Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

Grant tossed and turned all night.The righteous man, who has always had a good digestion, should sleep well under the unprecedented peace.His part of the work finally came to an end, and the case was declared solved.He had tasted hardships in the barren mountains and fields, and his mood was as excited as taking stimulants.The dinner served by Drysdale was the dream of all hungry ghosts and gourmets.The wind blowing in from the sea outside the window is soft and long, making people feel comfortable physically and mentally.The red-glowing peat moss soothes the soul more than a bonfire of burning logs and flickering charcoal.Grant still couldn't sleep.There was always something wrong in his heart, and like all people who are good at self-analysis, he was aware of certain things and tried to lock them in.

Finally he figured it out and muttered to himself, "My God, that's enough!" As usual, he relaxed.He knows how easy it is in fairy tales to ruin the comfort of a dozen soft mattresses with a tiny pea.He forced himself to get out of bed and found that he couldn't blame any reason for his restless sleep.He listed several reasons, tested them one by one, and then eliminated them.Was it because of the girl? Did he feel owed her for her boldness and generosity? He had no reason to think she would treat Ramon as a friend.The interest she had shown in Ramon at tea was doubtless because he was the most interesting man in all the backcountry.

Was he overtired? Fished all day and then half the village was exhausted.Was he worried that his prisoner would slip out of his hands again? Dr. Anderson said Ramon was unhurt, and would only need a day or two for the long journey.Even if it is assumed, Ramon's chance of escaping now is almost negligible. It seemed that there was nothing in the world that bothered him, but he was still vaguely breathless. When he got up and turned over once, he heard the nurse pass by the corridor, considering whether to get up to see if there was anything that needed help.He put on his nightgown and followed the light that leaked through the crack of the door after she removed the latch.She clings to the candlelight and follows him.

"He's fine, Inspector," she said, in a tone that seemed to tease him for being too nervous. "I couldn't sleep, and I heard your footsteps, and thought maybe I could be of help," he said, masking the embarrassment of his lack of grooming in a dignified tone. Her demeanor softened a little. "It's nothing, thank you," she said. "There's nothing to do now. He's still in a coma." She pushed the door open and let him into the room.There was a lamp beside the bed, but otherwise the whole room was dark and filled with the sound of the sea.There's a big difference between the gentle crash of the shore and the roar of the swells on the wide west coast.He was still unconscious as she spoke, and Grant tiptoedly observed the man in the light.He looked fine and was breathing evenly. "He'll wake up tomorrow morning," she said, sounding like a promise.Not just talk.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am," said Grant suddenly, "for bringing you into this." "It's all right, Inspector, I'm not that vulnerable. But I think I should keep it from my mother and uncle. Can you help me with that?" "I think so too. We'll have to get Dr. Anderson to give him a shot before we go south." She trembled involuntarily. He knew that his words made her feel uncomfortable, but he couldn't take back what he said, so he had to keep silent. "Is he really that bad?" she asked suddenly, "I mean, the rest of him—"

"No," said Grant, "so far we can't say for sure," He was worried that the green shoot that was only burned last night would be slandered again, and she would suffer even more pain, so he said instead: "However, he stabbed his friend from behind." "The people in the line?" she said, and Grant nodded.At this point he began to wait for her to say "I don't believe it!" or something like that, but she was silent.He finally met a woman whose reason was better than emotion.She has only known this man for three days, and everything he has said to her these days has been a lie, and he is also a murderer that the police are eager to arrest.The ample evidence in her discerning eyes had clouded her opinion of the man.

"I just took the teapot to the bathroom and got some water to boil for tea," she said. The usual tenderness beats heavily on the West Coast night.Grant went back to bed again, sure that his troubles were not caused by Miss Dee Moore's emotions, but he still felt that something was wrong.The next day, when the bright morning came, he happily smelled the mouth-watering aroma of bacon omelette and seaweed, while writing a telegram back to ask Balck for credit. While doing so, he still felt uninspired.Miss Deemore came in, dressed in a white uniform, part surgeon part clergyman, and said her patient was awake, and would Grant not disturb Dr. Anderson until he came? Nervous and a little scared.Grant agreed.

"Did he just roll over?" he asked. No, she said, he had been awake for hours.She walked away quietly, leaving Grant alone to imagine what had been going on between the patient and the nurse for hours.Drysdale had breakfast with him, and kindly said that today is an excellent fishing day, which is enough to make up for the regret that he had to fight criminals on the water yesterday and did not fish well.Grant said he would be ready to go when Dr. Anderson arrived and he had heard the doctor's diagnosis.He expected to receive the telegram addressed to him. "Well, yes. Pidgeon thinks it more than anything else. He's going to get it now."

