Chapter 10 third chapter

For Timothy Cohn, Christmas has turned into a very sombre day.He spent a dull morning in the attic, drinking black coffee, smoking cigarettes, changing the clean water for Cleo, and cleaning up its excrement. At noon, I wanted to buy a newspaper, went out, walked slowly for half a street, and found that there was still a newspaper stand open.The clouds were low, like crumpled parchment, the snow was still drifting, and the wind was so cold it made his teeth ache.He bought a newspaper and decided to retreat to the warmth of the attic and pass the day drinking and sleeping. He also wanted to get on the phone and say "Merry Christmas!" to people, but Timothy had no family or friends.At this time, his phone rang, and Joey Washington called to wish him a Merry Christmas and to borrow a hundred dollars from him.Then another guy who used to serve with him in the Marine Corps in Vietnam called, and the two exchanged banter.

In the afternoon, Terry McIver called. "Merry Christmas," he said. "I should have called yesterday, but it was too late for the Christmas party." "How did it go?" Timothy asked. "I met Erika Laborius, a very shrewd lady, as you say, and she questioned me about my collection of ancient swords, and I argued with her. Then, she took out a dagger, and said Got it from another art gallery, and I told her it was shit, worthless, it looked like a hammer knocked an old sardine can into a dagger shape, and I told her I wanted it It's a better thing. She pretended to think for a while, and then said that there might be a European agent. According to her description, the dagger was an Assyrian relic in the sixth century BC. This dagger is the one I showed you last time. The photo, the stolen artifact. She said the dagger was a museum piece, of course it was. She said $20,000, and I said I'm interested, as long as it's genuine, $20,000 doesn't frighten me, but Of course I'll have to look at it first. She said she could get the antique sent over by a European agent, and it might take a few days."

"Do you believe it?" Timothy asked. "No! The artifact was with her at all, and she told a story about some European agent who could shirk her responsibility if things changed. I think Erica is very suspicious. Anyway, when the goods arrive , she will call me, and I promise her to fly to New York to see the goods." "How did she call you?" "She called Fudgeman Insurance in Dallas. If I'm not in - which I certainly can't be - she'll leave a message and I'll call her again. Fudgeman Insurance, I've made arrangements .There's no need to celebrate yet, but so far so good, I think she's eager to sell that stolen Assyrian dagger."

"I think Erika must be lucky to have the Sheep. Go ahead, McIver, I think you're going to score." "I hope so," McIver said. "How do you think she smuggled these things into America?" "Maybe hidden in a Turkish leather knee pad," Timothy said. "Or a porcelain statue imported from Korea. That's another story. Let's get in touch later!" He hung up the phone, thinking about how the Raboris Museum of Fine Arts, the Raboris Investment Company, and the Raboris Import Company might be playing tricks, and what kind of trap Sven and Inmar were arranging.On the night of Jedi, Timothy kept racking his brains. Suddenly, he gradually came to a realization, and felt more and more hopeful.

On the second day of Christmas, Timothy got up late, sat at the table drinking black coffee, while watching the news of the Wall Street Journal and the economic section of the New York Times, discussing the recent decline in interest rates.Timothy wondered, could Inmar La Boris still be able to pay such high interest rates these days? Around noon, he hailed a taxi to the La Boris Import Company on West Nineteenth Street.As expected, it was packed with people.Those relatives and clerks are busy with their business.Timothy didn't see the teak wood Buddha statue. On the table where the Buddha statues were originally placed, there were many exquisite and strange small statues this time. They were not like hand-carved statues, they were eight inches high, and they were all the same.

A small card was inserted on the bamboo stand, which read: "This is Kali, the Hindu goddess who is the wife of Shava and is regarded as an evil god. In Indian art, Kali is often portrayed wearing a skull necklace or a snake necklace. She is the goddess of death, Often wears a strange sword that can cut the thread of life. Kali represents 'time' and reminds us how short life is." "Maybe that's it," Timothy said softly. Noticing that no one was paying attention to him, he picked up a statue, with Carrie standing on a low pedestal.Under the hem of the clothes, there are plump breasts hidden, a string of skull necklaces hangs around the neck, and the sword is held in the hand, looking heroic.

Timothy turned the base clockwise and it didn't turn at all, and he turned it counterclockwise and it didn't turn at all.He put the statue back on the table and tried another one, with the same result.He looked around to see if anyone saw him in this weird state, luckily not, and went on to try another statue. When he came to the sixth statue, when he turned to the left, the base suddenly came loose. He put the statue aside, and found another one, so he took the two statues to the counter to check out, and waited patiently for fifteen minute.The clerk wrapped the two statues and put them in a plastic bag.Printed on the outside of the bag: La Boris Inc., House of Wonders.

He took a taxi back to Hudlin's office, went straight into the office, closed the door, coat and fur hat on, sat at his desk, unwrapped the Kali statue, turned the base carefully, and saw the goddess statue There was indeed a hole in it, about an inch in diameter and three inches long.Timothy held the statue up to the light and looked inside, and he saw a thin layer of residual white powder. Hi!As expected! Examining the second goddess statue has the same result.Timothy wiped a little with his finger very carefully, sniffed and sniffed, but there was nothing special about it, only a little bit like nicotine in tobacco.Then he licked a little more to try it out, and it tasted a little bitter.He didn't know what high-purity heroin tasted like, the white powder looked a lot like talcum powder.

He sat for a long time, staring at the two statues of Kali on the table, the goddess of death and destruction?maybe.He picked up the phone and called Neil Trevenport, who was out and couldn't be reached, and Timothy left a message asking him to call back when he got back. Timothy suddenly realized that he was hungry, and he called the fast food restaurant to bring lunch and beer.After eating and wiping his mouth, Davenport called. "Hi, Holmes," said he, "what is your business today?" "Are you free to come over to my loft for a drink?" Timothy asked. "To your palace?" said the New York police detective. "Why are you so hospitable all of a sudden? You must have something to ask me?"

