Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

Ramon hadn't confessed to the Inspector at Carnich, but they were on their way south.Dr. Anderson, hearing the news that they were leaving, begged Grant for another day on his patient's behalf, "You don't mean to give your patient an inflamed brain?" Grant, who was in a hurry to write down the statement, explained that Ramon himself didn't want to stay any longer, and he was sure that doing so would cause less harm to Ramon than the pain of waiting for the incident in his head to explode. "The initial stage of the illness is usually normal," said Dr. Anderson. "He will have to lie in bed for a day before he fully recovers. Take my advice and let him go today." Grant relented and gave his captive a longer period of time. Time to embellish stories that are undoubtedly fictional.Thankfully, his statement did not continue to discredit the facts.With the evidence beyond doubt, what Ramon said did not deliberately subvert the facts.This aroused Grant's curiosity instead, and he told himself that he was eager to hear what Ramon would say, just to be prudent about the case.then.He decided to be patient and keep his composure.He and Drysdell went fishing on the Captain Robert. Every time the engine rumbled, he couldn't help but think back to the scene when the motorboat docked two days ago.He was invited to the priest's hall for afternoon tea. Miss Dimore faced him naturally. There was a strangely shaped pepper shaker next to the salt shaker on the table. His thoughts were almost entirely on Ramon.He went to church afterwards, partly out of gratitude for his master, but mostly to avoid the embarrassment of him standing aside when Miss Deemore was with Ramon.He sat and listened to Mr. Roger's long admonition and the consensus of all the church members on the fact that God hates people dancing ballroom dancing, and he thought about Ramon's confession over and over in his mind.When the Highlander's last eerie "Praise the Lord" faded into the silence, Mr. Robin began to pray for the crowd with great emotion, and the only thing on Grant's mind was that he had to go back and keep Ramon nearby.It quickly became his obsession, and he recognized the fact, but hated himself for having to do it.When Mrs. Dimore remembered—Miss Dimore was not present—he was the one who had said good night to her the night before and had parked the car in front of the parsonage gate the next morning to let them say good-bye to Lal. Nishi was terrified that he had to continue acting.Fortunately, things were much easier than he thought.Ramon's performance was as good as his performance at the fateful afternoon tea at the Vicarage House.His mistresses and hostesses never suspected that his behavior was far worse than his health.Miss Dimore was nowhere to be seen. "Danti said she would love to say goodbye to you in person, but saying goodbye twice doesn't seem auspicious."

Her mother said, "She said you were unlucky enough. Are you unlucky?" "It's more than that." Ramon said with a smile that Grant appreciated.After the car drove away from the parsonage, Grant took out the handcuffs. "I'm sorry," he said bluntly, "we can untie it when we get to the station." Ramon only murmured the phrase "unlucky!" as if playing with the pronunciation of these two words.They met a plainclothes man at the railway station, where a special carriage had been reserved for them at Inverness Station.After dinner that night, when the last rays of light faded behind the hills, Ramon, sick and pale, told them again all he knew.

"I know very little," he said, "but I will tell you everything." "You have to know that no matter what you say now, it will be against you." Grant said, "Your lawyer will suggest that you should keep silent now. This is to protect your rights." He said this, but he thought in his heart: Why should I stick to the procedure? Whatever you say will be detrimental to him.Still wanting to spit it out, Ramon pulled out his notepad. "Where do I start?" Ramon asked, "I don't know where to start." "You started your itinerary the morning Sorrell was killed - last Tuesday - the 13th."

"We were packing that morning - Albert was leaving for America that night - I packed my things to move to our new home in Blessington and he took his things to Waterloo." Hearing this, the inspector's heart stopped beating.Fool! He forgot to search this man's luggage.The delusion of the Lockles kept him busy for a while, and the pursuit of Ramon left him no time to pay attention to the clues under his nose.Now.Nothing is more important than this. "We were busy until lunchtime, when we went to Lyon's in Coventry Street—" “Where to eat in the restaurant?”

