Chapter 29 robin hood story

The three of us gathered at the dinner table in the Rose Hill apartment—Louis, Jim, and me—Bavy. Of course, the business in question was that of the Evil Society; however, we chatted over crab in marinade, lettuce salad, fresh French bread and a house white wine of choice.These are all prepared by my servant Ford.Ford usually only serves me because I am still a bachelor. Ford, dressed in stylish clothes, showed off his dark Filipino face with a wide smile: "How's the food?" "Pretty good," said Jim, in his characteristic low voice. "You're getting better at cooking."

"Not bad then, huh?" "Definitely not bad," Louise agreed, nodding her blond head. Ford hurried back to the kitchen.That drive led me to believe he had a mistress waiting.Knowing he had a date, I poured my after-dinner brandy and said, "Okay, Louise, go ahead." She stuffed a cigarette into the delicate mouthpiece she always carried. Jim—tall, gangly-limbed, with a mop of gray-brown hair on a rugged face—lit her cigarette with a silver lighter.Then she began to reveal the information provided to her after the investigation by our club branch. "A string of scams involving life insurance and drunk people," she said.

Jim shook his head with that expression of distress he always had when he saw someone lacking morals. "It's not about the beneficiaries, is it?" "Exactly," said Louise. She is as successful in her career as Jim, she is a fashion designer and artist; Jim is a lawyer, and I am the owner of an investment company.However, when she was carrying out the mission of the "evil society", even though she had a pleasant smile on her face, the hatred she showed towards the villains she wanted to get rid of was as cold as a serpent in America. "For a few bottles of wine," I said, "the alcoholic makes the supplier a new beneficiary on his insurance policy. Then, after the supplier finds out that someone else has continued to pay the premium, and confirms that the policy is still valid, the alcoholic It just screamed."

"Correct," said Louise, "it's just that in this case things were more brutal. Each of the victims managed to secretly steal insurance policies from their homes, even though they had long since abandoned their homes to drink.In these cases, the wives of the victims did not know what to do and continued to pay the insurance money.However, how many people often take the insurance policy to check?Besides, every victim died before the next payment was made, and every widow didn't know that the insurance policy was missing and the insurance money fell into someone else's hands until it was too late. "

Jim shook his head in disgust: "How many people?" "Five," she said calmly, "They were all beaten to death when they passed out drunk by the side of the road." Jim pounded his fists on the table, filled with righteous indignation. He couldn't believe that one person could be so cruel to another. "Did the police find anything?" I asked. "Haven't found what we found yet." "Well, tell me," said Jim bluntly, his brown eyes shining vividly. Louise stopped drinking, and then said: "The five are all male, around fifty years old, and each of them has abandoned their family and left their wives and children to fend for themselves. Currently, two of their children need special medical treatment; An older boy with decent qualifications who had to give up his studies to earn money to support the family because his mother was ill. All this because all the insurance money fell into the hands of one person.” “Who?” asked Jim roughly.

"A man named Leith, who keeps a tavern down the street." "As soon as he knew he was the beneficiary, he just waited for them to die or be killed. Right?" asked Jim. Louise smiled again, her green eyes flickering like a child's. "We investigators see it differently." "You mean, he did it himself?" Jim was furious, and he really felt sick. Louise shrugged: "They all changed the beneficiary of the life insurance to Leith in the month before their death. Now, they are all dead and beaten to death in the same month. What the police don't know is , the beneficiary of each case is Leith. Of course, they will find out before long, but—" "Meanwhile," I interrupted, "we must act before they spend the money, get the money back, and give the money back. Those survivors."

"Yes!" Jim was furious again: "But how do we act? " Both stared at me, because it was always my duty to signify the ending. I sat and mused, like I would do a stock investment, knowing that there were several strategies, and finally, I chose the most obvious ones, and then told them what happened. Jim looked at me with a startled look—he couldn't get used to it, a stock trader who often wore gray suits and was actually the most daring gambler in the world—but he nodded in agreement, his eyes twinkling. make up your mind.Louise, who is rude and reckless, turned around and kissed me on the cheek, and said, "That's too smart, Bawei!"

