Chapter 3 Chapter 1 Crack

“Le vent faisait frissonner les feuilles,” "Un air de dignite hautaine?" (French: The wind blows the leaves, a sacrosanct look?) Monday, 7th, morning, Wenzel Detective Agency. "My life is being threatened." "Sir, don't you have an appointment?" Taphne stopped the flustered gentleman rudely—he almost rushed into the detective agency, and if she didn't react at all, he would almost rush straight into my office without saying a word: the fact On the Internet, before hearing the reason for this tall gentleman's intrusion, Taphne had unconsciously sensed the unique atmosphere of "threat".

"The reality is that our lives are threatened all the time. But it depends on what kind of threat it is. If you are being extorted from someone, please go directly to the police - or I can call the police for you." I didn't really mean to call the police—it would be too troublesome: if the matter could be solved by going to the police, this gentleman probably wouldn't come to me.The intention of saying these words is just to let this gentleman regain his composure in the process of defending or answering. "How could they believe that, how can there be such a thing? No! Although it is impossible, but? Ah! By the way, are you Wenzel, look here?"

Poor this reckless friend who was at a loss, after talking to himself for a long time, he handed me a piece of paper tightly held in his right hand. Then, as if he had unloaded the heavy responsibility that he had carried for many years, he slumped on the sofa beside him with a depressed expression. Taphne and I unfold the crumpled paper, which is a photocopy of a phrase in English, made up of letters presumably cut from a newspaper or a supermarket billboard: The sentence "IT is time To Die, it's time to die. How do you know it's not someone's prank?" on the copy paper, Taphne asked.

"It's not a prank, he arranged it, arranged it earlier?" "Then, whose arrangement is it?" Taphne asked immediately. Taphne’s questioning speed at this moment reminds me of “reflexive questioning” (Author’s Note: A unique way of asking new questions quickly and uninterruptedly based on the answers of the questionee: the questioner hides key questions Among a series of inconsequential questions. This is an interrogation technique born during the war with a considerable psychological background, and is now a regular tactic used in certain news interviews and talk shows) - I I am afraid that the beautiful assistant of my friend is a little dissatisfied with this impudent friend who interrupted us so early in the morning: but the question I asked is exactly what I want to ask-I think, if I ask, the wording Maybe a little softer: but it doesn't matter now.

"Evante von Todd?" (Author's note: The surname prefix "von" seems to indicate that the ancestor of Ifant was a German nobleman in the seventeenth century: this prepositional prefix means "from" in German - on the contrary, if I set If Ivante's ancestors were French, his name would be Ivante de Mort (laughs)) "Ivante scissorhands? If I remember correctly, This name should already be engraved on a tombstone in the People's Cemetery of this city, isn't it?" I interrupted the "reflexive questioning" situation that might develop between Taphne and the guest—whether Taphne or not really want to.

Compared with the well-known Edward Scissorhands, the behavior of this successor is much more despicable.He was dubbed "Scissorhands" only because his usual murder weapon was a pair of large scissors with sharp edges.Around this time last year, Evanter was sentenced to death by the state court for killing a total of seven innocent citizens by extremely cruel means. If it is just a simple homicide case, the state court will not petition the state legislature to request the restoration of the death penalty within the state.Evante not only cut the victim's throat with scissors to kill him, but also cut off the ears, nose, tongue and fingers of the corpse, and put them in a vial filled with formalin solution with the victim's name written on it. The rest of the body was horrible.

After the photos of the scene were released by the media, tens of thousands of citizens jointly condemned the ineffectiveness of the government and public security agencies, and the punishment for serious crimes was too light. Many government officials, including Liberty City Police Chief Hunter Doller, resigned. The police department has also devoted almost all of its manpower to the investigation of this case. It is said that after using the bait, the police finally arrested Evante Scissorhands and brought him to justice.The court rejected the pardon assumption about the so-called "accused's serious mental disorder", and the jury certainly would not give sympathy to such a butcher who regards killing as a game.Amidst the fierce condemnation from the public and the media, Ifant von Todt was sent to the guillotine.

As for the specific execution of the death penalty, I don’t remember very clearly—it was probably injected with a chemical agent similar to potassium cyanate that can kill quickly (this is a humanitarian method commonly used all over the world) ——Thirty years after the abolition of the death penalty in this city, the cruelest punishment for individuals in human history is much more civilized than in the past: but the result of execution is still eternal death. Now that the deceased is dead, is the so-called declaration of death from Evanter the Scissorhands just a prank under the name? ——Judging from the nervousness of this gentleman, the matter is probably not as simple as a prank.

