Chapter 22 Chapter 19 The Murderer Appears
"Hehe!..." Sir Henry Merivale looked back and forth at Jarvis Wella with malicious eyes, and said bitterly, "You think me, old man, an incoherent lunatic, heh?...Although Mentally ill, but before any of you, leave this room, you have to catch the murderer. Everyone stay still. I suggest that you all sit comfortably because you will have a good time listening to me while I explain Some."
Sir Henry Merrillville blinked short-sightedly, and strolled over to sit in the large chair behind the desk.Then he took out his black pipe.
"That's it, pull up chairs for the ladies, Jimmy. Miss Louise Callaway needs one. Now, ladies, relax." As Maurice Bohun stepped forward, he turned his head savagely, with a Cold and angry, "The rest of you, shut up! …"
"What I'm going to do is..." he went on almost gallantly, "after you've narrowed down the possibilities, widen the whole thing up again. Or, before I prove it, you'll have to guess for yourself, what's in the house Who came into this room and smashed Miss Martha Tate on the head?... The weapon?... Well, no, let's leave that alone.
"As far as how the murderer left, we have heard two very interesting theories, and it happens that they are both wrong. But the interesting thing is that in each explanation, the theories and facts that are vaguely revealed are plausible enough to mislead a guesser." Sir Henry Merrillville said slowly, looking around the crowd, "I've been sitting thinking about this... damn it, the longer I sit thinking about it, the more I realize it's a real Miracle: No one ever thought of this obvious explanation, so as to avoid the weird and unbelievable part of the two explanations.
"So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give a class called 'Common Sense Fiction.' There's another witness besides myself who witnessed something that happened a few minutes ago, So I'm not worried, I can't convict the murderer, and, when I ask questions in class, I can make the murderer squirm. Hehe!..."
Sir Henry Merrillville sneered, looking across his audience.
"First, I will briefly state some facts that everyone knows and admits. Second, in case you are still confused at that time, I will state my own explanation. Finally, I will plagiarize some of the other two explanations. The vernacular about the truth, to support my argument, plus some inferences of my own, to complete the whole case.
"Well, let me take a look now." He held the pipe upside down in his mouth, and stretched out blunt fingers lazily, examining each root, "Some time before midnight last night, Martha Tate Began to look agitated, and had her taken to the waterside. It was agreed, wasn't it? . . . She was brought there a little after midnight, and grew more impatient. When Mr. Jarvis Willard passed by afterward , in a friendly conversation with her, she quickly shooed him away. In fact, as Masters reported to me, Jarvis Willa said that while she was at the Waterside, several times Go into the living room and look out the front window. Hey?"
"Yes! . . . " said Jarvis Willard dryly, "but don't you find it a little tedious to repeat the facts at this moment?"
"Aha. Bastard, I despair of your intellect! . . . I recall that in one place John Bohun said his appointment with Carneyfest was in the early evening, and in another he Said it was ten o'clock. Now let's not argue about it, let's say that the appointment at the newspaper office was at a later time—that is, ten o'clock. Your little brains don't seem to have figured it out, even if it is ten It's that late, and he'll be back here by midnight at the latest! …
"We're looking at it from the perspective of Martha Tate, who's never waited for anyone and isn't going to start waiting. We're looking at it from the perspective of a woman whose life and death are at stake. , centered on the news that John Bohun had brought back from town, so it was unlikely that she would hold her temper. If you admit that at half-past eleven, at midnight, she was already fidgeting, what do you think How restless was she at half past twelve?... Then, half an hour later, at one o'clock, he hadn't appeared. How would she feel?
"However, I'm still stating the facts, so I won't digress. We know, don't we...you can see the windows of this room from the waterside... the black windows of this room?" Sir Henry Merivale piped Pointing, "Aha. We also know that when Jarvis Willa was with Miss Martha Tate, she ran to the water pavilion several times and looked out of the front room?...That's right. Finally, we know that at one o'clock, when she begins to throw a fit of impatience, the room lights up."
Maurice Bohun sat upright in a narrow chair, poking the floor with his cane.He said softly: "It's remarkable. Of course you know that's meaningless? Of course you know that when Thompson delivers the sandwiches and tidies up the house, he turns on the light waiting for John Bohun to come back, and besides, the light can only be turned on by Thompson." of?"
