Chapter 15 chapter Five

The appearance of Father Brown can be regarded as the greatest surprise of my life.Yes, I distinctly remember reading stories about him.With his whimsical mind and ridiculous appearance, he could be considered a boon for Roman Catholicism.God created this miraculous believer, and God also gave me the hope of living.As to what G. K. Chesterton had to do with him, it didn't matter to me at all.What I need is the help of the priest himself, yes, I need it badly.However, the first sentence he said to me was: "Colin Wester, whether you were a Catholic or not, no matter what you did in your lifetime, as long as you sincerely repent, the merciful God will forgive you. Now, follow me and say: I have come into the world in the name of the Lord..."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" I jumped up excitedly.He took a few steps back, stuck tightly to the door, and picked up the broken umbrella, as if preparing to defend himself.We looked at each other again.In order not to attract the attention of the guards outside the door, I said softly, "I was wronged. Believe me, I was framed. Listen to me, reverend priest, you must help me clear my name." He glanced at me. "Colin Wester, God believes in anyone." After listening to his bullshit, I felt like I was being played.But I will never give up, I can't give up this last glimmer of hope.The only person I can trust right now, other than hoping the time machine will do wonders for me, is him. "Father," I gasped, "I'm dying."

Seeing that I was not hostile, he put the umbrella aside and stood up straight solemnly: "Colin Wester, death is not terrible, you just went to another world. God will do what you do according to your life." Make a decision about whether you will go to heaven or hell. Of course, God created all living beings, he loves all living beings, and he does not want to watch them fall into the devil's den. Colin Wester, undo all the sins in your life The only way for you is to repent sincerely. If your repentance can move God, then later this afternoon, you will be playing with those angels in heaven. Now, please continue to read after me..."

"Enough!" I couldn't control my emotions, "Are you Father Brown? You are not like this at all in the novel!" "Fiction?" He gave me a sideways look, and then smiled. "Colin Wester, you must have read the one written by my brother, haven't you? Oh, he always likes to compare me with the great Mr. Holmes." On par. I've asked G.K to end that word war multiple times, but he just won't listen to me. What's the result? Every time I pray for a dying inmate, they beg me to clear them of their crimes, Without exception." As the conversation progressed, I gradually relaxed a little.In order to win the trust of the priest, I told him the suspicious points of the case without reservation, and added: "I swear by my personality, I saw Rose's body with my own eyes, and there was no wound on it."

He didn't care at first, but I kept trying to get his attention.Then, I seemed to have succeeded, and he began to listen to me seriously about the case. Suddenly, I noticed from his rosy round face that he was very interested in the case.In this regard, I repeated those suspicious points one after another, hoping that he would take over the case and tell me the identity of the murderer smoothly. The guard outside the door seemed impatient.He opened the door and said to Brown, "It's almost time, Father." Father Brown turned to him and said solemnly: "Sir, I don't want to disturb you, but I beg you to give me a little more time. If you can, I would like you to call the director here."

Hearing this, the guard frowned: "Father Brown, this seems to be beyond the scope of your work." "I understand, but this young man's life is at stake," said Father Brown firmly. "Would you please run and tell the Commissioner I'm looking for him? He'll come. It won't embarrass you, sir." ’ and he said a bunch of things like, “God always bless the good.”After hearing these words, the guard couldn't think of a reason to reject him. "Okay, I'll go, I'll go right away." He pointed at me, "Colin Wester, don't try to play tricks!" The guard reluctantly left, and my heart was half relieved.The priest touched the shining silver cross on his chest, "Lord, this is the most shameless case I have ever encountered."

"Shameless?" I was dumbfounded. "Colin." He paused.I was really glad to hear him call me Colin instead. The black hard-shell "Old Testament" was held tightly in Father Brown's hand: "Tell me, Colin, did Chuck really touch Rose's body?" "It's absolutely true." "What did he say after that? I mean, after he touched the body?" I tried my best to recall everything that happened that night: "I don't know exactly what to say. It should be 'Boy, you did this! What did you do?' It should be this sentence."

