american tragedy

Chapter 100

Chapter 33
Hayter temporarily put aside his official business and took the train back, thinking along the way what to do next.Before leaving, the coroner looked at the beautiful Roberta again, feeling really sad.

While the case was a pity, he wondered whether he should go to Beards, tell Mrs. Alden of her daughter's death, and at the same time inquire about the whereabouts of the man? Or should he go to Bridgeburg first? Go, tell Mason the situation? Then let this gentleman report the cold and heartbreaking news? This question involves political situations and must be carefully considered.Although he can gain a little reputation by this, he still needs to consider it comprehensively.

He broke into Mason's office full of thoughts. From the look of the coroner, Mason knew that something big had happened.

Mason was a short, stocky man from a poor peasant family who was disfigured at the age of fourteen by an ice-skating fall.

At the age of 17, however, he came to the attention of the publisher and editor of the Bridgeburg Republic, and he made his fortune.

Miss Saunders had told him what she knew about the case.Like a coroner, he noticed at once the fact that the case was likely to generate a great deal of repercussions, and that perhaps he needed it, to strengthen his shaky political position, and perhaps to settle the question of his future.In any case, he cared very much.Therefore, upon seeing Hayter now, it was evident that he was keenly interested in the case.

"Ah, Colonel Haight!"

"Ah, Orville, I've just come back from Great Berton, and it seems to me that I've found a case for you that will take your time."

Hayter's eyes widened, and this time his ambiguous opening sentence had a much deeper meaning.

"You mean about the drowning over there?" replied the district attorney.

"Yes, sir, that is the matter," replied the coroner.

"Of course you have your reasons for thinking there's something wrong with it, don't you?"

"Ah, the real situation is this, Orville, I thought there was no doubt that it was a murder," Hayter said with a gloomy gleam in his languid eyes, "Of course, it's best to be on the safe side. Speaking to you alone. Because, even now, I am not absolutely sure that the body of the young man is not at the bottom of the lake. However, I think it is very suspicious, Orville. Yesterday and today, at least 15 people on yachts in the lake The south side of that lake was fished. I called several people to measure the depth of the water, and the depth of the water did not exceed 25 feet. However, so far, they have not fished him. They only fished for a few hours yesterday. Picked her up about one o'clock in the afternoon. She was a very pretty girl, Orville, and very young, I don't think she was more than eighteen or twenty. But there was something very suspicious about the whole thing. , I am compelled to think that he did not drown in the lake. To tell the truth, in my opinion, I have never encountered a more vicious case before."

As he spoke, he fumbled in the right pocket of his well-worn, bulging suit, finally produced Roberta's letter, and handed it to his friend.He pulled up a chair and sat down while the district attorney read the letter.

"Well, that seems suspicious, doesn't it?" he said when he had read it. "You say he hasn't been found yet. Well, have you contacted this woman to see what she thinks of the matter?"

"A lot, a lot," replied the coroner, in a tone both wise and serious. "There are several suspicious scars or marks under the girl's right eye and on her left temple, Orville, on her lips and nose as well, as if the poor little girl might have been killed by something, a stone, a walking stick , or they found a new oar floating there or something. She was only a child, Orville, at least she looked and figured a very pretty girl, but not very well-behaved, I will tell you in a moment You listen." At this point, the coroner paused, took out a handkerchief, cleared his nose crisply, and then stroked his beard calmly. "I haven't had time to have the coroner go there yet, and, if I have time, I intend to do the autopsy myself here on Monday. I've spoken to the Lutz Undertaker to go there today and bring the body here. However, of all the evidence that has been found so far, Orville, the most suspicious is the testimony of two men and a child. They lived in Three Mile Bay. Hunting, fishing. I have asked Earl to take their names, and issued subpoenas, and they will be arraigned next Monday."

Next, the coroner recounted exactly what they had said in their testimony about meeting Clyde by chance.

"Ah, ah!" exclaimed the District Attorney.He paid attention.