"Of course I know! . . . " Sir Henry Merrillville nodded in agreement. "Thompson told me. But how could Martha Tate know? . . . Here is the man she has been waiting for, It was an hour late. At this moment, the light came on in his room. But, when he comes back, will he come to see her, as she expected? . . . " Sir Henry Merrivier hissed , shook his head slightly, "No, on the contrary, brothers, this lamp keeps emitting a strong and bright light, and after another half an hour, that woman has completely, can't calm down, but still Had to keep waiting because no one showed up! …
"Now, when I paint the scene in Miss Martha Tate's head, I don't stretch the limits of those possibilities on the optimistic side. She knows that Mr. John Bohun will not simply go home and forget her, For their common future depended on the news he brought back from London. She judged that it was likely to be bad news, and Mr. John Bohun would not have the nerve to tell her. But whatever conclusion she came to, I Think you can all agree: she has to know the facts.
"Then, returning to the obvious facts, we have the less surprising news that at half past one the dogs started barking and at the same time a mysterious woman was seen galloping across the lawn.
"As I said, I've been sitting and thinking about it, and it suddenly occurred to me that, under the circumstances, the most likely person to call on Mr. John Bohun that evening was Martha Tate herself. The question is: You guys are all short-sighted, and you can only look from the main house to the waterside pavilion, but you don’t think about it the other way around. Even when all the suspect ladies in the main house have alibi, you still refuse Look at the other side. I'm not telling you to believe it right away—I'll give evidence in a while—but that was the first possibility that crossed my mind. Because it's an easy enough question, you see, but The possibility of her coming to the main house unnoticed. She could have come over the lawn and entered the room through the door at the bottom of the stairs—which she knew of course was unlocked because earlier in the evening when they were viewing the stairs , she saw Miss Catherine Bohun unlock the lock for John—she could come here. Face to face with John." Sir Henry Merrillville asked suddenly, raising his voice a little, "but how could she know, John? Mister Bohun isn't here?"
Everyone was motionless and silent.Sir Henry Merrillville wiped his head with his hand, frowned, and glanced dully over the silent crowd, before burying himself deeper in his chair.
"That's simple enough, isn't it? . . . " cried Sir Henry Merrillville, "put out of your head those rubbish theories that are made up for the sole purpose of hanging people, and think again: things are most natural. What was the process. I began to see Martha Tate waiting in frenzied terror, with a fur coat over her pajamas—and Miss Louise Carraway doing the same thing, you think It was quick—put on a pair of galoshes and sneaked over here to hear the news. But I said to myself: 'Here! . . . Would she hope to wake up a lot of people, and perhaps arouse their curiosity?' What about the dog?' Then I discovered that not only when she went to the waterside, but all afternoon, the dog didn't hang around outside the kennel, so, in fact, she didn't know there was a dog at all. How did she know?... She went yonder with a group—no barking. The others came back, Jarvis Willa—a stranger, went and came back again, but still no barking. She wanted How did you think that sneaking quietly to find John would cause the dog to bark?
"So, I saw her set off, and when she was halfway there, I heard a huge and dangerous German Shepherd dog, barking and chasing after her, which really scared the hell out of her! . . . Children, if you What do you think when you encounter this kind of thing: You don’t know, the dog is tied to the barbed wire fence on the slope, can’t move around freely, but only hears barking, and has been chasing you closely?… That woman must have been petrified , because she didn't know where to go. She didn't know whether to run back, run forward, or stand still—maybe she tried a little bit of all three actions. If, then If Mrs. Thompson's figure didn't act exactly the way it did, I'd be surprised."
Sir Henry Merivale paused at this point, and glanced at Mrs. Thompson.
"Well, she was still hesitating. Nothing happened, but she dared not run back to the waterside, for the barking dogs were chasing her. Then she saw Miss Catherine Bohun, and opened the door to the corridor. door, looked out, and went back. She didn't know what that meant, but she had to find shelter. She ventured across the lawn, went in, and tiptoed up the stairs when the snow was falling hard. Woolen cloth."
Sir Henry Merrillville nodded with his finger.A terrible suspicion began to rise in James Bennett's mind, but he suppressed it by force.Someone was slightly startled, because at this moment, the sound of someone's footsteps came from under the stairs.
"Who's down here now?" Jarvis Willa asked softly.
