Chapter 7 Chapter 4 Turning point

“Tout conspire a la reus site de ce project.” "Vous avez de la constance de l'attendre si long temps!" (French: Everything contributed to the success of this project. How patiently you waited for him so long!) "Is the boss really all right?" "It's okay, our people are asking him now, you don't have to worry." "? Does he know I'm okay?" "I just sent someone to tell him." "?That's good." At 7:50 a.m. on August 8, in the recording room. Taphne was wrapped in a thick blanket, holding a cup of steaming coffee tightly in both hands—she was relieved just now, and suddenly tears fell:

"It's a pity I can't save the doctor, I'm really useless...", she sobbed. "this is not your fault?" Carl Noner, the black detective we just met—he patted Taphne on the shoulder and handed her a Kleenex from the table next to him. "Thank you?" Taphne wiped her tears, and Carl handed her some tissues—she adjusted her emotions and took a sip of coffee: "I'm getting better." "So, can we start the transcript?" "After the transcript is completed, can I see the boss?" "Of course, after finishing the transcript, I will take you to see him."

"? Well, let's get started." Taphne put the coffee cup on the table. Detective Carl motioned to a female police officer sitting next to her to start recording. "As I just said, I was fascinated by someone in the hospital." Taphne took a sip of coffee, "When I woke up, I found that my eyes were covered and my mouth was blocked with a cloth? " "I'm sorry, but I have to ask again, did you notice the man at the time? Is there anything worth noting?" "I don't know? You know, such a scene?" Taphne said, covering her mouth with her hands, her body trembling unconsciously—her tears were coming down again: she remembered Nuffp and Willie.

"? Well, let's not talk about this for the time being." Carl paused for a while—after our Taphne seemed calmer, he continued to ask, "You are blindfolded, but can you feel What about some of the unique environmental characteristics of where you are? For example—are you hearing any strange sounds? Or, are there any unique smells?" "Voice? The doctor is right next to me, and his mouth is also gagged - he seems to want to say something, but he can't make a sound, I can only hear the muffled sound of 'woo woo': that It must be the sound made when the mouth is blocked and you want to speak." Taphne said, breathing quickly.

"? Well, are the doctor and you tied together? I mean, tied back to back." Inspector Karl made a "back to back" gesture with both hands. "That's not true, but it should be very close." "Judging from the sound?" "? Hmm." Taphne nodded, she thought for a while, and then said: "Also, there is a strange smell in that place - it seems to be disinfectant, and there is also some formalin smell: particularly uncomfortable?" Detective Carl nodded, then asked: "Besides the doctor's voice? Are there any other voices—the kind that can remind the surrounding environment."

"Yes! I heard the faint sound of running water—the sound of water flowing in the pipes. As for other sounds, I didn't pay attention? I thought we were locked in the basement." The inspector gestured to the recorder - as a reminder that "this is an important point". "Why? Just because of the sound of running water?" "? No. Besides that, there's a clammy feeling—not easy to put into words, but it feels like being in a basement." "Okay? So, are you sure there was no one else but you and the doctor?" "I don't know? I didn't pay special attention." Taphne lowered her head, looking apologetic.

"? It's all right. Well, what happened after that? When did that guy come?" "? I don't know, I feel like I've been in the dark for a long time? Until then, I don't know how long it has been--suddenly, there are very close footsteps?" Taphne showed a little fear on her face look. "? His footsteps were heavy, and he laughed out loud as he walked. It was a very strange kind of laughter - dark, and it made people know that it was not a normal person laughing.", Taphne paused, and then said: "? He should have torn off the cloth from the doctor's mouth at this time - because the doctor spoke at this time, and the doctor's voice seemed terrified - he said, 'Evante, why did you find me? I'm already like this , what else do you want? You madman, madman!'”

"? The Doctor's shouting went on for a long time, and I listened in utter horror, unable to do anything. I listened until his voice faded away and finally disappeared completely - not even a gasp. .Then Evante spoke suddenly, in a dark, hoarse voice, with a rather grotesque tone—he said, 'My doctor friend, can't you think, can't you?'" "? I almost passed out from shock, gagged and couldn't say anything - I had to do my best to say 'whoop' voice, but no one paid me any attention. " "? After that, the doctor didn't say anything more. Maybe Evante—the demon, he must have blocked the doctor's mouth again. I heard a few scissors cutting empty, and then a very harsh, broken bone. Dropping sound?"

