Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

Mason found a diner two blocks from Fujis' apartment and called Derek from a phone booth. "Hi, Paul," he said. "What's new?" Derek said excitedly, "That's a lot, Paley. Listen, you were followed as soon as you left the office. Della tried to notify you, but was too late. Two plainclothes men followed your taxi. You go Where? Is it an important place?" "I guessed it," Mason said. "I'm going to see a witness. She's been offering to give her some money and she won't testify." "And then?" Derek asked. "When she made it the third time, I was pretty tempted by that proposal," Mason said. "I walked around the room to see if there were any hidden microphones."

"Have it?" "No, they're too smart. The mics are hard to spot, but if you're in a rush, there's a little bit of plaster on the ground." "Do you think this witness is a trap?" "No," Mason said slowly. "I don't think she's a trap. I think she's a witness, but it's possible that she's working for the police for profit. If they knew I was encouraging witnesses to leave the country, they'd hold back and wait until she was out and come back with drums and drums. This kind of thing is very bad for me and my client, and her testimony is naturally the key to this case."

"You didn't fall for it, did you?" "No way." "I got some pictures," Derek said. "Do you have a spare gun?" "Why? Yes." "Is it that you don't care too much?" "I've got some cheap revolvers my detective got from some ambitious gun teens. What for?" "How far can you throw the gun?" Mason asked. "I don't know, maybe a hundred feet." "Have you tried it?" "of course not." Mason said, "Meet me with Della at the restaurant I go to for lunch. Della knows the place. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I ate some." "I'll get a cab over and you eat something before you get ready to go. I think Della has eaten." "I doubt it," Derek said. "She's been trying to tell you about the stalking. Where are they? Paley. Did you get rid of them?" "I'd be surprised if I knew," Mason said. "Maybe not yet, but I looked around and I didn't see anyone. When I rang the girl's doorbell, a man walked into the apartment, and he was probably one of them." "What does that mean?" Derek asked. "Is there anything important?"

"I don't know," Mason said. "I don't have time to pay attention to what others are doing, I have to act as soon as possible." "I have big news from Avisor," Derek said. "What's up?" "His plane went back and forth twice last night - once before it rained and once after it rained." "Are you sure?" Mason asked. "Yes. One of my detectives got a job as a gardener's assistant at the Avisher house. It was a permanent job, and he lived there and got the information we wanted." "Can you call him?" Mason asked.

"No, I can't call him, but he will call for instructions." Mason said, "I've got an idea. You take your people and pick up Della to the restaurant and we'll meet there." He stepped out and stood in the aisle of the restaurant, but saw no sign of his actions. undue concern. Mason hailed a cab to the restaurant and had a sandwich, coffee, and pie before Derek arrived. "Is Della with you?" Mason asked. "Yeah, sitting in the car now." "Has she eaten?" "She ate a sandwich and said she's not hungry now." "Did you bring a gun?"

"Bring it." Mason said, "Let's get some five-battery flashlights. I want to see how far I can throw the gun." "Where are you going?" Derek asked. "To where Anders dropped the gun." Derek looked at Mason in horror. "I'm afraid it's dangerous." "why?" "It's not good to be told in court!" "It's not good for love letters to be spoken in court, but people write them anyway," Mason said. "Please," Derek said. "It's up to you. Have you been followed all the way here?"

"I don't think so, but not sure," Mason said. "I've been paying attention, and I haven't found anyone." On the way to the car, Derek said: "The detective at the Aweser house was lucky. The gardener is a Scot. He has special treatment in there. He has his own house. He is not an ordinary servant." "Where does your detective live?" Mason asked. "A room in the basement." "Have you found anything?" "A lot. The gardener doesn't go to the servants' orgies, but he's supposed to. He's as silent as a rock—unless it's someone like my Inspector McGregor, who happens to be from a certain part of Scotland. "

They go to the side of the road.When Mason saw Della sitting in Derek's car, he smiled and said, "Hi, Della." Della said, "I'm worried about you. I'm afraid you'll fall into a trap." Mason said, "I probably will. What did your men find, Paul." Derek got in the car, Mason sat next to him, and Della sat comfortably in the back seat. "Where are you going?" Derek asked. "Go where Anders dropped the gun," Mason said. "You can watch if anyone is following you, Paul." "Okay," Derek said. "Are we going to warn them, or just let them know we know?"

Mason thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "No need, just act nonchalantly, pretend to be looking for an address, and take the opportunity to turn around." Derek said: "My feeling is that if they haven't given up, they won't be tailing us all the time. A good stalker will leave when the person being stalked starts to detour, no matter what the excuse is, unless he is caught. It doesn't matter if the suspect saw him or not." Mason said, "You get away with it as much as you can, but make it look like you don't care. How about the Aweser's gardener?"

