Chapter 17 Chapter 16 Fermentation

Years later, Ellery Quinn recalled the present scene with this sentiment: "I took Knox's revelation as the date of my maturity. It changed the whole way I thought about myself. awareness, and awareness of one's own abilities." Countless pages of meticulous reasoning, eloquent rhetoric, all of a sudden became a pile of rubbish underfoot.It would not have caused him such an embarrassing sense of himself if it hadn't been mixed with a strong element of personal loss of face.He has been smug.I thought I was so clever in my analysis and so logical... It was that scene - in front of the majestic Knox - that originally prompted him to take advantage of it to show off his skills, but unexpectedly it made him ashamed and ashamed hot.

He is trying his best to control his mind at this moment, trying to absorb these living facts that refute his subjective thoughts, trying to forget that he was such a young sophomore in college.Bursts of slight pain disturbed his mind and disturbed his thinking activities.But one thing, he's clear -- he has to make up his mind on Knox.Knox's statement is unusual.Knox was the third.Khalkis—according to the clues of the teacup, the case is not good for Khalkis, but the third person—the argument has been overthrown... Blind!Is this also a speculative inference?Should come back to this point and ask for another answer...

Fortunately, no one paid him any attention as he curled up in his chair.The police officer kept asking questions, which overwhelmed the tycoon.What happened that night?How did Knox get involved with Greenshaw?What the hell is going on with all this? Knox rolled his gray eyes, looked at the police officer and Simpson seriously, and told the whole story.Roughly like this: Knox was originally one of Khalkis' best customers. Khalkis approached Knox three years ago to make a strange deal. Khalkis claimed possession of an almost priceless painting and was willing to sell it to Knox on the condition that Knox promise never to show it to anyone.What a strange request!This aroused Knox's vigilance.

What painting is it?Why be so sneaky?Khalkis is clearly candid.He said the painting was originally owned by the Victoria Museum in London.The museum estimates it's worth a million dollars... "Mr. Knox, do you want a million dollars?" the prosecutor asked, "I am not very good at art, but I know that even for famous paintings, a million dollars is a great price." Knox smiled slightly: "A million dollars is not a big deal for this famous painting, Simpson. This is Leonardo's painting." "Leonardo da Vinci?" "But I know that all his great works have been—"

"This one was discovered by the Victoria Museum a few years ago. In the first half of the 16th century, Leonardo planned to paint the frescoes for the main hall of the Palace of Visio in Florence. As a result, the frescoes were not completed, so he took the detailed drawings he had conceived. , to make this oil painting. It’s a long story, and I don’t want to go into details at the moment. This painting is called "The Battle of the Flag", and the Victoria Museum claims that it is a precious discovery. This newly discovered Leo According to me, Nado’s work is really not expensive for a million dollars.”

"Go on, sir." "Of course I'd like to ask how Khalkis got it. I don't think I've ever heard of it being on the market. Khalkis was vague—as if he was acting as a The agent of the museum in the United States. The museum is reluctant to publicize the matter, he said - if the British learn that this painting has left the British Isles, it will cause a storm of protests across the country. How beautiful Yeah, really. He actually got it out. I couldn't bear to give up. I finally bought it for Khalkis' asking price—$750,000, and it was a deal." The police officer nodded: "What's next, I've already counted."

"Yes. On Friday a week ago I was visited by a man who claimed to be Albert Grinshaw--he was not supposed to be admitted at all--however, on a note he scribbled A few words: 'Capture the Flag,' if they send it in to me, that's why I'm obliged to see him. He's a small, dark man with mouse eyes. Very shrewd— Old man. He told me a shocking news. Mainly, the Leonardo that I just bought from Khalkis wasn't a museum sale at all - it was stolen It was stolen from the museum five years ago. It was he, Greenshaw, who stole it, and he's outspoken about it." Prosecutor Simpson was completely engrossed by this point: both the officer and Pepper were leaning forward, too.Ellery remained motionless, staring at Knox intently.

Knox went on, unhurried, unsentimental, succinct.Greenshaw, under the pseudonym Graham, worked as a staff member at the Victoria Museum. Five years ago, he managed to steal the Leonardo painting and fled to the United States with the painting.This audacious theft was not discovered until after Greenshaw had left the country.By this time he had already arrived in New York and sold the painting privately to Khalkis.Khalkis was a decent man, but he was a fan of art: he couldn't help but be tempted to keep a rare treasure for himself.He decided to buy it: Greenshaw sold it to him for half a million dollars.But before the payment was made, Greenshaw was arrested in New York on earlier counterfeiting charges and sent to Sing Sing Prison for five years.During this period, after Greenshaw was closed for two years, Khalkis probably lost most of his available property due to investment failure; he could not make money, so he had to transfer this painting to Knox, as mentioned above Well, it was sold for $750,000, and Knox bought it after listening to Khalkis's fabricated story, without even knowing that the painting was stolen.

