Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Witnesses

"Partner Ilya," Daniel said suddenly, "I also think this is an obvious conclusion." Bailey was a little surprised.He glanced at the robot companion and asked, "Where is it obvious?" "The lady said herself that she was the only person who had seen, or could possibly see, her husband, and the social customs of Solari's world proved her claim to be true. Agent Grue, of course, would think that a Solari The idea that a man in Larry's world is only possible for his wife to see him is not only reasonable, it is even true. There is only one man who can meet the dead man, so there is only one man who could be the murderer. You should remember, Agent Gu Rue said there's only one man who can do it and no one else can. What do you think?"

"He also said there was no way that guy could do it," Bailey said. "He may mean that no murder weapon was found at the murder scene. Perhaps, Mrs. Dahlman can explain this doubt." Daniel pointed at Gnadia with the indifference of a robot.In the image, Gnadia lowered her eyes and her mouth was tightly pursed into a line. God, Bailey thought, we forgot this lady was still there. Maybe it was Daniel's usual unemotional way of handling things that annoyed him, maybe, he was sick of being too emotional.In short, he was so irritated that he forgot Gnadia's existence.Whatever it was, Bailey didn't think any further.

He said, "Okay, Gnadia, that's it for today. I don't know what to say to break contact, so goodbye." Gnadia said softly: "Most of us say 'the end of watching', but I prefer to say 'goodbye'. I'm sorry I seem to make you a little bit embarrassed, Ilya, but I'm used to being regarded as a murderer , so you don't have to." "Did you do this, Gnadia?" Daniel asked finally. "No!" she said angrily. "Goodbye, then." Gnadia disappeared with a scowling face.For a moment, Belle could still feel the spark of anger in her peculiar blue eyes.

Although she said that she was used to being regarded as a murderer, this was obviously not the case.The anger she showed revealed more about her than the words she said, Bayley thought, wondering how many more lies she lied about. Now, Bailey was alone with Daniel, no one else. "Don't think I'm an idiot," Bailey said. "I never thought you were a fool, partner Elijah." "Then tell me, why do you say that no murder weapon was found at the murder scene? At present, we have no evidence, and we have not heard any arguments to make us draw this conclusion."

"Yes, but I still have some information that you don't know." "Sure enough. What information?" "Agent Grue said they would send a report of their own investigation. I've seen the report. It came this morning." "Why didn't you show me?" "I think it's more rewarding to do your own investigation, especially at the beginning, you haven't been affected by other people's prejudices, it's better to investigate only based on your ideas. As for me, I think my logical analysis will be affected by these conclusions Therefore, when you were discussing just now, I did not express my opinion."

logic!Bailey immediately thought of a conversation he had had with a robotics expert.Robots are logical, but illogical, the expert said. "You ended up joining the discussion," he said. "Yes, partner Ilya, because at that time I already had evidence to clarify Grue's doubts." "Oh? What evidence?" "I judge by Mrs. Dahlmann's behaviour." "Be clear, Daniel." "If the lady is guilty and we want to prove her innocence, then the most effective way to do that is to convince the detectives investigating the case that she did not commit a crime."

"so?" "So, as long as she can take advantage of the other person's weakness, she can make him misjudge. She probably will, isn't she?" "It's so arbitrary, it has no basis at all." "Not at all." Daniel replied calmly, "I think you have also noticed that her attention is all on you." "That's because I was talking to her," Bailey said. "She focused on you from the very beginning, and before she knew you were leading the conversation, she only paid attention to you alone. In fact, according to logical inference, she should think that it was me The Aurora came to control everything, but she still only pays attention to you."

"What do you deduce from that?" "That means she's pinning her hopes on you. You're an Earthling." "so what?" "She has a study of the earth. Her demeanor tells it over and over again. I asked her to shield her from daylight when I first watched the image, and she knew exactly what I was talking about, without any surprise or confusion. If she didn't know the earth, She will be very surprised and don't understand what I mean." "and then?" "Since she has research on the earth, she may discover the shortcomings of the earth people, which is a very logical inference. She must know the taboos about nudity on earth; she also knows that nudity will make an earth person impressed .”