"The table in the corner on the first floor." "Okay, go ahead." "The whole meal we were arguing over whether I should go see him off. I wanted to go down to Southampton with him and see him get on the ship, but he wouldn't let me see him off, even if Waterloo had a combined train with the ship. He. He said nothing troubled him so much as parting, especially since his absence was far away. I remember him saying, 'If your friend is not going far away, there is no need to see him off: but if he To go to the other side of the world, seeing off is still superfluous. What difference does it make if there is a minute more or less? ' That afternoon, we went to Wuffington to see Don't You Know?"

"What!" said Grant, "you were at Wuffington that afternoon?" "Yes, we made an appointment to go to this play together a long time ago, and Albert has already reserved a seat. The special seat in the front row is the last one - as a souvenir. Halfway through lunch, he told I said, if I can make it in time, he's going to line up at the box office to buy tickets for tonight—he's obsessed with Don't You Know? I'm a fan of the show - and he said let's break up here. Saying goodbye to a good friend like this is really hasty for me, and you know I've known Albert for a long time and he's always been a little unreasonable , but if he insists on not seeing me off, I won't follow him. So we say goodbye in front of the Wuffington theater and I go back to Blessington to pack my things. I've had enough, Albert Brothers with me, I have no other friends worth mentioning, and after moving out of Mrs. Everay's lodgings, I will have to live alone."

"Don't you want to go with Sorrell?" "I thought about it, but I don't have the money. I wish he would lend me some money, he should trust me to pay him back the money soon. But he didn't, it makes me feel bad. I don't feel right about it. , Albert himself couldn't get over it. When we said goodbye, he held my hand tightly. Then he handed me a small paper package, which I promised not to open until two days later-this was his departure. The day before. I guessed that it was his parting gift, so I didn’t think about it. The paper bag was a white paper bag tied with wrapping paper from a general jewelry store. At that time, I guessed it might be a watch. My watch always goes out Stop and go, he used to say, 'Joe, if you don't get a new watch, I'm afraid you won't be able to get to heaven in time.

’ Ramon choked up suddenly and stopped.He carefully wiped the fog off the window for a while before speaking again. “Then, when I was sorting out my stuff for moving to Blessington, my revolver was missing. I hadn’t used that gun yet, it was a pistol from WW2. I had served in it , although you may not think so. But I'll tell you the truth, I'd rather run to the line of fire and cut wire a thousand times, or something like that, than be chased by the police in the City of London.I'm not too bad in the field.From another perspective, it looks like a field competition.But if it is in the city of London, it is just a trap.Don't you think the chase in the country feels less bad?"

"Yes," the inspector agreed, "I thought so at the time, but I didn't expect you to think so too. I thought you would be at home in the city." "Like a duck to water! My God!" Ramon said, and he was silent for a while, apparently with the memory vivid in his mind. "You said," the inspector promptly reminded, "that you lost that gun." "Yes, I've lost my gun. I never used that gun—it's usually locked in Mrs. Everett's drawer—and I know exactly where I put it when I packed it. I mean , I stuffed it somewhere in the big suitcase.

It was the only thing I packed that morning, and it was when I took everything out in reverse order that I put it in when I packed it, that the gun was really missing.I was really scared at the time - I can't tell you why.I began to think back to Albert's sudden silence of late.He has always been a man of few words, and lately he has been talking even less.So I thought maybe he stole my gun and was going to take it to a foreign country.I thought he was asking for trouble, anyway, and I was terribly frightened, but I didn't know why, so I rushed straight back to the line to find him.He's in a good spot, third in line, I guess he got some kid to help him out.