Taphne was silent again—this time the silence lasted for quite a while, about three minutes, or longer.Then, Taphne looked at the coffee cup in front of her: the coffee was obviously a little cold, and Inspector Carl turned around and told another police officer to pour another cup. A new cup of coffee was quickly brought up, Taphne took it, took a sip while it was hot, and said: "thanks." Then, she glanced at the inspector in front of her and whispered: "Sorry? I think, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to proceed with the content after that." "Well, I can totally understand," Carl said sympathetically, "it might be better to ask questions—if it doesn't work, we can take another day." He looked at Taphne.

"Would you like to continue asking questions?" Taphne took another sip of coffee and tried her best to keep calm. "Okay.? Well, let's skip this part. Did Evante say anything to you after that?" "No.? At first, he seemed to be talking to himself there, and then even the sound of talking to himself disappeared? For a while, I struggled desperately, but it was like no one was around, and no one paid attention to me. When I was tired and my whole body started to feel a little dizzy——I don’t know if I really fainted, or if he used something to fascinate me again, anyway, I didn’t know anything at once. When When I woke up, I was lying in the infirmary of the police station."

"Do you remember what he said to himself?" "?His tone of voice is weird and his words are not clear - I can only make out part of the sentences. I am impressed that he said 'now you are happy' and 'now finally free', repeated many times .” "The time you were awake," asked the Inspector, "how long do you estimate?" "I don't know—you know, estimates are always off. But, I think, it shouldn't be less than two hours: the time I waited after waking up, and the time I struggled afterwards, after I Judging from the feeling at the time, it was almost as long as decades?" "Is there anything else that needs to be added?" Inspector Karl nodded to the recorder, and finally asked Taphne. Taphne thought for a moment and said: "Not yet? Well, Inspector." Taphne hesitated a little and asked, "Can I go and see the boss now?" "Of course, I'll take you there." Our black detective extended his hand to Taphne, "? However, it may take a while—anyway, thank you for accepting our transcript." Taphne shook hands with Karl with some embarrassment, got up, and asked suddenly when she put down the blanket: "Hey, where is my windbreaker?" Detective Carl was already standing outside the door at this time, he seemed not to have heard Taphne's question, so he leaned in again and said to Taphne: "Sorry, what did you just ask, I didn't hear?" "Huh? I wonder what happened to my trench coat, the beige Replay trench coat, I wore it all last night." Taphne looked embarrassed again. "? Oh, that windbreaker was sent for fingerprinting. It's a pity that it probably won't be returned to you - let your boss pay you for it?" the inspector said jokingly. Taphne's face was really red now. She hurriedly followed Carl and left the recording room. “Qui ne dit mot consent.” (French proverb: Silence is consent.) "So, this time, our pompous detective, what reason are you going to use to open your handcuffs?" Richard Harborne, chief of the Serious Crimes Special Investigations Division of the Libertarian Police Headquarters—this is the second time this year I have dealt with the head of the agency: I spent nearly It took a week to get a chance to meet this kind gentleman in front of him; but now, he deliberately chose to go to work early to interrogate me alone (if this word is used)-it seems that I am Received preferential treatment. I smiled and didn't answer his question. Director Richard Harbin, he came up behind me, and whispered in my ear in a tone almost gnashing his teeth: "You bloody, long-overdue death-sentence bastard detective? It's not summer. Pretending to be a police officer, breaking and entering, forging police papers... I can add burglary to you if you want. ", he sat back on his seat, straightened his collar, looked at me from the corner of his eye, and said with a fake smile: "Ha, it really pays off to get up early? You caused us a lot of trouble in the last case! Look, the trouble finally