Chapter 38 commentary
Just like how things started.The Hudson River lies far below, with its brisk little white sails and staggering river ferries.Like five weeks ago, the car climbed rapidly up the winding hillside, and there were still Inspector Sam and Prosecutor Bruno sitting in it.At this moment, the majestic Hamlet Villa once again stands proudly in front of you, looking from the gap of the red woods in late autumn, as beautiful as the castle tower in the traditional story.
It's been five full weeks!
The main tower of the mountain villa that pierces the atmosphere of clouds and mist, those battlements, those barriers, and the church-style steeple pointing to the sky... Then, there is the quaint little bridge, the thatched hut beside the bridge, and the finger "forbidden" The good-looking little old man with the "Pass" wooden sign... The creaking old wooden door, the small bridge, the gravel road blowing in the mountain wind, the reddish-brown woods that are already on fire, and the large granite stone wall of the castle ...
The two stepped onto the drawbridge over the moat again, and Falstaff stood respectfully at the oak gate, leading them into the grand hall of the ancient era again.The long and criss-crossing huge roof beams, the loyal warriors in armor, the solid wooden furniture of the Elizabethan era in old England, and standing under the weird big mask and huge candlesticks, there is still a little bald and bearded Quesy...
After this entire time journey, the two finally walked into Ryan's private living room, with a warm fire burning at their toes, which was extremely comfortable.Ryan was wearing a large goose down jacket today, looking handsome and young in the firelight; Quesy chattered to an intercom phone on the wall with his characteristic rattling voice.Soon, the fat and rosy Falstaff came out, he was still smiling and brought a few glasses of fragrant cocktails and exquisite snacks, Sam, who didn't know how to be polite, swept away all the snacks on the spot And empty.
After everyone sat back by the fire with satisfaction and benevolence, and Falstaff also retreated to his kitchen lair, Ryan said leisurely, "I guess the two of you are here today, hoping to hear something strange from me. An astonishing explanation of my capricious actions of the past few weeks. I wonder if there will be another murder so soon when you two are here!"
Bruno said: "No, it shouldn't be. Of course, from what I have experienced in the past thirty-six hours, if another difficult case comes up, I will definitely come to the door for advice without hesitation. I I think you know what we're here for, Mr. Wren, and Sam and I are very grateful to you—hey, how can I say that!"
"Let's be clear," Sam said with a wry smile, "Thanks to you, both of us didn't lose our jobs."
"What are you two doing with these kind words?" Ren waved his hand gently to stop the two from bragging. "I read the newspaper and said that Stoop has bowed his head and pleaded guilty. They don't know where or how they heard about me. I also participated in a part of this investigation, and a few stubborn reporters went to Hamlet Heights to harass me all day long, which is really troublesome...By the way, is there anything interesting in Stoop's confession?"
"It's new to us," Bruno said, "but I guess—although I can't quite see how it's possible—I guess you're fully aware of what he's confessing to."
"On the contrary," Wren smiled warmly, "there are many things about Mr. Martin Stoop that I still don't know."
The two shook their heads in disbelief, and Wren didn't go any further. He just asked Bruno to explain Stoop's confession in detail, so Bruno had to start from the beginning—starting with the nameless and fanatical young geologist in Uruguay in 1912. En didn't interrupt or comment at all, but he seemed to be curious about every detail, and when he came across some parts that Consul Ahus hadn't told him, he immediately broke the casserole and asked them all.
The thing is roughly like this: In 1912, Martin Stoup and his companion Kloch went deep into the wild Uruguayan interior.Stoop himself successfully explored the manganese ore, but at this time the money was spent, and they urgently needed capital infusion for mining. Therefore, they found two other investors and promised to pay a lower proportion of dividends. Stray and DeWitt, and it was Kloech who pulled the string.Martin Stoop has made a harrowing statement about his wife's murder charge, and that it was Kloech who killed his wife with a machete knife.On the night of the incident, Stoop himself stayed near the mine pit and did not come back. Keluoqi had sex with drunkenness and intended to rape Stoop's wife, but she resolutely refused, and Keluoqi killed her.Longstreet, the chief culprit, seized this opportunity and came up with a vicious plan. The three joined forces to accuse Stoop of murdering his wife, intending to take the entire manganese mine from Stoop—the mine had not yet been officially registered at the time. .Crochet committed a felony at the time, and was terrified to death. He would do anything as long as he could get away with it, and immediately accepted it. As for DeWitt, Stoup said, he was relatively weak in character and was always ridden by Lonstra. Under the intimidation and lure, he ignorantly joined the plan.
The tragic death of his wife and the vicious betrayal of his partner defeated the young geologist. Soon after he was sentenced and sent to prison, he slowly recovered his sanity.At this moment, he clearly understood that he had fallen into a situation of utter hopelessness and helplessness.From that moment on, the desire to avenge his wife and himself ignited in his heart, and he decided that this was the only thing he had to do in his life, otherwise he would die in peace.That is, he must escape from this foreign prison and personally kill the three enemies who ruined his life.His escape had been long and carefully planned, during which the torment of the heart and the servitude of the prison had made his features haggard and old, but on the other hand had made his body extremely strong.He reasoned that when the time for vengeance came, these three of his enemies would never recognize him.
"However, these conclusions," Bruno concluded, "are not really that important to the present three murders. Mr. Lane, for-well, at least for me personally-you With such a supernatural ability, you can fully see the root of this series of crimes, I really want to know how you can do this?"
"Supernatural?" Ren shook his head. "I never believe in miracles. Naturally, it is impossible for me to create miracles. If I say that in this series of fascinating investigations, I will achieve a certain degree of achievement, all I have, It's just observing, asking, talking and thinking, that's all, no mystery at all.
"Let's start with the overall point of view. For example, among the three crimes before us, the first one is the simplest. The seemingly bizarre death of Lone Street has a clear logic to follow. The two of you You should still clearly remember that what I know about the killing of Longstreet is obtained through indirect and insufficient theoretical means-all of them are reported, rather than directly contacting the crimes. This must be overcome carefully, right? There must be a gap in personal observation. However, I have to emphasize it again anyway,"—here, Ryan faced Sam with a grateful look—"Inspector Sam's account is very accurate and very detailed , let me feel like I was at the scene and witnessed all the processes and details of this murder drama."