"Is there an officer in your department named Bidi Yaguiresin who works in the Narcotics Unit?" "Biti Yaguiresin? I don't accept my job. I know some officers in the anti-narcotics team, but I don't know him." "I want you to find him, and you two to come to me together." "Why am I doing this? What's in it for me?" "Maybe help you solve a murder on my street. Don't you want to solve it too?" "I don't really care," Davenport said. "That guy has such a drug addiction, who cares about this kind of person."

"Forget it!" said the Wall Street detective. "It's good for your record, isn't it?" "I see that this has something to do with your La Boris case, doesn't it?" "yes." Davenport sighed. "Okay! I can't help you. I'll try to find Bitty Aguiresin and coax him to come with you. I've been drinking bourbon all week, by the way." "I'll prepare," Timothy agreed. Two hours later, Davenport called. He contacted Bitty Yaguiresin, and he agreed to go to Timothy's attic. He made an appointment at six o'clock, and Yaguiresin drank rum Add soda. "Excellent!" said Timothy Cohen. Walking back from get off work that day, making sure no one was following him.I bought food at a nearby store, fed Cleo back, stuffed two statues of Goddess Kali into a plastic bag, and put them under the table, along with Izzy. Bitti Aguiresin was a short man with a small moustache, hair long to his back and fastened in a brass barrette, a Greek soldier's cap, and a dirty suit. A black military uniform jacket, a pair of torn and dirty shoes.There is also a small gold hoop earring on the left ear. He looked around Timothy's attic with interest. "I live in a much nicer place than you," he said. "Are you really poor enough to live in this place?" "No," said Timothy, "I have some money, too." "But you really have no taste," Yaguilesin said, "like that kind of bath red, you usually throw it out early." "It's an antique," explained the Wall Street detective. "Yeah," Davenport said, "just like you. What are we doing standing here and wasting our time talking nonsense, let's get down to business!" Timothy invited them to sit down at the kitchen table, and served the guests with drinks, brought out bourbon, rum and soda, and poured himself a glass of vodka. "Cheers," said Bitty Yaguiresin, raising his glass. "What a quiet reception!" said Davenport. "Why did you bring us here?" "It's a long story," Timothy said. "I'm still in a hurry," Yaguiresin said. "My woman is waiting for me at home." Timothy started with the case commissioned by Mrs. Martha Huberwitt, who wanted to investigate La Boris Investment Company, because she wondered how they could possibly pay such high interest rates. "That Inmar La Boris," he said, "I never quite figured out what kind of part he was playing in this play. But he must be a bad guy." Then he told them that the Boris Import Company, on West Nineteenth Street, sold cheap foreign goods.At the same time, he also mentioned that Shi Wen once found very high-purity heroin on him. "Now you look at this," Timothy said.He took the Maitreya statue, which could be divided into two parts, from under the table and opened it to show them the hole inside. "It's the junk they import, and look what can be stuffed in there." "How much can this small hole hold?" The police officer of the anti-narcotics team said, "Why is it so troublesome?" "Of course it's worth it. Think about it, if there are thousands or hundreds of these gadgets, you can carry several kilograms of heroin. That's why La Boris Import Company has so many goods that can be sold at all over the country." The two officers looked at each other, and finally Davenport shrugged. "Today," continued Timothy, "I went to La Boris Imports and bought these two." He took two statues of Goddess Kali out of his pocket, turned the base away, and showed the holes in them to the two police officers. "Did you notice?" He said, "It's the same size as the hole in the Maitreya Buddha statue, and it also has white powder inside." Two police officers looked carefully at the two Kali statues.The police officer of the anti-narcotics team reached in to dig out and licked the white powder on his hands. "Probably flour," Timothy said. Bitti Yaguiresin licked his fingers. "Flour, what," he said, "my God, it's very pure heroin." All three sat up straight, staring at each other.Then he reached out and filled the empty glass. "It's not just these statues that contain heroin." Timothy said: "The Laborius Import Company imports a lot of things from all over the world, such as big clocks, porcelain statues, kneeling mats, and dice, and sneaks in several kilograms of