"Greenshaw was released from Sing Sing on Tuesday, a week ago," Knox went on, "and his first thought was to collect the half a million dollars that Khalkis owed him. He told me that he was in On Thursday night, I went to the Khalkis family and asked for the money. It seems that Khalkis’ business is still not improving, saying that he can’t get the money. Greenshaw is going to ask for the painting. Khalkis finally had to admit that he had transferred Sold it to me. Grimshaw threatened Khalkis - said he would kill him if he didn't pay. And walked away and found my house the next day, as I have already told.

"At this time, Greenshaw's request was very clear. He wanted me to pay the half a million dollars that Khalkis owed him. Of course I would not. , he is going to publicly expose that I have illegally possessed the stolen Leonardo works. I am also angry and furious." The more Knox said, the more annoyed he became, and his eyes were about to burst into flames. "I was pissed that Khalkis had put me in such an embarrassing position. I called Khalkis and made an appointment for him to meet with me and Greenshaw. It was the same evening— — last Friday night. This kind of deal is shady, and I asked him to give me a guarantee. The disheartened Khalkis, on the phone, promised to get everyone out of the way, and his secretary, Miss Bright Lead me and Greenshaw in, and Miss Bright knows nothing about the matter, and can't be trusted to say anything. It's no joke. It's a nuisance. That night, Greenshaw and I We went to Khalkis's house. Miss Bright led us inside. Khalkis waited alone in the study. We negotiated straight to the point."

Ellery, who was blushing to the ears, had returned to normal at this time, and he listened to Knox's narration with the same concentration as the others. Knox said he immediately made it clear to Khalkis that he hoped the antiques dealer would settle Greenshaw, or at least get Knox out of the entanglement, which was all about him.Khalkis was distraught, to the point of desperation, and claimed to be penniless; but Khalkis added that he had thought it over the night before, after Grimshaw's first visit, and resolved to do what he could. Meet Greenshaw.So Khalkis produced a new will, which he had drafted and signed that morning; this new will designated Greenshaw as the heir to the Khalkis collection and all facilities, worth Much more than the half a million dollars he owed Greenshaw. "Grimshaw is no fool," said Knox coldly. "He refused. He said that if his relatives objected, the inheritance might not go to him—and if it did, it would have to be done." When Khalkis 'bowed his head,' he spoke with a flutter of hands. No, he said, the sum must be paid in negotiable securities or cash—on the spot. He said he was not involved in the transaction. It's not 'putting a single file'. There is another accomplice, he said, that is the only other person in the world who knows about the stealing of the painting, and also knows that Khalkis bought the painting; he also said that in After his meeting with Khalkis the night before, he met with his accomplice and they went to Greenshaw's room at the Pinedi Hotel, and he told the accomplice that Khalkis had taken Leonardo The work was resold to me. They don't want a will, and they don't want that kind of money. If Khalkis really can't pay on the spot, then they would rather accept a promissory note payable to: Payable to the bearer— —” "This is to protect that accomplice," the officer murmured. "Yes. Pay to the bearer. The face value is half a million dollars, and the deadline is one month. Even if Khalkis loses his fortune, he will have to raise enough money. Greenshaw threatened with a dirty face, and the two of us even Killing him will not gain anything, because his accomplices know all the details, and if anything happens to him, they will never let the two of us go. As for who this accomplice is, he has no leaks , just blinked meaningfully... this person is really hateful." "Of course," said Simpson, frowning, "this circumstance makes all the difference, Mr. Knox. . . That's