Mr. Jerry Lane's eyes lit up. "There is one simple conclusion to this murder on the tram that is beyond doubt. It is almost on the verge of coming out. And until now, I can't figure it out." Why do you two have such keen minds, let the fact of self-display so clearly slip out of your sight and thinking. All in all, the characteristics of the murder weapon itself have clearly revealed that the murderer cannot directly use it with bare hands, without Let these poisonous needles prick yourself and die. Inspector, you yourself are careful not to touch this cork full of needles-so you use the pliers and put it in the cigarette box. You have clearly put The characteristics of this murder weapon told me, and I immediately saw that the murderer must have some measures to protect his palm and fingers, so that he could smoothly put this exquisite murder weapon into Longstreet's car in the tram. In the pocket. I repeat, I saw this at once, and although I did not see the weapon itself, it is impossible for me to miss this crucial point because of the clarity of your description.
"So, naturally, a question arose: What is the most natural way to protect the hands? The simplest answer is: gloves. Of course, would gloves work for the murderer? We know that for his murder plan, gloves Simple and functional - the thickness of the gloves provides comprehensive protection, especially if they are made of leather; and, to the average person's normal wear, wearing gloves is more natural and less obtrusive than any other unusual form of hand protection. After all In a well-planned murder, we have no reason to think that the murderer will abandon the most natural, most suitable, and most adequate hand protection glove, and switch to another strange method of hand protection; step back Said, if wearing gloves is not conspicuous and will not cause doubts. But let's think about it, what other ways can meet the function of gloves without being too obtrusive or conspicuous? It should be a handkerchief. But carrying A handkerchief may be natural, but a handkerchief wrapped around one's hand is somewhat strange, intriguing, and, more importantly, does not provide adequate protection from sharp needles. I have also considered whether the murderer might have used Sam Patrol as well. This is done in the official way—that is, with a small pair of pliers, but a little thought can quickly overturn this assumption. After all, while the murderer is holding it to avoid stabbing himself, the operation of this operation is too delicate and too blatant Already - come to think of it, there's very little room for freedom of movement in a crowded train, which makes this completely unfeasible.
"At this point, I think it's pretty clear that the murderer must have been wearing gloves when he put the cork in Lonstree's pocket."
Sam and Bruno looked at each other, Ryan closed his eyes, and continued in a low and calm voice: "We know that the time when the cork was put in Longstreet's pocket was after he got into the car, and everyone's testimony after that We can be sure of this; and we also know that the doors and windows have not been opened since we boarded the car from Longstreet. Of course there are two exceptions that we cannot ignore, but in fact there is no doubt that the murderer must have been involved in the incident. One of the members of the trolley who had been interrogated by Inspector Sam afterwards had not left the tram since Longstreet and his friends boarded, with one exception. He was ordered to get out of the car, but quickly returned to the car.
"We are also very sure that all the people in the car were interrogated later in the garage, and after a thorough search, there was no trace of any gloves; and, as you must remember, the group got out of the car and entered the garage for a short distance, There were policemen and criminal policemen standing on both sides, and no gloves were found within a certain range of the road afterwards. Also, inspector, please recall carefully, after you told me all the incidents, did I specifically ask, You also categorically denied whether there were gloves or the like in the carry-on items of this group of people.
"In other words: Although the murderer is still in the car, there is an extremely unusual situation here, that is, this important tool for the execution of the murder disappeared after the murder. It cannot be thrown out of the car, Because after Longstreet and his party boarded the car, the car window never opened a crack; it was impossible for it to be thrown out of the car door, because the only few times the door was opened, Officer Duffy personally checked it, and it was confirmed that there was absolutely nothing. One can fish in troubled waters, otherwise Officer Duffy would have noticed and reported the matter; the glove could not have been destroyed and thrown away in the car, otherwise there would be wreckage left in the car search and it would be found immediately; Sneak it on an innocent passenger, because then the gloves will naturally surface, and it is basically the same to surface on the accomplice as on the murderer. occur."
"So, how did this ghostly glove disappear out of thin air?" Ren stopped and took a sip of coffee, which was brought to the host and guest by Fatty Falstaff a little earlier. "At this point, I tell you from the bottom of my heart, Mr. Bruno, you mentioned a miracle. Isn't it a miracle that is in front of me at this moment? But even though the disappearance of the glove is so mysterious and inexplicable, I still Do not believe in the more nonsensical explanations, but simply seek rational explanations that do not violate the ancient laws of logic, which means that it must have been disposed of in a certain way, through a certain medium. The gloves were neither thrown out of the car nor left in the car The answer is very simple, that is, someone got out of the car and took it out. We know that after the incident, there was only one person who got out of the car, and that person was Charles Wood, the conductor. Go and inform policeman Molo so that he can report the incident to the headquarters. As for policeman Hittenfeld, who was performing traffic control duties on Ninth Avenue, he saw the suspicious running in, and Duffy opened the door himself, and he stayed in the car ever since. In the car; as for the policeman Molo that Wood found, the situation is exactly the same as that of Hittenfeld. That is to say, after the murder, two people got into the car, all police officers, but only one person got out of the car, Wood, Of course, he went back and forth and remained in the car in the end.
"I was then forced to confront the highly improbable, highly fanciful, and utterly counterintuitive conclusion that it was Charles Wood, the tram conductor, who took the glove away from the murder scene and dealt with it. Of course, this conclusion was initially It horrified me, but it was so convincing, logical and uncompromising that I had to accept the conclusion."
"It's amazing." Bruno sighed.
Ryan grinned and continued: "Okay, Charles Wood took the gloves and wiped them out. Is he the murderer or is he just an accomplice? Did he just take advantage of the commotion and let the murderer take the gloves and kill them?" evidence?"
"Recall, both of you, that in the discussion following Inspector Sam's account, I would say that I had a rough idea of the murder but didn't go any further because, at the time, it was not clear to me whether Wood was the murderer or an accomplice. I suspect that Wood is not the real murderer, but just an accomplice, but it is an indisputable fact that Wood is directly involved in this murder case. Because, if Wood is unaware and the murderer slips gloves on him—that is, Wood is innocently married— In this way, either the gloves were found during the body search, or if Wood found them himself, he must immediately report to the police; The opportunity to inform police officer Murrow to take the glove and eliminate it shows that he was involved, that he knew, whether he was disposing of the glove for himself or for someone else."
"Clear—as clear as a photograph," Sam murmured.
"Here, there is a psychological verification," Ryan continued to explain softly, "We will clean up Wood's suspicion based on logic. Of course, he shouldn't have such a fluke mentality from the beginning, hoping that he will have a chance after committing the crime." Get out of the car and throw away the gloves, no, he should never take this risk, but should have the most basic psychological preparation, that is, he has no chance to dispose of the gloves, and after the search, the gloves will be found on him, and This is the best part of this ingenious murder plan! Because even if the gloves were found on Wood, even if there were no gloves in the car, he could still face the interrogation. After all, the conductor wearing gloves has always been regarded as As a matter of course, gloves are still his normal equipment when he is on duty, even in the hot summer. Think about it, a conductor who has to collect money all day long has this basic psychological advantage. It would be taken for granted. Following this credible inference, I am more convinced of my whole set of ideas about gloves. After all, if Wood is not sure beforehand to eliminate the necessary props to protect him from murder, then he will have to use the most common The most inconspicuous way to protect your hands, such as gloves. Handkerchiefs are neither natural, nor can it ensure that poisonous needles are isolated.
