Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen

Tuesday, the second day of the inquiry, was an excellent opportunity for press commentary. Now that the Franchise affair has entered the judicial stage, there is no need for the Ike-Emma tabloids and the Watcher Magazines continued to fly the euphemistically called Jihad banner—but the Ike-Emma newspaper did not miss the opportunity to remind its ravenous readership of what and what it had said one day, in a lucid The comments appear innocent and pure, but they are full of comments that should be prohibited by law; Robert has no doubt that on Friday, "The Watchman" will make the same self-approving remarks.As for other newspapers that were not interested in following up the case because the police did not want to accept the case, they suddenly rushed to publish relevant news like mushrooms after rain.Even several dailies, which have always taken a serious stand, reported in detail the details of Sharp's mother and daughter's court appearance that day under the headlines "Sensational Case" and "Unusual Indictment".Even the most conservative newspapers contain descriptions of the various protagonists of the case, such as the hat worn by old Mrs. Sharp, the blue dress of Betty Kane, the photographs of the Franchise house, Milford Township Street, Betty Kane His classmates and other bits and pieces that could be related to this case.

Robert's mood sank into a bottomless pit. The Ike-Emma and the Watcher, in their fashion, treated the Franchise affair at best as a self-publicity stunt; with only a short-lived effect, to be disregarded the next day.But now it has become an important domestic news, worthy of national coverage, attracting public comments on this event. He finally tasted despair for the first time.These things came after him like hounds, and he had nowhere to hide.The whole thing was going to climb to a climax in Norton's court, and he had nothing to do about it, nothing to do about it.He felt like he was watching a pile of full wooden crates start to slide, moving toward him, and he couldn't retreat, couldn't find support to stop the caving and falling.

On the end of the routine reporting call, Lunsden gradually responded with terse "yes" or "no," sounding increasingly lifeless. Lunsden was quite discouraged. "Struggling in vain" was the detective's term, a word that had nothing to do with Alec Lunsden at all.And yet, yes, Lunsden was discouraged, stopped speaking, and grinned sullenly. After the Milford Town Court, Stanley delivered the first exciting news for these days.He knocked on his door on a Thursday morning, poked his head in, found Robert alone, pushed the door open with one hand, and searched in the pocket of his overalls with the other.

"Morning," he said. "I think you should deal with this. Those women in Franchise don't make any sense. They leave banknotes lying around, teapots, books or whatever. If you're looking for a phone number , you're likely to find a note bookmarked on the butcher's address page." He took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket, carefully counted twelve ten-dollar bills, and handed them to Robert. "One hundred and twenty," he said. "Not bad, is it?" "What's this?" asked Rob, bewildered. "Kominsky." "Kominsky?"

"Don't tell me you didn't bet! After the old lady tipped it off to us. You mean you forgot about it?" "Stanley, I haven't even remembered Guinness lately. So you've changed your mind and bet on another horse?" "That's right. And it's a tenth of the profit I promised her, you know, because of that message." "But—one-tenth? You must have made a big bet, Stanley." "Twenty quid. Twice my usual top bet. Bill's betting well too. Gotta get his wife a fur coat." "It sounds like Kominsky really won." "Big win, worth writing about!"

"Well," said Robert, folding the pile of banknotes and folding them, "assuming the worst happens and they go bankrupt, the old lady can be a good informant." Stanley took a quiet look at the look on his face, obviously noticing the frustration in his tone. "Things went badly, didn't they?" he said. "Extremely bad," said Robert, paraphrasing Stanley himself. "Bill's wife was in court," Stanley said after a pause. "She said she didn't believe the girl at all, and even if the girl said there were twelvepence a shilling it would be hard to believe."

"Huh?" Robert was surprised. "why? " "She said it wasn't true that she was acting so well. She said no fifteen-year-old girl could act like that." "She's sixteen now." "Well, sixteen. She said she had been fifteen too, and so had all her friends, and those wide-set eyes didn't look at her at all." "I'm afraid those eyes will be on the jury." "Not if you have an all-female jury. But I guess you can't do that expedient." "No. Why don't you give the money to the sharps yourself?"

