Chapter 24 Chapter 23 The Devil's Trick

Ellery continued to wander the stadium.In the beginning, he just lingered aimlessly—dissipating physical energy during exercise and concentrating his mind on thorough analytical thinking.While wandering, he saw Officer Quinn's tall, burly, taciturn assistant, Officer Willie--this person stayed behind in the sports field to investigate under the order of Officer Quinn--is diligently searching around, hoping to find the previous negligence. Missing evidence or clues.But he found nothing but growing doubts.Willie thought to himself: If the truth is buried underground, it may be buried too deep.

The cowboys of the Crazy Bill Grant Riding Troupe sat casually with solemn expressions, each of them was serious, and even answered questions with nods. "A bunch of docile beasts!" Police Officer Willie finally said without changing his expression. "Have no idea of ​​your own. Your boss didn't nod, so you dare not speak? Where did that mouse Miller go?" ?You bandy-legged fellows, bragging Westerners!" The eyes of the Cowboys started to light up. Ellery listened amusedly, and stopped to watch the farce. The cowboys are about to be unbearable, like the faint sensation before a volcano erupts.

Officer Willie sneered and continued to taunt them severely. He ridiculed their dialect and accent; questioned the legality of their births; probed into the chastity of their mothers; and then denied their moral standards.Then they ridiculed their god-like horses; calling them "smelly sheep-herding boys".He did his best to slander and curse them with the worst obscenities he could think of.Then he began to attack their various honorific nicknames, and even hinted that they had doubts about their gender, because they looked like men and women. This inevitably triggered an angry counterattack from the cowboys. Amidst the deafening roars and screams, Ellery really discovered something—(the cowboys pointed out) that Officer Willie was a ferocious The old wolf of the old wolf; the devil with the venom of snakes and scorpions in his stomach; the illegitimate son of the bastard of the half-goat; the villain who poisoned the well; A shameless liar, a despicable villain... It was finally proved that what he deserved was: he was sentenced to the most severe punishment and had to be "pinned out for public display" - that is the most talked about form of punishment in the west - circumcision The victim's eyelids are removed, his hands and feet are nailed to the ground, his face is exposed to the hot sun, and his body is bitten by thousands of insects and ants.

Ellery was delighted to hear from the sidelines. He also heard people yelling at the unmoved Officer Willie that they didn't know that Benjamin Miller at all; Miller, both should go to hell. Ellery sighed and walked down the corridor. He wandered around silently, and with the help of ingenious inquiries, he touched the dressing room of the missing person, Miller.It is not much different from other rooms, except that there is a table, a mirror, a chair and a wardrobe in a small space. Ellery sat down in a chair, put the cigarette case on the table, lit one, and thought quietly. After smoking the sixth cigarette, he said to himself: "I'm starting to understand. Yes... This person's psychological state is familiar, a bit like that case..." He sucked his lips, "But why is it just a search? Not yet..."

He jumped up, threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out, and walked towards the door.He looked around.Ten feet away a tall cowboy walked by, still muttering angrily to himself. "Hey! Come here!" Ellery called. The cowboy turned his head and squinted at him.It was the big man named Duns. "Ok?" "Look, old boy," said Ellery, "does that Miller guy have this dressing room all to himself?" Duns said gruffly, "Damn it, no way. Who do you think he is--Crazy Bill himself? Danu Boon's with him." Ellery blinked. "Ah, Boone. That little guy's not going to live long. Could you please find him for me, and save face?"

"Move your legs yourself." Duns suggested, and walked away with vigor. "It's so boring," muttered Ellery, and went to Boone himself.In one of the dressing rooms he found Boon, sitting alone on the ground meditating, muttering words, and the tone was still sad.The two short legs are coiled under the body, like the posture that Indian chiefs often pose.Along with the ups and downs in the mouth, the body is still moving forward and backward in a rhythmic manner, a bit like a superstitious old man praying before he is finished. In his hand, he was still holding a piece of gravel that was shaped like an arrow.

