Chapter 37 Chapter Thirty-Six

This is what happened. I showed up at the gate of Mr. Gritz's house at the time he ordered.He was standing on the threshold waiting for me. "The reason I want to see you," he said solemnly, "is to ask you to remain silent for the rest of the conversation. I'm going to speak, and you just have to listen carefully. You don't care what I say or what I do. Can look surprised. I'm in a state of disarray right now—" But he doesn't seem agitated, "maybe call you by someone else's name. If that's the case, just pretend you didn't hear. Most importantly, Don't open your mouth, just remember." He took me upstairs without waiting for my expression of disbelief.

The room where I used to meet him was on the second floor, but this time he took me to what was probably the attic floor.He checked carefully for a while before leading me into a weird and inconspicuous room.Among other things, the room was gloomy, the only light coming from a grimy skylight.Next I noticed that it was eeriely empty, save for a pine table and two chairs without backrests, facing each other at either end of the table.At last I noticed that there were several closed doors all around, with some ghastly transoms above them.The transoms are circular, lined up like mummies, staring with lifeless eyes.On the whole, it was a sad and melancholy place, and my state of mind made me feel as if there were ghosts lurking in the room.Sitting inside, I couldn't imagine the sun shining outside, or the beauty, joy, and life unfolding in the street below.

After Mr. Gritz sat down, he also motioned me to sit down. The expression on his face may have something to do with my feeling here, because he looked mysterious and solemn, as if he was looking forward to something. "I hope you don't mind this room," he said, in a low voice that was barely audible. "This place is dirty and lonely, and I know that, but if the protagonists of these events don't want their secrets to be known, they shouldn't Too picky about the discussion of the case, Smith," he shook his finger in warning at me, and his voice became clearer, "I have completed the task you gave me, and the bounty is mine. The murderer of Mr. Leavenworth The murderer has been found, and he will be arrested and interrogated in two hours. Do you want to know who the murderer is?" He leaned forward, his tone and expression serious and eager.

I looked at him in surprise.Are there any new clues?Has his conclusion changed significantly?It's impossible for his opening remarks to just review the facts I already know, but... He gave a low chuckle, which seemed to have a profound meaning, and interrupted my suspicious thoughts. "I tell you, it took me a long time to do it," he said more loudly. "It was not easy. This case involved a woman. However, when Gritz was working on the case, not all women in the world were It can be deceived. Besides, the killers of Mr. Leavenworth and—” and here he raised his voice to a raspy degree of excitement, “and Hannah Chester—have been found.”

"Shut up!" Although I didn't speak or make any movement, "you don't know that Hannah Chester was also silenced. She wasn't necessarily silenced, but that's another way of looking at it." It is not wrong to say that the murderer also killed Mr. Leavenworth. How do I know? Look! I found this piece of paper on the floor of her room with a little white powder attached to it. The test last night proved to be highly poisonous. You said that the maid committed suicide by taking poison. You are right, she voluntarily took the poison and ended her own life, but who made her frightened to destroy herself? Of course she was the most afraid of her The person who came forward to testify. You want evidence, don't you? Well, sir, the maid left a confession during her lifetime, falsely accusing someone as the culprit, and it is generally believed that this person has no possibility of involvement in the case. This confession is a forgery Yes, the facts are based on the following three points. First, the paper used to write the confession was not available at the place where the maid was. Second, the printed handwriting on the confession was scribbled and awkward, and it has been hidden since the murder Hannah's woman taught her to write beautifully during her hiding. Third, the statement in the confession does not match the maid's own account.

"Unknowingly, this maid had a forged and abusive confession by her side, and she herself died of poisoning, as evidenced above. On the morning of the day she committed suicide, a witness Persons well acquainted with the Leavenworth family handed Hannah a letter large and thick enough to contain the confession folded in the same manner in which it was found. I am almost entirely certain that the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth The murderer sent the poison to the maid along with the so-called confession, and asked her to take it according to the instructions, which she did. This kills two birds with one stone, avoiding suspicion and eliminating witnesses, because the dead cannot speak."

He paused, looking at the dirty skylight overhead.Why is the atmosphere more and more dignified?Why do I tremble with vague apprehension?I already knew all this before, why does it sound like a new feeling now? "You will ask, who is this person? Ah, this is a secret. This little secret will bring me prosperity and wealth. However, even if it is a secret, it doesn't matter if I tell you." He lowered his voice, and then quickly raised it "Actually, I can't keep the secret, because it's as hot as a brand new note in my pocket. Smith, tell you, the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth was-wait a minute, the outside world said Who is it? Who is it that the newspaper accuses and shakes its head and sighs? A woman! A young, beautiful and attractive woman! Hahaha! The newspapers are right, a woman, young and beautiful and attractive. The problem is Which one? That's the problem. More than one woman was involved in this case. After Hannah's death, I heard people publicly claiming that she was the murderer. Nonsense! Others shouted that it was not in this uncle's will The niece who split the fortune. Nonsense again! However, those who make the latter accusation are not entirely unreasonable. Eleanor Leavenworth did know more. Worse, Eleanor Leavenworth She's in danger now. If you don't think so, let me tell you what evidence the detective has against her.

"The first was a handkerchief with her name embroidered on it, which was found at the scene of the murder, still stained with pistol grease. She unequivocally denied having entered the premises in the twenty-four hours preceding the discovery of the murder. "The second is that she not only showed fear when faced with this circumstantial evidence, but also showed firm determination at this time and afterwards, hoping to mislead the direction of the interrogation. She did not give a positive answer to the question, and sometimes even refused to accept it. Reply. "Third, she attempted to destroy a letter apparently related to the murder.

