Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen The Mysterious Apartment

On this overcast and gray winter Sunday morning, London was like a deserted city, with not a single ghost in the streets for miles.And Calgary Straw Street, the street Hadley was turning into, looked more like a sleepy foreign land. As Dr. Fell suffers, Cagrystra Street is clogged with dirty small shops and tenements.The street is in a remote part of Lambert-Condo--a long, narrow avenue that itself serves as the local shopping center, leading north to the lonely Guildford Street, full of rough-looking vulgar The barracks, and to the south it stretches to Theobald Road, which is the main traffic artery.Go along Gilford Street to the west side of the end of the street, and you will find the entrance of Caglio Straw Street, where you can see the butcher shop and stationery shop on both sides of the house.From the outside, Caglistro Street looks like a small alley. If you don’t notice the road sign when you walk here, you may pass it.After passing these two storefronts, the sight in front of me suddenly opened up unexpectedly, and then there was a straight street of two hundred yards long, reaching the brick wall at the end.

The eerie and weirdness of the hidden side streets, or the fact that the whole row of houses seems to be playing tricks on you, is the feeling that Rimbaud always follows when he is cruising in London.It's like when you step out the door of your house and wonder: Could the street outside have changed overnight?Is it possible that some strangers will no longer stand outside the door and grin at you in the morning?He stood side by side with Hadley and Dr. Phil at the street entrance, and the three of them stared ahead with wide eyes.Crowded shops line the street for only a short stretch.They were all fitted with wood-panelled windows, or overlaid with a layer of embossed steel wire, like fortresses against enemies, which seemed to try to keep customers out; even the gilded shops Signboards all have a taste of contempt for everyone.The windows of these storefronts are all neat and orderly, from the shining white jewelry store on the far right to the gloomy tobacco shop nearest.The dry and shriveled stuff in that tobacco shop seemed rougher than traditional old tobacco, huddled in one corner and blocked by a news board with headlines you couldn't even remember where Seen.Beyond the shop, there are two ordinary dark red brick three-story buildings. The window frames are white and yellow. The curtains of each window have been pulled down, and some of the curtains on the first floor can still be seen. Lovely lace.The common feature of these buildings is that they are smoked into a uniform dark tone; if not for the iron railings extending from the basement to the gate of each house, they would almost seem to be connected as one.Above the house soared black chimneys into a gray cloudy sky.The bleak cold wind suddenly poured into the alley from a high place, and the discarded newspapers rustled around the street lamps; as for the snow on the ground, it had already melted into gray-black residue mud.

"Brace yourself!" Dr. Fell muttered, as he staggered forward, each step creating a resonant echo. "Now, before anyone notices, let's get this thing over with. Tell me where Foyle was attacked. Wait! Where does he live, by the way?" Hadley pointed to the adjacent tobacconist. "It's just above this place, just at the entrance to the street, as I said. We can go up and look--although Summers has already looked and found nothing. Let's find the center of the street now." The location..." He took the lead, taking measurements a yard at a time. "The sidewalk and the street are about to be cleared here, it should be a hundred and fifty feet; then there is a continuous snow field, and there is a distance of another one hundred and fifty feet... This is it," he paused. , and then slowly turned around, "Halfway, the middle of the street. You can see how wide this road is. Walk in the middle, and there is a distance of thirty feet from the houses on both sides. If he We're walking down the sidewalk, and we might postulate a wild theory that some guy leans out of a window or a passageway outside a basement and attaches a gun to the end of a pole or something, and—"

"Crap!" "Well, count me as nonsense; but, can we think of other possibilities?" Hadley waved his briefcase vigorously, and asked in a fierce tone, "As you said yourself, we are standing here everything in front of me is so clear and clear that it is impossible to conjure anything! I know there will be no tricks, but what happened here? The witnesses saw nothing. If If something really appeared, they would definitely see it. Hey! Stay where you are, and don’t move your face in the original direction.” He walked forward a few steps again, then stopped at a certain point and turned back to count the steps; then , he walked to the sidewalk on the right. "The location of this location is where the screams were heard by both Brewin and Xiute. You walk along the middle of the street, and I walk ahead of you; I turn around quickly... That's it, how far I am from you now Far?"