Derek drove up the road and said, "The gardener spoke up. It seems that after the servants left, Aweser drove back, and after a while, he flew out and came back with a woman. My detective thinks the gardener knew that Who the woman is, but he won't say. My detective can only ask him in a circumstantial way, you should know." "I understand," Mason said. "Tell me what you know, and we'll fill in the blanks." "After Avisor brought this woman back, he went straight into the room he used as a darkroom. He seemed to be a photography fan." "Is Mrs. Wenworth still with him?" asked Mason. "It doesn't matter who it is, it needs to be a woman." "Then what happened?" "Then it started to rain, and Aweser went to start the plane's engines, and about fifteen minutes later, they took off. He was gone almost all night and came back close to early morning, alone." Mason said, "Mrs. Wenworth was supposed to be in San Diego then." "I see," Derek said. "The plane could have easily sent her there. I asked the local people in San Diego to investigate whether his plane went there." "Where is Avisor's yacht?" "Apparently a marina moored outside." "How's the speed of the boat?" "The cruising speed is three miles faster than Wenworth's boat, and it can be about five miles faster at the most." "Where does Mrs. Wenworth live in San Diego?" "I lived on a yacht with some friends, and I had a room in a hotel. You know what happens on a yacht. There are all kinds of equipment, but it's not convenient to take a shower, and you can't get services such as beauty salons. Many women will be there when the yacht is in the city. Get a room in a hotel, stay there part of the time, and sometimes share a room with everyone.” Mason said, "Did you find out where Janita was that night?" "The people on the yacht said she went to the hotel room; the hotel people didn't know anything. Even if they knew, they wouldn't tell." "Do you think she'll have a way of proving she's at the hotel if necessary?" "Maybe," Derek said. "I doubt anyone can prove she wasn't there... Well, this looks like a good place, Paley. We could go around the block, pull up to a side road, put our headlights on a door or two, Then drive to another block and stop." "Okay, let's do it," Mason said. Derek turned a corner, went around two blocks, and turned another corner. "Gee, there's headlights behind us," Della said. "Don't look around," Mason said. "Paul could see them in the rearview mirror." Derek turned a corner, stopped the car, flashed his headlights on a door plate, and drove forward slowly. The car behind them also turned right, coming directly toward them.The people in the car didn't seem to be interested in the cars parked on the side of the road. "Don't turn your head away," Mason instructed in a low voice. "Just a quick glance away." As soon as he finished speaking, the car that had slowed down just now accelerated again and passed them. Derek watched the taillights of the car head straight up the street and said, "I don't think I'll ever see them again." "Do you think they know we know?" "I have no doubts about that. Regardless, I feel like they've given up." "I thought so too," Mason said. "When's the next report from the Avisor family detective?" "An hour more." Mason said, "Come on, I'm going to do a gun experiment, and then I'm going to be near Avisor's house when McGregor calls. Will he call the office, Paul?" "yes." "It's best to call your office and tell them not to hang up when they get a call from McGregor that we want to speak to him," Mason said. "Okay, Paley." Derek started the car again and drove along the side road for about fifteen blocks, turned and crossed an intersection of avenues, and continued until he saw another parallel avenue. "Try this one," Mason said. They stopped on the boulevard, turned left, and accelerated.Della looked in the rearview mirror and said, "Nobody turned in the street we came from, Paul." Derek said, "I told you, they gave up. Their instructions were to follow us undetected, and stop if they were caught." Mason said, "Paul, drive fast. Stop by the first store you see that might sell flashlights. I'm going to buy some five-battery flashlights." "I have a good flashlight," Derek said. "Only three batteries, but..." "We can use it," Mason said. "But also buy a few larger ones." Five minutes later, Derek found a supermarket where he could buy a flashlight and call back to the office.Fifteen minutes later, they had opened the hot dog place Phil had pointed out to Mason. "Go another half mile, then turn around and come back, and drive a bit slower as we pass that spot, we can keep an eye out for guards," Mason said. Derek kept