Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

"Must Kevin McDermot come into the country dressed like a scalper?" Neville asked Rob the next evening; the two were waiting for their guests to shower and come downstairs Have dinner. Robert thinks that Kevin's clothes in the country look like a slovenly horse trainer dressed for a small meeting, but he doesn't refute Neville; remembering Neville's dress that has caused the country people to talk about it in the past few years, his heart To myself Neville has no right to criticize other people's taste.Although Neville's own attire for dinner today is an orthodox plain black and gray suit, there is nothing wrong with it, but this unusual attire for him seems to make him forget his own weird experimentation in clothing taste before that.

"I guess Kristina is still restless as usual, isn't she?" "Agitating for an egg white, that's all I've seen." Christina thinks Kevin is "Satan incarnate", but respects and adores him. His satanic nature is not characterized by his looks - although Kevin does look a bit ferocious - but because he "will defend the wicked for the riches of the world".And she likes him because he's handsome and a potential sinner, and he compliments her cooking. "I hope today's dish is a souffle type of thing, not a baked thing. Do you think McDermott will be lured into defending them in Norton's circuit court?"

"I don't think he's too busy. Even if he's interested, he won't ask sometimes. I hope he can send some hard laborers to help." "The kind that was pre-directed by McDermot?" "Exactly the idea." "I really don't understand why Marianne has to work herself out to prepare lunch for McDermot. Does he know that she has to prepare, clean up, wash everything herself, and work hard in that ancient kitchen shoving things around including coal?" "It was Marian herself who suggested inviting him to lunch. She must have thought about the trouble of preparing the meal, but it was worth it."

"Well, you've been on Kevin's side, and you simply don't know how to appreciate a woman like Marion. It's sacrilegious to ask such a unique woman to waste her energy on tedious household chores. She should be cutting paths in the jungle, or climbing cliffs, or governing barbaric peoples, or measuring planets. There are tens of thousands of stupid blonde women in mink coats who don't understand anything, but just sit there and do their work. Changing the color of the nails on her predatory fingers while Marianne has to carry coal. Coal! Marianne! I guess after this case is over they won't have money left over for maids, even if anyone wanted to. "

"Let us pray that they are not sentenced to hard labor when the case is over." "Rob, that's not going to happen! It's extremely unlikely." "Yes, unimaginable. It's always unbelievable that people you know have to go to prison." "Standing in the dock is embarrassing enough. Marianne would never do something so cruel, sinister, mean, just because a—you know, I had a pleasant read the other night experience, I found a book on torture, and I stayed up all night looking through torture options that could be used on Ken." "You should discuss it with Marion. That's what she wants to do, too."

"What will yours be?" There was imperceptible contempt in the voice, as if the interrogator knew that the gentle Robert would not be interested in such a topic. "Or haven't you thought of it yet?" "I don't need to bother thinking about it," said Robert slowly. "I'm going to strip her in public." "what? " "Of course not literally. I want to tear off her mask one by one in front of the public, and let everyone know her true face." Neville gave him a curious look. "Amen," he said quietly. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about it, Rob." He was about to say something more, but the door opened and McDermot walked in.Tonight's party begins here.

Dinner progressed steadily amidst the dishes carefully prepared by Aunt Lin, and Robert began to hope that it would not be a mistake to take Kevin to the Franchise for lunch on Sunday.He was absolutely sure that the Sharps and their daughters would impress Kevin; Kevin was the kind of person with a special temperament, and the Sharpes and their daughters had personalities that not everyone could appreciate.Franchise's lunch—the lunch prepared by Marianne herself for gourmet Kevin, can it be used as a bargaining chip in their favor? When he read the invitation letter sent by Stanley this morning, he felt very sorry for them Attentiveness is joyful, but anxiety creeps in like an afterthought.Gradually, this anxiety crossed Aunt Lin's shiny mahogany dining table at a slow speed, accompanied by Christina's round swaying behind the candlelight, her face full of warmth and kindness, completely occupied his mind. "Disgusting dishes" might make him feel a warm desire to protect her, but it's hard to say if it can also arouse the same feelings in Kevin.

