Mystery and Detective Story Collection (Abbreviated Edition)

Author: E.J.H. Morris (ed.), translated by Qiu Zhongpan
Translator: Qiu Zhongpan
Country:
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-11-01
Features: Mr. Bade first told the story to a seemingly important police officer, who listened politely and asked him to repeat the details of the gold teeth, thumb nails, and hair dyed gray or red before it was black and now dark brown. Then the police officer rang a bell and said, "Perkins, I think Sir Andrew would like to see this gentleman immediately." Mr. Bade was led to another room where there sat someone who looked like a big shot. This person listened more seriously to the story and called another police officer to listen, who recorded the precise description of the person, undoubtedly William Strickland. "But there's one more thing," said Mr. Bade, "I hope, sir, I really hope it's that person, because if it's not, I'll be disgraced—" As he leaned forward to the table, he crumpled his soft hat into a ball and spoke the brilliant idea he had just thought of. "Sigh————Sigh————Sigh———" The radio operator of the Miranda bound for Ostend moved his fingers swiftly, recording the busy, noisy messages being transmitted. One of them made him laugh out loud. "I think the captain would like to see this message," he said. The captain looked at it while scratching his head, rang a small bell to call the first mate. The first mate ran to the second mate, who took the passenger list. The bell rang again—this time to call the third mate. "Sigh——————Sigh——" The message was sent to all ships along the coast of England, and the captain of each ship was called, who then called the second mate. The message even reached all ports and police stations in England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway, where those who could understand it laughed and listened excitedly to the story of "Mr. Bade's Brilliant Idea." I don't know what to do in this situation. I can only tell you what Williams did. He held the corner of the painting. He walked through the corridor to take the painting to his other house. He locked the painting in a drawer and locked both houses, then went to bed. But before that, he wrote a note explaining the extraordinary changes in the painting since he received it and signed his name. He didn't sleep until very late. But knowing he wasn't the only one who saw the changes in the painting gave him some comfort. Obviously, those who had seen the etching earlier that night had also seen what he had seen, otherwise he might have thought there was something wrong with his eyes or mind. Since he was lucky, it couldn't be that, so the next morning he had two things to do. He had to ask someone else to be a witness to observe the painting with him; he had to persistently find the location of the house in the painting. So, tomorrow morning he will invite his neighbor Nesbit for breakfast, and then spend the rest of the morning carefully studying the map. Nesbit had nothing to do, and he arrived at half past nine. I'm sorry to tell you that his master hadn't dressed yet. At breakfast, Williams didn't mention the etching, only that he had a painting and wanted to hear Nesbit's opinion. Those familiar with university life can easily imagine how pleasant the conversation between the two trustees of Canterbury College would be on a Sunday morning. But I must point out that Williams found it difficult to concentrate. His thoughts naturally focused on the strange painting, which was now placed face down in a drawer in the opposite room. "Take the McGill family, for example," he said, "they all look like ordinary sensible people. Peter McGill is twenty-eight years old, and his wife Morin is a year younger. They have been married for three years and get along well. In the first two years, they had to live with Peter's mother because they were waiting for a suitable house to come on the market. But they weren't very happy there, so they rented two rooms from Morin's married sister. Six months later, someone tried to sell them this house on Chestnut Street." "Do they have any financial problems?" asked Campion. "Not at all," said Luke, clearly thinking this fact very unusual. He said, "Peter never complained about anything at home. He works in the office of a locksmith company in Elgate, and they are very satisfied with him. He has a good reputation for managing money wisely. Moreover, his salary has recently increased. I met his employer this morning, and he was really frantic, poor old man. He likes the young man and speaks very highly of him." "What about Mrs. McGill?" "She is a different kind of good person, steady and cautious. She kept working until a few months ago when her husband thought she should resign to enjoy the pleasures of a new home and raise children. She is an excellent housekeeper: although the house has been vacant for six weeks, it is still very tidy." Mr. Campion's eyes brightened with interest. "Excuse me," he said, "do police always take over a missing person case so quickly? What are you looking for, Charles? A body? Or a pile of bodies?" "No formal request has been made for us to find anything," said Luke, "but I can't help but wonder what we will find. Because we heard about it quickly, we took the case quickly. The situation is unusual, and the whole family is terrified—these are the explanations." He paused for a moment. "Let's go see the house. After that, we can have a drink, but this is indeed very special, and I need your help." Mr. Campion followed him into a network of neat streets and alleys. The houses, arranged in rows like boxes, stood in small, elegant gardens. "We go to the end and then turn right," Luke pointed to the end of the street, "we can talk as we go. On June 12th, Bertrand Hesketh, the brother-in-law of Morin who lived in the house next door, arrived at their house as usual before eight in the morning. He entered through the back door, which was open. He found a breakfast of two people, half-eaten, on the table in the bright new kitchen. No one was there, so he sat down and waited for them." As Luke spoke, he used his long arms to gesture in the air, depicting the scene. This made Mr. Campion feel as if he could almost see the inexpensive but not unattractive furniture and the pots of flowers on the windowsill in that small house.