driving, then made a U-turn, slowed down and came back, saying, "It looks like there's no one watching." "Okay, stop," Mason said. "Pull over to the side of the road and turn off the engine so we can listen and see if anyone is around." Derek turned off the engine, turned off the lights, and the three of them sat and listened for a few minutes. Finally, Mason said, "Well, Paul, if you don't go into a tiger's den, you won't catch a tiger's cub. You get out, Della, and you get out too. When there are no cars passing by, I'm going to throw the gun with my right hand and the flashlight with my left hand. The light catches the thrown gun. You also each take a flashlight and let the light follow the trajectory of the thrown gun." "What's this for?" Derek asked. "Do you want to prove that the chance of it hitting a high-voltage power pole is only one in a thousand?" Mason said, "No, a jury won't believe that. There's always one man out of twelve who thinks that Almighty God will make criminals pay for themselves, and the idea in his head will turn him into a mania." Molecules, think acquittal is defying providence. Whatever, I just need to know how far I can throw the gun." "Once that car goes by, that's a good time to do it," Derek said. "Okay," Mason said, looking at the road ahead and behind him. "Let's get ready!" He picked up the gun Derek had given him, gripped the barrel, and flexed his arm like a baseball pitcher. A car sped past and disappeared at the end of the road, its tires scraping sharply on the road. Mason said, "Okay, here we go, one...two...three." The gun was thrown into the air, and Mason's flashlight found it, followed, missed once, but found it again.Della's flashlight shone steadily on it.Derek's light faltered at first, and later caught the moving gun as well. Together they watched the gun go over the fence and land on the ground. Derek said, "That's a long shot, Paley. I can make you a West Coast champion—if you can get away from the murders for a while." Mason said, "Let's go over and see where it lands, and keep the direction, Paul. Let's go!" "How does a lady climb barbed wire in front of two gentlemen?" Della said. "You don't have to climb," Mason said. "Ladies are always carried over." Della laughed. Her shoes were slippery, so she held Mason's arm all the way down the steep roadside slope, over the muddy construction site, and to the fence.Mason and Derek hoisted her over the fence, held her own against the upper wire, stepped across, and continued on the wet mud. "Don't use flashlights if you don't have to, and try to block out as much light as possible if you have to," Mason said. After they walked quietly for a few seconds, Derek said, "The gun is up ahead, Paley." Mason stopped and looked around. "It's farther than I thought," he said. "It's a good throw," Derek said. "I can not do it." "You're not someone who works outside, you don't raise cattle for a living, you don't ride horses, you don't harness cattle...it has to be ten feet further than the concrete pipe," Mason said. Derek said, "What do you mean by that?" "I think there are only two places here that haven't been searched," Mason said. "where?" "One of them is the gutter," Mason said. "There was water in the ditch, and the police ignored it at first. The journalists found the pistol there. Another place the police didn't search was the drain of these cement pipes, and there was water at the bottom of the pipe." Derek said: "It's a coincidence that the gun happened to be thrown into the pipe. Besides, the police have already found the gun used in the murder. Why are they looking for a gun?" "Because I think there is," Mason said. "I guess you're the only one who thinks, would you like to see the bottom of these concrete steel pipes?" "yes." "What do you want to see?" "I don't know," Mason said. "I think the light from the flashlight can show if there's a gun or something on the bottom." Derek said, "There are only three outfalls within his probable reach, and the road is fifty yards higher than here, and the lines have been in a straight line all the way." Mason said, "Let's take a look!" Derek bent over to inspect one pipe, Mason walked to another, and Della walked back. Mason found that the top of the cement pipe was about four feet above the ground. He bent down, put the flashlight into the pipe as far as possible, and shone back and forth inside. The light hit the rough white tube wall and was reflected and diffused, making it difficult for Mason's sight to focus on the dark target area under the water surface. After searching for a minute with the flashlight, Mason suddenly stepped back and called out in a low voice, "Paul, come and see, and call Della." Mason stood by the cement pipe with a sarcastic smile on his lips.He could hear Derek and Della coming in the dark. "Look here," he said. Della had to stand on tiptoe and rest her elbow on the edge of the pipe wall to see.Mason and Derek hunched over, and Mason turned on the flashlight. After a while, Derek said, "I see it in the water, man, it's a gun." Della said nothing.Mason looked up to see her eyes full of confusion and concern. "It looks like my feet are destined to get wet," Mason said. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trousers, and said, "Paul, I won't get up unless you pull me up. We need to make sure you can pull me up." Derek stooped inside the concrete pipe. "I can pull his leg," Della said. "You probably have to," Derek said. Mason said, "I don't want to hurt my foot, put me down as slowly as you can, Paul." Mason gripped Derek's right wrist with both hands.Clinging to the edge of the hose with his left hand and leg, Derek lowered Mason into the murky water. "Ouch," Mason exclaimed. "The water is so cold." After a while, he let go of Derek's hand and slid down a few inches, almost sitting down.He reached into the water and groped. "Found it," he said. He picked up a gun, then curled his right index finger around the trigger guard and rocked it back and forth in the water to wash the dirt off the gun. He took out the flashlight from his coat pocket, pointed at the gun and said, "This is a .38 Colt, but the body is very special. It's a .44. Paul, pull me up." Derek said, "Unless you threw it in this afternoon, it's the most coincidental thing I've ever heard." "No coincidence," Mason said, putting the gun in one coat pocket and the flashlight in the other. "These pipes are as far from the road as a strong man can throw a gun. They are not very far apart, at least these three are within the throwing radius. These pipes are four and five to five feet in diameter, converted to square feet. , you'd find it's not unreasonable to assume the gun fell into one of the tubes, so to speak, with a one in five chance." Derek clung to the nozzle with his left side and lowered his right arm.Mason grabbed his wrist and was pulled up the nozzle with the help of Derek and Della before climbing out on his own. "Anyone who jumps in there won't be able to get out without the help of a friend," Mason said. They gathered around the pipes, examining the guns. "What are you going to do with it?" Derek asked. "That's the problem," Mason said, opening the magazine and saying, "There are six rounds and none of them fired." "Don't you want to call the police?" Della asked. "Should they say I put the gun down?" "Do you think it's Anders' gun?" Derek asked. "Of course, the gun is the kind of gun he carries, and the distance is the distance he throws it." "Then, why is there a murderous pistol over there?" Mason shrugged. Della seemed to want to say something, but didn't say it. Derek said, "Paley, there's nothing you can do, if you hand over this gun, they'll say you threw it in. If you put it back in the tube, you can't get the police to come and find it again. .They found the gun they wanted, and even if someone else found the gun, they would say it was put in after the murder." Mason took a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped it carefully around the gun, and dried it. A car on the road suddenly changed lanes, and the tires screeched.Mason looked thoughtfully at the road and said, "What the hell do you think scared the driver?" Della said calmly, "I think it's because there was a car parked there with its lights out. I caught a glimpse of that car as its lights swept past." "Stop on the road?" Mason asked. "No, parked on the side of the road, but the driver obviously noticed it at a very close distance, so he was taken aback." Derek said, "Let's go, Paley." "Wait a minute," Mason said. "I'll take down the number of the gun." He put the gun in his handkerchief and flashlighted the number and read it to Della, who wrote it down. "We can all testify that this gun was found," Derek said. Mason shook his head and said, "That's useless, Huo Kang will still think that I let it go. Whatever, I'm very satisfied with myself anyway." "What are you going to do with this thing?" "Throw it back in the tube," Mason said. He gripped the trigger guard, holding his hand high over the barrel. Suddenly, a bright white light covered them, casting their figures in the dark night behind them.A voice in the darkness said, "Stop! Stay where you are." Mason didn't move. The commanding voice said, "Jim, get the gun before he drops it." Several dark figures moved behind