"And one more thing, Orville," continued the coroner, "I told Earle to call the people in Three Mile Bay, the hotel owner there, the postmaster, the police officer in the town over there. But the only The only person who seems to have seen the young man is the captain of the little steamer that goes between Three Mile Sound and Sharon. Maybe you know him too. It's Captain Mooney. He was subpoenaed. According to his testimony, around 08:30 on Friday morning, or a person who looked like him, with a suitcase in his hand and a cap, came on board and bought it in Sharon. and disembarked at Chalons afterwards. He was wearing a straw hat when the three men met him. According to the captain, he was a very handsome lad, lively and well-dressed, much like a society man. Young, and very arrogant."

"Yeah, yeah," Mason agreed.

"I also asked Earl to call Sharon's people, whoever he could find, to see if he came ashore there, but until I left there last night, no one seemed to remember him. But I've left a message to Earl to have him telegraph his likeness to all the hotels in the summer resort and to the railway stations everywhere in the neighborhood. That way he'll be noticed wherever he is in the neighborhood. You must, I think. Hope I do too. It seems to me, though, that you'd better give me a permit to go to that trunk at Ticken Lodge station. There may be something in it for us to see. I'm going to Going to mention it. And then, if there's time, I think I'll go to Grass Lake today, Three Mile Bay, and I think, Orville, this is obviously a murder. The scene where he took that young girl to the Grass Lake Hotel, Then another name was registered in Great Burton, and he asked her to keep her suitcase, but kept his suitcase with him!" He shook his head seriously, "These are not honest You know that, Orville. What I don't understand is how her parents let her run off with a man, and don't know him at all."

"That's true," Mason replied tactfully, but the following incident made him very curious.That is, it is now at least partly certain that the girl is not very well behaved.Fornication! And, no doubt, with a rich young man in some big city down south.His activities on this matter will generally attract a lot of attention and will be publicized by all parties! He stood up immediately, looking very excited.If only he could capture this well-dressed beast and make this violent murder arouse fierce public opinion, that would be great! Congress in August, nomination of candidates, elections this autumn.

"Oh, what the hell," he exclaimed.It was only in the presence of Hayter, a deeply religious and conservative man, that he suppressed the more violent swearing. "I firmly believe that the case we are about to pursue is of great importance, Fred. I do. It seems to me that the matter is a heinous, unforgiving crime. The first real thing to do, I think, is Call up there and see if any of the Aldens actually live there. Take the car straight up, fifty miles at most, but the roads are bad," he added, "that poor woman. I'm terrified of this scene, and I know it's a painful scene."

Then he called Zerah and asked her to find out if there was a Titus Alden living near the Beards, and to find out how to get there.Later, he said: "What I want is to get Burton back, (Burton is Burton? He'll give you anything you need, Fred, when you go to see that poor woman right away, and take that suitcase with you if you tell Earl to go back there. .I will bring the father with me, and let him identify the body. But, until I meet you next time, don't tell others about it, you know?" He grabbed his friend's hands, "Meanwhile," he went on, as though he were facing a great event, "I want to thank you, Fred. I'll never forget this. You understand that, don't you?" He stared The eyes of a friend, "The result of this matter may be better than we expected. During my previous tenure, this seems to be the biggest and most important case. If we can properly resolve this matter, Then it might be good for us all!"

"That's right, Orville, that's right," Fred Hayter remarked. "As I said, we shouldn't mix things like this with politics, but now that it's happened..." He didn't finish.

"In the meantime," continued the District Attorney, "if you would tell Earle to take a few photographs with the camera of the exact place where the boat, oars, hat, etc. Witnesses are coming in, and I can send all these bills to the Auditor for verification of reimbursement. Tomorrow or Monday, I have to start taking care of everything myself."

Having said that, he held Height's right hand tightly, and then patted his shoulder again.Excited by the District Attorney's gestures and hopeful for the future, Hayter picked up his rather odd straw hat, buttoned up his light jacket, and went back to his office to speak long-distance to Earl, He gave instructions, and told him that he would go at once to the scene of the murder himself.

(End of this chapter)