenly found the six false eyes on the table, he picked them up and looked at them.At this time, Mason said to him coldly: "Mr. Burnett, your lost false eye has been found."

"What? Where did you find it?" "A man named Hartley Barshard was killed in his hands," Mason said, and Burnett paled. "The dreadful thing happened. Terrible. Mr. Mason, the culprit must have been the one who stole the false eye. He put it in the dead man's hand to make me wrong." "Do you know Mr. Hartley Barshard?" "No, no. Not once." "Where is his son Dick Barshard?" "Yeah. I know." "Harry who works under Bashad, do you know him? It's the young man you saw here this morning." "Well, there is a chance."

"Did you know that he embezzled money?" "Well, I heard a little bit." "Then do you know a man named Kulmer? He is Bashard's secretary, a young man with a snake waist." "Yeah. I know." "Where's Bashard's driver?" "Oh, yes. A tall, brunette, cold, heartless fellow." "And the young woman named Hazel Henwick?" "Hazel? . . . No, I don't know. Why on earth are you asking about these things?" "Because you hid something from me. You know all the people in Bashad's family, why don't you know Bashad alone? Isn't this suspicious? What is the relationship between you and Mrs. Bashad?"

Burnett's face was red again, and beads of sweat were oozing. "You said that the fake eyes were stolen by thieves and replaced with imitations, is that a lie?" "Well, I'm sorry. It's true that I lost my fake eye." "When was the last time you saw Madame Bashard?" "Actually...I went to Mrs. Bashard tonight, but not to the office, but to see Mrs. Bashard at his private house." "Is it you that Secretary Kulmer witnessed the man fleeing from the house?" "So, that guy saw my face clearly?" Burnette couldn't help panicking. "Impossible! At that time, Kulmer was standing across the road. I noticed him first. In order not to let him see my face, I turned my head and ran away..."

Just as Mason was asking, there was a sudden knock on the door in the corridor.Tyna had just opened the door when Officer Holcomb burst in with two of his men.He stared at Burnett with sharp eyes: "You are Peter Burnett. Now arrest you on suspicion of killing Bashad." The police officer quickly handcuffed Burnett and ordered two subordinates to forcibly arrest him. take away. "Mason, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation suddenly." Officer Holcomb seemed to show off his victory with a smile. "You're welcome. Mr. Inspector, please come back soon, and I'll be there anytime."

Officer Holcomb slammed the door angrily and walked away with heavy footsteps. Mason had a sleepless night that day. The next morning, Mason came to his office, and Tina told him that the police station called just now, saying that his car was opposite the police station, and it was said that it had illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant at two o'clock this morning. "Hazel really doesn't know what to do, this woman is indeed a mystery." Mason muttered. After finishing speaking, Mason opened the drawer and took out the false eye box, which contained the false eye bought by Drake last night.Mason opened the box, took out two fake eyes, and put them in the left and right pockets respectively.The remaining four let Taina put away in the safe. That's when Detective Drake walked in.His eyes were red and swollen from lack of sleep.Last night, he mobilized twenty of his subordinates to investigate overnight.He sat down and lit a cigarette now, and slowly talked about the investigation. "It was twenty years ago. In a quiet village, there was a girl named Silsia Bakuli. She was a pure, beautiful girl with big watery eyes. This is Her photo." Drake pulled a faded frame from his pocket and handed it to Mason. "She disappeared from the village through a pathetic love. The lover's name was Peter Burnett. He was a cloth salesman, and he had two good eyes at that time. The innocent Sylvia to the young salesman It was love at first sight. No matter how her parents objected, her love for Burnett was cut off. One day, Burnett received a letter from girl Sylvia, saying that she seemed to be pregnant and hoped to be with Burnett sooner. Nate is married. He decides to go to Sylvia at once. But in a twist of fate, the car overturns and Burnett is badly injured. A shattered skull, a bruised eye, and no memory." "Sylvia waited day and night, but neither Burnett came nor heard from him. She decided that she was abandoned. Her belly gradually grew, and she came to the city. After giving birth to her child, she made a living as a typist. At this time, she met Bashad. Bashad was attracted by Silbia's beauty and proposed to her. She didn't like Bashad very much, but she thought that if she married Bashad, her life would be rich She got up, so she accepted the marriage proposal against her will. She didn't know Bashard's cruelty until she got married. For this reason, Silbia and her son Dick hated his stepfather very much. Burnett, who was admitted to the hospital, recovered his memory and was discharged from the hospital. , began to look for his lover Silbia. He finally found Silbia and asked her to marry him. Silbia still loves Burnett, but she is afraid of breaking up with her husband Bashad, so it is difficult to make up her mind. " Mason interrupted and asked, "Did Dick know that Burnett was his biological father?" Detective Drake shrugged: "How can I understand so clearly. The above is Mrs. Barshard's sad love story. When I called Mrs. Barshard's house this morning, only Dick was at home." Mason was startled when he heard that, "It seems that Madam is also missing, we need to find out Madam's hiding place." Drake said: "It's not difficult. Will the six artificial eyes I bought last night be useful?" "The prosthetic eye is very delicate. It's a pity that I got it one step too late." "I heard that Bashad's corpse held a bloodshot false eye in his right hand, so I felt it was a step too late. Mason, you planned to replace that false eye to prevent Burnet from being implicated." Mason was noncommittal.Just let Drake quickly find Mrs. Bashad's hiding place.