He had to do everything that mattered to him on this last night.Albert is a very delicate person. I asked him if he had taken my revolver, and he admitted that he had.I didn't know why I was taken aback by his words.Now that you think about it, your buddy stealing your revolver might seem like nothing to be afraid of.But I did, and I lost my mind and said, 'I want you to pay me back now. ’ he said, ‘You’re so annoying, Jo, what’s the big deal about borrowing something from you while I’m halfway around the world and you’re stuck in small, safe, shabby London? my gun, and he said, "Or you go get my luggage and I'll give you my keys and check stubs." I took his keys as compensation for his revolver . At that moment I felt so inferior, I was basically fooled by myself.I always do things on the spur of the moment and reflect on them afterwards: Albert thinks about a thing for a long time, and if he wants to do it, he does it.Our styles are very different.I told him to keep the stub and the revolver for himself, and went away. " But there was no ticket stub from the clothes room among Sorrell's belongings. "Have you seen that ticket stub?" "No, he just said casually that he would give it to me." "I woke up late the next morning because I'm not used to living alone. I have to make my own breakfast and clean up the room. I don't have a job right now so there's no rush at all. I'd like to wait until the flats start. A job as a clerk. I go out around twelve o'clock, and I can't stop thinking about Albert. I'm tired of our inseparable life, so I do another stupid thing. I go to the post office. Went to take a telegram to him on the 'Queen of Arabia' saying, 'Sorry - Joe'." "What post office did you send the telegram from?" "The one in Blessington Street." "Very good, please continue." "I bought a newspaper and went back to my room, and saw the news about the murder of the team. The report did not mention the characteristics of the deceased, but only described him as young and good-looking. I didn't associate him with Albert at all. Together. Whenever I think of Albert, I assume he was already on an ocean-going ship.If the man had died from a gunshot wound, I might have paid more attention.But being stabbed to death by a knife is another matter entirely. " Grant looked at Ramon suspiciously.Was there an iota of truth in what this man was saying? If not, he was the last cold-blooded killer Grant wanted to see. Yet he is indifferent to Grant's observations, engrossed in telling his story.If he was acting, it was the best that Grant had ever seen: Ramon's acting was superb. "While I was sorting things out on Thursday morning, I remembered the paper bag Albert had given me and opened it. It contained all of Albert's cash. Anything - I mean, though I've tried to borrow money from him - but I don't like it at all. Not even a note was attached to it.When he handed it to me, he said, 'This is for you,' and I promised to open it on the day he appointed.I didn't know what to do with the money, because I still assumed Albert was on his way to New York.Later, I went out to buy a newspaper, and all the headlines in the newspapers were about the massacre, and this time they had a detailed description of the clothes and pockets of the dead.The black print made me suddenly realize that was Albert! I got on the bus immediately, feeling sick and wanting to go to Scotland Yard immediately and tell them everything I knew.I continued to watch follow-up reports on the bus.The newspaper said the murder was committed by a left-handed man, and police were looking for someone who was on the left side of the line at the time.I remembered that when we had an argument, it attracted the attention of the people present.I have all of Albert's money with me, but I have no proof of how I got it.I was so nervous that I got out of the car in a cold sweat, thinking about what to do while walking. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I couldn't go to Scotland Yard and tell them what happened.My mind was full of this and the murderer of Albert who escaped. I was literally going crazy that day.I was thinking that if I didn't go, the police might be able to follow the clues and catch the real murderer.I wonder if I'm using that as an excuse not to go - damn it, you know.I just kept going back and forth like this, and couldn't make a final decision. "Friday the papers reported the results of that day's inquest. No one recognized Albert. I almost went to the police again, and then, just thinking of Albert, I mustered up my courage, but I was timid at the disadvantage of my situation. , I just want to use Albert's money to help him deal with the funeral and talk to his soul in heaven. I really want to come out and tell people who he is, but I know that there will be a lot of bad debts against me soon On my head. The next morning I saw a description of me in the paper. They came after me. I thought I should run away. But the description only mentioned people with bruises on their fingers or the inside of their thumbs. I have a The wound—” He spread his hand, “as I told you—I got it when I carried the suitcase up to the room. I got caught on the hook when I put it down. It’s all right.” The wound was not great. Now, who would believe me? I waited until evening when it was dark, and asked Mrs. Everey for help. She was my only friend, and she knew me well. I told her all the details. She believed me , because she knows me so well, you see, even though