the light beams and surrounded the cement pipe.The beams from individual flashlights intersected and focused on Mason's still figure.A man ran into the cone of light, and the glare illuminated his profile, making the gold coat of arms of his coat sparkle. "Hold on!" he warned Mason and them. He took the gun from Mason's hand. Derek said, "What's going on here?" Della turned, shielding her eyes from the glare.Inspector Huo Kang walked into the aperture and said, "You are under arrest." Mason said, "What charge?" "Lower the searchlights." Huo Kang ordered. The beams of the searchlights were directed downward so that the glare would not be directly in their eyes. "A private reconciliation." Huo Kang said. "What are you doing?" Mason asked. "Arranging evidence." "We didn't lay out evidence," Mason said. "We found the gun in the water pipe." "Oh, I see." Huo Kang said. Mason said, "I told you, do what you want, don't say I didn't warn you." "You are not qualified to warn anyone," Hawkham said. Mason shrugged. "What's the other one?" Hokage said to Derek. "It's the gun we used for our experiments," Derek said. "Mason wondered how far he could throw the gun." "Hand it over!" Huo Kang ordered him. Derek hands over the gun. "You think you're smart, don't you, Mason," Hock asked. Mason glanced at Huo Kang's smug face, and said, "If you mean relative, the answer is 'yes'." Hawkham said, "Stop talking, Mason, and leave that to the judge." "I will," Mason assured him. "A string was tied to this gun for identification, and it was separated from the other gun and returned to the headquarters to be tagged and displayed," Hockang said. Mason leaned against the concrete pipe, dried his feet easily with a handkerchief, and put on socks and shoes. Huo Kang said: "We expected that you thought you had got rid of the follower, so you came here immediately. We expected it?" Mason said nothing. Derek said, "Look, all three of us can testify that the gun was in the water at the bottom of the pipe." "Of course it is," Hawkham said. "Who put it in? Mason." Mason tied his shoelaces, stretched, yawned, and said to Derek, "There's no use staying here, Paul." "I guess you didn't hear me, you're under arrest," Hawkham said. "I hear you," Mason said. "But those words mean nothing. If you've been monitoring the area, you've seen it happen, you've seen me go down the water pipe and get the gun out." "That's the gun you put in it," Hawkham said. "Is there any proof?" Mason asked. "I don't need any evidence. You were throwing the gun back down the pipe when we told you to stop." "Too bad you stopped me," Mason said nonchalantly. "If you want to use that as an excuse to accuse me." He turned away from Huo Kang and walked towards the road. "Come on guys, let's go." Huo Kang hesitated, and then said: "I let you go this time, Mason, but you can't go far." Mason held his head up and said, "I won't go far, Sergeant." Della and Derek looked at each other and followed Mason.Leading the way with flashlights, they marched silently across the slippery fields.A group of police officers stood motionless around the concrete pipe. "Carry her over the fence," Mason said to Derek. They carried Della over and crawled over themselves. Derek told Mason, "I don't approve of that, Paley. I think we should stay there because you never know what they're going to do." Mason said, "I don't care what they do. When is McGregor going to call from Avisor?" "About twenty minutes." "Find a phone booth!" Mason said. "Are you going to Avisor's?" Derek asked. "Yes," Mason said. "When McGregor called, you told him we wanted to talk to him. We drove over and he set up a meeting." After they drove in silence for a few minutes, Derek said, "How bad are we, Paley?" "We're going to be ugly in the papers, and you can trust Hawkham to do that," Mason said with a smile. "and then?" "There's nothing else to do," Mason said. "You mean they won't charge us with false evidence?" "We didn't set anything up, did we?" "We don't, but that doesn't stop them from trying to do something." Mason said, "Forget it!" Della said to Derek, "Don't you understand, Paul. The boss knows the cops will be there." Derek's eyes moved from the road to Mason. "Are you? Paley." "As we walked towards the port and got rid of the following vehicles, I had a feeling maybe Hawkham guessed we were coming here, but I'm not quite sure what he was going to do with us," Mason said. "Then why did you put your head in the lion's mouth?" Derek asked. "What else can you do to get the police to consider that there might be another gun there?" "Do you know where the gun is?" "I don't know, but I think the gun might be there." "Then