"She—she explained seeing images and meeting people—" "She explained it. But do you fully believe her story? She's been naked twice—" "You concluded," said Bailey, "that she was trying to seduce me?" "Seduce you and make you lose your professional judgment. This is what I think. Although I don't have human emotional reactions, but according to the data set on my instruction line, this lady's body is very charming, beyond the reach of ordinary people And, besides, from your reaction, I take it that you also find her attractive, and that you like her appearance. I even conclude that Mrs. Dahlman is trying to get you to favor her by this behavior."

"Hey," Bailey said a little unhappily, "don't worry about what she wants to do to me, you have to understand that I am a law enforcement officer who can distinguish right from wrong and have professional ethics. Now, let's look at the report first." Bailey read the report in silence.After reading it, he turned the report over and read it again. "This report provides a new lead," he said, "that robot." Daniel nodded. "She didn't mention him," said Baley carefully. "Because you asked the wrong question," Daniel said. "You asked her if she was the only one who found her husband? You asked her if there was anyone else at the scene of the murder? A robot is not a 'human'."

Bailey nodded and thought to himself: If I was a suspect myself, I would not say, "There is no third party except this table." He said, "I thought, I should ask her if there were any robots present." (How the hell is he going to interrogate on such a strange planet?) Then he asked, "Is it legal for a robot to testify?" "What's the meaning?" "In the world of Solari, is the robot a witness? Can he testify?" "Why do you doubt?" "A robot is not a man, Daniel. He cannot be a legitimate witness on Earth." "But in Solari World, a qualified robot can testify and be admitted." Bailey did not continue to discuss with Daniel whether the robot could testify.He rested his chin, thinking about the robot. Gnadia, he thought, had been terrified when she found her husband's body, and had summoned the robots.By the time the robot arrived, she had passed out. The robot reported that she and her dead husband were found at the scene, but there was one more thing: another robot.This robot was there originally, it didn't come here by order, and it wasn't a robot at home. All the robots had never seen him, and they didn't know what he was doing. However, nothing was found from the robot either.He can no longer function.When he was discovered, his movements were very disordered, apparently something went wrong with his positronic brain, and he was unable to respond properly in language and mechanical movements.A roboticist inspected him thoroughly and declared him completely useless. The only part of the robot's behavior that is reasonably normal is that it repeats over and over again: "You're going to kill me—you're going to kill me—you're going to—" No murder weapon was found that might blow the brains out. Bailey said suddenly, "I want to eat something, Daniel. Then, we'll meet Grue again. I mean, meet his image." Hannes Grue was eating when the connection was established.He ate slowly, carefully selecting bites from each of the many dishes, while searching the assortment with eager eyes for something new. Bailey thought that he may have lived for hundreds of years, and eating may have become a very boring thing for him. Grue said: "Gentlemen, hello. I think you have read my report." He lowered his head and took a small amount of good food and put it into his mouth, his bald head gleaming. "Yes, and we had a very interesting conversation with Mrs. Dahlman," answered Bailey. "Okay, okay," said Grue. "What conclusions do you have?" "The conclusion," Bailey said, "is that she is innocent." Guruer suddenly raised his eyes: "Really?" Bailey nodded. Grue said: "But she is the only one who can see the dead, and the only one who can touch..." "I'm well aware of that," Belley interrupted. "But no matter how unbreakable the customs of Solari's world, this is still uncertain. May I explain?" "Of course." Grue continued to eat his dinner. "There are three elements that make up a murder," Bailey said, "and they are equally important. They are motive, method and opportunity. When we charge a person as a suspect, all three elements must be met at the same time. I agree with you, Dahlman Madame has the chance. As for the motive, I know nothing." Grue shrugged: "We don't know what her motives are." He stole another glance at Daniel. "Well, the suspect has no known motive, and she could be a pathological killer. Let's leave that aside and move on. She was in the same room as the victim, and for some reason she was going to kill him. She was wielding a stick or What heavy object