Rimbaud, who was the last among the three, saw the huge figure of Dr. Phil standing alone in the rectangular empty street. "It's a short distance. Those two men," said the Doctor, putting his hat back on, "couldn't have been more than thirty feet in front of Foyle! Hadley, the situation was even stranger than I imagined. Standing in the middle of the open snowy field, the other two immediately turned around when they heard the gunshot... um..." "Exactly. Next, let's consider the lighting. You play the part of Foyle. On your right--a little ahead, just past the gate number eighteen--you can see A street lamp. Not far behind you, also on the right, can you see the window of the jewelry store? There is a light on, not very bright, but at least lit. Now, please tell me Is it possible that those two men who stood where I am now couldn't figure out if they saw anyone approaching Foyle?"

His voice rose, and the echo of sarcasm echoed in the street.The waste newspapers on the ground were caught by the vortex blown by the cold wind, so they fled in a hurry in a sudden start; the cold wind poured into the chimney and caused a whistling sound, just like the sound of blowing into a tunnel.The black cloak on Dr. Phil's body fluttered with the wind, and the black ribbon tied on the glasses also danced wildly with the wind. "Jewelry store—" the doctor muttered, his eyes staring straight ahead. "Jewelry store! There's a light in the store...was anyone in there at the time?"

"No. Weiser had thought about it a long time ago, and he went to check it out. It was a display light. There were iron bars going through the windows and gates, just like you see now. Nobody could get in or out. .Besides, that location is too far from Foyle." Dr. Fell cocked his neck from side to side, craning his neck like an owl to peer through the protected window.The display in the window includes cheap rings and watches on velvet plates, a whole row of candlesticks, and in the center is a large German-made clock with a curved cover. The sun-patterned clock face has hands with pairs of eyes. , this moment is about to point to eleven o'clock.Dr. Fell stared into the moving eyes in an uncomfortable way, as if looking too cheerfully at the place where a man died, and also cast a shadow over Calgary Straw Street. A horrible smell.Then he staggered back to the middle of the street.

"However," he said, sounding very serious, as if making a point, "it was on the right side of the street, and Foyle was shot from the rear left. If we assume--obviously we should assume that ——The murderer approached from the left; or at least, the pistol that flew over ran out from the left... I don’t know! Even if the murderer can walk on the snow and leave no footprints, we at least Always assume where he came from." "He came from here," said a voice suddenly. The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, accompanied by the steep cold wind swirling around them.At this moment, Rimbaud was so frightened that he almost lost his soul. This shock was even more thrilling than what he experienced in the "Chateham Prison Case" last time.In a trance, a scene of something flying in the air appeared in front of his eyes, and the whispers of the invisible murderer that passed to the ears of the two witnesses last night seemed to sound in his ears. He seemed to be choked by something—— But when he turned around, the whole situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, because he saw the reason.A stubby young man with a ruddy face and a hat pulled down on his head (which gave a somewhat sinister look) was coming down the stairs from the open door of No. 18.The young man saluted Hadley with a broad smile.

"He came from here, sir. I'm Sommers, sir, do you remember? You want me to find out where the dead Frenchman was going when he was killed? Also, ask the landlady if she There is no strange tenant we are looking for... Well, the strange tenant has been found, and it should not be difficult to find him. He appeared from here. Please forgive me for interrupting your conversation." Hadley shouted back with warm words, trying to cover up the shock caused by Sommers' sudden utterance.His eyes looked up and down the doorway, and there was a guy standing there, looking a little hesitant.Summers followed Hadley's focus of gaze.