heroin." Britain." "Interesting," said Aguiresin, "that they managed to get through customs." "The workload of customs officers is too heavy," Timothy said. "We can only take a few samples for inspection. Besides, not all statues contain drugs, most of them are legal commodities." "Let me take one of the statues to the laboratory for testing." "Please," Timothy said. "Since the products of La Boris Import Company are sold all over the country, they must have a warehouse, right? When testing, I will check their warehouse first." "I'll go check it out too." Davenport said, "After the goods leave customs, they must send the goods to a warehouse not far from the pier or the airport." "Maybe they have their own container," Timothy said. "I don't think they can send drugs in small packages to other cities." "Yes," said the Narcotics Squad officer, sniffing the inner cavity of Goddess Kali. "If the heroin is as pure as I think it is, then some drug cases will be cleared up." He looked up at Timothy. "Do you hang out with Joey Washington a lot?" Timothy nodded. "I'm just wondering why he kept asking me these questions recently." Yaguilesin said. "Okay!" said Neil Davenport, opening a pack of gum. "And now I've sent you both to the pile, Timothy, why am I such a slut? What do you think this has to do with the Leonidas murder?" "That guy was following me that day, and then I knocked him out, but I didn't kill him," Timothy said. "Just in the scuffle, he accidentally stabbed himself in the arm with the knife, and then the knife was thrown on the pavement." "Well," said Davenport, "whom did you try to kill him?" "The person who hired him must be someone from the Raboris family. This big family is very cooperative. I left my address at the Raboris Import Company and my office address at the Raboris Investment Company. , like an idiot. As soon as they compared it, they knew that they wanted to take back the hollow Maitreya Buddha that I bought inside, and fucked me to avoid future troubles." "What does La Boris Investments have to do with any of this?" Davenport asked. "That's the question I'm asking," Timothy admitted. Davenport stared at him for a long time. "This time you have kept a lot of things from me again, and you always keep your secrets tightly. Sometimes you don't need to be like this at all." "It depends on the timing! I will naturally say when the timing comes." Davenport sighed, and said to Yaguilesing: "Every time he called me, I knew there was trouble." "I don't know. You told me he had good wine." The two policemen drank the remaining wine in their glasses and stood up. "I'll be in touch with you again," Bitti Yaguiresin said, shaking Timothy's hand. "Thank you for the wine." "Where's your cat?" Davenport asked. "Sleeping under the bathtub." "That's what I should do," Davenport said. "See you later!" After they left, Timothy cleared the bottles and washed the glasses.Then he paced around the room, thinking about what to do next. Cleo got out from under the bathtub, yawned and stretched, and then the cat started to follow him, and when he turned, the cat also turned, sticking tightly to his feet, purring non-stop yelled. "Are you hungry again?" Timothy said, "I have some nice ham for you, just wait patiently." Timothy was glad he didn't say anything about the La Boris Museum, or his plans with Terry McIver.Davenport and Yaguirecin don't need to know this. "Okay, Miu." He said to Cleo, "Let's eat ham, you have one piece, I've got three pieces." The next morning, Timothy arrived at the office an hour late with his morning charm in a paper bag. "You are late." The receptionist said seriously. "I threw up in the morning," Timothy explained. "I'm pregnant." "There are two calls for you. Both are from Mr. Inmar Raboris. He is waiting for your call and I hope you call him as soon as possible." He went into his office, drank coffee from the paper bag, ate donuts, smoked his third Camel of the day, and then he called Inma Raporis.He had already guessed what this naughty guy wanted, and his guess was really good. "Hello, Mr. Cohen!" Inmar Raboris greeted him, "Has the client you mentioned last time made up his mind to invest?" "The two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" Timothy said. "I think it will be decided soon, maybe in a day or two." "Look at your client's mood? Will there be any intention to invest?" "It's hard to say," Timothy said, "but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." "Wonderful!" cheered Inma Raporis, obviously overly optimistic, and said cheerfully, "I have to tell you that I am very grateful for your efforts