"There's a dead man lying there! . . . " said Sir Henry Merrillville coldly. "First of all, I needn't tell any of you. Do you know who that is? . . . Yes, it was Reg—Carl Reg .No, everyone stay still!...You dare not move, because innocent people feel that if they move, I will think they are guilty. Sit quietly and think that Carl Reiger is here this afternoon , was strangled to death by the murderer.
"Martha Tate sneaked up the stairs last night - that's my theory - just like the footsteps you're hearing now, except this: Now, those are policemen waiting for people - —like the executioner in a puppet show—the footsteps of time. She entered the room and found it empty. Then, not knowing what to think, she gradually realized that Mr. John Bohun had not Come back... Well, then, what is she going to do? She doesn't want to be known by anyone, she has appeared here, and she is not cunning enough to trick other people to conceal her relationship with Mr. John Bohun. If at one-thirty in the morning, she's in a disheveled state of glamour, and someone finds her in John's room... hey?
"But - and this is what I want to emphasize - she dare not go back. If you think of a man-eating dog, ready to rush out and chase you at any time, would you go back? When you a minute ago, just encountered The attack of this dog, thinking that you have miraculously escaped, and now you are still in shock, will you step into danger again?..." Sir Henry Merrillville looked around the crowd and said, "This place is safe, John will always Came back at some point. So Martha Tate took a precaution. I want you to think about it as I go on, what kind of a precaution that would be...
"While I continue to prove that she stays here," said Sir Henry Merrillville suddenly, pressing his large palm on the table, "look at that waterside pavilion, and direct your attention to the flames. There are two The fire, one in the living room and one in the bedroom, was lit by Thompson before twelve o'clock. Everyone agrees that she never used the living room last night, and all were entertained in the other room , and now I repeat this, no one wants to argue or get mad. You don't keep a fire burning in a room you don't use. Admit it, then, she's using the bedroom, and we know, she's totally Didn't go to bed. She was killed about a quarter past three.
"So, what do we conclude? . . . We see two small fires, burning for nearly the same amount of time, as you can judge for yourselves from the amount of ash that remains—for the same amount of time, you see. One would have us believe that on a snowy December night, in a literal icehouse in a water pavilion, a small fire is enough to make a pampered greenhouse orchid like Martha Tate feel comfortable. Three and a half hours in comfort—the fire was not replenished, it was like the other room. We were led to believe that at a quarter past three she was sitting loosely in her pajamas in front of the fire, warm and comfortable with the The murderer was drinking wine, but in fact, the flames had all been turned to ashes an hour ago.
"You don't need to rack your brains, but you can see that the fires in these two places are almost the same, and they went out at about the same time, because she is not in the water pavilion at all.
"Before I checked the rest of the room, I suddenly recalled another fact I had heard. This evidence shocks you. Some fool did notice it, but immediately gave it a far-fetched explanation, and the truth is far from it. So complicated. I mean the mysterious figure who appeared in the corridor after three o'clock and stained Miss Louise Carraway's hands with blood. Theorists are quite right to ask this question: 'Since there are Water, why did the foolish murderer come all the way to the main house without washing his hands?'
"Then the theorists began to fantasize, answering with complex nonsense that the mysterious figure was hallucination, and even an even more intricate, but totally unsubstantiated, tale of someone attacking Tay with a hunting whip. But the correct answer is: 'The murderer did not come back from the Waterside, where he killed Miss Martha Tate.'
"It's a simple one, but it's true. I said to myself, 'Of course he's going to get water in the bathroom, because didn't Masters tell me there was no water in this room, and this morning Mr John Bohun When the gun kills itself, do they have to take the bowl out to hold the water?'”
There was silence.A vivid memory suddenly returned to James Bennett's mind.But now Maurice Bohun sat in his chair, leaning forward, shoulders hunched, his voice creaking like a bat.
He said: "Thank you for your gracious compliment, but I think: I'm starting to see what you mean. You're still accusing—back in the ring, aren't you? You're accusing your brother John of committing the crime. murder?"
Maurice Bohun struggled to his feet, his body shaking.Sir Henry Merrillville leaned forward.
"No! . . . " said Sir Henry Merrillville in a low voice, "no, it needn't be. But you got excited, Bohun, and at last you came near the truth of this impossible situation. Speak up! ...In the name of God, the truth is coming out. What happened?"