Intuitively, I feel that there must be some unknown connection between this tall gentleman and the scissorhands who have been executed - Taphne can also make this inference: if it is an irrelevant person , not to be frightened to such an extent. "Of course he is dead?" The gentleman on the sofa shook his head: he seemed a little calmer - I attribute this to a certain lazy atmosphere in the detective agency: the tailor-made morning that leaked lazily through the shutters into the house Sunshine, still boiling in the coffee machine of La Pavoni , the strong smell of Colombian coffee (probably because I could only drink instant coffee every day during the period in South Africa. I was spared), and the time that seemed to be stuck in the office with only two people... these are undoubtedly quick medicines to relieve tension.Handik once said at a party that our working hours were "literally on vacation."

But in fact, the work in the detective agency has always been quite complicated, busy and tense-at least Taphne would agree with me, and use it as an appropriate excuse for her tea time. "The arrangement of the dead?? This is a rare thing!" I frowned at Taphne—my assistant's vindictiveness toward this impudent friend seemed a little too much: of course, I have to admit that no good detective's assistant would be vindictive to an impudent friend. It's the fourth time I've used this adjective, and there's nothing good about the tall, middle-aged male intruder who looks a bit nervous, not to mention it's a rare morning.It's just that the distrust attitude revealed in Taphne's words can easily stimulate the tension that the receiver has just calmed down: and this will of course affect the inquiry work we are about to carry out—if Taphne is allowed to Fanny's "verbal revenge" continued, and a minute later, when my imprudent assistant picked up the notebook, it was time for me to regret my previous thoughtless behavior (I taught Taphni all these things, unfortunately She always forgets at inappropriate times).

"May I know your name first? Oh, or it would be better to introduce myself first--well, you are right, I am Wenzel, the detective who is always willing to serve you. And this is Tuff Miss Ni, my assistant." I stretched out my right hand to this gentleman who was still in a state of panic—he hesitated for a moment, stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, shook hands with me somewhat awkwardly, and sat back on the original sofa. I sat down on the couch next to him, and Taphne took the notebook and coffee. "? I'm Dr. Geert Nagel, a surgeon at St. Mary's Second Church Hospital." In my career, doctors have appeared many times, and there are naturally a few names that stand out in my mind-such as Dr. Staples Pickell, and the "ghost morgue" incident. Apprentice Vincent.Gelt Nagel: I'm sure I've heard the name before, but I'm not sure which node in this vast social network it refers to—who knows?Maybe I overheard something like "Dr. Geert Nagel's report on changing the permeability of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane" in a chat at a party, or maybe it was from the semi-monthly "Freedom Herald" Happened to see the name Gelt Nagel on the "list of traffic offenders"? Still, this "momentary forgetting" that happens so often to anyone is not a problem: whether it is from the sight of Mr. Gelt From myself, or from our old friend Mossman, I should be able to get enough information to help me recall. "So, who do you think is most likely to place this threatening note in your bathroom at home?" Both Taphne and Gelt looked at me in surprise—Taffy probably felt that my question was too abrupt or even inexplicable, but Mr. Gelt's expression told me: There was nothing wrong with my reasoning. There are three St. Mary’s Church Hospitals in this city—among them, the Second Church Hospital is located in Howzer District, and it is also the only charity hospital with the purpose of "helping the poor and weak". .In recent years, social donations have become less and less. Michelle Cathedral has even made the sacred ascension prayer ceremony an open tourism project to maintain the expensive expenses of the clergy and the church itself. ——The situation of the Second Missionary Hospital is already bad, and under such a background, it seems to be even worse. The professional