Chapter 27 Chapter 26 suddenly enlightened

As Ellery later learned, the day was not over.For, an hour later, a telephone call from his father set off Mrs. Sloan's fruitless visit of a few days before, like a planted tree, bursting into bloom and fruit. "There's a situation," the officer said lightly on the phone. "It's a strange thing, and I think you'd like to hear it." Ellery isn't in the mood: "I've been disappointed too many times—" "Well, in my opinion, this new situation will not change the conclusion on Sloane." The old man became impatient, "Hey, do you want to listen to this situation?"

"Listen. What's the matter?" Ellery heard his father sneeze, cough, and clear his throat—the surface of his impatience. "You'd better come to the office. It's a long story." Ellery wasn't too enthusiastic about going downtown.He hated the Underground Railroad from the bottom of his heart, and had a headache and was bored.In addition, when he arrived, his father was negotiating with a deputy police officer, and he had to wait outside for three quarters of an hour.When Ellery slouched into the old man's office, he was in a bad mood. "Is there any earth-shattering news?"

The Inspector kicked a chair towards him. "Give your legs a break. I've got a tip. Your friend—what's his name?—Suiza, visited me here this afternoon." "My friend? Nacio Sujza. How is it?" "He told me that on the night of Sloan's suicide, he had been to the Khalkis collection general warehouse." Immediately excited.Ellery jumped up. "No!" "Don't worry," the officer yelled, "it's nothing to make such a fuss about. Sujza seems to be planning to write instructions for the exhibits in the Khalkis Art Gallery - a time-consuming and labor-intensive business, he said." , so he thought he had to buy time and wanted to do it that night."

"Is it the night Sloan committed suicide?" "Yes, just listen, will you, sir? When he got there, he opened the door with the key he had with him, went straight up the stairs, and walked into the long showroom—" "Use the key you carry with you to open the door and go in. How can it work? Wasn't there an alarm bell installed at that time?" "It wasn't installed. It means that there were still people in the house at the time-usually, when the last person left, the alarm was installed and connected to the Defense Bureau. At this time, he went upstairs and saw the alarm in Sloane's office. There was a light on. He was going to ask Sloane some questions about the manual—he knew Sloan was probably still working. So he went in and, of course, found Sloane's body, just as What we saw afterwards was exactly the same.”

Ellery was agitated.He squinted his eyes at the police officer, and stuffed a cigarette between his lips as a matter of habit: "Is it exactly the same?" "Yes, yes," said the sergeant, "the head is on the table, the gun is on the floor, under the hanging right arm--everything is right. It just happens to be a few minutes before we got there. Of course, Sujza was taken aback - he couldn't be blamed for that - he was overwhelmed with fright. But he managed to be careful not to touch anything, thinking that if he was found in his presence, that would be enough. It’s troublesome, it’s really hard to tell, so run away quickly.”

"There's always a reason for everything," Ellery murmured to himself, with twinkling eyes, "if it's possible!" "What's the chance? Sit down--you're saying the wind is the rain again," the officer cut him off. "Don't think about it, Ellery. I questioned Suyza hard for an hour. , asked questions like a cannonball, asked him about the situation in the house, and he answered everything. He didn't feel relieved until the news of the suicide was published in the newspaper, but he was still nervous. He said he would wait and see , I don’t know if there is any further development. Seeing that there is no development, he thinks that there will be no harm if he speaks out. In addition, his conscience makes him uneasy, so he came to me to report all this. One long and two short, that is That's it."

Ellery puffed out the smoke, thinking about it. "At any rate," the Inspector went on with some trepidation, "it's irrelevant. It's just an interesting episode, and it doesn't affect in any way the conclusion that Sloane committed suicide." "Yes, yes. I agree with you. Obviously, since Su Yicha was not suspected or implicated, he didn't have to come and explain that he had been to that——the scene of suicide, which just shows his heart. Frankly. I'm thinking about it now, it's not about this... Dad!" "Do you need confirmation that Sloane died by suicide?"

"What? Proof?" roared the old man. "That's not an inference, and besides—it's a solid fact. But I think it'd do no harm to add some more evidence. What do you think?" Ellery looked serious and excited: "You're right," he shouted, "from what you've just recounted about Sujza, it doesn't shake the original conclusion about Sloan in the slightest. However, in order to make the suicide story more fully confirmed, we may now ask Mr. Nacio Suiza a small question... You see, Papa, even though you firmly believe that Suiza has been in the office here. That incident doesn't change the whole case, but there's a small loophole here, a very small possibility... By the way, when Suyza left the main warehouse that night, did he put the alarm on? ?”