"Oh, no, sir, he's not a lodger here," he said, with another smile on his lips, "this is Mr. Orloch, the staff of the music hall, you know, he came last night to confirm that the French He's a guy. He came to help me this morning." The man came out of the shadows and descended the stairs.Although he was wearing a heavy overcoat, it could be seen that he was quite thin, but he was thin and strong.He walked lightly and steadily, with thumb power, and he was obviously a master of high-altitude swings or tightrope walking.His attitude is friendly and unhurried, and he leans back slightly when speaking, as if he needs more space for gestures.In appearance, his swarthy complexion was reminiscent of an Italian, which was intensified by the bushy, waxed-tipped mustache under his hooked nose.From the corner of his mouth under his black mustache, he held a big curved pipe, as if he was enjoying the pleasure of puffing; his eyes with crow's feet exuded a humorous blue splendor; when he introduced himself, he raised his hand to The dainty tawny hat was pushed back.The guy was an Irishman with an Italian stage name who spoke like an American, but he emphasized himself that he was actually like a Canadian.

"Oloch is my last name, that's right," he said, "full name is John L. Sullivan Oloch. Does anyone know what my middle name means? You know, it's the..." He Straightening his back, he slammed his right hand into the air, "The greatest name in the world? I don't know. My old man didn't know when he named me. The only thing I know is the word L. I hope you don't mind I'll cut in. You see, I know old Lunie..." He broke off abruptly, just grinning and twisting his black mustache. "Gentlemen, I see, you are all looking at my big cigarette holder. Everyone who meets me does. It's all thanks to the song of the first life, you know, the owner of the theater thinks that the It was a great idea for me to dress up like that guy in the lyrics. Oh wow! You see..." He pulled his pipe from his mouth, "It really works, see? I'm going to ask you to forgive me again Talkative. I'm really sorry for old Lunie—" His face clouded. "I see," said Hadley, "thank you for helping out, it saves me a trip to the theater to talk to you—" "Anyway, I'm idle, and I'm idle," Orloch said dejectedly, and stretched out his left hand from the sleeve of his coat. It turned out that the wrist was wrapped in a plaster bandage. "If I had been a little alert, I would have followed Luni well last night." , the result will not be like this! I shouldn't bother you anymore..." "That's right. Sir, if you can move over here," Sommers' stern voice intervened, "I have something very important to show you and report to you. The landlady who lives downstairs is dressing, She will tell you about the lodger. There is no doubt that he is what you want. But first I want you to see his room." "What's in his room?" "Uh, sir, there's blood in it, that's the first thing," Sommers replied, "And, there's a very strange rope..." Seeing the reaction on Hadley's face, he had a satisfied expression on his face. expression, "You must be very interested in that rope and other things. If this guy is not the kind of thief who specializes in breaking in, he is a liar or some kind of bastard, which can be seen from his layout. He Special locks were put on the gate so Miss Harker (that's the landlady) couldn't get in. But I used my own key - it's perfectly legal, sir, the fellow has moved. Harker The young lady said that he had rented this room for a while, but he only came to live there once or twice..." "Go up and see," Hadley said. After everyone entered, Sommers closed the door, led them through the dark corridor, and climbed up the three-story staircase in sequence.The layout of this house is quite narrow, and there is only one suite on each floor from the front to the back.The access door to the top floor—next to a ladder leading to the roof—was open, and above the original keyhole, the special lock could be seen faintly shining.Sommers led everyone into a dark passage with three small doors side by side. "First, sir," he said, pointing to the first door on the left, "here's a bathroom. I've got to put a shilling in the electronic meter, so there's a light. . . . OK!" He flips the switch.Through the light, they saw that the so-called bathroom was actually a converted dirty storage room.In order to create the texture of tiles on the walls, smooth wallpaper is deliberately pasted to make it look like real ones, while old oilcloth is laid on the floor.The tub with the boiler looked top-heavy and badly rusted; there was a wavy mirror hanging over the washstand, and a basin and jug on the floor below. "Sir, if you look at