Chapter 27 Chapter XXVI Mr. Gritz's Interpretation

The wind sits in the corner? I do not intend to describe the intricacies of emotion in my heart.It is said that drowning people will recall the experience of a lifetime in a moment of panic, and I also recalled every word Mary said at this time, from her introduction to me in the room on the morning of the interrogation, to Mr. Claflin The final conversation of the night of my visit was racing through my mind for a split second.I suddenly realized that her every move seemed to be related to the events of the night of the murder. "I know that what I have just said has given you one question after another," Mr. Gritz said to me in a calm, superior manner, "so you never thought of this possibility yourself? "

"Don't ask me if I expected it. All I know is that I'm never going to believe your doubts again. It's possible that Mary could have benefited from her uncle's death, but she never had a hand in it. I mean, she never No killing was done." "Why are you so sure?" "How can you be sure that she killed someone with her own hands? You should show evidence instead of letting others prove her innocence." "Ah..." said Mr. Gritz in his customary slow, sarcastic tone, "do you remember the principles of the law? If I remember correctly, your understanding of the principles of the law when Mr. Claflin was still involved Not strictly followed. You don’t want to be too strict at the time.”

"But he's a man. Accusing a man of a crime doesn't feel so terrible. But a woman! And such a woman! I can't stand it, it's horrible. If Mary Leavenworth or I would never believe a woman would do something like this without any other woman admitting it herself. This murder was too brutal, too well planned, and too—” "Go and look through the criminal records," Mr. Gritz interrupted. Yet I am persistent. "I don't care what's on the criminal record. All the criminal records in the world can't convince me that Eleanor committed this tragedy, nor can I believe that her cousin murdered. Mary Leavenworth Not a perfect woman, but she's definitely not a murderer either."

"Your evaluation of her seems to be more compassionate than her cousin's evaluation of her." "I can not understand what you say." I muttered, feeling an unprecedented but even more terrifying premonition in my heart. "What! Are you too busy to forget? On the morning of the interrogation, we inadvertently overheard the words of the two ladies accusing each other?" "I haven't forgotten, but—" "You believe that was what Mary said to Eleanor?" "Of course, don't you think so?" "Oh," Mr. Gritz said with a flash of a smile, "I don't think so. I gave you the clue that a child can understand. I thought that clue was enough for you to follow."

That premonition, the premonition that just rose in my heart! "Are you trying to say that it was Eleanor who spoke at the time? I wasted weeks of work because I made a wrong judgment at the beginning, and you could have easily woke me up, but you didn't?" "As far as this point is concerned, I let you search for clues for a while, which is not without purpose. First of all, I am not sure who said it, but I quickly came to a conclusion. You must also pay attention Arrived, their voices were very similar, and judging from their attitude when we entered, it could be interpreted as Mary accusing Eleanor, and equally could be interpreted as Mary refuting Eleanor's accusation. I will soon There is a plausible explanation for what happened, and I'm glad you accepted the opposite interpretation. In this way, both theories have a chance to be tested, and a murder case full of suspense should have been investigated in this way.

"You start with your point of view, and I start with mine. Everything you see is based on Mary's belief that Eleanor is guilty, and I work the other way around. .The result? You have encountered doubts, contradictions and inconclusiveness in the process of tracing, and you have to rely on external sources to explain the difference between the actual situation and your opinion. As for me, I am more and more sure, and then With every step forward, the original hypothesis becomes more and more certain, and has more and more factual basis." The intricacies of events, faces, and words once again swirl before my eyes.Mary categorically guarantees her cousin's innocence, and Eleanor keeps a high profile on some details, which may make her be regarded as a murderer.

"Your theory must be right," I admitted at last. "Eleanor said that statement, there should be no doubt. She believed Mary was guilty, and I did not see it clearly in the first place." "If Eleanor Leavenworth believed her cousin had committed a crime, she must have good reason." I also have to admit this. "She didn't hide that significant key. Whoever found it wanted to destroy it, and the key and the letter would make her cousin's crimes public. Her cousin was a brutal murderer." "no no--" "And you, a stranger, a young man who has seen Mary Leavenworth only in her shy side but not in the rest, assume her innocence only because her cousin was silent from the start."

"However," I reluctantly accepted his conclusion, "Eleanor Leavenworth was just an ordinary person. She may have erred in her surmises. She never stated the grounds for her suspicions. We also have no way of knowing why she maintains the attitude you just mentioned. Both Claflin and Mary are likely murderers. As far as she knows, they are both possible murderers." "You seem to be quite convinced that Claflin is guilty." I thought to myself, is it?Did Mr. Harwell's dream about this man cloud my judgment? "You may be right," Mr. Gritz continued, "I'm not going to make my own conclusions. After investigation, it may be possible to find suspicious points in him, but I really don't think it's possible. A woman married secretly As far as the subject is concerned, as far as the motive of this woman's crime is concerned, his behavior has been consistent from beginning to end."

