Chapter 11 second act

Mr. Jerry Lane stood in the middle of the burnt laboratory, his eyes rolling.Inspector Sam had washed the dirt off his face and smoothed his wrinkled suit, but his eyes were sleepy and red and in a bad mood.Mo Xiu has already passed the shift, and Pickson, who is weak all over, sits in a chair that has not been damaged by the fire and talks cordially with a firefighter. The shelf was still against the wall, but damp and black with smoke.Except for the lower shelf, where there were miraculously unbroken bottles and cans, the rest of the shelves were empty, and the broken bottles and cans shattered into a thousand small pieces of glass and scattered all over the floor.Those bottles and cans have been carefully removed.

"The chemical team has already removed the dangerous chemicals," Sam said. "The first firefighters who arrived on the scene were all scolded by their deputy captain. It seems that when some chemicals catch fire, the water will intensify or not." What, it could have turned out worse—worse than what happened. As far as the situation is concerned, it was lucky that the fire was contained. Although Het had specially strengthened the tunnel wall of the laboratory at the time, the entire house It's still likely to be blown up. Well, now!" said the inspector, growling, "We're knocked down like a bunch of idiots. You know how that fire bug got here, Quasi said on the phone. How did you get in? I admit it's a mystery to me."

"No," said Mr. Jerry Lane, "it's not half as complicated as it looks, Inspector, and I believe the answer is absurdly simple, you see—the arsonist might have entered the laboratory through this door here. ?" "Of course it's impossible. Mo Xiu—one of my most powerful subordinates—swears that no one approached this door even half a step last night." "I take him at his word. The door, then, is removed from possible access. Now, let's look at the windows and throw some kind of incendiary into the room and start the fire..." "I told you it was impossible," replied the inspector. "The windows are all locked from the inside, and there is no sign of being pried open; and the firefighters arrived, and before the explosion, the glass of the two windows was not broken, so Windows are also out of consideration.”

"Exactly. I just lay out every possible theory first. Then the possibility of the window as an entrance is also eliminated, so what else?" "The chimney," said Sam, "but that's out of the question. One of my men was on the roof all night yesterday, so there's no way anyone could have slipped into the chimney and hid there all night. At midnight my other He also said that he didn’t see a ghost on the roof when his subordinates changed shifts. So what do you say?” "So I said," Ryan choked, "you thought you stumped me. Of the three known entrances, all three were guarded, but the arsonist not only had a way in, inspector, but also a way Get out... Now let me ask you a question, have you checked these walls?"

"Ah," Sam responded quickly, "that's what you're thinking of! Trap doors and stuff." He grinned, and then growled, "Nothing, Mr. Wren, these walls and floors and ceilings, They're as strong as Gibraltar, I've checked." "Well," Ryan's gray-green eyes flashed, "Excellent, Inspector, excellent! That dispelled the last doubt in my heart." Sam glared at him: "Why, what are you talking about! Isn't this almost impossible!" "No," Wren smiled, "not at all. Since the arsonist couldn't have gotten in either through the door or through the window, no matter how conceived, and all the walls, floors, and ceilings are solid—so there's only The next possibility, and in doing so, that possibility becomes a certainty."

Sam frowned. "You mean the chimney?" "It's not the chimney, Inspector," Wren said serious. "You've forgotten that there are two main parts to this whole setup: the chimney and the fireplace itself. Do you know what I mean?" "No, I don't understand. Of course the fireplace opens into this room, but how do you get into it unless you come down the chimney?" "That's exactly the question I asked myself." Ren walked to the fireplace, "And, unless your men are lying, unless there is some kind of trap in this room, I can tell you without even looking at the fireplace. your secret."