"I'm not going. You'll be there today anyway, and you can pass it on to them. Just remember to take the money back and help them deposit it in the bank, otherwise they will be busy rummaging through boxes and even finding vases after a few years, and still don’t know where they put the money. "Stanley walked out of the office, listening to his walking footsteps, Robert smiled and put the money in his pocket. People, it is full of endless unexpected surprises. If Stanley wants to stand proudly in that old woman He could fully understand the feeling of counting the stack of banknotes in front of others. However, he backed away shyly.

The story about finding money in a vase is just a rhetoric. That afternoon Robert took the money to Franchise, and for the first time in days saw tears welling up in Marianne's eyes.He paraphrases Stanley's words—details like the vase—and says, "So he asked me to run errands for him..." And that's when Marianne is in tears. "Why did he bother to give us the money?" she said, flipping through the wad of bills unconsciously. "Usually he's not like this... like this..." "I think maybe because he thinks you're going to need it now, the situation has become a little sensitive for him.

When you gave him that advice, you were still rich men living in Franchise, and he would proudly hand it over to you.But now you put people on bail at two hundred pounds surety, plus a surety of a considerable amount, and that's not counting defense fees, court proceedings, etc.; so, I think, as far as Stanley is concerned, he does not know How can I give the money to you. " "Well," said Mrs. Sharp, "though I don't always predict such good luck, I certainly don't deny that I'm glad to have the income. He's a nice fellow." "Should we get a tenth?" Marianne asked suspiciously.

