Countdown - Hitchcock Suspense Story Collection (III)

Author: Wang Qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Henry Tomlin was very proud of himself because he had killed someone without facing any punishment. He often recalled the incident, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was one of the smart, outstanding criminals. He was a murderer on the loose! Only one person knew about it, and that was his wife, Louise. That night, she happened to be in the living room. She clearly saw two shadows walking to the balcony. At first, there were two figures, but then only one remained. It was because of Louise that he killed the man. After pushing Scott Lancing off the balcony, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to handle Louise. Women are emotional, and she was no exception—perhaps because she was an actress. For a moment, her behavior was like that of a character in a play: she froze, wide-eyed and motionless. But before the police arrived, Henry had already calmed her down. It was actually quite simple. He pointed out that no matter what she knew, she couldn’t prove it. Additionally, she didn’t want to be involved in a scandal, didn’t want her picture on the front page of the newspaper, and didn’t want her affair with Scott to become the talk of the town. Moreover, she had to consider her mother. The old lady was already in her seventies and had a weak heart. Louise didn’t want her mother to have a sudden heart attack and die, did she? In the end, Louise gave in. She answered the police’s questions honestly, and her responses were very helpful to Henry. She said yes, that night Scott seemed very depressed. He hadn’t worked in a long time and had even quit his job at the TV station. Before and during dinner, he had drunk a lot of alcohol. During the investigation, others also confirmed that Scott had been drinking heavily recently. The autopsy revealed that Scott had consumed a significant amount of alcohol that night—this was very favorable to Henry. Louise said that Scott was upset, and that wasn’t a lie. Scott’s closest friend also confirmed that he had been depressed lately, even to the point of despair. Finally, she described Scott’s restless behavior as he walked alone to the balcony. She didn’t mention Henry following him to the balcony. She didn’t mention the photo. It was that photo that sparked everything—it was the fuse that led to this brutal murder. Louise insisted that the photo had no special meaning; it was all because Henry was too jealous and had imagined the worst. It was a large headshot of Scott, smiling, clearly taken for his agent and director. It had an exaggerated inscription written in the typical style of the entertainment industry: “To my leading lady—you are my eternal slave.” Louise explained to Henry that the inscription meant nothing; all actors wrote such things, and it was full of no real emotion. Her relationship with Scott was quite ordinary—they had only acted opposite each other in a few scenes during the season and had eaten a few meals together. However, no matter what Louise said, Henry didn’t believe her. Henry remembered those love scenes on stage, how he had been restless in the audience that hot night. And, when it came to whether she should marry him, she had been hesitant—was it because she was having an affair with Scott at the time? After they got married, Scott often visited their home, so frequently that Henry grew suspicious. Louise said it was because Scott liked to eat at other people’s houses. Henry didn’t believe this explanation. Jealousy and suspicion gnawed at him like cancer until he could no longer bear the pain. P1-2