Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Impossible

Standing at the door, she glanced at everyone in turn.For some reason, a thought flashed in Rimbaud's mind: This woman must be not simple.In fact, this woman is inconspicuous at all, only her black eyes are special, shining with wisdom and vitality, but those eyeballs look red, swollen and full of shit at the moment, and seem to be extremely painful and dry.Her figure was incongruous with her features, stocky, with a broad face, high cheekbones, and lustrous skin.But Rimbaud had a strange idea: if she tried to dress up, she should be a beauty.Her dark brown hair was coiled loosely behind her ears, and she was dressed in a very plain dark casual dress, with only two white fringes at the front; but on the whole, she did not give the impression of being shabby.

Is it from her posture, posture, gestures, or what? Although the word "transmitting waves and electrification" is too abstract, it fully conveys the infectious force that overflows from her whole body; it is like the light, heat, energy, and crackling sound that burst out at the moment of lightning.She walked towards the crowd, her shoes creaked, her eye-catching deep eyes stretched out, looking for Hadley's location.She put her palms in front of her and rubbed them up and down.Rimbaud immediately realized two things. First, the murder of Professor Grimaud had dealt a great blow to her, and even this trauma would never heal; , there is going to be a good cry.

"I'm Ernestine Dumer," she said, before explaining why she had come. "I'm here to help you find the man who shot Charles." Her tone of voice was unaccented, vague and lifeless, and her palms kept rubbing up and down. "When I heard about it, I couldn't come upstairs ... I mean at the beginning. Later, I wanted to take him to the nursing home in an ambulance, but the doctors wouldn't allow it. The police wanted to talk to him," he said. I'll talk it over. Yes, I agree it's a smart thing to do." Hadley stood up, offering her the chair he had been occupying.

"Please sit down, ma'am, I want to hear your statement right away. But I have to ask you to listen carefully to Mr. Mills' statement first, and if you need your confirmation..." The cold wind blew outside the window, and she shivered a bit, while Dr. Fell, who was watching her keenly, walked to the window and closed it clumsily.At this moment, she glanced at the fireplace, where the flame had been extinguished under the pile of burnt papers.She understood Hadley for a moment and nodded.She looked at Mills absently, with a blank expression that almost seemed to be smiling.

"Okay, of course. He's a thoughtful, poor silly boy, and he'll put it all together, won't he, Stu? You've got to keep talking, and I'll . . . watch." Even if Mills was angry at this statement, he didn't show it on the surface anyway.His eyelids twitched a few times, and then he folded his arms. "If it pleases you Priestess," he said quietly, "I have no objection. Perhaps I should continue the story. Uh—where did I get?" "You said that when Professor Grimaud saw the visitor, he blurted out: 'My God, who are you?' And then?"

"Oh, yes! At that time he didn't wear glasses, and the mirrors just hung on the chest on a string; without them, his eyesight became very poor, and I felt at the time that he must have mistaken the mask. I thought it was a real face, and before he had time to put on his glasses, the stranger rushed through the door with such quick movements that my eyes dazzled. Professor Grimaud tried to block him, but the stranger's movements were too fast to stop him, and then I listened I heard him laughing. When he entered the room..." Mills paused, looking very confused. "This is really very strange. I had the impression that Mrs. Dumo was leaning against the wall and trembling, but after the stranger entered the room, she closed the door. I still remember that her hand was on the On the knob."

Ernestine Dumo burst out. "Boy, what do you want people to think when you say that?" she asked. "You fool, can you figure out what you're talking about! Do you think I left that man alone with Charles? He came into the room by himself." Kicked the door and turned the key and locked it." "Wait a minute, Mrs. . . . Mr. Mills, is she telling the truth?" "I want you to understand," said Mills, "that I have only described every detail, every impression, as faithfully as I can. I mean nothing, and I am open to correction. As our priestess said, He turned the key and locked it."