The little man took a step forward and leaned against the table, his eyes seemed to shrink even smaller.Maurice Bohun said: "John came back with bad news and he found her in his room. He thought he had killed Carneyfest and was in a frenzy and despair and didn't care what happened , happened to him, and when she opened her mouth to scold him, he completely lost his mind, so he killed her."
"Then..." continued Maurice Bohun, "he became aware of the situation he was facing. No one saw him kill Carneyfest, and he could get away with it. But if someone else was in his room, and found the body of Martha Tate. He knew that he had no chance of escaping the rope no matter what. The only chance of regaining safety was to wait until dawn to carry her body to the waterside, and there Make up a bunch of fake evidence to show that she was killed there, and finally find her body by yourself... That's it! That's it!... In the end, he killed her!..."
Sir Henry Merrillville rose slowly from his chair.
"I say, boy, you're so excited! . . . " he sternly snapped, "in the last part, you hit the bull's-eye with a shot. Fools, that's the explanation for impossible situations—a part of it. You're beginning to understand Yet?
"Do you now understand why Mr. John Bohun suddenly lost his courage this morning, came to this room, and shot himself? What broke his nerves? ... Think back, just As Masters told me, John was in the dining room with two or three of you, and he went up to the window, and what did he see? Speak up! …”
The memory flashed again in James Bennett's mind.
"He saw..." James Bennett said in a voice he didn't recognize, "he saw Officer Porter inspecting and measuring, his footprints in the snow, because Carl Wraig said... "
"Because of Carl Wragg's explanation, aha. He asked Masters what Potter was doing. So, with malice—he didn't know it then, the effect of that— —Answered, 'Just to measure your footprints in the snow.' Why did that break his nerves? Not because of Carl Wraig's elaborate theory, which was all bullshit, but because John had carried a dead woman to the waterside early in the morning, and he thought they were after him! . . . That's what it was. Playing pranks on footprints is a thankless job, and those thoughts make you spin your heads. Just a tall A strong man, carrying a dead body, walked on the snow that was so shallow that the weight of two people could not be stepped on, and went straight to the water pavilion. Carl Reg was right. He said: If the snow is deeper, then , it is impossible for people not to discover this trick. Indeed, in that case, the footprints would be deeply sunk in the snow. But there is only a thin layer of snow..." Sir Henry Merrival sighed, shaking his head slightly, "You are beginning to understand why the edges of those footprints are so obvious, as Potter said, and why there are traces of dragging on the toes?"
Sir Henry Merrillville was no longer impassive, his voice pounding in all directions in the silent room.
"Didn't I tell you that someone deliberately broke a carafe and wine glasses on the hearthstone to make the room look as if there had been a fight? ... Well, don't you wonder why? ... It was to provide evidence that she was killed in the water pavilion.
"Now, slowly and painfully, I tell you what Mr. John Bohun did. He did not kill the woman. When he reached his room, Martha Tate was dead. In this story Here, you may see clear evidence of who killed her. Go back to the beginning of it all.
"She turned off the light, left the waterside pavilion, came here as I said, and she dared not go back because of the presence of the dog. Now, in this story, I left a black mist right in the middle, which hid the murderer the murderer found her here, and struck her badly on the head. The murderer left her in the room—perhaps in the bed,” Sir Henry Merrivier pointed out, “perhaps anywhere .Let's save the black mist for the end of the story.
"That's when Mr. John Bohun came in: he was driving back from town. He thought he had killed Carneyfest, and the only thing that could save him was to lie about when he got home. That is, if he Can somehow prove that he got home at the same time as he killed Carneyfest in London; if Carneyfest dies, someone proves that he was here and not in London, then he is saved .That's easy, isn't it?... He'd have to get that alibi. The idea kept burning in his head as he flew back home.
"Get it done! . . . whatever it takes, get it done! . . . And then that bohemian, nervous, indecisive fellow, who didn't know what he was thinking for an instant—he went home , when he came up the stairs to find Martha Tate dead in his room! …”
Everyone felt incredible, looked at each other for a while, and then looked back at Sir Henry Merrivier together.
