Chapter 19 Chapter 18 On the Stairs
You can't tell I did it.
This unexpected situation made me so excited that I had to stop and calm down.At this time, a low and flat voice came from the library, and I looked closer, and it turned out that Mr. Harwell was reading the manuscript of his deceased employer.I find it indescribable how much this scene has had on me at this moment.In the room where the murder happened at night, a hermit hid in a dark cave far away from the hustle and bustle, and read aloud again and again. The words read were all written by the deceased. And the pain is unbearable.I heard him pronounce the following words:
"Using these methods, local rulers will not only lose their envious and fearful attitude towards our system, but will instead arouse their curiosity about our system."
I opened the door and walked in.
"Ah! You're late, sir." He got up to meet me and pulled out a chair for me.
My answer was probably too weak to be heard, because he said, passing my seat, "You don't seem to be feeling well today."
I pull myself together.
"I'm very good."
I picked up the paper in front of me and started proofreading.Yet the words were erratic in my head, and I had to give up my work for the night.
"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to assist you this evening, Mr. Harwell. To tell you the truth, the murderer has done a despicable act and is still at large, which makes it difficult for me to concentrate on my work."
After hearing this, the secretary pushed the paper away, as if he suddenly felt sick at work, but he didn't agree with my words.
"When you first came to me, you told me the news of this tragic case, and said that the case was bizarre and suspenseful. However, a murder case must be solved, Mr. Harwell. This matter has been tossed too much. We both love and Dear man."
The secretary glanced at me.
"Miss Eleanor?" he murmured.
"And Miss Mary," I continued, "and myself, and you, and many others."
"You have shown a high level of interest in this case from the very beginning," he said, methodically dipping his pen into the ink.
I looked at him in surprise.
"And you, too," I said, "have you lived with this family so long that you have no concern for their safety, happiness, or reputation?"
He looked at me with increasingly cold eyes.
"I really don't want to talk about it. I believe I've asked you not to bring it up before." He stood up then.
"But I can't consider your request in this regard," I didn't give up. "If you know any facts related to the murder case that have not been exposed so far, you are absolutely obliged to make the facts public. Miss Eleanor's situation at this time, Should trigger justice in everyone who cares. If you-"
"Mr. Raymond, if I really had any clues to get her out of the crisis, I would have said it long ago."
I bit my lip, tired of the repeated rejections, and got up too.
"If you have nothing else to do," he continued, "and no desire to work, then I'm happy to stop there, because I have other things to do."
"Go ahead," I said in a mean tone, "I can take care of myself."
He turned his head and gave me a quick glance, as if he could barely understand the tone of my voice, then bowed quietly in a somewhat sympathetic gesture, and left the room.I heard him go out, I heard him close the door.Then I sit down by myself and enjoy some alone time.However, being alone in this room is unbearable.When Mr. Harwell came down, I couldn't sit still, so I went into the hall and told him that if he didn't object, I would go with him for a part of the way.
He bowed in agreement with a deadpan expression, and trotted down the stairs ahead of me.He was almost halfway up the stairs when I closed the library door.From my vantage point, his posture was rigid and his manner unnatural.At this time, he stopped suddenly, clung to the railing beside him, and stood there with his face half turned to me, his expression was terrified and bloodless.I watched with bated breath, but he stared at me for a moment.Then I rushed to him, grabbed his hand and shouted, "What's wrong? What's going on?"
But he withdrew his hand and pushed me up.
"Go away!" he whispered, in a tone of great emotion, "Go away!"
He grabbed my arm again and almost pulled me up the stairs.When he reached the top of the stairs, he let go, leaned on the railing trembling all over his body, and looked down with wide eyes.
"Who is he?" he exclaimed. "Who is that man? What's his name?"
I was so surprised that I stooped to see Henry Claflin come out of the anteroom and across the hall.
"He's Mr. Claflin," I whispered as calmly as I could. "Do you know him?"
Javier stumbled back against the wall.
"Claflin, Claflin," he said to himself, his lips trembling.He walked forward again abruptly, clutching the railing in front of him and staring at me, all fortitude and composure gone, and whispered into my ear, "Don't you want to know who killed Leavenworth?" Sir? Look carefully if you want to know. That's the man, Claflin!"
Then he jumped away from me, staggered forward like a drunk, and disappeared from my sight in the upstairs hall.
