Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

"I've always wondered," Ben Khali said, looking at the small courthouse filled with people sitting on benches, "that there are so many self-proclaimed princes who have nothing to do on a Monday morning. All came to the courthouse. But I have to admit these guys are from different classes. Did you see that woman who owns the sportswear store? On the back row of seats, wearing a yellow hat that doesn't match her purple makeup or hair If she had left the store in the care of that girl named Godfrey, she would have found out that she was short on money tonight. I took her case when the girl was fifteen. She started when she was toddler Stealing money, still stealing. Believe me, a woman can't be left alone to run the cash register. There is a woman named Ann Bowling. This is the first time I see her in this court. Don't know how she can stand it Just now. Her sister had a money dispute. No one really knew where she spent it. Maybe someone blackmailed her, just didn't know who. I couldn't help but think of Arthur Wallis, the barman at the White Hart.

He had to pay three different fines a week, and a new sentence might come out, and the tavern boy's salary was not enough. "Rob let Carley babble on and on, but didn't catch a word. He looked around worriedly at the audience in today's courtroom, who were not the usual idle thugs who showed up in Monday's courtroom. The word had clearly spread. Open, through the mysterious Milford town rumor channel, they came to see the Sharp family for trial. Usually the unpleasant atmosphere in the courthouse is made up of gay men in women's clothing and their chatter and comments made of sleepy Percy voices.

He saw a face, strangely friendly in what should have been a hostile face; it was Mrs Wooyin, whom he had last seen in her lovely little garden in Meadow Lane, Ellsbury forward.He couldn't classify Mrs. Wooyin as an enemy.He likes her, respects her, and feels sorry for her for the truth that will eventually be revealed.He wanted to go to say hello to her, but at the moment the scene was like a chess game, and they were pieces of different colors. Grant hadn't turned up yet, but Hallam was, talking to a police officer who had come to Franchise to deal with the hooligans that night. "How's your detective going?" Carley asked, breaking off his incessant chatter.

"It's okay, but the problem is not small." Robert said. "We haven't found a clue yet." "One girl against the world," Ben sneered. "I can't wait to see this vulgar girl in person. I guess with all the letters of condolences she's getting, and requests for marriage, and being compared to a saint, she'll think the arena of the Police Inquiry Division is so despicable." Poor. Has she ever been asked to be on stage?" "I have no idea." "I think her mom would stop it. That's her over there in the brown suit, she looks like a sensible woman.

I can't imagine how she could have had a daughter like that - she was adopted, right? A dire warning. I always remind myself how little people can know about the people they live with. A woman in Hanggreen had a daughter who, as far as the mother was concerned, never left her sight; one day the daughter left home in a fit of anger and never returned, and the mother, almost mad, went to the police station crying and reported the incident; the police later found The daughter who had never been away from her mother for a night was in fact a married woman who had a child and she just took the child back and went to live with her husband.If you don't believe Ben Kali, check the police records.By the way, if you are not satisfied with your detective, let me know and I can introduce you to a good one.It's my turn. "He stood up as directed by the judge, and continued his constant monologue, talking about the judge's appearance, possible emotions, etc.

Three routine cases were tried one after the other—those veterans were obviously very familiar with the rules of court practice, and they cooperated with the correct procedure skillfully without any obstacles; and Robert half expected someone to call "you slow down!" Son, is it possible!" Then he saw Grant come in quietly and take a seat in the audience at the back of the press box, and he knew it was time. They came in together after their names were pronounced, and walked up to the row of hideous little chairs, looking as if they had only been to church to find seats.Yes, it's like that, he thought: Eyes twinkling quietly observing, attitude waiting for the show to begin.However, he could suddenly understand how he would feel if Aunt Lin took Mrs. Sharp's place at this moment; for the first time, he fully understood how Marion patiently watched the scene of tormenting her mother, even The circuit judge finally cleared their stigma, so what could make up for what they had gone through? What kind of sentence should be given to Betty Kane to make people happy? Robert believed in karma in an old-fashioned way.He may not demand an eye for an eye like Moses, but he definitely agrees: heavy crimes and heavy punishments.Nor did he absolutely believe that simply confessing to the priest and agreeing to reform would turn a criminal into a respectable citizen. "The real criminal," he remembered Kevin saying one night after a lengthy discussion of penal reform, "has two rigid qualities that make a criminal a criminal; extreme vanity and absolute selfishness. ...they are inseparable two sides of the same coin, and are deeply ingrained in the underlying skin. To change it is as absurd as trying to change the color of a person's eyes."

