Chapter 11 Ninth scene

Ren threw some small pieces of wood into the fireplace, and the fire suddenly ignited. Bruno carefully watched the subtle changes in Leith's expression while the fire was flickering. Ren only smiled lightly, unable to tell What a clear reaction. As for Sam, who had finished telling the story, he fell silent in a bit of distress. "Is it all over, Inspector?" Sam made a grunt in his throat. As a result, Ren's eyelids drooped. At that moment, it seemed that there was a huge and irresistible hypnosis. Ren seemed to have fallen asleep just like that. The inspector panicked: "Is there something I didn't explain clearly..." From the tone of his voice, Sam felt that if there were any details that he didn't fully explain, it was because they were completely irrelevant to the ultimate outcome of the murder.Sam is a very cynic.

Ren didn't move, and Bruno laughed: "Sam, I can't hear you, my eyes are closed." Sam woke up suddenly. He touched his protruding chin, leaned against the body of the big Elizabethan chair, and moved forward a little. Ren opened his eyes, looked at the two people present, and suddenly stood up, startling Bruno. He half turned to Sam, and the firelight reflected his sharp profile: "I have a few questions for you, patrol Officer, are there any further findings from Dr. Schelling's autopsy?" "No," said Sam despondently. "The results of the nicotine analysis confirmed Dr. Schelling's previous suspicions, but we haven't made any progress on the clues and source of the poison."

"And," the prosecutor added—Rain's eyes quickly turned to the prosecutor, "needles and corks are equally clueless, at least, not at all so far." "Mr. Bruno, do you have a copy of Dr. Schelling's autopsy report?" The prosecutor took out an official document and handed it to Ryan, who bent over to read by the fire, his eyes gleaming strangely, and he read it aloud, reading quickly and focusing only on the main points: "Suffocate and Death—the blood is not coagulated, the color is dark red, um...the paralysis of the central nervous system, especially the system that controls breathing, is undoubtedly caused by strong nicotine poisoning...the lungs and liver are congested...the brain is obviously congested, um ...The condition of the lungs shows that the victim has considerable resistance to nicotine. It can be seen that the victim has the habit of smoking for a long time. According to the nicotine concentration in the body, it is inferred that people without nicotine resistance generally die within one minute. The victim's resistance The force delayed the time of death from the poisonous attack...Physical characteristics: slight scratches on the left knee, which may be caused by a fall during the poisonous attack... Had an operation for appendicitis, according to the scars, it was inferred that nine years ago, the fingertip of the ring finger of the right hand was cut off, For over twenty years...Normal blood sugar, significant brain alcohol content, excellent early health, wrecked health in middle age...well, six foot one, two hundred and eleven pounds..." After Ren finished reading, he handed the report back to Bruno, "Thank you, prosecutor."

He walked back to the fireplace and leaned against the rough oak wood stove: "Did you find anything in the reception room of the garage?" "No." "I think they must have searched the Longstreet's house in Westwood, right?" "Oh, of course," Sam began half-heartedly, winking at Bruno and expressing his impatience half-jokingly, "but there was nothing but a pile of letters—written by his girlfriends. For him, almost all were written before March this year, as well as receipts and bills - all rubbish, and the servants can't ask anything."

"I suppose his apartment in the city was also searched?" "That's right, we didn't let this go, we even asked about his old friends in the past, without any clue." Ren looked at the two of them very calmly, with steady and deep eyes: "Inspector Sam, are you absolutely sure that the cork with the pin was put in by the Longstreet man when he was in the car? forward?" Sam didn't even think about it: "We are 100% sure, there is no other possibility, and I think you may be interested in the murder weapon, I brought it." "Great, inspector, your guess is too accurate." Ren's sonorous voice was full of longing.

Sam took out a small glass bottle from his coat pocket. The cap was screwed tightly, and he handed it to Ryan: "Mr. Ryan, you'd better not open it, I'm afraid it may be dangerous." Ren took the glass bottle to the fire and looked at it carefully for a long time. Every needle on the cork, from the tip to the eye of the needle, looked completely harmless. Ren sniffed it again before returning the bottle To Sam: "Apparently a homemade murder weapon, as Dr. Schelling said, a work of genius...was it raining until the car reached the garage and the passengers alighted?"

"Yeah, as big as a bucket poured out." "Then tell me now—is there any worker-like passenger in the car?" Sam's eyes widened immediately, and Bruno raised his eyebrows in horror: "You mean - workers?" "Scavengers, builders, plasterers or bricklayers—something like that." Sam was a little at a loss for a moment: "Uh, no, the car is full of staff going to work, I don't know..." "All the passengers are thoroughly checked, aren't they?" "Yes." Sam said gruffly. "Believe me, Inspector, I am by no means doubting the abilities of any of you...but just to be on the safe side, let me ask again clearly: Did you notice anything unusual, either from the passengers, from the car itself, or from the passengers In the garage room after leaving—everywhere?"

"I think I've made it very clear, Mr. Wren," replied Sam coldly. "But—isn't there anything that doesn't quite fit the location, the weather conditions, the season, or the identity of the person?" "I don't understand what you're saying." "For example—have you found coats, evening dresses, gloves, etc.—things like that?" "Oh, so, there is only one wearing a windbreaker, but we just said, I checked it myself, other than that, there are no items you mentioned, I can tell you categorically." At this time, Ryan's eyes lit up, he looked at Sam intently, and then at Bruno, then he stretched his body as if he was about to let go of something, the firelight reflected a huge wave on the ancient wall. The shadow enveloped him: "Mr. Bruno, what do you think of the District Prosecutor's Office?"