to help our company, and I am very optimistic about the future of the company. One day, our profit will be adjusted back another 30 percent." "I'll think about it," said the Wall Street detective. After hanging up the phone, he stared at the phone in a daze.Yingma made this phone call, which seemed to mean that there was a problem with his money, and maybe Yingma really planned to close up before the sun went down. Timothy walked to the office of Accounting Director Sinai. He was looking up from a pile of documents. When he saw Timothy, he leaned back in his chair and began to touch his red nose again. "You haven't bothered me for days," he said, "what's wrong now?" "Sinai, I just want to ask you a very simple question." Timothy said: "I remember you told me before, you checked that La Boris Investment Company has an account in the bank, it is a special fund, specially prepared for investment Those who want to withdraw money." "Yes, I remember." "Can you call back and see how much money is left?" Sinai rubbed her nose vigorously. "I remember the last time I checked, there were still 1.05 million." "Check it out now?" "My God! I have troubled that friend many times recently, and I don't want to trouble him again." "Ask!" Timothy urged him. "Just make a phone call! Give him a bottle of wine later, and settle my account." "Hey...well," Sinai said reluctantly, flipping through the phone book for a number and dialing. "Please... please Mr. Ollie March...Hello, Ollie, I'm Sinai, how's your hemorrhoid?...Well, God, that's a pity....Ollie, I don't know Willing to bother you again - I know how busy you are - but this is important.  … I want to ask the Wall Street La Boris investment fund again to see how much is left?  …Of course I won't Hang up the phone." He covered the microphone with his hand, raised his head and said to Timothy: "Poor guy, suffering from hemorrhoids," he said. "It's really inconvenient," Timothy said. Sinai said into the phone again: "Yes, yes. I'm here, Ollie...well...remember, thank you very much, I owe you so much. Hope the new treatment works, bye." He hung up the phone, turned his swivel chair to Timothy and said: "The repayment fund of La Boris Company is less than three hundred thousand dollars." The two men stared at each other in astonishment. "Ten days ago, wasn't there 1.05 million?" Timothy said. "Yes," Sinai said, "has your client invested the money in Boris Investment Company?" "He is the prospective son-in-law of the client." "It's best for him to withdraw the money quickly, the sooner the better." "Yeah," Timothy said, "I thought so too, thank you, Sinai." "Don't forget to give Ollie a bottle of wine." Sinai reminded him behind his back. Timothy went back to his office and called the Huberwitts.Luckily, it was Lucinda who answered the phone. "Miss Herberwaite, this is Timothy Cohn of Hudlin's." "Oh yes, Mr. Cohen, do you want to speak to my mother?" "No, I was going to talk to you privately, can we meet somewhere?" The other party was silent for a while, and then asked in a low voice: "What do you know?" "I know something that concerns you as well. Can you come out for a few minutes?" She paused for a long time before saying reluctantly: "Maybe a few minutes." "We'll meet at the corner of Thirty-eighth and Madison in half an hour. How about it? Don't worry if you're late. I'll be waiting for you." "Okay," she said in a small voice, "I'll meet you there." He walked to the corner of Thirty-eighth and Madison five minutes early.It was a very windy day, and Timothy had his hands in his trouser pockets, without the scarf Samantha had given him. Lucinda came running all the way, and when she saw Timothy, she said out of breath: "I want you to tell me good news." "I have bad news for you. Your boyfriend,—what's his name?" "He's not my boyfriend, he's my fiance, and his name is Francis." "You tell Francis to withdraw the money he invested as soon as possible." "Ah! God, is it really so bad?" "Bad enough." "Are you sure?" "You asked me to tell you first if anything goes wrong, didn't you? La Boris will be running away soon." As he walked away, Lucinda followed him so closely that she was almost trembling.Timothy thought maybe it was too cold, but he didn't think about whether she was nervous or scared. "What should we do?" she asked finally. "It's useless to just write a letter or make a phone call to ask for the money. You have to argue and even prepare to fight." "Oh no," she said, "Francis is the sweetest man in the world, and I never heard him angry." He stopped, and she stopped too.He turned to her and said: "Unless..." he said, "you