Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven

At ten-thirty on a Monday morning, Robert Blair sat in Café Karina, over a steaming cup of coffee.It was the first place he visited because anyone thinking of a cup of coffee would choose Café Karina; here you can sit upstairs in the bright dining room and smell the charcoal-roasted coffee wafting in from downstairs fragrant.Besides, he'll probably have to binge on coffee today, and of course he'll want to start with the best while he can taste it. Holding the Ike-Emma tabloid in his hand, he showed the girl's picture to the passing waitresses, hoping his interest in the story would attract one of them to come and say something. : "The girl used to come here every morning." Then he was surprised to find that someone gently took the newspaper out of his hand. He looked up and saw the waitress who greeted him facing him. he smiles.

"That's the Ike-Emma tabloid last Friday," she said. "Here." She handed over that morning's Ike-Emma tabloid. He thanked her and said he was glad to have today's message to read, but he still wanted to keep last Friday's copy. He went on to ask, did the girl, the girl on the front page on Friday come to this cafe? "Oh no, if she came, we would definitely remember her. We were all talking about that last Friday; it's hard Imagine someone beating her half to death." "So you think they really do that?" She looked puzzled. "That's what the papers say."

"No, the newspaper is only reporting what the girl said." She obviously doesn't understand the difference.This is the democracy we worship as gods. "If it's not true, they shouldn't report it; that's their job. Are you a detective?" "Part-time job," said Robert. "What is the wages for such an hour?" "not too much." "I guess so. It's because there is no trade union. In this society, if you don't have a trade union, you can't even try to fight for your rights." "Exactly," said Robert. "Will you bring me my bill, please?"

"Your bill? All right." At the Paramount, the newest and largest theater, the dining room is set behind the stage.The carpet was so thick that it sagged when one walked on it; the lights were deliberately dimmed so that people's clothes looked dirty. A beautiful girl with dyed blond hair, swinging a short cropped skirt, her right cheek puffed out from chewing gum, came over in annoyance, snatched his order without even looking at him; fifteen A few minutes later, he put a glass of thin liquid on the table in front of him, and this time his gaze didn't even stop in his direction.During that fifteen-minute wait, Robert realized that the kind of customer service attitude that doesn't look at customers is very common here-maybe because they think they will all be movie stars in the near future, so they are dismissive of customers who visit these places Gu—so he paid the money, got up and left without touching the disgusting cup.

At the castle, another big theater, with an attached restaurant, didn't open until early in the afternoon. In Violet - royal purple everywhere, and yellow curtains - no one has seen her.This time Robert gave up beating around the bush and asked directly. Upstairs in Griffin's store, when they were so busy, the waitress just said hurriedly: "Don't bother me!" and the restaurant manager said grimly: "We never treat our guests Tell me about your whereabouts." At the Old Oak—a small, somewhat dim but friendly place—the elderly woman discussed with him with great interest. "Poor thing," they said. "What a horrible experience! She has a beautiful face. Just a little kid, poor thing."

At Arlejune—cream-colored walls, and old-fashioned rose armchairs against the walls—they simply said they'd never heard of the Ike-Emma, ​​and couldn't possibly have the kind Newspaper customers. At Roll Anchor—the walls are covered in watercolors of seascapes, and the waitresses wear bell-bottoms—they agree that from now on all girls who've ever hitchhiked will have to walk home. At Primrose—with its polished tables, raffia mats, and unprofessional-looking waitresses in calico smocks—they discussed the social implications of the lack of housemaids and the Fantastic fantasy. In the tea room, there was no vacant table there, and no waitress came to greet him. Looking at the busy situation, he felt that there were other coffee shops to choose from. Betty Kane won't be here.

At half past twelve, he staggered wearily into the lobby of the Midland Hotel and ordered a glass of water.As far as he knew at this moment, he had visited almost all the eating and drinking restaurants in the Laboreau Center, but in none of them did anyone remember seeing the girl.To make matters worse, everyone declares that if they've met her, they'll remember it. When Robert doubted this, they pointed out that most of their customers were regular customers, so that occasional visitors stood out and were easier for them to remember. When Albert, the stubby lobby waiter, brought his drink to his eyes, Robert asked habitually:

"Albert, I guess you've never seen this girl here, have you?" Albert looked at the photo on the front page of the Ike-Emma tabloid for a moment, then shook his head. "No, sir. Not so far as I recall. Please don't mind me saying that, but she looks a little too young for this hall in Midland, sir." "Maybe she wouldn't look so small with a hat on," Robert said figuratively. "A hat," Alberto paused. "Now, wait. A hat." Albert put down the small tray in his hand, picked up the newspaper and read it carefully. "Yeah, um, of course—it's the girl with the green hat!"