"On the other hand, Wood's murder plan should actually avoid rainy days, which force the doors and windows of the car to be sealed, so it is more advantageous to choose a good weather day. If the weather is good, he has the opportunity to sneak the gloves out of the car door or car at any time. The criminal evidence came out of the window, and the police had no way of identifying who the discarder was—this was safe for Wood—after all, anyone in the entire car had a chance and was suspected; It is raining frequently, and the police have to consider the possibility that the murderer has already left the car. Since it is best to choose good weather, why did he murder Lonstra in the end on a rainy day? This has really troubled me for quite a while , but after careful deliberation, I thought that this particular night, rain or shine, would offer the murderer an almost once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the most important reason was that Lonstree was accompanied by a large group of friends that day, each of whom He might become a suspect. Perhaps it was because this sudden good luck was so attractive that he resolutely acted regardless of the original plan, and the bad weather really interfered with his more elaborate murder plan.
"Besides, as a conductor, he certainly has two other advantages that ordinary murder locks do not have. First, as we all know, the pockets of the conductor's uniform coat are constantly rubbed to hold change and receive money, so they are all lined with a layer of toughness. He can safely put the murder weapon in one of the pockets, and carry it with him, ready to kill at any time when he gets the chance. I guess the conductor has probably carried this poison-soaked needle cork in and out for several times. Second, as conductor, he had more opportunity than anyone else on the train to slip a murder weapon into a victim's pocket, because, as was the case on the Forty-second Streetcar that day, every passenger had to By being around the conductor, especially when a large number of passengers are swarming up during rush hour, this advantage is even more established. Therefore, coupled with these two reasonable psychological discussions, for me personally, I am more convinced that Wood's suspicion..."
"Unbelievable," Bruno praised again at this time, "unbelievable to the point of frightening, Mr. Wren, what you said and Stoop's confession, every detail is completely consistent, and I know that you did not agree with Stoop had a conversation. Stoop confessed that he made the cork with the needle himself, and that the pure nicotine venom was the same as Dr. Schelling said in the autopsy report-buying insecticide from the market and heating it. Evaporated to obtain extremely high-purity pure nicotine venom, and then he dipped the needle into the venom. As for the time when he put the murder weapon in Longstreet’s pocket, it was Longstreet who was standing in the back compartment to help his companions buy tickets , Waiting for the moment to get back the change. In his further confession, Stoop also mentioned that he did plan to find a good weather to kill Lonstra at night, but that night, when he saw a group of people hitchhiking with him, he thought The opportunity to pass suspicion on to these people, such an opportunity must not be missed, makes him ignore the issue of the weather."
"As some academic expert said, thinking is better than evidence," Sam interjected.
Ryan still smiled, "Inspector, from a positivist like you, I feel very honored for such a compliment... I will continue, now you know clearly, from your comment on the first murder case Narrative, I am completely sure of Wood's involvement, but I have no way of judging whether he is the murderer, or just an accomplice, or even just another murderer I don't know. The situation is, of course, before the police received the anonymous letter .”
"As for after the anonymous letter arrived, unfortunately, none of us knew that Wood was the sender of the anonymous letter. After we finished the handwriting analysis and found out the truth, the second murder had already happened, and it was too late to prevent it. When the police first received the anonymous letter, they looked It sounds like an innocent witness who accidentally learned the truth about this potentially life-threatening murder, so he risked contacting the police to save his life. When I read the letter and knew that Wood was the sender, and I was sure Wood knew that he was not just an innocent witness, so analyzing the significance of this letter, there are only the following possibilities: First, this letter came from the hands of the murderer, who wanted to mislead the police and put the suspicion on another innocent person; Or secondly, this is Wood, who is an accomplice to the murder, and for some reason wants to confess who the real murderer is, or at the instigation of the murderer, he wants to put the blame on a third party."
"But there is a false premise here, that is, Wood is dead, murdered and tragic." Ryan folded his fingers together, and closed his eyes again, "Under such contradictory direct light, I was forced to start all over again Once, based on this letter and the situation at that time, it was re-analyzed in two aspects.
"The most important question is: If Wood was the murderer (rather than an accomplice) who killed Lonstra, why did he die on the Mohawk Ferry instead, and who killed him?" Lane recalled that time with a smile, " From this question, we can get some interesting ideas. I immediately see three possibilities: First, Wood is the murderer, and there are accomplices who assisted in the murder, and in the end this accomplice killed him—possibly the accomplice Parwood betrayed him, or Parwood put the responsibility for the murder on him on charges similar to abetting crimes; second, Wood committed the crime alone without accomplices, and he wanted to transfer the crime to an innocent third party, But he was killed by the other party instead; third, Wood was killed for other unknown reasons, which had nothing to do with the Longstreet case."
Ryan continued without a pause, "I carefully analyzed each of these hypotheses. The first scenario-it seems unlikely, because if the accomplice is worried that Wood will betray the inside information, or even be charged with abetting If Wood is the principal culprit, then for this accomplice, it is far more beneficial for him to be alive than to be dead. Remember, in this hypothesis, we assume that Wood is the principal murderer. It is enough to simply confess the truth, his guilt is far lighter than that of Wood; and once he kills Wood, he not only becomes a murderer on the spot, but even the suspicion of Longstreet's murder falls on him, and he cannot be thrown back into the dead. In the face of the official interrogation of Wood, he was absolutely speechless.
"The second assumption—the same thing is wrong. First, the innocent third person who Wood intends to frame for murder has no reason to know Wood's plan to set the blame in advance and has written to the police to inform the police, so he can kill him first; secondly, Even if he didn't know why he knew about it in advance, then he only needs to explain that he was not involved in the case, why bother to kill someone rashly?
"As for the third hypothesis, Wood was killed by an unknown person for unknown reasons. This cannot be said to be completely impossible, but it is a bit outrageous, and the coincidence is too unbelievable-this is the most unsatisfactory."
"You two, things are getting weird now." Ren stared at the fire for a while, then closed his eyes, "Through the above analysis and my further investigation following strict logic, I found that I had to give up The basic premise of these three assumptions—Wood was not the main murderer in the Longstreet case, therefore, three assumptions based on false premise will not stand up to the test—very, very wrong.