found you too—I said, it's best to restrain yourself as a detective What do you say, Mr. Wenzel." He stared at me with narrowed eyes, but I still ignored him and looked at the edge of the chandelier on the roof—as if there was no one else in the room except me. The chubby Director Richard finally seemed a little annoyed. He stood up abruptly, and poured a glass full of cold water on the table into my face: "That's enough! You stupid thing!! I won't make it easy for you-everyone who embarrasses me has received retribution, and you are the next one without a doubt. You unlucky bastard, who made you just I touched the case of Evante: I tell you, not to scare you—you are dead this time!" This rare, short-sounding and powerful speech made him a little out of breath.Unfortunately, he saw that I still had no reaction, so he had to sit down panting—I was obviously surprised by my usual non-annoyance: "You crazy?" He ignored me, took a paper cup, poured a glass of water from the water dispenser next to him, and drank it. Just as he was pouring his second glass, I finally spoke: "For example, the real cause of death of Miss Dilther Heras." He coughed violently—poor Richard, he must have choked on the water: it's best not to gulp water while you're gasping for breath. "What did you say?", he glared at me. "I'm answering your first question." I replied calmly—his surprised expression was already in my expectation. "For example, Mr. Gottwald Jenners' outstanding contribution, such as an empty grave in the people's cemetery, such as the wonderful decision of Deputy Director Lark and Deputy Director Kossar in this case, such as..." "Enough, enough!", my parallel sentence that was far from finished was forcibly interrupted - the vivid expression of the director in front of me at this moment is just like a first-time offender who was arrested on the spot, "? You never Where do you know these things?" "The important thing is whether I will say these things - oh, maybe it's not just 'speaking'. You know, hapless detectives always have access to things that are of particular interest to journalists. ", I looked at him and deliberately wiped the water droplets on my face with the back of my hand. Seeing my appearance, Richard hesitated for a moment, then quickly took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped off the drops of water for me very carefully (as I said earlier, I was given special treatment this time. ): "My old friend, you didn't say this sooner. Otherwise?" I was finally able to hear our poor Director's long-lost humble tone again - just like it was this summer. "Is that all?" I interrupted him, "As a citizen of this city, can I have a little right to pursue equality?" I pointed to the water dispenser next to me with my eyes. Another brief hesitation.Director Richard Haben of the Serious Case Special Investigation Division of the Police Headquarters in this city finally silently took a full glass of cold water from the water dispenser and poured it on his face. I smiled in my heart: "Okay, Richard, wipe it off with your handkerchief. Time to negotiate terms?" I glanced at Director Richard at the moment, his expression was no different from that of a wilted tomato that had been on the balcony for a long time. When we came out, Taphne and Detective Carl were already waiting outside. "Boss, are you okay?? Hey, isn't this Director Richard?? Well, why do your hair and faces look a little wet?" "It's okay, the heater in the room is turned on a little bit?" I replied with a smile, glanced at Richard beside me, and deliberately made a loud noise with the handcuffs. "Harry!" Our astute director immediately responded, "Remove this gentleman's handcuffs!" "Mr. Richard, is he?" This sentence, which was interrupted before it was finished, was naturally said by Inspector Karl, who arrested me a few hours ago. "What is it? This Mr. Wenzel is a detective specially authorized by Dr. Gelt - this has been confirmed by us!" When Richard said this, Harry, the police officer guarding the door of the interrogation room, had honestly and quickly released the handcuffs on my hands. I whispered "thank you" to Harry, and I was already a little sore when I started to move. shoulders. "But didn't you say that before?" Detective Inspector Carl is still confused and dissatisfied with his boss's decision. "Okay, Karl." The detective's words were immediately interrupted again, "There is one more thing to inform you—from now on, the bureau officially authorizes Detective Wenzel to take charge of this case with you. Related The document, someone will deliver it to you later?" Karl was at a loss for words now.Taphne smiled at me and said: "Mr. Richard is just as nice as ever." These words of praise were obviously addressed to our Director Mr.—Unfortunately, before Taphne’s words were half spoken, Richard ran away from our sight: he should be afraid that I would raise another question. It's not his fault for some new requirements. "Well, he's always been like this? Carl, it's a pleasure working with you." I stretched out my hand to Detective Carl, he was stunned, and shook my hand with some reluctance: "I think you must already know a lot about this case. Otherwise?" The inspector glanced in the direction Richard left, "You won't be so lucky this time either." Of course our clever detective already understood what was going on, I smiled at him: "It's time for us to see Inspector Jiegler, thank you for the single room you prepared for me." "A la reflexion, il n'a peut-etre pas tort." (French: Come to think of it, he might not be wrong.) "Your guarantees are always the weakest, Wenzel." Our bearded inspector was lying on the hospital bed, smiling helplessly at me. "Fortunately, you have described my appearance to Tolu and Vigo, otherwise, I would not be able to cooperate with the police this time." "They shouldn't have let you in at all!" Jiegle sat up from the hospital bed, "? Those useless sleepy bastards, their forgetfulness is stronger than their addiction to cigarettes." "Can't blame them all?" Inspector Carl interjected at this moment, "This famous detective even specially forged his police certificate." "Tsk, isn't it the masterpiece of your friend who likes to mess with the Internet again?" Jiegler is clearly interested in this.Seeing that I didn't answer, he stroked his gray beard and said to Karl: "This guy always has some tricks," he pouted at me, "otherwise he wouldn't be a private detective." "Okay, Jiegler." In order to prevent my old partner from turning the topic to the review of the case many years ago, I had to speak: "Time to talk about this case.", I glanced at Carl - who obviously supported my suggestion, and responded immediately: "? Well, Wenzel, what you said in the car—you only know the first half of the case, right?" "That's right, but I still keep the source of the information secret. Jiegler, don't you think it's strange that Evante left the hospital in a police car?" "What's strange? Willy's car keys are not in his trouser pocket, and our car is not in the parking lot-is there anything else that needs to be explained?" Jiegler said before we had time to forcefully pull back the topic Protested - our topic returned smoothly to the discussion of the case. "So," I turned to Karl, "until now, has any traffic unit reported to you that they have found the police car with the license plate number FZ-P3091?" "No, there is no news until now." Carl shrugged. "Okay. Isn't it rather strange that you can't find a police car with obvious characteristics for nearly eight hours? Think about it: a police car is stolen, and the traffic units are notified within ten minutes, and Do you know the license plate number? Detective Carl, what is the detection rate of a carjacking incident limited by such conditions?" "Almost 100%, and basically within two hours." Carl's answer was quick and forceful. "Hmph?" Our stubborn old detective twirled his beard, "There are always accidents? Maybe he changed the license plate for our car?" Jiegler's voice was obviously a bit unassuming - he also knew how troublesome it was to get a set of police license plates (even if they were fake). "Even if it is, it will take a lot of time to change the front and rear license plates-unless he goes to the parking lot to do these things in advance. Moreover, your car is parked very close to the emergency room, and you may encounter problems when changing the license plate." When it comes to the stretcher trolley coming in and out of the aisle—it must take a lot of risk, Evante will not be so stupid. Wenzel, what do you think?" Inspector Carl looked at me, but I didn't react—the Inspector's words gave me a good hint that I was now able to sort out a crude hypothesis from the tangle of clues I had already obtained. An amazing hypothesis! "If he hadn't driven our police car away, where would our car have gone? Such an obvious thing?" Seeing that I was silent, Jiegler still insisted on his point of view. But I have to forcefully interrupt this topic: "Carl, can you do me a favor?" "? What?" Our black detective was obviously puzzled by my forcible interruption of the topic at this moment. "The FZ-P3091 police car may have returned to the bureau now - you'd better call and ask the management staff of the parking lot of the General Bureau, and there should be an answer soon." "? How is it possible? So far, I have not received any report from any traffic unit!" Carl's face was full of doubts. "Then check the transfer record of the tow truck in the bureau last night by the way, do you understand what I mean?" Carl understood my thoughts right away—he left the ward as quickly as possible without making any unnecessary gestures. "It's really a good idea-he has inquired about our team in advance, as long as he knows the phone number of the troubleshooting department, he can easily disappear our car? We have all been deceived by this cunning fox ", Jiegler obviously knew what I was thinking - he nodded approvingly, paused for a while, and then asked me: "But how did you think of it?" "It's very simple." I replied, "Think about it, if I were Evante - I had two unconscious hostages in my hands, how could I bring them to the hospital in ten minutes? Parking lot, and leave in a police car?" "Very difficult." Jiegler nodded. "Without help?" I continued, "it's basically impossible—how could a young man in his thirties who looked haggard lead two unconscious adults from the observation room to the parking lot at once? What? There are quite a few people on duty in the hospital: doctors, nurses, and guards—wouldn’t they be surprised to see a curly, luxuriant blond man walking past with two comatose patients? ?” "It is definitely impossible to take away one person at a time, so there will not be enough time... What if there is a helper?" Jiegler continued to ask. "Then it depends on the news that Carl brings—however, I can be sure of this because I have a better reason." I smiled and said, "Better reason than 'there is a helper'." I poured Jiggler a glass of water, and he took it and took a sip—Jigler's beard prevented him from drinking water in large gulps, otherwise it would get everywhere. "By the way, why didn't Taphne come with you?" Jiegler took another sip, "I must apologize to her, I should let her go back first—fortunately, nothing happened." Jiegler put the water glass on the bedside table and sighed. "? Oh, I asked her to check some things. She's fine, just a little frightened. When this case is over, I'll bring her here to see you." I patted Jiggler on the shoulder. Unexpectedly, my old partner didn't appreciate this, he said to me angrily: "Wait until the case is over? Do you think I'm really sick?" He deliberately left the hospital bed, straightened his body and stood up, "I can be discharged from the hospital today—it's just that I'm a little tired after staying up for a few nights! I Your health is very good, there is no need to waste too much time in the ward!" At this time Carl came back, he pushed open the door, saw Jiegler's appearance, he was surprised at first, and then laughed again. Jiegler was really angry. He pointed at us and said loudly: "You young people!? I'm still in charge of this case. I'll call the doctor over now—I'm going to be discharged!" I ignored Jiegler's anger, but shifted my gaze to Carl: He nodded to me - this is of course proof that my previous deduction was correct. "Jegler, you must call a doctor." I turned my head and said to Jiegler who was standing there puffing up. "? What?" My old partner was puzzled by my seriousness at the moment - he certainly knew that what he just said was just angry words.In fact, even if you call the doctor, you won't be able to leave the hospital immediately: everyone knows that. "I'm going to explain my 'better reason,'" I explained to Jiegler, "if you're interested in hearing it before you leave the hospital." “Nous trouvons drôle qu’il ait oublie de nous preventir.” (French: We are surprised that he forgot to inform us.) As I wished, a female doctor named Alita Eventide (Alita·Eventide) stood in front of us: "Do you need my help?", Alita glanced at Jiegler's hospital bed card, then at the bearded patient and his two visitors: She obviously didn't think we had anything called a doctor special reason. "That's it," I took Alita's question, "Because of the needs of a case, we would like to ask you a few simple questions." "If you want." Carl showed her his police officer's card. "Happy to oblige," she smiled at us kindly. "Well, what would you like to know, my officers and gentlemen?" "First of all, regarding your medical certificate, Ms. Alita Evented, what I want to know is when was the last time you changed your medical certificate?" Ms. Alita was taken aback by my direct mention of her name.However, when I mentioned "doctor's certificate", she knew where I got it from—she glanced at her doctor's certificate, thought about it, and replied with a smile: "If you have good eyesight," she said, "I don't have to answer that question." I got closer and looked at Alita's medical card number: I was disappointed by the number representing the date - it seems that my assumptions were wrong. Karl saw the numbers too—he didn't quite understand what I was asking about the renewal date of the doctor's certificate, but he was able to read the date anyway (it was too simple for a person with good eyesight): "March 19, 2001? Wenzel, this seems to be the time of publication." Karl said to me—he must have thought I couldn't read the numbers clearly, so he read them to me. "Is that a good day?", I nodded to Carl, some self-deprecating reply. How did you know, my answer made Ms. Alita laugh: "It was a good day indeed, Mr. Inspector—I got a promotion that day." Oh my God!Wenzel, why didn't you take this into consideration? I hastily replaced my question: "So, when was the last time your hospital changed the doctor's certificate uniformly? Was it November 30, 1998?" Judging by the surprised look on Ms. Alita's face, I knew I was right again. "How do you know? This is something from the last century?" She looked at us, seemed to think for a moment, and then asked us with a smile, "? Well, I guess, you must have checked it out a long time ago, now Just want to make sure, don't you?" The expressions of Jiegler and Carl gave her an obvious negative answer.She had to look at me, and I replied: "You're absolutely right.", I said with a smile, "Sorry for not explaining earlier - we really intend to confirm this.", I made a look at my two temporary partners - they knew I mean, I nodded in agreement. "You should have said it earlier." Ms. Alita was no longer surprised, she glanced at the doctor's certificate on her chest again, "However, this certificate is about to become invalid, and it will be replaced by a new one at the end of the year? Listen first Colleagues who have been in the past few years said that they were basically replaced every two years before, but this time it took a full four years." "It seems that this technological improvement is more valuable.", I said. "Maybe?" Alita took off her doctor's card, held it in her hand and looked at it, "However, there is really nothing wrong with this one--in fact, it doesn't matter whether you change it or not, it doesn't matter if you change it or not. Trouble. The new certificate manufacturing technology is purely redundant for doctors, and the investment in this area is not as real as increasing our overtime pay?" After talking to herself like this, she put the certificate in her coat pocket: "? Well, then, after confirming this point, are there any other questions?" She seemed a little embarrassed for saying some unnecessary words. "One more question. Do you know Ms. Aisha Simonson?" "I know a lot of Aisha - but I know you must be talking about the one in the emergency room, I don't know her, but I know the name? Aisha Simonson, she was in a car accident last week and died instantly .It's pathetic—I don't know why she suddenly thought of going out at night?" I glanced at Ji Gele, his face was downcast. Carl's face is also very ugly. Everyone knows what's going on. "? The hospital is like this, and it's the same everywhere - people