The next night, after dark, Lois drove the two of us to a parking lot near Third Street. Jim and I sat in the back seat, and Lois drove carefully, not breaking the rules. If she had anything to stop us, our disguise would be discovered, no doubt we'd be in the news, we'd be in the news, and there's always something risky about what we do. When we arrived at the pre-selected parking lot, it was half empty, half dark, and near the end of the field lay a dark figure, apparently unconscious.There is fog in the air, so street lamps and car lights are dimmed. "Let's go!" said Jim. "Louise, lock the doors just in case—"

"I'll make a face and hiss," she said, laughing musically.I smiled and got out of the car with Jim, knowing that Louise had the courage to walk a tightrope. "Ready?" I asked Jim. Jim was wearing a dirty jacket and had a dramatic fake beard glued on, and his eyes were red from the potion we had applied earlier.He first made a gesture of answering.Suddenly, in a drunken pose, he wobbled from the parking lot up the sidewalk to a street light, and staggered, "Come on, old friend!" He called me in a vague voice. I was dressed the same as Jim, and they looked like street drunks, and I chased them with a weird gait.

Five minutes later we entered Leith's hotel, and our entry was announced to the proprietor by the tinkle of the bell that jingles when the door is opened. The lighting in the room is too strong to prevent thieves from stealing wine. Standing distrustful behind the counter was Leith, a short, bald man with thick nearsighted glasses, the lenses of which reflected the fluorescent light overhead, and his eyes peered through them, gazing at us. Leith shouted in a high, fretful voice, "Break a bottle and you'll go to jail!" Jim grabbed hold of the corner of the counter just in time to steady himself, and stood there glaring at Leith. "Say what you want, pay, and get out!"

