Chapter 6 Chapter Six

When he walked to the corner seat, half of the seats in the golden and green dining room were empty.Marceau took the opportunity to chat with him endlessly.The Inspector seems to be making progress on his case? Of course, Inspector Grant lived up to expectations.A whole man could be pieced together from a single dagger! (An arrest notice for a suspect had been published in all but the earliest editions of the morning papers.) It was a little frightening.If he, Marceau, had served his appetizers with a fish fork, might it mean he had a corn on his left big toe? Small mistakes interpreted as criminals in love."

"In this way," Marceau said with a smile, "I dare say Inspector Grant can see what crime I have committed." "Oh? Are you impatient?" Grant asked. No, Marceau liked that sort of joke, but his wife was a notoriously stern woman, and Grant knew that. "One day, I met an employee who worked in your pantry," Grant said. "It's called Lego, isn't it?" Yes, Lego de Hau.This kid is pretty good.He's handsome, isn't he? Especially his angular silhouette and those eyes! He's been approached for a movie, but he's unimpressed.

If Ma Suo is really a bole, then Ha Wu will be a thousand-mile horse. A newcomer sits at the opposite table, and Marceau's relaxed and genial expression fades away like snowflakes on the wet sidewalk.Concealing his previous insolence, Marceau listened respectfully to Grant's five favorite dishes.Grant feasted on it.After drinking the last cup of coffee and walking to the street, he realized that it was still early.Evenings on the Strand were as colorful and crowded as day, with the last homecoming crowd and early fun-seekers crowding the sidewalks and roads restlessly.He walked slowly towards Charing Cross along the gaudy pavement, the lights in and out of the shop windows flickering and changing.Rose, gold, diamond, shoe store, clothing store, jewelry store.

After crossing the wide sidewalk and walking to an old lane, the crowd that had been clustered together before gradually dispersed, and men and women walked alone.Walking a few yards in front of Grant, someone turned his head as if to see the number of the bus that was stopping. His eyes fell on Grant, and a diamond-like light from the window shone upon him, turning his expressionless face suddenly into a mask of horror.Regardless of looking around for oncoming cars, he rushed to the front of the bus that was about to leave the station on the road without hesitation.Grant was stopped by the rushing bus, but before it swung its tail, he followed the man from the sidewalk to join the tangle of traffic.Trapped in traffic, his eyes fixed on the fleeing figure more sharply than on the dagger, he thought, "After four years of running away from the Germans, it's no good being run over by a bus wheel. Scared." A scream came to his ears, and he hurried to avoid it, and a taxi that was within a few inches of him passed by, and the driver, who was just in shock, cursed.He flashed past a yellow sports car, but saw a swishing black figure appear at the position of his left elbow. He knew it was the front wheel of the bus, and jumped back vigorously.At this time, another taxi came to his right, and he withdrew to the same spot as the bus drove away.

A yard ahead was the safe sidewalk, and he glanced quickly left and right to see the man he was looking for walking leisurely down Bedford Street, evidently not expecting Grant's quick decision to give chase. .Grant lit a candle in his heart, hoping that God would bless him to cross the road safely.It is rare for him to hang out in the street, but he is within walking distance from his prey.The man stood in front of Bedford Street looking around.Grant thought, I knew I was right—he was really frightened at the sight of me.Grant didn't have to look any further to confirm that the man was indeed high-cheekboned, dark-skinned, and protruding-jawed, just as he was sure the man had a fresh scar on his left index finger or thumb.

Two minutes later the man turned around - but not hastily.For some reason, the man just glanced absently.He turned his head only once in two minutes, which showed that he was very cautious.After another two minutes he disappeared down Bedford Street.Grant ran after him, only to watch as the lanky figure suddenly disappeared into another street, and there was no one on the street who could point out the man's whereabouts.He turned back around the corner, blaming himself for losing his prey.Grant made up his mind that if he kept going, he would find it in the ends of the earth.Looking forward to the cliff in front of him, he braced himself and walked along the right side of the street, searching all possible hiding places with vigilant eyes.When it was a waste of time in the end, he began to feel uneasy, and a feeling of being fooled spontaneously emerged.He stopped and looked back.As he did so, a figure at the bottom of the Strait flashed out from the door of the store on the other side of the street, and disappeared in the crowd of the main street.Grant returned to the Strait and searched for thirty seconds, but the man was nowhere to be seen.Buses come and go, taxis roam the road, and storefronts up and down the street are still open.

It would be the best policy to choose to slip away here.Grant cursed, and while he was cursing, he thought in his head, this guy gave me a clean pass, and I cursed that he would end up worse than me, and this time I counted my luck.For the first time, he felt happy to cooperate with newspapers, allowing these media to issue notices to the public to arrest suspects as they wish.He lingered about the street for a while, scanning every shop he passed with searching eyes, not expecting to find anything: at last he stopped in the shade by the door of a casual shop, and waited for the man to come in. It reappeared when the threat was lifted.Curious as to who he was waiting for, a policeman who happened to see him crossing the street asked Grant to go out into the open to explain the situation to the apologetic officer.Deciding that his pursuer had fled, he prepared to call Scotland Yard.After being fooled by the man, his first impulse was to send a team to the Strand, but judging from the bustling traffic conditions, anyone who drove fast from Embankment Avenue at this time would not be able to wait until the end of the day. Here, the man he wanted to catch might have fled to Gould's Green, Camberwell, or Elstreet long ago.Grant had no choice but to dismiss the idea.

