Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

"The real show is about to begin!" said Thorndike, striking a match. "The other party started very cautiously—very cautiously, and looked uncertain." "What do you mean 'not very sure'?" I asked. "Obviously, given the present circumstances, Herbert is very eager to dismantle Burlingham's opposition force, even at any cost! I guess Jericho is the same. Although the death of his brother believes that Berlin Han doesn't have much room to object, but it seems that Herbert doesn't have much leverage either." "Well," said Reeves, "if he had the trump card in his hand, he wouldn't be willing to give away the four hundred pounds a year stipend for nothing; which may be a good thing, after all, we don't have anything in our hands now." Good card."

"Yeah, let's take a closer look at what we have in our hands first!" Thorndike said, "Now, our only trump card, or maybe it can be said to be a small card-the testator seems to have decided Most of his estate will go to his brother." "So you've launched an investigation into this?" I asked. "Well, yes, the investigation has been going on for a while. The investigation has started the day after you handed over the copy of the will to us. Reeves has gone through all the cemetery registers, and it has been confirmed that the missing After the incident, John Bellingham's deceased was not buried. In fact, we expected this. In addition, he found out that someone else was also conducting this investigation. Of course, this is also what we expected middle."

"And what about your findings?" "Most of it is useless. I found that Dr. Nobarry at the British Museum to be extremely friendly to me, and he was also very enthusiastic. Perhaps because he was so friendly, I found it difficult to ask him to help me with some personal The study is primarily an observation of the physical changes that result from the evolution of certain substances over time." "You haven't even told me about it!" interjected Reeves. "True, since my experiment has not really begun, and probably won't bear any fruit! It seems to me that common substances like wood, bone, china, and plaster may undergo some molecular change after a number of years, And these changes may affect its molecular conduction or molecular vibration energy. If this is the case, then this will provide a very valuable theoretical basis for forensic identification and other demonstrations. In this way, we can To judge the age of a substance of known composition by observing its changes and vibrations under the action of electricity, heat and light. I would have asked him for his help, and he could provide us with the substances needed for the experiment , and they are all very old substances, which must be easier to detect. Now to our case. I learned from Dr. Nobarry that John Bellingham had many friends in Paris. , are collectors and museum workers with whom he will often visit, study with them or exchange samples of antiquities. I have checked all these people before, and they all said that during his visit to Paris, there was no I have met him. And so far, I have not found anyone who met him during his trip to Paris. So, it can be said that his trip is still a mystery to us."

"I don't think that's important because he's back anyway," I said. "No one can predict the importance of the unknown!" Thorndike retorted. "With the evidence we have," Reeves asked, "what should we think of this case? We only know that John Bellingham disappeared on a certain day, but what basis is there to determine how he disappeared?" "Most of the evidence we have now comes from newspaper reports," Thorndike said, "and from these evidences, we can deduce several possibilities. It is necessary for us to examine these evidences first, because in the upcoming During the interrogation, these evidences will undoubtedly be tested by the court. For this case, we now have five possibilities." Thorndike paused, and while wiggling his fingers, said, "One, he may still be alive; two. , he may have died and was secretly buried in an unknown place; three, he may have been murdered; four, he may have been murdered by Herbert, who then hid his body Five, he may have been murdered by his own brother. Well, now we analyze these possibilities one by one. The first case, if he is still alive. If so, if he did not disappear voluntarily, then It is possible that he suddenly lost his memory so that his identity cannot be confirmed, or he was imprisoned in a prison or something. The possibility of voluntary disappearance is very small.”

"But Jericho doesn't think so," I added. "He thinks John Berlinham might be alive, and it seems to him that people go missing for a while." "But if he thought so, why did he apply for a death certificate?" "I asked him about this. But he said this is what he should do, and all responsibilities should be borne by the court." "It's nonsense!" Thorndike was a little angry, "As the client of the missing person, since he believes that his client is still alive, he has an obligation to protect the integrity of the client's property - he should be very clear about this! So I figured Jericho must be thinking the same way I was thinking that John Berlinham was dead."

