Chapter 5 Chapter 4 Gossip

Emmen Crew looks like an absent-minded professor, and Joan Bright can't stop laughing at the sight of his sad horse face, scrunched nose and vacant eyes. , It was hard to hold back the laughter.However, as soon as Mr. Crewe began to speak, Joan's urge to laugh disappeared completely. "Where is the owner of the house?" His voice was as harsh and crisp as sparks on a wire. "Going home," Willie said. "Perhaps I can help," said Joan a little timidly. "How old is this house?" "Well, I—don't know." "Stand away then, who knows?"

Mrs. Sloane blew her nose gracefully on a scrap of lace. "This house is—oh, eighty years old, by the count." "It was remade," said Aaron Cheney eagerly. "Exactly. Remade. Remade many times. Uncle told me." "Not clear enough." Crewe was impatient, "Is the blueprint still there?" Everyone was at a loss and looked at each other. "Well," Crewe said displeasedly, "can anyone tell me anything else?" Nobody seemed to know anything, until Joan pursed her pretty lips and murmured, "Oh, wait a minute. What do you want? Blueprints or something?"

"Here, here, miss. Where is it?" "I think . . . " said Joan thoughtfully.She nodded like a pretty bird, and walked towards the dead man's desk.Pepper watched appreciatively with a grin as she rummaged through the bottom drawer until she found an old cardboard folder stuffed with yellowing paper, "This is an old bill payment folder ’” she said, “I think . . . ” she thought carefully, for she immediately found a blank sheet of paper with a stack of folded blueprints pinned to it, “is this what you want?” Crewe snatched the bundle of papers from her, strode to the desk, and buried his wrinkled nose into the blueprints.He kept shaking his head, stood up suddenly, and walked out of the study without saying a word, holding the blueprint in his hand.

There was another calm silence, like a cloud. "There is something you should know, Pepper." Willie pulled Pepper aside, and grabbed Woodroff's arm in a self-confident manner, but Woodroff's face turned pale, "Well, Listen, Mr. Woodroff. Somebody took the will. There must be a reason for it. You say it's a new will. So who loses what under the new will?" "On the other hand," said Pepper thoughtfully, "I don't see much in this situation other than its criminal undertones. Mr. Woodroff, we can quite well rely on the new will in your office. copy of the will, to ascertain the intent of the testator."

"It can't be done," Woodruff said.He sneezed, "It can't be done. Just listen." He pulled the two of them closer to him and looked around cautiously. "We have no way of knowing what this old man's intentions are! The trick is Here. Here is the reason. The Khalkis old will was valid until early last Friday morning. The terms of the old will were simple: Gilbert Sloan shall inherit the general Khalkis collection, including art and antiques. , and a private art gallery. Two trust funds are also mentioned--one for Khalkis' nephew Chenai, and the other for his cousin Demi, that stupid redneck over there. House and personal chattel All to his sister, Mrs. Sloane. Besides, there are some routine matters--cash gifts to Mrs. Simms and Wegsch, some hired personnel, and the transfer of certain works of art to certain museums, and so on."

"Who's nominated to be executor?" Pepper asked. "James Knox." Pepper whistled, and Willie looked bored. "You mean that millionaire Knox? The antiques junkie?" "That's the man. He's Khalkis's best client, and I think his friend, so Khalkis nominates him as executor of his property." "Ghostly friend," Willie said, "why isn't he at today's funeral?" "My good Inspector," said Woodroff, his eyes wide, "don't you read the papers? Mr. Knox is a big man. Khalkis died, he got an obituary, and was going to come to the funeral , but just before he was about to come, he was summoned to Washington. It happened this morning. According to reports in the newspaper, the president personally asked him to go—to discuss major economic affairs of the country.”

"When will he be back?" Willie asked savagely. "Nobody knows." "Well, that doesn't matter," Pepper said, "and what about the new will?" "A new will. By the way." Woodruff looked sly. "This is a bit of a mystery. Last Thursday night, around midnight, Khalkis called me. He told me Friday morning -- that is, the next morning -- sent him the full draft of a new will. Please note: the new will is actually a copy of the original, with one change: Omit the name of Gilbert Sloan, heir to the General Collection, leaving that position blank for a new name to be filled."

"Sloane?" Both Pepper and Willie took a sneak peek at the man.He was standing behind Mrs. Sloane's chair, like a pouting pigeon, staring blankly into the air, with a trembling hand, "Go on, Mr. Woodroff." "Well, I drew up a new will first thing on Friday morning, and got here by noon with the stuff. I found Khalkis alone. The old man was often withdrawn, and rather obstinate--calm, stern. , orderly enough to make you docile—but he was upset about something that morning. Anyway, he said emphatically, no one, not even my lord, should know the identity of the heir to the collection pool. Name. I laid out the will in front of him so he could fill in the blanks--he told me to stand across the room, you notice this--and he wrote something in the blanks, which I assumed were the heirs' Named. He himself pressed the blotting paper on the top of the signature, and quickly folded the paper. When he signed the will, Miss Bright, Wegsh and Mrs. Sims were there to witness it, and then by I assisted in sealing it and affixing the seal, and then put the will in a small iron box and stored it in a safe, and the box and box were locked by him. Who can know who the new heir is!"