she knows that no one who doesn't know me trusts me, she still believes in me. She said I was so stupid, so imbecile, that I should have told you straight up what I knew.If it was her, she would do it.She usually takes care of everything for us.Albert always called her Lady Macbeth because she was Scots, and she was always there to give us advice and advice on what to do when we felt bewildered and stalled.She said the only thing I should do now is to avoid the limelight.If they don't find me, they'll have a chance to catch the real murderer, and she'll give me the money to go abroad when everything is all right.I can't use Albert's money.After I left her place and walked the streets of the city, I didn't want to go back to my room where there was nothing to do but listen to footsteps on the stairs.I figured it would be safest to go to a movie, so I went to Haymarket, and then, on the Strand, I turned around and saw you following me.You know very well what happened afterwards.When I got back to my room, I dared not disturb anyone until Mrs. Everey came to tell me on Monday that you had been to her.She took me to King's Cross and gave me the addresses of her acquaintances in Carnich.You know what happened afterwards.After I arrived at Carnish, I thought I had a new chance at life until I saw you in the room for afternoon tea. " He finished speaking and fell silent.Grant noticed his hands were shaking. "How do you know that the money Sorrell left you was all his money?" "Because that's the total amount in his bank account. I went to help him withdraw the money for his trip more than a week ago." "Have you been the one to help him with the money all the time?" "No, never in the past. But that week, he was busy moving and organizing things in the office." "If he doesn't have to rush to pay for the trip, why is he bringing up the money? He obviously doesn't need to, right?" "I don't know, or he was worried that the money in the company account would not be enough to pay other bills. But he never owed anyone a penny." "Is his business doing well?" "Well, not bad. Especially the ticket every winter. We don't bet much on the national championships, and only during the flat races will we make a lot of money." "Sorrell's business slows down after winter ends?" "right." "When did you hand over the money to Sorrell?" "I'll give it to him directly when I get it back from the bank." "You said you had a fight with Sorrell over that revolver. Can you prove that it's yours?" "No, how do I prove it? That gun has been locked in a drawer, and no one knows - except Albert. Since the armistice the guns have been kept full without permission. " "What do you think Sorrell wants that gun for?" "I don't know. I don't have a firm idea. Possibly intended for suicide. It looks like this.Otherwise he has no reason to take that gun. ""You once said to me when you were in Karnish that you thought it was a woman who killed Sorel. What does that mean?" "If you think about it, I know all of Albert's male friends, and he doesn't have half a female friend—I mean a close girlfriend. I always feel that he should have had a woman before I met him. He doesn't say anything about the things that matter most to him, so he never told me about it. I've occasionally seen him get a few handwritten letters from women, but he didn't specifically say who wrote them, Abel I can't joke about things like that." "Has he had any such letters lately?" Ramon thought about it for a while, and said yes, he was sure. "How is the handwriting?" "The characters are a bit big, and belong to the chubby handwriting." "You read the papers describing the dagger that killed Sorrell at length. Have you ever seen or owned such a thing?" "Not only have I never seen such a thing, let alone I have such a thing." "Have you ever imagined who this woman is or anything about her?" "there has never been." "You mean to say that you've been the man's closest friend for the last few years—lived with him for four years—and know nothing about his past?" "I know a lot about his past, except this one. You don't know Albert, or you wouldn't think he'd tell me everything. He's not usually so coy— — only on special occasions.” "Why is he going to America?" "I don't know. I told you, he's been in a bad mood lately—_{though he never finds anyone to talk to, but lately—there's been an eerie atmosphere that I can't describe." "Is he going alone?" "yes." "Not with women?" "Of course not," Ramon said suddenly, as if Grant had insulted his friend. "how do you know? " Ramon searched his memory for an answer, and there was clearly a gap.He was apparently facing the possibility for the first time that his friend wanted to go abroad with someone other than him.Grant could see that he was thinking about this dilemma, refusing to believe it. "I don't know why I know, but I just know. That's what he told me. "You deny that you knew anything about what happened to Sorrell afterwards?" "Yes. Don't you think if I knew anything I'd tell you exactly?" "I hope you will do what you say!" Grant said. "Your vague suspicions will be extremely detrimental to your subsequent appeal." He asked the plainclothes to read the transcript he took, and Ramon agreed that the transcript was consistent with what he said. Everything, signing each page with trembling hands.When he had signed the last one, he said, "I'm tired, can I lie down and rest?" Grant gave him a drink of water when he called the doctor over.Fifteen minutes later, the