"Fourth, the key to the library door was found on her. "Besides, the letter which she attempted to destroy within an hour of the interrogation was put together to reveal that a gentleman, tentatively called X, where X stands for unknown, had written a letter to Mr. Leavenworth. The niece severely accused her of serious suspicion, especially after investigation, it was found that the Leavenworth family had an unknown past. Mary kept the outside world in the dark, and specially kept Mr. Leavenworth from knowing thing, namely that she married Mr. X a year ago in a small town named R. In the letter that Miss Eleanor Leavenworth tried to destroy, Mr. X complained to Mr. Leavenworth about one of the The niece was being treated unfairly, and Mr. X was in fact the secret husband of the niece. In addition, this gentleman had also used a false name to visit Mr. Leavenworth's residence on the night of the murder, and asked to see Miss Eleanor.

"Now, as you can see, everything is against Eleanor Leavenworth. If she cannot prove the following two points, Eleanor will be at a loss. First, the evidence against her such as handkerchiefs, letters, The keys and other things came to her through others after the murder. Secondly, there was another person who wished to kill Mr. Leavenworth at that time, and this person had a stronger motive for killing than her. "Smith, my right-hand man, I have confirmed both hypotheses. I searched for old secrets, followed obscure clues, and finally came to a conclusion. Despite all indications that Eleanor Leavenworth This is a serious suspicion, but another lady who is as beautiful as her is actually the real murderer. In short, her cousin, the charming Mary, is the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth. From this it follows that she also killed Hannah Chester."

His tone of voice was majestic, and the expression on his face was also one of bragging rights. I was speechless for a moment, astonished as if I didn't know what he was going to say next.The excitement in my heart seemed to wake up an echo.The air beside him seemed to be filled with a suppressed scream.The room seemed filled with fear and despair.When I lost my mind because of this, I turned my head and took a closer look, only to see the transom staring at me like empty eyes. "You're startled!" continued Mr. Gritz. "I don't find it strange. Everyone else's focus is on Eleanor Leavenworth, and I know who the real killer is. You're shaking your head! ( He made it up again) You don't believe me! You think I've been duped. Ha ha! Gritz's been toiled all month and I've been duped! You're as bad as Miss Leavenworth and have no sense of my wit What kind of confidence, you also offered me a large reward, hoping that I can arrest the real culprit who killed her uncle! But then again, you have your own questions, and you are waiting to see me solve the puzzle. This matter Not easy. You must first understand that on the morning of the interrogation I found one or two unrecorded exhibits, that is to say I found a handkerchief in Mr. Leavenworth's library, which, as I said, above The perfume smelled, despite the pistol grease. I searched for the same perfume on the dressers of the two ladies, and found it in Mary's room, not Eleanor's. This evidence made me It occurred to me to check the pockets of the respective dresses the two ladies had worn the night before. I found a handkerchief in Eleanor's pocket, which I presumably had on her at the time. Mary, however, had no handkerchief in her pocket, and was scattered all over the room. The handkerchief left before bed was not to be found. From this I concluded that it was Mary, not Eleanor, who had brought the handkerchief to my uncle's room. I was confirmed by a private report from a servant This conclusion is correct because when the laundry was delivered to Eleanor's room, the handkerchief was on top, and Mary was in Eleanor's room at the time. "However, knowing how easy it is to make mistakes in such a situation, I searched the library again and saw something inexplicable. There was a pencil sharpener on the table, and on the floor near the chairs were two or three pieces of just Sawdust cut from a table leg. These signs look as if someone sat there nervously and momentarily and unconsciously cut the table leg with a knife. You say it's not even worth mentioning, but here's the thing: Of the two ladies, one calm and quiet, the other frivolous, which one was sitting there? Such insignificant incidents can have deadly implications in the end. Anyone who spends an hour with both of them , will not hesitate to point out which jade hand cut the knife mark on the foot of Mr. Leavenworth's study table. "But that's not the end of the matter. I overheard Eleanor clearly accusing her cousin of her actions. A woman like Eleanor would never accuse a relative of a crime unless she had strong and specific reasons. First of all, she must be convinced that her cousin is in a critical situation, and unless her uncle dies, her crisis cannot be resolved. Secondly, with her personality, she will definitely use the most extreme means to resolve her crisis without hesitation. Finally, she hands The fact that there is circumstantial evidence on the Internet of endangering her cousin adds to the suspicion of her. Smith, these actions are consistent with the personality of Eleanor Leavenworth. As for the personality of her cousin, she has enough evidence to show that I am ambitious, open-minded, self-willed, and dishonest. After all, the person who married secretly was not Eleanor as we assumed at the beginning, but Mary Leavenworth. Due to her critical situation, Leavenworth Mr. Zis also threatened to change the heir in the will to her cousin if she married Mr. X. She also showed a firm hope for the future inheritance. Although Eleanor's testimony has There are many doubts, but please remember that before the key was found from Eleanor, she stayed in her cousin's room for a while, and the stove where the unburned letter fragments were found was also in Mary's room .This is the outline of my report. An hour later, this report will arrest Mary for the murder of her uncle and benefactor." The atmosphere at this time was peaceful, surrounded by an Egyptian night.Then there was a violent scream in the room, someone rushed out from nowhere, rushed past me, knelt down at Mr. Gritz's feet and screamed. "You nonsense! Nonsense! Mary Leavenworth is as innocent as the fetus in her womb. I am the murderer of Mr. Leavenworth. I am! I am! I am!" This man is Truman Havel.