I'm relieved, I thought they'd knock you out at first base," Derek said. "They are," Mason said with a low laugh. "So we're going to run to second base." "What if they throw the ball to second base?" "Then we'll steal third base," Mason said. Derek sighed and said, "An optimistic person like you is not qualified to play baseball." He concentrated on driving after he finished speaking. Mason looked at his watch from time to time, and finally he said, "How about this little coffee shop by the side of the road? Looks like there should be a phone." Derek slowed down, turned the car off the road, and drove on the neon-lit gravel. "There's a public phone here, just look at the sign," he said. Mason turned to Della in the back seat, "How about a bowl of hot soup?" "Okay," she said. "We're going to eat, and if you get a call from him, tell him to hang up and find out who's in the house," Mason said. "Okay," Derek said. They went into the restaurant, sat down at a table for four, and ordered hot soup and coffee, with Derek ordering an extra hamburger.Mason said with a smile: "We eat dinner on advanced installments." "I eat a lot," Derek said. "So prison food isn't for me." "They'll say you'll get used to it before long," Mason said cheerfully. "I know the first eight to ten years are the hardest." Derek had only eaten half of his hamburger, and Mason looked at his watch and said, "Paul, to be safe, you'd better call and keep in touch with the office." Derek nodded, pushed back his chair, and stepped into the phone booth.He stayed inside for about three minutes, then opened the door and waved to Mason. Mason walked over. "McRig's on the phone," Derek said. "The servant is out again, and the gardener is asleep. He says he can slip out and meet us at the door." "Do you know the way?" Mason asked. "Know." Mason said, "Okay, let's hit the road." "It took about twenty minutes to get there," Derek said into the phone. "You'd better wait over there." He hung up the phone, turned to Mason and said, "Of course, if something happens and my man gets caught, the good connection will be ruined. Then, in time, I will be able to find someone to replace him to work for us." The chances are less than one in a thousand." "I know," Mason said. "But I must take the risk. Fortunately I am an adventurous man." Derek said miserably, "You really are." Mason paid the bill.When they were on the road again, Derek said, "What the hell is your plan? It's not that I want to interfere, but if you expect the officer to be there, I'd like to know in advance, and my heart can't take too much load on this little surprise." "Don't worry," Mason said cheerfully. "I don't think the police will be following us tonight. The worst thing we can do is be arrested as burglars." "Perry!" Derek yelled. "You're not trying to break in, are you?" "If I could, I would," Mason said. "God, what are you going to do?" "We missed the single most important thing in the whole case," Mason said. "What's the meaning?" "No one heard the gunfire." "So what if no one heard? The man was shot, and his body clearly shows that to be true, and so is Phil's confession." "Have you ever thought about it? If the bullet was fired when Anders fell into the water, it must have been fired in a split second," Mason said. "That's what it is, isn't it?" "I don't think that, I don't think there was a shooting," Mason said. Derek hit the brakes so he could turn his face to look at Mason without crashing. "What don't you think?" he said in surprise. "I don't think there was a shooting at that time," Mason said. "So, Phil lied." "not necessarily." "What do you think happened?" Mason said, "I'll tell you after I've had a good breakout." Derek muttered, "I should have known." "You can't get farther than the gate," Mason said. "That's far enough," Derek said.After a while, I added another sentence: "Damn far away." Mason leaned back in the seat, his gaze was projected steadily on the satin-smooth road in front of the car through the windshield.Della in the backseat seemed to take her own thoughts to heart, looking at the back of Mason's head, shoulders, and jaw from time to time.Derek, who was driving carefully, slowed down significantly from time to time because of contemplation, and when he recovered, he moved the speed pointer up ten to fifteen miles. Mason didn't seem to notice the slow and fast speed of the car; Della wrapped herself in alert and humble silence. Derek turned right off the main road, drove a few miles, and turned left onto the winding mountain road, which circled the steep headland.On the left side of the road, you can see the flashing lights of the city and the highway