"Fixed. He said he did it out of habit." "I see." Ellery stood up immediately. "Let's go find Suyza. If I don't figure this out, I won't be able to sleep tonight." The police officer curled his mouth, "It's hard on you," he murmured, "You're the same as usual, like a police dog. I'm not so stupid that I didn't think of the question I should ask ’” He jumped up, and put on his overcoat. “He said he was going back to the General Collection. Let’s go there!” They found a distraught Nacio Suyza in the deserted Khalkis Collection General Warehouse on Madison Avenue.Su Yicha is not as well-dressed as usual, and his hair is always smooth and neat, and it is also a little messy.He met them across the closed door from Sloane's office and explained, apparently nervously, that the room had not been used since Sloane's death.This is purely a perfunctory entertainment designed to cover up the real inner unease.He invited them to sit down in his office full of antiques, and blurted out: "Officer, what's going on? There's something wrong..."

"Don't be afraid," said the inspector pleasantly. "Mr. Quin wants to ask you two questions." "I hear," began Ellery, "that you went in Sloane's office the night he died because you saw a light in it?" "Not exactly." Su Yicha clasped his hands tightly, "I want to discuss some matters with Sloane. When I walked into the showroom, I knew that Sloan was in his own office, because there was The lights are coming through the doors and windows..." Quinn and his son jumped up as if they were electrocuted: "What, doors and windows?"

