Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Things Behind

On the morning of Thursday, October 7th, an ordinary and monotonous day, Attorney Simpson called a combat conference.It was also on this day that Ellery Quinn officially came into contact with the intricate charade that came to be known as the Khalkis Case.At this time, Ellery was still young and arrogant, and his relationship with the New York City police authorities was not fully clear at this time, so he was a bit suspected of stealing his job, even though he was Richard Quinn. The son of a police officer has a distinctive status.In fact, even the seasoned police officer had doubts about Ellery's quotable approach to solving actual criminal problems by relying on pure reasoning.However, since Ellery had taken on a few isolated cases based on his still-developing faculty of deductive method, this constituted a precedent that gave him reason to judge calmly when Prosecutor Simpson sounded the conference alarm. I must also be present at the meeting.

To tell the truth, Ellery knew nothing of George Khalkis' death, let alone the stolen will. As a result, he asked some of the questions of prosecutors that everyone in the meeting except Ellery himself didn't know.The prosecutor at this time, who had not yet become his close companion as he had been in later years, showed a look of impatience.Even the police officer was annoyed and made it clear, and Ellery leaned back in Simpson's fine leather chair, blushing slightly. Everyone in attendance was serious.There was Simpson at the meeting: At this time, he had not been a prosecutor for a long time, and he was small and thin, but he was in the middle of the day, so he gave people a sense of strength and fortitude-sharp eyes, radiant eyes, and at first he had a strong sense of fortitude. This seemed ludicrously thorny question was not carefully considered, and he was in no hurry.There was also Pepper: the slick Pepper, a member of Simpson's prosecutorial team, assigned to administrative duties, and his whole muscular frame became a dejected image.There was also old man Cronin, Simpson's first deputy, who was far more mature and wise in handling criminal cases than the two aforementioned colleagues; As agile as a foal, as experienced as a great horse.There was also Sergeant Richard Quinn, an old man with a small, pointed face, gray beard and hair, and more like a bird--a thin old man with a pair of old-fashioned ties. He has the partiality of a hound, the latent resilience of a hound, and a good knowledge of orthodox criminology.At this time, he was playing with his brown snuff bottle that had been with him for many years.

Of course, there was this Ellery at the meeting—the Ellery at the moment hadn't figured it out yet.He brandished his sparkling pince-nez as he made a point.When he smiled, his entire face was full of smiles—everyone called him Zhang Jun’s face, with a long and lovable profile, and a pair of clear and bright eyes showed that he was very intelligent.Otherwise, he was no different from the average young lad just out of school: tall, unkempt, broad-shouldered, and good at sports.As he looked at Prosecutor Simpson, Prosecutor Simpson was visibly uncomfortable. "Well, folks, we're still dealing with the same old thing," Simpson muttered. "There's a lot to think about, but nothing to do. Well, Pepper, do you see anything else that might give us a headache?"

"It's nothing more important," Pepper replied sullenly. "Of course I took a chance on this fellow Sloan—to have him alone. A person who has suffered losses due to a will. But Sloane and I were bothered—he was silent all day yesterday. What can I do? We have no proof." "There's a way," said the officer vaguely. "Nonsense, old Quinn," Simpson cut him off, "there's no evidence against him. And you can't extract a confession from a man like Sloane just because he's supposed to have a criminal motive. Pepper, is there anything else?"

"Well, Willie and I are at the end of our ropes, and we both know it. We have no right to keep the house secluded, so Willie had to evacuate two of his men yesterday. I don't know. Da Gan was willing to let go so easily, so I stayed there all night last night—I don’t think those people even knew I was there.” "Did you find anything?" Cronin asked curiously. "Well," said Pepper hesitantly, "sees something...but," he went on, "but I don't think that's a big deal. She's a good kid—highly unlikely— " "Pepper, who are you talking about?" Simpson asked.

"It's Miss Bright, Miss Joan Bright," Pepper replied reluctantly, "I saw her snooping in Khalkis' study at one o'clock this morning. Of course she shouldn't be in the study—Willie I have clearly informed them that none of them are allowed to go..." "You're talking about the pretty secretary of our late mystery man, aren't you?" Ellery asked lazily. "Uh, uh, yeah," Pepper seemed to be having difficulty maintaining her normal tone, "yes, she rummaged through the safe—" "Ha!" said the officer. ". . . but I suppose she didn't find anything, because she stood there for a moment in the middle of the study, she looked so pretty in her slacks, and then she stomped and patted the slacks."

"Did you question her?" Simpson asked roughly. "No, I didn't ask her. I really don't think there's anything wrong with it, you see," Pepper spread her hands and began, but was cut off by Simpson, "Pepper, you really have to get over that." Preference for pretty faces. I reckon she deserves to be questioned, I reckon she'll tell, hell!" "You'll understand someday, Pepper," Cronin said with a chuckle, "I still remember a time when a woman put her arms around my neck and—" Simpson frowned.Pepper was about to say something more, blushed to the ears, and finally decided not to talk about anything.