They mused about it.Then Pepper asked, "Does anyone know the terms of the old will?" "Everyone knows. That's the general chatter in this house. Khalkis himself doesn't hide anything. As for the new will, Khalkis didn't go out of his way to hide the fact that he had prepared a new will, and I don't think so either. There's no reason for keeping it a secret. Of course the three witnesses knew about it, and I think they'll spread the word in this house." "Does Sloane know about this?" Willie blurted out. Woodruff nodded. "He knew! In fact, he came to my office that afternoon—he had apparently heard that Khalkis had signed a new will—to find out what such a change would do to him. Influence. So I told him that someone had taken his place, no one knew who but Khalkis himself, and he—”

Fire flashed in Pepper's eyes: "Damn it, Mr. Woodroff, you have no right to do this!" Woodruff said unreasonably: "Yeah, hey, Pepper, maybe it shouldn't be... I guess the new heir may be Mrs. Sloane, and if that's the case, then Sloane can still pass her. And get the total library of collections, so he still has nothing to lose after all." "Well, you see," Pepper snapped, "it's immoral to do that. It's so mindless. Well, it's done and there's no point in regretting it. Well, when you're watching the new will in the box five minutes before the funeral Did you find out who the new heir was then?"

"No. I plan to open the will after the funeral." "Are you sure it's the real copy?" "Are there any canceling clauses in the new will?" "What terms?" Willie asked aloud, puzzled. "What does it matter?" "That's enough of a headache," Pepper said, "that the new will contains a rescission clause, which means that the testator has decided to cancel the previous will. It means that no matter whether the new will Whether the will is found or not, the old one, which was valid until last Friday morning, is ineffective, and," he added grimly, "if we can't find a new one, there's no way of knowing who the new heir to the collection pool will be. , then Khalkis should be treated as an intestate death. What a mess, what a mess!" "That means," said Woodroff grimly, "that the property of Khalkis will be distributed by the judicial authorities in strict accordance with the rules of inheritance." "I see," Willie murmured, "as long as the new will can't be found, this guy Sloan will not fail anyway. Khalkis's next of kin is his sister, Mrs. Sloane. Now I understand Lah... well done!" Emmen Crewe had been wandering in and out of the study like a ghost, when he dropped the blueprints on the table and came towards the three. "What's the matter, eh?" Willie asked. "I can't find it. There is neither a darkroom nor a secret room. I can't find any gaps in the walls where two rooms join. The ceiling and the floor are all solid—that's how old houses used to be." "Shit!" Pepper said. "No, sir," continued the expert builder, "if the will had not been on someone in the house, I assure you it would never have been in this house." "But it must be there!" said Pepper excitedly. "Not here, just not here, brother." Crewe strode out of the study, and after a while, they heard the front door slam shut. The three men were no longer eloquent.Willie rushed out of the study without saying a word, and when he came back after a few minutes, his face was even uglier than before.His burly and majestic body seemed completely helpless. "Pepper," he said dryly, "I give up. I just went to the backyard and the graveyard myself. I didn't get anything. It must have been destroyed. What do you think?" "I have an idea," Pepper said, "but come on, I'll have to discuss it with the prosecutor first." Willie put his fists in his pockets and glanced across the battlefield. "Well," he said muffled, "I'm worn out. Listen, you people." These people had been listening; yet Such endless waiting had made them disheartened, and they stared at Willy intently, "While I'm away from this house, I'm going to close this study and the two back rooms. Listen." Got it? No one is allowed in. No one is allowed to touch Khalkis' room, not even Demetrio Kharkis's room—everything remains as it is. And one more thing. You It is up to you to leave the house or come back into it, but you will be searched every time you go in and out, so don't bother yourself, all of you. I'm done." "Uh uh." Someone said in a cave-like voice.Willie turned slowly and saw that Dr. Woz was striding forward--a medium-sized, bearded man, like an old seer, but built like an ape.The bright gray-brown eyes were set close together, looking at Inspector Willie with a certain sense of humor. "What are you doing?" Willie said angrily, standing on the carpet with his legs apart. The doctor smiled: "Your order will not cause any serious inconvenience to anyone who lives in this house, but, inspector, you don't know, which makes me very embarrassed. You know, I Just here as a guest. Am I to be entertained indefinitely by this wretched set of rules?" "Hey, who are you?" Willie took a clumsy step. "My name is Woz, and I am a citizen of the British Empire, a subject of His Majesty's Majesty," replied the bearded