"However, it seems that things that have been missing for a few years and then suddenly appear happen from time to time!" "That's right. But if this person is not an irresponsible prodigal son, he will definitely be in an embarrassing situation if he does this kind of shirk responsibility. For example, a lawyer, civil servant or businessman finds out Trapped himself in one place and stuck in a tedious job. He may have a wife who can be grumpy but masquerades as a soft and sweet woman who sees her husband as a caged bird that cannot escape, which makes his nature more revealing .and this man, after many years of suffering, finally reached the point where he couldn't bear it anymore, so he disappeared suddenly. Of course, his behavior is sympathetic. But it is not the case of Bellingham. He is a Happy bachelor, full of zest for life, and he's free to come and go as he pleases. So why should he disappear? It doesn't seem like it makes any sense at all."

"And when it comes to being unidentifiable because of memory loss, it's even more impossible for a person who has a business card and address in his pocket and a name embroidered on his underwear and the police are looking around. As for going to prison, I think this can be ruled out, even if he really becomes a prisoner, he can still find opportunities to contact his relatives and friends before or after he is sentenced." "Secondly, he may have died and been secretly buried in an unknown place. I think this possibility is also very low. However, he may have been robbed after his death, thus losing the money he can use identification documents. So, although the possibility is low, it still exists.”

"Three, he may have been murdered by someone. Judging from the current situation, this possibility is still possible. However, the police are now fully investigating the case, and they have published the appearance of the missing person in the newspaper. In this way, unless the body has been very carefully concealed, otherwise... But if this is the case, one of the most common forms of crime can be ruled out, which is the possibility of violent robbery and murder. It seems that although this hypothesis There is a possibility of it, but the probability is still very small." "Four, he may have been murdered by Herbert, who then hid his body. But as far as we know, Herbert had no motive for murdering him. Jericho has said and reiterated that , he was the only outsider who knew the contents of the will. Of course, there is no evidence of this at present. If this were the case, Herbert could not have known that his cousin's death would bring him much wealth. If this point is put aside, the possibility of this hypothesis is still very high. Because the last time someone saw the missing person was in Herbert's house, but he was only seen entering the house, but he was not seen leaving. Of course, this It's just a report in the newspaper. But now he seems to be very active in order to inherit the inheritance."

"However," I retorted, "Herbert and the servants made a thorough search of the house immediately after Bellingham's disappearance." "Yes, I remember that, so what are they looking for?" "Obviously Burlingham." "Yeah, what they're looking for is Burlingham—a living person. How do we usually look for a living person in a house? Of course, check all the rooms, open the doors, and see if he's in there. What if If you don't see him, then assume he's not there. But you won't check under the sofa or behind the piano, let alone open a drawer or wardrobe, maybe just poke your head into the room to have a look. It seems that these people are like that They did, and after they checked, they claimed they didn't find Mr. Burlingham in the house. But it's possible that Burlingham's body was hidden in a hidden corner of a room they'd already searched."

"Oh, that's a scary idea!" said Reeves, "but it's very real. There's no evidence now that the houses they searched didn't contain bodies." "Well, even so," I said, "what about the body? He couldn't have left it without anyone finding out?" "Well," Thorndike explained, "that's the point of the matter. If anyone wants to write a technical manual on the art of murder, he can omit all the side issues, as long as the few feasible ways to dispose of the corpse For murder, how to dispose of the corpse is the biggest problem.” He stared at the pipe and continued, “The human corpse cannot be underestimated. It has many characteristics that make it It is difficult to truly disappear from this world. It has a huge volume, irregular shape, and is very heavy, not easy to burn, and its chemical state is very unstable. When it rots, it will emit a lot of foul-smelling gas. At the same time, it also Contains many incorruptible components that can be used for identification. It is difficult to keep a corpse forever intact, and it is even more difficult to destroy it completely. There is an amazing example of the immortality of the human body: the Egyptian At the end of the 17th Dynasty, the remains of Sekenanla III, king of the late seventeenth dynasty, had been silent for four thousand years. Scientists were able to deduce not only the cause and manner of his death, but also the way he fell and the cause of the fatal wound. The type of murder weapon and even the posture of the murderer can be deduced. In addition, in 1849, Dr. Parkman in Boston, USA was murdered by a professor of chemistry at Harvard Medical School. The professor also dismembered his body and hid it in his laboratory .The police finally succeeded in identifying the deceased and cracking the murder case after analyzing the remaining ashes collected in the stove.”