it, you will know that this place has been cleaned up a lot." Sunmus said, "However, you can still see that although all the water in the bathtub has been poured out, there are still traces of red. Left over, that's where he washed his hands. Also, on the upper edge behind the laundry basket, look..." Summers dramatically tilted the laundry basket to one side, reached into the dirty back, and produced a still damp face towel, dark red where the patch had been sewn. "He wiped the blood off with a face towel," Summers said, nodding. "Good job." Hadley said calmly, picked up the face towel to play with, then glanced at Dr. Fell, then smiled, and finally put the towel down. "Now, let's look at the other rooms. I'm very curious about the rope." The tenant's personal tastes, such as the sickly yellow electric lights and the cold chemical smell that permeated the room, were fully displayed in these rooms.The smell was so strong that even Oloki's strong tobacco aroma couldn't cover it up.No matter how you look at this place, it looks like a hiding place.In the rather large living room, heavy curtains were lowered to cover the entire window.A powerful lightbulb illuminated a broad table upon which stood some small iron or metal implement, all with rounded ends and serrated tails (Hadley whistling: "Lockpicks, alas ?”), as well as various disassembled locks, and a bundle of notes.In addition, there was a perfectly functioning microscope with a box of slides beside it.There is also a chemical workbench in the room, and six labeled test tubes are placed in the rack on the table; one of the four walls is full of books, and a small iron box is placed in one corner of the room. Cast safe.After seeing such a thing, Hadley couldn't help sighing. "If he's a thief," said the criminal officer, "then he's the most modern and scientific thief I've ever seen. I don't know anyone in England who is familiar with the practice. Phil, you've been working on this stuff for a long time." Son, do you see any signs of it?" "Sir, there's a big hole in the top of the cast iron safe," Sommers interjected. "If he's using a torch, then this is the acetylene (a colorless gas that burns with a bright flame) that I've seen. , used in carbide gas lamps or torches) cutting technique, the most perfect masterpiece. He-" "He didn't use a blowpipe," said Hadley, "but a much neater method, and he used a Krupp (family of German steel and arms manufacturers) concoction. My chemistry wasn't Good but I think the ingredients should be powdered aluminum and ferrous oxide. You mix the two powders together and put them on top of the safe and then you add... What do you add? Oh, magnesium powder, stir them Together. It doesn't explode, it just naturally generates thousands of degrees of heat and melts a big hole through the metal... See that metal tube on the table? We have one in our black museum too. It's a kind of Monitor, some people call it a fisheye lens, it has a refractive index of more than half a sphere like a fish's eye. You put it into a hole in the wall, and you can see clearly what happens in the next room Chu, Phil, am I right?" "Yes, yes," said the Doctor, but his eyes were blank, as if none of these things mattered. "I hope you can understand what it represents, this mystery, this... Where is that rope? I am very interested in that rope." "In the other room, sir, the back room," said Summers, "it's got a rather ornate upholstery, it's sort of Oriental . . . you know what I mean." He might be referring to the oriental couch, or even the Islamic bedroom.The interior design imitates the rich and mysterious colors of the Turkish taste, including colorful couches, hanging cloths, tassel braids, trinkets, and swords and weapons; you can only marvel at such things in such a place.Hadley pulled back the curtains, revealing the winter light of Bloomsbury, adding ominously to its unreality.They looked across the backs of the houses on Guildford Street, down to the tiled back yards, and down a winding alley leading to the back entrance of the Children's Hospital.Hadley was not indulging in this, he picked up the rope that was coiled on the couch. The rope is very thin but quite strong, with knots tied every two feet, just an ordinary rope.What is more puzzling is that there is a hook at the end of one end of the rope.This thing looks like a black rubber cup, slightly larger than a normal coffee cup, and the mouth of the cup is as hard and tight as a car tire. "Whoa!" said Dr. Fell. "Look, this is—" Hadley nodded and said: "I've heard of this thing, but never seen it before, and I thought it didn't exist. Look, it's a suction cup, you've probably seen something like that in a kid's toy. Like