go. You and Francis go to La Boris Investment Company as soon as possible and ask them to return the $100,000 that Francis invested. They will definitely perfunctory you and ask you to write a letter." Go. Then you yell and yell and insist on an audit at once, and if you make a fuss enough to get someone's attention, they'll probably give you the money and kick you out as soon as possible, just to make things easier. You can do it ?" "If that's the case," she said with resolution, "I'll try." "You have to do this," he told her. "After you get the check, take a taxi with Francis to the bank to deposit it. La Boris Company may bounce the check at any time. You have to buy time as soon as possible to have any hope. If you don't do it, you'll spend your whole life listening to your mother say, 'Didn't I tell you that?'" "I'm going now," she said with determination. "But I don't want to tell Ma where I've been." "Very well," he said, "Mark my words, be aggressive. Stomp your feet and shed tears if necessary, and never leave La Boris Investments without your boyfriend's money." "It's my fiancé," she said. "Whatever. Where's his office?" "Sixth and Fifty-second Streets." "I'll call a taxi to take you there, pick up Francis and go straight to Wall Street. Call me again if it turns out." She got into a taxi and waved goodbye to him.Then he took another taxi that was less empty and went back to Hudlin's company. The first thing he had to do was to call La Boris Investment Company.With Inma absent, it was another lucky chance.So Timothy left a message and told Yingma's secretary, asking her to tell that Timothy Cohen of Hudlin's company had decided to invest 250,000 yuan with the client he mentioned in the morning.In this way, the repayment fund in the hands of Mr. La Boris can be delayed for at least two more days. Timothy hung up the phone, satisfied that what he had done was protecting the interests of the client, or more correctly, the interests of the client's daughter.When Inma heard that another $250,000 would be invested soon, he would certainly agree to write a check for $100,000 to Lucinda Huberwitt's fiancé. He played the trick of the big liar. At three or four o'clock, Lucinda Huberwaite called Timothy and she was so excited that she did exactly what he told her to do and went to La Boris and made a big row and made everyone They were all ugly, and finally La Boris Investment Company finally wrote a check for one hundred thousand dollars to her fiancé. "Have you saved it?" Timothy said. "Francis is on his way to deposit now, and arrives just a few minutes before the bank closes." "Very good." Timothy said, "As long as La Boris Company does not bounce tickets, it will be able to protect its capital. It is very lucky." He resumed his weekly report and opened a new pack of Camels.This is the second cigarette of the day.At four o'clock, he had nothing to do and planned to go back.Already at the door of the office, the phone rang, and he turned back to answer the phone. "I'm Bitty Yaguiresin. You're crazy enough to see through all smoke screens," the narcotics officer said with a laugh. "The white powder contained in the cave of the statue turned out to be hero pods of extremely high purity. We have found the warehouse of La Boris Import Company, which is on Eleventh Street. Although there are not so many people who can be there 24 hours a day Watch, but we can have someone watch from midnight till eight o'clock the next day. Would you like to join in on something fun?" "Of course," Timothy said, "I want to be part of something fun." "I'm on duty from midnight to four o'clock, do you want to come with me?" "Okay. Shall I take the leftover rum and soda with me?" "That's very nice of you to say that!" said Pitty cheerfully, "yes, it's best to bring it together. It's nice to have something to eat and drink there. Then I'll pick you up at your place at eleven-thirty, How?" "I'll wait," Timothy said. He went home, fed Cleo, changed the cat's water, drank vodka, and lay down on the mattress with all his clothes on.He had to close his eyes, and then he was alive from midnight to four in the morning. He was up at ten-thirty, had a salami sandwich and drank a glass of vodka.Then put the rum and soda in a shopping bag, and a few more things, and a plastic bag for ice, and Timothy knows how to live. He stood on the sidewalk outside and waited for about ten minutes before Bitty Yaguiresin arrived in a car that was really old. "Don't look at my car so stupidly." Bitty said, "This baby can move when it's time to move." "When you're driving, doesn't anything fall?" Timothy