Chapter 26 Chapter 25 Timothy Cook

Look at this picture, look at this painting. I stared at him blankly. "I don't think it should be difficult," he said.Then blurted out, "Where are the Cooks?" "He's downstairs with Q." "Smart. Let's talk to them and tell them to come up." I went to the door and called them. "I was thinking, of course you have questions for them," I said when I got back. A moment later, a neatly groomed Q and a panicked Cook entered the room. "Ah," said Mr. Gritz, addressing the latter in his peculiarly ambiguous tone, "is this the late Mr. Stebbins' employ? It seems you may be able to tell us the truth."

"I usually tell the truth. As far as I can remember, I've never been called a liar." "Of course, of course," said the good-natured detective.Then without further introduction: "Last summer, you saw a newlywed lady at your employer's house. What was her name?" "If only I knew! I didn't hear, sir." "Do you remember what she looks like?" "I have as much of an image of what she looks like as I do of my mother. I'm not disrespectful to that lady, you know," he added hastily, giving me a quick look, "I mean That is to say, she is very pretty, and if I live another hundred years, I may not forget her sweet appearance."

"Can you describe her face?" "I don't know if I can, sir. She is noble-looking, with such bright eyes and hands so white, and a smile that a commoner like me wishes I had never seen her." "Can you spot her from a crowd?" "I know where she goes." "Very well. Now, tell us everything you know about that wedding." "Well, sir, it happened like this. When I was working under Mr. Stebbins for about a year, I was hoeing in the garden one morning when I saw a gentleman hurry up to the gate, and Come in. I paid special attention to him because he was good-looking and unlike anyone in F, and really unlike anyone I've ever met. If it wasn't for a A carriage came with two ladies, and I didn't give it much thought. The two ladies were coming in too. I saw them coming down, and I ran to help them hold the horses, and let them come down into the house. "

"Did you see their faces?" "No, sir, not then. Their faces were covered with tulle." "Very good, continue." "I hadn't been working long before I heard someone call me. I looked up and it was Mr. Stebbins standing on the porch waving to me. I went up to him and he said, 'Come here, Tim. Wash your hands and come to the living room.' He had never asked me to do anything like that before, so I was taken aback. But I did as he said. I was amazed when I saw the lady's face. She stood with that handsome gentleman and I almost tripped over the bench and made a fool of myself, forgetting where I was and not knowing what I was doing until I heard Mr Stebbins say 'husband and wife' I know what's going on. It turned out to be a wedding, and after I understood it, my face felt hot."

Timothy Cook paused to wipe his forehead, as if the memory of the sight had hit him hard.Mr. Gritz asked at this moment. "You mentioned two ladies, where is the other at this time?" "She's there too, sir. But I didn't pay much attention to her, because I was attracted by that beautiful one. When she smiled, everyone looked at her. I've never seen such a beautiful one." I felt a surge of excitement in my heart. "Do you remember the color of her hair or her eyes?" "Can't remember, sir, I don't think it's dark. That's all I know."

"Do you remember what she looks like?" "Remember, sir!" Mr. Gritz whispered in my ear that I should take two portraits from a drawer of his desk and place them in two different parts of the room when he was not looking. "You said," continued Mr. Gritz, "that you couldn't remember her name. How is that possible? Didn't he ask you to sign the marriage certificate?" "Yes, sir, but I'm ashamed to say it. I was so confused at the time that I didn't hear clearly. I just remembered that the man she was going to marry was Mr. Claflin, and there was another Ellie or something. If I had a better head That's all right, sir, if you have a better mind, you can answer it properly."

"Tell us about signing the certificate," Mr. Gritz said. "It's nothing to say, sir. Mr. Stebbins pushed me a piece of paper and asked me to write my name somewhere, and I wrote my name, and that's all." "When you signed, didn't you see other names?" "No, sir. Mr. Stebbins turned to the other lady and asked if she could sign, and she said yes, and came over quickly and signed." "Did you not see her face then?" "No, sir. She had her back turned to me when she lifted the veil, and all I could see was Mr. Stebbins staring at her as she bent over, with a sort of yearning look on his face. So I was thinking she might be as good-looking as I was." Not bad. Too bad I didn't see it myself."

"And after that? What happened?" "I don't know, sir. I stumbled out of the room and saw nothing after that." "Where were you when the two ladies left?" "In the garden, sir. I'll go back to work." "So you saw two ladies. Was the gentleman with them?" "No, sir. The strangest part is here. They came and went together, and he went alone. Mr. Stebbins came into the garden a few minutes later and told me not to tell anyone what I saw, Say it's a secret." "Were you the only one in the house who knew about it? Were any ladies present?"

"No, sir. Miss Stebbins went knitting with a friend." At this time, I probably understood what Mr. Gritz suspected.I put a picture of Eleanor in it on the mantelpiece.The other was a portrait of Marie, which was amazingly good in quality.I put this picture casually on my desk.Still, Mr. Cook had his back to this side of the room at the time, so I took this opportunity to go back to him and ask if he had anything to add. "No, sir." "By the way," Mr. Gritz glanced at Q and said, "Don't you want to reward Mr. Cook, thank you for his description? You go to get the reward?"