threatened to hit him. He froze for a moment before realizing that his wife was really going to hurt him. He screamed in panic: "You are going to kill me!" And she did kill him. She swung the stick at He, he turned and ran, but it was too late, the club hit him in the back of the head. I want to ask by the way, has any doctor examined the body?" "Yes, or no. In fact, those robots hired a doctor to take care of Mrs. Dahlman, and he took a look at the corpse." "It was not mentioned in the report." "This matter has nothing to do with this case. He is already dead. When the doctor looked at the video of the deceased, the deceased had been stripped and washed, and was about to be cremated in the usual way." "In other words, the robots destroy the evidence," Bailey said angrily.Then, he asked again, "You just said that the doctor watched the images of the dead? He didn't see the dead with his own eyes?" "Oh, it's disgusting to think that!" said Grue. "The doctor is far away. I believe he must have viewed the dead from every necessary angle, and zoomed in. Although the doctor had to do so in some unavoidable circumstances, No one, but I can't think of any reason why he should see a dead body. Medicine is a dirty job, and yet doctors do and don't do it." "Well, the question is, did this doctor report the cause of Mr. Dahlmann's death?" "I see what you mean. Do you think the dead man was too wounded to be caused by a woman?" "Women are not as strong as men, sir, and Mrs. Dahlmann is a very small woman." "But she's nimble and strong, Detective Bailey. Give her a proper weapon, with gravity and leverage, and she'll do it. Besides, what amazing things can't a woman in a rage do?" Bailey shrugged: "You mentioned the murder weapon, but where is the murder weapon?" Grue moved and reached for an empty glass.A robot enters the field of vision and pours a colorless liquid, possibly water, into the cup. Grue picked up the cup, then put it down, as if he didn't want to drink again."As stated in the report, we did not find the murder weapon," he said. "I know what's in the report, but there are a few things I need to be sure of. Did you find the murder weapon?" "I've looked for it thoroughly." "You found it yourself?" "My robot did, but I watched and supervised the whole process. We didn't find anything that could be the murder weapon." "So you don't have enough evidence against Mrs. Dahlmann, do you?" "Yes," said Grueer calmly, "that's what we don't know about the case, and it's one of the reasons we didn't do anything about Mrs. Dahlmann. And that's why I tell you, too, that the only possible criminal It is impossible for a man to sin. Perhaps I should say that, on the face of it, it is impossible for her to sin." "On the surface?" "Well, she must have managed to dispose of the murder weapon somehow. So far we haven't been able to figure out how she did it." Bailey said coldly: "Have you considered all possible methods?" "I think so." "I doubt her very much. Think about it, someone smashed another person's head with a murder weapon, but the murder weapon cannot be found at the murder scene. The only possibility is that the murder weapon was taken away. This person cannot It was Rachael Dalman, and since he was dead, Gnadia Dalman was the likely one." "It must be," said Grue. "How did she take her away? When the robot arrived there, she was already passed out on the ground. Anyway, she was at the scene. How long did it take from the incident to the arrival of the first robot?" "It depends on when the murder happened. We don't know the exact time." Grue said uncomfortably. "I've read the reports, sir. One of the robots said it heard a commotion and what it believed to be Dr. Dahlmann's call. Apparently the robot was closest to the scene. Five minutes later the signal for the robot flashed, And it took less than a minute for the robots to be on the scene at the signal." Bailey recalled his own experience, how when the robots were summoned, they appeared in such a hurry, "Within five minutes or even ten minutes, Gnadia How far can she go with the murder weapon? How did she get back in time and pretend to be unconscious?" "She may have destroyed the evidence with the processor." "The processor was also checked, and the gamma-ray activity was low, according to the report. The machine did not process anything larger in twenty-four hours." "I know," said Grue, "I was just giving an example that a murder weapon might be wiped out in this way." "That's right," said Bailey, "but there might be another, simpler explanation. I suppose the droids in Dahlmann's house must have been checked, and there wasn't a single one missing?" "um, yes." "Every robot is functioning normally?" "right." "So is it possible that some robot took the murder weapon and it didn't even know it was