Impulsively I wanted to follow him into the hall, so I rushed upstairs and knocked on his door, but there was no answer.Even if I call his name in the lobby, it's no use.He made up his mind not to come out and meet people.Deciding I couldn't let this go, I went back to the library and wrote him a note asking him to explain the harsh indictment and letting him know that I would be in my office tomorrow night and would like to see him at six o'clock I.When I was done I went downstairs to meet Mary.
However, this evening was doomed to disappointment.When I was in the library, she had gone back to the bedroom to rest, and I couldn't ask her why as I wished.
"This woman is as slippery as an eel," I murmured to myself, as I paced the hall morosely. "She is a mystery in her own right, and expects me to respect her as an honest person."
As I was leaving the house, I saw Thomas come downstairs with a letter in his hand.
"Sir, Miss Leavenworth confessed to me that she was too tired to stay downstairs tonight."
I stepped aside to read the letter he handed me, looking at the jerky, crooked letters word by word, feeling a little guilty.
Below it reads:
As I was crossing Thirty-second Street, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.I turned around and saw Thomas the butler standing beside me.
"Excuse me, sir," said he, "but I have something special to tell you. I did not give you a good answer when you asked me the other night what the gentleman who visited Miss Eleanor on the night of the murder was like. Yes, the detective keeps asking me the same question, and it makes me uneasy. However, I know you sir are friends with the Leavenworth family, so I'm willing to tell you. There was a gentleman, whoever he was, at the time Said his name was Robbins, and here he is again to-night, sir. But this time he wants me to tell Miss Leavenworth that Claflin's visitor is. It can't be wrong, sir." He sees something in me Responding, he continued, "I also told Molly, the cook, that this stranger behaved strangely. When he came that evening, he hesitated for a while before asking to see Miss Eleanor. When I asked him When it came to the first name, he wrote the name I told you on the card, the expression on his face was a bit weird for a visitor, and ah-"
"And what?"
"Mr. Raymond," continued the butler, in a low, excited tone; he drew near to me in the darkness, "there is one thing I have only ever told Morley in the world, sir, and it may be of great help to the case." will help."
"Fact? Or your suspicion?" I asked.
"It's the truth, sir. I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but Molly has been nagging me to tell you or Mr. Gritz. She was disturbed by Hannah. Hannah was involved in the case, but we all know Hannah is innocent."
"What are your so-called facts?" I urged him.
"It's the truth. You know. . . I'll tell Mr. Gritz," he went on, ignoring my impatience, "but I have a fear of detectives, sir, and they sometimes ask in too much haste, and seem to think you know more than you really do."
"You haven't told the truth yet." I interrupted him again.
"Oh, yes, sir. The fact is, that very night, the night of the murder, I saw Mr. Claflin - Mr. Robbins - whatever his name was, come into the house, but I didn't see Until he went out, no one else saw him leave. I don't know if he went out."
"What's the meaning?"
"Sir, I mean, when I came down from Miss Eleanor's room to tell Mr Robbins - he called himself Robbins then - I went down to tell him Miss Eleanor was not well and so couldn't see He—she made me tell him so, Mr. Robbins, instead of bowing away like the other gentlemen, went into the drawing room and sat down. He was probably a little uncomfortable, because he was very pale. Anyway, he asked me for a glass of water, and I had no reason to doubt anyone's behaviour, so I immediately went down to the kitchen to fill him up, and left him alone in the anteroom. To the sound of the front door closing. 'Who shut it?' said Molly. She was pouring water for me. 'I don't know,' I said, 'maybe the gentleman got impatient and left.'' If he's gone, there's no need for water,' she said. So I put down the kettle and went upstairs. He's gone, or so I thought. But who knows, sir. When I Was he still in the drawing-room when the doors and windows were closed, or was he in the unlit one?"
I didn't speak up.I don't want to show my shock.
"As you know, sir, I usually don't tell anyone who is visiting the lady, but we all know that someone in the house murdered the master that night, and Hannah wasn't the murderer—"
"You say Miss Eleanor refused to see him?"
I interrupted him, hoping that with such a simple hint, I would be able to hear further details of his conversation with Eleanor.
"That's right, sir. She looked embarrassed when she saw the card, but after a while she flushed and ordered me to tell you what I just told you. If she hadn't seen him strutting into the house this evening, she would have A different name, I never remember it. Really, I don't want to imagine him doing any bad things, but Molly keeps asking me to tell you, sir, I'm as quiet as I am now. .That's it, sir."
When I got home that evening, I made a list of some new doubts in my blotter, but this time after the letter "C" instead of the letter "E."
Notes:
Notes: