Chapter 4 Chapter 2 Honkai-1

“Les enfants sont restes bien gentils toute la journee.” "J'en doute fort?" (French: The kids are good all day long. I doubt it?) The liqueur added last is not easy to stir well, and the cocktail style of Kahlua milk coffee can't be expressed in this cup of coffee.However, the refreshing taste of iced coffee, the richness of milk, and the subtle aroma of liqueur are all the same. In addition, there is an additional wonderful feeling of alcohol and coffee gradually reconciling on the taste buds—perhaps Taphne should give this A new name for Cup Detective Agency's original excellent coffee.

The detective agency's phone rang at this moment.It's Handik: "Wenzel, are you still working overtime?" "Well, of course, this case is a bit troublesome. The information that Mossman helped me find doesn't seem to be very useful?" "Really? Hey, I said, buddy, there's nothing I can do about it this afternoon?" "You called me, did you have something new to tell me?" That's the way Handik is—he's never quite clear the line between old friends and professional responsibilities: my attitude in the afternoon made Handik feel sorry for his friend.It is not the first time that Handik has made such a mistake: he is a good old man, I suddenly remembered Mosman's proposal just now - the computer in the security room of the 11th Precinct uses the internal network of the police station, as long as Handik is willing to help, We were then able to easily obtain confidential information on the Ifante case on the intranet.

Alas~`, it seems that Handik will be embarrassed again. "You always speak so directly? Yes, yes, my old friend. The General Administration let Gert go home today. I also found his home address and phone number for you. If you really want to talk to him Contact?" "No! I said, thank you, Handik. Do you think it's easy to contact our Dr. Gelt now with an address and a phone number? I mean, under the supervision of the General Directorate?" Handik stopped talking, because he didn't consider the current situation: since Dr. Gelt has been listed as the "sixth person" in this case by the General Administration, it is natural that the Bureau should take appropriate protective measures.Even if Dr. Gelt had been allowed to go home, there would have been plainclothes around the villa, and the phone would have been tapped.If I want to bypass the eyes and ears of the police and get in touch with Dr. Gelt, I will definitely not be allowed by the police.

"But, Handik, my old friend, there is one thing you can certainly help with?" "Well, you said?" "I want Mossman to use the computer in the confidential room of Bureau 11, the one that can access the police intranet?" "It's already a crime to let people outside the police department gain access to the internal security network!? My God, you are crazy. Haven't you learned your lesson about that incident in Xia Tian? " "It's just to check the confidential information of the Evante case. With Mossman's technology, no one will find out?"

"But it's still like that? It's crazy. Hey, Wenzel, is this case that important? Just drop this case and you don't have to get involved in this troublesome incident?" "Handik, you know me. Would you like to help?" Handik is silent again? However, I know what can make Handik make a quick decision: "I still have a bottle of 93-year-old Goya Manor Fog wine, DOCG level. Isn't that bottle of wine you have always wanted to collect? After the case is closed, can we have a drink together?" "? Well, I'm afraid of you. Your behavior is simply bribing the police officers?"

"So you agree?" "Whatever you say?" One of Handik's hobbies is to collect and taste the best wines from all over the world (of course, the "superior" in the general range. With Handik's income level, it is unlikely that he can afford a bottle of Sauternes for tens of thousands of dollars. Twelve years of superb aging).He could easily resist other temptations, but refusing a glass of wine would surely be too much for him. "? That wine is not cheap! Where did you get it? Why didn't I hear you mention it at the last party?" "Let's talk after the case is over, you terminal tannin-dependent patient?" I hung up the phone.

This Handik immediately changed the topic to wine: the new word Taphne just used on me is more suitable for him. However, one of the messages Handik gave me just now is very useful What: Dr. Gelt's return to his family's villa tonight is much better than staying in some secret place arranged by the General Administration.The police surveillance was carried out secretly, and Dr. Gelt and I were not aware of it before.Today, Dr. Gelt was taken away by the police in my detective agency—although it was when I accepted the commission, the police did not give me any additional explanation (this is probably Handik's negligence).Therefore, the commission given to us by Dr. Gelt has not ended (it was interrupted unexpectedly)-according to common sense, it is necessary for me to call the client to confirm whether the commission is canceled or continued.

I called Dr. Gelt's home.It took a while for someone to answer: "Hi, this is Gelt." "Hello, I'm Wenzel. You came to my detective agency this morning, I want to know?" "Mr. Wenzel, Dr. Gelt is currently the key protector of the police. Now everything about this case has been taken care of by the police, please don't?" "Is Inspector Jiegler here? He's in charge of the case. Let me speak to him." "I'm sorry, would you please not?" "Let me talk to Jiegler! I'll say it again, or I'll come right here!"

There is no voice on the phone: the General Administration really attaches great importance to this case—even if I use Dr. Gelt’s entrustment as an excuse, I’m afraid they won’t allow me to talk to Dr. Gelt (in this way, Dr. He should also know the secrets that the police department tried their best to hide in the Evante case).Therefore, I propose to talk directly to the person in charge of the case, Jiegler: I know Inspector Jiegler as an acquaintance, and talking to him is better than arguing with this police officer who talks like an answering machine "Wenzel, Haven't seen you for almost ten years?"

Jiegler's voice is almost the same as it was more than ten years ago. He should be retiring now. Detective Jiegler is considered a celebrity in the city's police circle. He was already a detective when I was still a detective in the police station.We had a brief partnership: Jiegler was a strict and rigid man, but he had a big beard that didn't match his personality.Another distinctive feature of Inspector Jiegler that distinguishes him from other Inspectors is that he is neatly dressed, even on a hot day.A well-known rumor is: on a day when the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius, a car accident scene was exposed to direct sunlight for more than four hours, even if the shirt has just been taken out of a washing machine without a drying function, the accumulated Inspector Geler didn't undo his tie, or any button on his shirt. "Well, as you said back then, I'm a private eye now."

"I've seen a lot of cases you solved in the newspapers. As I said earlier, you were born to be a detective?" "You don't need to praise me, Inspector Jiegler, you know the purpose of my call." "Do you think that based on our old friendship, I will agree to let you talk or meet with Dr. Gelt? Wenzel, you know me well. If I answered your call, I would also talk to Nafp just now. Same to you?" "I really didn't expect that the police department still disrespects the opinions of the parties involved in the case until today. Wasn't that what you hated back then?" "Are these immature ideas? You know, I'm retiring soon? There are some things that cannot be overlooked, but accidents are everywhere? Hey, Mr. Gelt, what are you doing?? Is this not Permission, please?" Jiegler interrupted the conversation, but did not pick up the line.The other end of the phone seemed to be arguing about something, and then there was no movement for a while, and then the voice of Inspector Jiegler suddenly came out of the microphone: "Okay, Wenzel. I'll let you meet him tonight. You should know the address. See you later?" The other party hung up the phone. It's easy to understand why Jiegler suddenly changed his mind: our client presumably expected the police to put him under house arrest, and prepared for it before they did—a good hypothesis is that Dr. Gelt Record these secrets on tape and store the tape in a safe place.Once the Doctor gave the signal, the tapes were made public. Even if Dr. Gelt just made up a similar lie temporarily (the purpose of course is to meet me), Jiegler and the others can't ignore it—even if there is only a one in ten thousand possibility, they must try to avoid it This possibility becomes a reality. Jiegler is right: Accidents are everywhere "N'approche mie de ces lieux!" “Je le connais mieux maintenant.” (French: Don't come near here! I know him better now.) It was getting dark quite early in October in Liberté.Convention and Exhibition Center Road was stuck in traffic as usual, and several construction sites on Carl Street did not rest.On the contrary, Richter Street, a residential street full of villas, is extraordinarily quiet. When I got out of the car, I looked at my watch, it was just after eight o'clock. After ringing the bell, Jiegler opened the door: "Come? Come in." We had a face-to-face meeting——Jigler is old: Although I said that he looked old ten years ago, he is really old now.The shirt and tie seem to be the same ones from many years ago, and the beard is still the same, but the color is gray. "What? Do you still want to say that I look old? Wenzel, your appearance hasn't changed much. I recognized you right away. It's nice to be young? Is the lady next to you your assistant?" Jiegle glanced at Taphne, and at the same time stretched out his hand—he wanted to shake hands with Taphne, but Taphne obviously didn't take it seriously.My lovely assistant is probably intimidated by Jiegler's beard: I felt the same way when I first met him more than a decade ago (though he wasn't enthusiastic enough to shake my hand then).She just nodded to Inspector Jiegler: "? Well, I'm Wenzel's assistant, please call me Taphne." "Oh, nice to meet you?" Jiegler waved his hands in embarrassment, turned and entered the back room: "Dr. Gelt is in the living room. No audio recording or photography is allowed. You can record the conversation with a pen, but you must check it for us when you leave?" "learn." Inspector Jiegler pushed open the door of the living room - Dr. Gelt was sitting on the sofa in the living room, with a young police officer sitting next to him.An older policeman was reading a magazine in an armchair by the window. The police ID on his chest was covered by an outdated issue of Viewpoint, so I couldn't get his name for now.The young policeman was Nafp, who had a conversation with me once, and his police officer certificate was stamped with the triangular police academy seal for trainee police officers. Through the window, I found a police car parked in the alley beside the villa—the license plate number is FZ-P3091.From the perspective of pedestrians on Richter Street, this car is blocked by the wooden house in front of No. 56, and the fences on both sides of the alley are covered with ivy: Therefore, pedestrians on the street have almost no way to see the police car.Jiegler and the others obviously parked in this way on purpose: if the police car was parked in a conspicuous position, no matter how stupid the murderer was, he would know that there was an ambush here. Dr. Gelt jumped up from the sofa when he saw us coming - I think if a survivor of a shipwreck who had been stranded on a deserted island for many days suddenly saw a rescue helicopter, he would have the same reaction . "You guys are finally here! These cops are driving me nuts! A few more hours with them and I'm afraid I'll have to force myself to take some risperidone! In the hands of the guy, is there even more threats?" "Dr. Gelt, would you please be a little more careful with your words?" After all, Nafp is a newcomer to the police academy, and he can't stand a little insult to the police. "? Attention? Why should I pay attention? Now please get out of here! This is my home, I want to meet guests, but my home does not welcome mental patients in police uniforms!? Do you understand? Get lost go out!" Poor Gert was almost on the verge of a seizure.Nafp also stood up—at this time, Inspector Jiegler spoke: "At least one of us must stay? Nafp, you come here. Willy, you stay here? That's it." The policeman named Willie put down the magazine, and Zuggler nodded.Nafp wanted to say something else, but he glanced at Jiegle, but finally he didn't say anything.Nafp went out, and Jiegler closed the door behind him. It was just the four of us in the living room: I sat down next to Dr. Gelt, and Taphne sat on the side armchair—she was ready to start recording.Willie didn't leave the armchair, but he had stopped reading the "Viewpoint" Magazine. "Then, it's time for us to continue our morning conversation." "Okay? Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this?" "It's nothing. It's not the first time that the police have interrupted my work? Dr. Gelt, can you talk about the relationship between you and Evante?" Gert glanced at the police car outside the window - Willie put down the magazine at this time, so he met Dr. Gert's eyes: this kind of eye contact probably made Willy feel very uncomfortable, so he got up and walked over I sat on the single sofa opposite Taphne - that seat is far away from Gelt, and it is more convenient to monitor our conversation. "In that case a year ago, due to my small achievements in the field of criminal psychology, the guys from the General Administration contacted me, hoping that I could help them solve the case - in 1997, I helped them with forensic training for half a year, They are quite familiar with each other." "Evante is a very special case - his perception of the world is different from many of you and me. I spent quite a long time trying to understand him? By the way, Mr. Wenzel, you know Something about the Everett case, no?" "Well, some. But not much—mostly from newspapers and magazines." "Then you must know the bloody words he left behind? For example, 'Sleeping Beauty in the Forest' written on the concrete floor with the blood of 19-year-old student Cindy. How did the magazines describe these words?" "The magazine says that Evante is a 'psychopath with abnormal hyperfunction of central DA'?" "? That's why no one knows him. The origin of the fairy tale 'Sleeping Beauty in the Forest' is the French town of Ussey, where Yvante was born. The unnatural death of his father and the betrayal of his mother made him childhood life was full of 'noisy'?" "Unnatural death and mother's betrayal? Evante's childhood really looked miserable?" Taphne interjected again—I don't know when she will be able to get rid of this bad habit "That's right. When I was ten years old Lost even the last of his loved ones?, and then he wandered, accumulating loneliness and resentment. I don't think Cindy was the first person he killed - to be precise, Cindy was the cruelty he used for grandstanding The first person killed by means. And using extreme means to attract the attention of others is one of the symptoms of severe personality disorders." "The victims are all women, aged between 17 and 26. From this point of view, Evante is full of prejudice and hatred towards women. The reason is still from his mother?" "? It is rumored that Yvante's father is not his own, but he is very kind to him. His mother is a famous slut in Yusai, and she often takes men home to fool around. This point can explain why none of the seven female victims in the Ifante case had ever been sexually assaulted—the debauched behavior between the mother and multiple lovers made little Ifante feel extremely humiliated and disgusted, which made him subconsciously A strong resistance to the behavior of men and women has been formed in him. And the deep-rooted subconscious has quietly changed his sexual pleasure orientation?" "? That is to say, the only way for Evante to get pleasure is? Killing people?" In fact, Dr. Gelt's narration is already very clear - Taphne's question is largely unbelievable to such a fact. "? It can be said like this. According to the French police information, Evante's father died in a car accident-this is quite suspicious. Afterwards, before the body of the old Todd was buried, his wife ran away with her lover ?” "?Of course no one else is obliged to bury old Todd. At this time, only the bodies of little Ifant and his father are left in the family. Little Ifante didn't cry, but played with his motionless father, singing him ballads from Bordeaux?" "? He tore up his mother's picture and sprinkled it on his father's chest. He looked at his father's face and watched old Todd slowly rot. He doesn't eat or drink, and doesn't go out, just stays at home, waiting for his father to wake up and bring his favorite food, yogurt with a strong aroma of wine?" "? Seeing his father's rotten and hollow eye sockets, the maggots gushing out of his mouth, his body gradually overflowing with green liquid, and the foul-smelling rotten water flowing from the rough stitched car accident wound, little Evante was not afraid at all. He continued to sing nursery rhymes, thinking of his father's promise - "Little Ifant who celebrates his tenth birthday will get a half-year-old Shiba Inu", how happy he would be at that moment! But that moment will never be The meeting will come: Father is dead, is it mother's fault?" Taphne stopped recording, just lowered her head and pursed her lips occasionally-my assistant would definitely not like the words used by Dr. Gelt, but Evante's childhood experience would indeed make any woman feel To be sad, to sympathize. I was also moved by this story - but at the same time I have a question: Where did Dr. Gelt learn about this?When I listened to this story, I felt as if Evante was standing in front of me, telling his past in the third person. "? When grandma came, I don't know how long little Evante had been in a coma. The old mother buried her only son, and brought her grandson who may not have any blood with her, and returned to the forest hut outside Yusai town?" Dr. Gert took a long breath, and took a sip of the water on the coffee table: "Evante's childhood stories, that's all. When I first heard these, I was also moved by him?" "Hear? Have you talked to Ifante?" Taphne's question is really just right. "? No, I just listened to the tapes Evante left at the crime scenes. There was one tape at each scene, longer or shorter, a total of, ? Seven—those are the little secrets that scare you police One of them, isn't it?" As he spoke, Dr. Gelt turned his gaze to Willie—as if seeking the opinion of the only police officer present. Willie didn't answer anything, but put on a look that had nothing to do with him.Gert stopped looking at him: "At the beginning of each tape, Evante will say the same sentence and repeat it three times?" "It is time to die?" Taphne murmured.Dr. Gelt nodded, but did not continue.The room was eerily quiet for a moment. Now I can understand why Dr. Gelt felt so nervous and scared when he received the note that said "It is time to die": a secret that had been buried in the grave, and after a year, it came to life again. Sending a death call to those who have heard the voice of hell? A terrible memory that has ended, once it reappears in front of your eyes, and it also threatens your own life: the spiritual impact on the people involved is naturally unimaginable. "? That voice is broken and hoarse, as if it came from the abyss of purgatory. It repeats over and over again, and it seems to be calling the listener?" Dr. Gelt has entered that period of the past—he continued, the whole His body was trembling slightly, and tiny beads of sweat were secreting from his forehead. "? Then he made the girls scream—none of them could scream: they were terrified, they were sobbing very quietly. He took out the scissors and dangled them before their eyes, making sharp The voices—they didn't even dare to cry, only the blood vessels in their necks were throbbing. These made Evante feel inexplicably excited—so he took out those literacy cards and asked them to draw lots? " "? How dare they not smoke? The bloody scissors have already cut off their fingers. Despair is the deepest horror, and they have probably forgotten the pain. They pulled out a literacy card tremblingly—— 'Nose', 'Ear' and 'Mouth' are drawn on it: familiar to little Ifante, the cards his grandmother had shown him. Ifante smiled, showed the girls the cards they had drawn and said in French Repeating it morbidly—that happy expression, just like a child who just learned new words?" "? At this time, the blood vessels on the girl's neck throbbed even more violently: Evante couldn't bear that kind of temptation anymore—he raised the scissors?" Taphne exclaimed softly. It wasn't Taphne's exclamation that stopped Dr. Gelt from telling - in fact, before that.Dr. Gelt's voice had stopped: as if the over-tight strings were suddenly relaxed, the doctor's entire body fell forward. “a votre place, je rejectais!” “Il ne vaut pas la corde pour le pendre?” (French: If it were me, I would refuse! Hanging him would be a waste of rope?) In the first scene, the kidnapping of Mossman "may be a heart attack. Call an ambulance quickly!", Taphne let go Gelt's shirt collar and belt. "Willie, you and Nafp will take the doctor to the nearest hospital right away, honking the siren all the way, is that clear?" "? Damn, damn! How could such a thing happen?" Jiegler was obviously very dissatisfied with such an accident. "Hey! You're going to kill a heart patient like that! Is that how it should be?" Nafp and Willy actually planned to use a method of carrying body bags to carry Dr. Gelt into the police car—this kind of rough ambulance behavior, of course my assistant couldn't stand it: "I know a little bit of first aid knowledge. I think the situation will be much better with me taking care of you on the road?" After correcting the mistakes of the two, Taphne suggested to Jiegler to accompany him. "Then hurry up! I'll be there later, let Willie report to the main station?" "Okay!? Boss, I will contact you if there is any situation." "Well, be careful on the road." The police car outside the window drove away, and the sound of the siren faded away.Jiegler and I were left in the living room. "Don't you think it would have been better if you hadn't come? I've expected this outcome? Wenzel, we could have been in these few days—no! Maybe tonight, we'd have Can catch that guy. But now? Will they come and kill me?Will they come and kill me? ?joke!We insignificant people?" "Have you heard the tapes left by Evante?" "??" "It's not just these secrets, you know." "Wenzel, no matter what you say, I won't tell you anything else. Do you know why I'm still here?" "Wait until the police come over again, don't you give me a chance to get more clues?" "That's right! I know you're going to play tricks. You don't think trespassing is illegal, do you? After reporting to the main station, someone will come to take over my shift. If you were still here, I Will they remember what you look like - and if you approach the house again later, they will calm your feverish mind?" "pretty good idea!" "? Wenzel, do you think I didn't hear about what happened this summer? The police station is such a place, and you've seen it too. I'm old, and what I hope most now is that there will be no more incidents. Unexpectedly, can you receive the full pension?" "Well, I see. Jiegler, you will get the full pension, and I promise not to come back here until the case is closed." "That's the best?" It's a pity that I don't intend to fulfill my promise. This kind of rhetoric is just to reassure old Jiegler: If Mossman can't help me get more clues, I think I must come back. I put the car across the door of Mosman's house, but I didn't turn off the engine or get out of the car. I just opened the door on the side of the passenger seat - I pressed the car horn and dialed the number with my mobile phone. His home phone. It worked - Mosman unplugged the phone and appeared in front of me when his neighbors were about to come out and fight me: he hadn't even changed into his pajamas, and his hair was a mess Make a ball. "Didn't I tell you not to visit me? Are you trying to drive me crazy? One day, I said, one day I'll move to Frejus, and you'll never find me again." Not coming to me?" "Okay, get in the car! You can hack into the internal network of the police station, can't you?" "Now!?? At least wait until I change into my pajamas." Mossman doesn't seem to have time to change out of his pajamas either, though - a pissed-off fat old lady in 14, with a thick rolling pin in her hand, walks this way, looking at Mossman Shout: "Mossman! You grab that guy! Shall I show him?" I don’t want to be taught a lesson by that big stick—while Mossman was still in a daze, I dragged him into my car and stepped on the accelerator at the same time: the tires spinning at high speed must have Grinding sparks on the pavement, we had crossed Karlstrasse and reached the other side of Richterstrasse before Mossmann could get his feet into the car. "Mrs. Mel is gonna kill me? Hey, I say man. She's going to call the police! She'll tell the wiring that a 'noise-making stupid guy' in a red Mercedes SLK 200 will call her 'nice My good neighbor Mr. Mosman' has been forcibly kidnapped! Although she has tried to rescue me and plan to inflict severe damage on the intruder?" "? She won't kill you, my Mossman. You can even knock on her door when you get back and tell her you've successfully fought off the intruder and smashed that noisy two-seater , and warn them not to set foot on Richter Street again. Make the story more twists and turns—Mrs. Meyer will obligate your neighbors to tell about your heroic deeds." "Hey, that's a good idea? Hey, why did you turn off the lights?" I ignored Mossman's question - I parked the car opposite Dr. Gelt's villa, turned off all the lights and turned off the engine.The police officers who took over had already arrived: two people, and Jiegle was explaining the situation to them at the gate of the villa. Not long after, Jiegler left the villa and walked along Richter Street towards Karl Street—the nearest hospital is of course the Third Hospital, which is no more than ten minutes' walk away.After that, one of the big police officers entered the villa, and the light in the living room was turned on after a while; the other small police officer returned to the police car: they didn't deliberately park the car in the side alley this time— — On this point, Jiegler seems to have forgotten to explain. After writing down the police car number and license plate number of this police car, I restarted the engine and drove towards Bureau 11. The second act sneaks into the action of the eleventh game "Handik, are you still working overtime?" "Don't be stupid, Wenzel. Is my salary worth working overtime until five past ten at night?" "Then it's best. Mosman and I are already on the way. We'll meet at the door of the Piaf bar opposite your bureau. It's half past ten, okay?" "? What? My God! Are you going to fix the computer in the confidential room now? There are still people working overtime in the bureau!" "It's nothing difficult, trust me. Handik, my old friend, see you later?" I hung up the phone. "You wishful thinking guy, if one day you also go to jail, I won't be too surprised?" "That's probably going to be after you move to Phages. Buckle up now, Mossman, I'm speeding up?" The tequila at Piaf's bar is very popular among the police officers of the 11th Bureau, and Handik often spends time there with his colleagues after get off work.This bar is not open all night, it closes early at one in the morning - the owner's reason is purely out of good intentions: he doesn't want these public officials to lose energy during the day because of clubbing all night, and indirectly make the district crime rate rises. Handik arrived on time.Mosman and I waved at him before he even came to a stop, but he ignored us.He kept turning his face and walked in front of us without saying a word.I