"Therefore, I am going to change course, go another way, and seriously examine the second set of possible assumptions - that Wood was not the murderer in the Longstreet case, but only an accomplice in the case. He wrote this letter intending to The real murderer was revealed. This idea makes the ensuing death of Wood seem more plausible. It shows that Wood knew who the real murderer was and planned to report it. Murder. The logic of this inference is extremely perfect, and there is no flaw in it.
"However, I don't feel any sense of breaking out of the quagmire. In fact, I feel that I am getting deeper and deeper. Because, if this premise is true, I must ask myself: Why should Wood, who was an accomplice in the murder of Lonstray, want to Take the initiative to contact the police and confess his crimes? When he exposes the crime of the murderer, the part of his involvement in the case cannot be avoided, whether it is exposed from the police's investigation, or after the real murderer is arrested, he burns everything and pulls Wood together. Going to sea. So why? Why? Why would you choose to do something so detrimental to yourself with no regard for your own safety? The only answer is - interesting but there is always something wrong - Wood regretted it and helped himself The crime of murdering Longstreet became frightened. In order to protect himself, he hoped to take the initiative to inform and get a chance to reduce the crime.
"From this point of view, the following answer seems to be obvious. Based on Wood's inevitable involvement in the Longstreet case and the informant letter he sent to the police, the most reasonable explanation is that Wood was also arrested. Killed by the main murderer who killed Longstreet, the reason is that Wood betrayed the main murderer by telling the truth."
Ren sighed, and stretched his feet towards the wood frame of the fireplace, "But no matter what the truth is, my next course of action is clearly in front of me, or more correctly, it is inevitably in front of me, and I must pursue it deeply. Wood's private life and all background information, in order to find out the true identity of the suspected murder accomplice - of course, it is also possible that this person is the real murderer.
"This investigation turned out to be a turning point for me to get out of the mud. Although it seemed useless at the beginning, it was very unexpected. Suddenly, a different and brand-new vision opened up in front of my eyes. At that time, I was extremely surprised... I Let's start from the beginning step by step.
"Inspector, you must never forget that I disguised myself as you unforgivably and went to the rented house in Weehokenwood. I did not intend to use your identity and power to play tricks, but I knew that the trip It's very important, and I myself don't know where to look and what to look for. So I have to make sure of one thing, that I can look it up without any explanation. I've looked over the whole room and everything in it. The furnishings and items are 100% consistent with Wood's identity, including cigars, ink, paper, and bank books, etc. But this is actually Wood's ingenious disguise. Two, he deliberately left the passbook, sacrificing an absolute fortune for him. It’s not a small amount of money, it’s just to make the little character he created more realistic! I found the bank, the money is still there, no one has withdrawn it, and the way and figures of the deposit amount are very consistent with his identity, there is no doubt I also searched various shops near his residence, hoping to find some clues, some information about this person’s private and unknown situation or what kind of people he used to have, but still nothing, a little gain Nope; I visited the pharmacies, doctors, and dentists in that area again, to no avail, but it was very interesting, and this man had obviously never seen a doctor in the area, and I asked myself what was going on, if he was in New York There is a regular doctor here in the city - a pharmacist also pointed out this possibility - before further investigation, I can only put this question on the table for the time being.
"Then, I went to the tram company to visit the personnel manager. I was still blank about what I was looking for, but quite by chance, I came across a strange, unbelievable but extremely fascinating little thing. You two should remember the autopsy report Well, the victim on the Mohawk pulsator was confirmed to be Wood's autopsy report, which mentioned that the deceased had a scar from an operation on his lower abdomen, which was left by appendicitis surgery about two years ago. However, from the company's duty records and personnel manager From my mouth, what I saw and heard with my own eyes is that in the five full years before Wood was killed, he never took a vacation or took a vacation, and he was on full duty for five years."
Ren's voice became agitated, and Bruno and Sam unconsciously leaned forward more and more, as if they were attracted by the joy that appeared on the old actor's face. "In the name of all the patron saints of theater, how is such a contradiction possible? Wood underwent appendicitis surgery two years before his death, but at the same time was able to perform daily duties without vacation for five years before his death? As we all know, normal appendicitis surgery At least ten days in the hospital - this is the least, and usually two to six weeks of sick leave.
"The answer is as ambitious as Lady Macbeth's, and there is no room for compromise - this contradiction proves that the alleged dead man found under Mohawk's ship is Wood, which is doubtful - the man with the scar of appendicitis operation two years ago The body of the dead—not Wood himself, that is to say—my eyes are completely illuminated by the discovery of this new and virgin land—that is, Wood was not killed, it was just a well-planned and clever drama, so that everyone People thought Wood was dead; in short, Wood is alive!"
After an almost suffocating silence, Sam sighed deeply with sincere admiration, Ryan smiled again, and continued in a steady voice, "So, everything that was originally confirmed in this second murder case collapsed." Now, I have to think about it secretly. The iron fact that Wood is still alive shows that the whistleblower letter he wrote himself was just smoke, and it was just a clever move to arrange Wood's death. He had no intention of following from beginning to end The police actually met the murderer who reported the Longstreet case. On the other hand, the police found that Wood was suddenly killed on the eve of his promise to reveal the murderer's name, so they could only logically conclude that Wood's murder was the real murderer. I realized that there was a certain degree of suspicion, and I have since turned into an innocent third party who was killed by an unknown murderer. The whistleblower letter, coupled with the carefully arranged body with illusions of identity, cleverly misled the police and made the police The direction of the investigation is far from the truth, and even farther away from Wood.
"Furthermore, the incomparably important point of view that Wood is alive has other implications for us. He arranged this feigned murder on the grounds that Wood must disappear, which we shall discuss below in the third murder. In the third murder case, he used the identity of train conductor Edward Thompson, and due to his duties, he was able to appear at the scene of the murder reasonably as a witness to cover up his identity as the murderer. Charles Wood, the conductor of the first Lone Street murder, was exactly the same—similar timing, similar scene, similar cover-up, so he had to make himself two completely unrelated people so as not to arouse suspicion The ingenious thing is that the murder Wood arranged for himself to be the victim is actually a double-killer - he not only makes Charles Wood disappear completely, but also kills another man he was originally planned to kill at the same time. The unknown person who wanted to kill—it was the body in Wood's uniform on the ferry.