"That was agreed," said Mrs. Sharp quietly. "If it wasn't for me, he would have lost his money on Bali Boogie's horse. By the way, how's Bali Boogie's grades?" "I'm glad you came," said Marianne, ignoring her mother and changing the subject, "because an accident happened. My watch came back." "You mean you found it?" "No, it wasn't. She sent it back. Look!" She produced a small, very dirty white cardboard box containing her light blue enamel watch and the wrapping paper it had been wrapped in. The wrapping paper was a square of pink tissue paper with a circular stamp on it that read "Torransivo, Sun Valley."Another piece of paper, torn from somewhere, reads in block letters in English: I don't want it.The small letter on top of the uppercase I is evidently the work of less educated hands. "Why do you think she's so easily startled all of a sudden?" Marianne wondered. "I don't think it's her at all," said Robert. "I can't imagine that girl giving up anything that came into her hands." "But she did. She sent it back." "No. Someone sent it back. Someone frightened. Someone whose conscience hasn't fully degraded. If Rose Green wanted to get rid of the thing, she wouldn't hesitate to throw it in any pond. But there is a man who doesn't want to keep it, but at the same time wants to return it to its owner. This man has a conscience and a frightened heart. Who's going to feel sorry for you right now? Glady Reese?" "Yes, I think you're right about Rose's guess. I should have expected that too. She's never going to send it back. Sooner or later she'll crush it with her foot. You think she might give it to Gretty Reese?" "If that's true, that would explain a lot of things. Like explaining how Rose blackmailed her to go to court to testify about her story of hearing the 'scream'. I mean, assuming she's the one who received that swag watch.Let's take a closer look, the chances of Rose wearing that watch herself are not many, because the people at Staples Farm where she works are likely to see it on your wrist. So it is more likely that she gave it to her friend as a valuable gift. 'The little thing I picked up. 'Where did the Rhys girl come from? ' 'I don't know very well—the other side of the county, I suppose.But she worked on that isolated farm behind Staples Farm. " "Has it been a long time?" "I don't know. Not too long, I think, though." "So she has a better chance of wearing that watch and not being seen. Yes, I really think Gretty sent your watch back. If there are any involuntary witnesses in court on Monday, That's Gretty. And if Gretty is going to waver enough to send your watch back, then we have hope." "But that would mean she committed perjury," Mrs. Sharp said. "Even an idiot like Glady Reese somehow knows this is a serious matter in English courts." "She can claim she was intimidated - as long as someone told her so." Mrs. Sharp stared at him. "Is there any provision in British law that prohibits interference and bribery of witnesses?" she asked. "A lot. But I'm not going to interfere or bribe." "Then what are you going to do?" "I'll have to think about it. It's a tough question." "Mr Blair, the intricacies of the law have always been beyond my comprehension and will not change in the future, but you will not be held in contempt of court because of this and can no longer represent us, will you? I can't imagine not having your support , how do we survive this case.” Rob said he wouldn't get himself into trouble.And so far, his reputation and moral standards are impeccable, so they don't need to worry about this. "If we can knock down the part where Gretty Reese testified for Rose, we can weaken the basis of the police case," he said. "Rose mentioned hearing the screams before the case came out as their most important piece of evidence. I guess you didn't see Grant's face when Rose took the witness stand? It's not pleasant to focus your whole case on a witness like that.It's time for me to go.May I borrow this little box and this written note?" "You are too clever to think that Rose can't bring it back by herself," said Marianne, putting the note in the Hand it to him in a small cardboard box. "You should be a detective. " "Or as a fortune-teller. The kind who can deduce the world from the egg marks on his vest. Goodbye." Rob drove back to the town of Milford with this new development.It may not be the answer to the predicament at hand, but it at least provides a life buoy. Arriving at the office, he found Mr. Lunsden waiting for him: tall, thin, gray-haired, and stubborn. "I've come to you, Mr. Blair, because this cannot be explained over the phone." "What's up? " "Mr. Blair, we're wasting your money. Do you know how many jerks there are in the world?" "No, I do not know." "I don't know. But what we're doing now is finding this girl in the white world. Five thousand people may search full-time for a whole year and there may be no results.And it is also possible to find the trace of the girl after working alone for a day.It's all down to luck. " "But that's how the case has been from the beginning." "That's true. It's fair to rely on luck alone at first. We've checked out the obvious possibilities. Ports, airports, tourist spots, honeymoon hottest spots. And I didn't take your money Spend it on travel. I have points of contact in all the big towns and most of the country, I just tell them I'm going to 'find out if people with this and that feature show up at hotels where you are' and a few hours later , there will be answers from all over the UK. Those parts have been carried out without any results. The place we have not yet looked for is the whole world. I really don't want to waste your money, Mr. Blair. And now the situation That's it." "You mean you're ready to give up?" "That's not what I said." "So you want me to stop hiring you because you failed?" Mr. Lunsdon was visibly uncomfortable when he heard the word "failure". "That's like throwing money into the ocean with no purpose. It's not a good business investment. It's not even gambling." "In fact, I have a new lead that should interest you." He reached into his pocket for the small cardboard box. "There was a witness in court on Monday called Gretty Reese. She testified that her friend Rose Green did say she heard screams before the police started investigating Franchise. She was in court