habits of doctors undoubtedly focus on clean appearance and neat clothing-when have we seen a very sloppy doctor?If all the doctors in a hospital were unshaven and unkempt, which patient would dare to step into this hospital?According to common sense, Mr. Gelt's status in such a hospital, with the title of Doctor of Medicine, is probably not lower than that of the chief of surgery—then there is no reason why he should not pay attention to keeping his appearance neat.However, let us look at Dr. Gelt in front of us: only a small part of the stubble on the left side of the cheek is barely smooth, and the rest is simply untrimmed weeds!No tie, shirt and suit are put on indiscriminately.The most ridiculous thing is that Dr. Gelt is wearing a pair of white jogging shoes for morning exercise, not the leather shoes that can be found by even one more glance at the shoe cabinet. So, when will the note be found?Judging by the stubble very simply, it should be when shaving with an electric razor in the bathroom right after getting up in the morning (I didn't see any residue of shaving cream) - it is likely that, Mr. Gelt accidentally found this piece of paper while shaving, picked it up and looked at it, panicked, threw away the razor, dressed indiscriminately (or maybe he started shaving without a tie first) (many office workers who are short of time in the morning like to take this order), drove (more likely to stop a taxi-Dr. Gelt at that time should not be in the mood to go to the garage or parking lot ) came to my detective agency. Two doubts: First, why the panic?For a highly educated doctor of medicine, just received a threatening note, and ran to a detective agency in a panic-isn't this a bit too illogical?However, if it has been hinted by other related events before: such as the death or disappearance of people who also received similar notes and have some kind of social connection with themselves as a foreshadowing, such behavior is also understandable. Second, why must I choose my detective agency?A death notice delivered by a dead person—of course the police would not believe such a statement.But why come here without thinking when life is threatened by unknown?Is it a hint again? ——Or that’s the only way to explain it now. "That's right? I was in the bathroom, huh? Saw this while shaving..." Dr. Gelt touched his stubble subconsciously, as a silent approval of my little reasoning. "Very good, then?" Before I could finish my sentence, Handik rushed in with a group of policemen. My old friend ignored my existence, went straight to Dr. Gelt, and said to him in the unique tone of police officers and gentlemen (this tone also made me suspect that it was not my friend in front of me, but just a certain appearance Lookalike but unlikable homicide detective): "Dr. Gert Nagel, the police have every reason to believe that your life is being threatened. Although we have secretly sent someone to protect you, you still have to go back to the police station with us now. Sorry for the inconvenience." Following the two policemen surrounded by Handik, they gave way to the left and right, and Handik also made a gesture of "please follow me".Dr. Gelt looked at me helplessly, then lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then got up and left the detective agency with Handik and the others. In the blink of an eye, only Taphne and I were left here again: it seems that this questioning has died before it even started. I pushed Taphne - she didn't seem to have recovered, so I had to say loudly to her: "My dear Taphne, please make a photocopy of this paper immediately and make a corresponding fingerprint report immediately - there is a fingerprint sample of Dr. Gelt on the outer wall of the coffee cup on the table: you also saw him It's been held with both hands, isn't it?" Only then did my assistant wake up from the incomparable surprise at the sudden "kidnapping incident": "? Okay, I'll do it right away." "The same on that piece of paper? By the way, you should have a sample of my fingerprints—don't forget to remove that?" "Okay, okay, got it?" Taphne smiled, put away the piece of paper left by Dr. Gelt, and carefully took the coffee in front of me. "Hello? Taphne, I haven't had this cup yet!" "Oh? But that's your fingerprint sample? I'm off to work, boss~`" Taphne gave me an equally