asked. "What's coming off? Aren't the lights and bumper all there? Don't worry, it's all good." As they headed north, Beatty told Timothy that the heroin in the Kali statue was nearly 100 percent pure and probably came from Thailand.The warehouse of La Boris Importing Company is under the name of a company - Celobe Company. "The Selobe Company," Timothy said, "so that La Boris can stay in the background." "You're right!" said Beatty. He told Timothy that there were many people coming and going in and out of the warehouse during the day, but there was only one person guarding the door at night.The building has a guard system. "There's no doubt they're stashing the drugs here," Beatty said. "If we don't get enough of them to subdue them and find the evidence, we'll have to tell the FBI and bring the police out of all the drugs. But I don't want to do that. , I hope we can catch it in one fell swoop this time." "Why not?" Timothy said. "You are also a veteran." Their car was parked in the shadows of Fifty-third Street, where he could clearly see La Boris' warehouse.It was a square, ugly building, old and dirty, but there were lights in several rooms inside, and figures moving inside could be seen from the street. "Huh? That's weird!" Bitty Yaguilesin said, "What's going on? Usually this place closes at six o'clock in the afternoon. Is there going to be a party today?" "Yeah," said Timothy, "maybe!" They sat down, Timothy mixed the rum and soda, passed it to Beatty, poured vodka and ice cubes for himself, and the two drank slowly, chatting while drinking, and after two hours, this A narcotics officer talked about many drugs and how they got into the United States. "There is a way of dissolving heroin in a tank of water, and then soaking a woman's fur coat in the water, and when the fur coat is dry, the woman goes through customs with the fur coat on her arm. After entering the United States, the coat is Soaking in water and then leaching the heroin out of the water. It's almost seamless. Isn't it? Those bad guys always go first." When Beatty spoke, he didn't look away from the warehouse of the La Boris Import Company for a moment, and Timothy noticed this. "Strange, this place is closed at night on weekdays, and there is only one night watchman on duty here. But why some people are still coming in and out tonight, I really don't understand!" Bitty said annoyed. "I see at least three of them," Timothy said. "One is huge, and the other two are small." "Yeah," said Beatty, "what the hell are they doing now?" Nearly two o'clock, a long, silver-gray Cadillac sedan drove up to the warehouse door. "Oh, let's be careful, there's something wrong," said the narcotics officer. They saw the two men in the Cadillac, looking around before getting out, into the dim light in front of the warehouse. "I know the little guy," Beatty said softly. "The guy in the black leather coat is Simon Giuliano, a big drug lord. The other one is Ole Jefferson." The two men looked around again, then rang the bell.After a while, the door of the warehouse opened, and they entered and disappeared. The narcotics officer tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "I think something must have happened inside!" He said, "There must be something wrong." Both sat up straight and stared at the warehouse.But there was no movement outside the warehouse, and nothing could be seen. "Listen," Beatty said to Timothy, "do you have a gun?" "Have." "Very good. Did those two guys go in empty-handed and didn't bring anything?" "I didn't see what they brought." "If they come out with a suitcase in their hand, or a bag or something, I think it's probably drugs in there, isn't it? How about we have a game?" "Of course." Timothy said, "Why not?" "That's what we'll say about the moose..." Beatty said, "If they're carrying something, we'll put them in the car, and when the car starts, we'll follow. So far we haven't seen Sven. La Boris showed up, I don't know what he's up to. After a few blocks, we stopped them and saw what they got out of the warehouse." "Okay, let's go with the plan," Timothy said. He took out his . 