But at least Kevin seemed happy to be here at the moment, he thought, while listening to McDermot's loud praises to Aunt Lin, and complimenting Christina a few times at any time, so that she would not be left out in the cold, continue to be kindness to him. Oh my God, what an Irishman! Neville performed even better, keeping the audience fully focused, carefully and accurately inserting the honorific "you" between his words-no more, no less, just enough to make Kevin feel honored, not will feel old. It was a kind of implicit flattery in the British style.Aunt Lin is completely like a little girl, her pink face is dizzy and drunk, she keeps collecting compliments like a sponge, she looks radiant through the chemical action in her body, and then releases her charming demeanor at the right time.Listening to her talk, Robert was amused to find that the evaluation of Sharp's mother and daughter in her heart had changed drastically.There is only a simple fact that they may be imprisoned, and they have been promoted from the disdainful title of "those people" to the recognition of "poor people".This has little to do with Kevin's presence, but a combination of his natural geniality and disorganized thoughts.

It's ironic, Robert thought, looking around the dinner table, that this family gathering--so light, so warm, so substantial--was for two helpless women living in a gray, silent house in the middle of nowhere. held by people. That night he carried on the merriment of dinner to the bed in his room, while his heart ached a little with cold anxiety.Have the people of Franchise gone to bed too? How many nights have they been able to sleep peacefully lately? He can't sleep late with his eyes open and wakes early in the morning; listens to the quiet of Sunday mornings and looks forward to a sunny day —Francis looked ugly on a rainy day because the dirty white walls had turned black and gray—and prayed that whatever dish Marianne was preparing would be presentable.Around eight o'clock, a car came from the direction of the country and stopped in front of the window, and then there was a soft whistle-like sound of car horns.It was the company's horn.Possibly Stanley.

He got up from the bed and looked out the window. "You snooze this Sunday," Stanley said. "Did you wake me up just to laugh at me?" "No. Miss Sharp wants me to pass things on. She wants you to take Betty Kane's notes with you when you go, and you shouldn't forget because that's the number one thing. I'd say that's just generally important.But she looks like she just became a millionaire. "Looks happy!" said Robert, somewhat bewildered. "Looks like a bride. It's the first time I've seen a woman like that since my cousin Bella married her Pol. A face like a nice cookie, I mean Bella; but believe me , that day she looked like a composite of Venus, Cleopatra (the last queen of Egypt, the lover of Caesar and Antony, let a poisonous snake bite her chest to commit suicide.--Translator's Note) and Helen of Troy. "