the business. Not disclosing who the wing is is protecting both the wing and Greenshaw." "Obviously, Simpson," said Knox, "I'll go on. Khalkis, blind as he is, immediately drew a promissory note 'to bearer', signed it, and handed it to Greenshaw. Grimshaw took it, and stuffed it in the battered old wallet that he carried with him." "We found the wallet," interposed the inspector gravely. "There's nothing in it." "I also saw this situation in the newspaper. At that time, I said to Kajishi that this matter has nothing to do with me, I stay out of it, and he can resist and deal with everything by himself. When we said goodbye, Khajishi this The blind old man was depressed. He stretched himself. It was very bad. Greenshaw and I left the house together; I was lucky to meet no one when we went out. On the outside steps, I said to Greenshaw, as long as He avoids offending me, and I just ignore it. If you want to plot against me, try it! It's asking for trouble." "Mr. Knox, when was the last time you saw Greenshaw?" asked the officer. "That was it. Got rid of him. I got a cab on the corner of Fifth Avenue and went home." "The last time I saw him, he was standing on the sidewalk looking at me. I could see him clearly, with a malicious grin on his face." "Just in front of Khalkis' house?" "Yes. Another thing. The next afternoon, after I had been informed of Khalkis' death--it was last Saturday--I received a personal letter from Khalkis. Judging by the postmark , sent that morning before Khalkis died. He must have written it on Friday night, just after Greenshaw and I left his house, and sent it the next morning. I have brought it." Knox produced a letter from his middle pocket.He handed it to the police officer, who drew a note from the envelope and read the scrawled letter aloud: "Dear Jenno: The events of tonight have brought me into a desperate situation. But there is nothing I can do. I have lost my money, and I am compelled to do so out of necessity. I did not mean to implicate you, but I did not think of the villain Grimshaw. Will come to you, and never imagined that he would blackmail you. I assure you, from now on, you will have nothing to do with it. I will try to silence Grimshaw and his gang, even if It means that I may have to sell the estate, put up a big sale of the pieces in my collection, and, if necessary, go into debt. In no event will it cost you, knowing that The only ones in your hand are you, me, and Greenshaw—and his accomplices, of course, but I will do what they ask to keep their mouths shut. Regarding this deal with Leonardo, I Not a word to anyone, not even Sloane, who runs my business... Ka." "This must be the letter," cried the Inspector. "Chudges gave this girl Brett to post last Saturday morning. It's crooked. A blind man can write like that." Ellery asked quietly, "Mr. Knox, you haven't told anyone about this?" Knox grunted, "Not really telling anyone. Up until last Friday, of course, I believed Khalkis' lie -- and the museum never made any publicity about it. People come to my house a lot. My private collection—friends, collectors, connoisseurs. So I kept this Leonardo a secret. I never told anyone. And after Friday, I Of course, I will not disclose it. On my side, no one knows about Leonardo’s work, and no one knows that I have such a painting.” Simpson looked troubled: "Of course, Mr. Knox, you understand that your current situation is very special..." "Huh? What's the matter?" "I mean," stammered Simpson, "that you have stolen goods in the nature of—" "Mr. Simpson means," explained the inspector, "that, in judicial terms, you are not prosecuting because you have been compensated." "Nonsense." Knox suddenly grinned, "What evidence do you have?" "You own the picture yourself." "Phew! What if I deny that I ever said that?" "You will never deny it now," said the inspector firmly. "I'm sure of it." "Drawing proves what you say," said Simpson; he was biting his lip nervously. Knox was unmoved: "Everyone, can you show that one? If you can't show Leonardo's work, you have nothing to