astonishing (perhaps even more surprising than the kidnapping incident just now) cheerful response to two cups of untouched tempting coffee (I even smelled the bogota beans) Silky Scent) back in cups and trays, and left my office with a smile on my face. Alas? Looks like I have to wait for Handik’s call in the absence of coffee—if nothing goes wrong, I’ll see my old friend again within today: the reason is naturally the scissorhands that was forgotten in our place Death notice left. “La mystique de la heterodoxie?” "Il n'y a pas d'effet sans cause." (French: Blind obedience to heresy? If there is an effect, there must be a cause.) On the 7th of August, it was still early morning, Wenzel Detective Agency. "Apart from Dr. Gelt's and ours, are there any other fingerprints?" The result of Taphne's fingerprint report was just as I expected. "Well, good? Taphne, can you tell me what you think about this death notice?? I don't think you just paid attention to the fingerprints, did you?" I have told Taphne more than once: "A detective assistant must know how to 'infer other cases from one instance'".Let us consider when a detective hands his assistant a slip of paper with the name of the killer on it, and the assistant only thinks of taking the fingerprints on the slip (actually, my example is not an exaggerated fiction— —That should be regarded as one of the "unfortunate incidents" worth remembering in our detective agency) Look, if you don't understand how terrible the consequences of "drawing inferences from one instance" are! "Those should be called the analysis of this death notice." Taphne playfully corrected my language mistakes-this time, my assistant obviously came prepared. "Oh? So? I want to hear your analysis, my dear Taphne.", I laughed - I didn't expect Taphne's request for wording to be so formal. "I'm so happy." Taphne deliberately put on a rather serious expression, "I noticed the cut marks of each letter: I found that the third letter i and the eighth letter e were actually connected together— ——I have already cut and verified this point,? Of course it is from the copy of the original.” After making appropriate additions, Taphne smiled at me, and at the same time paused for a moment—as if hoping to get my affim. This combination of letters appears very often in German and English words-so, even if we are now sure that the two letters were originally connected together, we cannot determine which part of the word it came from, and then according to This word is used to judge which newspapers, magazines or supermarket advertisements the murderer likes to read on weekdays (in fact, few people would do this).I nodded to Taphne, signaling her to continue. "The lower end of the fourth letter s was torn off, probably because the prisoner didn't cut it to the end, so he tore it off." Taphne noticed this tiny detail—and that's to be commended.In fact, from this unique trace on the letter s, we can simply judge that the prisoner is using the right hand to hold the scissors, and when cutting the letter, the scissors are facing down—unfortunately, Evante is not left-handed ( I have always been particularly sensitive and impressed by this feature—the case of "Romeo the Scythe" many years ago has used examples to develop my good professional habits (author's note: see the article for details)), so this discovery is almost useless value. "Besides, I also paid attention to the font - the third letter i, the eighth letter e, and the last letter have the same font: they may come from the same article or advertisement or something. Obviously, the first The same font for the seven ms and the eleventh d—a bold font presumably used for headings." Taphne's analysis is absolutely correct.To add: These letters with the same font can no longer be put back together like the letters i and e mentioned just now-I believe Taphne has already discovered these, but she just didn't repeat them. "The last is the letter t—the prisoner held the scissors in a different direction from other letters when cutting it... well, that's what I found." Taphne looked at me, expecting my response. The reason for this difference, though obvious, may be insignificant—the prisoner held the paper upside down when he cut it: probably the letter t was in the upper part of the newspaper or advertisement leaflet, nothing more. "Very