Chapter 20 Chapter 19 Copying Murder

Much later, when the incident had passed, and time had mellowed its unpleasantness, and its eerie ominousness had dissipated, Ellery Quinn reflected on the events of that case, admitting that it had been one of the most important events in his career. Most useless experience ever.What made him even more foolish was that a few weeks ago he had claimed--though for some subtle reason he didn't name names--that he knew who had murdered Buck Horn and who had created the astonishing mystery He hid the murder weapon, and even made himself disappear in a strange way. People who are deeply shocked are naturally prone to complain.Such was the psychology of Major Bryant.Officer Quinn was not immune either.When they saw the terrible incident repeated in disbelief, and turned their eyes away from the chaotic neighing horses, the father and son looked at each other in astonishment; the father's eyes clearly expressed the question in his heart: " If you do know, why didn't you say it earlier, so that the second tragedy wouldn't happen!"

Ellery had no answer.He found it harder to speak now; besides, he knew that Woody's murder was unforeseen and inevitable; of course Ellery had great reasons for keeping silent, and now he had no choice. The chaotic thoughts kept running back and forth, he was filled with remorse, and his heart was tortured.In every sensitive mind, there will be another calm bystander, meditating quietly like a Zen meditator among the gray cells that are constantly fighting.At this point Ellery seemed to hear it say, "Wait, this man's death cannot be blamed on you, just be patient." An hour later, the people who surrounded Buck Horn's body stood next to another body—the body of Woody the one-armed knight was also bloody, twisted, and broken.He was also covered with a blanket.

Detectives and detectives have been called in to start the search. The stadium was tightly sealed off. Under his command, Major Kobe's photography team worked hard to photograph the scene. The team of the cavalry troupe was restless.The horses were pacified by Boone to drink at the trough. In Mars's box, everyone was silent; Kit Horn stood blankly, his face was ashen; Tony Mars was so emotional that he almost lost control; Hunter and boxing champion Black nervously leaned on the railing to watch the movement on the other side of the field. Dr. Samuel Boddy, a medical assistant in New York City, stood up from the body and waved the blanket back on the dead body: "The bullet went to the heart, officer."

"The same location?" Officer Quinn asked gruffly, as if he was experiencing an absurd nightmare. "You mean it's the same as the previous one? It's almost the same." Dr. Boddy closed the instrument case, "The bullet penetrated from his left armpit and went into the heart. If his left arm is not missing, I'm afraid he is still alive now." Can live. With the arm in his way he probably got away with it. If the bullet had flown any higher, it would have hit the stump of his broken arm." "Killed by one shot?" Officer Quinn asked in a low voice.He seemed to be flashing back to Ellery's last comment about the accuracy of the killer's shots.

"One-shot kill." Dr. Boddy replied dryly. A routine search has been launched.Thinking of the unpleasant experience last time, Officer Quinn deployed more cautiously, doing everything possible to prevent suspects or weapons from leaving the venue. "I guess the bullet is .25 again this time?" Dr. Boddy quickly removed the bullet from the dead man—another bullet head intact, with blood on it.Undoubtedly, it also came from that .25 automatic pistol. "What's the shooting angle, Samuel?" Sergeant Quinn asked in a low voice. Boddy grinned coldly: "If you ask me, it's fucking amazing. It's exactly the same angle as Horne last time!"

The cowboys were rounded up, and the weapons were returned.They were searched and checked one by one, without missing a single one.Officer Wiley re-scrutinized the playing field and found another bullet casing—disfigured, bumpy, and mud-stained, apparently trampled and kicked violently by horseshoes.The bullet casings were found in exactly the same location as the previous one. However, the .25 automatic pistol was still missing. Lieutenant Knowles, a ballistic expert from the police station, also came to the scene this time.The dreaded task of searching 20,000 people began tediously again.

Unbelievably, several .25 pistols were found!In the long and narrow basement, Lieutenant Knowles set up a temporary laboratory and called Major Kobe. The two spent a lot of effort to make a moderately thick gun target out of cotton rolls.Lieutenant Knowles used the contrast microscope he had brought with him to compare the bullet removed from the deceased with the previous one... The search continued.Officer Quinn yelled and ran around, answering questions and issuing orders.The chief of police himself was there, accompanied by one of the mayor's staff. Everything is going on, and it is far from over.

When all that could be done was done, there was only one discovery, other than the certainty that the dead man had indeed been murdered. Lieutenant Knowles made the test report wearily and sluggishly, and Major Kirby hovered beside him silently. "Have you checked all the guns?" Officer Quinn asked. "Yes, Sergeant. No automatic pistol was found that fired the bullet from the deceased." Officer Quinn fell silent.Obviously saying anything is superfluous. "But there's one thing I'm sure of, though I can check it all over again when I get back to the laboratory." The lieutenant went on, "Major Kirby agrees with my conclusion: the bullet that killed Woody is the same bullet that killed Buck Horn." , the feature textures are exactly the same."

"You mean that both bullets were fired from the same pistol?" asked the police chief. "Yes, sir. There is no doubt about it." Ellery stood aside, gnawing his nails, meditating, chagrined.But no one around noticed his presence. The ghostly drama is still going on. The crowd was gradually passed through the sieve and sent out of the venue.The entire playground was also searched.Auditoriums, offices, stables, and every nook and cranny of the building, had been searched by the careful eye and felt by the able finger. Still can't find the gun.It seemed that there was nothing left to do but to admit to the adversary's skillful deception and the complete failure of the investigative operation.

While the Chief of Police, the Mayor's staff, Sergeant Quinn, Lieutenant Knowles, and Major Kirby stood there awkwardly looking at each other, Curly Grant broke the dull situation by bringing a new focus of attention.For it was the only new and unusual event in the mind-bending series of similarities since Horne's murder. Curley came running from the lane on the east side of the field.He stared, panted, and panicked and rushed straight towards his father who was standing on the runway with his head hanging down in a daze. Everyone turned their heads in surprise, and at the same time felt that something unusual had happened.

They clearly heard what Curley said to their father, the voice floating over was full of doubts, horror and resentment. "Dad! The money is gone!" Crazy Bill Grant raised his head slowly: "What? What are you talking about, son? That pen..." "That money! Ten thousand dollars! I put it in the iron box in the dressing room this afternoon, and it's gone now!"