"Here, let's look at the corpse on the ferry again. The reason why the corpse convinced everyone that it was Wood was the conspicuous scar on one leg and the red hair on the head. As for the other parts, it was damaged too much. It cannot be used for identification. And we know that Wood has red hair, and according to the testimony of the driver Guinness, Wood does have such a long scar on his leg, which is exactly the same. However, if this body is not Wood, what does that mean? I think it may be a coincidence that the hair color is also red, which is convenient for Wood to use. The scar on the leg is not so coincidental, it must be faked on purpose—the fake time lasted as long as five years, and he just entered the tram company From the beginning of his partnership with Guinness, he deliberately let Guinness see this long scar. He identified two striking features on the victim of the Mohawk Ferry in the future-hair color and scar, and faked it from the beginning , so when the body was picked up from the river in tatters, no one could doubt that it was Wood. That is to say, Wood had planned the murder on the ferry for at least five years, and the ferry The pile murder case is actually the next link in the Longstreet murder case. Similarly, it can be proved that the planning time of the Longstreet murder case was at least five years, or even longer.
"We can still draw another conclusion: before the murder of the ferry, someone saw Wood boarding the boat, and he was not actually killed, and then disappeared. I think he may have stolen it before the police arrived. slipped off the ship, and more likely, he transformed himself into another irrelevant passenger, accepted the interrogation of Inspector Sam safely, and then swaggered away..."
"As far as I know," Bruno put in, "the answer you think is more probable is true, that he did remain on board, as Stoop himself confessed, posing as Henry Nixon, a jewelry salesman. .”
“尼克森？哦？”雷恩说，“非常聪明，这个人其实应该成为演员——他对装扮成各种不同的人物，拥有极其了不起的天赋。我一直无法确知凶案过后，伍德究竟是否仍留在船上，现在听你说他扮成推销商尼克森，更让我觉得谋杀的每一个细节都接得如此巧妙：尼克森是推销商，随身带着和伍德拎上船一样的廉价提包完全合情合理，因为伍德非带这个提包上船不可，一方面他得携带事后扮成推销商的必要行头，一方面他更得携带杀人的必要凶器，而这个重击被害人的凶器，事后可连同被害人的衣物沉入河中……的确聪明极了，一个巡游四处的推销商，他既不用交代明确的住址，在特殊的时候他避不见面亦合情合理，比方说如果警方发现他的行踪不明，也会自动以他工作需要的理由作为解释；尤有甚者，他杀人后仍保留手提袋，里头预先装了廉价的珠宝饰物——这时他已换好一身推销商的衣着，把被害人的衣物连同杀人的钝器沉入河中——自自然然，毫无破绽。而且更细微的是，我记得，他还备有订货单，单子预先印了他推销商的假名，也写上他暂时落脚的租屋地址；此外，为了顺利转换成尼克森这身份，伍德特别去买了二手新手提袋，因为原有的旧手提袋有好几个人见过，可能有哪处特征被认出是伍德所有，如此换由推销商尼克森带下船，当场就穿帮了。因此，他考虑周到地故意先弄坏旧手提袋的把手部分，使每一环细节都完美无比。我不得不说，这个人什么都想到了，甚至连万一在警方赶到无法顺利溜下船这情况，他都预留了极其聪明的退路。毕竟，他无法事先确定，在尸体扔下河中引起骚动之际，有没有机会趁乱下船，在一个完美的谋杀计划中，他得事先将这个风险消除干净。”
“雷恩先生，”萨姆说，“这是我有生以来所听过最神奇准确的推理，我得实话实说——一开始，我一直以为您嘴上吹嘘，根本就脑袋空空，但这个——老天啊，这样的推理能力简直就是神了。”
布鲁诺舔舔嘴唇，“萨姆，我百分之百支持你的说法，我看过凶手的自白书，已知道谋杀案的基本来龙去脉了，尽管如此，我还是想不出雷恩先生究竟是如何打通这三件谋杀案的所有关节，而能干净利落地一击中的。”