good, Taphne. Your analysis is perfect, and I have nothing to add. Now help me find the source of that copy paper?" "Eighty grams of ordinary copy paper, everywhere - our detective agency also uses this kind?", Taphne gave me the answer before I finished speaking: I have to say, between me and Taphne In the many days of Taffy's partner, such a situation is really rare-I naturally expressed my surprise: at least, for this second, I can't think of what to say to Taffy . "Boss, is there anything else you want me to do?" Taphne saw my surprise—and she seemed a little smug because of it. "Well, then? Analyze the Wenzel fingerprint sample you just took away. If it's completely cold, give me a new one. You'd better hurry up?" Taphne laughed. While Taphne went to make coffee, I was able to recall what Taphne had missed in the analysis of this death notice: Letter case issues - why IT is time To Die and not It is time to die?Why are the second letter t, the ninth letter t, and the eleventh letter d capitalized?Could it be that the prisoner couldn't find lowercase letters in the newspaper or advertisement? ——This possibility seems to be very small; if it is used as a password, although it can immediately make people have some "exciting" associations, it will become a fantasy without getting more clues.However, I still recorded some interesting associations - for example, from TTD to TTC, that is, toutes taxes comprises, which is a very common French abbreviation of "paying taxes and including", and then I thought whether D. is a legal word dessaisir (meaning "to deprive, to give up"): Could "giving up all taxes" be the prisoner's request to Dr. Gelt? From last year's extensive report on the Evante case by Libertarian, I learned that Evante was born in Ussein, France (the hometown of Sleeping Beauty, I am deeply impressed by this), and it may be because of this that the above pair of letters The assumption of case confusion is based on a French abbreviation rather than English or German.I gave up the language (English) that might be the language used for the explicit meaning of the code and chose the language of the birthplace of a preconceived and dead presumed suspect-preconceivedness is always the natural enemy of the detective, I thought, I must correct my train of thought. Well, thinking about it in a simple way, we might as well assume that the prisoner made this note in a panic and concealment, so it (the uniform designation for people who don’t know the gender, the same below) cannot take into account too many details: this may be It can explain why the lower end of the letter s is torn and the direction of the scissors of the letter t is opposite to that of other letters-we can reasonably assume that the prisoner is in a hurry. So, why the rush? It seems that we still need some new clues. “Toute la ville en parle?” “Cette nouvelle me remplit de joie.” (French: What a mess? But it makes me so happy.) "You're here later than I thought." It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when Handik came to my detective agency again.He looked tired - presumably on Dr. Gelt's case. With a tacit understanding, Taphne delivered the death notice to me, and I handed it over to Handik.Taphne also dropped by to serve Handik a cup of freshly brewed Kreis Kaffee—I didn't use the wrong verb this time. "You know I'm here for this, you guys have a tacit understanding?" Handik took a sip of his coffee: he seemed about to say something more, but hesitated, so he took another sip. We then passed an awkward moment of silence.Looks like I'll have to try to get my old friend to be direct: "Dr. Gelt entrusted us to intervene in this case. Therefore, it is necessary for you to tell us what he has not had time to finish. You also know that Evanter is indeed dead, don't you?" Handik rubbed his forehead - there wasn't much sweat there: my old friend liked that best before making a decision (probably because of this, the hair on his forehead has been showing a tendency to thin out - that's not a good idea Habit!). "We've gotten similar things before. It should be said, huh? The perverted butcher named Evante also sent out similar things a year ago. Seven death notices, seven dead people, none of them slipped through the net?" "It's not mentioned in the news or in the papers." "Of course! That should