handed him a cigarette, he looked at me, took it, lit it for himself, took a deep breath, and finally spoke: "Wenzel, don't you understand me? Is there someone working overtime in the bureau? Besides, even if no one is working overtime, there is always someone on duty in the lobby. How do you think I'll bring you in? Let alone this guy? Hey! Mossman, why are you still in your pajamas? Today is not April Fool's Day, your joke is a little too big?" "Handik, are you handcuffed?" "? Yes, in my car. Why do you ask this?" "That's fine." I repeated to Handik the plan I had told Mosman in the car. "Maybe. But, Wenzel, I'm not used to lying. You know, that always makes me nervous?" It seems that Handik also thinks this plan is good.All I have to do is give him a little more confidence: "Of course it can! Wasn't your life goal when you were twelve years old to enter Broadway? As long as you can show one percent of your acting skills that day tonight, you will be absolutely fine." "Okay, okay. Try it?" "Hey, Benson. I said, is there anyone in the confidential room?" "It's long gone. What's the matter? It's so late?" Handik pushed the handcuffed Mosman forward, and I took the opportunity to appear in front of the duty officer named Benson. "Here's Detective Somerset, from the Second Bureau of Mel City, just arrived. They got this guy, he does look like Mani Mora, doesn't he?" Handik pulled Mosman forward again, and Mosman gave a mock groan.His unkempt hair almost extended to Constable Benson's face. "? Looks like it. So what?" "We need to get Mani Mora's fingerprints from the criminal profile on the intranet to compare with this guy's—he's been dumb since we got him out of bed the day before yesterday?" I made my voice sound a little Mel City and pulled Mossman towards me - he yelled again, like I snapped his wrist Same: Mossman should really be an actor. "Can't you come back tomorrow?" "Benson, he has been detained for three days. You know the definition of illegal detention, don't you? If they don't get the results of the fingerprint comparison tonight, they have to release this guy. I also think this person is That marijuana dealer? Look, I don't have to work overtime tonight, so you won't let me make a trip for nothing, will you?" "We took a lot of effort to catch this person?", I added on the side. "? But there is no one in the confidential room now." "It's okay, as long as you can go in. Police Officer Somerset has worked in the confidential room of the Second Bureau, and is familiar with these things." Handik winked at me. "That's right? I think, your city's intranet should be basically the same as Mel's in principle. There's nothing wrong with it." "Oh, that's the best. Here's the key? Better hurry, I get off work at two." "Of course, Benson! Tomorrow's lunch please?" Handik took the key, dragged Mosman, and walked straight to the elevator. I quickly followed and said to Police Officer Benson: "Thanks?" Benson raised the coffee cup in his hand, greeted me, and gave me a friendly smile. In the elevator, Handik helped Mosman unlock the handcuffs. "Hey, Handik, your acting skills can be selected for the best newcomer award!" Mossman did not forget to praise Handik at this moment. "Wipe the sweat off my palms! Wenzel, give me another cigarette, I forgot to bring it." I took out the remaining half pack of Marlboro and handed it to Handik: "I think you want to borrow my cigarettes to smoke. Why do you only remember to bring a lighter?" Handik smiled, ignored me, and went to smoke on his own. In the confidential room of Bureau 11, it was almost half past eleven. "Is it still calling the same information?" "As long as it is related to the Evante case. Hey, Handik, is it okay for you to throw your cigarette butt on the ground?" "Don't you see it's all over the floor? Someone will clean it in the morning, don't worry?" "Print it out or send it to your mailbox?" "Of course it is printed out!" "But there are quite a lot of content, so the printing time will not be short?" "It would be best if you are willing to make a summary for me. By the way, look up the vehicle records of the police car with the police car number FP010337 and the license plate number to see which team is using this car." "Okay, the police car number FP010337?, but the summary is fine—I'll put together all the materials with similar content for you, which can probably save half of the paper?" "Is it okay if the printer in the confidential room runs out of paper?", I asked Handik. "Call the printer of the Serious Cases Division 2 of the Criminal Division. That's within my scope of authority. There shouldn't be any problem." Handik sighed. "May I call, Mossman?" “当然可以。