"But," retorts someone, "there are people of extreme vanity and absolute selfishness who are not criminals." "That's only because they sacrificed their wives and not the bank," Kevin pointed out. "Many books and sources have tried to define the criminal, but the definition is very simple. A criminal is a person who regards the satisfaction of his own personal needs as a motive for his actions. You cannot correct his egoism, only the indulging in it. The consequences become undesired, or almost unworthy of him." Kevin's ideal of penal reform, Robert remembered, was exile to a penal colony; an Independence Island community where everyone had to work hard.This is not a reform conceived to protect the interests of prisoners.It is to provide a better life for administrators, Kevin said; and it can give this overcrowded island nation more space for good citizens to build houses and gardens; not to mention, since criminals hate hard work most, it is better than the current The penalty plan should have a more deterrent effect; in Kevin's view, the current penalty is no better than that of a third-rate school.

Looking at the figures of the two women in the dock at the moment, Robert thought that in those "bad old days", only criminals would be publicly displayed in the shackles.Today, however, the unjudged are brought out in public, while the guilty are immediately hidden in safe shadows.Something must have gone wrong somewhere. Old Mrs. Sharp wore the flat black satin hat she had worn in his office the day the Ike-Emma tabloid broke their story, and she looked very preppy and charming. Respect, but a little weird.Marianne wore a hat too - it seemed, he thought, more to hide herself from the public gaze than to be rude to the court.It was a country hat with a short brim, which hid her black hair and cast dark shadows over her bright eyes, which made her look as dark as a woman who is often exposed to the sun.While Rob liked her showing off her dark hair and intelligent eyes, he agreed that today she was best dressed as plain as possible.That might reduce the hostility of her opponents towards her.

Then he saw Betty Kane. For a commotion in the press box had drawn his attention to her being in the courtroom.Usually there are only two boring apprentices in the court press box; one comes from the Milford Advertiser (published once a week, every Friday); times, Tuesdays and Fridays) and the Labolo Times.But today the press box is full of faces that are neither young nor boring.It was the face of a group of vultures greedy for hunting and ready to attack like carrion vultures.Two-thirds of them came for Betty Kane. Robert saw her for the first time since he had seen her standing in the Franchise sitting room in her dark blue school uniform, and was once again amazed by her youth and compelling innocence. .She had become a monster in his mind these days since the last time he had seen her; he had always seen her as a depraved pervert who had brought two innocent women to the dock.Now, seeing Betty Kane again in person, he was bewildered.Deep down he knew that the girl in front of him was the same monster he'd been battling for the past few weeks, but at the same time he found it hard to believe.And if he, who already knew the real Betty Kane, still felt that way because of her presence, what effect did her little girlish charm have on others? She was wearing weekend clothes, not school uniform.A cloudy light blue outfit conjuring up beautiful country flowers forget-me-nots, deep forest fragrances, blue bells and summer is carefully calculated attire that can confuse serious people.Her youth, innocence, and well-bred attitude danced across her face, revealing her charming eyebrows and eyes set wide apart.

Without thinking about it, Robert thought that Mrs. Wu Yin hadn't deliberately planned to achieve that effect when she dressed the girl, but it was also depressing to know that even if she planned all night to design today's dress, she would not be as good as she is now. It was all the better when her name was said and she went to the witness stand, and he had a quick glance at the faces of those who could see her clearly.It was found that only classes were removed.Aside from the difference in Kali's expression—he was looking at her intently, as if looking at a museum piece—the others all had the same emotion; a kind of loving compassion.He also observed that women were so easily manipulated by comparison.Those who seemed to be mothers were obviously aroused by her youth and helplessness; those who were younger were just eager to join in the fun, with curiosity rather than excitement on their faces.