who are usually unknown, but suddenly die can make them famous immediately. However, if it were me, I wouldn't want to be famous like this. What do you think, Mr Inspector?" I smiled and nodded: "exactly." Then made a "please leave" gesture: "We're fine now, thank you for your help." Alita seemed to be about to say some irrelevant things, seeing that we didn't intend to listen to it, so we had to leave—she seemed a little embarrassed that she didn't finish those extra words. Such an interesting lady - but of course there's more to it than that. After Ms. Alita closed the door of the ward, I patted Carl on the shoulder: "So, Carl? Time to tell me a new story?—Aisha Simonson, how many of five crashes is this? Last week's crash? That must be the fifth, Right?", there was quite a bit of sarcasm in my tone, even though I knew it wasn't polite - I admit, I'd never be able to be calm about it. When I said this, my eyes were not on Karl, but on Jiegler-I know him, and I bet he will not keep silent about this sentence. The expression on the face of our bearded inspector changed rapidly, expressions of shame, anger, and complaints? One by one they surged up and then retreated one by one.At this time, when he looked at me, his expression had already changed to helplessness and disappointment: "? Okay, Wenzel. Don't need to talk about Carl, he knows better than me?" Karl and Jiegler looked at each other, with helpless wry smiles on their faces at the same time. “Elle s'est effondree en apprenant la nouvelle.” "C'etait oblige!" (French: She fainted immediately after hearing the news. It was doomed!) In the next half an hour or so, Jiegler told me in more detail about the second half of the case, in chronological order .Some missing details, Karl added for him--in the second half of the case, in terms of specific actions, Jiegler's second serious case team and Karl's third team were in charge of directing and concealing work (a so formal and yet Ridiculous words) are naturally allocated, issued and completed through multiple high-level meetings. Well, now we can determine this unique "car accident list": Gottwald Janus Kosar Jason Octavius ​​Neven Perdita Molony Aisha Simonsen Actually, can't be counted either It is a list of car accidents—for example, our dead Deputy Director Kosar, according to the reality that should be accepted by the citizens, is still in the Palace Islands (Author's Note: The Maldives Islands, also known as the "Garland Islands") ”) on vacation, and perhaps next week will quietly announce the false news of his drowning in, say, Kendikolu Island: the Concealment Task Force must have put a lot of effort into this operation. "That guy has put a lot of effort into the selection." This sentence is Carl's addition. Karl has his reasons for saying this, of course—we see that from Gottwald to Kossar, from the head of the party to the deputy chief of the police, they are all at the bureaucratic level of this case.After these two cases happened, the police's attention will naturally focus on the bureaucratic level. "That guy Lak has been hiding in Zurich since Kosar's accident—he probably won't come back until the case is closed," Jiegler said. Richard's sticking to his job doesn't mean he's braver than Rucker—he's trying to save face, and a team of six is ​​currently responsible for his safety.Moreover, he actually moved to the office of the police station!This would explain why he was able to interrogate me so early this morning—the death threat from Ifant actually improved his work efficiency. While the police were scrambling to protect those involved at the bureaucratic level—three days after the murder of Deputy Commissioner Octavius ​​Nevin—the body of Octavius ​​Nevin was found by one of his girlfriends.The professional writer who wrote scathing commentary articles paid with his life for publishing sarcasm and belittling Ifante in several newspapers and periodicals. "Cowardly, crappy, neurotic tailor with a diaper in his crotch"—I remember his evaluation of Evant in one of his disorganized essays: In other words—"formally arrested"), the words that appeared in the newspapers the next day were later reprinted by many media, and gradually became a kind of inferior characterization of Yivante that was generally recognized by the media in this