"Listen, how much attention have you paid to Mr. John Bohun's conduct this morning? . Carneyfest together, because he is here, then he has to get rid of the female corpse in his room; if he honestly admits that it's time for him to go home, then they will kill Carneyfest, Blame it on his head and hang him. There's a loop of fiber rope at the end, dangling, waiting for him whichever way you choose." sighed Sir Henry Merivale, "he doesn't Knowing who killed Martha Tate, not even how she got here, he didn't know anything. All he knew was that he was in a terrible mess and he had to find a way out of it Will be hanged for either crime.
"Can he... say, carry her back to her own room and pretend she was killed there? That way he'll be able to fake the time he gets home, and maybe get someone to support him .Where should she sleep?... He remembered that she was resting in the waterside. Did she go there?...He had to find out for himself, no one would wake up and tell him. He also remembered, An appointment to go horseback riding this morning.
"The thing to do is to find out. Now, here's Carl Wraig's theory, a touch of truth. He puts on a jerk suit so that if she does sleep in the Waterside—as he believes -he had a good excuse to 'see' her early tomorrow morning. He woke up the housekeeper, who told him that Miss Martha Tate was already there, and Ma was already there for the seven o'clock appointment Ready.
"My God! . . . It's like walking on thin ice. From the stables, you can see the waterside, even the door of the waterside! . . . If he delays until dawn, the man who leads the horse may see, He walks with the body on his shoulders... On the other hand, if he can get the body there, just a few minutes earlier, bring her there; See someone who lives in a stable, and call that person over as if you've 'discovered' her for the first time, and he's safe."
Sir Henry Merrillville poked his finger at the tabletop and said aloud: "Do you understand the meaning of the lit match? He carried her there and laid her on the floor, and the next thing Mr. James Bennett did unexpectedly The land, unexpectedly appeared on the spot; the time interval is too short, and the footprints he left before are still fresh. The sky is getting brighter, but it is not yet clear... I asked my nephew carefully about this matter——John Mr. Bohun must have a good view of his surroundings in order to fake the scene for the murder!... Get it? He dared not turn on the light in the room. A large window looked directly in the direction of the stables, and the people there were all up .If John Bohun claimed that he had entered the water for the first time, the lights had suddenly come on in the room, he would not have been able to justify himself ... why, someone will see and wonder."
"Go on, sir! . . . " said James Bennett, "there's a shade on the window . . . a venetian shutter. Can't he just, well, draw it down?"
Sir Henry Merrillville blinked at him.
"You think, my dear fool..." he growled, "then they won't see the light? . . . Mr. Jarvis Wella turned on a light in the drawing room this afternoon, and you and Didn't I also see it through the gaps in the curtains?... You see, it can be said that the answers to all the questions were repeated several times before our eyes, which helped us solve the case. How interesting it is. Don't Interrupt, understand?...Fuck you, I'm striding forward, I'm very happy...
"He overturned the furniture, broke the wine glass, took off the woman's fur coat, put her galoshes in the closet - I found them there. He didn't have anything that could simulate a murder weapon, despite his attempts to make We thought it was the poker that killed Martha Tate. I can say no, there was no blood on it, no hair."
Sir Henry Merrillville smiled triumphantly.
"After several minutes of frantic work, he lowered her to the floor. Then, walking to the door, he saw Locke standing on the other side of the road, said hello to him, and walked leisurely back into the house, making a loud noise. Extra screaming, not at all his style, that's how I started to suspect him. Rushing back to the door, he saw James Bennett walking across the lawn...
"By the way: I heard that at that time, he had blood on his hands. Don't you think it's tricky, boys - sticky blood, even though the woman was killed hours ago? That's not Not that he killed her, but that: he jerked or somehow manipulated the body, which wouldn't have been the case just to examine it; Tate's heart has stopped beating, and his blood is no longer fresh..."
Someone cried.Sir Henry Merrillville's eyes flicked over them as if he had a whip in his hand.
"And then he got ready," he went on gravely, "that guy was brilliant in every way except one thing, he forgot about the snow. When James Bennett pointed it out, didn't you Do you wonder why he trembled and yelled 'it doesn't make sense'?...You see, when Jarvis Willa mentioned that Martha Tate was killed in the waterside, that means last night Why did he laugh when there was a tryst there?...A tryst, brothers, and the shades of the tall windows, not drawn!...Aren't these features in your brain apartment, left What?...Never mind. He thinks he's covering everything up. Now he can announce to everyone that he's coming home long before he actually arrives. He can say: he didn't kill Canifeth special, because he was already here when Carneyfest fell..."
