Chapter 19 Chapter Seventeen Playing the Heroine

Thinking back on those chaotic hours, I see now that while we were in a fog of despair—my father and I, at least—everything led swiftly and inevitably to an astonishing climax.I don't see a hint of what's to come: bodies covered in sheets removed, Prosecutor Hume bluntly ordering, talking to Warden Magnus on the phone at Algonquin Prison, planning how to capture the still-at-large suspect.We departed in silence, and Mr. Wren said nothing on the way home.Then, the next day... everything happened so fast.In the morning I met Jeremy, who, as usual, had left home for the mines after a violent argument with his father.The news of Dr. Fawcett's murder shocked old Clay greatly.He blames his father, a little embarrassed, for getting him into this predicament: running for the Senate for two wronged men.

His father flatly advised him to give up the campaign. "There's no other way, that's all," he said flatly. "Don't blame me, Clay, what can you blame? Call the reporters, and if you don't mind throwing stones at a dead man, tell them, You initially accepted the nomination simply to find evidence of Dr. Fawcett's misdeeds. Tell them the truth, that's all. Or maybe it wasn't the truth, maybe you wanted to accept the nomination..." "Of course not," Clay said, frowning. "That's it. Go meet with Hume and hand over all the evidence to him. I'll find out the relevant contracts of Fawcett's tampering. Then you will write a withdrawal statement to the newspaper as I just told you." Hume will be a state senator without an opponent, and will appreciate your concession, and you will be a hero in Tilden County for the rest of your life."

"this--" "And my work," my father continued politely, "is over. I haven't delivered any grades, so I don't receive any payment except some fees, and your original deposit is enough to cover those fees." gone." "Nonsense, Inspector! I didn't mean—" I backed out of their little squabble of intimacy because Martha, the housekeeper, told me to answer the phone.It was Jeremy, his voice sounded in a state of excitement, and after hearing his first words, I was infected with chills all over my body. "Petty!" His voice was low and tense, almost a whisper. "Is anyone with you?"

"No. For God's sake, Jeremy, what happened?" "Listen, Petty, I have something for you to do. I'm calling from the mine office," he said hastily. "It's an emergency, Petty, come right here, right now!" "But why, Jeremy, why?" I cried. "Don't ask, come here in my convertible, don't tell anyone, understand? Now come on, Petty, for God's sake, come on!" I acted at once, dropped the microphone, straightened my skirt, ran upstairs to get my hat and gloves, sprinted down again, and then sauntered out onto the porch again, while Father and Elihu Clay were still arguing.

"I want to go out in Jeremy's car," I said casually. "Can I?" They didn't hear me at all, so I hurried into the garage, hopped in Jeremy's convertible, and shot up the driveway like a dangling arrow, speeding down the hill like a pack of ghosts were chasing me.My mind was blank, and all I wanted was to get to the Clay Marble Mine as soon as possible. I'm sure I reached the end of the six-mile stretch in less than seven minutes.Then I rolled the car into the empty mine office and there was a cloud of smoke and Jeremy jumped on the running boards of the car and smiled at me like all young guys do when a young girl unexpectedly visits.

Although I saw a strange smile from an Italian stonemason out of the corner of my eye, what Jeremy said was not stupid at all, "Good girl, Petty," he said, the expression on his face remained the same, but his voice was extremely suppressed, " Don't look surprised, just smile at me." I forced a smile at him, reluctantly, but I was very sure. "Petty, I know where Alan Deo is hiding!" "Oh, Jeremy," I gasped. "Hush! I'm telling you... one of my drillers, quite reliable—a man who can be trusted, he will keep his mouth shut—sneaked up to me a few minutes ago. During his lunch break, he went into the woods, looking for a Lunch in the shade, and just over there half a mile away he saw Doo hiding in an old abandoned shed."

"Is he sure?" I asked in a low voice. "Pretty sure, he's seen the picture in the paper. Wear it, what shall we do? I know you think he's innocent—" "Jeremy Clay," I said abruptly, "he is indeed innocent, it is so cute of you to call me." He looked childish and helpless in his dusty overalls, "We Go there, sneak him out of the forest, send him to..." We stared at each other for a long time, like two terrified accomplices. Jeremy gritted his teeth and said briefly: "Let's go, pretend to be natural, let's go for a walk in the forest."