"Is there anything else going on?" "It's a bit of a routine. Jesse's still at the Khalkis house. Willie's policewoman is there. They keep searching everyone who comes out of the house. Jesse's got a list," Pepper said. , fumbling in his breast pocket, produced a slip of crepe paper, scribbled clumsily in pencil, "This list is all that has come to this house since we left there on Tuesday. Outsider. I kept remembering it until last night." Simpson snatched the scrap of paper and read it aloud: "Reverend Ida. Mrs. Moss—that's the old madman, isn't it? James Knox—oh, he's home. Clint, Ehlers, Jackson, these are journalists. Who are these, Pepper? These two: Robert Patley and Mrs. Duke?"

"These two were very rich, regular customers of the deceased. Came to pay their respects." Simpson absently crumpled up the list: "Well, Pepper, now you're the only one asking. When Woodroff called to report the will was stolen, you volunteered to take on the case, and I'll leave the errand to you." You. I don't want to stress this, but if you let Miss Bright's unmistakable beauty take you out of your job, I'll beat you... Well, let's not talk about it. You now What are you going to do? Any ideas?" Pepper swallowed: "I don't want to stumble... Well, I have an idea, prosecutor. Let's put it bluntly, all the facts show that this case is absolutely impossible. The will must be in the house, but it is not. What nonsense!" He slapped Simpson's desk. "Now there's a fact that makes all the rest seem impossible. And that fact is -- that Woodruff saw the will in the safe five minutes before the funeral. .But, Prosecutor—we're just relying on his words for this fact! You know what I mean?"

"You mean," said the officer thoughtfully, "that Woodroff is lying when he says he saw the will at that time? In other words, the will may have been stolen five minutes before, and whoever stole it could have Do you mean to get out of the house and dispose of it at a time when its actions are not subject to verification?" "Exactly, Sergeant. Listen to me—we've got to be logical, don't we? Wills don't turn into air, do they?" "Then how do you know," retorted Simpson, "that the will wasn't stolen within five minutes, as Woodroff said, and then burned, or ripped up, or otherwise disposed of Woolen cloth?"