"That's what he calls humor, calling someone a 'priestess,'" Mrs. Dummer responded angrily. "Humph!" Mills smiled. "Gentlemen, let's get down to business. I'm pretty sure our priestess got agitated at the time, and she started calling Professor Grimaud's name and turning the doorknob at the same time. I heard voices from within, but the room It's some distance away from me, and the door is quite thick. You'll see later." He gestured to the door. "I couldn't make out what it was until thirty seconds later, when I heard Professor Grimaud angrily yell at our priestess: 'Go away, you fool, I can handle it.' So figured, During those thirty seconds, the tall man should have taken off the mask on his face."

"I see. Does he sound like... a feeling of fear or anything like that?" "On the contrary, it should be said that he seems to be relieved a lot after hearing the voice." Mr. Secretary replied. "As for you, ma'am, you just walked away obediently and never—" "yes." Hadley said pleasantly: "Even if someone isn't jokingly putting on a mask here? Even when you already know it's for your employer?" "For more than twenty years I have obeyed Charles Grimaud," said the woman in a very respectful tone. The word "employer" clearly stung her, and her bloodshot eyes were unafraid. "I'm sure there's no situation he can't handle. Obey! Of course I obey. What's more, you don't understand the situation at all, and you didn't ask me anything!" Her contemptuous expression turned into a half-smile, "Just psychologically From a scientific point of view—Charles must have said this—it is interesting that you didn't ask Stu why he obeyed at all, and you were not at all surprised by his reaction, because, you think he was frightened at the time. Desperate. Well, I want to thank you for the roundabout compliment. Go ahead."

Rimbaud felt as if he was watching a great swordsman swing his lithe wrist; Hadley seemed to feel the same, though he was facing the secretary. "Mr. Mills, do you remember when the tall man entered the room?" "Nine fifty. I have a clock on my typing desk." "Then when did you hear the gunshot?" "It was exactly ten past ten." "During this time, you have been staring at the door?" "Yes, I'm pretty sure." He cleared his throat. "Although the Priestess thought me timid, I was the first person to reach the door after the gunfire. The door was still locked from the inside—you all saw it there, because you came in a short time."