"Unless he leaves her." "There is nothing unless or unless, because he never left her at all." "What's the meaning?" "I mean, Mr. Claflin didn't leave America, he just pretended to leave. He didn't follow her instructions to go to Europe, but he just changed the place where he stayed, and now he not only lives across from her, but he can even see it from the window." Saw men and women coming in and out of her front door." I still remember the scolding he gave me before he left.We met in my office, and I had to rethink the case.

"However, I found out from the Hoffman Hotel that he did go to Europe by ship, and I myself saw someone take him on a cruise." "yes?" "Is Mr. Claflin going back to New York soon?" "He took another carriage and went into another house." "Then you still tell me that there is nothing wrong with this person?" "No. All I'm saying is that he himself doesn't have any definite evidence that he was the one who shot Mr. Leavenworth." I got up and paced, and the two were silent for several minutes.But now that the clock was striking the hour, I remembered that I had an appointment, and I turned to ask Mr. Gritz how to proceed now.

"I can only do one thing," he said. "What's up?" "According to the evidence in hand, let the police arrest Miss Leavenworth." By this time, I had developed the endurance to be able to hear this without exclaiming out loud.However, I could not let him decide to arrest without saying a word. "However," I said, "despite your evidence, I do not think you have the right to take such drastic measures. It is not enough that you think she had a motive for the murder, because the suspect was still in the house when the murder occurred, and you think that Leavenworth Does Miss Zi have any other doubts?" "I'm sorry. When I said 'Miss Leavenworth', I should have said 'Eleanor Leavenworth'." "Eleanor? Why? Don't you and I agree that among these people, Eleanor is completely innocent?" "However, the testimony was against her alone." I can't deny that. "Mr. Raymond," he said very seriously, "the public has become more and more impetuous, and actions must be taken to calm the public anger temporarily. Eleanor is full of suspicions in front of the police, and she must pay the price for her actions .I'm sorry. She is very elegant, and I admire her very much, but justice is justice, and although I think she is innocent, I have to arrest her unless-" "I don't think it makes sense, though. She's just trying to protect others, and she's getting herself under suspicion. If Mary is—" "Unless something happens between now and tomorrow morning," Mr. Gritz went on, as if I hadn't said anything. "tomorrow morning?" "That's right." I really want to figure out a clue, and I really want to face the fact that all my efforts have been wasted. "Can you give me another day?" I asked desperately. "do what?" Alas, I don't know. "Go to Mr. Claflin and force him to tell the truth." "You'll screw up the whole thing!" he complained. "No, sir, it's a foregone conclusion. Eleanor Leavenworth knew the key to her cousin's guilt, and she must tell us what the key is, Otherwise, you will face the end of refusing to tell the truth." I will continue to work hard. "But why tomorrow? Anyway, so much time has been wasted chasing down the clues, why not spend a little more time? Besides, aren't the clues getting harder and harder to hide? Let's do a little more private investigation—" "It's just a little more nonsense!" Mr. Gritz became angry. "No, sir, the time for private investigation has passed, and now should be the time to make up your mind. However, if I can find that point to connect all the clues key--" "What does the key to connect the clues mean?" "The immediate motive of the murder. If it can be proved that Mr. Leavenworth threatened his niece by losing his temper, or threatened Mr. Claflin by revenge, these would put me in control at once, and there would be no need to arrest Eleanor." You don't have to go to jail, ma'am! I'll go right into your gilded living room, and when you ask me if I've found the killer, I'll say 'I did' and show you a file that will surprise you! Connect the leads though The key to the murder case is not easy to find. We have also sent people to investigate privately, time and time again, with no results at all. Only the honest testimony of a few people related to the murder case can find the key to connect the clues for us. I will tell you what I want What to do," he exclaimed suddenly, "Miss Leavenworth wants me to report to her. She is anxious to know the result of the investigation, and has offered a large reward. Don't worry, I will grant her wish. The doubts in my heart , together with my explanation of the doubts, would make for a wonderful moment of truth. I wouldn't be too surprised if their statements were equally as good." I stood up suddenly in horror. "In any case, I would suggest a try. Anyway, Eleanor is worth our risk." "It's no use," I said, "if Mary's guilty, she'll never admit it. If not—" "She'll tell us who the killer is." "If it had been her husband, Claflin, she wouldn't have said it either." "That's right, if it's her husband, Claflin, she doesn't have Eleanor's heart of sacrifice." I have to admit it.She doesn't hide keys to protect anyone.Won't.If Mary were to be charged, she would never keep her mouth shut.Our outlook is bleak enough.But after a while, when I was alone in a busy street, thinking of Eleanor's innocence, I was so moved that I never forget that day's walk in the rain.It wasn't