the murder weapon?" "None of the robots took anything from the scene, they didn't touch anything." "That's not true. They removed the body for cremation." "Well, yes, of course, but that's nothing, of course they do." "Jesus!" Baley murmured, trying to keep his composure. "Okay, now let's assume there's one more person on the scene—" "Impossible!" Grue interrupted him, "No one can witness Dr. Dahlmann himself." "I'm talking hypothetical!" Belley raised his voice. "It never occurred to the robots that someone would trespass in there, so I don't think any of them would have thought to search the house immediately, inside or outside. It wasn't mentioned in the report either." "We didn't search the house before looking for the murder weapon, and by the time we wanted to do it, it would have been a long time since the murder." "Have you found any traces of ground vehicles or flying vehicles on the site?" "No." "Then, assuming, unlike what you say, that someone actually gets to see Dr. Dahlmann in person, he would probably kill Dr. Dahlmann just like that and leave the scene calmly. Nobody would stop him, nor would he People will see him. He can get away with it on the basis that everyone is certain that no one will ever see Dr. Dahlman." "No one can see Dr. Dahlmann himself," Grue said again with certainty. "There's one other thing, and that's it," Bayley said. "There's a robot involved in this case, and he's here." Daniel, who had been silent all this time, interjected, "That robot is not at the scene. If he had been there, the murder would not have happened." Bailey suddenly turned his head to look at Daniel, and Grue, who raised his glass again and was about to drink water, put down his glass and stared at him. "Am I wrong?" Daniel asked. "Yes," said Grueur, "according to the first law, a robot will prevent a human being from harming another human being." "Okay," said Belley, "I agree, but he must be around. Because he was there when the other robots arrived. Assuming he was in the next room, when the murderer approached Dahlman, Dahlman Man yelled: "You're going to kill me!" The robot in his home didn't hear this sentence—they only heard the screams, and they didn't receive a summons, so they didn't come. But this strange robot heard Arrived. On the basis of the first law, he arrived at the scene of the murder without summons, but it was too late, and he probably saw the murderer in action." "He must have witnessed the last scene," Grue agreed. "That's why he malfunctioned. Seeing human beings victimized and not stopping it is a violation of the first law. The circumstances at the time of the incident have more or less affected his positronic brain." Injury, in fact, he was seriously injured as a result of this case." Grue turned the water glass in his hand back and forth while looking at his fingertips. "So the robot was a witness. Did you question him?" Bailey said. "It's no use asking any more, he's out of order. He'll just say: 'You're going to kill me!' So far, I agree with your speculations about the case. Dahlmann's last words must have been in the robot positron. When his brain was destroyed, it entered his memory deeply, so he still remembered that sentence after being destroyed." "But I heard that Solari World is the best at making robots. Can't you fix that robot? Can't you fix his wiring?" "No way." Grue said decisively. "Where is that robot now?" "Abandoned." Grue said. Belle raised his eyebrows: "This case is really weird. There is no motive, no method, no witnesses, no murder weapon, and the only evidence that can be investigated has been destroyed. You think there is only one suspect, and everyone thinks she is guilty. At least, Everyone is sure that no one but her could have committed a crime, and that's obviously your opinion too. Then I can't help but ask, what do you want me to do?" Grue frowned: "You don't seem very happy, Mr. Bailey." He suddenly turned to Daniel, "Mr. Oliva?" "Yes, Agent Grue." "Please go and see if all the windows in the house are closed or the curtains are drawn. The Bayley detective's mood may be affected by the open space." Guruer's words made Bailey stunned for a while. He really wanted to overthrow Guruer's words and tell Daniel to ignore him.But at this time, Bailey found that Guruer's voice was slightly uneasy, and there was a look of pleading in his eyes. Bailey leaned back in his chair and let Daniel leave the room. As soon as Daniel left, Guruer's face seemed to be unmasked, showing a scared expression.He said: "I didn't expect to dismiss him so easily. I have been thinking about how to talk to you alone. I didn't expect the Aurora people to leave under such a simple request, but I can't think of any other way for a while." "It's just me here now," Bailey said. "I can't speak freely in front