"But, Simpson," said Ellery lukewarmly, "you can't burn or tear up the tin box, can you?" "That's true," the prosecutor murmured. "Where is the box?" "That's why I think," said Pepper triumphantly, "that Woodruff was lying. The will, and the tin box in which it was contained, were never in the safe during the time he supposedly saw it. !" "But, my God," cried the sergeant, "what? Why would he lie?" Pepper shrugged.Ellery said with interest: "Gentlemen, none of you in this room are approaching this question in the right way. It is a question that must be analyzed, and all possibilities must be considered." "It seems that you have already analyzed it?" Simpson said sourly. "Ah—yes. I did analyze it. And the results of my analysis lead to an interesting—or rather very interesting—possibility." Ellery straightened up now, smiling. Mi's.The inspector took a pinch of snuff and said nothing.Pepper leaned forward, pricked up his ears, and looked at Ellery with a kind of admiration, as if he had just noticed the presence of Ellery, "Let me review so far the facts," Ellery went on briskly, "you will all agree that there are two incidental possibilities: one is that the new will no longer exists at this time; the second is that the new will The moment does exist. "Let's consider the first possibility. If the will no longer exists, it would mean that Woodroff was lying when he said he saw it in the safe five minutes before the funeral, when the will was never there, it had long been Destroyed by someone or a few people who don't know who. Maybe Woodroff was telling the truth, so the will was stolen after he saw it, that is, in those five minutes, Then it was destroyed. In this latter case, the burglar probably burned or tore up the will, and the ashes were probably taken to the bathroom and drained from the sewer; The fact that the box was never found disproves the presumed destruction. No remnants of the tin box were found; then it is likely that the will was also stolen and not destroyed. However, think about it, if Woodroff To tell the truth, then, the tin box could not have been taken away on that occasion, so we've come to a dead end on the first major possibility. At any rate, if the will has indeed been destroyed, Then there is no way.” "That," said Simpson, turning to the sergeant, "that's good, good. My God, boy," he said anxiously, turning back to Ellery, "these We all understand. What's the business of your talking?" "Dear Officer," Ellery said to his father, aggrieved, "will you give this guy permission to insult your son? Listen, Simpson. It's illogical that you're asking me to jump to conclusions. Because In the absence of factual basis, the first assumption has to be dismissed, and we come to another assumption--assuming that the will does exist at this moment. What can we do then?--Ah, this is the most fascinating state of affairs. Listen, gentlemen. Let me tell you! Everyone who left that house for the funeral is back. The two people who were in the house are still there—one of them, Wegersch, is actually still in the study where the safe was kept During the funeral, no one entered the house. The people in the house, and the funeral procession, had no chance of contact with the outside world; as for the will that might fall into the hands of people on the cemetery. , but they were also the ones where everyone came back to the house. "However," he went on at once, "there is no will to be found in the whole house, on every one of the people in the house, all the way in the backyard, and in the graveyard! So I demand, beg, I implore and implore you,' Ellery concluded with mischievous eyes: "Answer the thought-provoking question: What was the only thing at this funeral that left the house and never came back, and has never been since the will was discovered missing?" Haven't been searched?" Simpson said, "Bullshit. Everything was searched, and told you, pretty damn thorough. You know it, boy." "Yes, that's right, my boy," said the Inspector mildly. "Nothing has been overlooked—didn't you catch me when I told the whole thing?" "Hey, you living dragons!" Ellery lamented. "It's true that 'to have eyes and not see is worse than to be blind...'" He added softly, "Respect Your elders, you really didn’t overlook anything, except for the coffin and Kajishi’s body in the coffin!” The officer beamed at this, Pepper grunted disgustingly in his throat, Cronin laughed, and Simpson slapped himself hard on the forehead.Ellery grinned nonchalantly. Pepper was the first to return to normal, and grinned at him too: "Mr. Quinn," he said, "Great." Simpson took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and coughed dryly: "I--well, little Quinn, I didn't say these words just now, let's talk about it, young man." "Well, gentlemen," Ellery went on slowly, "it is my great honor to hear from you. It is an interesting discussion. The final preparations after the burial are a hectic time. Therefore, it is not difficult for the thief to take advantage of this to open the safe, take the will and the small iron box containing the will, and then go to the living room, and find a chance to stuff the box and the will into the crease of the coffin lining, or Stuffed in Mr. Khalkis' shroud or something." "It's so convenient and reliable," murmured Inspector Quin. "Burying the will with the body has exactly the same effect as destroying it." "That's right, Dad. The coffin will be buried soon. Hiding the will secretly in the coffin can also achieve the thief's purpose. Why destroy it? Since Khalkis died naturally, the thief certainly has no reason to think that the coffin will one day be like the coffin. The judgment of the end of the world will be seen again. In this way-this will will be completely cut off from this world, just like being burned into ashes and pumped into the sewer. "There is also a psychological basis for this inference. There was only one key on the tin box, and that key was in Woodroff's possession. So the thieves probably couldn't have escaped in the short five minutes before the funeral procession left home. He could not—or would not—carry the box with the will on him, it would be too cumbersome and dangerous. So, gentlemen, the box and the will may be in Khalkis’ coffin. If you think The inference is reasonable, please hurry up and act.” Officer Quinn stood up tremblingly: "It seems that the grave must be arranged immediately." "Seems so, doesn't it?" Simpson coughed dryly again, looking at the officer. "As Ellery -- ahem -- Ellery already pointed out, there's no absolute certainty that a will is in a coffin. Maybe Woodruff lied. But we've got to open the coffin to be sure. What do you think, Pepper?" "I think," laughed Pepper, "that Mr. Quinn's analysis hits the nail on the head." "That's fine. Get ready and open the coffin tomorrow morning. It's too late today." Pepper showed a look of hesitation: "There may be entanglements, prosecutor. In any case, this is not an exhumation test based on suspicion of murder. How do we report to the judge for approval-?" "You go to Bradley. He's very open about such things, and I'll see him myself. It won't be any trouble, Pepper. Go." Simpson grabbed the phone, Got a call from the Khalkis house, "Hesse... Hessie, I'm Simpson. You go tell everyone in the house to be at the party tomorrow morning...Yeah, just tell them we're going Keith digging open the coffin...open the coffin, you fool! ...Who? All right, let me talk to him." He pressed the receiver to his chest and said to the officer, "Knox is there— - This Knox...Hi! Are you Mr. Knox? I'm Prosecutor Simpson...Yeah, that's awful. Very sad...Well, we've got a clue now, we need to dig up the coffin . . . Oh, it must be, sir . . . what? . . . Of course I'm sorry, Mr. Knox . . . Well, you needn't worry. We'll take care of everything." He hung up the phone lightly and said, "The situation is complicated. In the will that cannot be retrieved now, Knox was appointed as the executor, but if the will cannot be found, we have no way of determining the total repository of the collection. Who is the new heir, and there is no executor. Khalkis will be deemed to have died intestate...Well, it seems he is very concerned about this. If the will is not found in the coffin tomorrow , we had to appoint him as administrator. Knox was busy at the house at the moment talking to Woodruff. Making a preliminary estimate of the estate. He said he was there all day. He was his Damn it's nice to take care of it all." "Was he there when the grave was opened?" Ellery asked. "I've always wanted to meet a millionaire." "He says he won't come. He's going out of town again early tomorrow morning." "It's a big disappointment to me," said Ellery gloomily.