Q nods and walks over to the wall cupboard next to the mantel.Mr. Cook's eyes followed him, and suddenly trembled.He crossed the room, stopped in front of the mantelpiece, looked at the portrait of Eleanor I had placed there, muttered a low grunt of satisfaction or pleasure, took one more look, and walked away.I feel my heart jumping into my throat.I don't know whether I was affected by fear or hope, and I couldn't help turning around, but suddenly I heard him exclaim. "Hey! That's her, that's her, sir!" I turned and saw him walking towards us with a portrait of Mary.

I was quite shocked and excited, and an idea popped up in my mind, which was entangled with the conclusions I had drawn in the past.Am I surprised?No, Mr. Gritz's attitude had prepared me psychologically. "Is this the lady who married Mr. Claflin, sir? I guess you're mistaken," cried the detective in disbelief. "Wrong? Didn't I say that I can recognize her wherever she goes? This is the lady, and she is the wife of that gentleman." Mr. Cook leaned forward to look, with an expression that seemed to pay homage to the characters in the portrait. "I'm very surprised," continued Mr. Gritz.He winked at me in a slow, defiant way.Any other time, I might throw a fit. "Well, if the other lady you were talking about was this—" I pointed to the portrait over the mantelpiece, "I wouldn't be surprised." "Her? I've never seen that lady. But this one—can you tell me her name, sir?" "If what you say is true, her name is Mrs. Claflin." "Claflin? Yes, that's his name." "She's a very pretty lady, too," said Mr. Gritz. "Have you not found it, Maurice?" Q brings wine glasses and a bottle of wine. Yet Mr Cook was in no mood to drink.I think he was filled with remorse because he looked at the photo and then at Q.Read the Q, and then look at the photos.He said, "I'll never forgive myself as long as I say something that hurts this lady. You told me I could help clear her up. If you lied to me—" "Oh, I didn't lie to you," Q interjected in a short tone, "If you don't believe me, you can ask the gentleman over there if we all want to clear Mrs. Claflin's grievances." He pointed at me, but I wasn't in the mood to respond.I wished to let him go quickly, so that I could ask Herr Gritz why he seemed content throughout. "Mr. Cook needn't worry," said Mr. Gritz. "If he's warmed up with a glass of wine, he'll walk more comfortably. I think he'll get to Mr. Morris's in peace. Give the gentleman a glass, Let him pour himself the wine." It took us ten minutes to let him go and let him know that regret is unnecessary.The image of Mary awakened every dormant memory in his heart. I am really amazed that a person's beauty can influence people's hearts so much.However, in the end he succumbed to the temptation of the cunning Q and left. In the end it was just me and Mr. Gritz.There must have been some confusion on my face.Because after the two of them were silent for several minutes, he still sighed to me in a very dark tone, although the faint complacency before was still there. "This discovery makes you sad, doesn't it? I don't." He closed his mouth like a mousetrap. "I expected it." "Your conclusion must be very different from mine," I replied, "or you would think that this discovery would change the whole case." "That doesn't change the truth." "What is the truth?" Mr. Gritz looked at the thigh and became thoughtful.His voice was so low that it was barely audible. "Do you really want to know?" "Want to know the truth? Besides the truth, what else do we pursue?" "Well," he said, "as far as I know, the case has changed, but for the better. As long as Eleanor is indeed married, her behavior can be reasonably explained. But the murder itself Still can't explain clearly. When Mr. Leavenworth died, his wealth did not go to Eleanor. Why did she and her husband put him to death? But now it is confirmed that it was Mary who married! Tell you, Mr. Raymond, Now everything is clear. When investigating a murder, one must never lose sight of who has the most to gain from the dead." "But how do you explain Eleanor's silence? She obviously concealed part of the evidence. How do you explain this? I can imagine a woman sacrificing herself to cover up her husband's crimes, but to protect her cousin's husband, she would not It's possible." Mr. Gritz drew his legs closer together and sighed softly. "So you still think Mr. Claflin was the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth?" I could only stare at him suspiciously. "Still think—" I repeated. "Mr Claflin killed Mr Leavenworth?" "What else is there to think about? Don't you suspect that Eleanor deliberately helped her cousin solve the problem and ended the life of their benefactor?" "No," said Mr. Gritz, "no, I don't think Eleanor Leavenworth was involved at all." "Then who else—" I said and then stopped, at a loss for what to do with the darkness in front of me. "Who? Who else? Who killed him because of the lies in the past and the needs of the present, and it's all over? Except for the goddess who is beautiful, generous, addicted to money, and plays with men in her hands—" A sense of fear and disgust suddenly rose in my heart, and I stood up immediately. "Don't say the name! You're mistaken, don't say the name!" "I'm sorry," said he, "but the name has to be said, and it's better to start saying it now. Who else but Mary Leavenworth, or would you like to call her Mrs. Henry Claflin? Are you sure?" Are you so surprised? I thought she was the murderer from the beginning."