"What did he do between the time he touched the body and he said to you 'You did it, boy! What did you do?'" His expression told me that this question was important. "Uh... um..." I thought desperately, "Sorry, I can't remember." "Is he angry?" asked the priest, "or is he calm?" "Neither." I shook my head, "Maybe, it seems, the expression is very strange, yes, that's right. He just stayed there!" "Very well, Colin." He circled the small space several times with the broken umbrella, "and then he hit you. Then, Mr. Bate appeared mysteriously. The fiancé asked Mr. Chuck , is Ross dead? Chuck said, 'Ask him.' Of course, you think, he means, it's all yours—Colin Wester's doing."

"It's like this." I leaned against the wall, "I don't see what it is." "No, Colin, this matter is critical. It tells us exactly why Chuck died." "What?" I was stunned. I took two steps forward and hugged his shoulders tightly. "Father Brown, tell me. Please tell me everything you know." Father Brown said calmly, "Everything is so simple. Colin, you have been deceived by the simple facts. Of course, this is not your fault." I listened patiently to his blunt words, "Colin , the dead person you saw was indeed Ross, there is nothing wrong with that. But you overlooked one important thing, you didn't touch Ross's body like Chuck did. If you did, then everything would change , you don’t have to worry about your current situation at all.”

"What do you mean?" I sat on the ground at a loss, begging him to speak quickly. He put the "Old Testament" in the other hand: "The first person who saw Rose's body was not you—Colin Wester. Yes, it was her sister Hemily, who was terrified by your appearance Extremely, when she saw her sister lying on the ground, she yelled 'Killer', after that, you noticed a person lying on the ground. Why didn't you touch the dead body? As a man, you can definitely muster up the courage to feel it Rose's breath, isn't it? However, the fact is that you don't. The reason for all this is that 'killer!' line from Hemily convinced you that Rose was dead. So you didn't touch her. "He turned around like a speculative novelist, "but the truth is, Ross wasn't dead at all!"