It is too late to call in the police. After reporting to Scotland Yard on the phone, he walked slowly towards Trafalgar Square, refreshed.An hour ago, he had scolded himself indignantly to the point of being at a loss for words.The man he was after was only six yards away, and he let the boiled duck fly.Fortunately, the facts of the case are about to be cleared up.He thought about it carefully, but he went too far in retracing the whole process - thinking too far - back to the beginning.He was now pretty sure the Levantine was still in London.This is unprecedented progress in the case.After the description of the suspect was released by the police the night before, there was no way to leave London.They had to sift through reports from all over Britain—Grant had experience with these arrest reports—and possibly from the Continent.If he hadn't had the opportunity to meet at the Strand, the man might have been ecstatic about that thrilling moment.Now that they knew he was in London, they could concentrate the police.

He might have dumped them on the road, but there was no other way he could have done it, and Grant saw that he didn't even have the money to rent a car from a familiar dealership.Lack of money will only work against him - while lack of money won't stop him from getting where he wants to go, it will make him extra cautious about going in and out.The strange thing is that when the whole street was cleared, he still stayed where he was.Grant understood Londoners' obsession with living in the city they knew.This foreigner behaved like a rat in a sewer, better at hiding than running.While the suspect's description has not been widely released, that doesn't mean the police won't notice.In such circumstances, it takes extraordinary guts and courage to face the ticket inspector or the crew on board.The suspect is still hiding out in the city.From now on, he will be held in the hands of a mobile police force that has stepped up its patrols, and the chances of him slipping away again are slim to none.

What's more, Grant had seen him.This is another major development in the case.The next time Grant meets him, he'll be absolutely doomed. The Levantine was in London, and the friend of the deceased was supposed to be in London; the Levantine could be identified, and the friend could be traced along the bank notes—according to Marceau, the case had indeed progressed.At the end of St. Martin's Lane, Grant remembered that tonight was the last performance of Don't You Know?He had to take a quick look before returning to Scotland Yard.His mind was running smoothly now, and the quiet room in Scotland Yard was so quiet that it would drive him mad, he could never stay in there and think.An unexpected surprise on a crowded street, a Levantine setting up some excited mob somewhere, have a better chance than being forced to stay in a room sealed off from the outside world.