Ellery said with a changed expression, "Could it be that the door of Sloane's office was closed before you went in?" Su Yicha looked puzzled: "Well, it is true. What's the big deal? I think I have already mentioned it, officer." "You didn't mention it!" snapped the inspector.His old nose came closer to his mouth, "So, when you ran out, did you leave the door open?" Suyza stammered, "Yes. I was so frightened that I didn't think to close the door... But, Mr. Quinn, what question do you want to ask?" "You've answered what I was going to ask," Ellery said coldly. The situation was turned upside down.Half an hour later, Quinn and his son returned to the living room of their apartment. Dijuna, who was ignorant, hurriedly lit a fire. The police officer was in a bad mood and kept talking to himself. Walking back and forth, humming a song.After the police officer made two phone calls, the father and son did not speak a word.Ellery calmed down, sat down on his favorite chair, his eyes sparkled, he stood on the charcoal grill, and stared blankly at the burning stove. A bell rang, and Di Juna opened the door to let in two red-faced gentlemen—Prosecutor Simpson and Deputy Prosecutor Pepper.Di Juna took their overcoats with an increasingly surprised mood. Both of them were nervous, both shouted and greeted, both sat down angrily, and immediately merged with the awkward atmosphere of the whole room. "There's such a thing," Simpson said at last, "that there's such a thing! You seemed so sure on the phone, Quinn. Did you—" The old man turned his head to Ellery. "Ask him. It was his idea in the first place, kid." "Well, Ellery, what's the matter?" Everyone looked at him in silence.Ellery tossed the cigarette into the fire, and without turning around, said leisurely: "From now on, everyone, it's time to believe my subconscious warning signals. Brother Pepper may think my premonition is absurd Yes, but this premonition was confirmed by the facts. "However, the above-mentioned words are not the main topic. Let's get down to business: the bullet that killed Sloan penetrated his head, followed the trajectory of the ballistic trajectory, and went out of the office door. We found that the bullet fell into the office In the tapestry on the wall of the showroom opposite the door, it was outside the office. So, obviously, the door was open when the shot was fired. On the night of Sloan's death, when we rushed into the main collection, we found that Sloane The door of Loan's office was open, which coincided with the falling of the bullet. But now, as Nacio Suyza said, we were not the first to enter the collection after Sloane's death. It was he, Suyza, who was one step ahead of us. In other words, the situation with regard to the time-gate at the time of our arrival at Sloan's office had to be reconsidered and examined in the light of this prior trip. From this came the Question: Was the door in the same condition when Suyza arrived? If he also found the door open, then we would not be able to make any more progress than before." Ellery smiled: "But Suyza found the door closed! How does this change the situation? First of all, it doesn't matter, the door must be open for the shooter, otherwise the bullet will hit the door , instead of hitting the outside of the office and falling into the tapestry opposite the door. That is to say, the door must have been closed after the shot was fired. What did that mean--did Sloane shoot himself in the head first, then walk up to the door, close the door, go back to the desk, and sit down in exactly the same position as when he had just shot?How absurd; and not only absurd, but impossible: because, Dr. Brody's autopsy report stated, Sloane was killed instantly.It is also absolutely impossible that he shot himself in the showroom, then supported himself back to the office, and closed the door when he came in.Never!Sloan was killed by a single shot, and besides, the door was open when the shot was fired.But when Suyza arrived, the door was closed... "In other words, since Sujza found the door closed after Sloan's sudden death, and since it was impossible for a bullet to pass through the door, we knew from the outset that the door was made of steel—what can we logically say? The only conclusion that can be drawn is that someone closed the door after Sloan's death and before Suyza arrived." "But, Mr. Quinn," Pepper retorted, "is it possible that Suyza wasn't the only one who came—someone who came and went before him?" "Very wise, Pepper, and I'm about to touch on that too: Someone came before Suyza—and that man was Sloane's murderer!" Simpson was very disapproving, and stroked his thin cheeks: "I don't believe it. Look, Ellery, you should know that there is still a possibility that Sloane committed suicide. The person Pepper speculated might be like Sue." Like Icha, an irrelevant person, also too timid to admit to having been there.” Ellery waved his hand nonchalantly: "It's possible, but it would be too far-fetched to say that two irrelevant people will come together in such a short period of time. No, Simpson, I don't believe everyone here Can any of you deny that we now have sufficient reasons to doubt suicide, and sufficient reasons to support homicide." "It's a good word," said the inspector resignedly. "It's a good word." But Simpson was still unwilling: "Well, even if Sloane was killed, even if the murderer closed the door when he went out. I think it would be too stupid for him to do this. Didn't he see that the bullet was already in Sloan Did Ann get a hole in his head and pass through the open door?" "Simpson, Simpson," said Ellery impatiently, "think again. How can the naked eye keep up with even a slowed bullet? It goes without saying that if the murderer sees that the bullet has passed Of course he wouldn't close the door after piercing through Sloan's head. Therefore, the fact that he closed the door shows that he didn't see the bullet clearly. "Please remember that Sloane's head is tilted on the table in this way; the left side, which is the side where the bullet came out, is attached to the ink blotter. In such a posture, the exit of the bullet is completely covered. It also covered up the blood to a large extent. Besides, the murderer was in a state of panic; how could he lift