of him," Grue said. "He's an Aurora, and his presence is the price we have to pay for having you." The Solari leaned forward to Bale , "This case is not just a simple murder case, and I am not concerned about who is the real murderer. There are many parties in Solari World, and they are some secret organizations..." Bailey looked at him: "I'm sure I can't help you with this kind of thing." "Of course you can help. Now here's what you need to understand: Dr. Dahlmann is a traditionalist. He believes in the old ways, the good ways. But there's a new wave among us that wants reform, and Dahlmann is being They wiped out." "Eliminated by Mrs. Dahlmann?" "It must have been wiped out by her hand. It doesn't matter. What matters is that there is an organization behind her." "Are you sure? Do you have proof?" "It's not very clear at the moment. I can't do anything about it. Originally Rachael Dahlman was investigating. He said he had solid evidence and I believed him. I knew him very well, so I knew he was both Not stupid or naive. Unfortunately, he told me very little. Before reporting the matter to the relevant units, he naturally wanted to complete the investigation first, and he must have investigated it soon, otherwise they would not dare to openly say Kill him violently. Nevertheless, Dahlman once told me that there is a crisis for all mankind." Bailey found himself jolted.For a moment he thought he was listening to Minnie, only that he was speaking on a larger scale. "Why do you think I can help?" he asked. "Because you are from Earth," Guruer said, "Do you understand? We Solaris have no experience in this kind of thing. It can also be said that we don't know much about human beings. Too little." Grue showed an uneasy look, and continued: "Actually, I don't like to say such things, Mr. Bailey. My colleagues laughed at me and even made me a little angry, but my feeling is very clear. I think you people on Earth You must know people better than we do, and a detective knows people better than the average person, am I right?" Bailey nodded noncommittally, but said nothing. "In a way, we were lucky that this murder happened," Grueh said. "I've been afraid to tell people about the investigation that Dahlman did because I wasn't sure who was involved in this conspiracy. And Dahlman doesn't want to reveal the details before the investigation is clear. Even if Dahlman finds a result in the investigation, what will be done next? How to deal with this kind of human being with bad intentions? I really don't know. From the beginning, I felt that We need a human from Earth. When I heard about your performance in dealing with the murder case in the space city on Earth, I knew that we needed you. I will first contact the people who have worked with you on Aurora World, and then Contacted the Earth government through them, but I couldn't convince my colleagues to let me do it. Then, the murder happened. The shock of it made them compromise. At this point, they would agree to anything." Gurue hesitated for a while, and said: "It is not an easy task to ask the people on Earth to help, but I must do it. Remember, no matter what this murder case is, all human beings are in crisis, even if Earth is no exception." Then Earth has a double crisis, Bale thought.Grue's eager tone seemed very sincere. But, then again, if a murder were to be thankful, it would give Grue an excuse to do what he always wanted to do. Do, then, is it really lucky?Bailey had a new idea, but said nothing in his face, eyes, or even voice. "Sir, I have been sent to assist you, and I will do my best," he said. Grue finally picked up his undrinked glass of water: "Okay," he said, looking at Bale over the rim, "but please don't mention it to that Aurora man. Whatever the truth , the people of Aurora may be involved. Their interest in this case is unreasonably strong. For example, they insist that Mr. Oliva be your partner. Aurora is very powerful, so we have to agree. Let Oliva Mr. Liva is working on this case together because you have worked together before. But their real intention may be that they want to have a reliable person on the scene. What do you think?" He stared at Bale, and slowly sipped the glass of water. Baley rubbed his fingers against the chin of his long face and said thoughtfully, "Now, if..." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly jumped up and almost rushed towards Grue.He realized in time that what he was facing was just an image, so he suppressed the impulse. At this moment, Guruer in front of him was frantically looking at the drink, holding his throat with both hands, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's so hot... so hot..." The glass slipped from his hand, and the liquid inside spilled out.Grue twisted his face and fell to the ground in pain.