With a smile on his face, he helped me step out of the convertible, took my hand, squeezed it twice to reassure me, and then led me to the road leading to the forest, bending his head and whispering in my ear.To the workers watching, it was like a young man flattering his girlfriend.I giggled and looked into his eyes affectionately, but my mind was in chaos.What we're about to do is horrific enough, and I'm not sure if Alan Deo, who is still alive, has a chance of escaping the electric chair... After a seemingly endless road, we finally stepped into the forest. The cool shade of the trees covered our heads, and our noses were filled with the aroma of the bushes. The world seemed so far away from us, even though there were occasional explosions from mines. , also seem distant and unreal.We gave up our pretense of being foolish lovers and started running at full stride, Jeremy leading the way, swift as an Indian, and I following panting.

Suddenly I bumped headfirst into him, and he stopped, a look of alarm on his young, frank face.Alertness, fear, then despair. Then I heard it too, and it was alarm bells and dogs barking. "Jesus!" he whispered, "there's no hope, Petty, they've tracked him down by scent." "It's too late," I said in a low voice, my heart tightened, and I held his arm, and he grabbed my shoulder and shook it desperately, making my teeth chatter. "Damn it, don't act like a weak woman to me at this juncture!" He said angrily, "Come on, maybe it's not time to despair yet."

He turned and sprinted down the dark path deep into the forest, and I followed, confused and confused and annoyed.How dare he grab me and shake me?How dare he open his mouth to scold me? He stopped abruptly again, covered my mouth with his hand, then bent down, and began to crawl over a clump of dusty undergrowth, pulling me back from time to time, I bit my lip tightly to keep from crying, my skirt was caught The barbs on the tree were split and my fingers were cut, and then I forgot the pain and saw a small clearing in the forest. Too late!Ahead stood a ramshackle shack with a sagging roof, and across the clearing came the sound of hounds barking.