prisoner fell asleep exhausted while the pursuer was still consciously thinking about the confession. Ramon's confession is surprisingly humane.Every plot is intertwined.Unless it's basically impossible, it's hard to fault it. This man has an explanation for everything.time, place, and even motivation. He used feelings as the starting point, first found that the revolver was lost, and then used this specious statement to make people emotional.Is it possible, or even remotely possible, to prove that what Ramon said is true? Is this the only exception in thousands of cases, where the evidence matches every detail, and a series of coincidences that have nothing to do with the facts lead to a catastrophic event? A misunderstanding? However, Ramon's story is too thin-basically impossible! After the murder, he had a full fortnight to mull over his account, planing it, embellishing it, making it look like a coincidence. It is pure poor ingenuity to distort a controversial issue into an unacceptably unrealistic story. No one has been able to clear up several doubts that have worked against or in Ramon's favor.Grant thought to himself that the only way to prove what Ramon said was true at this moment was to continue digging into Sorrell's story, and Grant had an intuition that there must be a lot to it.If he could find out that Sorrell was indeed suicidal, it would prove that Ramon's story of stealing the gun and giving money as a parting gift was correct. Grant had to put himself out of the way first.Want to prove Ramon's statement? If there is any possibility of finding out, then the whole case will be a waste of effort, Ramon is not guilty, and he arrested the wrong person.Another possible scenario is coincidence: two people in the queue in front of the same theater, both left-handed, with wounds on their fingers, had a close friendship with the deceased.In other words, both of them are his suspects.He refused to believe in such a coincidence.It's not because of Ramon's statement as if he was throwing sand in front of his eyes, but because of his convincing attitude when he made the statement. His mind kept spinning on the matter.The fingerprints on the revolver matched the fingerprints on the money envelope. His fingerprints in Karnicus, if they proved to be identical to these, would show that Ramon's story was in some way true. As for the fact that Sorrell received a letter from a woman, he had to ask Mrs. Everey who handled it for verification.Mrs. Everay evidently believed in Ramon's innocence, and her belief led her to think long-term for him: but she wouldn't be a good judge if she was partial. Hypothetically, Ramon's story is a fabrication.How can we explain that he killed Sorrell from these complicated circumstances? Could it be that Ramon sent his friend on a long journey, but the friend refused to lend a helping hand at the last moment, so he went on a killing spree? Get all of Sorrell's possessions.If he had gotten the money before Sorrell died, he would have no reason to kill him.But if not, the money should be found on Sorrell.Furthermore, assuming he didn't kill Sorrell on impulse that afternoon when he stole his friend's wallet to get the money, there's no reason why he killed Sorrell afterwards while he was in line. .The more Grant thought about it, the more he felt that none of this could be a good reason why Ramon should kill Sorrell.In all his speculations, he felt that Ramon's rush to the theater should be a public occasion to warn friends, not like the prelude to premeditated murder.Ramon did not give the impression of being a murderer with forethought.However, he may not have intended to kill beforehand.Could their quarrel be about something more serious than a revolver? A woman's jealousy, say? The look of loneliness on Ramon's face at the time; and the tone of voice in Ramon's voice when he stated Sorrell's mysterious love affair, he dismissed this possibility. On business? Apparently in dire straits, Ramon took his friend's life with no regard for mercy.His "enough" was just a euphemism, and there was a lot of grievance brewing that could explode anytime, anywhere? But - when he got the £223 - no, of course, he didn't know in advance that he was going to get it .In this way, the argument about the paper bag makes sense.That money can be used to buy him the long-awaited watch.As a result, he never expected that he would get 223 pounds from his friend who was about to travel.This is very likely.He insisted on seeing him off, and later—but what was he fussing about? If he came back to assassinate Sorrell, he wouldn't need his attention.What the hell is Sorrell trying to do? If what Ramon says is true, the only explanation for Sorrell's behavior is an attempted suicide.The more Grant thought about it, the more certain he was that the only ray of light in Sorrell's story would be to clear things up, to prove that Ramon was guilty or that he—never could be—was innocent.When he got back to London, his first priority was to do what Ramon had reminded him of and had forgotten to do in his haste—to find Sorrell's luggage.If the search was unsuccessful, he would have to see Mrs. Everey again. In any case he would meet her again. He took one last look at Ramon who was sleeping peacefully, explained the last word to the plainclothes who had not yet closed his eyes, and forced himself to fall asleep.Although still full of worries, but already have a plan in mind.The case is not going to end like this.