be regarded as the top secret of the General Administration? Uh, of course you also know that this is different from the second-level secrecy in the bureau back then-after all, it is not the era of 'Shadow Killer', so?" (Author's Note: In order to avoid repeated leaks of important case information (in a large part of the case, it is also to cover up for themselves), the top police officers in Liberty City have already revised the case confidentiality policy in 1996-everything that is negotiated by the General Bureau For a case classified as "Secret of the General Administration", even the sub-bureau that accepts the case is not allowed to keep any information related to the case, let alone conduct an independent investigation of the case in violation of the order of the superior. Handik mentioned that "the second-level bureau in the bureau at that time Confidential", obviously referring to the case of Jim Watson in 1992, friends who have read it should know.) "So, now that you receive this again, are you afraid?" What Taphni said was right—if the public knew that Ifante was not dead, and if the death notices continued to be released, the senior officials of the police station would probably have to "collectively resign" again. However, why did the authorities keep those seven death notices top secret when Yvante had already been executed?If it is to prevent panic, it can be justified while the case is still under investigation.But after all, it has been so long, unless there are other secrets, there is no need for these useless materials to occupy the space of the confidential room of the General Administration.I think, I still have to ask Handik: "Why are these death notices classified as top secret by the authorities?" Handik shook his head: "I don't quite know either? You know, the reason why they don't make it public, at least to me?" "Is this case not over yet?" My assistant was really displeased with Handik's repeated hesitation. I have to admit that Taphne's guess should be correct again.The case that the prisoner has been dead for a year has not been closed-although this may sound unbelievable, it is the most logical. "It should be like this. It's strange, isn't it? I don't know too much. One is because the impact of the Evante case is too great, and the General Administration has to keep the relevant things secret—you know, a reporter with some connections My favorite thing to do is to buy information from the police: they sometimes even get to the scene before the police cars?" "If this thing is revealed by the reporters, the evening taxi driver will probably have nothing to eat for months?" After listening to my words, Handik touched his forehead again unconsciously. "Secondly, because I am not in charge of this case, there is no way to know more details?" "Such a case, of course the General Administration has no reason not to intervene? So, although you took Dr. Gelt away in the name of protecting the client, you just brought him to the General Administration without knowing what happened?" "Ah, that's irony, my friend. There's always a reason for what the General Directorate tells us to do: they say that Dr. Gelt is a key figure in the ongoing murder serial, and you can think of any reason. Plus You should be able to roughly guess what is going on with the things related to Evante just now?" "Evante's accomplices launched a revenge operation a year after his death, killing people related to the last case. Is this what you mean? So there are already victims?" "Sorry? That's all I can say." "You can only say so much? What is the reason why the General Administration is so secretive about this case? As far as you and I know, there seems to be nothing that needs to be deliberately concealed? Handik, my old friend, I know you How many years?" "Twelve years?" Handik looked down at me: he wanted to take a sip of his coffee, but my anger kept him from moving.I didn't intend to embarrass my old friend - the police department's confidentiality policy, as a police officer, of course he must abide by it.Handik is a principled person. If a friend asks him, he will of course refuse without hesitation.But this obviously unreasonable request came from me, which naturally made him feel difficult to make a decision. But things also looked rather troublesome from my side: Handik clearly