Testified, but visibly not voluntarily. She was nervous, reluctant, and clearly hated her own testimony—in contrast to her friend Rose, who clearly enjoyed the performance. One of my A local lawyer friend observed that Rose probably had something to force her to testify, but it was pure speculation at the time. However, this morning, the watch that Rose stole from Miss Sharp was sent back in this box , with a note written on it. I figured Rose would never have gone to the trouble of returning the watch herself; she seemed to have no conscience at all. She would not write such a note.The rest of the conclusion cannot be escaped. It was Greddy who accepted the watch. Anyway, it is impossible for Rose to wear the watch to show off without being discovered. This also explains why Rose can blackmail her into perjury. "He paused for a moment to allow Lunsden to express his thoughts. Mr Lunsden nodded, it was an entertaining nod. "It's going to be very hard to talk to Gretty right now about being accused of harassing a witness. I mean persuading her to tell the truth in front of the circuit judge. Kevin McDermo may be able to use his strength and stubbornness in questioning that day. I have some doubts about that, and the judge might stop him before he gets there. Judges generally don't appreciate litigious defense being too aggressive with witnesses." "indeed so." "I think we can take this note to court and prove it's Gretty Reese's handwriting. Using this clue to claim that she is the one holding the stolen watch, we can imply that Rose is using this to blackmail her into perjury when questioned in court.McDermot could assure her that if she was intimidated into perjury, the law would open the door for her, and she might turn herself in. " "So you need a sample of Gretty Reese's handwriting." "Yes. I was thinking about it on the way back. I have a feeling she's doing her first job, so she shouldn't be out of school very long. Maybe her old school has something to offer, or At least it's a place to start. It would be to our advantage if we got a sample of her handwriting in a peaceful and non-provocative way. Do you think you can do that?" "No problem, I'll help you get the sample," Lunsden said, looking as relaxed as if he were picking something out of his pocket. "Did that girl named Rhys go to school here?" "No, I only heard she came from the other side of the county." "It's ok, I'll take care of it. Where does she work now?" "In a remote place called Bratt's Farm, behind the Franchise." "As for finding that Ken girl—" "Can you continue to do something in Laboreau? I can't give you any advice about your work, I understand, but she did stay in Laboreau." "Yes, we have no problem tracking her down in a public place. But that hypothetical Mr. A may live in Laboreau. And she may live in it and never appear in a public place again. Mr. Blair, she disappeared after all. For a whole month, the ordinary disappearance usually only lasts for a weekend to about ten days, and she probably followed that Mr. A back home." "Do you think that's the case?" "No," Lunsden said slowly. "If you want me to be honest, Mr Blair, we probably missed her at one of the exits." "exit? " "She may well have left England, but dressed differently, and we have a picture of her in such a demure and innocent way that it is not at all reminiscent." "why? " "Well, I think the photo in her passport might not be fake, it's just that she might be traveling as someone's wife." "Yes, of course. Very likely." "Then she can't look too young. She can look completely different if she puts her hair all up and puts on some makeup. You don't know how different it looks when a woman pulls her hair up. I The first time I saw my wife dressed like this, I didn't recognize her. It made her very different, and to tell you the truth, I was a little embarrassed, we've been married for twenty years." "So you think that's it. I think you're right," said Robert discouragedly. "That's why I don't want to waste any more of your money, Mr Blair. It's not very useful to find someone based on the photo we have, because the girl may be too different from the photo.When she shows up dressed like in the photo, people recognize her immediately, like a movie theater person, we easily find her wandering around Labolo alone, but after that it is completely blank.After she left Laboreau, no one could identify her by photograph. "Rob sat there fidgeting and scribbling on random paper. "You know what that means, don't you?" We are like sitting in the cabin of a sinking ship. " "But you found this," Lunsden attempted to protest, pointing to the note that followed the return of the watch. "That only shakes the foundation of the police case, it doesn't destroy Betty Ken's story. If the Sharpe mother and daughter are to get out of this morass, the girl's story has to be proven a lie. And we The only chance is to find out what exactly she was doing during that time." "Yes, I understand." "I guess you checked private too?" "Airplane, you mean? Well, yes. Same situation. We don't have a picture of the man, so he's probably one of the hundreds of private jet owners who flew out of the country with their girlfriends around that time." "Yes. Looks like there's really nothing we can do. No wonder Ben'kali is watching." "You're tired, Mr. Blair. You've been worrying for a long time." "Yes. Such a case is too heavy for a country lawyer," said Robert wryly. Lunsden looked at him with a Lunsden smile. "For a country lawyer," he said, "you've done pretty well, Mr. Blair, quite well." "Thank you," said Robert, with a smile from the bottom of his face.Compliments from Alec Lunsden don't come easily. "I shouldn't have discouraged you. It's a good thing you now have a chip against the worst - or should I say, there will be when I have that sample." Robert dropped the pen he was doodling with. "I'm not interested in chips like that," he said, with a sudden surge of anger. "What I want is justice. There is only one priority in my life at the moment, and that is to expose Betty Kane's lies - to expose what she did during that time before her eyes, and to find out the truth Witness. What do you think our chances are? Then tell me, is there anything else we should try that we haven't done yet?" "I don't know," said Lunsden gravely. "Pray, maybe."