"What?" My heart almost jumped out, "She wasn't dead then?" "Yes, the witness is Mr. Chuck," the short spherical priest looked at me, his small eyes sparkled with wisdom, "Mr. Chuck touched the corpse. Then, he showed a strange expression, and then, He said to you, 'Boy, did you do this? What did you do?' From this sentence, you would think that Chuck meant that Ross was killed by you. But , Colin, please think about it carefully, why did Mr. Chuck say that? Why didn't he ask you 'why did you kill Ross'? You know, he had never seen you before. This thing happened, Standing in front of me is a guy I've never met, and I'd be asking that. 'What did you do?' Colin, that shows Chuck wants to know what's going on. The reason he thinks that way is because He felt Rose's heart still beating. Why did Chuck have a strange expression? The reason for this is simple. He was the only person who touched the body besides the police. He was sure that Rose was not dead, but, Before this he clearly heard Hemily's voice 'Kill!' - our Mr. Chuck was confused, Rose was not dead and had no marks on his body, but Hemily yelled 'Kill! ' - Mr. Chuck's eyes turned to you, because you were a stranger to him. So he would ask you, 'What did you do?' The reason why he hit you indiscriminately is the same as Ross It didn't matter. Mr. Chuck was worried about what you'd do to her sister High Millie. So he beat you hard." I suddenly realized: "So that's the case. Then, what happened to the knife wound on Rose?" "Colin, don't you understand?" Father Brown was not angry at my ignorance, his tone was very gentle and his expression was very friendly, "Let me tell you, it wasn't Rose who died at all, but hers." Sister Hemily." "My God!" I couldn't believe this was true, "No, it can't be." "Colin, it's entirely possible." The priest enlightened me patiently. "Think about it. Where was High Millie when you were beaten by Chuck? Where was High Millie when Mr. Bate appeared? You were beaten by the police." Where was Hemily when it was taken? Come to think of it, she was killed. She was killed while you were in the dark. You were used, Mr. Colin Wester .” "No, she's in her room. Chuck sent her." I'm still stuck. "But you told me clearly just now that when you were being chased and beaten by Chuck, you heard Hemily's scream, which was extremely desolate. You interpreted this sound as she was very sad about her sister's death. Yes Yes, you can think so. But I ask you to think about it, and think of three things. Hemily and Rose are sisters, they look alike - you told me - the night it happened, they Wearing the same clothes. Also, there are bruises on the body. Also, Chuck is dead. Why did he die? Now the answer is obvious, he touched Rose's 'body', and Rose knew that Chuck found this Secretly, she must kill him. "There is no doubt that Rose killed her sister in the absence of you and Chuck. Also, it is certain that Mr. Bate was her accomplice, and he entered the house through the kitchen door, because there is only He was the one who saw Rose's body. As Rose's fiancé, Bate should have stayed by Rose's side to accompany her. But Mr. Bate ran to you and Chuck. Nothing else, his purpose is to kill you and Chuck in his line of sight to give Ross time to get his hands on High Milli." He coughed. "Of course, I have to add. You might wonder why this couldn't be High Milli's plan I have to say, of course not. She is a silly girl, with her low IQ, I am afraid it is difficult to come up with this almost seamless plan. "The neighbors around me were all shut out by Chuck, and no one could get in. Therefore, Rose successfully completed her murder plan." He looked at me, looking extremely calm, "Ross, Hemily and Chuck Having been with each other for many years, can't Chuck tell who is the elder sister and who is the younger sister? Yes, he can identify who is who between the two of them through observation, and he can. It's just that Rose's plan is too perfect, and her actions are too fast. Chuck didn't even have time to kill Hemily. After the police took you away, Mr. Chuck was still haunted by his fiancé Bet. The police took you and the body of 'Ross' Now, when Mr. Chuck returned to the scene, 'Ross' was no longer on the ground. Chuck didn't know that the identity of the corpse had been changed. If he saw the corpse, he would definitely ask what happened to the knife wound on it. Unfortunately, neither Mr. Bate nor the police gave him this chance. In other words, he never saw the real corpse. "As for you, Colin, you, like Mr. Chuck, never saw the real body. The police knocked you out, and you woke up in your cell. Ross and Bet's plan worked. God, this is the most shameless plan I have ever seen." Father Brown looked carefully at me who was completely stunned, "Colin, I know you are very sad, but it is the truth." "Why?" I looked at the round face, behind which hid a whimsical brain full of wisdom, "Why me?" "I have reason to believe that Ross and Bet don't want to frame anyone at all. If you don't show up, Bet will make some noise in the kitchen, then stay there, and don't leave. When Hemily comes out to find out, The silly girl will still yell something like 'Come on, murder!'