"Did you hear any voice or movement or anything during the twenty minutes they were together?" "At one point, I remember hearing a certain sound. If I had to describe it, it was a bit like the sound of a collision. However, after all, there was some distance..." When his eyes met Hadley's cold eyes unexpectedly, he He began to shake his body again, opened his eyes wide, and sweated again. "Of course, I'm well aware that the process I'm talking about is utterly ridiculous, but I have to say it. Gentlemen, I swear..." He raised his bulging fist suddenly, and his voice rose an octave. "Okay, Shi Du," the woman said softly, "I can confirm your statement." Hadley's demeanor is friendly, but insistent on getting to the bottom of it. "That's enough, I think. Mr. Mills, I have one last question. Can you describe the visitor's appearance in detail... soon, ma'am!" His voice broke off abruptly, and then quickly Quickly added, "Take it easy. Please, Mr. Mills, eh?" "I'm pretty sure he was wearing a long black coat and a hat of brown material. The trousers were dark and the shoes I didn't see. Hair, when he took off the hat..." Mills paused. . "That's really weird...I'm not kidding, but I just remembered it. His hair was dark at first, and it shone like oil paint—I hope you get what I mean—feeling The whole head almost looks like it's made of papier-mache." Hadley, who had been pacing back and forth around the oil painting, turned to look at Mills upon hearing this, and Mills couldn't help screaming. "Gentlemen," he said aloud, "you made me tell what I saw. That's what I saw, really." "Go on." Hadley's tone contained no trace of emotion. "His hands were in the pockets of his coat; I believe he wore gloves, though I'm not quite sure. He was tall, at least three or four inches taller than Professor Grimaud, and of average frame...er , from the point of view of human anatomy. These are as concrete a description as I can give." "Does he look like that Pierre Forey?" "Uh... a resemblance. Or rather, a resemblance in some respects, but not in other respects. I should put it this way: This man is taller than Pierre Frey, but not as thin as he is." ; but I can't guarantee it for sure." During the question and answer period between the two, Rimbaud kept looking at Dr. Phil from the corner of his eyes.The Doctor, with his spatula cap tucked under his arm, and in a loose overcoat, walked slowly about the room, his cane clattering annoyingly on the carpet.He bent over to inspect everything, and he didn't want to stop until his glasses slipped off his nose.He gazed at the paintings, inspected the bookcases, and examined the emerald buffalo statue on the table.Then he stooped again, gasping for air, to inspect the fireplace, and then got up to study the coat of arms on the face of the shield above.He seemed particularly fond of the last thing—and Rimbaud had noticed that the Doctor looked at Mrs. Dumo from time to time.She seemed to be quite afraid of him. There was a fear hidden in her bright little eyes. Whenever the doctor finished a certain investigation, her eyeballs would turn quickly.This woman must know the inside story.She clasped her hands tightly on her knees, trying to ignore him, but her eyes followed him unconsciously.In this way, the news between the two seemed to be engaged in an invisible struggle. "There are a few other questions I'd like to ask, Mr. Mills," said Hadley, "particularly about the incident at the Warwick's Tavern and the painting. But we can wait until we've sorted out some of the matter at hand. You Would you please go downstairs and ask Miss Grimaud and Mr. Mangan to come up? And if Mr. Dreyman has come back, ask him to come up too... Please. Wait a minute! Uh, Phil, Do you have a question for me?" Dr. Phil shook his head with a very kind face.But Rimbaud saw the woman's knuckles tighten. "Does your friend have to walk this way?" she cried suddenly, her voice so high-pitched that the consonant W became a V. "That's really uncomfortable, that..." Hadley stared at her. "I understand, ma'am. But, unfortunately, that's the way he walks." "Who are you, then? You just blatantly entered my house—" "I'd better explain. I'm Chief Criminal at Scotland Yard. This is Mr. Rimbaud. As for that one, you may have heard his name just now. He's Dr. Phil." "Yes, yes, I think so." She nodded, and then slapped the table next to her, "Wow, wow! Even if this is the case, can you forget your due manners? You must Gotta open the windows and let the room freeze to the point of freezing? Can we at least build a fire to keep warm?" "I don't agree, you know," said Dr. Phil. "Have to check what's burned. There must have been a fire here." "Oh, why are you so stupid? What are you still doing sitting here? You know who did it! It's that fellow Foyle, you all know that, don't you, don't you? Why don't you go after him? Tell you he did it, what are you still doing here?" Ernestine Dumer said wearily, her face intense, looking like a dazed, malevolent gypsy woman who had seen Foyle fall from the scaffold. "You know Foyle?" Hadley asked suddenly. "No, no, I never saw him—I mean, before today. But Charles told me something about him." "What's up?" "Hmph, bah! This Foyle is a deranged lunatic. Charles doesn't know him at all, but this man is out of his mind to think that Charles despises supernatural magic tricks. He has a brother, and he..." She made a face . "It's more or less the same, you understand? Well, Charles told me this man was coming tonight at nine-thirty; if he did show up, I'd have to let him in. But at nine-thirty I'm going to get Charles's While drinking the coffee cup, he also said with a smile, if this