"Do you know why Miss Sharp is so happy?" "Don't know. I threw out probing inquiries, but she looked like a gourd. Anyway, don't forget that transcript, otherwise the show won't be able to start. The password is in the record. "Stanley started the car and drove to the depot in Sheen Lane, while Rob walked into the bathroom suspiciously with a towel in his hand. Before breakfast, he took the notes out of his briefcase and re-read them. What did Marianne remember or discover that made him wonder?" She's that happy? Apparently Betty Kane missed something in the note. Marianne was glowing, and Marianne asked him to take Ken's note. The only explanation was that Betty Kane's note contained Evidence that she lied. After reading the entire transcript, he still couldn't find anything, and he had already read it from the beginning.What was it? In the transcript she said it was raining—maybe—it wasn't raining that day? But that was the deadly point, and it might even discredit her whole story.So, the Milford Town Line bus? That bus she said she missed and got on to the Sharpes.Is the time wrong? But they have investigated the train schedule and found no doubts.Is it the "destination sign with lights on the front of the bus" mentioned in the transcript? Is it too bright for the time to turn on the lights at that time? But that can be said to be an omission of memory, and will not affect the entire narrative. He fervently hoped that Marianne would not, in her haste to find any morsel of evidence in their favour, magnify details so slight as to be classed as innocuous omissions, into solid evidence of lying.Having hope and then being disappointed is worse than having no hope at all. This obvious concern almost made him forget about the social lunch he had been worried about, and he no longer wondered whether Kevin would like the meal in the Franchise.Before she left for church, Aunt Lynn asked him surreptitiously, "What do you think they'll get you for lunch, dear? I believe they only have cornflakes in a box, poor thing." He immediately replied: "They know red wine, that should please Kevin." "What's the matter with young Bonnie?" Kevin asked as they drove to Franchise in the car. "He wasn't invited," said Robert. "That's not what I meant. What happened to his old rough costume, with his aggressive attitude and Watchmen-esque radicalism?" "He disagrees with The Watcher about the case." "what! " "For the first time ever, he has his own personal and actual knowledge of the events of The Watcher's ostentatious commentary. I think that publication shocked him a lot." "Will this reform last?" "Well, you know, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it continued. Aside from the fact that he's getting to the age where normally people start to change and let go of unrealistic ideas, I think he's doing some soul-searching and questioning whether there's anyone worthy of someone other than Betty Kane, who the Watchmen professes to support.Katowice is an example. "Ha! That Patriot!" Kevin repeated deliberately. "Yes. Last week he went on and on about our duty to Katowice - to protect, to cherish him, and I think the end of the duty is to provide him with a British passport. But I doubt he's as simple as that now He's grown up miraculously a lot lately. I didn't even know he had a suit like the one he was wearing last night. It may have been saved from attending an awards ceremony at the school, because I don't remember seeing him in such a modest and unostentatious outfit since then until yesterday. " "I hope this change, he sees, lasts a little longer for your sake. He's smart, the boy, and he'll be a valuable asset to your firm once he gets over his clown tricks." "Aunt Lynn was very distressed with him because he broke up with Rosemary over the Franchise case, and she feared he wouldn't marry a bishop's daughter." "Hooray! He's going to be more accomplished! I'm starting to like that boy. You put some wedges in between, and think of him marrying a kind, somewhat awkward English girl, with five kids, in a Saturday afternoon shower." Invite your neighbors to a tennis dinner. It's stupid, too, but better than standing on a pulpit and yelling about something you have absolutely no idea about. Are we there yet?" "Yes, this is the Franchise." “The perfect 'mystery house'." "It wasn't a mystery when it was first built. Look at the iron gate, it's got cartouche decorations - quite a work of art - so you can see the whole building through the carved iron gate from the road. Because of the iron gate The iron sheet that was simply installed later blocked the view, which made this place from being very ordinary to being shrouded in mystery." "The perfect house in a Betty Kane story. It's her luck that she remembers it." Afterwards, Robert felt a little guilty about his lack of confidence in Marianne, both about the Betty Kane notes and her skill at preparing lunch. He should remember how calm and analytical she was; he should also remember the Sharpe mother and daughter's gift of easy-going geniality that made people feel at home.They hadn't planned for Aunt Darlyn's hospitality, nor had they bothered to prepare a lavish lunch.They simply set up a sunny four-seater dining table near the window in the living room. Dining table in cherry wood, a delightful wood but in need of a waxing finish.And the glass wine glass is as bright as a gemstone. (How like Marianne, he thought, to focus on the important things and let the rest go.) "The dining room is unbelievably gloomy," Mrs. Sharp said. "Come in and have a look, Mr. McDermot." That behavior was