knew something else.If I don't get these clues from Handik at this moment, it's even more impossible to get them from the guys in the General Administration.Although it is possible for Dr. Gelt to ask the police to entrust me to handle this case—but for the sake of confidentiality, the General Administration will definitely not let outsiders know too much (actually, even if I am still eleven Bureau agents may not get more information). "I admit that my words are a bit harsh, sorry? Why don't you just answer me with 'yes', 'no' or 'don't know' when I put forward some assumptions related to this case? You didn't say it yourself, It might feel better." Handik glanced at me and nodded reluctantly.He picked up the remaining half cup of coffee and drank it down. Taphne pushed her untouched cup of coffee in front of Handik, took out a pen and paper, and was about to start recording. "Thank you, Taphne. Brother Wenzel, if you have any questions, please ask them quickly." "Okay. We'll start right away." I smiled at Handik, who smiled wryly back. "The General Administration attaches great importance to this case, because this case is quite similar to the case of Evante a year ago." "That's right." "There have been victims in this case." "yes." "The victim is a person related to the case of Ifante a year ago." "yes." "Evante's case has not been fully solved, and there are still doubts when the case is closed." Handik shook his head: "Not quite sure." "Evante is related to someone powerful." "I don't know." "Dr. Gelt may be next." "That's what the people at the headquarters said?" "The police made a mistake in the last case, so the truth must be concealed." "Hey! Don't you think too badly of us?" "Just answering 'yes' or 'no' is fine, or do you not know the truth at all?" "How could I know!" "Dr. Gelt can go home tonight." "According to the regulations, the General Administration should send plainclothes to protect him." "How many victims are currently receiving death notices?" "Five? Hey, you cheated!" "You didn't answer 'yes' or 'no' first?" Taphne raised the record in her hand to defend my cheating. "Okay, okay, I've had enough! I really don't understand why the bureau sent me here today..., so that I'm being interrogated by you like a criminal. I said, this case is not at all It’s out of my hands!! If you want to handle this case, go directly to the General Bureau to find Sigle and see if he’s willing to tell you more! Damn, damn!, how could I know a guy like you??” "Calm down, my friend. It's all a coincidence! Are we surprised?" "Oh, forget it? That's all I know. I heard that the death conditions of those five people are similar to the cases committed by Evante a year ago. The bureau has spent a lot of effort to prevent the news from spreading. But if that damned perverted butcher continues to commit crimes, I’m afraid he won’t be able to hide it from the reporters for a few days…” "If there's another panic, you're going to be busy?" "That's right. You should know how important the 'sixth man' is. Well, I should go." Handik looked even more exhausted—telling me the secrets of the Bureau added a lot of psychological burden to him: Poor Handik, this case should not be in his hands. "Boss, why do night taxi drivers have no food?" After Handik left, Taphne suddenly asked me such a question that seemed a little out of my head. "?what?" "If this case is exposed, why would the taxi driver have no food?" Only then did I understand what Taphne wanted to express: "If everyone knew that the perverted butcher appeared again, how would they react?" "? Scared, panic!" "Then do you dare to go out at night?" "When something like this happens, the TV station will also appeal to the public not to go out at night? Oh, I see." "Okay, give Mossman a call. I want to know everything about the Evante case. And Dr. Gelt Nagel's personal information, especially the part related to Evante. The more detailed the better." The Klax coffee is a bit cold - I'm not going to drink it again.I lit a cigarette: the lingering smoke slowly spoiled the lazy atmosphere of the detective agency Section 4 Contact "Je ne peux pas encaisser ce type!" “Cette maladie peut se donner?” (French: I can't stand this guy! Is this disease contagious?) Let's sort out the known clues: A doctor of medicine named Gert Nagel, who is a surgeon