american tragedy

Chapter 116 (2)
Chapter 312 (2)
"Well, let me see," said Atbury. "I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. I can get this sorted out for you without any damage to your reputation. I think Want to see. What kind of person is the Dalaki County District Attorney? I have to check this first, get in touch with him, and then call you. They won't be mentioned in the newspapers. Maybe they won't be mentioned at the trial, I'm not sure, but I can find a way to keep her name from being mentioned. You can rest easy."

Then Atbury found Mason's name on his lawyer's roll, called him, and made an appointment to meet again, because Mason felt that these letters were very relevant to the case.Of course, upon hearing that it was Atbury, Mason immediately stood in awe, explaining that he hadn't meant to mention Sandra or those letters publicly, but that he just wanted to preserve the truth for a secret grand jury review, and if Clay If De can truthfully confess, then the trial can be avoided.

Atbury telephoned Finchley, finding that he was utterly opposed to the letters or Sandra's name being mentioned in any way, and assured him that he would go to Bridgeburg himself to-morrow or the day after, Take some plans and political information with you, so that Mason may think about whether to mention Sandra's name publicly.

After much deliberation, the Finchleys decided that Mrs. Finchley, Stuart, and Sandra should set off immediately to the coast of Maine, or wherever they liked, without explaining to anyone. And Finchley himself was going back to Lycurgus and Albany.It was not appropriate for any of them to be in a place where journalists could find them, or friends could ask.So the Finchleys set off at once for Naragansett, where they lived in seclusion for the next six weeks under the name Wilson.For the same reason, the Cranstons immediately moved to one of the Thousand Islands, where it was a summer resort, and therefore quite satisfactory.Only the Bagut family and the Harriet family thought that this case had little to do with them, so they stayed where they were, namely Lake NO.12.They all talked about Clyde and Sandra, too, that this terrible crime might destroy the social status of those innocently involved.

During this time, Smilie went to Bridgeburg to talk to Mason for two hours at Griffiths' orders, and then he went to the detention center to see Clyde.With Mason's permission, he was able to meet alone with him in his cell.Smilie explained that the Griffiths didn't want to defend Clyde in any way, but just wanted to find out whether there was any possibility of a defense at the moment.Mason tried his best to explain that it would be best to persuade Clyde to voluntarily plead guilty.Because he decided that there was no doubt that he was guilty, that a trial would do Clyde no good except to cost the County more money, and if he would voluntarily confess, it might discover something new that might do him justice. Leniency, and this great scandal would have been spared the press.

Then Smerry went to see Clyde in the cell, where the latter was meditating silently, very low and hopeless.As soon as he heard that it was Smyrley, he immediately felt a little afraid, as if he had been hit in the head.The Griffiths--Samuel Griffiths and Gilbert! Now their personal representatives are here.What was he supposed to say? Clearly he had spoken to Mason and definitely believed him guilty.Should he make something up, or tell the truth? But he had no time to think about it, for Smiri had come before him.He licked his lips and reluctantly greeted: "Hi, Mr. Smerry." Smerry pretended to be kind, "Ah, hello, Clyde, I feel very sad to see you trapped here. He went on: "The prosecutors here have talked a lot about your trouble, and it's been in the papers. Of course I don't think it's likely. Maybe there's a mistake. I'm here to make that clear." .Your uncle called me this morning and asked me to find out why they detained you. Of course you must understand their feelings at this time. So he asked me to deal with it and withdraw the charges if possible, so I I think you should tell me the ins and outs of this matter, that is to say..."

He stopped here for a moment.According to what Mason had said to him, coupled with Clyde's strange and evasive look, he also knew that Clyde couldn't say much in favor of him.

Clyde moistened his lips again, and finally spoke: "I think the situation is really not good for me, Mr. Smith. When I first met Miss Alden, I didn't expect to have these troubles later. But it's true, I didn't kill her, didn't even think about it, didn't even think about taking her to the lake. It's true, I told the D.A. I know he has some of the letters she sent me , but it just said that she wants me to go with her, not that I want her to go with me...