also typical.Don't sit and drink sherry and talk about irrelevant things, come and see our dire restaurant.Soon the visitor becomes a member of the house before he even realizes it. "Tell me," Robert asked Marianne when they were alone, "what—" "No, I don't want to talk about it before lunch. It's going to be your rum. It's a shocking bit of luck, I found out last night, and Mr. McDermot is coming to lunch today. That makes The whole thing was very different. I don't think that would be enough to overturn the whole case, but it was in our favor. It is a 'little proof' in our favor that I have been praying for. Have you told Mr. McDermot?" "About the message you please convey? No, I haven't.And I think it's best - don't tell. " "Rob!" she said, looking at him wryly. "You don't trust me. You worry about making a fool of me." "I'm just worried that you're making a small detail too big, bigger than it really is." "Don't worry," she said confidently. "It's not overblown to the point of being unrealistic. Would you like to come into the kitchen and help me out with the soup?" They didn't even panic or panic in the process of arranging lunch.Robert held the tray with four saucepans of soup; after him Marianne held a large china dish with dishes, and that seemed to be all the dishes.When they finished their soup, Marion put the large china plate in front of her mother and the bottle of wine in front of Kevin.The main course is stewed chicken with surrounding vegetables; the wine is red wine. "It's a bottle of Montachet!" Kevin exclaimed. "You amazing woman." "Rob told us you love deep purple wines," said Marianne, "but the ones left in old Mr. Clore's cellar are past their expiration date. Only this bottle and a heavy French Burgundy remain. Red wine, the latter is suitable for drinking in winter evenings and not suitable for my chicken in summer like this.” Kevin then said that it is rare to see a woman interested in wine other than sparkling. "Honestly," said Mrs. Sharp, "if those wines could have been sold, we might have sold them long ago. It's a pity that they are scattered remnants, but we are glad not to sell them now. The environment I grew up in made me Knows some wine. My husband has a decent cellar, his taste buds are a little less than mine. My brother has a better cellar at Rathway, to match his excellent taste." "Lethway?" Kevin said, looking at her like searching for a memory. "You're not Charlie Meredith's sister?" "I am. You know Charlie? No way, you're too young." "Charlie Meredith bred the first pony I ever owned," Kevin said. "That horse has been with me for seven years and has never made a mistake." Then, as if it were a matter of course, the two of them talked lively, paying no attention to anyone else, and didn't care much about the quality of the food. Robert noticed Marianne's happy and congratulatory eyes, and said, "It's an overstatement for you to say that you don't know how to cook." "If you're a woman, you'll see that I don't cook. The soup I pour out of a can, just warmed up, with some sherry and seasonings; the chicken, from the Staples' The farm bought it straight into the pot, poured boiling water to cover it, added every other ingredient I could think of, put it on the stove, and prayed; that cheese was from the farm too." "How about a nice bread with cheese?" "Landlady Stanley did it." They laughed at the same time, the corners of their mouths curved. Tomorrow she has to stand in the dock.Tomorrow she would be the talk of fools and fools in Milford. But today she was still her, and she could be with him, happy and complacent in the moment.It all reads from her shining eyes. They took the plate of cheese from the noses of the other two, and the two who were talking didn't even stop talking; they cleared the table, removed the plate, and took it to the kitchen, where coffee was brewed.It was a very dark place, and with the slab-paved floor and the old-fashioned stone sink, it made him uncomfortable to see. "We only put the stove on on Monday after we've scrubbed and cleaned it," Marion said, watching him wander the kitchen. "Other times we cook with small oil lamps." He thought of the hot water rolling in all he had to do this morning when he had just turned on the faucet to get into the glistening bathtub, and he felt an unexpected sense of guilt.After being familiar with the comfortable environment for many years, he couldn't imagine how inconvenient it would be to live in such an ancient place. "That's the Irishman," said Robert somewhat despondently. "For them, it's as natural as breathing. We poor Saxons stagger along in our brutish ways, and don't know how they do it. " She was turning to hand him the coffee tray, and when he finished, she was facing him, her hands almost touching. "The Saxons have two qualities that I admire most in the world - kindness and trustworthiness, or tolerance and responsibility, whichever you prefer. Those are qualities that the Celts never had; that That's why the Irish only carry on the quarrels. Well, damn it, I forgot the cream. Wait. It's like keeping shade in the laundry room." She came back with the cream and said, like a country bumpkin: "I heard people say Now some people have something called a refrigerator, but we don’t need it.” When he returned to the sun-filled living room with his coffee, he could imagine how cold the corner of the kitchen was in winter because there was no stove to keep warm; when the house was in its heyday, the cook alone had more than a dozen servants Help, or nothing can be done, and you'll have to have the coal to be brought in