at St. Mary's Second Church Hospital, came to the hospital in a panic when he received a sudden and vague death notice this morning. My detective agency asks for my assistance.Before we learned any specific circumstances from him, the people from the police station took him away in the name of protecting the life and safety of the client. This death notice is the sixth one so far, and the people who received the first five death notices have all died—the modus operandi is very similar to that of the serial murderer Evante a year ago, and these people are all the same as the same person. There is a connection with the case years ago (what kind of connection, we still don't know).Evante also sent similar death notices to the victim when he committed the crime, a total of seven: The police concealed the matter for unknown reasons. 在我要求汉迪克回答“是”或“否”的那些假设中，也包括了警方需要隐瞒此案内情的可能原因：很显然，如果事情公布出来对警方没有什么害处，他们是不会费心去进行保密工作的。掩饰在办案中所犯的会引起舆论谴责的错误，或者避免因得罪权贵而使警方的年度经费被迫大幅缩减，是警方在某案结案后仍进行保密工作的惯常原因。 如果真如汉迪克所预想的——总局今晚放捷尔特博士回家，那么，捷尔特博士无疑会和我取得联系，那时候我们就可以问到更多的事情。 如果汉迪克想错了，总局以保护为名将捷尔特博士隐藏在某处，则他也可能如我前面所想的，会要求和我见面并委托我办理此案。这是一个比较好的假设，当警方同意后，我就可以得到某种程度的官方授权，从而可以更加方便地展开调查。 然而，很有可能出现的一种情况是：无论是捷尔特博士或者警方都不再和我取得联系，我如果想要继续调查这个案子，除了从莫斯曼那里得到一些非法的信息外，就得全靠自己了。 无论如何，我是不喜欢中途放弃某项委托的——那可不符合我的习惯。现在再来考虑办或者不办这个案子，只能是浪费时间：无论本案如何发展，情况总坏不过今年夏天的那个案子?那么，既然这个案子已经不是最糟糕的了，我又有什么理由去消极呢？ “老板，莫斯曼的传真来了，你现在就看么？” “当然！外加一杯塔氏特制咖啡?” 伊凡特·冯·托德，1971年6月16日出生于法国于塞（Usse），幼年丧父，后母亲出走，随祖母（姓氏不详）生活。1981年祖母去世，之后行踪不详。 年7月23日因杀人罪于自由意志市被捕，同年10月17日被州法院宣判死刑，日执行于自由意志市第三医院。现葬于自由意志市人民公墓三区203907号。 案件信息摘要（紫杰克，整理自《自由意志报》、《观察家报》、《自由公众报》、《时事》）： 案件档案编号： 结案时间：2001年7月24日案件发生地：自由意志市负责部门：自由意志市警察总局重案二组负责人：积格勒·埃佩尔探长案件特征： ， 连续杀人案件。受害人全部为年轻白种女性。皆是被利器剪断喉管而亡。被害人均未受到性侵犯，但每具尸体都被取去部分器官（包括耳、鼻、舌、手指）。 ， 案件现场均会有使用被害人血液写下的一段话以及犯罪人签名：伊凡特·冯·托德。 （关于被害人及现场的详细情况参见附表。）， 偏好选择周末犯案，但具体的日期选择似乎没有规律可循。 结案后尚存的疑点： ， 警方未公布抓获伊凡特的细节。各报刊均作了多种假设，但缺乏相关证据，未能使人信服。 ， 除了案件当事人，从未有人见过伊凡特的相貌。媒体公布过多张据说是伊凡特的近照以及电脑模拟照（总数超过10张），但都没有得到官方证实，公审也是缺席进行。 ， 官方处理过于冷淡，死刑也是秘密执行。起初媒体曾怀疑官方包庇罪犯，大众也在官方宣布执行死刑之后怀疑伊凡特是否仍然逍遥法外。但事后没有再发生类似案件，民众始相信此案已结。 紫杰克总结： 最近发生的一个比较有名的案子（此案迫使该市所在州议会在三个月内修改了州法案，恢复了在该州废除了长达三十年的死刑。），通过公共媒体可知的资料极少，疑点颇多。 附表： 伊凡特案被害人资料（转自《时事》周刊，2001年9月下）编号被害人姓名年龄职业遇害时间被取去器官辛蒂·斐杰库斯19 学生1月19日鼻、右手无名指苏珊·李23 秘书2月23日左右耳、左手小指艾莉斯·卢瓦尔21 女招待3月2日左右耳、右手拇指玛丽·洛林26 主妇3月13日舌头、右手中指阿尔萨斯·卡彼涅17 学生5月2日左右耳、左手小指莱塞济·佩里格21 学生6月17日鼻、左手小指巴斯德·阿尔克24 主妇7月3日舌头，左手拇指伊凡特案现场资料（转自《时事》周刊，2001年10月上）编号现场血字位置血字内容雪令区阿提卡街17号办公楼旁小巷中死者旁边的水泥地上“森林中的睡美人啊，无尽的嘈杂?” ——小伊凡特豪泽区国王西路196号公寓402室卧室卧室墙上“谁去过波尔多？醉奶酪?” ——伊凡特·冯·托德豪泽区宪兵车道409号酒吧杂物间中一个废弃铁皮垃圾桶的背面“纪念我最最亲爱的祖母。” ——拿剪刀的伊凡特豪泽区圣母路公寓地下杂物间一张旧的单人床垫上“红色、红色。伴我入睡?” ——伊凡特·冯·托德德纳赫区卢兹大道29号办公楼电机房电机房低矮的天花板上“请大家务必记住下面的名字，谢谢。” ——伊凡特·冯·托德雪令区自由广场公园女公用厕所厕格中厕格内侧墙上“请勿吸烟！” ——伊凡特的剪刀朗林根区红环西路7号阿尔克家别墅卧室卧室外厨房的冰箱门上“背叛者入天国。柴犬在哪里？” ——你们的伊凡特捷尔特·内格尔，1962年10月2日出生于自由意志市圣玛丽第二教会医院。1974年父母离异，后随母亲菲莉娜·加辛柯娃（生于自由意志市，其父母系白俄罗斯移民）生活。 年初其母因病身故，同年考取自由意志大学医学院临床医学系。学习成绩优秀，多次获得市级助学金。1987年7月6日取得硕士学位。1990年7月16日被自由意志大学医学院授予博士学位。后在自由意志市第三医院任急诊科医师。1994 年秋升任科室主任。 年4月14日至10月20日曾受聘于自由意志市警察总局，负责法医培训工作。 年10月10日与狄尔瑟·赫拉斯结婚。2001年11月22日，狄尔瑟·赫拉斯因车祸重伤入院，当日夜间不治身亡。两人并无子女。 自配偶亡故后，转任自由意志市圣玛丽第二教会医院外科主任医师至今。 现居于朗林根区李希特街58号住宅电话： “我亲爱的塔芙妮，能再给我杯咖啡么？” “好的好的，你这个咖啡因依赖症晚期患者?” 莫斯曼最近变得越来越懒了，他直接就将“紫杰克犯罪档案馆”这个网站里关于伊凡特案件的部分复制了给我。我得承认：这位热衷于收藏各类奇特案件资料的个人网站建设者的整理工作做得已经是相当不错，但他还是遗漏了一些我在当时的《观察家报》和《时事》周刊上曾经留意过的小细节（或许紫杰克认为这些细节没有占用他私人网络空间的必要吧?）： 和积格勒·埃佩尔探长一样，捷尔特·内格尔博士也曾出现在“对案件破获有着杰出贡献者”的名单中，挂上的头衔是“心理顾问”。这就是我为什么对这个名字感到熟悉的原因。 结合捷尔特博士的个人资料：他曾经在总局负责过长达半年的法医培训工作。那么，在某些重要的案件中总局邀请他作为心理顾问，倒也不足为奇。 莫斯曼在传真的最后还留了一段话： 伊凡特·冯·托德、捷尔特·内格尔资料：警局电子档案伊凡特案资料：紫杰克犯罪档案馆总局的相关档案、捷尔特与该案的关系，在公共网络能接触到的范围内并不存在。警局的内部网上可能有，但你得把我带到警局机要室的某台电脑前面才行。 那个捷尔特和我住在同一条街，你可以去拜访一下，不过别来我家了，我最近都很忙。 “精心调制的卡鲁瓦牛奶咖啡，不过，没有利口酒?” “亲爱的塔芙妮，我可不是小孩子。” “喂喂，咖啡因成瘾就够了?再说，下班时间也快到了。” 塔芙妮转换话题的手段实在是很高明——我就看不出下班时间和利口酒之间有什么因果关系。下班时间？看来，FW5台的肥皂剧忠实爱好者今晚又和家中电视有约在先了。 “好的好的，塔芙妮小姐。今天你不用额外加班?” “不啊。这个案子很有趣，我也想帮忙的?” 我怀疑我是否有听错什么——塔芙妮竟然主动要求晚上加班！这种情况，在塔芙妮成为我助手的这许多年里，绝对不超过十次“?我说，塔芙妮。你终于也开始觉得连续剧很无聊了么?？” “不会啊?” “那么?” “这个?，老板。我几年都没有涨工资了?” 我总算明白了塔芙妮主动要求加班的动机——对于揣测塔芙妮的行动目的，我向来都表现得像个警校新丁：我得承认，即使是侦探社里这种对象面极狭窄的员工管理工作，我做得也是十分糟糕。或者我该让塔芙妮来当老板（她正好是经济管理出身）：我当她手下的一个小小探员就好“好的，你要加多少？” “什么？？”，塔芙妮显然对我的过分直接不是很适应。 “我亲爱的塔芙妮，你说你要涨工资，可是到底要上浮百分之几呢？” 这回，轮到塔芙妮踌躇了。 我的助手大概指望我会根据通货膨胀率提出一个参考方案让她考虑一下，而不是将决定权交给她。我毫不思考的回答，已经将塔芙妮原来的计划统统打乱了。 “?百分之十六吧，或者可以更高一点？”，塔芙妮的声音有些忐忑。 “那就百分之二十吧?，你觉得怎么样？”，我的回答干净利落。 塔芙妮似乎是被我糟糕的工资处理方案给吓坏了：她并没有回答“好的”或者“不满意”，而是在略微点了一下头之后，拿起我还没沾口的咖啡，以最快的速度离开了办公室。 “喂，塔芙妮，我还没喝过呢！” “先加上利口酒，我亲爱的老板?，今天要加班呢！”，塔芙妮的声音干劲十足。