"In that case, is there still a chance we'll see John Berlinham?" Reeves said. "Of course, there is no doubt about it," Thorndike replied emphatically. "The only question now is when will he appear again? It may be tomorrow, or it may be in a few centuries-when people will come to see him again." This case has been completely forgotten." "If, indeed, Herbert murdered Bellingham," said I, "and his body was hidden in the study while they searched the house, what was he going to do with it? If you were Where would you begin, Herbert?" Facing my stupid question, Thorndike smiled and said: "Hehe, you seem to be using my confession, and there are witnesses. But to be honest, it is useless for us to speculate on unknown things here. All inferences must be based on facts. It is a waste of effort to invent conditions—I guess all I can say is that, no matter how immoral, no normal person would be in the situation you assume. Murder is often an impulsive act , and the murderer is usually someone who lacks self-control. For such a person, it is unlikely that they will carefully plan the disposal of the victim's body. Even the most cold-blooded and calculating murderer may He would be timid on the spot. The murderer usually wakes up suddenly when he actually faces the corpse, and realizes that the work of dumping the corpse is so tricky. The way of dumping the corpse is in the situation you mentioned. Land, that is, first dismembered, and then scattered and discarded in various places; but the possibility of being discovered in both ways is very high." "The location of the dispersal is as you have just described to Mr. Bellingham," added Reeves. "Yes," said Thorndike, "though it is hard to imagine any murderer in his right mind thinking of hiding a body in a field of water mustard." "Yes, the location of the body is indeed very strange. Oh, by the way, when you were talking to Mr. Berlinham just now, one thing I kept from saying is that I discovered that you were analyzing all those bones When it was his brother’s possibility, he didn’t even mention the missing ring finger on his left hand. Of course, it shouldn’t be that you missed reading it while reading the newspaper, right? Isn’t this a key point?” "You mean the importance of identification? I don't think it's important, at least as far as the current situation is concerned. If it is found that a person missing a ring finger is now missing, I believe it will provide us with very important information. Clues. I haven't heard of such a discovery though. Or, if there is evidence that the ring finger was amputated during the deceased's life, then it is also a discovery that is worthy of attention. Today, such evidence is also quite lacking. It may also be that the deceased It was only intercepted after death, so we have to investigate the reason." "What do you mean? I don't quite understand." Reeves said blankly. "Oh, I mean, if none of the missing persons in the police file is missing a ring finger, then it can be presumed that the deceased's ring finger was amputated posthumously. If that is the case, questions of motive will arise Why did the murderer cut off the ring finger of the deceased? It's unlikely to be an accident, don't you think?" "Maybe there is something wrong with the finger itself, such as deformed knuckles, so it will be easy to identify." Reeves said. "Yes. But it's the same as what I said just now. No missing person with deformed fingers or similar characteristics has been found." Reeves looked at me and raised his eyebrows. "Then I can think of no other reason," he said. "What do you think, Bakery?" I shook my head helplessly. "I would remind you that the missing finger, the ring finger of the left hand, cannot be ignored," Thorndike said. "Ah, I see!" Reeves said excitedly. "That's the finger with the wedding ring! You mean, maybe the murderer simply amputated the finger because he couldn't remove the ring." "Yes, you're right. It's actually not unprecedented. Some victims had their fingers amputated after death, and some even had their fingers cut off during their lifetime, simply because the rings were too tight. There is a way to take it off. Especially people are always used to wearing tighter rings on the left hand, because the left hand is usually thinner than the right finger...Baikeri, what's the matter with you?" Obviously, Thorndike saw The change in my demeanor. I suddenly yelled: "I'm so confused!" "Quickly, what's going on?" Reeves asked eagerly. "Oh, I should have thought of it sooner! John Bellingham does have a ring on his finger, and it's so tight that once he puts it on he can't take it off again!" "Do you remember which hand he wore it on?" asked Thorndike. "Remember, he wore it on his left hand. Miss Burlingham told me about it. If his left finger was not a little thinner than his right finger, I'm afraid he would never be able to wear this ring." "Ah, that's right," Thorndike said, "this new evidence can provide us with many clues, and we can draw more and more interesting conjectures from this missing finger." "Like?" Reeves asked. "As far as the current situation is concerned, it is inconvenient for me to speculate too much, because