Leith ordered. "Wine!" I said. "Pay first." Lei Si said calmly, We started arguing with him about the payment, but as we expected, he stuck to his guns and wouldn't budge.At last Jim leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Immediately Leith's short-sighted eyes blinked violently behind the thick glasses.He replied, "Who gave you that idea?" "Danjen," Jim mumbled a name Lois had told us, "Old Danjen, haven't seen him lately, but he told me you'd do it for him and you'd do it for me and my friend too, Huh?" "How much?" Liz whispered. "Ten thousand" "Which kind of life insurance?" "Common." "Both?" "Of course." I say. Leith wrote his name on a piece of paper and slipped the note into the breast pocket of Jim's dirty jacket, "Remember the name in your pocket, go to the insurance company to change it, I don't believe it until I see the slip. Now, get out!" We went back there the next night, and Louise went with us, and she looked like the cheapest woman around.She wore a bright red wig, her lips were painted with rich orange lipstick, and her green eyes were painted with black mascara.She was tall and tall, but the red sweater was padded, which made her upper body look weirdly fat, and her black trousers were slightly ragged at the knees. She entered the brightly lit hotel ahead of us, swinging her arms theatrically; Leith stared at her, clearly judging her profession. Then Jimsey gave him the two fake insurance policies that the "society" had prepared for us.So he forgot about Louise.When Jim believes he has become the new beneficiary of two fake insurance policies, he nods abruptly and pushes away two bottles of throat-splitting wine on the counter that he would have sold to us. "Good wine!" said Jim. Cursing, Leith fetched two bottles of cheap Beaune and set them on the counter. Jim and I each took a bottle, and Louise looked at the wine with admiration.By the time we staggered to the front door, Leith was already on his way to the back storage room. Jim opened the door and made the door ring a bell.Pause, close the door again, let the doorbell ring one more time, and lock the door.I flipped the sign over the window so that the words "CLOSED" lit up on the glass. Then the three of us moved quietly and quickly into the back room, where Leith was kneeling before a small sturdy-looking safe, and we waited until he turned the combination dial and opened the door. At this time, Jim said again in his characteristic bass voice: "Don't move now, we won't tell you to move. Just don't move!" Leith stiffened.Jim and I walked up to him and I said, "Stand up and turn around." Liz obeyed the order obediently, her eyes behind the glasses were wide open, full of horror.He blinked once, then looked down at the safe, as if about to close it with his foot. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Louise sweetly, pointing a small pistol at Leith. He stared at the pistol and counted, and shouted: "Rogue!" "Go away!" said Jim gruffly.As Leith moved a few steps to the right, Jim bent over and took out the bill. He counted and nodded, "There are only half of them in total, but we will find others." "That's my money!" said Leith, his voice shaking now. "How did you get it?" I asked. "I earned it!" "Maybe you earned it," I said. "It's hard to kill, isn't it?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Danjen," I said flatly, "Morris, Henwood, Hud, Xunse." He blinked again. "You're trying to do the same trick on us," I said, "only it won't work this time, because we're giving you a fake insurance policy, from our society. Five people make you a beneficiary, and you give them all kill." I looked at Louise and said, "Use his phone, call a car and take him away and lock him up." I pulled the pistol from the holster under my arm and pointed it at Leith.Louise went to the telephone on the front counter, but Leith screamed, "I didn't kill them!" "Then who?" Jim threatened. "I... I can't tell you." "Then you're going to be punished alone for murdering five lives, and murder is a serious crime, Louise," I said to Louise. "Go ahead and call." "No!" said Leith, shaking her head sadly, and said, "If I told you, people would be killed even if they were sitting in jail, and they were connected..." I looked at the bill in Jim's hand, "Both Fifteen thousand, there should be fifty thousand, how did you do it? Someone killed someone for you, who are you splitting with?" Liz kept shaking her head, unable to answer. I motioned Jim and Lois to go to the end of the room, keeping the gun in my hand on Leith, who stared back at us in horror. "I've got an idea," I said, and when I'd explained the plan to them, I added, "It's a little risky, so if you don't—" Louise smiled softly, "we'll do it!" "What about you, Jim?" I asked. He nodded, and we turned to Leith, and I said to him: We'll make a deal with you. ""condition? " "Call your friend and say that you have arranged two more jobs. Tell him that we have just left your hotel and have directions. When he wants to start, we will take care of him." "But that won't do me any good!" protested Leith. "He'll know I set it up for you, and you'll still say I'm an accomplice, or that I hired someone to do it, or whatever you call it. That's right. I didn't benefit at all!" "Our concern is who did it," I said. "If we can catch him, he's the one we're