雷恩伸出白皙的手制止这两名激动的听众，但这一刻，他却也敞开怀笑开来，“二位，对不起，你们一下子跳到第三桩谋杀案，会把我要说的话弄乱——这第二桩案子还没说完啊！
“我回过头来问自己个老问题：伍德究竟仍只是一名共犯呢？或者他直接就是凶手？在我没发现渡轮上的尸体不是他本人前，我倾向于前者，但现在钟摆荡回到后者来了。
“这里有三个很明确的心理学理由，证明伍德是隆斯崔案凶手的理论。
“第一点：伍德整整花了五年时间，五年如一日地扮演一个不知名的人物，为这个人的被杀做准备——这样的行径，说明他直接就是凶手，而不只是客串凶手的谋杀工具。
“第二点，告密信的出现再加上尸体的巧妙身份伪装，纯粹只为了抹去售票员伍德这个人的存在，这么大费周折的计划，也说明伍德是凶手，而不是不重要的边缘人物。
“第三点：所有的设计，所有的细节安排很明显，都指向保护伍德这个人的安全——更清楚说明伍德就是整桩事情的真正核心，而不是外围摇旗呐喊的人物。
“总而言之，这第二桩谋杀案的最终面貌是：伍德，这名杀了隆斯崔和一位无名被害人的凶手，以漂亮的手法扮成被害人，从两桩谋杀案永远抽开身去，并顺势让德威特不明不白卷入这两极谋杀案的漩涡中心。”
说到这里，雷恩站起来，拉了墙上的拉铃，法斯塔夫立刻冒出来，雷恩吩咐他再弄一壶咖啡过来。重新坐下来后，雷恩接着说：“很明显的，下一个问题变成：伍德为何要诱骗德威特上船，并且用雪茄来栽赃他呢？——为了符合伍德只是整桩的案的共犯这一步一步的设计。他以某种有效的手法诱德威特上船，极可能是察觉了德威特和隆斯崔的长期龈龋，以至在警方眼中，德威特涉嫌最重；也可能能是——这非常非常重要——伍德不仅要对付隆斯崔，也同样要对付德威特。
“以后一种情形来看，如果这个嫁祸行动成功，德威特必遭警方收押，可是如果审讯后，或因证实清白或因罪证不足得到开释，则我们有充分的理由相信，凶手绝不会善罢甘休，一定会照他原先所拟定的谋杀计划向德威特下手。我便是基于这一点，”雷恩从法斯塔夫手中接过咖啡壶，为两位客人续了杯，“基于这一点，我尽管清楚德威特是无辜的，却宁可他遭到收押审判，毕竟，只要他一天尚置身于法律判刑的危险之中，他就一天能避开伍德的魔掌。无疑地，当时你们二位一定对我这个特别处置不解。没错，这很奇怪，但为了把德威特从更险恶的危机中拉出来，我不得不放手让他置身于另一个危机之中。当然，在此同时，我也争取到一点喘息的机会，一小段清静的时间，可供我将全部案情仔细地反刍一番，看是否能理出逮捕真凶的有效罪证。别忘了，从伍德诈死后，他就像断线风筝般再也不知去向了……另外，德威特遭收押我以为还有一样好处是，我总希望空前的窘境——面对生或死的审判——会逼德威特和盘托出一切，我已查知他极力隐藏着一些秘密，而这些秘密无疑关联着这位会冒名为伍德、如今躲在暗处蠢蠢欲动的凶手。
“然而，审判的进行急转直下，状况对德威特越来越不利，这时，尽管我在此期间并无任何收获，但为了保住他的生命，我遂不得不主动涉入，提供德威特手指受伤的辩护观点。在这里我得特别指出，我绝不是仰仗自己洞穿德威特手指受伤这张王牌，怀着愚弄之心，才放手让你们收押他。布鲁诺先生，事情正好相反，我完全是太信任你们的判断和智慧，才放心让德威特面对审判的危险，否则我会主动把我所知道的一切全说出来。
“随德威特的无罪开释，他的安全问题立刻变得迫在眉睫了，”雷恩这时脸色变得阴郁，声音也开始黯然下来，“案发当天晚上，我会一而再再而三想说服自己，德威特被杀责任不在我，很清楚，我从头到尾一点也不敢掉以轻心。事实上我也答应陪德威特回他西安格坞家里，甚至还打算留在那儿过夜，我当然也无法完全把一切预备得天衣无逢。然而，在我内心深处，我不得不承认，我真没料想到伍德会选在德威特获释当天晚上立刻动手。毕竟，尽管当时我对伍德的新身份，对他身在哪里，毫无概念，但我总以为他会耐心地等上一星期或一个月再慢慢找机会下手，但伍德完全出我意料之外地会抓时机。他一发现德威特获释当晚机会绝佳，便毅然紧抓不放，在这方面，伍德无疑比我敏锐多了，才能如此有效地致命一击。当天晚上，柯林斯找上德威特时我一点也不以为怪，因为我太清楚柯林斯绝不可能是伍德扮成的，总而言之，”——在雷恩清澈的眼中，有一抹自责之色——“在这桩罪案中我并无资格宣称胜利，我还是不够敏锐，不够敏锐到能将被害人从凶手魔掌中救回来，我甚至认为，自己只能算个业余的半吊子侦探罢了，如果将来还有机会参与任何的探案工作的话……”他叹口气，继续说，“我所以接受德威特邀请的另一个理由是，德威特允诺我第二天早晨会说出一切秘密，当时我猜想——现在我已完全确定——他要告诉我的是他一段秘而不宜的往事，也就是史托普自白书里所说的往事，更是何以德威特家里会出现那位南美访客的原因——巡官，我猜你不知道有过这么个南美访客吧！——我追查这名南美访客，依循线索找到乌拉圭领事亚贺斯先生……”
布鲁诺和萨姆满眼惊讶地看着雷恩，“南美访客？乌拉圭领事？”萨姆唾沫四溅，“为什么我从没听过有这两号人物？”
“巡官，这两人的事先按下不表，”雷恩说，“我们把话题带回来，当我知道了伍德只是改名换姓，仍好好活着的这个致命事实后，伍德是谋杀案共犯的所有可能性，一下子全不存在了，他千真万确就是杀人凶手，用好几年的时间来筹划每一处细节，使这一系列的谋杀案，手法极其大胆、想象力十足且几近完美。而从另一方面来说，我得承认，对于这么一个凶手的长相身形，我连一点点概念也没有，扮成查尔斯·伍德，那个我所见过的查尔斯·伍德，已彻底从这个世界消失了，至于他将以怎样的身份怎样的容貌复出，我除了臆测一无他法。但有一点我却完全可确定，那就是他的杀人计划势必复出，这就是我所等待的。”
“第三桩谋杀案怎么来的？”
雷恩喝一口热咖啡振作精神，“德威特的骤死，以及该案所呈现的一些事实，清楚地显示这也是一桩计划周详的罪案——极可能和前两桩谋杀案同为一项连环杀人计划的一环。
“我所以能顺利解开这第三桩谋杀案，几乎全凭德威特身上那本五十张新回数票。那是案发当晚在西岸线候车室里等车时，德威特当着我和亚罕、布鲁克面买的，若不是那本回数票，我实在不敢说能否有如此圆满的收场。毕竟，尽管我知道杀人的仍是谋害隆斯雀的同一个凶手，但我完全不知道他要戴着哪一种假面具来杀德威特。”