I am now Mr. Burlingham's legal representative." Reeves grinned for a while, thinking about something while refilling the tobacco, then he lit the pipe and continued: "Now let's come back to the disappearance! Don't you really think it's possible that Bellingham was murdered by Herbert?" "I don't mean to accuse anyone, I'm just making assumptions out of thin air. It's the same with the Berlinhams. Which of them commits the murder is a matter of personal character. After Lin Han and his daughter met, it was hard to suspect it was them, and I knew almost nothing about Herbert, in other words, I didn’t know any evidence against him.” "How much do you really know?" Reeves asked. Thorndike didn't answer immediately, he seemed to be hesitating, but after a while of contemplation, he continued: "It seems very unkind to go to the bottom of a person's past like this, but we have no other choice. Of course , Several parties involved in this case, I have already conducted routine investigations, and this is what I am doing now." "As you also know, Herbert is a stockbroker with great reputation and status. However, about ten years ago, one of his mistakes almost put him in a desperate situation. He seems to have made a surprising amount of speculation. trading, and then misappropriating client funds and stock during a sudden market crash. Things seemed dire at the time, but surprisingly, he managed to pull through by increasing his holdings. But he It has always been a mystery where the money came from, and it is very doubtful, because the difference at that time was more than five thousand pounds. But the most important thing is that he did get the money and used it to make up all the losses , so he did not really commit the crime of embezzlement. Although this incident has damaged his reputation, there is no indication that it has any connection with the current case." "Yes," Reeves agreed, "but it kind of affects people's perception of him." "Of course," said Thorndike, "a daring gambler is the last thing to be trusted, for he is at any moment liable to commit new crimes under financial constraints. Many embezzlements are It happened in a sudden tight situation." "Assuming the responsibility for this mysterious disappearance is shared by Herbert and the Berlinham father and daughter," I felt a little uneasy when my friend's name was mentioned, "then who do you think should be mainly responsible?" "Of course it was Herbert," Thorndike replied firmly. "According to the facts that have been revealed so far, although Herbert appeared to have no motive for killing the deceased, someone did indeed see the deceased enter Herbert's room before he was alive." house, and never left it again, and then disappeared without a trace. In addition, Bellingham also had a motive, because he knew that he was the most important beneficiary of that will. However, the deceased did not Appeared in his home, and there is no evidence that the deceased had been to his home or appeared near it at that time, only a scarab jewel was found in his backyard, which does not explain the problem. Moreover, the discovery of this jewel Herbert happened to be there at the time, and it appeared at the place where Herbert passed by a few minutes ago, so it seems that unless Herbert has got rid of the suspicion, this evidence is not of high quality. value, and will not pose any threat to the Berlinham father and daughter." "Can you say that all your speculations about this case are based on facts that have been made public?" I asked. "Yes, that's pretty much it. I don't quite believe all the evidence in the papers, because I have reservations about the case, but I don't want to talk about it just yet. We're just relying on what the parties have given us. Opinions and facts are used to analyze the case." "Dr. Thorndike always likes to tantalize people," Reeves continued, puffing his pipe. Almost ignorant of the inside story, I can only open my mouth in surprise, not knowing what to say--the opponent is the same. Well, we should go, respectable senior, am I right?" "Well, I think so." Thorndike said as he put on his gloves and turned to me. "Have you heard from Barna lately?" "Yes," I replied, "I once wrote to Smyrna Tumena, a port city in western Turkey, on the edge of Izmir Bay in the Aegean Sea. I told him that all the business in the clinic was going very smoothly, and I I was also very happy, and told him that he can spend as long as he likes abroad. In his reply letter, he said that if there is a chance, he will definitely extend the vacation and let me know when he is sure to come back.” "God!" Reeves said with emotion, "Fortunately, Birlingham has a beautiful and lovely daughter. Barna's luck is really good, isn't it? I'm just saying, man, your hard work is worth it, Is that so, Thorndike?" "Miss Burlingham is really charming, a very attractive lady," said Thorndike. "I have a fondness for both father and daughter, and I sincerely hope that I can help them." Thorndike shook hands with me after these courteous remarks.I stood at the door and watched the two friends go, until their figures were blurred and gradually swallowed by the gloom of Fett Lane.