对了，汉迪克，我找到你的工资档案了：要不要把你的薪水改成和你们局长一样高？反正是每月电子转帐，没人会知道的?” “我怎么觉得我该把你们统统给铐起来？?牺牲上宝贵的休息时间，和两个每时每刻都在触犯法律法规的家伙待在一起，我看我真是疯了！” “那么你是不要了么？” “?你确定不会被发现么？” "certainly!" “?那就三个月吧。我也想试试拿上局长工资时的感觉。对了，莫斯曼，能增加我的假期么？我还没去过梅铎克(Medoc)的Ch.Mouton酒庄呢！” "??" 十一局电梯间，10月8日凌晨零点三分，星期二。 “我看不大像??” “没事，汉迪克。你指望一个熬到午夜一点的人还有好眼力么？” “?反正你在这个周末之前一定得还给我！总局的布伦法副局长周五会过来检查——内尔（Nell）如果在那之前找我挂失的话，我还得多写份报告?” “别紧张，我不会把它弄丢的。如果你愿意亲自过来取的话，我倒很愿意用那瓶雾葡萄酒来招待。莫斯曼，你也会来么？” “你说我怎么可能错过??” 莫斯曼的话还没说完，电梯门已经开了：警员班森就站在门口。 他的表情很严肃——不过这倒还好，关键是莫斯曼就站在最前面：一只手挽在睡衣的系带上，另一只手则悬在空中，正准备拍向我的肩膀： 手上当然没有手铐！ “桑莫塞探员，能不能给我检查你的??嘿！那家伙怎么弄开了手铐的！” 班森已经拔出了枪。汉迪克整个人都愣在那里了，莫斯曼的手也不知道换个位置。 我就在那个时候用手肘将莫斯曼的喉咙给卡住了。在这个动作完成之前的半秒钟，我已经以条件反射般的速度冲着班森喊叫： “班森！班森！你知道紧急通道在哪里么？” “?什么？紧急通道?？？”，班森握着枪，却并不知道前进或者后退一步，准心也并没有瞄准任何目标——我敢打赌，这样的情况，在警员班森的职业生涯中，绝对是第一次！ “马尼·莫拉的同伙，有武器，最少两个人。听着，班森！班森，你有在听么？” “是的，我在听！” “你马上去守住紧急通道！我带这家伙上车，汉迪克警长会守住电梯。明白么！” “好的！我马上过去。祝你好运！” 班森匆匆向我行了一个礼，就朝着紧急通道的方向跑去了。 我则拉了还没有回过神来的汉迪克，与莫斯曼一起向着十一局大门跑去第三幕内部网资料的浏览、整理和假设“看来这次一定得写报告了?文泽尔，你那小伎俩可真算不上聪明！我说，班森明早一定还守在通道口呢！我该怎么跟他解释呢？？” “总有办法搪塞过去的?或者你可以说'马尼的两个同伙'从窗户溜走了；又或者你看到他们从二楼的房间放绳索下来，然后你就冲了出去，展开了一场大追捕。嘿！我今晚用总局的名义给你们局发张通缉令好么？不过我得找张合适的照片?” “得了吧！莫斯曼，那样情况只会更糟的！班森那边我有办法应付，谢过你的好意了。” “?现在呢？你还是要过去么？”，汉迪克转过头来问我。 “这些东西我还没看呢！我想我会去的——反正都已经准备好了，去去也无妨?” 打开车门，我把刚印好的资料放在了驾驶座旁。 “那我该怎么回去呢？如果这样子去拦车，司机大概会马上报警?”，莫斯曼指指自己的睡衣。 “我们的汉迪克警长会很乐意送一位良好市民回家的，不是么？” 这当然是一个很好的建议，莫斯曼肯定也是这么认为的——因为我们两人已经不约而同地将目光投向了汉迪克，只等着他说“上车吧，莫斯曼”了。 汉迪克知道自己是拒绝不了了，也就懒得再说多余的话了： “?好吧好吧，怎么样都行。上车吧，莫斯曼——把你的头发稍微整一整，还有睡衣。 不要看上去像个女人一样，被人看见可就麻烦了?” “好的好的，顺道去我家喝杯咖啡吧——妈妈上周又给我送巧克力小甜饼来了，还有很多哩?” 皮娅芙已经关门了。汉迪克的车，引擎的声音很大——不过一会儿也就小了，消失了： 但我还看得见那隐隐约约的车尾灯。 待到连车尾灯的光亮也随着夜色一并模糊不清的时候，我自然是已经回到车里，开始翻阅起那些好不容易才到手的内部资料来。 现场描画、法医报告、目击者报告、线索分析、犯罪心理分析、重案组每次的开会报告、上级勒令限时破案的批示、二次批示、三次批示??莫斯曼的整合并不细心，我在翻阅的时候依旧看到了很多重复的内容——但他总算是记得将这些资料按照时间排序。 辛蒂的案子、苏珊的案子、艾莉斯的案子??我至少翻过了一百多张印得密密麻麻的资料纸，除了更详细地了解到每个案子的表面细节之外，几乎是一无所获。资料里前几次的线索和犯罪心理分析都存在不少的臆断及错误，会议中也产生了不小的分歧：艾莉斯案子的血字被某位探长解释为“下次他很可能会对老年人下手”；由凶器为剪刀及第二、三、四号案件均发生于同区的特征，拉克（Lark）副局长甚至提出要调查豪泽区的全部裁缝并将他们暂时扣押——我们这位显然是持理想主义态度的副局长大概认定，使用剪刀的犯人一定是以裁缝为职业的了：幸好这样的提议并未被采纳。 他们却也并没有拟出什么像样点的计划来——由于这个案子的影响太大，总局的高层颇有默契地在决策上给予了过多的关心和干涉。可怜的积格勒，虽然身为本案的负责人，却很少能够按照自己的想法作出一些实际而有效的行动——开会报告里积格勒的提议的被否决率，几乎是百分之百（实际上，我那位曾经的大胡子搭档所给出的提议，大部分都是现在看来很有可能奏效的）。 高层倾向于保持“按兵不动”——毕竟，动一下难免出错，亨利·多勒引咎辞职的例子摆在眼前，谁都不希望为了一个棘手的案子而丢掉自己的饭碗。 但这样一直等待下去也不是办法——伊凡特当然不会陪着警方一起等待，受害者仍在增加中。玛丽的案子发生后，似乎是有人提出邀请一位心理专家来协助调查（这个建议的提出在案子的发展中显得如此的顺理成章，因此我们甚至都不能从资料中知道，究竟是谁首先提出这个建议的）。考量一番之后，总局选中了曾经在总局负责过半年的法医培训工作，并且在犯罪心理学研究上有一定知名度的捷尔特·内格尔博士。 捷尔特博士根据被害人特征和凶手遗留下来的血字内容对凶手的身份进行了大量合理而大胆的假设。他推断凶手为二十到四十岁间的白种男性，有轻度的自闭症及性心理变态，可能是法国南部人，并且所留的名字很可能是真名。 专家的意见倒没什么人反对——警方按照这个描述，追查到伊凡特的出生地法国于塞，但伊凡特早在1981年就离开了法国，他在于塞也没有什么保持联系的亲戚。况且，也没有明确的证据表明出生于于塞的那个伊凡特就是现在潜藏在自由意志市的邪恶剪刀手，此时线索基本上已经全部断掉了。 月17 日也即莱塞济·佩里格的案子之后，整个案件却似乎突然出现了转机——6 月日的会议报告中记录了捷尔特博士的一段发言： “根据我之前的假设，犯人很可能是我的一位不愿透露姓名的病人：他大概在去年六月的时候初次来到第三医院，当时他的手被木钉刺穿——我想他应该是个木匠。” 得到的资料中，除了法医报告和上级的批示（那是因为这些文件在撰写时即规定采用电脑文档格式）之外，其余都是相关手写稿的扫描复印件——机要室的工作人员以索引加上大量扫描文件的方式来浪费机要室电脑中显得有些过多的硬盘空间，这些因为插入了很多图片而大得惊人的文件估计会在每季度末以兆字节数统计的形式呈交上去以作为机要室在之前数月中每日辛苦劳作的有力证明。 可能是负责录入的警员在扫描会议记录原始稿时粗心大意的缘故，这段发言及会议进行的后半部分统统缺失了，紧接着的一页是当天会议的末尾、由积格勒所做的总结： “鉴于博士所给出的建议，讨论下决定申请抽调一个便衣分队负责在博士正常工作时的监视和保护工作。其余行动及分配保持不变。” 我对中间缺失的内容感到十分好奇——如果伊凡特真是捷尔特博士的一位病人，则捷尔特博士当然曾经和伊凡特对话过：但今天在博士家时，塔芙妮的这个问题却得到了博士否定的回答——目前看来博士并没有什么隐瞒我们的必要，那是否表明此处博士的判断后来证实是错误的呢？又或者博士曾和警方达成过什么协议，承诺不将自己曾和伊凡特接触过的事实公之于众呢？ 带着这样的疑惑，我继续翻阅下去——可惜，后一天下达的上级批示反而给我带来了更多的疑惑。 本案第六次的批示这样写道： “无论是否侦破此案，案件都必须在7月19日之前侦破，最迟不得超过7月31日。” 参考我们已知的、关于本案的部分“事实”，本案确实在7月31日之前顺利结案了。上级之所以将破案的最终期限定在7月31日，是因为“六个月”即半年这个时间期限经常是敏感的各大媒体期待万分的一个字眼——“伊凡特案拖滞长达半年之久”作为头条标题放在本市各大报刊的第一版上，几乎是变相向总局的领导层递交了集体辞退信。 这句看似极其简单的批示在表意上自然是前后矛盾的——“无论是否侦破此案”，这样的论调让我感到心寒：前后两个“侦破”所指代的含义显然是不同的——总局高层的意思可能是，即使案件在7月底仍未被侦破，警方也要伪造出案件已经侦破的假象，并力图将之后发生的案子隐瞒下来。 我立即想到了缺席进行的伊凡特公审和秘密执行的死刑——加上州议会在“逮捕”伊凡特之后长达三个月的、意图恢复死刑的“激烈”讨论：既然现在伊凡特很可能没死，这一切是否只是政客和无能官僚们为了保住权势及安抚民心而导演出的一场可笑闹剧呢？ 为了证实我的猜测，我将剩下的资料纸反过来翻阅，想看看这个案子真实的结局究竟是如何。 最后一页纸，大概是由于打印的缘故，只有一个日期留在上面： 年11月23日这个日期似乎和今天（准确点说，应该是昨天）我看到的某个日期比较接近，但我现在却怎么也想不起来了。 为了帮助自己糟糕的记忆，我将资料往前翻了一页，一个名字马上跳入我的眼中： 狄尔瑟·赫拉斯我得承认，这个名字确实帮助了我的记忆： 年11月22日，狄尔瑟·赫拉斯因车祸重伤入院，当日夜间不治身亡而这张纸却是打印稿形式的法医报告我的天！ 我抱着不可置信的态度看完了和狄尔瑟·赫拉斯女士相关的那些资料，并不得不接受以下的事实： 狄尔瑟女士并不是如莫斯曼在公共网络中（莫斯曼调用的应该是民政局的档案）所查到的那样，因为车祸重伤而身亡——狄尔瑟·赫拉斯是伊凡特案的第八个死者！ Numbering: 被害人姓名：狄尔瑟·赫拉斯遇害时间：2001年11月22日年龄：33岁职业：主妇现场：朗林根区李希特街58号/公寓卧室中血字位置：卧室衣橱的侧面血字内容： “永别了，我的医生朋友，可怜的背叛者。” ——伊凡特，内疚的病人