city. Jumping from the bureaucratic level to the media level, police headaches rise by orders of magnitude — and that’s palpable. There are thousands of journalists, commentators and angry people who have "offended" Ifante in the media. If it is still operated according to the previous bureaucratic handling method, the difficulty of protection and confidentiality will of course increase sharply: especially in the In the group of journalists, if any step is not handled carefully, it will lead to immeasurable and serious consequences. The police finally adopted a negative attitude at this level—in this "car accident", apart from using money to silence the insider's mouth (of course Ziegler and Karl will not say this clearly), what additional measures are they taking?都没有采取（甚至对于菲利普·盖蒙（Philip·Gamon）和瓦格斯塔夫·平克（Wagstaffe·Pinkney），这两位在发表针对伊凡特的“恶毒评论”上和奥克塔维厄斯齐名的评论员也一样）。 “我们仅将耳朵竖得高高的。在有风吹草动之前，我们什么都做不了——'大胆的举动' 和'真相大白'是那段时间的高层会议上最忌讳的两个词儿。”，在这点上，积格勒中肯地说。 不过，警方的消极或许还是正确的——伊凡特并没有再对媒体层面下手。 “他或许希望我们在同记者和评论员打交道的时候弄得焦头烂额，他却站在另一个山头上偷笑。”，积格勒说。 年9月28日，一位名叫康康·普鲁斯特（Kankan·Proust）的胖男人来到警局报案，称他的夫人在26日外出收租之后就再也没有回来过。局里起先将这个案子作为绑架案处理，几个年轻警员被派到帕拉迪兹街174号B栋调查那些租户。他们一层层地往上询问，最后意外地在那个有名的、现在已经无人居住的顶楼房间里发现了珀迪塔女士的尸体。 “?别提了，那家伙将那个胖女人挂在吊扇上，又用麻袋给她做了个罩子——整个人都被罩得严严实实，就只有两只已经发胀发紫的手露在外面。她的十指都被剪断了，但却没有被那家伙带走收藏。他将它们在地板上整齐地摆成一个漂亮的十字架，下面垫着那张你我都很熟悉的死亡通知，而使用两只粗大拇指做成的十字架尖端正指着房间的大门。”，积格勒详细地描述着当时的现场。 “?鬼知道那里面有什么宗教意味。”，卡尔补充道，“反正，那些被剪掉指头的断口，你知道——配合着那样的一个房间，那气氛?会让你分不清那究竟是现实，还是清晨时分模模糊糊正做着的噩梦?” “如果我没猜错，珀迪塔女士应该是按照失踪处理的。” 积格勒和卡尔都没作声，该是默认了。 “很奇怪这件事情没有引起任何人怀疑——没有一家租户问到顶楼抬走的尸体是谁的么？警车也没招来记者么？要知道，这么有名的地方?”，我接着问。 “迫不得已，”，卡尔讪讪地说，“理查德处长翻出了一个逃犯的案子——大家都认为我们在那个地方击毙了一个名叫昆廷（Quentin）的大个子逃犯?” 我倒记起来了，上个月底的几张报纸上倒确实有过这样的报导——只不过在地点上，报纸上不约而同地用了'某栋居民楼顶楼'来代替。 “这不过是说明康康还没有奥克塔维厄斯的某个女友容易摆平?科萨尔的家人难道态度都不怎么强硬么？我的个人印象里，似乎那位副局长在处事手腕上相当强硬呢?”，我又提问了。 “实际上他的情况却是最好处理的，”，积格勒说，“科萨尔很多年前就离了婚，前妻和一个儿子都搬回了梅尔市的娘家。而他自己也没什么亲戚?” “嗯嗯，否则就不会让他去宫殿群岛了?那哥特瓦尔德呢？他怎么也被区区车祸给轻易收拾掉了——詹纳斯家族在本市多少都还有些名气。” 其实这个问题的答案我基本上清楚，只不过想通过积格勒确认一下。 “你知道的，流氓政客的仇家可比黑社会小混混还多。单是恢复死刑这件事上，就已经得罪了不知多少人。”，积格勒叹了口气，“詹纳斯家只希望哥特瓦尔德的死不会是一个和女人和金钱有关的丑闻就行了?毕竟这位死者并不是他们的家族政客中爬得最高的一个。” I nodded: “案件在上周又转向了捷尔特博士之前的助手，这应该是你们完全没有料到的吧？” “所以我说他在挑选上下足了功夫，”，卡尔无奈地说，“但这个案子倒真有些奇怪。” “哦？在手法上不同么？”，我问。 “确实?后半段的前四个案子让我们毫不怀疑伊凡特已经回来了——虽然和之前的案子在手法上不尽相同，但只会更加残忍，而且那些纸片上的秘密?” 卡尔看了我一眼——我知道，他指的是那写有“IT is time To Die”的死亡通知。 “?那些仅在前半段现场所留下的磁带中所给出的提示，如果是一般的'拷贝猫'的话，是没有可能会知道的?” “如果是'不一般的拷贝猫'呢？”，我打断了卡尔的话。 “你是指?知道内情的人中有人是后半段案子的凶手？” “不可能！”，积格勒有些生气地说，“也就是说我和卡尔，重案二组和三组的全部组员，理查德处长这些高层人士以及捷尔特博士都是嫌疑人?你能给出一个合理的动机么？” 见我不说话，卡尔也开始了他的分析： “根据昨晚的实际情况，积格勒的嫌疑首先会被排除；我和二、三组的全部组员的嫌疑也能够根据充足的不在场证明而排除；警方高层和官僚政客方面，虽然我不能肯定他们全部拥有相关的不在场证明，但在动机方面，他们作为嫌疑人显然是站不住脚的——尤其是官僚政客方面，他们基本都不知道那些现场磁带中的内容?因此，他们的嫌疑也是可以排除的。” 他又想了想，接着说道： “捷尔特博士方面——你也知道，在前半段他作为警方的心理顾问参与这个案子，他的妻子被伊凡特残忍杀害：你可能会就这点宣称博士的心理已经变态，并且?我知道我要说的这第五个案子的奇怪之处对你的假设有所帮助——艾莎只是被凶手用剪刀刺穿了心脏，现场并不残忍。你可能会说那是因为艾莎曾经是他的助手?威利和纳夫普的案子，凶手使用了手术刀可能也让你产生怀疑：捷尔特博士的职业就是第二教会医院的外科主任，他用手术刀杀人自然是轻而易举?文泽尔，可这些都是你的假设——别忘记了，一个茶色瞳孔有着卷曲茂密金发的伊凡特·冯·托德确实存在，而且，他并没有躺在人民公墓里刻着他名字的那块墓碑下——他依旧逍遥法外！” 积格勒向有些激动的卡尔摆摆手，让他稍微冷静一下： “卡尔，文泽尔只是列出了一个假设——他说的并没有错。”，然后，他又转过头来对我说，“我也认为捷尔特博士不会是后半段的凶手：这个假设上存在着很多漏洞。” 我点点头，笑着对积格勒说： “那并不是我的假设——我的假设却是，捷尔特博士可能是整个案件的凶手！” 听到我这句话，差不多五秒钟的时间里，积格勒和卡尔同时张大了嘴，说不出一句话来——我的这个假设有些太大胆，让他们都不知道该说些什么了。 “这更加不可能！”，卡尔首先回过神来，“你这样说，等于是他杀死了自己的妻子?，一个优秀而成功的医生在三年之内杀死了十二个人，他最开始的动机呢？你的证据又是什么呢？” “没有什么证据的话，”，积格勒也说，“这样的假设确实是很荒谬的。文泽尔，这样的事情最好不要乱开玩笑?博士此刻是生是死都还不知道——而且，根据塔芙妮的证词，他很可能已经被真正的伊凡特杀害了。” “我只是提到一种可能，”，我说，“证据方面，我已经有了一些——而且，我还有一些很不错的假设可以贯穿这些证据?”，我看了一眼卡尔，“?虽然所有这些也并不能确证什么——即使我自己，到现在也不能相信我的假设就是事实以及事实之全部。但倘若我坚持捷尔特博士在这个案子上没有一点嫌疑，我反而会被更多的矛盾和不可能搅得头痛不已?” 卡尔探长听了我的话，不再激动： “好的好的，文泽尔?说说你所掌握的证据吧。我得说，你的这个假设确实很难让人冷静?你说呢，积格勒探长。” 积格勒点点头，表示赞同： “我现在倒很想听听你刚才说到的，你那'更好些的理由'。我已经给你叫过了医生——你别以为我已经忘记了?”，他笑着对我说。 但这时塔芙妮却进来了，我的助手向积格勒和卡尔问了声好，将手上的一份报告递给我： “那张纸已经分析过了，除了博士的指纹之外，没有什么新的指纹——至于那些被严重涂抹的地方，我们没有那么先进的仪器。”，她看了一眼卡尔探长，“不过，我猜警局里一定有。” “这就是你昨晚从捷尔特博士家找到的证据么？”，卡尔问我。 “证据之一。”，我将这张装在证物袋中的纸从报告中抽出来，递给卡尔，“如果你能帮我将这些呈交给总局证物科看看，”，我说，“那些或许会是有力的证据?” “我会帮你呈交到证物科的。”，卡尔大略地看了看纸上的内容，“?或者博士认为这个案子里面存在着不少巧合？” “他甚至怀疑伊凡特的真实性。”，我回答道。 “好了，不要打哑谜了?文泽尔，你的假设也藏得够久了?” 说这话的是积格勒。不过，看来我是没有机会讲什么了——一位警员急匆匆地闯进病房，对卡尔说了一句话。 这位警员原本是打算小声地对卡尔讲这句话的，但他实在是有些太慌张了，声音也因此小不下来——就这样，我们四个人都听见他讲了些什么： “找到捷尔特博士的尸体了。” 不用多说什么，塔芙妮惊呼一声之后就晕倒了——我赶紧扶起她。积格勒狠命地捶了捶手边的立柜，那可怜的小柜几乎都要在沉闷的敲击声中散架。卡尔没说什么，看了我一眼，将我给他的那份证物递给眼前的警员： “将这份东西呈交证物科，和本案有关，让他们尽快处理。” 警员离开了病房。 我们再次请来了阿丽塔医生。我将塔芙妮交给她，便和卡尔一道离开了第三医院。 积格勒则将自己的病床一并让给了塔芙妮。 这个老好人连病人装都不换，就和我们一起上了警车。