man with a wink. "I am a doctor—an ophthalmologist. I have been here for weeks. Mr Kharkish heals." Willie snorted.Pepper walked up to him and bit his ear.Willie nodded, and Pepper said, "Actually, Dr. Woz, we're not trying to make it hard for you, or your masters. You're totally free to get out of here. Of course," he went on, smiling, "You don't object to one last routine--that is, a thorough search of yourself and your luggage before you leave?" "Anything? Of course not, sir." Dr. Woz twirled his shaggy brown beard. "on the other hand--" "Oh, don't go, doctor!" screamed Mrs. Sloane, "don't leave us at this frightening hour. You've been so kind..." "Yes, don't go, doctor." There was a new voice, and it came from the depths of a tall, beautiful woman--a dark, bold and fierce beauty.The doctor stooped, murmured unintelligibly, and Willie said roughly, "Who are you, ma'am?" "I'm Mrs. Freeland." She fixed her eyes warningly and her voice grew thicker.At this moment, Joan resigned herself to leaning against the edge of Khalkis' desk, resolutely suppressing her laughter.Her blue eyes looked approvingly at the strong shoulder blades of Dr. Woz. "I am Mrs. Freeland. I live here. My husband is - was - Mr. Khalkis' traveling representative." "I don't understand you. You speak of a traveling representative—what is it? Where is your husband, ma'am?" The woman secretly got angry: "I don't like your tone! You have no right to talk to me in such a disrespectful tone!" "Okay, big sister. Answer my question." Willy's eyes became serious, and when Willy's eyes became serious, they were very serious indeed. She stopped babbling, and the resentment was gone: "He's—he's somewhere in Canada. He's on an advance trip." "We have tried to find out his exact location," Gilbert Sloan interrupted unexpectedly.He has black hair well-smeared with sesame oil, a pair of mustaches, and a pair of blistered eyes. He has a very uneven appearance and a dewy look. "We have tried to find out his exact location-we have heard recently, He's based in Quebec and is after some old tapestries he's heard about. We've left a message at the hotel where he last stayed, but we haven't heard from him yet. He'll probably see it in the papers The news of George's death." "Perhaps he doesn't read the newspaper," Willie said curtly. "All right. Dr. Woz, are you staying?" "Since I'm asked to stay--well. I'd love to." Dr. Woz moved to the back, standing as close as possible to the tall Mrs. Freeland. Willie looked at him secretly, then said hello to Pepper, and they went out into the corridor together.Woodruff followed closely, almost stepping on their heels.The rest of these people were all left in the study, and Pepper carefully closed the door behind him as he went out.Willie said to Woodruff: "Woodroff, what are you thinking right now?" They approached the hall door and turned to face him.The lawyer said sharply: "You see. Pepper just accused me of making a mess. I don't want to take any chances. Inspector, I want you to search me too. Do it yourself. I haven't It has been searched, you know." "Oh, come on, Mr. Woodruff," said Pepper reassuringly, "I know it's not—" "I think it's damn good," Willie said sullenly.He was not polite, and he tapped, dug, and squeezed Wu Zhuoff again.It could be seen from Woodruff's face that he did not expect to treat him like this at all. But Willie carefully read all the papers in the lawyer's pocket, one by one.Finally, he let go of the subject of the search: "You are innocent, Woodruff. Pepper, come here." They found Flint outside the house.This young and strong plainclothes man is playing tricks on the reporters. The number of journalists is getting smaller and smaller, and now only a few are left patiently staying at the gate beside the sidewalk.Willie allowed Flint to take a break with Rhett at the back door and the female police officer he posted in the house, and he squeezed out the door after giving the order.The reporters surrounded him and Pepper like a swarm of mosquitoes. "Is there any way, Inspector?" "Don't be so tight-lipped with us, you fool!" "Hey, Willy, don't be a dumb cop all your life." "How much extra money can you make by keeping your mouth shut like this?" Willie shakes off the hands of the reporters on his broad shoulders, and he and Pepper duck into the police car parked on the sidewalk. "How am I supposed to explain to the officer?" Willie muttered as the police car stumbled away. "He's going to knock me on the head." "Richard Quinn." The inspector grimaced, staring blankly at the crimson neck of the driver in the front seat. "Well, we did our best. The house is under siege now. I'm going to send another Brother, go check the fingerprints on the safe." "That would be good." Pepper was already discouraged at this time, sitting there biting his fingernails, "Maybe the prosecutor will give me a big lecture. I think I still have to keep an eye on Khalkis." That house. To-morrow, I'll go around again and see what's going on. Those idiots in the house, if they're going to make any trouble with our restrictions on their movements—" "Hmph, fool," Willie said.