Maurice Bohun began to laugh, a little malicious smile that made his shoulders tremble.
"Well, Sir Henry..." he said with a sneer, "but, I guessed...actually I guessed—that's where your theory breaks down. Funny! . . . You're declaring your brother's innocence You said he did these things for a definite purpose, which was divided into two parts: the first part, which I reluctantly agree with you, was to move Martha's body so that he wouldn't be caught by the dead body in his room. but the second part - fabricating when he actually got home - totally destroys your theory. He didn't lie about when he got home. What you actually did, was build a brilliant, Arguing against theories to prove that poor brother was the murderer. John arrived home a little after three o'clock. A few minutes later, according to the testimony of the autopsy, Martha was killed... eh?"
"Exactly! . . . " said Sir Henry Merrillville, nodding. "That incident makes me quite sure, my boy, that he did not commit the crime."
"What? . . . " said Maurice Bohun, suppressing his anger. "I don't think, Sir Henry, this is a good time for nonsense . . . "
"Oh, no nonsense, let's see first. Here's a man with a dual motive to prove he didn't kill Carney Fest or Martha Tate, huh? … Hey ?He accomplishes the former by making up the time of his return home and telling it earlier; he accomplishes the latter by moving the corpse. Well, well. If so, then he should know that the time of her death is a logical assumption. Then, why did he say the time of returning home coincided with the time when the woman was murdered?...Carefully said, just compared to Was she killed a little earlier? That's an unbelievable act of piggy, and it will only bring suspicion back to you, especially if you've just driven back from London, twenty minutes or half an hour doesn't make much difference!..." Henry Sir Merrillville said, thumping heavily on the table, "Why did he say it was about three o'clock? Why didn't he invent an earlier time so that he had an alibi for both crimes? … You immediately answer: 'Because Thompson heard him come in, he can't lie.' That doesn't hold water at all. Mr. John Bohun didn't know it when he told the story, nor could anyone in the world predict it. , Thompson has been unable to sleep because of a toothache, and can verify the time of his return. He told that kind of story on purpose, because...
"May I read you a telegram?" asked Sir Henry Merrillville suddenly.
"A telegram? What telegram?"
"A telegram from Carneyfest, which I just received before dinner, is very interesting. It reads as follows..." Sir Henry Merrivier took out a folded piece of paper from his inner pocket, "I asked What time did he, John Bohun actually, call on him at his house last night.
"Arrived home after the morning issue of Globe Magazine went to press, exactly at 2:45 a.m., said Carneyfest. I saw a suspicious visitor waiting for me by the side door, so I took him To the private room. Heart attack, for reasons you can understand, I don't know what time he left, but I'm sure it wasn't earlier than three-thirty.'"
said Sir Henry Merrillville, throwing the paper on the table.
"He said three o'clock," said Sir Henry Merrillville sternly, "because he felt it would be safer to admit that he would be home at that time. In fact, he did not return until an hour or two later. . . . "
"But someone's coming! . . . " bellowed Jarvis Wella. "Someone's driving up at ten past three! . . . Who is it?"
"It's the murderer! . . . " cried Sir Henry Merrillville, "who has had all the luck in the world—humanity, fate, deceit created by madness, and luck has protected him, and he is here before our eyes, deceiving We, but... Beast, catch him, Masters! . . . "
Just as someone suddenly opened the door leading to the corridor, Sir Henry Merrillville's voice penetrated the entire room.At the same time, the door of the staircase opened with a bang, and the Porter Palace rushed in from there. At the same time, Masters appeared from the door in the corridor.In a calm and deadly tone, Masters officially announced: "Mr. Herbert Diemens Emery, I arrest you for the murders of both Martha Tate and Carl Wraig. I want warn you……"
The thin, sandy-haired man avoided the hand on his shoulder with just a glance.He threw a chair at Potter's legs, knelt down and yelled something, and rushed through the stair-door.Potter grabbed first a hem, then a leg.He shouldn't have picked this man up on his head.They heard a call in the darkness, followed by a crash, and finally silence.Trembling, Potter rose from the platform, and they saw him staring into the darkness beneath him.
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