the dead man's head to study it carefully? After all, he had no reason to think that the bullet would penetrate and fall elsewhere .You know it's not very common for a bullet to hit like that." There was a moment's silence, and then the old man smiled wryly at the two guests: "He's got the upper hand now, boys. I think it's pretty clear. Sloane was murdered." .” They nodded gloomily. Ellery started talking again, with gusto, but without the self-admiring, smug air of when he had drawn on the erroneous Khalkis conclusion: "Very well. Let's analyze it again. Since we Now there are good reasons to believe that Sloan was killed, so Greenshaw was not killed by Sloane. That is to say, the real murderer who killed Grimshaw also killed Sloane, and set up a false appearance of suicide, It makes people feel that Sloane's act of shooting himself is tantamount to acquiescing that he is the murderer of Greenshaw. "Let us revisit the original argument. We deduced that Greenshaw's murderer, who was able to forge a false lead to Khalkis, must have known of Knox's purchase of the stolen painting; I have given up the argument. I thought at the time that the whole conclusion of Khalkis as the killer was based on the killer's certainty that Knox wouldn't speak out. Alors, I've argued equally dull before that the only outsider who knew about it was Green Shaw's accomplice. It is proved that the murderer was Grimshaw's accomplice; and since Sloane himself was killed, Sloane could not be Grimshaw's accomplice. Therefore, the murderer is still at large and is still actively working His intrigue. He's got away with it, and, I may add, still has Knox as a rare commodity. "Now," Ellery went on, "let's explain the clues against Sloan—since Sloan was killed, he is innocent, so these clues can only be made by the real murderer. And the framed hands and feet left behind. "In the first place, since Sloane is innocent, we need no longer doubt the validity of his account of going to the Penedy's Hotel to find Grimshaw that night. For if the man is suspicious, his testimony must Suspicious, and if the person is innocent, one has to believe what he says. Therefore, Sloane's claim to be the second visitor that night may be reliable; according to Sloane, the unknown Whose was actually a step ahead of him; therefore, the unknown must have been the one who had come with Sloane. "Therefore it can be deduced that the order of the visitors is as follows: whoever it is - the person who is completely wrapped up; then comes Sloane, then Mrs. Sloane, and then Jessie O. Del, then Dr. Woz." Ellery stretched out his slender index finger and poked it: "Let me demonstrate to you: how interesting inferences can be obtained by using the brain for logical thinking. You still remember that Sloan said that he is the only one in the world A man knows that Gilbert Sloan and Greenshaw are brothers; even Greenshaw does not know that his brother has changed his name. However, the anonymous writer, whoever he may be, is aware of the fact that the change of name The fact that this person in Sloane and Greenshaw is brother. Who is the writer? Greenshaw has no idea about the change of his brother's surname, so it is impossible for him to tell anyone; Reliable personal testimony, he never told anyone; therefore, the only person who can discover this fact is someone who has seen the brothers together, overheard that they were brothers, and this person or already knew Shi. Loan, or later, when he met Sloan, recognized his voice and face, and thus knew that Grimshaw's brother was Gilbert Sloane. But there was something inexplicable! Sloan himself said that that night He went to Greenshaw's room at the Pinedi Hotel, and it was the only time since he changed his name--the only time in many years--that the brothers saw each other face to face! "In other words, the man who discovered the fact that Gilbert Sloane and Albert Grinshaw were brothers must have been present when Sloane went to Grimshaw's room that night. But Sloane Tell us himself that there was no one else when he spoke to Greenshaw. So how could anyone else? Very simple. If Sloane did not see the person, and the person was there, it only means that the person was not Sloane just saw it. "In other words, the man was hiding somewhere in the room; or in a closet, not in the bathroom. Remember, folks: Sloane said that when he knocked on the door, his It took a while for the brother to open the door—this is what Sloane said. So we may infer that when Sloan knocked on the door, the companion who entered the room with Greenshaw was still in room 314, but in order to avoid people For the sake of hearing, he slipped into a closet or bathroom with Greenshaw's approval." "Now," continued Ellery, "let's imagine the scene. Sloane was talking to Grimshaw, and our elusive unknown guest was listening in his hiding place. He From the conversation, I heard Grimshaw say viciously that he had almost forgotten that he had a brother. Then, the invisible gentleman suddenly realized that Grimshaw and this visitor were brothers. Did he hear Sloane's voice, so he knew it was Gilbert · Is Sloane talking? Or, did he meet Sloan later, recognize his voice, put the two facts together, and understand what Sloane thought he thought was the world's best man? What about the secrets that no one knows? We cannot answer these questions, but we can be sure of one thing: this unknown person must have been in Greenshaw's room that night, must have overheard their conversation, must have deduced It is known that Gilbert Sloane and Albert Grimshaw are of the same blood. This is the only reasonable train of thought that can be explained: How could anyone discover this apparently unknown fact." "Well, at least there's something to it," said Simpson. "Go on, Ellery. Is there anything else you can see with your playful mind?" "I'm paying attention to logic, not pretending to be ghosts, Simpson, although I can indeed foresee future events through a method similar to ghost visits... I can see this clearly: this unknown guest hiding in the room, The person who accompanied Greenshaw into the room before Sloane came here was Greenshaw's accomplice—the next night, Greenshaw specifically mentioned this "affiliate" in Khalkis' room. Yes, this unknown man, as Greenshaw's accomplice and as Greenshaw's murderer--I have argued for this--is the only one qualified to write an anonymous letter to the police authorities to expose Sloane's relationship with Brother Greenshaw people." "That's a good word," murmured the inspector. "That's the truth." Ellery crossed his hands and held the back of his head. "Where are we going? So, this letter is also one of the false clues to frame Sloane as the murderer, but this clue is not fiction but fact." . "Of course, it does not directly constitute any crime. It is just a carefully selected secret, provided to the police, and then matched with some more direct evidence. In this way, since the brotherhood is a false clue, it is reasonable to conclude: we The key to the basement found in Sloane's Borun cigarette case is also a false clue; the same is true of Grimshaw's watch in Sloane's safe. Only the murderer of Grimshaw can get this watch; Since Roan is innocent, the murderer who killed Grimshaw must have placed the watch in a place where he could easily find it after setting up the illusion of Sloane's suicide. The burnt Khalkis will The fragments of the will must have been planted for Sloan to weave evidence, because it is very likely that Sloane did steal the will and put it in the coffin, thinking that everything would be fine in this way, but when the murderer put the will Grimshaw undoubtedly discovered the will when it was stuffed in the coffin, and he took it out and carried it away, having the foresight to think that it might someday be of use--afterwards he failed in his attempt to make Khalkis the murderer. Afterwards, I came up with Sloan's idea, and it really came into use." Pepper and Simpson nodded. "Now for his motives," Ellery went on, "why was Sloane chosen to be Grimshaw's murderer? It's interesting to say. Of course, Sloan was Grimshaw's brother. He changed his surname because of his perseverance and humiliation to the family, and he stole the will and hid it in Khajishi's coffin. The false clue that the policeman was the murderer--all these factors gave the murderer good reason to think that it was only right to throw Sloane as a criminal to the police authorities. "However, if Mrs. Freeland's report is true, and Sloane did visit the cemetery on Wednesday night, the night Greenshaw's body was buried in Khalkis's coffin, then since Sloane did not kill That man, he must have been there for some reason that had nothing to do with the burial—don't forget that Mrs. Freeland didn't see him with anything.... Well. Sloane was sneaking around that Wednesday night Go to the backyard and the cemetery, why?" Ellery stared at the fire, "I have an interesting speculation. Maybe Sloane saw something suspicious that night, and he hid it." He followed the murderer to the cemetery, and witnessed the burial of the corpse, and also saw the murderer grabbing the iron box in which the will was stored... Can you guess what happened next? Based on the above not illusory imaginations, we can conclude that Sloane What would happen next. He knew who the murderer was and had seen him bury Grimshaw. Why didn't he report this to the police? There was something in it! The murderer had the will, and the will would make Sloe Ann could not be the heir to the inheritance. Sloane later approached the murderer and proposed that he would keep a secret about who the murderer was, as long as the murderer handed over the new will that would cause disaster to Sloane, or destroyed it on the spot. In this way Perhaps it is not far-fetched? Then the murderer had another idea: it was all the more necessary for him to throw Sloane to the police authorities as a 'proper' criminal, and he killed him. , arranged in the appearance of suicide, thereby eliminating the only living person who knew who the murderer was." "But it seems to me," objected Simpson, "that in this case, when Sloane has the murderer, the murderer is obliged to give Sloane his will. That doesn't fit the facts." , because we have found out that the will was burned in the furnace in the basement of the next house, and you said the murderer left it there for us to investigate." Ellery yawned. "Simpson, Simpson, when are you going to start moving your brains? Do you think our brilliant killer is a fool? He only needs to scare Sloane That's enough. He might as well say: 'If you reveal to the police that I killed Grimshaw, I'll give the will to the police. No, Mr. Sloan, I'll keep the will to make sure you Will keep his mouth shut.' So Sloane had no choice but to accept such a compromise. But in fact, when he went to find this murderer friend, it was the day when he committed suicide. Poor Sloan Ah! I think he is very stupid." What followed was swift, painful and tiresome.The police officer was so impatient that he had to announce the situation reported by Su Yicha and its implications to the journalists.The Sunday papers carried the news, and the Monday papers made a fuss about it—Monday is a particularly slow day in the business of journalism—so that the whole city of New York knew. : The much-maligned Gilbert Sloan didn't commit suicide at all, but on the contrary, the police authorities now believe that he was innocently framed by a cunning murderer-the tabloids use the word vicious.The newspapers also advertised that the police authorities are now continuing to hunt for the real murderer, who originally had only one life but now committed two murders. It is worth mentioning that Mrs. Sloan finally turned over and regained her dignity.Her precious family reputation was revoked, and public apologies from the press, the police, and prosecutors were long overdue but well-meaning, because they strengthened her family's reputation.Mrs. Sloan was not an ungrateful lady; she knew that Nacio Suyza's report would have been of little use had it not been for Ellery Queen's perceptiveness, and therefore she addressed Mr. They poured out a lot of heartfelt words of gratitude, which made the young man very embarrassed. As for Officer Simpson, Pepper, and Officer Quinn... it's better not to mention these few.This period of official duties had added some gray hair to Simpson; and the police officer had always believed that Ellery's "logic" and indomitable spirit were almost driving him to his grave.