"You mean she came here for coffee?" "No, it's tea." "Tea! " "Yes, of course, the girl. Strange I didn't notice sooner. We saw that paper in the pantry last Friday, and we talked about it for a while! But it's been a while, hasn't it? About six weeks ago, it should have been.She always came early - always around two o'clock, when we were just starting to serve tea. "Then that's what she did. He was so stupid to not think of that. She figured she'd go to the cinema in the morning for a cheaper morning show - just before noon - and come in here for a drink around three o'clock. Tea, not coffee.

But why come to Midland? The tea here is expensive and bad, and it's just for show in the hotel; and she can eat delicious cakes elsewhere; why here? "I noticed her because she always Came alone. When she first came, I thought she was waiting for relatives and friends. She looked like that kind of person. You know: She wears plain clothes of decent quality, but nothing special. " "Do you remember what she was wearing?" "Well. I remember. She always wore the same dress. A green hat, a dress to go with it, and a light gray coat over it. Then one day. She struck up a conversation with a man at the next table. I I was so terrified that you could knock me down with a single feather."

"You mean he accosted her." "Can you believe it? He didn't even look at her when he sat down. I tell you sir, she doesn't look like that at all.Imagining her aunt or mother would show up at any moment and say, 'I'm sorry, dear, for keeping you waiting. 'She was by no means a possible object for any man.Well, not like.But let me tell you, sir, she does it like she's always been.My goodness, to think I didn't recognize her without the hat! "He again looked suspiciously at the photograph in the newspaper. "What does that man look like? Do you know him?" "No, he's not a regular here. Dark, young; looks like a businessman. I remember being a little surprised at her aesthetic, and now that I think about it, he's not one for that sort of thing." "Then, when you see him again, you may not recognize him." "I might, sir, I might. But no guarantee. Are you—er—going to make me take an oath?" Robert had known Albert for nearly twenty years and knew he was very cautious. "The thing is, Albert," he said. "These people are my clients." He flicked his fingers at the photo of Franchise in the newspaper, and Albert whistled in surprise. "Not an easy job, Mr Blair." "Yes, it's not easy, as you say. But it's not easy for them; and it's almost unimaginable. The girl appeared one day accompanied by the police, and it was she who said to the police The incredible story came out. The two women did not know her until that moment. The police handled the matter cautiously and initially decided not to file the case because of insufficient evidence. However, the "Ike-Emma" tabloid later Got it, covered it at length, made all England know_r. Now, of course, the Franchise is exposed and targeted. The police are unable to provide strict protection due to insufficient manpower; you can imagine the predicament of these two women.My young distant relative visited there before dinner yesterday, and said that since noon, there has been a bunch of cars coming from Rabolo, and people are either standing on the front of the car, or climbing each other to the top of the wall to look in or take pictures.Neville got in because he arrived at the same time as the police patrolling at night, but they left, and the cars, the people gathered again. And the phone kept ringing, and they had to tell the switchboard to stop letting any calls in. " "Then are the police just ignoring the case now?" "No, they're still going on; but they can't help us. The direction of their investigation is mainly to corroborate the girl's story." "Well, that's unlikely to come to fruition, is it? I mean, the police investigate that way." "True. But you can tell where we are. Unless we know where the girl really was when she said she was in the Franchise, the Sharpes and daughters will always be burdened with the burden of what they never did. past charges." "Well, if it was the girl with the green hat--I'm pretty sure, sir--I'd describe her as one of those 'out for fun' types. For a girl of her age, she Unexpectedly calm, a kind of dignity and innocence in disguise." "Dignity and innocence in disguise", that's how the owner of the tobacco grocer he visited in London described Betty as a child.And "Come out to have fun" is Stanley's conclusion when he sees the photo in the newspaper and thinks of a woman he met in Egypt. The chatty little waiter used the same adjectives to describe her—dressed and dignified, who came to the hotel lobby alone every day to drink tea. "Maybe it's just a child's vanity that wants to be valued like an adult." He reminded him of the side that believed in the inherent goodness of human nature, but common sense judgment immediately rejected it.If that's the case, there are better choices outside, and she can eat better, and she can also be seen in good clothes by others. He had lunch there and spent most of the afternoon trying to get in touch with Mrs. Wooyin on the phone.Mrs. Tiers didn't have a telephone