until nightfall that I began to understand that, if Mr. Gritz's theory was correct, Mary's situation was indeed precarious.However, once thought of here, the thought lingers.I kept withdrawing, and the thought was still in my head, haunting me with a most dire foreboding.Even though I went to bed early, I couldn't sleep or rest well.I tossed and turned all night, and kept saying to myself: "There must be a way, and there must be a way to prevent Mr. Gritz from arresting him." After that, I got up and asked myself the possibility of future development.All kinds of possibilities flashed through my mind, like Mr. Claflin might tell the truth; Hannah might come back; The words almost spit out from the lips.But when I thought about it further, I realized that these situations were unlikely to happen. I fell asleep with a very tired mind at the time of dawn. I dreamed that Mary was standing high above Mr. Gritz, holding holding a pistol.I was happy to see this scene, but was awakened by a muffled knock on the door.I quickly got up and asked who was knocking on the door.An envelope was handed in from under the door.I picked it up and found inside a letter from Mr. Gritz, which read as follows: Come over now, Hannah Chester found it. "Did Hannah find it?" "You can think so." "When? Where is it? Who found it?" "Sit down first, and I'll tell you." I pulled up a chair and sat down beside Mr. Gritz, full of hope and fear. "She's not in a cupboard," Gritz assured me, primly.He noticed that my eyes were wandering with anxiety and impatience. "We're not quite sure where she is. However, I heard that there was a face that looked like Hannah, who had appeared upstairs in a certain house." In the window. The house is in R. Don't be intimidated. She visited there several times a year ago when she and Miss Leavenworth were staying in a hotel. Now, although it is believed that she left New York on the night of the murder, she took the railroad We have not yet been able to determine where the train will arrive. We believe this merits investigation." "But, I—" "If she's there," Mr. Gritz went on, "someone must have hidden her from outsiders. Nobody but an informant has ever seen her, and not even the neighbors suspect that she has come to R. " "Hannah is secretly hiding in one of R's houses? Whose house is it?" Mr. Gritz said to me with his darkest smile: "The lady she was with was named Amy Belden, according to the source." "Amy Belden! Is that the name on the torn envelope that Mr. Claflin's London maid found?" "That's right." I don't intend to hide my satisfied expression. "So we're about to make a big discovery. Thank God, Eleanor is saved! Anyway, when did you get the news?" "Last night, or early this morning. It was the news from Q." "Is this your instruction to Q?" "Yes, I guess it's the result of his private investigation in R." "Who is the signature on it?" "A respectable tinsmith who lives next door to Mrs. Beldon." "Is this the first time you've heard from Amy Belden in R?" "yes." "Is her husband alive?" "I don't know, we only know her name." "Have you notified Q to investigate?" "Not yet. This matter is more important, and he cannot be sent to act alone. He is not experienced enough, and without expert guidance, he may fail." "all in all--" "I want you to go. Because I can't go there in person, and I don't know anyone other than you who knows enough about this case to complete the task. It is not enough to find Hannah. According to the current situation, it is necessary to find such an important witness. Keep quiet. We're going to send a man into a stranger's house in a distant town to find the hidden maid. If possible, bring her half-coaxed, half-forced, to the office here in New York. And all this, if done If you get it, don't let the neighbor next door know. This operation requires judgment, brains and talent. And the woman who hid her! There must be her reasons for hiding others, and these reasons must be clear. In short, the matter is roughly No. Do you think you can do it?" "At least try." Mr. Gritz sat back on the sofa. "Think about it, you have taken away all my fun!" He muttered and looked at his immobile hands and feet with reproachful eyes. "Speaking of business, how soon can you leave?" "Move immediately." "Good! There's a train at 12:15, you take that train. When you get to R, try to get to know Mrs. Belden so that she doesn't get suspicious. Q will follow you, and if you need him, he will Follow your orders at any time. But you have to understand this: he will definitely disguise, so you don't recognize him, let alone interfere with him or his plan until he informs you with a secret signal. You act on your own, and he will act on his own , until the actions of the two require mutual support. I don't even know if you will see him. He may feel the need to keep you at a distance, but one thing you can be sure of is where you are He must know. The token is, well, a red handkerchief. Do you have a red handkerchief?" "I'll go get one." "When he sees the red handkerchief, he knows you want him to come forward or ask for his assistance. You can put it on your body, or you can put it on the window of the room." "Is that all you can give me?" I asked when he stopped. "Yes, I don't know the rest. You must be careful yourself and know how to adapt. I can't guide you one by one. Your best guide is your own mind. Just write to me if you can. A letter or come see me this time tomorrow." Then he handed me a cipher book, in case I needed to send a telegram.