a Spring toy gun, when playing, shoot a small stick on the board, and the end of the short stick is covered with a soft rubber mini suction cup. When it hits the board, it will squeeze out the air and then attach to the board .” "You mean," said Rimbaud, "that the thief can attach this thing to the wall with such force that it will hold the rope and help him climb?" Hadley still had doubts. "It seems so. Of course, I'm not..." "But how was he going to loosen it from the wall? Could it be that he just ran away and left it hanging there?" "He needs an accomplice, of course. If you squeeze the edge of the bottom and let the air run in, it breaks the adhesion. But even if you do that, I still don't understand how this villain, how to use it comes-" Orloch's eyes were confused, he looked at the rope for a while, and then he cleared his throat.He took out the pipe from his mouth and cleared his throat again, hoping to attract everyone's attention. "Listen, gentlemen," he said in a hoarse but trustworthy voice, "I don't mean to interrupt, but I think these are indeed means of escape." Hadley turned around abruptly: "How? Do you know anything about these things?" "I can bet you," Oloch nodded, waving the pipe in his hand into the air to strengthen his tone, "This thing belongs to Luni Foyle. Please pass it to me .Huh, it's kind of weird, I can't swear it's Lunie's. The joint is kind of weird, but..." Holding the rope, he gently slid his fingers on it until he touched the middle of the rope before stopping.He blinked and nodded with satisfaction.Then his fingers turned quickly, and suddenly, like a magician casting a spell, he split his hands and the rope actually split in two. "Aha, that's right. I believe, this is indeed the rope that Rooney used to juggle. See? The rope is tapped, one side is a spiral shape, and the other is a straight shape, and you can mix it like a bartender. , twist them all together, you can't see the joint; you can check the rope all you want, and it won't come apart anyway. Get it? During the performance, some audience or someone will come on stage to help tie it The magician, tie him tightly in the cupboard. The joints of the ropes will be bound in the magician's hands. Watchers outside the cupboard pull the ropes from both sides to ensure that the magician cannot escape. However, the magician pulls on his knees first Straightening the rope, and then biting the joints with your teeth, all these actions were completed in the cabinet in an instant. It’s incredible! It’s amazing! This is the greatest performance in the world!” O’Luoqi said hoarsely.He looked at everyone friendly, put the pipe back into his mouth, and took a few deep puffs. "Yeah, I'd bet you anything, it's definitely Rooney's rope." "I don't doubt that much," said Hadley, "but does that suction cup do anything?" Orloch leaned back again and made an exaggerated gesture. "Well, of course, Rooney himself is very mysterious and refuses to reveal. Besides, during the magic show, I can't stay at the scene all the time, and I won't pay attention to how other props are operated... Wait a minute, you guys Don't get me wrong! Rooney does have some brushes, I mean it. What I just said is just a well-known trick, well, he's working on a special kind of... y'all heard The Indian rope illusion? The dervish throws a rope up into the air, and the rope stands straight in midair, and the little boy climbs up the rope—and then, huh, the boy disappears. Hear that?" Under his exaggerated gestures, layers of dense smoke swirled upwards and dispersed. "But I've also heard," Dr. Fell said, declining to comment, "that no one ever witnessed this illusion." "Of course, indeed, that's right!" Oloch replied impatiently, "That's why Rooney racked his brains to find out how to perform. God knows if he succeeded. I think the role of the suction cup It's holding the rope in place while it's thrown up. But don't ask me how it works." "And then someone's going to climb up the rope," Hadley said in a very heavy voice, "up and disappear?" "Uh, it's some 'kid'—" Orloch skipped the subject, "but I can tell you again, that thing in your hands cannot support the weight of a grown man. Well, gentlemen, I Just hang myself out of the window to prove it to you, but I don’t want to break my neck because of it; what’s more, my injured wrist has not yet recovered.” "No, I think we've got enough evidence," Hadley said. "Sommers, you're saying this guy's already gone? Any personal information?" Sommers nodded triumphantly. "Sir, there shouldn't be any difficulty in finding him. He calls himself 'Jeromey Burnaby,' which is probably a false name; and, besides, he has a very obvious feature—he has a club foot. "