at home, and he didn't want to repeat that Tiers-esque conversation unnecessarily.When the phone remained dead, it occurred to him that Scotland Yard would have a record of what the girl was wearing when she disappeared.In less than seven minutes, he got the information.A green wool hat, a green dress to go with it, a light gray overcoat with large gray buttons, taupe rayon stockings and black sandals with a heel. Now he has finally reached the very beginning of the whole incident, the starting point of the investigation. He almost cheered.Before leaving the hall, he sat down to write another note to his London friend Kevin McDermot that the young girl from Ellsbury was not, after all, as attractive to criminal lawyers as he was talking about on Friday night. The party involved in the criminal case; of course, let him know that Buhapo United Law Firm also has the ability to go beyond the restrictions of the nature of ordinary cases when necessary. "Has she ever been back?" he asked Albert, who was vacuuming. "I mean, after she met the man." "I don't remember seeing them after that, sir." The hypothetical person A is no longer a hypothetical person; he has become a distinct, surfaced person A.He, Robert, can return to the Franchise tonight in triumph.He once boldly assumed a conjecture, which is now more or less confirmed, and it is he who has obtained this confirmation through his own efforts.Of course, there are still many troublesome parts. For example, the complaint letters Scotland Yard has received so far are all anonymous letters abusing the police for not exposing the "crimes of the rich". Ken; and basically almost everyone he's spoken to this morning believes and accepts the girl's story without a doubt, and is deeply baffled and puzzled that there might be other explanations for the incident , because "the newspapers say so".But compared with finding this place today and digging out the first class, those are really insignificant.Nor did he believe that his luck would be so bad that Betty Kane had left the lobby of the Midland Hotel saying goodbye to her new friends and never seeing each other again.The gaps in the next few weeks will be filled along this line. But how to track down a young, dark businessman who had been to tea in the Midland Hall about six weeks before? It was usually young, dark businessmen who came to the Midlands; To Blair, those people were dull.He loathed the thought that it might be time for him to bow out and hand the case over to the professional detectives.This time he didn't have any photos to help him like he was looking for that girl, and he didn't know A's personality and hobbies.The whole process will most likely take longer and it should be the job of an expert. It seems that the only thing he can do at the moment is to try to get the list of guests who broke into the Midland Hotel during that time. He went to the manager for it; a Frenchman who was fully aware of and fully cooperating with Robert's undercover investigation, who showed graceful compassion for the harassed ladies in the Franchise and was more sympathetic to ladies in dress, A girl with a pretty face but an affectation has a comforting sarcasm.He sent his underlings to make photocopies of the guest list, and served Robert a bottle of wine from his personal locker.Robert had never enjoyed tasting that unknown French liqueur at such a time before, but this time he sipped it gratefully, brought back the photocopied list, and put it in his pocket as solemnly as a passport.The list might prove useless in the end, but it made him feel extremely reassured.And if he really wants to hand over the investigation procedure to professional detectives, then the detectives also have a starting point. A may never have stayed at the Midland Hotel, he may have just happened to wander into the lobby for a cup of tea one day, but his name may also be on a list in his pocket - a frighteningly long list . As he was driving home, he decided not to go to Franchise today, and it seemed too much of a fuss to ask Marion to come out and open the iron gate in the driveway just for the news he could get over the phone.He could tell the operator who he was, and since the call was business, they were supposed to answer.Or tomorrow the first wave of public curiosity in the Franchise would settle, and the bar holding the iron gate could be removed; though of that he actually thought it unlikely.Today's "Ike-Emma" tabloid's content on the local community's public opinion did not play a role in cooling the incident at all.Yes, that is no longer the headline on the front page; the Franchise affair has been moved to the inside pages.But the letters to the editors of the Ike-Emma—two-thirds of them concerning the Franchise affair—were not town stones; they were more like adding wax to a steadily burning fire. As he shuttled through the crowded Labalo traffic, the silly and ridiculous words in the newspaper came to his mind; once again he was surprised and deeply puzzled that the readers of the book could feel completely unknown to them, Women who don't understand have such vicious resentment.The newspapers are full of anger and hatred, and their words