357 from the shin holster, and Beatty put it beside the seat, and his Canon was the biggest pistol Timothy had ever seen. "Why do you use such a big gun?" Timothy asked. "That's a big enough gun!" said Beatty proudly. "I hit a guy once and he was hiding behind a steel door half an inch thick, and I hit the door with my gun. Wear it, the guy is freaking out." They waited silently, and after almost fifteen minutes, the warehousemen opened up again, saw Simon Giuliano and Ollie Jefferson shaking hands with several men, and then got back into the silver-gray Derac sedan in.They looked around carefully, and Simon was carrying a small box in his hand. "It's in the box." Yaguirexin said, "We'll find out what's inside later." The Cadillac drove away.After a while, the anti-narcotics police officer also drove the car to follow.The Cadillac in front walked a few blocks south, then suddenly turned 180 degrees at a forbidden turning point and headed north.The streets in this area are empty, only these two cars pass by. "They found us nailed and tried to speed up and dump us. Looks like we're going to act now. Ready?" "Everything is ready," Timothy said. The anti-narcotics officer wasn't lying, the old car pushed forward with all its might, the old car, despite its ugly appearance, still had a lot of power when necessary.For a while, the old cracked car had been running side by side with the Cadillac, and soon ahead, Beatty suddenly turned right and slammed into it. The Cadillac immediately dodged to the right, but it was too late, crashing into a dilapidated and deserted store before braking. The narcotics officer stepped out of the car, gun in hand.Timothy also kept his gun in his hand, and followed closely behind him, rushing to the cart, and Beatty opened the door next to the driver's seat. "You're dead!" he yelled. "Come out! Come out! You two rascals!" The big Simon Giuliano was driving with his head hanging on the wheel, motionless, while Ori Jefferson was still alive, and Timothy shot him twice, the first missed and the second hit his left side. knee, he also fell.With one quick motion Timothy kicked his revolver away and kept it aimed at the two men. "Nice job," said Beatty, finding the suitcase in the car and opening it. "Three kilograms!" He exclaimed happily. "The next thing will be very smooth. You pin these two guys, I will find someone to help." 华尔街侦探一动也不动站着，枪口仍瞄准着。缉毒警官回来时，用他的无线电呼叫。受伤的奥理·杰斐逊痛苦地呻吟着，他的膝盖已经粉碎。毕堤拍拍提摩西的肩膀。 “我爱你，你真不错。”他说：“可是我想你这时候离开对我会比较好些，待会儿就会有很多警察赶到。” “当然，”华尔街侦探说道：“谢谢你让我度过非常愉快的一个晚上。” “你这小子真带种！”毕堤感动地紧紧抱着提摩西。 “我们再连络。”提摩西说。 他走过第九街，等了十分钟，才招了一辆出租车回市中心。他情绪高张，仍然非常亢奋。深深呼吸好几口气，慢慢让情绪平稳下来，但仍然心潮起伏不已。 回家喝了些加州白兰地，让克丽奥舔着他手上的酒。这只懒洋洋的猫咪又触使他想到他的人生哲学。 “你不值一毛钱。”他告诫那只猫。“这是个秘密。” 躺在床上，一直醒着，一直到凌晨四点，电话铃突然响了。噢，老天，他想。难道毕堤出事了吗？ “喂？”他接起电话。 “你这个王八蛋！”珊曼莎劈头就骂他。 “你这阵子到哪去了？我打了一整晚的电话。” “我在办公室工作得太晚了。”他说，倒真高兴听到她的声音。 “狗屎！”她说：“你这一辈子从来没有一天会在办公室加班的，你不知到哪儿去寻花问柳了。” “没有。”他说：“我没做那些事。——你在哪里，回纽约了吗？” “明天彷晚才会回来，”她说：“所以我不去办公室了。事情进行得怎么样了。” "fine." “就只有这两个字——还好？拉波瑞斯的事仍在进行吗？” “是啊，”他说：“仍然在进行。” She sighed. “瞧瞧你是什么样的话匣子。明天晚上到我住的地方来如何？” “当然好，”他说：“我带一大块披萨饼到你那儿去，如何？” “太好了，好几天没吃披萨了。明天见吧！晚安，傻瓜蛋。” “晚安，狗屎头。”说完提摩西就挂了电话。 “珊曼莎要回来了。”他告诉克丽奥，然后睡回床垫，满足地睡着了。 “泰瑞·麦克艾佛警官要见提摩西·柯恩先生。”接待小姐打内线电话来对他说。 “好，”提摩西说，“请他进来。” 挂了电括，他站了起来，拍掉灯芯绒西装上的面包层，倒掉杯子里的咖啡渣，把废纸扔进字纸篓里。 注重打扮的麦克艾佛进来，这回他戴了一顶圆顶高帽，颇为嫌恶地看了看提摩西这间狭小的办公室，拒绝提摩西要为他拿帽子和外套。 “我只顺便进来一分钟，”他解释道：“好消息：我想艾蕊卡·拉波瑞斯已经上钩了。” “太好了。”提摩西说。 "I like." “她打电话给达拉斯的富吉曼保险公司，他们打电话告诉我，所以我就打电话给艾蕊卡，假装我还在德州某处。根据她的描述，几乎就是贝鲁特博物馆失窃的那把亚述匕首，时间也在公元前六世纪，这把古匕首已经在她手边了。” “情况发展得不错，”提摩西说：“你什么时候准备去看她？” “明天，”衣警警说：“我不想显得太猴急。所以我告诉她明天从达拉斯搭机，下午和她在美术陈列馆见面看货。你要一起去吗？” “是啊，”提摩西说：“如果真是那把匕首，你准备逮捕她吗？” “我已经安排好一些人来支持。明天早上我会再打电话袷你，这件事十拿九稳，我看我们很快就能得分了。” 警官离去后，提摩西点了一根烟，心情舒畅愉快。如果能将艾蕊卡一举成擒，看拉波瑞斯家的许多亲戚也都为祸不远了。 可是……可是……现在要是逮捕了拉波瑞斯家其中一人，其余势必也会打草惊蛇，逮捕艾蕊卡的计划势必遭到波及泡汤。他急着想联络毕堤·亚癸雷辛，不巧，这位缉毒警官不在，没有人知道他现在在哪里。提摩西开始冒汗，他拨电话给达文波特，急得都快哭出来了。听到他的声音，才松了一口气。 “嗨，福尔摩斯？”达文波特轻松地说：“我听毕堤说，昨晚过得相当精采。” “是吗？”提摩西说。 “他不是一个人干的，还有你吧？” “不是我，”提摩西说：“我昨晚很早上床，睡得像个婴儿一样。” “难道你每晚都是睁眼睁到凌晨两点才睡。” “听着，我想找毕提·亚癸雷辛，你知道他在哪里吗？” “目前不知道。我们准备今晚奇袭拉波瑞斯的仓库，抓上几个拉波瑞斯家族的人，说不定还能找出席耐·李奥尼达斯命案的凶手。” 提摩西深深吸了一口气。 “你不能这么做。”他说。 沉默了一阵子，然后达文波特说： “为什么我不能这么做？” “今晚你们不能去奇袭拉波瑞斯仓库。” “不能？”达文波特冷冷地说：“为什么不能？” “还有一些事我没吿诉你。” “我知道，我就知道！”这名纽约警探对他大叫：“噢，你这白痴，嘴闭得像蚌壳那么紧！我就知道你有事瞒着我。好吧！好吧！还有什么？” 提摩西告诉他，麦克艾佛已经设下陷阱打算去拉波瑞斯美术馆，明天下午就要和艾蕊卡见面。如果拉波瑞斯进口公司的仓库今晚遭到奇袭，又抓了一些拉波瑞斯家族的人，艾蕊卡这条大鱼很可能会溜掉。 “她马上会关掉店门，逃出纽约。”提摩西说：“你可以想象。” “你以前为什么不说？”达文波特质问道。 “这事我正和麦克艾佛在处理，我不能随便说。同样的，如果是我俩之间合作的事，我也不会随口说出。” “好吧！……也许你说的也有道理。” “现在请你联络上毕堤·亚癸雷辛，和他解释情况，只要拖到明天下午，再去奇袭仓库就行了。我们联络麦克艾佛，两边双管齐下，让他们一只鸟也飞不出去。” “嗯，”达文波特沉吟了一阵。“看来可行。” “一定会奏效，”提摩西说：“你安排整个事情。” “好，我会再跟你联络。” He hung up the phone. 提摩西很满足，他把所有事都安排就绪了。要是两边鄱找到证据，这一票拉波瑞斯亲戚就只有乖乖的束手就擒了。 现在就只剩英玛·拉波瑞斯。 中午他走出办公室，跟街头小阪买了一些可乐和零食，一边走一边吃喝，脑子里一直想着英玛·拉波瑞斯，现在只剩这道谜题没有解开。而如果仓库和美术陈列馆那两边都出事，英玛势必会立刻逃遁。 他又走回公司。想想这个下午除了等达文波特的电话之外，就只有填那些工作报表了。刚进来，衣帽都还没脱，电话就响，想不到是老板自己打来的。 “提摩西，”他一副大老板的口气：“我要你现在就到我办公室来，听淸楚了吗？” “狗屎！”提摩西说。不过他是挂了电话才敢说。 贺伦·哈德林整个身子都陷在办公桌后面的高背转椅里，脸带怒容，一双肥胖的手搁在肚皮上，从窗口射进的光线，使他那个秃头益发显得光亮无比。 马莎·贺波魏特太太坐在他桌边，怒沉沉的一张脸气得紫胀。 两个人都怒视着提摩西。 “嗨，两位。”提摩西招呼他们，可是却没有人请他坐下。 “提摩西！”老板提高嗓音对他怒道：“拉波瑞斯投资公司的案子，你已经搞多久了？” “喔……我不知道，大概两个星期左右吧。” “那么你发现了些什么？” “没什么重要的发现。只是这里一点，那里一点。” “你还没找出拉波瑞斯投资公司骗人的证据？” “没有，”提摩西说：“还没找出有力的证据。” “那你为什么要我女儿告诉她的未婚夫，要他把投资的钱全抽出来？”