“其中最重要的一点是，这本新回数票放在德威特身上的位置。在威荷肯终站，德威特将回数票连同为众人购买的六张单程票，一起放入他背心的左胸口袋内。而后，在他和柯林斯到末节车厢谈判前夕，他同样从背心的左胸口袋掏出六张单程票交待给亚罕，而且我亲眼所见他并未将回数票拿出换到另一个口袋。然而，在座的萨姆巡官亲手搜查尸体时，我惊骇地发现，这本新回数票不复出现在原来的背心左胸口袋中，而改放在他外套的内口袋中！”雷恩感伤地一笑，“德威特是子弹击中心脏致死的，这颗子弹穿透他的外套左上部、穿透背心左胸口袋、穿透衬衫、穿透内心，直达心脏。事情再清楚不过了，他中弹那一刻显然这本回数票已不在背心的左胸口袋之中，否则这本回数票一定也被打出个弹孔来。然而，我们找到这本回数票时，它完好无缺，甚至没剪过票，也没有列车员收票的记号。
“我立刻自问：在德威特被杀之前，究竟是什么缘故这本回数票会被移到另一个口袋？
“我们回想一下尸体发现时的样子。德威特的左手中指缠在食指上，形成某种奇怪的手势，而谢林医生坚持称德威特是瞬间致命，因此这两个奇怪交缠的手指便明白显示了以下三点：第一，德威特这个手势是在中弹前做的——因为没有死前挣扎这回事；第二，德威特惯用右手，但手势却出现在他左手，因此，我们可推断，做此手势同时，他的右手有事忙着；第三，我们实验过，要做出这个奇特手势相当费力，因此，它是有意做出，和谋杀案有某种关联。
“我们先跳到第三点开始。如果德威特生性迷信，那这两根怪手指可能就是某种驱魔避邪的手势，而且可能是他在知道自己将死，本能做出这种有关鬼神的手势以驱赶即将临身的邪灵恶鬼。但众所周知，德威特连最轻程度的迷信都没有，因此，这个他有意留下的手势，必然不是为了他自己，而是和凶手有关。毫无疑问，德威特所以会在死前留下这个手势，源于德威特被柯林斯找去前，我、他、亚罕和布鲁克的一段谈话，我提到一个被谋杀的人，在死前奋力留下信息以揭发凶手的身份，因此，我十分确信德威特这可怜的人，在面对死亡的一刹那间突然想到这刚刚听来的故事，留下信息给我——对不起，我应该说，留给我们——意图指出杀他的人是谁。”
布鲁诺忽然得意起来，萨姆更兴奋大喊：“这点我和布鲁诺总算猜对了！”但他的脸马上一拉，“但是，”他说，“猜是猜对了……但这个见鬼手势怎么扯上伍德呢？这小子迷信吗？”
“巡官，德威特的信息并非以迷信不迷信来指称伍德或史托普，”雷恩回答，“坦白说，我并没花心思去解析这个手势，怎么说？我觉得这太神奇太异想天开了，因此当时我对这个手势的意义也完全没有概念。事实上，若能弄清德威特这个手势和凶手的关联，其实对解决整桩罪案非常有效——我得很丢脸地承认，手势和凶手的关联非常直接非常清楚，从头到尾摆在我眼前瞪着我看……
“总而言之，这两根交缠的手指，唯一合理的解释是，德威特借此指出凶手是谁，而你们晓得，德威特能够留下凶手身份的线索，证明他认得凶手，熟悉要杀他的人是谁，他才能留下个信号指凶手某种独有的特征。
“而从这个手势，我们可知道更多的事。不管它代表什么意义，它出现在左手，表示面对凶手当时，德威特所惯用的右手正做着某件事，如同我刚才说过的。现在，我们就来想想，他的右手可能在做什么？现场并无任何格斗的痕迹，会不会他当时用右手抵着凶手呢？但依现场看起来，德威特以左手做手势时。右手似乎也不太像做这事——我们再强调一次，做这个手势颇费几分力气。我不断问自己，还有没有更适合的解释呢？从尸体发现的情况，有没有任何象征显示出右手可能做些什么呢？有的，有特征！——就是我所知道车票换了口袋这件事。
“我立即检验各种可能。比方说，可能德威特再凶手找上来之前，自己把车票给换了口袋——是有可能没错，但如此一来，车票换了口袋这事就跟整极命案毫无牵连，有关他当时右手做些什么这问题也只好原地踏步了。然而，如果车票换了口袋这事是发生在谋杀前后，那我就能一举解释当时右手在做什么，也能让德威特不以惯用右手、改用左手留下讯息的现象合情合理。后一种想法的延展性十足，它的确让所有的事实得到解释，也正因为牵涉如此广泛，所以需要更缜密的检验分析。这里，我们先问：这样一种想法会引领我们到哪里？
“比方说，它导出这样的推论：何以凶案发生当时，德威特的右手会拿着他的回数票？这只有唯—一种解释——他正打算使用。而我们知道，柯林斯和德威特分手之前，列车员并未前来收票检票，当天凌晨警方到他公寓逮捕柯林斯时，查出他的车票并未被撕走亦未被剪洞；如果说列车员来过，那柯林斯身上至多只会出现剪了洞的票根。所以说，德威特独自走入那一节加挂车厢时，列车员尚未前来收票。当然，这个推论我不是案发当晚在车上完成的，那得等到你，巡官，追查柯林斯发现那张未被撕走的车票时，但我当时的确已完成了这样的基本推论。因此，你的新资料进来时，立刻有清楚的意义，也证实了我的推断。
“于是这个假设得到证实了，德威特在进入加挂车厢之前，列车员尚未前来收票。然而，依据我进一步推论，何以在他死前一刻右手会拿着回数票呢？最自然最合理的解释是什么？答案很简单：列车员来了。偏偏两名列车员都宣称并未看见德威特，如此，是我的推论有误吗？不，不见得，我们不难想到，如果这两名列车员之一，会见过德威特，那他就是凶手，而正因为他是凶手，所以他得谎称并未见到德威特。”
布鲁诺和萨姆的坐姿已推进到椅子前端，身子几乎掉地了，全副注意力投注在雷恩的精巧案情解析之中，雷恩以柔和却震撼力十足的声音继续说：“德威特死前，右手拿着车票的这个说法，是否合理解释了已知的所有事实呢？是的，的确是这样。
“第一，它解释了何以德威特用左手留下手势。
“第二，它解释了为何右手有事忙着，以及右手正在做什么。
“第三，它解释了何以车票未经列车员处理。因为，若凶手果真是列车员，当他杀了德威特后，发现他手上的车票，列车员绝不会如常撕票剪洞，这票根上所剪的洞将成为铁证，证明他可能是最后一位见到被害者的人，也因此必然涉嫌重大，或至少成为警方调查的重点对象——自然，对一名计划周详的凶手而言，这绝不是件愉快的事。
“第四，它也解释了何以回数票出现在外套内口袋里。如果凶手真是列车员，他当然不可让警方发现车票握在死者手中，理由和前面所说的不可剪票收票一样——这类被害者临死前说明意义十足的特殊迹象，是凶手最该避免得——它说明了德威特看到列车员，未及收票，随即遭害。而另一方面来看，列车员又不能把车票拿走，因为回数票上的日期是案发当天，德威特又有数名同伴随行，这批人中间可能有人目睹购票经过，而一旦尸体发现时回数票不翼而飞，警方顺理成章会产生'车票——列车员'这样对凶手的不利联想。不行，拿走车票行不通，最好的方式是保护列车员未和被害人碰面、从头到尾置身的案之外的干净印象。
“好，既然——最聪明的方法是不把车票带走，那该如何处置这张出现在德威特右手的醒目车票呢？当然是重新放回德威特口袋里——这最合理是吧？但放哪个口袋呢？有关这个，不管是凶手原来就察觉了德威特放置车票的固定口袋，抑或经过检查知道了德威特放置车票的口袋，当他在德威特外套的口袋中找到过期的老回数票，自然会将新回数票也一并放入，试想，还有什么地方比这里更自然更不引起怀疑呢？退一步来说，就算凶手知道德威特的新回数票其实是收在背心左胸口袋中，他也无法把车票放回原处，理由是，这个口袋已被射杀德威特的那颗子弹贯穿，把一本完好的车票摆回一个有弹孔的口袋里，这等于宣告世人，这本回数票是谋杀之后才放过去的，这样的疑点凶手也非避免不可。