by wagon.He longed to move Marianne out of the place.Where he could take her he didn't know yet—his own home was full of Aunt Lynn's color and smell.It had to be a place that didn't need to be cleaned up, nothing to be moved yet, preferably a place where everything was just a button press away.He couldn't paint an image of Marion busy maintaining mahogany furniture in her old age. As they drank coffee, he cautiously brought the subject up to the possibility of selling the Franchise in the future, and they settled down in a small house elsewhere. "Nobody would want to buy this place," Marion said. "It's a useless piece of real estate that's expensive to maintain; it's not big enough for a school; it's too remote to be converted into apartments; it's too big for a family retreat. Maybe it could be Make it a madhouse," she said thoughtfully, her eyes drifting to the red brick wall outside the window; Robert caught Kevin's eye glancing at her and then looking away. "It's at least quiet here--no leaves to scrape and creak, or ivy to tap on the window frame, or birds to chirp that would make you want to scream. To tired nerves, It's pretty peaceful and peaceful here. Maybe someone will like that and consider this place." It turned out that she liked silence, the kind of silence he thought was dead.Perhaps it was because of the tranquility she longed for after living in London, a crowded and demanding city; her life in the city must have been anxious, restless and full of restrictions.The large, quiet, unsightly house was a perfect refuge in comparison.But now this shelter is not safe anymore. One day—pray to God for that to happen—he was going to see through Betty Kane's lie. "Now," said Marion, "you are invited to inspect the 'deadly attic.'" "Yes," Kevin said, "I'm extremely interested in what the girl claims to have confirmed. Her entire transcript is to me a heap of logical speculation—like the harder ones on the second rung. Or that wooden chest of drawers—something you're sure to find in any country house. And that chest with the flat top." "Yeah, it was a shock at the time, she kept saying things we had - and I couldn't figure it out at the time - until I saw how little she had confirmed in her notes .and she did make an absolute mistake, it's just that no one thought about it until last night. Did you bring that note, Rob?" "Here." He took it out of his pocket. She, Robert, and McDermot climbed up the last row of unpaved steps in sequence and entered the attic. "I came here last night to do my job of mopping the house every Saturday. That's our way of doing things around the house. Once a week, we sweep each floor with a mop soaked in detergent.In this way, a room can be cleaned in five minutes. " Kevin strolled around the room, examining the view from the window. "Then this is the scene she described," he said. "Yes," said Marion, "that was the scene she described. If I remember her words correctly, as I remembered them last night, she said she couldn't—Rob, could Could you please read the part where she describes the view from the window?" Robert looked up the relevant passages and began to read.Kevin bent forward slightly, looking through the small round window, Marianne stood behind him, with an inscrutable smile on her face, like a fortune teller. "From the roof of the garret," Robert read, "I could see a tall brick wall with a huge iron gate in the middle. On the other side of the wall was a road, because I could see the poles. No, I can't see the traffic on the road because the wall is so high. I can only see the top of the truck from time to time. You can't see through the gap in the iron gate, because the iron gate is covered with iron plates. Behind the iron gate there is a The driveway goes straight at first, then diverges into a Y shape, and the two lines that diverge form a circle in front of the house. No, no garden, just—” "What!" Kevin exclaimed, straightening up suddenly. "What what?" asked Robert, startled. "Did you see that?" Marianne answered at the sudden pause. "Yes," Kevin said softly, his bright eyes gloating at the view from the window. "That was her failure." Robert moved toward the window, and Marianne gave him her place.There is a small wall on the edge of the roof, which is small enough to block the view of the courtyard. From here, one can only see the straight lane behind the iron gate, but not the branching part.People locked in this attic cannot know that the driveway diverges into a Y shape, each forming a semicircle. "You see," said Marianne, "Inspector Grant was reading the description in his daily life. We both knew it was correct—I mean, the courtyard was exactly as described; so our subconscious Accepted without question. Even the Inspector. I remember him standing at the window looking out, but it was just an involuntary movement. None of us thought that something was wrong. In fact, there was only one small detail that was wrong." "Only one small detail is wrong," Kevin repeated. "She arrived in the dark, escaped in the dark, and she said she was locked up in this room all the other times, so she couldn't have known about the split drive. What did she say, when she arrived, how did she Say, Rob?" Rob rummaged and read: "'The car stopped at last, and the younger, dark-haired woman got out and opened a double iron gate that led to the driveway. Then she got back in the car and drove it to the front of the house .No, it was too dark for me to see what the house looked like, except for the steps I had to climb to get to the front door. No, I don't remember how many steps there were; four