are full of ignorance and viciousness, which is really amazing.For example, a group of angry protesters expressed that their deepest revenge would be to whip the two women until they were breathless.Those who did not mention whipping suggested that the police system should be overhauled.A reader suggested starting a fund for the poor young victim of police incompetence and injustice.Others suggested that every good citizen should write to the House of Commons to disclose the incident, and make the lives of the two women miserable until justice was done.What's more, someone actually mentioned that Betty Kane was like Joan of Arc. If the letters section of the Ike-Emma is any guide, it seems that a Betty Kane cult was born.He only hoped that the result of the deduction would not be based on a deep hatred for Franzais. The closer he got to the house that had been surrounded by unhappiness these days, the more anxious he felt, wondering if there would be a bunch of harassing crowds on Monday. This is actually a very beautiful evening, the setting sun slanting to the west exudes its last brilliance of today, softly sprinkled on the spring fields; but this side of reality makes people understand that in today's "Ike-Emma" It would be a miracle that Franchise was not surrounded by pilgrims when the letter pages of the newspapers were widely read.However, when he came to the distance where he could see it, he found strangely that the whole road was deserted and silent. When he drove closer, he understood why, beside the gate of Franchise, in the evening sunset Under the oblique light, there is a solid, motionless, dark blue and silver police figure. Robert felt relieved that Detective Hallam used his weak police force so generously. He slowed down the speed of the car and planned to say hello, but the gratifying greeting froze on his face.On that long brick wall, nearly six feet of letters were splashed into a slogan. "Fascist!" screamed in English capital letters.On the wall on the other side of the iron gate is also written: "Fascist!" "Keep going, please," the policeman approached Robert, warning with a slow, polite policeman's threat. "No parking here." Robert got out of the car slowly. " well , mr blair . i ' m sorry i didn ' t recognize you c " "Can those words be washed off?" "No, sir, it's the best paint." "My God!" "Some people can't get rid of this bad habit even when they grow up." "What bad habit?" "Writing on the wall. They're likely to write worse." "They'll write all the insults they know," said Robert wryly. "I guess you didn't catch the suspect, did you?" "No, sir. I came in the evening to clear out those broadbills--well, yes, there's a lot of them--and that's when I came." "Does the Sharp mother and daughter know?" "Yes, I went in and made a phone call. We have a code now, us and the people in the Franchise. I tied a handkerchief to the end of a baton and waved it over the iron gate to signify that I had something to communicate with them. You want Go in, sir?" "No. No, I'd better not go in. I'll call them at the Telecom Office. There's no need to ask them to come to the iron gate. If this situation continues, they may have to get a key for the iron gate, so I could have a pair too." "Looks like it'll last a while, sir. Did you read today's Ike-Emma?" "yes." "Meow!" the policeman snorted, and seemed to lose his customary composure at the mention of the Ike-Emma. "Listening to their reports, you would think that we police are just a bunch of useless idiots! Of course we are not. What they should do is to fight for our wages instead of slandering us like this." "You are actually a very kind partner yourself, I hope this can comfort you somewhat," said Robert. "There's no constructive remedy for the slander they've done. I'll send someone tonight or early tomorrow morning to deal with the - obscene words. Will you continue to stand guard here?" "When I called back, the detective told me to stay here until dark." "Is there no one to pick up the evening shift?" "No, sir. There's no such manpower. It should be all right after dark, though. People will go home then, especially the people of Labolo. They don't like the country after dark." Robert thought the cop was being too optimistic because he remembered how deserted the big lonely house was.Two helpless women in a huge, silent house after dark, with resentment and violence beyond its walls—it's a disconcerting thought.It was true that the iron gate was bolted, but if someone could lift each other up and sit on top of the wall to yell insults, it would be easy to slide down the other side of the wall after dark. "Don't worry, sir," said the policeman, watching his expression. "Nothing will happen. This is England after all." "The Ike-Emma is also a British newspaper," Robert reminded him.But he went back to his car anyway.Yes, this is England after all, and the English countryside especially believes in leaving others alone.The word "fascist" was most likely not a native handwriting.This country place has probably never heard the word.Country dwellers usually use the older Saxon language to insult others. The cop was right; once it got dark, everyone would go home.