Grant exchanged pleasantries with the theater manager, and when he found a six-inch standing space behind the special seats on the second floor, the play had been running for nearly twenty minutes.The view here is excellent, a good seat to watch in the dark. From the ceiling to the floor, the theater has never been a comfortable place, and only the reddish dim light can be seen on the enthusiastic audience.They're fanatics, last-night audiences, passionate theatergoers saying goodbye to the people and things they're most obsessed with.Adoration, admiration, and regret filled the theater, and un-British resentment coalesced at the moment.When Gao Lun occasionally tampered with the lines, they would shout loudly, "Give us the full performance, Gao!" Gao Lun had to be faithful to the original performance.Ley Macbeth spread her charms across the stage with the lightness of a falling leaf, as always.The beat of the music tapped softly as she danced lightly.Breaking away from the role of accompaniment, music has become the leading force.The music made her stand up, twirl, twirl, float her to the edge of the stage, and when the music died down, she fell gracefully on the ground.The audience clamored again and again for the music to move her, make her smile, make her shine, make her dance.She is like a crystal ball floating in a water bottle.The silence after the rapid fall was broken by applause from the audience, who would not let her exit.In the end, someone took her to the side of the stage, and the storyline barely continued, and the audience began to tremble with anxiety and impatience.Nobody wants to see the storyline tonight, not at all.What many of these ardent fans have not yet grasped is what is apparently the most important thing about the evening, and that is the sheer absurdity of wasting time on inconsequential episodes. The presence of the most famous choir in the whole of Britain eased the mood of the audience a little.The fourteen Wuffington girls, renowned throughout England and across the Continent, were astonishingly uniform--satisfying but never tiresome--like watching the changing of the Guards.Not one head was more out of the way, not one toe was out of line, not one kicked higher than his fellow left and right, not one foot landed faster than the others.The audience almost forgot about Rey when the last of the fourteen girls tugged her orange-and-black-striped tutu slightly exaggeratedly as she left.Just almost, not really forgetting.Rey and Colum captured the hearts of all present - this was their night, theirs and their fans' night.At this time, the anxiety that was not caused by Guan Leiyi or Gao Lun was ignored because it was not obvious.This evening, the audience's gradually boiling emotions are about to reach their climax.Grant pursed his lips and looked sympathetically at the hero who thought he was his own, and his emotional solo wowed the audience.The solo piece is sung by the sexiest tenor in all of Britain, with postman boys whistling and symphonies playing in the dimming lights.He was clearly expecting the audience to chant "One More!" at least three times, but when the final chorus was over, they looked disinterested.It was his mistake, it wasn't him they wanted to see.He should have the courage to admit that he is just a foil for Rey, dancing with her, singing for her, and cooperating with her in every move-Grant suddenly thought that his fading was caused by Rey Macbeth's distinctive personal characteristics Surprisingly, she deliberately used this trait to make herself the most eye-catching focus under the stage lights.Grant had no presumptions about the magnanimity of a leading lady, either in the play or on the stage.Drama stars can be easily moved by tears and a lot of sentimental tragic stories, but once they face a strong opponent, their good nature disappears.Rey Macbeth is so popular because of her versatility and good looks.Her agent is the best of cunning. Grant once saw a report about her in the "Short Review", which mentioned that he was a scout, and he did not deny that his eyes were always searching for the next target of his interest.Her agent has a knack for building someone up, turning a trivial matter into a headline. In the two years since her debut, she has changed three male leads, while the other roles are still the same, which is very puzzling.Is it her approachable attitude, her modesty, or her - there is no other word to describe it - her deliberate elegance? Is London's most delicate and charming public lover actually cold and heartless? He has seen her off the stage, Luoluo Generous, intelligent, distinguish right from wrong, never arrogant or make petty temper.It seems unbelievable that a charming girl is going the right way with her head.He knows many big-name actresses who can mispronounce lines on stage. No matter how they dress up, they always lack a gentle heart.Rey Macbeth was a sweetie who couldn't get her lines wrong, and he could have sworn her charm was genuine.He had watched her closely, tried to refute his satisfaction with her—he liked her a lot—meaning that his heart had surrendered to her involuntarily.However, because of panic, he began to recall those ambiguous feelings, which had been acknowledged and became the focus of his self-exploration, confirmed bit by bit.She used to reject men thousands of miles away.They met in his pursuit of the dead man's identity, but both of them tactfully avoided the question, and Grant, who had never acknowledged his feelings for her in the past, would naturally distract or divert his admiration from her, even when she intervened. Keep your compliments to a minimum.All this was due to his ambiguous feelings, so, from her point of view, it was certainly unbearable.She was too clever, he thought, to need tricks.She only needs to inadvertently use a little of her luminous qualities, and her opponents will be dimmed like a star meeting the sun.Only when she is on the same stage with Gao Lun, she can't use her strength - he and she also have the energy of the sun.If that's the case—she can only tolerate him in every possible way.However, performing on the same stage with her male lead—a handsome, approachable, and rare vocalist—brings her acting skills to the fullest.Grant recalled people saying it was impossible to find a better actor to play with her.That was the reason, he had no doubts.Relying on a kind of supernatural sobriety that made him suddenly read her mind, he was indifferent to the charm that surrounded him.Only he and she can stay out of the way when facing the enthusiastic crowd, and calm down as bystanders.He thought of it as he watched her play: an unhappy man, a wretch, cold and cautious, who looked as if he were playing the part of an ugly woman from the New Testament.She wrested the pride he once had from him with a smile and sweetness, and pinned it to her dazzling gown.No one noticed that this pride had burned to ashes.If people really thought so, they'd think that's enough for the leading man tonight -- but, of course, it's hard to find a more ideal partner to play with her.Collen accepts his due, and in the next play she shares the audience's applause by stabbing him with the sharp-edged dagger of a political politician, leaving everyone in the theater to agree that he's not worth so much Applause.His inferiority complex was emphasized and reminded again and again.Yes, that's right, this is her cunning.The play within the play became Grant's sideshow tonight.He saw the real Rey Macbeth, and there was another side of her that was so strange.He was so engrossed that he didn't find himself standing at the back of the amphitheater until the curtain fell on the final act, the audience cheering deafeningly, but his mind was still.Time and time again, the curtain rises on the brightly lit stage, flooding the footlights with gifts and flowers.Then came the speeches, with Gollen leading the way, clutching a large bottle of whiskey, trying to be funny but unsuccessful because his excited voice could not be calmed.Presumably, Gollen's mind goes to those heartbreaking days of living in a humble room in a poor town, with two shows a night and the constant dread.Gao Lun sang for a living for many years, never thinking that there would be a day surrounded by joy.Next came the director, and then Rey Macbeth. "Ladies and gentlemen," she said in a clear, slow voice, "two years ago, when you didn't even know me, you conquered me when you treated me well. Tonight you again won me over. And all I can say is, thank you. " Short and to the point, Grant thought, to the cheers of the audience.He turned and left.He knew what was going to happen—everyone, including the boy who summoned the actors, was going to give a speech, and he had heard enough.He went downstairs through the dark reddish-brown hall, and walked into the night with an inexplicable suffocation in his chest.If the 35-year-old is not enthusiastic about these complex and heavy hallucinations, others may say that he has awakened.He had always been in love with Rey Macbeth.