"secret?" "Do you remember what room was attached to the wall of this fireplace?" "Why, the woman's room in Kabiana is the scene of the murder." "Exactly. Do you remember what is on the other side of this fireplace that adjoins Miss Cabian's room?" The inspector stared at Wren dumbfounded, then strode forward. "Another fireplace!" he cried. "My God, there's another opening just behind this one!" He stooped and slipped through the front cabinet of the fireplace into the back wall.He stood up straight inside, and his head and chest could not be seen from the outside. Ren could only hear his heavy breathing, the sound of his hands scraping against the wall, and then a muffled exclamation. "Damn it, it is!" cried Sam. "Two fireplaces share the same chimney! The wall inside doesn't go all the way to the top—it's only about six feet from the floor!"

Mr. Jerry Lane sighed. It was cleared up without even soiling his clothes. The inspector was now so enthusiastic about the lead that his whole demeanor changed.He clapped shoulders and backs with Ryan, with a smile on his toad face, shouted at his subordinates, kicked Pixon off the seat, and offered a cigar to the firefighter. "Of course!" he roared, his hands dirty and his eyes bright, "that's the answer—exactly!" The secret of the fireplace is actually very simple.The fireplace in the laboratory and the fireplace in Louisa Kabian's room were connected to each other—the fireplace and the fireplace were on opposite sides of the same wall. Six feet high, thick fire brick wall, the top of which could not be seen from either room because the mantels of the fireplaces on either side were only four feet above the floor.From the top of the six-foot-high partition wall, the smoke-vents on both sides merged into one large exhaust pipe, through which the smoke from both fireplaces escaped to the roof.

"Clear enough, really clear enough," said the inspector enthusiastically, "that means that anyone can enter the laboratory at any time--either by climbing over the partition wall from the dead man's room inside the house, or from the house. The outer roof came down with those hand nails and foot nails in the chimney. Someone must have come in through Louisa's room last night, no wonder Mo Xiu didn't see anyone entering the laboratory from the corridor, and neither did the sentry on the roof. I saw half a figure!" "Indeed," said Wren, "and, of course, your visitor escaped by the same route. Have you considered, Inspector, that the first question, in any case, in order to get over the laboratory by the fireplace, is You know how our mysterious arsonist entered Miss Kabian's room, and Mo Xiu was also guarding that door at night."

Sam pulled his face down: "Don't try to come in through the door, it must be—yes! From the outside window sill, or the fire escape!" They went to the broken window and looked out.Outside the windows at the rear of the entire second floor was a long, two-foot-wide ledge, which apparently provided any daring raider with a passage into and out of any room from the rear of the house.There were two long, narrow fire escapes, with two landings outside the second floor, one on the laboratory and nursery side, and the other on the dead man's room and Miss Smith's room.Both fire escapes go up to the attic windows and down to the garden floor.