dotted with car lights.On the right side of the road, you can occasionally glimpse the sea water reflecting the moonlight.When the car reaches the relatively flat road at the top of the headland, the sea water that can only be glimpsed becomes a magnificent ocean. Derek slowed the car down to less than twenty-five miles an hour.He said: "Near here, there is a fork on the right..." He stopped talking and turned his wheels sharply to the left.The car climbed up a short slope, and the black outlines of pointed houses and a long row of fences appeared in the night sky.After a while, a no-passing obstacle sign appeared in front of the headlights, and a closed iron gate lay across the road. Derek turned off the headlights, turned on the dome lights, and said, "Here we are." "Your people should be here?" Mason asked. "Good," Derek said. "He's here." A lighted cigarette reveals a small point of light in the darkness.After a while, a man in rough clothes and with a Scottish accent stepped forward and said, "You guys are a little late." "Is it safe?" Derek asked. "yes." Mason scrutinized the faces of the visitors, and turned off the little lights while Derek introduced him and Della. "What exactly do you want to know?" the man asked. Mason whispered, "I'm going in, McRig." There was a stiff, uncomfortable silence, and then McRig said, "It's going to be difficult, I'm afraid." "How hard is it?" Mason asked. "It's hard. Old Engels went to bed very early, but he always read for an hour or two before turning off the lights, and he didn't sleep deeply." "Where does he sleep?" "In the little house near the hangar." "Do you have the key to the gate?" Mason asked. "No, I'm just the gardener's assistant, living in a corner of the basement." "Are the doors from the basement to the rest of the house locked?" Mason asked. "I could get in. Of course, if I got caught, I would be fired. At that time, I had only two options. One was to produce documents showing that I was a private eye working on the case, or else I would be treated as a nightclub. The thief goes to jail." "Do you know how long they'll be gone?" "The servants don't come back until one or two in the middle of the night because the chauffeur is taking them into town to see a movie. God only knows when Avisor will show up." "Does he send the servants out every time he spends the night elsewhere?" "Not last night," McRig said. "He sent them away to get rid of them." Mason smiled and said, "Let's try." "You can't leave your car here," McRig said. "I can't get the car in there, you have to drive it back to the main road and park it." "I'll drive it away," Derek said. "Are you going to stay in the car?" Mason asked. Derek took a deep breath and said, "No, Paley, I want to be with you, I don't want to, but you might need moral support." Mason looked at Della questioningly.Della opened the car door, got out, and stood by the curb in reply. "We're here for you, Paul," she said. Mason said, "Look, Della, I don't know what's going to happen to us. It could be embarrassing, it could be dangerous." "I know." She said calmly, her tone indicating that there was no room for discussion. Derek backs up.Mason gently closed the car door and stood on the side of the road with Della. “要尽可能小声，保罗。”梅森说。 “没关系，”麦瑞格告诉他。“许多车曾在有月色的夜晚开到这里——也不是非常多，但足够让恩格斯习惯听到车子开到铁门前又倒转回去的声音。” 梅森突然向保罗打手势，然后走过去，站在车子左前方的窗边。“我又想了一下，保罗，”他说。“你最好留在车上，而且把戴拉带走。” 戴拉静静地摇摇头。 “为什么不走？”梅森问。 “你可能需要一个证人，”戴拉说。“我要和你在一起。” 梅森对德瑞克说：“回到大路上，向前开三百码，然后停车、熄灯，直到我来。如果一切顺利，我半小时就到，如果半小时没来，你就回市区去。” “如果我帮得上忙，”德瑞克说。“我希望……” “不，”梅森告诉他。“你回去。我不知道我会碰到什么事，但麦瑞格在这里，到了摊牌时他可以帮忙。你最好站在界外，而且要快上路，时间宝贵。” “好，三十分钟。”他说着，就把车开走了。 梅森转向麦瑞格说：“我们走吧。” “再下去二十码处，篱笆有个开口，我们从那里进去，”麦瑞格说。“我来领路。” 月光下，三个诡异的黑影沿着篱笆静悄悄地移动。麦瑞格领路通过缺口，在庭院中停下来聆听，然后小声说：“你要去哪里？” “到艾维瑟回来时要去的房间，”梅森说。“保罗告诉我，说那是一间暗房。” “那本来不是建成暗房，是后来才改装的。他有许多设备，做了不少业余摄影活动。” “我们走。”梅森说。 “你要我把你一路领到那里去吗？” "yes." 麦瑞格说：“尽可能不要发出声音。使用手电筒的时候，要用手遮住，只从指缝透出些许光线即可，因为恩格斯可能会看见草地上的光线。” "Okay," Mason said. "let's go." 他们穿过充满月光的庭院，进入地下室，麦瑞格领他们走过水泥地，来到楼梯下。楼梯顶端的门没有上锁，他们打开门走进后走廊，穿过厨房，又爬了一层楼梯，来到二楼走廊。麦瑞格领他们来到一个房间门前，说：“就是这个房间，别开任何灯。” “我们不会的。”梅森保证说。 麦瑞格问：“你希望我待在哪里？” “在一楼，”梅森说。“你可以警戒，也可以在必要时及时回到你的房间。如果有任何人开车通过大门，你就用力关上最靠近的一扇门，然后回到房间。要注意听动静，如果你听到任何骚动就跑过来。你要保持仆人的身分，假装已经入睡，但被骚动吵醒，而且要摆出忠于主人的样子，除非我给你信号。你看到信号时，就亮出身分，听我指挥。” “好，”麦瑞格小声地说。“我会关上厨房的门，如果你们注意听的话，在这里也可以听得见。” “我们会注意听的。”梅森说。 麦瑞格走回后走廊上。梅森转动门的把手，走进房间。 这个房间显然曾经是间小卧房，现在已经完全改装。窗户改成暗色，有一整排的开关，分别接安全灯、放大机、冲片罐和电动冲洗器。架子上放满了摄影器材。有一个和房间等长度的水槽，分成显影槽、放印槽和冲洗罐。有一个长架子上存放着有刻度的容器和各种化学药剂。 梅森轻声说：“我想我们可以开一盏灯，戴拉，这个房间是不透光的。” 他试了几个开关，最后找到一盏有防护罩的白色灯。 “你在找什么？”戴拉问。 梅森说：“我想，他们到这里来冲洗照片，当照片冲出来后，可能会再拿到放大机去放印。我们四面找找，看能找到什么。” 戴拉说：“这里有一整组的底片。” “那是如何排列的？”梅森问。“按日期还是按主题？” “按主题，”她说。“依字母顺序。” 梅森说：“这个房间太整齐，不像一间好的暗房。找一下废纸篓吧，戴拉。