Bruno smiled weakly: "Obviously, Mr. Leith, we don't have any specific clues. This case is very complicated, involving many people, and there are many possible motives. For example, Mrs. DeWitt and Longstreet obviously There was an affair, but she hated Lonstra because he hooked up with Jolie Brown and dumped her, and from everything she'd done in the past--in any case, rather unusual. "Mike Collins, who has always had a bad reputation as a scheming, shameless, and easily provoked man, has an obvious motive this time. "Rod, the lad, might be like the vengeful knight in the old storybook, killing people to protect his lover's honor," Bruno sighed at this point, "even so, Sam and I still think that DeWitt Most suspect."

"DeWitt," Ryan said the name clearly, but his eyes stared at Bruno's lips without blinking, "please continue." "The trouble is," Bruno frowned anxiously, "there's not a single piece of solid evidence pointing directly at him—in fact, it's the same for anyone, and no one has any evidence of a crime." Sam added: "Anyone could have put the murder weapon in Lone Street's pocket, not just the Lone Street group, but all the passengers in the car, so we went through it one by one and found other people in the car Not a single one connected to Lonstreet, not a clue."

Bruno concluded: "That's why the inspector and I took the liberty to visit you, Mr. Wren, last time in the Kramer case, thanks to your wonderful analysis of the case, pointing out the truth that has always been in front of our eyes but has been turned a blind eye. The case was successfully solved, and this time we also hope that you will draw your sword to help again and give you some pointers." Ren waved his hand politely: "The Kramer case—it's much easier, Mr. Bruno." Ren stared at the two of them, and fell into deep thought. For a moment, the scene fell into silence. Xi also stared intently at his master.Bruno and Sam glanced at each other secretly, both of them seemed quite disappointed, Sam grinned half-sarcastically, as if to mean, "Look, didn't I say that earlier." Bruno responded with a helpless shrug, Ren's bell-like voice sounded at this moment, and the two looked at Ren in unison. "You two," Ren said, looking at the two with interest, "The whole thing is very obvious, you should have seen it clearly." This calm sentence was as powerful as an electric shock. Bruno's jaw seemed to drop on the spot, and Sam shook his head like a boxer who had received a heavy blow, desperately trying to regain his sanity. Sam jumped up. "Obviously!" he cried. "My God, Mr. Wren, you mean—" "Please take your time, Inspector Sam," Wren said softly, "you are like the ghost of Hamlet's father, startled like 'a terrified criminal on interrogation', yes, the whole thing It is quite obvious that if everything Inspector Sam says is true, then I believe the whole case points in one direction." "Then I'm really blind." Sam panted, looking at Ren with extreme distrust. "What do you mean," Bruno asked as if exhausted, "do you know who killed Lonstra from what Inspector Sam said just now?" Ren's straight nose twitched: "I mean-I believe I know...Mr. Bruno, without evidence." "Oh, so that's the case!" The two said in unison, and then they calmed down, and exchanged meaningful glances with each other. "You two, I fully understand your doubts, but to me, this is not nonsense," Ren's voice had a certain magical power like a spell, and a strange hypnotic persuasion. Controlling your voice is like wielding a sharp sword, "At this stage, I think I have the necessary reasons not to reveal too soon this enigmatic character you have been looking for - from now on, should we first Call him X?—You two don't care about the facts I found, I feel that there may be an accomplice in this murder." "But, Mr. Wren," said Bruno anxiously, "the matter drags on—after all..." Ren stood upright in spite of the weather.He looked like an Indian in the blazing fire. At this moment, the soft smile had faded from his mouth, and his awe-inspiring face was carved out of solid marble. His lips barely moved, but his voice came out clearly: "Delay, There are dangers, of course, but the danger of delay is only half the greater danger of a premature judgment than the danger of taking my word for it." Sam still stood sullenly, seemingly unconvinced, while Bruno remained dumbfounded. "At this moment, please don't ask me to say it. Now, can the two of you do me a favor?..." The lingering doubts on the faces of Sam and Bruno made Ren's voice a little uncomfortable Patiently, "Can you give me a clearer photo of the victim? Of course it was his before he was alive. You can send it by post or ask someone to send it." "Oh, that's no problem," Bruno murmured, shifting his weight from his right foot to his left and standing like a schoolboy being punished for standing. "Please also keep me informed of the progress of the case," Ren continued without emotion, "unless," he paused, "you are not going to continue discussing this murder case with me." He watched the two for a while. After a while, slowly, the original joyful color emerged from his eyes again. The two quickly denied it, a little less sincere. "If you call and don't care if I'm at home, Kuisi will be responsible for writing down the message." Ren reached out to the blackened fireplace wood frame and rang the bell. The old man jumped into the room like a monster, "You two, may I have the honor to invite you to have lunch?"—the two resolutely shook their heads and said goodbye—"Then, Falstaff, send Mr. Bruno and Inspector Sam to Where they parked, remember, they are welcome to come to Hamlet Heights at any time in the future, as soon as the two of them or any one of them come, please inform me immediately... Good day, Mr. Bruno," Ryan bowed briskly, "Good day , Inspector Sam." Bruno and Sam didn't say a word, they followed behind the leading butler. When they reached the door, they seemed to be pulled by the same rope. The two stopped at the same time and turned back. Ryan was standing in front of his ancient fireplace. As if standing in a remote and unreal ancient world, he said goodbye to them with a gentle smile.