Ren glanced at Sam, and the two shook their heads at the same time. The two left the laboratory and walked into the room of the deceased.They bumped on the window, and the window was unlocked, and it swung open. They went back to the laboratory, and Pickson brought a chair from nowhere.Ren sat down, crossed his legs, and sighed: "From my point of view, and you should have deduced it too, Inspector, this is actually very clear. It can be said that as long as anyone knows the secret of the double fireplace, anyone can understand it last night." It is possible to enter the laboratory." Sam nodded unhappy: "Anyone, including inside and out." "So it seems. Did you ask about the movements of your large group of would-be suspects last night, Inspector?" "Hmph, but what did that do? You thought that firefly would let itself out, didn't you?" The inspector chewed hard on a cigar he had picked up by hand. "Regardless of the testimony of the gang, the attic Anyone is possible. As for the building at the front of the floor, any of them can pass the sleeping child, go up the fire escape and the window sill from the nursery, and don't have to go through the aisle to expose themselves to Moxiu's eyes. under view because they can go from their room to the nursery through the bathroom that's shared between the two bedrooms. So you see, that's how it is." "What did each of them say?" "Well, neither of them had an alibi for each other. Conrad was right when he said he went upstairs about eleven-thirty, for I saw him leave the library about that time, and Mo Hugh also saw him go into his room and he said he went to bed and fell asleep. Martha Hitt was in her room all night but she said she fell asleep right away and didn't hear when her husband came in .” "Where are the two Miss Hatters?" "Neither of them is suspicious—it's impossible anyway." "Really?" Ryan replied in a low voice, "But what did they say?" "Ji'er once went to the garden for a stroll and returned to her own room at about one o'clock. Moxiu confirmed this. Barbara went to bed very early, around eleven o'clock, neither of the two women left the room... Mo Xiu didn't see any suspicious behavior, at least as far as Mo Xiu could remember, no one opened the door or left the room—this guy has always had a good memory, and I trained him out." "Of course," Ren replied jokingly, "Our analysis may be completely wrong. The fire may be spontaneous at all, you know." "I hope so," Sam replied darkly, "but after the fire was out, experts from the fire brigade came to inspect the laboratory, and they concluded that it was arson. It is true, sir, a match was used to light the fire." Somewhere between the bed and the work table by the window, they found matches—the usual household matches, like the ones used in the kitchen downstairs." "And what about the explosion?" "That was no accident," said the inspector grimly. "The chemists found the remains of a broken bottle on the work table—a bottle of what they called carbon disulfide. They said that when it came into contact with heat, it had a highly Explosive. Of course, that could have been there all along—maybe it was on the desk before York Head disappeared—but I don't remember ever having a bottle of it on the work desk, do you?" "Don't remember, did that bottle come off the shelf?" "Uh-huh—there's a piece of broken glass with that same label on the corner." "Then, obviously your surmise was incorrect. York Hayt couldn't have left a bottle of carbon disulfide on the table, because, as you say, it was one of the standard bottles, and I remember it so well, The shelves were full, there wasn't a single corner of it open anywhere. No, someone did take it off the shelf and put it on the table on purpose, knowing it would blow up." "Well," said Sam, "it's true, whoever we're dealing with, at least he's out in the open. Let's go downstairs, Mr. Wren—I've got an idea." They went down to the ground floor, and the inspector sent for Mrs. Abuko.From the moment she appeared in the library, it was immediately obvious that the butler had almost completely lost her original tyrannical fighting spirit. The fire seemed to have terrified her, and burned most of her face like an Amazon woman. makeup. "You looking for me, Inspector Sam?" she asked timidly. "Yes, who is in charge of the laundry in this house?" "Laundry? I—it's me. I pick and distribute them every week and send them to a laundromat on Eighth Street." "Okay! Now listen carefully. Do you remember that nobody's clothes have been particularly dirty in the past few months? You know - dirty, with a lot of stains or charcoal? And maybe scuffed, scratched, Or a hole?" Wren said, "Allow me to congratulate you, Inspector, what a stroke of genius!" "Thanks," said Sam coldly. "I've been inspired now and then—especially when you're not around. Seeing you takes some of my talents away. . . . How, Mrs. Arbuckle?" She said fearfully: "No, sir—no." "Strange." Sam murmured. "Perhaps not," Wren remarked. "How long ago was the fire upstairs, Mrs. Arbuckle?" "I—I don't know. I've never heard of a fire going up there." Sam gestured for a detective, "Tell that nurse to come here." Evidently Miss Smith was tending to her terrified patient in the garden.She came in with a nervous smile on her face.When were the fireplaces in the laboratory and Louisa's room lit? "Mrs. Hatter never used her fireplace," said Miss Smith, "at least not since I came here. Mr. Hatter didn't use his