"Alus said," he said aloud to himself, "it's because that scumbag trampled my arrow talisman that it caused so much misery... Huh?" He looked up like a Staring owl with round eyes. Ellery went in, dragged Boone off the floor, and dragged him quickly down the aisle, back to the dressing room where he had been sitting for a long time. "What are you doing...what are you doing..." Boone complained. Ellery pushed him onto a chair, pointed his long fingers at his dry little face, and said, "Miller is your roommate, isn't he?" "Huh? That's right, Mr. Quinn!"

"Did you see him today, Boon?" "Huh? Of course I've seen it. I'm not telling you..." Boone's eyes were wide open, and his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. Ellery said with satisfaction, "Has Miller been in this room today?" "Yes, Mr. Quinn!" "Only himself?" "That's right!" Ellery whistled a very difficult piece, and the complex tones distracted him for a while.At the same time he scanned the objects in the room carefully. While blowing, he opened the drawer on the table - there were some messy small objects inside. After careful inspection, he didn't find anything that interested him.

Boon stared at him stupidly. Ellery went to the closet and opened the door.Inside hung a few fancy dresses, undoubtedly Boone's, judging by their small size.But Ellery pulled out a suit in a much larger size, which was identifiably worn by the missing Miller. "Not even the clothes," muttered Ellery, reaching into the pockets of his jeans. "It's not his clothes," Boone leaned forward and said, "It's the costumes of the troupe!" Ellery froze suddenly—he felt something cold and hard in a pocket.A look of extreme alertness came to his face, and then a sudden calm again.He ordered Boone to stay where he was, and ran out the door himself.

"Officer!" he called, "Officer Willie!" The shout echoed in the corridor. The loyal police officer immediately emerged from a dressing room door, alert and capable. "I'm here," he answered, "what's the matter, Mr. Quinn?" and running quickly down the corridor, along which people poked their heads out of the dressing-room doors; Officer Li pulled Boone and Miller into the room and closed the door. Willie looked at Boone who was shrunk aside, and then at the open wardrobe: "What happened?" "Did you search the room last night, Sergeant?" Ellery asked urgently.

"Search." "Where is the closet, have you searched the clothes in it?" "Search." "Did you search again this afternoon?" Willie's eyes are a little strange: "No. I want to search later. It's not the turn of this room yet." Ellery silently walked to the closet, took out the denim suit he had groped for, and held it up to Willie: "Do you remember this suit here last night, officer?" Willie's eyes lit up. "No, there was no suit last night:" "That's what Miller was wearing last night!" exclaimed Boon suddenly. "Ah," said Ellery, dropping his arms, "that's pretty clear. Who searched Miller, officer?" "I searched. I searched for those people." The police officer narrowed his eyes, "What's wrong?" "Didn't anything be found on Miller?" Ellery asked mildly. "No!" "Don't talk in that brawling tone, officer," Ellery said softly. "I have absolute confidence in the thoroughness of your search; if you found nothing on Miller last night, it means he was He just didn't have anything with him. Great! That means something was brought into this room just today, stuffed in the jeans that Miller left here." "What the hell is stuffed in his trousers?" Willie asked gruffly. Deliberately, Ellery slowly covered his right hand with a handkerchief and slipped it into Miller's trouser pocket.But he didn't take his hand away immediately.He asked loudly: "Who else has been to the playground today except the police and Grant?" Willie licked his lips. "Grant's son, and Kit Horn. I think I've seen Mars and Blake that bug." "Haven't Hunter and Marla Gay come?" "No." Ellery pulled his hand out of Miller's jeans. That's when a miracle really happened.In Ellery's handkerchief-covered hand was actually a small, real object--something that Officer Willey, Officer Quinn, and the entire New York police force had been fighting desperately for weeks; Something that apparently wasn't in this room—for a simple reason: it hadn't been there the previous few times the room had been searched. The last thorough search was conducted by Sergeant Willie the night before, just after Woody had been shot. At least, the above facts can be confirmed. Danu Boon was so shocked that he was on the point of crying.Officer Willie was also dumbfounded. In Ellery's hand was a small, flat, innocent-looking .25 automatic.