prove. It's empty talk." The officer narrowed his eyes. "You mean, Mr. Knox, that you deliberately concealed the painting—refused to hand it over, and refused to admit that you owned it, did you?" Knox put his hand on his chin, looked at Simpson, then at the police officer: "Please pay attention. The way you are handling this problem is not right. What are you investigating-are you trying to catch the murderer, or are you tracking down? Criminal?" He was still smiling. "It seems to me, Mr. Knox," said the inspector, rising, "that you have taken a very strange attitude. It is our business to investigate all crimes in public relations. In your opinion, Why did you tell us everything?" "You're on to something, officer," Knox said lightly, "for two reasons. One, I intend to help solve this murder. Two, I have other motives." "I fell for it, that's all I have to say. The Leonardo I paid $700,000 for is not Leonardo at all!" "I see." The police officer looked at him slyly. "You fell into a trap, didn't you? So, when did you realize it?" "Yesterday, last night. I took the picture to my private expert. I'm sure the man is reliable--he'll never tell; this man alone knew I had the picture; and he didn't until last night. He thought it was the work of one of Leonardo's pupils, or possibly Leonardo's contemporary Lorenzo di Creedi—both of whom were van Lo Asahi's disciple. What I'm talking about now is all to paraphrase the words of this expert. The technique is exactly the same as Leonardo, he said-but he found evidence to support the argument from the painting itself. Yes, I don't need to talk about that now. This hapless painting is worth only a few thousand dollars at best. . "At any rate, the painting belongs to the Victorian Museum, Mr. Knox," the prosecutor declared, "and it should be returned—" "How do you know it belongs to the Victoria Museum? How do you know that the painting I bought is not a copy unearthed by someone else? Even if the Leonardo works in the Victoria Museum are indeed stolen, then Can't say for certain that I got this one. Maybe it's a hoax by Grimshaw--I believe it's his hoax. Maybe it's a hoax by Khalkis. Who knows? So what can you do?" "I propose that everyone here today keep this whole thing a secret," Ellery said. There is no objection to this.Knox is at the center of the occasion.The prosecutor was most offended; he whispered excitedly to the officer, who shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to bring up that embarrassing thing again." Ellery said with rare modesty, "Mr. Knox, what happened last Friday night to that will?" Woolen cloth?" "Greenshaw refused to accept, and Khalkis mechanically opened the safe against the wall, locked the will in an iron box inside the safe, and closed the safe again." "Where are the tea sets?" Knox said nonchalantly: "Grimshaw and I went into the study. The tea things were on the little shelf near the desk. Khalkis asked us if we would have tea - we found he had already been boiling water in the colander Well. Neither of us drank. Khalkis poured himself a cup of tea while we talked—" "Used a teabag and a slice of lemon?" "Yes, but he took the tea-bag out again. But then he got talking and he didn't drink it at all. The tea was cold. He didn't drink it when we were there." "There are three cups and saucers in the tray, aren't there?" "Yes, the other two glasses are always clean. No water has ever been poured into them." Ellery said icily: "I need to correct some misanalyses. It appears, frankly, that I have been tricked. I have been fooled by Machiavellian intrigue. It's so hard. "On the other hand, we must never allow our personal gains and losses to affect the overall situation. Please listen to me—you, Mr. Knox; you, Dad; you, Simpson; you, Pepper. If I have any loopholes, please Point it out right away. "I have been tricked by a sophisticated criminal. I can see that he has gone to great lengths to create false appearances as clues to lead me to 'smart' conclusions—that is, Make a conclusion that Khalkis is the murderer. Since we now know that there was only one dirty teacup within a few days after Khalkis' death, then if it changes to three, it must be placed by the murderer' Nails'. The criminal deliberately soiled the two clean cups with only the tea in the undrinked cup that Khalkis filled, and then poured the water elsewhere; the remaining water in the colander , but placed as it is, let me make wrong inferences. Once Miss Bright made it clear when she saw the original state of the cups, she completely ruled out the possibility that Khalkis arranged the three dirty teacups by herself. Illusion; for, when Miss Bright saw the three cups in what they were, Khalkis was dead and buried. Only one man could have had a motive for the illusion, and that was the murderer himself--a man so well-arranged, Lead me to mistrust, so that he can escape. "Now," Ellery went on in the same sombre tone, "as for the clue that Khalkis wasn't blind... the criminal must have happened by accident; he either found out, or Knowing the sequence on Khalkis' schedule, and he saw the bag sent by Baileys on the table in the lobby, maybe it was when he was arranging the teacups, he thought he could use the color of the tie So I put the bag in the drawer of the tall cabinet in Khalkis' bedroom, so that I can find it as soon as I check it, and provide me with a basis for deductive reasoning. Here comes the question: aside from this 'nail' is not Tell me, is Khalkis really blind, or is he pretending to be blind? How much does the criminal know the truth? For now, I would like to put aside the latter question for the time being." "However, there is one fact that is important. The criminal could never have arranged for Khalkis to wear the wrong tie on the Saturday morning of his death. My whole reasoning for Khalkis' recovery of sight must have something to do with it. This link is fallacious. We're still making the argument that Khalkis is blind. While it's still possible, he's not..." "Possibly, not necessarily," remarked Simpson, "because, as you have pointed out, if he suddenly regained his sight, why should he be silent?" "That's very true, Simpson. It seems that Khalkis is blind. In that case, my logic is wrong. So, how to explain Khalkis who is blind and knows that he is wearing a red tie. The fact? Could it be that Demmie, Sloan, or Miss Bright had told Kharkis that it was a red tie? That would make sense; If it is true, then these explanations still cannot be carried out. If we can not find another satisfactory explanation, then we have to conclude that one of the three must have lied in his testimony." "That girl Brett," cried the Inspector, "is not in my mind a reliable witness." "It's no use guessing, Dad." Ellery shook his head. "Unless we admit that reason is weak, and I don't want to admit it... As Mr. Knox narrated, I kept thinking about all kinds of things. Possibility. I found myself leaving out a possibility in my original reasoning - a possibility which, if true, would be astonishing. "There's also a way for Khalkis to know he's wearing a red tie without someone telling him, or seeing the color himself... It's not hard to prove, and it's not hard to deny. Wait a minute one time." Ellery went to the phone and made a call to Khalkis' house; everyone in the room watched him in silence.Everyone felt as if they were facing some kind of test. "Mrs. Sloan, please answer the phone... Mrs. Sloane? This is Ellery Queen. Is Mr. Demetrius Khalkis there? . . . That's very good. Please ask him to come at once Headquarters on Central Street—come to Officer Quinn's office... Yes, I understand. Well, let Wegsch accompany him, then... Mrs. Sloane. You take care of your Cousin, bring one of his cousin's green ties. It's important... No, please don't tell Wegsch what Demmie is carrying. Thank you." He shook the phone receiver, and said a few words to the police switchboard operator: "Please find Trigala, the Greek interpreter, and ask him to come to Police Officer Quinn's office." "I don't quite understand—" Simpson began. "I'm sorry." Ellery said firmly, lighting another cigarette. "Let me get on with