man hadn’t come at this time, then he wouldn’t have come tonight. He said, ‘A man full of hatred is a quick-moving fright’.” She sat back Sitting on the chair, he straightened his chest again. "It turned out he was wrong. The doorbell rang at nine forty-five. I answered the door. There was a man standing on the steps outside the door with a card in his hand and said: 'Take this to Professor Grimaud, please. And ask him if he can see me?"' Hadley leaned over the edge of the sofa, watching her intently. "Madam, where's the mask? Don't you think it's weird?" "I didn't see any mask at all! Didn't you notice that there was only one light in the corridor downstairs? Fortunately, there was a street light behind him, and I could still see his silhouette clearly. He spoke in a courteous manner , with a business card in my hand, I didn't know how to react..." "Wait a minute, please. If you heard his voice again, would you recognize it?" She shrugged her shoulders, as if shaking something heavy off her back. "Yes! But I don't know... Yes, I can! But, you know that voice doesn't sound right, masked - I understand now. Ah, why are men so..." She leaned back in her chair , Eyes filled with tears for no reason. "I don't see how such a thing can happen! Really, I didn't lie to you! Someone hurt you, well, you waited for the opportunity and finally killed him. Then your friend will appear in court for you, Swear you weren't there. You don't wear a mask like old Drayman on Guy Fawkes night , the British celebrate by burning the portrait of this person) and children wearing colorful masks to celebrate; nor like that terrible man who handed you a business card, went upstairs to kill people, and then escaped through the window , disappeared without a trace. This is just like the fairy tales I heard when I was a child..." After she finished speaking, her cynical posture suddenly collapsed, and she became hysterical. "Oh, my God! Charles, my poor Charles!" Hadley didn't speak, just waited and watched.Mrs. Dumo quickly regained her senses, and instantly regained her calm emotions, as if she was not at a loss.Her freely changing temper was as mysterious and inexplicable as that oil painting.The outbursts came and went like a torrential downpour, making her breath heavy but also relaxing and re-alerting.The noise of her nails scraping on the arm of the chair pierced everyone's ears. "The man said," said Hadley, still pressing on the man, "'Please take this to Professor Grimaud and ask him if he can see me?' Excellent. So then, as far as we know, Grimaud Miss and Mr Mangan are downstairs in the sitting-room by the front door, is that so?" She looked at him strangely. "You ask very strangely. I don't understand your intention. Yes... Yes, they are probably in the living room. I didn't pay special attention." "Is the living room door open or closed?" "I don't know. But I guess it should be off, otherwise the light in the lobby corridor should be brighter." "Please go on." "Oh, after the man handed me the card, I was going to say: 'Come in, I'll let you know', and then it hit me. I can't face him alone - is he crazy? I just want to hurry up Go upstairs and ask Charles to come down to him. So I say, 'Wait, I'll report', and slam the door shut in his face, snapping the latch quickly, in case he Come inside. I hurried back to the light and looked at the business card in my hand. It’s still with me, I never had a chance to hand it out. Also, it’s blank.” "Blank?" "There was no lettering or figure on the card. I went upstairs to show it to Charles, and to ask him to come downstairs to see the visitor. Our Little Mills has told you all what happened next. I was about to knock, But I heard the sound of someone going upstairs behind me. As soon as I turned around, I saw a tall and slender figure approaching gradually. But I can swear, I can swear to the cross, I really locked the door downstairs .Well, I’m not actually afraid of him, no! I also asked him what he meant by going upstairs by himself.” "At this point, you know, I still couldn't see the mask on his face because he turned his back on the light in the stairwell, which lit the end of the corridor and Charles' door. He said back to me in French, 'Mrs. , you can't stop me like that', then he rolled down his collar and put his hat in his pocket. I opened the door because I knew he didn't have the guts to face Charles. At this moment, Charles also came from The door opened inside. At this moment, I saw the mask with my own eyes. It was peach red like human skin. Then he jumped into the room with a startling movement. And it's locked." She paused, as if the most thrilling part had been said, and now she could breathe freely again. "and then?" Her voice became flat and monotonous again. "As Charles ordered, I walked away without making a fuss or arguing. But I didn't move too far. I took a few steps down the stairs, stayed where I was still looking at the door, and then stayed at my post with Stew. Same, didn't leave half a step away. It was really... horrible. You know, I am no longer young. I was there when the gunshots rang out. When you were about to go upstairs, I was still where I was. But I couldn't hold it anymore, and I knew exactly what happened. I felt dizzy, so I hurried back to my room at the corner of the building before I passed out. And then... fell down. Women are often like this." Pale and trembling lips touched her smooth face, forming a weak smile. "Shi Du is right, no one left that room. God bless, we are telling the truth. No matter how that monster left, it definitely didn't go through the door... Now, please, let me Go and see Charles at that sanatorium?"