or five, I think. Yes, Definitely a small staircase.' Then she said being ushered into the kitchen for coffee." "Yeah," Kevin said. "What was her account of the escape? What time of night was that?" "After dinner, if I remember correctly," said Robert, flipping through the notes. "At least after dark. Found it," he read. "When I came down the stairs from the attic to the corner of a staircase facing the entrance, I could hear them talking in the kitchen. There was no light on the entrance corridor. I climbed down the last flight of stairs, thinking that one of them might show up at any moment, I rushed to the door. The door was unlocked, so I ran straight outside, down a few steps outside the house, through the iron gate, and onto the road On. I ran straight down the road—yes, my feet felt hard, like a road—and I got tired and tired, and then I squatted down on the grass by the side of the road to rest until I recovered and could go again Keep going."' "It feels hard underfoot, like a road," Kevin repeats. "This implies the inference that it was too dark for her to see what ground she was running on." Everyone was silent for a while. "My mother thought that was enough to discredit her story," Marion said.She looked at Robert, then at Kevin, then back, not very hopeful. "But you don't think so, do you?" That's hardly a question. "Yes," Kevin said. "I don't think so, at least not because of this discovery. She could probably find ways to get around it, especially with the help of a clever advocate. She could make the excuse that it was inferred from the arc of the car that brought her in. Of course. Normally, she'd infer a common driveway design. No one would naturally imagine a circular driveway drawn like this. It's a pretty fancy figure—that's probably why she remembers it. I think This information should be withheld until the circuit judge." "Yes, I guess you'd say that," Marianne said. "I'm not really terribly disappointed. I'm actually glad to find this out, not because it's going to save us from this unwarranted scourge, but because it's going to at least undo some of our—our—" She burst out Stuttered in anticipation, and dodged Robert's eyes. "Concerns about you," Kevin said briefly for her, giving Robert a mischievous look. "Tell us, what came to your mind when you came to clean up last night?" "I don't know either. I stood at the window looking out at the landscape she described, hoping we'd have a small, if inconspicuous piece of evidence. And then, without thinking about it, Detective Grant The voice of Chang's quotes from the living room rang in my ears. You know, most of the story, he told it in his own words. But the part that brought him to Franchise he told it from the girl Words. I heard his voice—a very nice voice—say the part about the circular driveway that I couldn't see from where I was standing. Maybe God heard me silently Prayed." "You still think we should concede to them tomorrow and put all bets on the Circuit Court?" Rob said. "That's right. It won't be any different for Miss Sharp and her mother. Appearances in one place are the same as in another—except that there will be fewer circuit courts in Norton than local police investigative courts." Some uncomfortable feelings. Tomorrow's court of inquiry, in their position, the shorter the better. You don't have much evidence to bring with you, so it will be a formal but rather short procedure. At most they will show their evidence , you declare that you reserve your right to defense, then submit a bail application, and that's it!" It suited Robert very well.He would not have liked the trial they faced tomorrow to drag on too long; besides, he was more confident of a trial outside Milford Town.Now that the matter has entered the judicial process, he is even more unwilling to close the case by dismissing it without prosecution.That punishment for Betty Kane was not enough.What he wanted was for the whole truth to be revealed in an open courtroom proceeding, with Betty Kane listening. Pray to God he has all the evidence ready when the Assizes convene in Norton. "Who should we turn to to defend them in court?" he asked Kevin on the way home to tea. Kevin reached into his pocket, and Robert instinctively thought he was looking for the roster. What he produced, however, was apparently his date book. "When is Norton's circuit court, do you know?" he asked. After Robert told him, he held his breath. "I might do it myself. Let me see, let me see." Robert let him watch in complete silence, making no sound from himself.He felt that an untimely word might destroy this miracle. "Okay," Kevin said. "I don't see a reason why it shouldn't be—although it's a bit of an accident. I admire your witches quite a bit. It would give me a great sense of accomplishment to defend them against that nasty villain. What a strange coincidence that she is old Sister of Charlie Meredith. The old man was one of the most professional men in their trade. Almost the only honest horse dealer in history.I never stopped thanking him for the pony.The first horse in a young boy's life is very important, and it will make his life full of color-not only in the attitude towards horses, but in everything.The trust and friendship between the little boy and the horse are there—” Robert listened, feeling happy and at ease.He learns, somewhat mockingly, that Kevin had dismissed the possibility of Sharp's mother and daughter committing a crime before he knew the real view from the attic window.The notion that Charlie Meredith's sister would kidnap anyone was utterly absurd and utterly inconceivable.