it. Where were we talking? Here—now it's clear, the whole answer to Khalkis as the murderer was Indefensible. Because that answer rests on two points: first, that Khalkis is not actually blind; and second, that there were only two people in the study last Friday night. This second point has been and Miss Bright; and this first point, I have every reason to believe, will be blown away by myself in a moment. In other words, if we can prove that Khalkis was really blind that night, then, We no longer have any reason to suspect that Khalkis killed Greenshaw. In fact, we might as well rule out Khalkis as a suspect; only one person would need to create a false lead, and that person is the murderer; the false lead is Khalkis Like a murderer. So at least Khalkis had nothing to do with killing Greenshaw. "Now, based on Mr. Knox's account, Greenshaw's murder is apparently connected with the stolen Leonardo's work—not so far from my original theory," Ellery went on. " One thing that proves that the motive for the murder was related to stealing the painting: when Greenshaw was found in the coffin, the promissory note that Mr. Knox said Khalkis had issued to him was not in his wallet with the Clothes - apparently taken by the murderer when he strangled Greenshaw. The murderer intended to take the promissory note to rip off Khalkis, remember, Greenshaw was before Khalkis died was killed. "However, when Kajishi died suddenly, the promissory note obtained by the murderer actually became a piece of waste paper; because once Khajishi himself died, if he used this promissory note to withdraw cash, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. , will inevitably lead to some investigation, and the murderer will be in danger. When the murderer took the promissory note from Greenshaw, he only knew that Khalkis was still alive. In a sense, the death of Khalkis made Kaji Luckily, the legal heir of the gentleman had saved half a million dollars, a whopping sum of $500,000, in that declining estate. "But an even more important fact arises." Ellery paused, looking around the office.The door leading to the sheriff's office was closed; he went to it, opened it, looked around, closed it again, and came back again. "It's so important," he explained bitterly, "I don't even May the clerk hear." "Please pay attention. As I said just now, the only person who needs to pass the blame on the deceased Khalkis is of course the murderer. Therefore, this murderer must have two characteristics: First, since the murderer can make fake tea cups The clue, then, would have to be the ability to come in and out of Khalkis' house after the funeral, from the Tuesday afternoon when Miss Bright saw the two clean cups, to the Friday when we found the three dirty cups; The deceit, creating the illusion that there were only two of them, depended absolutely on--note this-- absolutely dependent on Mr. Knox's silence on the fact that he was the third, that there was The living fact of the presence of a third person. "Let me expand on the latter point. We now know that there were three people there that night. Whoever manipulated the teacup afterwards to make it look like there were only two people was there obviously knew that there were three people and that the three Who is this. But think about it. If he wants the police to believe that there are only two people present; then he must keep the three who are actually present in secret, otherwise it will not be a deception. Now, 'Two people Two out of three of the 'illustrators here' who, when he was so suspicious between Tuesday and Friday, were sure not to speak -- the murdered Grimshaw and the natural cause Khalkis. Only a third person, Mr. Knox, was left as a potential whistleblower, and as soon as he reported, the 'two people' scam was over. However, although Mr. Knox was still alive and Light and healthy, safe and sound, and the trickster is still up to his tricks. In other words, he thinks he's sure Mr. Knox won't speak up. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded and shook their heads, and every word entered the eardrums.Knox stared into Ellery's lips, fascinated. "But how does this scheming man know that Mr. Knox won't speak up?" Ellery went on eloquently. "Only if he knows the history of that Leonardo painting, only if he knows that Mr. Knox took possession of the painting under the condition of private sale. Then, and only then, can he It is safe to say that Mr. Knox, for his own protection, would never reveal that he was the third member of the Khalkis family last Friday night." "Brilliant, boy," said Knox. "Only once." Ellery did not smile. "What is most significant at this point remains to be seen. Mr. Knox, who will have access to this stolen Leonardo and yours?" What about the details involved? "Let's rule it out. "Kagis, he wrote in his own letter that he didn't tell anyone, and he's dead now. "You, Mr. Knox, told no one, except one—but we can rule him out by logic alone: ​​You told your expert—who authenticated the painting for you yesterday. , declaring that the painting was not Leonardo da Vinci's own handwriting: yet you only told him last night—he was too late to forge the clue! The forgery was before last night, because I discovered it yesterday morning. This excludes your expert, who was the only person you personally informed, Mr. Knox, that the painting was in your hand... This analysis seems unnecessary; your expert was not involved in the case ; there is of course no reason why he should be a criminal in this case; but I have endeavored to be comprehensive and to make my case flawless." He looked gloomily at the wall: "Who's left? Only Grimshaw, and he's dead. But—from what you quoted Grimshaw himself saying that night at the Khalkis's, Mr. Knox, Greenshaw claimed to have only told one person—'that's the only other person in the world', and I believe you quoted Greenshaw's words truthfully. He told this person about stealing the painting. The only person, According to his own account, his accomplices. Thus it follows that the only person, the only outsider, who is fully acquainted with the details of the theft of the old painting and its fall into your hands, is able to create three The illusion that every teacup has been used, on the other hand, you don't have to worry about you standing up and speaking!" "Yes, yes," Knox muttered. "What conclusion can be drawn from this?" Ellery's tone was still unhurried, neither happy nor worried, "Greenshaw's accomplices are the only ones who can create false clues, and the murderer is the only one who can To make false leads—thus Greenshaw's accomplice must be the murderer. Also, according to Greenshaw's own account, Grimshaw's accomplice was the one who followed him to the Pinedi Hotel room on the eve of his death the man—and this man, we may suppose, whom Greenshaw met last Friday night after you and Greenshaw came out of the Khalkis house, and who may have known all about the Ah, promissory notes, and what happened during your stay at Khalkis's." "Of course," said the Inspector thoughtfully, "some progress has been made, but so far we have not been able to begin. The man who was with Grimshaw last Thursday night was not at all a man. We have nothing to do with him." I don't have the material, kid." "That's true. But at least we've clarified a few issues. We've got a head start." Ellery stubbed out his cigarette and looked at everyone lazily. "There's another very interesting issue that I've been trying to avoid. Speaking of it. That is—the murderer miscalculated: Mr. Knox didn't keep his mouth shut. Now I'll ask, Mr. Knox, why didn't you keep silent?" "I told you," said the banker, "that the Leonardo I bought was not an authentic Leonardo at all. It was of no real value." "Exactly. Mr. Knox said that the reason was that he found the painting to be of no real value--to put it crudely, that he 'gave it all' and gave all the details. Yet he only To those of us here! In other words, the murderer, Greenshaw's henchman, still thinks we don't know anything about the painting, still thinks that since we catch the false lead he made, then we must conclude that Kaji士是凶手。