"I-can't-believe!" Ben said, her voice muffled, as she took an oath. "You mean that kid was missing for a month? I can't believe she touched anything but books!" "I'll bring witnesses to prove it," murmured Robert, a little annoyed that someone as talkative and sarcastic as Cali was subdued. "You may find ten irreproachable witnesses, and still none of the jurors will believe it; and only the jury's opinion counts, my friend." It was true, and what juror would believe she was at fault! Watching her retell her story, he remembered what the hotel bellboy had said about her: "A well-bred girl." No one would take her for a mature woman. Look, but she'd actually approached the man of her choice with a cool, practiced demeanor. She has a good voice: youthful, lively and clear, without a trace of affectation.She narrates her story like a model witness; no side quotes, no reservations about important matters.Reporters were drawn to look up at her from their sketchbooks from time to time.The judge looked at her visibly doting. (Pray God to send the harder ones to circuit courts!) Compassion steamed on the faces of the cops.The entire court held its breath and remained silent. No actor could expect more focused attention than this. She's quite calm, seems unaware of the effects she's evoking, as far as anyone can tell, and she makes no effort to make her story sound more intense.Robert himself suspected that this level of balance was deliberate, and she knew very well what effect it would have on court. "Did you mend those sheets?" "I was whipped so badly that night that my hands were stiff. But I mended it later." The tone is no different than saying "I'm busy playing bridge".Saying this gives her story a fair amount of authenticity. Nor was there any impassioned defense of the guard in her tone of voice.She said this and that about the place of incarceration, and this and that proved to be true.But she showed no sign of joy in the fact.When she was asked to identify the two women in the dock who had detained her, she looked at them quietly and seriously, and said they were. "Mr Blair, would you like to question me?" "No, in court. I have no problem." This caused a flurry of mild surprise and disappointment in the courtroom, who were clearly waiting for the show; the acceptance of the formal procedure also implied that the case would be moved to a trial court. Hallam had finished his report, and the witnesses took the stage. The man who testified that she had been picked up by a car was sorting letters at the post office, and his name was Piper.He worked in the mail carriages on the Rabolo to London line and got off at Menshill Station on the return journey, as it was closer to home.He was walking along the long straight London road through Mens Hill and saw a young girl waiting at a bus stop for a London bus.There was a distance between him and her, and he noticed her because the bus to London had passed him half a minute before, before he could see the bus stop; While there, she knew she had missed the bus.He continued walking in her direction, the distance between them shortened but still far away, when a car drove past him.He didn't glance at the car because he was engrossed in the girl, wondering if he should stop as he passed her and tell her the London bus had left.Then he saw the sedan slow down to the girl along the road.She bent down to talk to the occupants of the car, then stepped into the car and it drove away. By this time he was close enough to see the car, but not far enough to see the license plate number.It didn't occur to him to look at the license plate number anyway, he was just glad the girl was picked up so quickly. He couldn't swear to confirm that the girl was the one in front of him, but he was sure in his heart.She was wearing a slightly paler coat—gray, he thought—and black slippers. Slippers? Well, the kind that don't have a strap on the instep. slippers. Originally they were loafers, but he called them slippers. (And his tone made it clear that he would continue to call them slippers.) "Mr. Blair, do you want to question?" "No, thank you, Your Honor." Then Rose Greene took the stage. The first thing Robert noticed were her rather rough teeth.Looks like dentures put in by a very bad dentist.No one has ever had the peculiar, heavily artificial, unnatural teeth of Rose Greene. The judges on the judge's bench didn't seem to appreciate her teeth very much, so Rose quickly closed her mouth and restrained her smile.Yet her testimony was deadly.She used to come to Franchise every Monday to help clean the house.One Monday in April, she arrived as usual, finished work near dusk, and