“第五，从上述四点，我们可简单归纳出——德威特死前右手拿着车票这个推论，也合理解释了回数票上何以没有弹孔。列车员无法再对着车票再开一枪制造一个一模一样的弹孔，以便把车票神不知鬼不觉放回原来的背心口袋之中。而且，我还可以再加一个理由，再开第二枪等于要再次冒着被听见枪声的危险，而这第二枪也很可能在车上留下弹头或弹痕被警方发现。总之无论如何，这些补救手法显然都太冒险、太费事、太容易留下破绽也太不明智了，不行。因此，经由每一方面的分析，凶手只能选择最自然，也是看起来最安全的一条路。”
“到此为止，”雷恩继续，“这个推论已通过每一处细节的检验，但我们是否有确证证明凶手就是列车上的列车员之一呢？有一个极有意思的心理学方面的证据。我们知道，列车员是整辆列车上最不容易被留意到的一人，他出现在列车上任何地方都不会引起怀疑或注目，也就不容易有人记得他的一举一动。也就是说，车上其他任何人有什么不太寻常的举止，很容易被注意到——而一名列车员，正如实际上所发生的，可堂皇穿越车厢，跨入最后的加挂车厢，而不在任何人脑中留下记忆。事实上，尽管我应该是当时全车最警觉最留心有任何异状的人，连我也没注意到这点，凶手定是在柯林斯跳下车之后通过我们进到加挂车厢里去的，但我完全没任何他走过的印象。
“另一个确证是，凶枪的消失和最后的寻获结果。这把左轮手枪没留在车上——它的发现地点是距谋杀发生后五分钟车程的一条小河之中。很明显，凶手在作案五分钟之后才处理凶器，这难道只是个偶然之事？——而且又那么偶然，手枪哪里不掉，准准确确地沉入到沿线的小河中几乎不被发现？常理来说。凶手作案后立刻处理凶器，远比他带着凶枪等五分钟要安全多了，但他决定等——为什么？
“我的推论是，凶手心中雪亮，尽管车外漆黑一片，车子开到哪里会经过那条小河——这是处置凶器的最佳地点——因此，他宁可多等五分钟，等到车开到他所熟知的小河再扔。这意味着，凶手极其熟悉这列车的沿线状况，而这列车上谁最可能如此熟悉沿线状况呢？不言自明，当然是长期服勤的列车雇员，他们每天同一时间同一路线经过沿线同一处地方，这些人包括司机、机务员和列车员……列车员，又是列车员！凶手是列车员这个推论又一次吻合，尽管这纯粹只是心理学上的佐证。
“我还有另一个确证，一个最有力最直接的确证，但这先保留到一会儿再谈。
“案发之后，我就从相反方向倒回来思考凶枪的问题。我问自己：如果我是这名凶手列车员，我将会怎么处置这把棘手的枪械？如何处置最不容易被发现？最惹眼之处——沿线两旁或甚至就在铁轨路基边——是警方的必搜地点，这应该放弃。而说真的，在这条路线两侧的所有可能地点，既适合丢弃凶器又能保证凶器不容易被找到，我纯靠推论，马上就想到最合这些条件的所在，一条河流……于是我察看了沿线的地图，标定出所有符合这些条件的沿线河流，终于成功找出这把凶枪来。”
雷恩的声音昂扬起来，“好，究竟哪个列车员是凶手——汤普森或勃登利？除了最直接的一点，列车的后半部车厢属于汤普森的执勤责任区之外，我们并无其他直接的证据来分辨出谁是凶手。
“但等等！我既已推论出这第三桩命案的凶手是列车员，而第一桩命案的凶手也是列车员，可不可能这两名列车员其实是同一个人呢？——也就是那个伍德？是的，非常非常可能，毕竟，杀隆斯崔，杀渡轮上的不名男子，和现在的杀德威特，无疑出自同一组缜密计划下的同一只手。
“而伍德的身体特征我们知道的是什么？红头发和伤疤在这里不用谈，前者可简单用假发来冒充，而后者则摆明了是假的——我所能掌握的最起码特征是，伍德是个高而壮的男子。老列车员勃登利，小而瘦弱；年轻列车员汤普森，高而壮硕，于是，汤普森便是我们要找的人。
“至此，我终于走到这尽头的一点：德威特是汤普森所杀的，而我有充分理由相信，这位杀人的汤普森，也必定是杀人的伍德。
“但这位伍德一汤普森究竟是何许人？很明显，这三件案件源起于同一个动机，而这动机至少已有五年之久，甚至更久。于是，我的下一步路就明白出现在我眼前——我必须追回隆斯崔和德威特两人的陈年往事，去找出究竟是何人有如此强烈的杀人动机，筹划多年，非置这两人于死地不可。
“你们两位现在已知道凶手的真正身份是史托普了。但当时，我对过去这段往事一无所知，我唯一察觉有迹可寻的是，从德威特管家乔肯斯口中，我听说不久前，德威特家中曾住着个谜一样的南美访客——我由此出发，巡官，你得承认在这方面我小小领先一步……这看起来是有用的一条线索，因此我立刻遍寻各个南美领事馆，最后才追到乌拉圭的荷安·亚贺斯领事那儿，由他口中问出这段残酷的往事。这段往事现在你们也都清楚了，但在当时对我而言，却是一道重要的环扣，让我可将德威特、隆斯崔和另外两人联系起来——马丁·史托普，越狱的犯人；以及威廉·柯洛奇，德威特一隆斯崔证券公司的隐名第三合伙人。在这两人之中，史托普必然就是那个伍德一汤普森，他的杀人动机再清楚不过——复仇，而且目标直接指向其他三人。因此，我做出结论，史托普就是该名列车员，而柯洛奇则是渡轮上的被害人——史托普精心策划五年，刻意仿冒柯洛奇的一头红发和腿上的伤疤，以便除之而后快。因此，柯洛奇尸首被发现时，由于身体其他可辨识的部分已摧毁殆尽，就被误认为伍德。
“这就是第二桩凶案发生后，我向两位要求失踪人口报告的理由。早在听亚贺斯领事所说的往事之前，我一推论出尸体并非伍德开始，我就知道伍德一定杀了某人，而这些失踪人口报告里也许有某些线索也说不定。直到听了亚贺斯领事所言，我才知道死者就是柯洛奇，毕竟，史托普不可能只因为需要一具尸首诈死，而随便杀个不相干的第三者来顶替，却得花整整五年时间去模仿他的红发和伤疤。至于史托普是如何诱骗柯洛奇上渡轮来进行谋杀，我不知道，直至现在还不知道，布鲁诺先生，史托普有没有说明这点？”
“有的，”布鲁诺哑着嗓子说，“史托普一来为了不让柯洛奇认出他的笔迹，再者为了不让他起疑，从未写过恐吓信给柯洛奇。作案前，他谎称自己是德威特一隆斯崔证券公司因故被解雇的会计，写信给柯洛奇，说明德威特和隆斯崔在账上做了手脚，侵占了柯洛奇应得三分之一收益中的绝大部分金额，那半年一次的大额支票，其实和柯洛奇应得的数字相距甚远。当初，三人带着钱回到美国，柯洛奇坚持要求分得未来收益的三分之一；而对于这位莽撞、残酷成性又极不可靠的同伙，他只要一天手握三人在乌拉圭的秘密，德威特和隆斯崔也就别无他法，只好答应他