那么，好吧——我们在这一点上迁就他，在另一点上牵制他。我们不能公开宣称卡吉士是凶手——我们明知他不是。然而我们要引凶手上钩，放出长线，看他下一步怎么走，不妨布置某种圈套，迫使他继续——怎样讲才好呢？——继续有所作为。所以，我们先放出空气把卡吉士当作凶手，并把布莱特小姐的证词抛给大家，让卡吉士是凶手的说法不攻自破；而在此期间，我们绝口不提诺克斯先生来讲的种种情况——一个字也不能走漏出去。这样，凶手就会认为诺克斯先生保持沉默了，并且继续寄望于他的沉默，同时他做梦也想不到这幅画并不是价值百万美金的利奥纳多的真迹。” “他会不敢抛头露面了，”检察官喃喃地说道，“他会晓得我们仍在缉拿凶手。好主意呀，埃勒里。” “我们暴露出已经根据布莱特小姐的新证词而推翻了卡吉士是凶手的说法。”埃勒里接着说道，“这并不会惊走咱们猎捕的对象。凶手对此是无可奈何的，因为，他毕竟一开始就冒着点风险，说不定有人会看出茶杯在外观上有所变动的。万一真的有人看出了这个变动，对凶手讲来当然是不幸的，但也未必一定就到了不可收拾的地步。” “切奈的失踪是怎么回事呢？”佩珀问。 埃勒里叹了口气：“当然喽，我的大胆假设，认为格林肖尸体是阿仑·切奈埋掉的，这完全以凶手是他舅舅卡吉士作为前提的。如今，我们根据新的事实，不难确定：埋葬格林肖的和杀害格林肖的，乃是同一个人。仅凭现有的材料，我们无论如何也找不出切奈失踪的原因来。对此还需拭目以待。” 机关内部通话器响了，警官起身去答话：“让他进来吧。叫另外那个人在外面等着。”他转身朝着埃勒里，“嗨嗨，孩子。你要的人来了，”他说道，“韦格施带他来的。” Ellery nodded.有人把门推开，放进了高大而蹒跚的狄米特里欧·卡吉士，他穿得倒相当挺刮，整整齐齐，但嘴角边挂着迷茫恍惚的狞笑，令人生厌，看来是分外的痴呆。大家也看见男仆韦格施心神不安地坐在警官的接待室里，圆顶礼帽紧抱在胸前。外间的门开启了，那位希腊语翻译员，油头粉面的屈加拉，匆匆走了进来。 “屈加拉！进来吧！”埃勒里嚷道，接着又转脸望着呆米那骨瘦如柴的手指间捏着的小包。屈加拉三步并作两步走，脸上带着询问的神色。有人从接待室把办公室的门拉上了。 “屈加拉，”埃勒里说，“你问问这白痴，吩咐他带来的东西他有没有带来？” 屈加拉一进来，呆米就满面春风了。屈加拉对这痴笑着的呆子，叽哩咕噜讲了几句。 呆米使劲点点头，举起了那个小包。 “很好。”埃勒里语气和缓，但两眼逼视，“再问问他，屈加拉，吩咐他带的是什么？” 简单地交换了几个生硬的字眼之后，屈加拉说道：“他讲，关照他带来一条绿领带，从他堂兄乔治的衣橱里拿来一条绿领带。” “好极啦。叫他把那条绿领带拿出来吧。” 屈加拉向呆米厉声讲了些什么，呆米又点了点头，就笨手笨脚地去解开他那小包上的绳子。解了好久好久——在此期间，一双双眼睛全都紧盯住那十只哆哆嗦嗦的手指，鸦雀无声。最后，他总算胜利地征服了一个难解的扣子，于是又小心翼翼地把绳子绕成一团，放进了自己的口袋，然后才打开包裹。扯掉了包装纸——呆米拎起了一根红领带…… 一阵喧哗，两位检察官激动得大声惊呼，警官用温和的语气骂娘，埃勒里叫他们平静下来。呆米带着痴头怪脑的傻笑望着大家，无声之中含有等待夸奖之意。埃勒里转身拉开了他父亲办公桌的上层抽屉，翻了一阵子。他终于站了起来，拿着一本记录册——绿色的册子。 “屈加拉，”埃勒里郑重地说，“问问他，这个册子是什么颜色。” 屈加拉遵命照办。呆米用希腊语回答得十分肯定——“他说，”翻译员用惊奇的口吻报告，“他说册子是红色的。” “好得很。谢谢你，屈加拉。把他带出去吧。并且告诉等在接待室的那个人，他们可以回家了。” 屈加拉抓住这个白痴的胳膊，领他离开了办公室；他们走出后，埃勒里把门关上。 “我认为，”他说，“这表明了我在过分自信的逻辑推理中，是怎么会失之毫厘、差以千里的。我万万估计不到，竟有这样的可能性：呆米——是色盲！” 大家点点头。“你们瞧，”他接着说道，“我当时是这样推算的：如果没有人告诉卡吉士他所系领带是红色的，又如果呆米是按照程序表给他准备衣着的，那么，卡吉士之所以知道领带的颜色，必定是由于他能看见了。我却没有考虑这样一个事实，那就是：程序表本身也可能是不对头的。按照程序表，呆米在上星期六早晨应该递给卡吉士绿领带。但我们现在知道，对呆米来讲，'绿色'这个字眼就等于红色——原来他是个色盲。换句话说，呆米患有一般常见的部分色盲症，他一直把红色当绿色，把绿色当红色；卡吉士知道呆米这个毛病，在拟订程序表的时候，凡是涉及到这两种颜色的，他就作出相应的安排。 “他如打算要一条红领带，他必须吩咐呆米去拿条'绿'的来。程序表就是根据这种情况制定的。总而言之——那天上午，尽管卡吉士所系领带颜色不相符合，然而他并不需要别人讲给他听，也不必自己能亲眼看见，他还知道自己系的是红领带。他并没有'换'领带——当呆米九点钟离家的时候，他就系着红领带。” “那么，”佩珀说，“这就意味着，呆米、史洛安和布莱特小姐讲的都是实话啦。总算搞清了这么一回事。” “一点不错。我们还必须研究一下早就应该研究的问题，那个诡计多端的凶手，究竟认为卡吉士是真瞎子呢，还是也象我一样的就事论事、自以为是地吃准卡吉士并不瞎呢。现在来猜测，是猜不出什么名堂的；比较可能的是后一种情况；他也许并不知道呆米是色盲；说不定他当时相信，到现在也仍然相信，卡吉士临死之前是能够看见的。不管怎样吧，我们目前对这个问题是无法摸透的。”埃勒里又转身朝着他的父亲，“有没有人记录着从星期二到星期五卡吉士家一切来客的名单？” 辛普森回答：“赫塞记录的。我派了人在那儿。佩珀，名单呢？” 佩珀拿出一张打字机打出的纸。埃勒里迅速地浏览了一遍：“看来他记录得很齐全。” 名单上包括奎因父子在掘墓开棺前一天，也就是星期四，曾经看过的那份记录来客的名单，又加上了从那以后一直到掘墓开棺结束的现场调本会为止的全部来客姓名。列在这份补充名单上的，有卡吉士家一切成员以及下列这些人：纳奇欧·苏伊查、迈尔士·伍卓夫、詹姆士·诺克斯、邓肯·富乐司德医生、亨尼威尔、艾达牧师、苏珊·莫思太太；还有死者的一些老主顾，除了已见于上次名单中的罗伯特·派特利和杜克太太之外——有一位吕班·戈德伯，一位蒂莫茜·华克尔太太，一位罗伯特·埃登。卡吉士收藏品总库的几名雇员也到这个住所来过了：西门·勃鲁肯、冉妮·玻姆、巴格·英索耳。名单最后的几个名字是一些颇有声望的报馆记者。 埃勒里把这张纸还给佩珀：“纽约市简直是倾城出动啦，几乎人人都曾到此一游啊……诺克斯先生，你能保证对于利奥纳多以及对你买进了它的整个情况守口如瓶吗？” “点水不漏。”诺克斯说。 “你还得保持警惕，先生——一旦出现什么新的情况，你能立刻向警官报告吗？” “极愿效劳。”诺克斯站起身来；佩珀抢上前去帮他穿大衣，“我曾与伍卓夫商讨了一下，”诺克斯一面穿大衣，一面这样说，“这份产业的法律方面事务，就委托给他了。真是一团糟啊，卡吉士显然要被当作未立遗嘱而死亡。希望新遗嘱可别在什么地方冒出来——伍卓夫说那会使事情更为复杂了。如果新遗嘱找不到的话，作为近亲的史洛安太太同意由我担任产业管理人。” “遗嘱丢了，就让它见鬼去吧，”辛普森不耐烦地说道，“反正我总认为，我们有足够的理由，宣告这个出于要挟的契约是无效的。这遗嘱说不定根本不作数的，鸡飞狗跳了一阵，无非是空忙。格林肖可有什么亲属啊？” 诺克斯哼哼哈哈地挥了挥手，走了。辛普森和佩珀都站了起来，两人面对面地互看了一眼。 “我知道你在想什么，检察官，”佩珀和颜悦色地说道，“你是在想，诺克斯讲他买进的那幅画并非利奥纳多真迹——只不过是编出来的，是吗？” “是呀，你倒一猜就中。”辛普森承认。 “我也不信那一套，”警官插口了，“管他是不是个大人物，他可是在玩火啊。” “很可能是这样，”埃勒里表示同感，“尽管在我看来这情况并不特别重要。然而此公确是个出名的嗜痂成癖的收藏家，他显然打算不惜付出任何代价也要保住这幅画。” “嗨，”老头子叹着气说道，“真是一团乱头发啊。”辛普森和佩珀向埃勒里点点头，就离开了办公室。警官跟着他们一起出去，去主持一个警察总医院部的记者招待会。 剩下埃勒里独自一人——小伙子闲着没事，脑子里可闹腾开了。他一枝紧接着一枝地抽烟，不断地回忆起一些使自己气馁的情景。当警官独自回到这里的时候，埃勒里正紧锁双眉，出神地望着自己的鞋子。 “泄漏了天机，”老头子一面在椅子里坐下，一面用低沉的声调这样说道，“我对那些小伙子们透露了原来把卡吉士当作凶手，接着又把琼·布莱特的证词摊给他们，整个儿推翻了前一说法。要不了几个小时，这个消息就会传遍全市，于是咱们这位凶手朋友，就该够他忙的了。” 他抓起通话器喊了几句，过了一会儿，他的秘书匆匆进来。警官口述了一份标明“机密”的电报，致伦敦维多利亚博物馆馆长。然后秘书就走了。 “好吧，咱们等着瞧吧，”老头子很有见识地说道，一面把手伸进了鼻烟壶，“要把这幅画的情况搞搞清楚。我刚才在外面跟辛普森商量过。咱们可不能对诺克斯的话照单全收啊……”他用揶揄的目光端详着闷声不响的儿子，“哎，埃勒里，别这副腔调。还没到山穷水尽的地步呢。你那套卡吉士是凶手的说法吹掉了，又算得了什么呢？丢在脑后吧。” 埃勒里慢吞吞抬起头：“丢在脑后吗？丢不了哇，爸爸。”他攥起了拳头，茫茫然望着它，“如果说这件事给了我什么教训的话，首先一条教训就是——从此以后，你一旦发现我违背了这个誓言，就马上毙了我：今后我对于自己可能参预的任何案子，在没有把整个罪行的具体情况全部摸得一清二楚，对每一个细小环节全都了如指掌之前，就决不轻易下结论。” 警官对他很关切：“来吧。孩子——” “我想想自己多蠢呀——我是个忘乎所以、自作聪明、十足道地的大傻瓜……” “我认为你那个结论，尽管是错的，却十分言之成理啊。”警官为他辩护。 埃勒里没有回答。他一面揩拭夹鼻眼镜的镜片，一面越过父亲的头顶，呆望着墙壁。