Dr. Anderson, a small, conventionally dressed man in dirty tweed pants.He said Ramon's condition is stable now.Although his memory was not damaged, the doctor who was a close friend of Grant suggested that it was best not to disturb him before the afternoon and give him a whole day to rest.Now that Miss Dimore decided to watch over him, they had nothing to worry about.She is a very good nurse. "When can he start?" asked Grant. "We're in a hurry to go south." "If it's important, maybe the day after tomorrow." Not wanting to see Grant's disappointed expression, he said, "Tomorrow should be fine too, as long as you don't overwork yourself.

It all depends on whether someone takes good care of him during the journey.However, I suggest that it is best to wait until the day after tomorrow before starting. ""What's the hurry?" said Drysdale, "the duck is already cooked, so why worry about it flying?" "I'm afraid of being eaten by others accidentally." Grant said. "Don't worry about it, let's see how the powerful Pijin can show his skills." Grant turned to the stunned doctor and explained the whole story. "If we let him stay here to recover, don't we give him a chance to escape?"

"Don't worry about it today," Anderson said. "This guy can't even bring a finger down now. He has to be carried on his back to escape. I don't think anyone here can hold him on his back." Grant knew that his request was unreasonable, so standing by the sea, he had no choice but to agree.He wrote a second report, supplementing what he had done the night before, and went fishing with Drysdale on the river. A pleasant day, only interrupted for a while by the men sent by Pi Jin. A young man with an aquiline nose and a pair of protruding ears brought a telegram from Balck.They returned to the hotel between tea and dinner.After Grant took a shower, he knocked lightly on Ramon's door.Miss Dimo ​​opened the door for him to enter the room. He looked into the eyes of the man on the bed, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief: Fortunately, he is still there. Ramon spoke first: "Well, you've caught me." He said weakly. "It might seem so," Grant said, "but you had a good chance of getting away with your money." "That's right," the man agreed, his eyes wandering to Miss Dimore and back again. "Tell me honestly, how did you come up with the idea of ​​diving? Was it just a whim?" "Swimming and diving have always been my best. If I can't escape smoothly for a while, at least I can dive in the rock pile under the water, with only my mouth and nose exposed, until you have no strength to find me again, or Back home because it was too dark. But you won—on your head." He seemed pleased with the pun. After a moment's silence, Miss Dimore said in her clear and cautious voice, "I think I can leave him in his present condition. At least he doesn't need professional nursing care any more. Maybe I can get a hotel attendant tonight." The waiter takes care of him?" Grant understood that there was something in her words, implying that the man's strength had recovered enough to resist.He gratefully responded, "Are you leaving now?" "I want someone to take over as soon as possible, so as not to be sad when I get it." Grant rang the bell to explain the situation to the incoming maid. "If you want to leave now, I can replace you." After the maid left, he said to Miss Dimo, and she agreed. Grant walked to the window and looked out at the lagoon. She might want to say something to Ramon, but he avoided it without a trace.She started to pack her things.There was no sound in the conversation between them. He turned around and saw that she was carefully tidying up her things, and the man stared at her without blinking. The whole person seemed to be waiting for her to leave that moment.Grant turned back and continued to look at the sea.At this moment, he heard her say: "Before you go, can I see you?" There was no response, and Grant turned back again, only to realize that she was asking himself. "Oh yes, I hope so," he said. "If I don't see you, I'll call up to the Vicarage first—if you don't mind." "Well then," she said, "then I don't have to say goodbye now." She left the room with her bag. Grant glanced at his captive and turned his head away.It is impolite to peer into the inner world of a murderer from such a distance.When Grant turned his head again, he never imagined that the man's eyes were closed tightly at this moment, and his face seemed to be wearing a mask of unspeakable pain.He liked her a lot, however—there was no possibility between them. "Is there anything I can do to help, Ramon?" he asked quickly. He opened his dark eyes, completely ignoring Grant's existence, and thought to himself. "I don't think after everything that's happened, it's impossible to expect anyone to believe that I didn't do that case," he said in one breath. "Indeed," said Grant awkwardly. "But I didn't really do it, you know." "No, I don't know. We didn't expect you to admit that you did the case." "That's what she said." "Who?" Grant asked, surprised. "Miss Dimore. She said the same thing to me when I told her I didn't kill the man." "Oh? Then, this is a simple method of elimination. It happened to be a misunderstanding from the beginning to the end, which led to everything becoming where it is today." He took the man's hand that was spread flat on the bed sheet, and inspected the inside of his thumb. scar. "Where did it get hurt?" "I accidentally hurt my big traveling suitcase upstairs to our new house in Blessington - that morning." "Well, very well," said Grant indulgently, "let's not argue the matter now, you are not well enough to speak for yourself. If I hear anything from you now, your lawyer can use it Sue me for disregarding your rights." Grant had heard too many stories like this before.The favorite trick of criminals without previous convictions is to pretend to be innocent people being persecuted. Most people will immediately reflect