going to punish. He can't kill you. Now, even if you say you're going to A while in prison—yes, it’s going to take a while, but if you cooperate, it won’t last long.” "But the money! If I stay, I can hide it—" "Proof! Leith." Jim put it in his pocket, smiling. "But, you don't give me any choice!" He screamed wildly. "There is one." I said, pointing to the phone in front of me.He stood there blinking.Then, the eyes behind the lens are brighter. "How are you going to catch him?" "Go out your back door, south, onto Third Street," I said. He nodded and walked to the front phone.I followed with my gun and stopped by the storeroom door. He dialed, whispered for a while, listened for a while, whispered for a while, and hung up.I motioned him back to the storage room. "What does he look like? Describe it." "Tall," said Leith, "always wears a black leather jacket, no cap, fair hair, a scar on his cheek." "What weapon does he use?" Jim asked. "Stick," said Leith. "Look at him," I said to Louise, "and watch him carefully." She smiled and put the pistol on Leith."I'll watch it, and watch it carefully," she said. Jim and I walked out the back door with a bottle each.We walked evasively, slowly, swaying, deliberately pretending to be the weird smile of drunkenness, but our perception was sensitive and clear, and we were clear about every disturbance and every sound around us. Six times someone asked for a drink, but those people were easy to push away because we were sober and they weren't. Finally, we entered an unlit alley, and we sat on a concrete doorstep, half lying there, whispering, talking and laughing, waiting for a tall, blond man in a black leather jacket with a scar on his cheek . People of all colors passed by the alley sparsely. Then, a woman with wild white hair and sunglasses appeared, holding a white cane in one hand and a dog in the other.The dog at the end of the rope is a French Shepherd.The woman dragged her feet with worn-out shoes pitifully.She walked hunched over, as if she was paralyzed, with her mouth pouted in an ugly way. When she was almost passing the alley, she turned and let go of the dog's leash, took off her sunglasses, and put them in the pocket of her tattered sweater.Her body was no longer stooped, and she ran towards us with the vigor of an athlete, followed by the collie, whose golden eyes gleamed with pleasure and intelligence. The woman raised her cane, and let it drop ferociously over Jim's head. But Jim was already rolling away quickly, and I stood up abruptly, drawing a pistol from under my jacket. When she saw the pistol, she opened her eyes wide and turned, trying to get away, but I stood in front of her and held her out with my arms.The collie stood watching the action with happy golden eyes, wagging his tail. Jim stood up, flashed his wallet, and showed her the police IDs the Society had prepared for us. "I know it—" she began to argue. "Danjen, Morris, Henwood, Harder, Sons, all died under this crutch, which was specially made to get the job done," I said. She looked away from me, to Jim, and back again, with horror in her eyes, "Why" Leith," I said, "we got him from the insurance payout, the evidence was solid, he confessed. " "But, I just talked to him..." she said puzzled. "He made the phone call under our surveillance, and now he is still under surveillance, let's go!" You take me to jail? ' she said, her ugly mouth quivering. "Yes," said Jim, "but first to see your place." Her hand gripped her cane, and her eyes were darkened with hatred. "If you dare to use that thing again," I said, "I'll shoot you between the eyes, let's go!" Her so-called "home" was a nearby hotel, and when we sandwiched her into the hallway of the lounge, the tall, overburdened teller looked at us suspiciously. I pointed the pistol at her through the pocket, and I'm sure she felt the pressure.She put on her glasses again, leaning on a cane, and leading the docile collie with the other hand. "Mandy, are you okay?" the cashier asked her concerned. "It's all right, Hongs," she said, "these two are my friends." He looked at us again, shook his head, and went on with his dime novels. We took the elevator up to the second floor and accompanied her into a messy room full of trash and smelling strange.Mandy stood among the mess, looking downcast. She took off her glasses, put them on top of a dusty cabinet, let off the dog leash, and was about to cry. "I didn't do what you think," she said. I've brought some money, I'm afraid you'll follow me and steal my money. I'll just give you a pat on the back, I'm just a poor old woman..." "False blindness," I said, "fake rickets, prosthetic limbs Feet...I reckon you're twenty years younger than you look, yes, you're a good old lady, but you're hired to be a murderer, aren't you? Go find it, Jim." Jim started rummaging. Mandy gripped the special cane again, her knuckles turning white from the grip.She began to curse, uttering difficult words.She called to the collie, "Stop him!" The dog just wagged its tail happily and looked at Jim with bright, lovely eyes. Then, Mandy gripped the special cane again, and because of the tight grip, she lifted it very fast, trying to hit Jim.I cut her wrist with my hand, sending the cane flying away. She began to curse again, but by this time what she was looking for had been found, and Jim was