He paused for a moment, hoping that Smiri would believe him.Finding that he had said the same thing as Mason's, Smillie, to reassure him, replied, "Yes, I know, he has shown me the letters."

"I knew it," Clyde said with some frustration, "but you should understand what the actual situation is like, Mr. Smeary." He kept his voice low for fear that the sheriff or Clout might be eavesdropping. "A man's relationship with a girl can sometimes get to a point where he doesn't want it to be, and you know that. At first, I did like Roberta, really. So I wrote I got on good terms with her. But you also know the rules there, no matter which person in charge must have nothing to do with the female workers under him. I think this is the root of all my troubles in the future. I am afraid of being People know. Do you understand?"

"Ah, I understand."

In this way, he gradually went on talking, and gradually he became less nervous, because Smely listened with sympathy.So he also spoke out a little bit about his intimacy with Roberta at the beginning, and he also said something to defend himself.But he didn't say a word about the camera, the two hats, and the suit, which bothered him so much.How did he explain it? When Smillie finished listening, because he had heard Mason, he asked, "Clyde, what's with those two hats? The district attorney told me that you admit that you have two hats." Straw hats, one was found on the lake, and the other you left with."

Then Clyde had to say something, but what? Then he replied, "They say I went away wearing a straw hat too. That's not right, Mr. Smeary. It's a cap."

"Yes. But according to him, you wore a straw hat at Bear Lake."

"Yes, but I have told him that. I wore it on my first visit to the Cranstons', and I forgot it at his house."

"I see. There's a little problem with the clothes. He says you were seen wearing a gray suit when you were there, but he can't find it now. You're wearing a gray suit, aren't you?"

"No, I was wearing the same blue suit I wore when I came here, and now this suit has been taken away."

"He said you said it was dry-cleaned in Sharon, but the investigation turned out that no one there knew about it. How do you explain that? Have you ever dry-cleaned?"

"Dry cleaned."

"Where did you wash it?"

"I can't remember it now. But if I go again, I can find the man, near the station." But he took his eyes off Smeerie.

Then Smilie asked about the suitcases on the boat like Mason did.Besides, since he could swim ashore with his clothes and shoes on, couldn't he swim up to Roberta and help her hold on to the boat? Clyde's explanation was the same as before, that he was afraid of being dragged into the water .But this time he added that he too had called for the boat, which had drifted away by then.Smillie remembered Mason saying that too.Moreover, Clyde said that the hat was blown off by the wind, but Mason said that he had witnesses to testify, and the weather report from the government could also prove that the day was calm and there was no wind.In this case, Clyde is obviously lying.It's despicable that he's making up such nonsense.But Smilie didn't want to weigh him down, always saying, "I see," or "Naturally," or "That's right."

Finally he asked about the scars on Roberta's head and face.Mason had warned him of these scars, and was convinced that a collision with the boat would not hurt both.And Clyde firmly insisted that all her scars were hit by the boat, otherwise he would not be able to think of the source of the scars.But by this time he realized that no explanation was going to help, because he could tell from Smerry's bewildered look that Smerry didn't believe him.It was evident that he considered it mean and cowardly not to save Roberta, and that it was a pretext for her to drown.

Weary and frustrated, unwilling to continue lying, he kept silent.Smeely was also very irritable, and not wanting to continue the questioning or make him more flustered, he said, "Then I'll go now, Clyde. It's not easy to get to Sharon from here. Of course you told me, you That's very good, and I'll pass it on to your uncle. If I were you, I'd say as little as possible, at least until the next time I hear from me. I'll do my best to get a lawyer here , to help you take care of this case. But it's early, and our chief legal counsel, Mr. Boo Lockhart, will be here tomorrow, so let's wait for a while. I'll talk to him first before making a decision. So if you Willing to take my advice, and say nothing without news from him or from me. He may come in person, or send someone, and there will always be a letter from me. This person will help you out."

After saying this advice, he left, leaving Clyde to think about it himself.He was completely convinced that Clyde was guilty.The Griffiths couldn't save him, unless they were willing to pay millions of dollars.This is entirely self-inflicted.

(End of this chapter)