她愤然说道。 “哦？她告诉你了？”提摩西说：“我认为英玛·拉波瑞斯是个骗子，虽然到现在为止都还不能证实。但我想最好告诉你女儿，趁早把那笔钱拿出来。” 贺波魏特太太用劲将拐杖在地上重重敲了两下。 “你为什么不先告诉我？”她质问：“这案子是我委托你的，我付的钱，你却想把我蒙在鼓里。” “我会解释为什么没先吿诉你，”提摩西说：“因为如果我先告诉你，也许你就不会把这消息告诉你女儿了。” “提摩西，”贺伦·哈德林十分吃惊，叫住了他。“你知不知道你正在和我的重要客户说话！” “我知道这是笔大生意。”提摩西说，：“但她宁可让自己女儿当老处女，也不愿让她离开她的身边。要女儿在家当她的秘书、管家，像个仆人一样。如果我把拉波瑞斯投资公司的骗局告诉她，她绝对不会告诉女儿，她就是要等着看女儿未婚夫的钱扔进阴沟里，再也捞不出来，要这对年轻人结婚，要女儿一辈子待在她身边供她使唤，然后她可以永远唠唠叨叨地说：'我不早说过的吗？'一直说到她死。” 贺波魏特太太气得瘫在椅子上，握着手杖的手在发抖。 “你这个可恶的家伙。”她嘶哑的声音也发抖。“真该死！” “说得没错。”提摩西愉快地说：“你想怎么骂我，只要令你愉快，要怎么骂都可以。但你用不着这样折磨自己，也折磨你的女儿。让我奉劝你一句——你该好好祝福女儿，有情人终成眷属。你女儿比你想象的更能干，她和弗朗西斯结婚，也许会有一、两个小孩。如果你仍顽固地不准他们结婚，你会永远见不到你的外孙。难道你希望那样吗？” 她睁大眼睛瞪视他。他好像看到她眼中的泪水，可是不敢确定。 “你是我这辈子看过的最令人讨厌的男人。”她低声说。 “你不是好好的吗？准女婿投资出去的钱都收回来了，外加一笔相当不错的利息。女儿很快就结婚了。你在忖我们支票时，是不是也要附几朵玫瑰？” 她咕哝着，气得把手杖往地上猛敲几下，然后沉默一阵子。贺伦·哈德林不愿意他这名手下太过得意，淸了淸喉咙。 “你得解释解释，为什么要你去调查，你却买了两尊佛像，又买了两尊印度卡丽女神像。到底为什么？” “是啊，”贺波魏特太太说道，又抬起头，重拾她的自信心。“还有一大堆出租车费的账单，你办事都搭出租车啊！真是个讨厌的家伙！” “全是合法的费用，”提摩不在乎地说：“你还得买一瓶白兰地送一名银行人员，他帮了我们的大忙。贺波魏特太太，我知道你很精，但我认为你还不至于是个吝裔鬼。你付这些费用时，想想小孙子在你身上撒尿时多么有趣！” 他说完就走出去，回到办公室，心情颇为愉快。点了一根骆驼牌香烟，呑云吐雾将近一个小时，心里还一直苦思着英玛在这出戏里，到底搞什么诡计，这个谜面一直解不开来。 电话铃响了，他瞪视电话一阵子，不知是否又是他不想接的电话。最后，他叹了一口气，接起电话。 "Hello?" he said. “达文波特，”对方那位纽约警探说：“好啦，我们都沟通过啦，每一个人都沟通过了。明天上午十一点三十，我们双管齐下，美术陈列馆和仓库两边一起来。” “这么早？”提摩西说。 “你这白痴，忘了明天是除夕？”纽约警探说：“每个人都回家了，傩道你还要我们这组人整个下午都耗着等吗？” “喔，对了，我没想到这点。” “福尔摩斯，你没想到的事还多着呢。麦克艾佛说你会和他一道。” “对，我扮他的小舅子。” “好，”达文波特说：“你记得跟他约好的时间吗？得提早十五分钟，在美术陈列馆的对街和他见面。” “我记得的，”提摩西说：“这事全得偏劳你啦！” 达文波特大笑，道了再见，就挂掉电话。 提摩西走回家，仍然注意着后面有没有人跟踪他。他在一家店停留一会儿，买了两瓶酒，计划去珊曼莎家的途中再买披萨饼，这样到她家时，披萨饼才不会凉掉。 回到他的阁楼，提摩西从冰箱找了些吃剩的鸡肉喂了克丽奥，这只猫把盘子舔得干干净浄，然后蹲坐着舔舐自己，提摩西也去冲了一个热水澡。 他擦干身子，打电话给珊曼莎，她已经回家等着他了。他就开始穿衣服，检查武器，然后离开阁楼，没忘了把酒带去。他很兴奋也有些害臊，好像赴生平第一次的约会。这种感觉很好，又使他恢复年轻时的心境。 他俩在一块好像很久了，可是这时的感觉却有些紧张、僵硬、混乱——见面之后，经过两分钟的调整，两人又恢复自然。坐在地板上，吃着披萨和酒。珊曼莎告诉他这次回家发生的许多事。他听着点头、微笑，一边将东西往嘴里塞，好像第一次和她一道吃晚餐。 她挽起一头赤褐色的长发，轮廓分明的脸上还化了淡妆，一双蓝绿色的眼睛稳定平静。他不敢想，他生命中如来没有了珊曼莎，将会多么空洞贫乏。当然，他不会告诉她这一点的。 他俩吃完披萨，清理残余，又开了第二瓶酒。两人互相看看，懒懒地褪下衣衫。雨个人仍谈着珊曼莎这趟旅行，还有克丽奥的新习惯，牠现在喜欢睡在厨房水槽下面。 两人裸露坦裎时，刚才的话题才逐渐疏落下来。 “老天，”珊曼莎说着，叹了一口气。“我最近好想和你做爱，你想不想？” "Yeah," Timothy said. “你知道我现在想做什么？”她问。 "what?" 她在他耳畔低语。 “呃……”他说：“如果你坚持，我就是不喜欢，也得装得喜欢。” “你这差劲的家伙！”她叫，两人开始热情地行动起来。 这个晩上，两人缠绵竟夜，试着想去弥补他们所失去的。不止是肉体的渴求，还有感情的思幕，可是谁也不说，心里却灵犀相通。 两人都贪得无要地需索着对方，彼此都感到很满足，又起身把残酒喝了，开怀大笑，好像才从艾佛勒斯峰回来。 “咦，艾兹呢？”珊曼莎质问：“你拿去了，可不是？” “是啊，在我阁楼里，过了今晚再还你，今天拿的东西太多啦！明晚你可以到我那里拿，你会到我那儿去吗？” “当然会。”她说：“明天是除夕夜啊，可不是？到你那儿，有什么可吃的？” “我想我会弄个烤鸡，还有一些特别的东西，还有香槟！” “还有其他的吗？行个好，把那条脏床单换一换吧！” “当然，”他说：“明天我就送到洗衣店去洗。” “啊，天啊，”她说：“过新年有很多过法，而你只是把床单送到洗衣店去洗吗？” “是啊！我实在很低能！” “除此之外还有什么新鲜事？”珊曼莎说。 他想除夕这天去办公室也没什么要紧事，公司同事可能又会开派对，那股气氛提摩西绝对不能忍受。 因此他一个上午就在家做点家事，为克丽奥弄排泄物，出去把脏衣服脏床单送洗，然后又出去买了两瓶香槟，放进冰箱。第三趟出门，他买了一只找得到的最大的烤鸡，还买了洋芋，和做色拉的蔬菜，一个冰冻的苹果派，还有一片干酪。 他正准备转身再出门时，电话铃声突然震天价响，是珊曼莎从办公室打来的。 “你怎么还待在家里？”她质问道。 “我正在忙，”他说：“忙拉波瑞斯的案子。” “狗屎！”她说：“你今天都不准备来了吗？” “不去了。” “好吧，那么你会错过一场非常好的办公室派对。” “我才不想去！” “还有一件事，”她说：“为什么你没告诉我，你为了办案花费太多的事和老板发生争执？” “我，那个嘛，其实也算不得什么争执，我已经对他解释过了。” “你是解释过了，”她说：“可是他仍在生气。” “今晚再见！”他说着就把电话挂了。 十点四十五分，他把这些琐事都弄完了，丢了一根鸡翅膀给克丽奥，又检査了武器，便朝市中心去了。 他看到麦克艾佛已经先到了，站在离拉波瑞斯美术陈列馆还有一条街远的地方。这名警官头戴黑色圆顶礼帽，此外还有两名便衣人员和他一起。那两个人看来像旧石器时代的尼安德塔人，好像每晚都吃巨象当晩餐。 麦克艾佛朝提摩西笑招呼。 “我这様安排了，”麦克艾佛说：“我和艾蕊卡约好十一点半见面，你和我一道去，扮演我的小舅子。我俩一块去美术陈列馆，我把帽子脱了之后，她就会把那把亚述匕首拿给我们看。这时，这两人就会走到美术陈列馆的人行道上，从窗外看我们。如果那把匕首是真货，我就戴上我的帽子，这两个人就以执法人员身分闯进美术陈列馆。如果那把刀根本是垃圾，我就拿着帽子走出来，你看怎么样？” “简单利落。”提摩西说：“一切会很顺利的。” 麦克艾佛看了看腕表。 “好了，时间差不多了。”他交代两名便衣人员：“你们不要死定定地站在窗户外面看，只要站在看得见又不致令人起疑的地方就行了。” “我知道。”其中有一人说。 “那就好。”麦克艾佛说。 麦克艾佛和提摩西走过麦迪逊街又朝南走，来到拉波瑞斯美术陈列馆，两人走了进去，麦克艾佛拿下他的圆顶礼帽。“脂肪球”英格丽·拉波瑞斯摇摆地走了出来。 “早安，两位先生，有什么我可以効劳的？” “伦桑·贝里要见艾蕊卡·拉波瑞斯小姐。”这名刑警说。 “喔，好！”英格丽说：“我去通报，告诉她你们已经来了。柯恩先生，你今天好吗？” “还活着就是啦，”他说：“新年快乐！” “彼此，”她说：“两位先生，请等一会儿，艾蕊卡很快就来了。” 提摩西随意看看，瞄了窗外几眼，没看到一个便衣人员，他不知道这是好是坏。 等了三分钟，艾蕊卡从后面的房间走了出来，她实在是个镇定从容的女人，提摩西不禁暗自佩服。她穿了一身黑丝衣服，指甲涂成绿玉色。 “早安，”她淡淡笑了笑，“很高兴又看到你。” 她拿着一个有盖的木盒。 “请到这边来，”她说着领他们到柜台边。“贝里先生，我想你会很喜欢这个的。这是非常古老、有价值的真品。” 打开长长的盒子，翻开包装纸，小心的一层层打开，最后拿出包在里面的一把古匕首。 对提摩西而言，那就像丢在垃圾场中的一截废铁一样。可是泰瑞·麦克艾佛却弯下身子，仔细端详着。 “太美了，”他喘着气说：“这真是博物馆级的货色。” “的确是。”艾蕊卡·拉波瑞斯挂着冷冷的笑。“你打算收蔵吗？” 她把那把刀放回包装纸里，这名刑警把他的圆顶礼帽戴到头上，然后慢慢伸手到内袋掏出他的证件，打开给艾蕊卡看。 “纽约警察局警官泰瑞·麦克艾佛，”他说：“你因收蔵赃物被捕，现在我可以把你的权利念给你听。” 她瞪视着他，然后又转过头来看看由前门走进来的那两个“尼安德塔”人。她怒视着提摩西·柯恩。 “你这个骗子。”她说。 “对，”提摩西说：“我知道我是个骗子。” 提摩西等了二十分钟才拦到一辆空出租车，赶到十一街拉波瑞斯进口公司的仓库。除了几辆空警车停在外面，看不到什么动静。 提摩西走到仓库门口，有一名没穿制服的警察站在那儿。 “尼尔·达文波特警探在这儿吗？”他问道：“我是提摩西·柯恩，我要见他。” “哦？”那名警察说：“我去看看，你在这儿等等吧。” 他走到里面去，华尔街侦探掏出一根烟站在外面等着。有两个便衣警察走出来，从车里拿了照相器材又走进仓库去。 提摩西快抽完第二根骆驼牌香烟时，达文波特出现了。他看来有些邋遢，不过神情倒是很偷快。 “嗨，”他说：“大侦探亲自来啦！美术陈列馆那边怎么样了？” “麦克艾佛已经逮捕了艾蕊卡·拉波瑞斯，”提摩西·柯恩说：“她想卖出从贝鲁特博物馆偷出来的亚述匕首，麦克艾佛认为还可以找出更多赃物。这儿进行得怎么样？” “一举成擒！”达文波特说：“到目前为止，我们已经找到八公斤的海洛英，还从军械库中找到许多手抢。” “现金多吗？”提摩西问。 “有一些。为什么你对现金有兴趣？难道还有什么事又瞒着我们？” “我发誓没有。”提摩西说，举起双手。“我只是联想到英玛经营的拉波瑞斯投资公司。” “呃？”这名纽约警探说：“说来听听。” 提摩西花了五分钟，很快地说了一遍，两人来来回回踱着步子。达文波特很专心地听着，从头到尾没插过一句，然后瞇着眼看着提摩西，慢慢撕开口香糖的包装纸。 “这些全是你的臆测，还没找到证据吗？”