upon hearing this, fearing that they have made a mistake.However, police officers with many years of experience in investigating cases are not so easily swayed-in fact, they simply turn a deaf ear to the words of such people. Cops who get emotionally moved by tragic stories, these guys, to put it mildly, have never been of much use in being assigned to the usual plausible crimes.So, Grant just turned his head away with a smile and continued to look out the window.The lagoon at dusk is like a mirror, reflecting the scenery on the other side of the hill in detail on the water. The Captain Robert was at anchor in the boathouse—a "picturesque boat"—but no paint could paint the translucent hues of the ocean before his eyes. After a while, Ramon asked, "How did you expect me to come here?" "Fingerprints," Grant said dryly. "Do you have my fingerprints?" "No, not yours. I'm going to take your fingerprints later." "Then whose is it?" "Mrs. Everett's." "How did Mrs. Everett leave her fingerprints?" Ramon said, with a hint of provocation in his tone. "I think you should know more than I do. Don't talk too much, I hope you have the strength to take the train tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." "You did nothing about Mrs. Everett?" Grant smiled. "Not really. I think that's what Mrs. Everett meant." "What does that mean? You didn't arrest her, did you?" Judging from the current situation, if Ramon didn't figure out how they tracked him, he would definitely not let it go.Grant said: "We found Mrs. Everett's fingerprints in your room. Before, Mrs. Everett told me that she didn't know your new residence, but the fingerprints she left on the door are an indisputable fact." We found out that her relatives live here, and that someone you've tricked saw you in King's Cross, and his description of Mrs Everey was very close to her. We're going to Blessington flats When I caught you, I realized that you had already taken a step ahead." "Mrs. Everett won't be dragged into it?" "Probably not—we've got you anyway." "I was so stupid at the time that I thought of running away. If I had surrendered to the crime from the very beginning and told you the truth, I wouldn't have fallen to where I am today, and I could live a peaceful life." His Looking straight at the sea, "It's funny to say, if Albert hadn't been assassinated, I wouldn't have come here—and met these things." Grant thought that by "these things" he meant the encounter at the vicarage. "Oh? So, who do you think killed him?" "I don't know. I don't know of anyone I know who is trying to kill Albert. I think that person must have made a mistake." "Isn't it because of a disagreement that caused the murderous intention?" "No, I must have killed the wrong person." "You are left-handed with a bad thumb, the one who quarreled with Sorrell not long before he was killed, and the only person in the world who took all of his savings, but now you say you are innocent." The man looked away wearily, "I know," he said, "you don't have to remind me how bad my situation is." There was a knock at the door, and the boy with protruding ears appeared in the corridor, saying that he had been sent to run errands for Mr. Grant, and that Grant had nothing to say.Grant said, "I'll need you in five minutes, go back and come back when I ring the bell." The boy grinned like Cheshire the cat in Alice in Wonderland, and disappeared down the dark corridor.Grant took something out of his pocket and fiddled with it in the washbasin.Then, he turned back to the bed and said, "If you don't mind, I'm going to take your fingerprints now, don't worry, it won't hurt." He printed Ramon's two inkpad-stained hands on the prepared paper. Ramon's face was expressionless, amused by a man doing something he was familiar with, and he obeyed Grant meekly for the first time.Grant knew that even if he transferred Ramon's fingerprints to paper, Scotland Yard did not leave any record of Ramon.Fingerprints are only valuable if they can be compared. As he set the fingerprints aside to dry, Ramon said, "Are you a big official at Scotland Yard?" "Not yet," Grant said. "That's just your imagination." "Well, I was—saw your picture in the paper." "Is that why you ran away on the Strand last Saturday?" "You mean last Saturday? I was hoping the whole traffic would stop for me." "They were paralyzed by me for a while." "Yes, I was really shocked when I saw you following me so quickly." "Then let me tell you, I lost track of you after I saw you walk into the stride, so you might feel better about it. What did you do after that?" "Take a taxi. A car just happened to pass by." "Tell me," said the Inspector, who was growing curious about Ramon. "Did you have the idea of ​​stealing a ship and absconding when you were having tea at the parsonage?" "No, I didn't plan anything. Then I thought about boats because I'm a good rower, which I don't think you'd expect. I tried to slip, but didn't really think about it. It wasn't until I When I threw out the teacup paper mat, I only wanted to escape. Albert took my gun." "Your gun? Isn't your gun in your pocket?" "Yes, that's why I went to find him in the team." However, Grant did not want to ask for a statement tonight. "Stop it!" he said, ringing the bell to call the boy, ''I'll take your statement tomorrow.If there's anything you need of me tonight, tell this boy and he'll pass it on. "It's nothing serious, thank you.You're so nice - way better than the image I have of cops treating 'criminals'. " This is obviously the English version of "gentle and refined" in Hau's mouth. Grant couldn't help but smile, but the smile on Ramon's dark face was melancholy. "I must say," he said, "I've thought a lot about Albert. If I'm right, the murderer was a woman." "Thanks for the tip," said Grant dryly, ignoring the feeble gratitude on the face of the barely smiling young man.When he went downstairs, he suddenly understood why he kept thinking about Mrs. Locklear.