counting out the twenty-thousand-dollar bills that were hidden in every corner of her house.Jim pocketed the money. "You can't take it!" Mandy yelled softly, tears starting to roll. "We've got it," said Jim. "And then you're going to send me to jail!" she said, tears streaming down her face. "No, I'm not sending you to jail, Mandy," I said, "we're going to give you a little chance, my friend and I, and we're going to keep the money, understand?" "But—that was robbery!" she begged. She has reverted to her old little lady role, which I suspect she has played for so long that she has often believed that to be the case. "Maybe," said Jim, "but we'll excuse it, won't we? It's the way we keep the money, and you can have a chance." "What kind of chance?" "Run away," Jim said, "we're all good enough then? We'll give you a noble start." He grinned, then bent over and snapped the phone cord off the wall. The tall cashier named Huns watched us carefully as we went downstairs into the lounge. I entered the phone booth drunk and dialed the number.A few minutes later, I heard Louise say, "Hello?" "We've got the killer, Louise, and we'll be here in a minute. So, don't you try what we've been talking about, I don't want to—" "I'm sorry," she said, "we're not giving up." And then hung up Telephone. As I stepped out of the phone booth, I happened to meet a policeman rushing into the waiting room. He looked at us with alert and experienced eyes, and said to the cashier, "Hungs, what's the matter?" "Mandy, her room is just above the counter. After the two of them went upstairs with her, it was like hell. There were all kinds of noises. Officer Jack, you'd better go up and have a look. I can't call her." Can't get through." The officer looked at Jim and me and ordered, "You two stay here and don't move." "They're drunk like that," Hong Si said from behind the counter, "It won't run far." The policeman nodded, entered the elevator, and disappeared. The cashier gave me a wicked smile, and said, "If you break a hair on Mandy, you're in big trouble. Mandy is a sweet lady, and all my friends know it." "That's right," Jim said, walking crookedly towards the counter, "Sweet little lady." Then a big fist came and landed on the tip of Hongs' chin. The tall accountant showed surprise in his eyes, and then his body slowly disappeared behind the counter. Jim and I hurried out of there, up the street, around the back of the hotel.The back door was open. We went inside and saw Louise lying face down on the floor.I cursed silently, and hurried over with Jim. "Louise..." I said, looking at her face.One eye is open and she is winking. "Hey, shit!" Jim raged. "We thought—" When we helped her up, she said, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure it was us, not Leith." "How did you do it?" I asked . "When I hung up the phone, I came here and told him to stand where I could see, but then I broke down on purpose and let the pistol slip, and this moment, he took his chance, like a hungry ghost on bread , grabbed the pistol, and shot me four times. Believe me, I was glad I had some distance between him, the gun was blank, but close range still hurts. But I was not injured, and I played dead. It's kind of like that. Honestly, I'm pretty good at it." "You must be crazy, Louise," I said emotionally, "absolutely. But I agree that you did a good job." I kissed her on the cheek. She smiled with a dazzling brilliance: "Now, the murderer is..." "The female murderer," Jim said, "A little old woman with a murderous instinct." "Woman?" Louise said, startled. "Well, no, she's not a woman," I said, "she's a murderer, yes. We find most of the insurance money, and we can give it directly to those who deserve it." But what about the woman? manage? ' asked Louise. "Run!" Jim assured him. "Where's Leith?" she asked. "He thinks he killed you," I said, "so he's going to drop the weapon and spend some time looking for us. You know, he thinks we're dead and he's got twenty-five thousand dollars in his pocket. After all Mandy He has never missed a shot before. But when he can't find us, he will play tricks and take it as the best strategy." Louise nodded; looking very happy. "That's it, isn't it?" "One more thing," said Jim. We followed him to the front, and he picked up the receiver and dialed.A few minutes later, he said on the phone: "Make a note of this, and record it correctly. A series of five murders who were drunk and killed by the side of the road. Those five were Dan Jen, Morris, Henwood, Harder, and Xunsi. The five of them benefited from life insurance It's all Leith. Leith owns a liquor store down the street. He's short, bald, and wears nearsighted glasses. There's an old woman named Mandy who does the murders for him. She's been pretending to be blind, maybe wearing dark glasses. , holds a white cane, and leads a guide dog. The dog is a shepherd, has golden eyes, and has a very good disposition. Or she dresses up, becomes unbreakable, and throws away her white cane and guide dog. She The room is at the 'Argas Hotel'. The two of them were terrified and were about to flee from the city.Now it's up to you to investigate all possibilities and arrest them. "He paused, then said: "Who am I? "He laughed and said, 'Let's just say it's Robin Hood. " Then hung up the phone and the three of us left the hotel together.