For a moment, the clearing looked calm and empty, but in a blink of an eye the tranquility was shattered. The guards in blue uniforms aimed their rifles at the shed, and the hunters—those ugly An extremely wild beast flew towards the door of the shed like lightning, stretched out its paws, scratched and jumped, and let out a terrible roar... The three ran forward, grabbed the leash, and dragged the dog back. We watched in silence and despair. A flash of red, accompanied by a burst of gunfire, came out of one of the two small windows of the shed, and I saw a revolver barrel recede into the shed, followed by a drooling hound , suddenly struggled up in a strange posture, fell down slumped, and died. "Don't come here!" said a shrill, hysterical voice -- it was Alan D'O. "Don't come here, don't come here! You'll end up like that bastard, and you won't catch me alive, I tell you Don't come here!" He screamed excitedly. I'm crawling on my knees, a frantic thought boils in my head, I can't care less now, I believe Doo can do what he says, he might actually commit a murder, but now there's a chance, a very Slim and crazy chance... Jeremy pulled me back again, "God, Petty, what the hell are you trying to do?" , something changed in the clearing, and I spotted Warden Magnus crouching among a group of guards, all of them backing away behind bushes and bushes, some approaching our hiding place, each armed guard with pursuit in his eyes. The fervent desire of the hunt... The warden walked into the clearing, "Deo," he called calmly, "don't do anything stupid, the shack is surrounded, we'll definitely reach you, we don't want to kill you..." boom!As if in a dream, I saw a red streak of blood appear by magic on the warden's bare right arm, blood began to drip onto the dry mud, and Deo fired again.A guard jumped out of the bushes and dragged the dazed warden back. I wrenched Jeremy's hand away with all my might, my heart was pounding, and ran into the clearing.For a split second the universe stopped spinning, and I noticed a sudden silence, as if the warden, the guards, the dogs, and even Dow himself were petrified by my reckless death.But I was so excited, and half-crazed by the dreadful thought in my mind, that I could no longer control my muscles. I secretly prayed that Jeremy would not jump out, and at almost the same moment, I saw three guards crawling behind him jump on him, and he struggled hard. I looked up and heard my own voice, bright and clear, say, "Aaron Deo, let me in. You know who I am, Pacings Sam. Let me in, I have to talk to you Talk." At the same time, he walked straight and lightly towards the shed. My mind went blank and I couldn't think at all.If Deo shot me out of fear, I would never know how I died. The sharp sound waves sting my eardrums. "Back back, the rest of you! She's in my hands, whoever dares to move, I'll kill her! Back up!" So I went to the door, it opened, and I stepped into the dim shadows, and smelled the damp inside, and the door slammed shut behind me, and I leaned against it, dizzy with fear, like a The old woman was trembling like a wobble... The poor thing looked really miserable--dirty, slovenly, stubbled, ugly, repulsive, and as despicable as Quasimodo.However, his eyes are very firm. It is the calmness and determination of a brave man in the face of inescapable death. He has a smoking revolver in his left hand. "Quick!" He said hoarsely, "If this is a hoax, I'll kill you immediately." He glanced out the window with piercing eyes, "Say it." "Alan D'O," I whispered, "you're doing no good, you know how much I believe you're innocent, and Mr. Wren--that merciful, Wise old gentleman—and my father, a retired Detective Inspector. They both believed—" "But none of them could save Alan Dow," he murmured. "Alan Deo, you will die if you do this!" I shouted, "Surrender yourself, this is your only way of life..." I kept talking, and I didn't quite know what I was talking about, probably Talking about what we're trying to do to help him, and how sure we can save him. In the haze, the voice sounded far away, and I heard Deo's broken whisper: "I am innocent, miss, I did not kill him, never. Save me, save me!" Then he knelt down and kissed me hands.My knees were shaking as I saw the smoking pistol drop to the ground.I lift him up.Putting his hand on his thin shoulders, he pushed open the door and walked out together.I believe he must have surrendered himself very calmly. Then I passed out.The next thing I know, Jeremy's head is next to my face, and someone is throwing water on my head. The rest are bitter memories.Whenever I think back to that afternoon, I always shudder.Father and Mr. Wren came hastily, and I remember sitting in Hume's office listening to poor Alan Dow's confessions.I also remember him huddling in his chair, humbly turning his gaunt, aging head from mine to Mr. Wren's to my father's.I was exhausted and dazed, and Mr. Wren had a tragic expression on his face.An hour before I entered Hume's office, I told Mr. Wren what I had promised Deo in the shed. I will never forget the words and the look on Mr. Wren's face at that moment. "Patiens, Patience!" he cried in agony, "you shouldn't have done it, I really don't know. I've tracked down something--quite astonishing, but incomplete, and I'm afraid I'll save him." It's impossible." Then I realized what I had done.Once again, I bring hope to this person, and once again... He answered questions.No, he didn't kill Dr. Fawcett, he didn't even set foot in that house... John Hume took out of a drawer the revolver Dow had in the shed. "It's Dr. Fawcett's," he said sternly. "Don't lie, Dr. Fawcett's valet just saw it yesterday afternoon. It's in the first drawer of the office bureau. Where did you get it?" Yes, Deo, you've been to that house..." Deo collapsed.Yes, yes, he yelled; but he didn't kill Fawcett, he was just on his appointment, and when he entered the house at half-past eleven, he saw Fawcett lying on the ground, covered in blood; There was a revolver, and in a panic he took it and ran out of the house... Yes, he gave the box, so what?He had a sly look on his face and refused to explain why. What does JA mean?He just squeezed his lips together. "Did you see the body?" Mr. Wren asked nervously. "I—yes, I saw it, but I just thought he was dead—" "Deo, are you sure he's dead?" "Yes, yes, sir, I'm sure!" The prosecutor showed Dow the note he had found on Dr. Fawcett's desk, and to the amazement of all of us except Jerry Lane, Dow denied it vehemently, and obviously sincerely.He screamed that he had never seen the note, the signed letter in Fawcett's handwriting; He never wrote the letter of "De Austria". The old gentleman said quickly, "Did you receive any letters from Dr. Fawcett during your last days in prison?" "Yes, Mr. Wren, I did, but not this one! I got on Tuesday—a letter from Fawcett telling me to get out on Thursday. It's true, Mr. Wren, his paper The note says it's Thursday!" "I don't understand," murmured Hume, "why did Fawcett lie to him like this, or because..." The old gentleman seemed to want to say something, but he just shook his head and remained silent.As for me, I began—slowly, very slowly—to see a glimmer of hope. What happened next was horrific.Once again John Hume chose the easy route: Once again, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sweet was in charge of prosecuting the case.With Deo's conviction for first-degree murder beyond doubt and the astonishing efficiency of the prosecution, the trial began at lightning speed.The biggest difference is that the citizens of Leeds were unable to watch the experience last time, and they wanted the law to sanction this person.A second murder indictment against the same man has outraged people, and it will take extraordinary courage in court to save Deo from returning to the heavily guarded dark prison. Incomprehensibly, Mr. Wren's attorney's fee was refused by Mark Collier, with his fat, triumphant face and unfathomable depths, refusing to stand up again for a hopeless case. And while Jerry Lane sat quietly, wracked with despair and powerlessness, Alan Doo was found guilty of first-degree murder after a forty-five-minute jury deliberation, and The sentence of electrocution came more than a month after he was last sentenced to life in prison. "Alan Deo ... sentenced to death according to the law and to be executed within the week commencing on the XX day of XX..." Two sheriff's deputies handcuffed him, and surrounded by armed guards, Aaron Deo was taken to Algonquin Jail.The silence of the death row prisoner's cell, like the frozen dirt under the tombstone in winter, hooded him.