见鬼，这房间看来好像一个月没用过了，但是他们一定曾经在这里冲洗过照片。” 戴拉说：“你不会认为是艾维瑟杀了他吧？” "I don't know," Mason said. “我一直在怀疑菲尔那个女人，”她说。“你相信她的故事吗？” 梅森说：“没有什么特别的理由让我应该相信，她第一次来到办公室就撒谎——但是，戴拉，她是我们的客户。你无法防止客户说谎，但这不表示你可以不尽力替他们争取公平待遇。” “你认为她……” “她怎样？”梅森追问道。 “我不知道，”戴拉说。“算了，我们先在这里尽量找吧，等会儿再谈菲尔。” 梅森说：“我们还没开始就败下阵来了，岂有此理，我从没见过这么整齐的暗房。” “我们可以试着检查这堆底片。”她说。 “可以试试看，”梅森怀疑地附和。“但我不认为会有什么收获。” “那个看起来像玩具货车的大东西是什么？” “水平放大机，”梅森说。“有九寸的聚光透镜，用在三乘七以下的底片，那边轨道上的镜头有放大用的相纸。我们来寻找放大机的开关吧，戴拉。我想看看前一张底片被放得多大。” 梅森按了工作架附近的开关，首先打开冲片罐的红灯，然后开了白灯，第三次则把放大机的大型灯泡点亮了。 戴拉不由自主似地倒吸一口气。 用来放相纸的台子的白色表面上，有一个由放大机投射上去的影像。除了黑白颠倒之外，他们可以从影像中清楚看见有个由游艇天窗向下望进船舱内的影像。 一对男女正扭打成一团，男的半转过脸，似乎是突然要扭头向上看，女人的脸看不见。她的身体大部分被男人的身体遮住，她的手和脚在做挣扎动作时被拍摄下来，彷佛肢体霎时被冻僵在画面中似的。 梅森说：“就是这个。” "I do not understand." 梅森说：“温渥斯并非在和菲尔打架时被射杀的。她看到的不是枪击时的闪光，而是与摄影机快门同步发动的闪光灯的光亮。那种闪光灯会在相机快门按下的那一刻，同步发出瞬间强光。” "what do you mean……" “艾维瑟拍了照片，”梅森说。“你可以猜到，他是为谁拍的，拍照的目的是什么。” “所以没有人听到枪声，是吗？” "yes." “你先前就知道了吗？” “我只是猜想。”梅森说。“我要放一些显影剂，再放一张相纸进去，把这张底片印出来。我们……” 梅森看着戴拉。“你或许不知道，”他悄悄地说。“这是一项重罪。” “我当然知道，”她说。“你认为我在法律事务所是做什么的？” 梅森笑一笑，他抽出放大机中的底片匣，除去外框，把底片放进口袋里，再关掉灯说：“我们走。” 他们蹑手蹑脚经过走廊，走下楼梯，穿过厨房，来到地下室。 麦瑞格在楼梯边等他们。“艾维瑟刚刚开车进车库。”他小声地说。 “你能把史翠特小姐弄到庭园外吗？”梅森问。 “我不知道，”麦瑞格说。“如果有事情绊住艾维瑟，我就可以。如果他正好看着窗外，我们就完蛋了——你知道外面有月光。” 梅森从口袋中偷偷拿出底片，说：“皮包给我，戴拉。” 她把皮包给了梅森，梅森把底片放进皮包中的小记事本的扉页之间。“你可知道该如何处理这个？”他问。 “就是你在楼上说过要做的事吗？” “不错。你和德瑞克溜走，把它放到最大，我会在市区和你们会合。” “你要做什么？”她问。 “做个社交性的拜访，”梅森说。“我会回来的。” 梅森对麦瑞格点点头。 麦瑞格让他们走出地下室的门。梅森安静地绕着房子走，麦瑞格等着他的信号，好穿越庭院。 屋子前厅灯光大亮。梅森绕过转角，对麦瑞格打手势，然后走上台阶，伸手按门铃。经过片刻的沉寂后，梅森听到走道有快步走路的声音。他后退几步，望着被月光照亮的庭园。麦瑞格和戴拉正快速冲向篱笆的缺口。梅森瞥见两条飞逝的人影，然后又望向海洋的方向。车库尾端有个低矮的白色建筑物，灯光亮了又灭。又过了一会儿，他听到门在钢铁轨道上滑动的声音。 玄关的灯突然亮起，强光照着他。前门旁的小门打开了，梅森感觉到一双深沉的眼睛正在凝视他。有个平静而不友善的声音问道：“你是什么人？有什么事？” “我叫梅森，”律师回答。“我想和你谈一谈。” “你是佩利·梅森律师吗？” "yes." “你要和我谈什么事？” “关于潘·温渥斯的事情。” “我不想和你谈他。” 梅森说：“我认为你愿意。” “我不愿意，”对方的声音说。“这是私人产业，我不允许别人闯入。我给你三十秒钟走到大门，时间一到，我就打电话叫警察。” 玄关的灯熄了，不久屋子前厅的灯也熄了。梅森顶着月色站在门前。 "Fine," Mason said.他转身，走下阶梯，但是没有向右转到大门方向，反而左转，快步走向机棚。 他快走到机棚门前时，听见背后屋子内有关门的声音，还有在碎石路面上奔跑的脚步声。 梅森走进机棚，用手电筒观看内部，看到一架整洁的白色水陆两用飞机。机舱内坐着一个有橄榄色皮肤及深色眼眸的美女。 女子的声音叱责道：“你的手电筒使我睁不开眼睛，亲爱的。” 梅森跨进机舱说：“对不起，温渥斯太太。” 她听到梅森的声音后，僵硬地望着他，嘴唇嚅动着。此时舱门被用力拉开，艾维瑟的声音在梅森背后响起：“滚出去！” 梅森沉着地坐在椅子上。 艾维瑟说：“滚出去。” 杰妮塔打开机内灯，光线照亮了机舱，照到艾维瑟。他是个褐色肌肤、身材魁梧的年轻人，棕色的眼睛充满怒火，右手握着一把枪。 梅森说：“最好把枪放下，艾维瑟。你不认为我们的枪枝游戏已经够多了吗？” 艾维瑟说：“这是我的产业，我命令你出去。如果你不出去，我就像对待其他闯入者一样对待你。” “我建议你别这样做，”梅森说。“你的麻烦已经够大了。有一位目击者指证说，你恰好在枪击前爬上温渥斯的游艇。” 他向后靠回椅背上。 “那是谎言。”艾维瑟说。 Mason shrugged. 杰妮塔说：“辛尼，请别惹麻烦。” 过了一会儿，艾维瑟说：“你要什么？” “一份完整的声明，”梅森说。“承认你就是那个当温渥斯和菲尔在船舱里扭打时登上潘文号的人。” “我不在那里。”艾维瑟说。 梅森弓起眉毛说：“在那之后，你驾着这架飞机，飞到圣地牙哥。” “我去了又怎样？这是私人飞机，我爱去哪里就去哪里。” “我注意到了，是一架水陆两用的飞机，”梅森漫不经心似地说。“在飞往圣地牙哥的途中，你是不是刚巧飞越潘文号，于是向下望见亮着灯的船舱呢？” "What the hell are you talking about?" “只不过是问问题。”梅森说。 “别问了，那对你没好处。” 梅森很有谈兴似地说：“你知道吗，我对于游艇上的事件有一种奇怪的想法。你是一个业余的摄影爱好者，但更有趣的是，没人听到枪击案的枪声。” “那有什么奇怪？”艾维瑟挑衅似地问。“别艘船上的人正在寻欢作乐，就算他们听到什么噪音，也会当作是汽车或船的内燃机逆火的声音。” 梅森说：“我怀疑菲尔说的枪击火光可能只是闪光灯的光亮。温渥斯被照相后，立刻知道他落入陷阱了。他跑回后舱去穿衣服，而且把门紧紧关上，他可能认为是警察的突击检查。” 艾维瑟说：“我想，你正准备编出一些这类荒唐的故事，替你的客户媚依·菲尔摆脱谋杀嫌疑。” “菲尔是个年轻的投机分子。”温渥斯太太说。 “那只是我的一种想法而已。”梅森以抱歉的口吻说。 “那只是个没用的想法，”艾维瑟尖锐地说。“如果你在法庭上说出类似的暗示，我会告你诽谤。” “当然，”梅森继续饶舌下去。“你希望一旦温渥斯了解了那些事情的意义，就会跟失和的妻子联络，并且答应她对财产分配的条件。他知道照片对他很不利。” “你神经病。”艾维瑟说。 “你和温渥斯太太两人想要结婚，”梅森说。“但你有点操之过急。温渥斯不轻易让他太太离婚，因此你非常焦急，但又不想让自己的名字卷入丑闻中。” “我说过你是神经病。” 梅森平静地说下去。“我不认为问题只是在金钱上，它还可能牵涉到温渥斯的妒忌。他迷恋他的妻子，但是后者渐渐看不起他。”梅森转向温渥斯太太，微微欠身道：“只要看见温渥斯太太，任何人都能了解他的感受。” 艾维瑟说：“你不只神经病，还侮辱人。我发誓我绝对不再容忍。” 梅森说：“预审是在明天早上。我已取得治安法官的谅解，凡是我认为重要的证人，都将被传唤出庭。” “杰妮塔会去的。”艾维瑟说。 “据我了解，”梅森说着，从口袋中掏出摺叠的传票，递给艾维瑟。“你也要去，艾维瑟。” 艾维瑟把传票从梅森手中拍落到地板上，说：“不必看了。” 梅森耸耸肩说：“随你高兴，你自己明白出庭应讯是否对你较有利，或者你要因为缺席而引人猜疑，并使法官不得不采取手段强迫你出庭。” “真是无法无天，”艾维瑟大骂。“这是一个奸诈的刑案律师的把戏。” 温渥斯太太说：“请让我跟他说，辛尼。”然后转向梅森说：“你的目的何在？梅森先生。” “我要为我的客户讨个公道，”梅森说。“我希望你们出席预审，并且说出事实真相。” “你所谓的事实真相是指什么？” “指菲尔在船上时并没有枪击发生，只有照相和闪光灯。” “是谁照的呢？”温渥斯太太问。 艾维瑟说：“杰妮塔，别……” “辛尼，请让他说。”她打断艾维瑟的话。 梅森说：“是艾维瑟照的。” 温渥斯太太说：“艾维瑟先生拥有好几个重要职位，他是一家银行、一家信托公司和其他大公司的董事。他不能忍受名字和丑闻相连。” “照相不一定是丑闻。”梅森说。 “在这种情况下是。” “温渥斯手中握着你们的把柄，这也是他所害怕的丑闻吗？”梅森问。 温渥斯太太稳定的眼睛迎着他的目光，说：“是的。” “你坚持的原因何在？” 她以平静的口吻说：“为了给父母一些钱。辛尼愿意给……我本来可以从其他方面得到，但我正好和潘一样顽固。我父母住在墨西哥的大农场上，因政府没收土地，分给奴工，他们变得一文不名，潘理当给他们财务支援，但他威胁要把辛尼的名字卷进来，谋取不当的利益。我知道辛尼不能忍受舆论渲染，潘也知道，因此他威胁要控告辛尼离间感情。但我知道怎样对付他，只有一种办法，我要和他对抗，而且控制他，否则就永无宁日。” “艾维瑟呢？”梅森问温渥斯太太。“他对这件事的感觉如何？” “杰妮塔，请别把我拉进去，”艾维瑟说。“他是个诡计多端的律师，他正在设计陷害你。” “事实不会伤害我们。”她说，过了好一会儿，又补上一句：“现在不会。” 梅森问：“你先生被杀，你高兴吗？” “我不喜欢任何人被杀。” “你觉得很轻松吗？” 她迎着梅森的目光，说：“自然是的。当然，那令我很震惊。潘有不少优点，但也有更多缺点。他喜欢支配别人，喜欢把别人放在他的掌握和权力之下，他是一头野兽——特别是对女人而言。” 梅森说：“这是你的传票，艾维瑟。你不能说我没有给你公平竞争的机会。如果你刚好要去某处，那就把我丢在机场，我可以在那里搭车。”梅森微笑着加上一句：“我说丢，是比喻的用法。” 艾维瑟说：“见鬼，你怎么来就怎么回去。” 梅森说：“我的朋友走了，我原以为我要等待一整晚才能将这张传票送达。” 艾维瑟怀疑似地看着他。 杰妮塔说：“辛尼，我们可以把他送到洛杉矶。你不想就这样走掉而把他留在这里吧？” 这个想法似乎令艾维瑟感到不安。 杰妮塔用清亮乌黑的眼睛望了他一眼，说：“辛尼，这次我知道怎么做了。” 艾维瑟迟疑了一下，把枪收进裤子口袋里，坐上飞机的驾驶座，扣上安全带，紧绷着脸，一言不发。他操作起飞装置，引擎隆隆作响，飞机开始在地面滑行。热机过程中，他显得阴沉而安静。 温渥斯太太提高音量，以盖过引擎的噪音，她说：“梅森先生，你不认为你的客户应该要实话实说、敢做敢当，而不要硬把我们拖下水吗？” 梅森双手插在裤子口袋里，下巴顶着胸口，闷闷不乐地望着机舱里的地板。“那种想法，”他沉思似地说。“一直都在我的脑海里。”