was packing to go home when she heard screaming from somewhere upstairs.Thinking something had happened to Mrs. or Miss Sharp, she ran quickly to the foot of the stairs and looked up.The screams seemed to be coming from far away, like an attic.She was going up the stairs when Mrs. Sharp came out of the living room and asked her what she was going to do.She said she heard someone screaming upstairs, and Mrs. Sharp said it was bullshit, said it was her own imagination, and asked her if she should go home.That's when the screaming stopped, and while Mrs. Sharp was speaking, Miss Sharp came downstairs.Miss Sharp turns to Mrs Sharp, who seems to say something about "Be more careful" if.She was terrified, and though she didn't know why, she walked quickly to the kitchen, took the pay that was always there for her on the kitchen mantelpiece, and ran out.It was the fifteenth of April.She remembered that date because when she decided that she would go again the following Monday, she would give the Sharps a week's notice of her resignation; She never came to Sharp's house to work again. Robert was slightly pleased with the bad impression she gave of herself.Her apparent penchant for theatrical retelling, and her look of Christmas-extra brilliance, blatant malevolence, and obnoxious costumes, mirror the restraint, There is a big difference between sanity and a good attitude.Judging by the expressions of her audience, she was considered an immodest, slovenly woman, and no one would believe what she said.But those will not affect the validity of the evidence she gave under oath at all. Robert, let her go on, and wondered if there was any way to convict her of stealing the watch.She was just a country girl, so it was impossible for her to be familiar with pawnshops, so it was unlikely that she stole the watch in order to sell it for money. She must have kept it for herself.If so, is it possible that her testimony would be of little use if she was exposed for stealing? After her came her friend Gretty Reese.Grety was not fat like her friend, but short, pale, and thin.She was a little frightened, and hesitated to take the oath.Her accent was so vulgar that even the courts had a hard time understanding what she was saying, and prosecutors had to translate her rough words a few times into something everyone could understand.But the gist of her testimony was clear.On the evening of Monday, April 15th she went for a walk with her friend Rose Green.No, not going anywhere in particular, just a random walk after dinner.Rose Greene told her she thought the Franchise was scary because she heard screams from upstairs, where no one was supposed to be. Glady knew that Rose had told her it was Monday, April 15th, because Rose had said she would quit the next time she went to work.As expected, she resigned from her job and did not work at Sharp's house since Monday the twenty-ninth. "I'm wondering what that dear Rose has got at her," said Carley, who had left the witness stand. "What made you say that?" "People don't come to perjure for the sake of friendship - not even a country fool like Glady Reese. That poor little mouse was frozen stiff with fright. She never came willingly." No, there must be something. Maybe if you really don't have any clues, it's worth looking into." "Do you remember the serial number of your watch?" he asked Marianne when it was all over and he was driving them back to Franchise. "The one that was stolen by Rose Green." "I didn't know watches were numbered," said Marion. "There are good watches." "Well, mine is just a nameplate, but I don't know its number. But the watch itself is special. It has a light blue enamel face and gold hour numerals." "Roman numerals?" "Yes. What do you ask for? Even if I got it back, I wouldn't want to wear that watch after that woman." "It's not that I want to get it back. What I want is how to punish her for theft." "That's good." "By the way, Ben Carley called her a 'painted lithograph.'" "How funny! That's what she looks like. That's who you tried to push our case to in the first place, wasn't it?" "it's him." "I'm so glad I refused to be transferred." "I hope you're still feeling this happy when the case's over," said Robert, suddenly serious. "We haven't thanked you for being our bail bond yet," Mrs. Sharp said from the back of the car. "If we were going to start thanking him for everything he did for us," Marion said, "there would be no end to it." He thought, besides the fact that he successfully enlisted Kevin McDermot to help them - and that was an accident of friendship - what did he help them? , to appear in Norton's trial court in less than two weeks.