. She will get into the trap set by Ross and Bet very smoothly, and then the neighbors will be woken up. First rush to the scene Chuck's neighbor is still Mr. Chuck, and he still won't let other neighbors come in to disturb him. In order to find out what happened to 'sister', he and Bet will inevitably have a fight. In this way, Ross can still kill Hemily." The priest sighed for a while, "Bate will be fine, Rose can use Hemily's identity to inform the police that there is another real culprit in this case. She can make up a guy, and then use some suspicious points in the case Let the police release Bate because of the reason. As for Mr. Chuck, he played the role of another type of victim. Chuck was easily used by Bate and Rose, and Chuck would follow the Please, prove that the murderer is someone else. In the end, Ross and Bet went away, and Hemily died in vain." The priest continued to sigh, "Colin, isn't this a shameless case?" "If the truth is as you said, then at this time, Rose and Bate are already hiding in a place that we will never find." I shook my head annoyedly, "After they killed people, they were free." "Colin, you underestimated the strength of the London police. The chief has the ability to find them, and the Bate couple will never escape the law." Father Brown touched the cross, "God is my witness." The warm sunlight shone into the bedroom, and I opened my eyes to look around everything.Isn't this my home?Oh, I'm back, some images flashed through my mind, and I fell in Dr. W's basement.What baffles me is why I end up in exactly his basement every time the time travel ends.But before that, it fell in an unknown place.It seems that the machine is quite obedient sometimes. Dr. W looked at my distressed appearance and was very puzzled.I wobbled and fell into his arms, the doctor hugged me tightly, helped me into his room, and asked where the wound came from.I can't remember what I said at the time, and I can't think about how long I slept this time.Anyway, to my relief, I came back alive.A few minutes later, the phone rang, and I knew it must be Dr. "Colin." Yes, it was his voice. "Are you okay, how are you feeling?" His excited trill reminded me of his confession for almost losing me as a friend. "Thanks to you, I'm still alive." Then, I scolded him angrily. Dr. W didn't talk back at all, he knew it was all his fault, it was his fault.When I stopped to catch my breath, the doctor gave me a thousand nos through the microphone: "Colin, if possible, I would like to know, does Father Brown know about time machines?" "Time machine? To hell with you!" I angrily hung up the phone and threw the phone out of the window. Three days later at eleven o'clock in the morning, my colleague Tommy said to me, "Hey Colin, want to have lunch?" "Okay. But I have to choose a suitable background music." I looked at the webpage on the monitor and said, "Go to the elevator, I'll be right there." After working for a while, I turned off the computer, took my wallet, and went out.In the elevator, Tommy was talking to an old man.That old guy was Dr. W. As soon as he saw me, he ran over excitedly and said to me: "Colin, Colin, I finally found you! Your colleagues said you were not here, huh, that bad boy! " "What are you doing here?" I scolded, "The company doesn't allow outsiders to hang out here." "Yes, yes, I know," he whispered, pulling me aside, "tell me about the Brown case." "No, don't stop me. I have a dinner with someone else." I broke free from his hand and ran to Tommy, "Let's go." Tommy looked over my shoulder in the direction of the doctor: "Where did you know this madman? Look, here he is again." He patted my shoulder, "I think you'd better have lunch with him. Tommy shrugged knowingly and entered the elevator. "Colin, please." The doctor forced a smile, "tell me." "Tell you what? If you're still a friend, don't disturb my private life, okay?" I patted the doctor on the shoulder. "I beg you!" He actually knelt down for me in front of everyone.I can understand how obsessed he is with speculative fiction, but...he's such a nut.He can disregard his face, but I can't.I still have to work here, and I have to deal with my boss and colleagues. "Okay, get up quickly." I blushed and looked at my colleagues around me, "I admit defeat. Get up quickly." There were not many customers in the Japanese restaurant. Through the blue curtains, we found a private room in the corner and told the service staff not to disturb us. As soon as he was seated, the doctor said: "Hamilly had slept with Bet. It was a coincidence. Bet didn't know that it wasn't Rose lying next to him—the silly girl didn't know that she What was he doing——it was too late when Bate found out that the person he was hugging was not Rose. Suddenly, Rose's appearance surprised him, and his eyes swept over the two sisters from time to time. Finally, Bate came up with A solution. The cunning fiancé told Ross that Hemilly and Ross were too similar. Before and after going to bed, he kept calling each other 'Ross', but Hemilly didn't correct this mistake at all. As a result, this incident happened . "Ross couldn't tolerate her younger sister seducing the man she loved the most, and she insulted Hemily. At first, Rose thought that as long as the three of them didn't talk about it, no one would know about it, so she thought it would be fine. But, Bet But he repeatedly emphasized to her that his first devotion was to someone he didn't love. In addition, all these years, Rose had always thought that Hemily was a burden, and she could live better without Hemily. The terrible external pressure added Seeing Rose's distorted inner world made Rose think more and more anxiously, and became more anxious and annoyed. As a result, she had the evil idea of ​​killing her own sister." After listening to Dr. W's narration, I felt very strange, so I asked, "Where did you hear that?" The doctor stared hard at his small eyes, and asked back: "You told me this yourself. You fell to the ground that night and told me this. After that, you fell unconscious. " "Well, maybe I did." I tried to think about it, but for a moment I couldn't remember if I had actually told him. "Colin, what is this case?" He looked directly at me. "I only know the motive, but what is the case? Tell me, I can't wait." I sipped the authentic Japanese Kung Fu tea, and my restless mood was much calmed down.The doctor's expectant eyes and pricked ears were expecting me to speak.I have almost no recollection of passing out in the basement, nor of how I parted from the priest.But I clearly remember Father Brown's benevolent heart, his funny appearance and whimsical mind.I still remember that when I left the prison, I gave the watch to the priest, and he said he would keep this precious gift in his church.Of course, I will never forget, in 1920, there were my two friends, Shari and Lake.God bless them, amen.