either, as far as I know, for many years, I think . . . The chimney opening on the roof should be covered with a cover to prevent wind, and it should be taken down in summer.” "It's lucky for her," muttered the inspector mysteriously, "to keep her clothes clean--if there are any, they'll probably fall off in a pat, or not enough to attract attention. . . What do you see? Miss Smith? It's all right!" Miss Smith fled with a gasp, her fat breasts trembling all the way. "Inspector, you've always called our quarry 'she,'" said Wren, "and don't you ever think it's not a very proper thing for a woman to climb down a chimney or scale a six-foot brick wall— —I think I've pointed that out before?" "Listen, Mr. Wren," Sam said with a look of exhaustion, "I don't know what I feel or not. I thought I could chase some clues from the dirty clothes, but now I don't know what to do." It's gone. So what to do?" "But you haven't answered my question, Inspector," Ryan said with a smile. "Well, then, there's an accomplice! A male accomplice. Damn, I don't know," Sam said gloomily, "but that's not what bothers me right now." A sly look flashed into his tired eyes , "What is the purpose of this fire? Uh? Mr. Wren? Have you ever thought about it?" "My dear Inspector," said Mr. Jerry Lane promptly, "if we know why, then we shall probably know all about it. This question has been on my mind since your telephone call to Hamlet Heights. " "what is your opinion?" "My opinion is," Ryan stood up and started pacing back and forth in the library, "was the purpose of the fire to destroy something in the laboratory?" He shrugged, "but the laboratory has been destroyed The police searched, the arsonist should have known this, did we miss something when we checked yesterday? Could it be that the thing was so big that the arsonist couldn’t take it away, so he had to destroy it?” He said Shrugging again, "I admit I'm clueless on this one. Somehow, none of it sounds plausible—not one of the above possibilities." "It's elusive indeed," admitted the inspector. "It might be a trap, Mr. Wren?" "But, my dear fellow," cried Wren, "why? Why is it a trap? If it is a trap, its purpose must be to divert our attention from something that is about to happen—in other words, It's a kind of suspicion, a guerrilla strategy, a kind of shaming. But nothing happened, at least as far as we know!" He shook his head, "Strictly speaking, according to logic, after the person who may set fire to the laboratory, For some reason at the last moment he couldn't proceed with his original plan, perhaps the fire burned too quickly, perhaps a last-minute panic frightened him... I don't know, Inspector, I really don't know." Sam bit his lip and thought for a long time, while Ren continued to pace back and forth there. "There it is!" said the inspector, jumping up. "The fire and explosion are used to cover up the fact that more poison has been stolen!" "Don't get too excited, Inspector," Wren said wearily. "I've thought of that, but I've forgotten about it. The person who poisoned probably thought the police would count every drop of chemical in the laboratory." Is it possible that a vial of anything was stolen last night, still no one knows. So special fires and explosions to cover it up are not necessary at all. Besides, judging by the countless footprints in the dust on the floor, the person who poisoned was in the past Apparently he was a frequent visitor to the laboratory, and if he had the foresight--and he must, for the crimes so far have been in some respects rather unexpected--he would have To stockpile the poison once, in case the place is under strict surveillance and has to do dangerous and unnecessary things... No, Inspector, not for that reason, it must be for some quite different purpose, which is quite unusual, Beyond our common sense." He paused, "Almost," he continued slowly, "almost for no reason at all..." "Crazy," growled Sam approvingly, "you investigate a crime and all the suspects in it are idiots, it's maddening. What reason! Motivation! Logic!" He threw up his hands." Phew!" he said, "I just wish the Commissioner would take me off the case." They strolled into the corridor, and Wren took his hat and cane from George Abuko, a valet who cowered past them, a pathetic resemblance to his newly self-deprecated wife. Xi looked eager to please. "Before I go, Inspector, one thing," Ryan said when they stopped in the lobby, "I should warn you that there may be another poisoning attempt." Sam nodded: "I've already thought of that." "Good. After all, we are dealing with a murderer who has failed twice, and we should expect—and try to prevent—a third." "I'll get a guy from Dr. Schelling's office to come over here and inspect all the food and drink that hasn't arrived," Sam said. Bing's bright young doctor, nothing escapes him, and I'll keep him stationed in the kitchen where the source is. Well"—he held out his hand—"goodbye, Mr. Wren." Ren shook his hand: "Goodbye, Inspector." He turned halfway, then back again.They looked at each other with doubts in their eyes, and finally Ryan said in obvious pain: "By the way, inspector, I think I have an obligation to explain my views on certain things to you and Mr. Bruno..." "Yes..." The inspector couldn't wait, his spirits brightened. Ryan shook his cane negatively: "After reading the will tomorrow, I think it's the best time. Goodbye, good luck!" He turned his heels sharply and walked out of the house.