Chapter 51 48

Letting out a long sigh, the killer slumped back against the foot of the chair and closed his eyes. Not Will?Sellitto asked. This, Rhyme went on, was the focus of his entire project for the weekend.He wants revenge on Kadeski and Hausberg Circus, now Fantastic Circus.However, if you simply want revenge and don't care how to get away, it couldn't be easier.But he turned his head to the sorcerer sitting on the ground.He wants to escape completely, not be wanted by the police, and continue his acting career.So he did a quick identity change.He pretended to be Eric.Will, deliberately allowed himself to be arrested and sent to the detention center this afternoon, and escaped after leaving a fingerprint card.

Sellitto nodded.That way, after he'd killed Kadeski and burned the circus, everyone would be going to Will, not this one, he frowned.Who the hell is this guy? He is Arthur.Rose, Will's apprentice. When his identity was revealed, the killer let out a soft sigh, and he only hoped that he could escape from here, preferably disappearing immediately. But Rose called us, and Sellitto questioned: Isn't he out west in Nevada? No, he's not there.I checked the phone records, and his call showed an unidentifiable caller, pretending to be calling long distance, when he was actually at a pay phone booth on West Eighty-seventh Street.He had no wife at all, and the voice recordings in Las Vegas were fake.

So he also pretended to be Will and called his other assistant, Keiding, right?Sellitto asked. bingo.He assumed Will's voice and mentioned menacingly about the fire in Ohio.This is to make us think that Will himself is in New York at this time, planning revenge on Kadeski.In order to intentionally fabricate the news of Will's comeback, he ordered the Derby-style handcuffs in Will's name, and also bought the pistol in his name. Rhyme stared at the killer, and continued: As for the voice part?He asked him in a sarcastic tone: You should feel more comfortable with your lungs now, right?

You know I'm all right.Rose snapped, and the hiss of panting disappeared.His lungs hadn't hurt at all, and the previous voice had been a sleight of hand to convince them he was Will himself. Rhyme turned his head toward the bedroom and said: I saw a few posters in the design, and I guess you drew them.The name on it is Moreke, and that person is you, isn't it? The killer nodded.What I told you before is true. I hated the old name. I hated everything before that fire. It hurts to think about it.So, my name should be Morelake now, how did you figure it out? Because of the glove, Rhyme said: "That was the first thing that struck me as a bit off.Emilia finds the latex gloves you wore when you escaped from the detention center, but you've only just stamped your fingerprints, so why wear them?The only reasonable explanation is that the fingerprints on the data card of the detention center are not the same as your real fingerprints.I therefore studied the evidence carefully.Emilia found some sticky wax for magicians in the detention center. The sticky wax contained fibers from white paper or cardboard.I also found a trace of the exact same ink you left in the sports bag at the scene of the attack on Marston.So, what can be associated with ink jams?Obviously, it must be a fingerprint card.So I can only imagine this: You may have pre-fabricated a fake fingerprint card and hid it somewhere in the detention center's registration office. card, glued to the underside of a cabinet or shelf with sticky wax.Then, when you were deliberately arrested and escorted to a detention center for registration, you took the opportunity to exchange your fingerprint card.

Rose nodded.I did hide my fingerprint card under the counter at the registry office of the detention center a few days ago.Today, after the organizer asked me to print my fingerprints, I deliberately knocked the ink roller on the table to the ground. As soon as they bowed their heads, I took out Mr. Will's fingerprint card that was hidden earlier, and threw away my own fingerprint card . Mr. Will, Rhyme noticed the word sir, and at the same time thought of another assistant, the crazy John.Jiding, at that time also used the same respectful word. Rose said angrily: So you found the fingerprint card I lost and got the fingerprints on it?

That's right.But Mel also took fingerprints from the gloves.Many suspects forget that the interior of latex gloves preserves fingerprints fairly well.We already have fingerprints of you on file in our database, when you and Will were in New Jersey when they were arrested together for public danger. However, Sellitto questioned again, he should be much younger than Will, right? Of course he was younger than Will, and he turned his head to Rosie's face.The wrinkles on his face were made with wax, and like the scars, they were all fake.Will was born in 1950, twenty years his junior, so he had to wear makeup.Having said that, he murmured again: Ah, I almost forgot.I should have thought more clearly then.Didn't Emilia find wax with cosmetics in several spots?I originally thought it was from the fingertips on his hands, but that doesn't make sense, no one puts make-up on their fingers, it comes off too easily.So, these cosmetic ingredients must come from somewhere else.Saying this, Rhyme stared at the killer's cheeks and eyebrows.The latex must be uncomfortable on your face, right?

You just have to get used to it. Sachs, let's see what his real face looks like. It took a lot of work before she peeled off the beard on his face and the wrinkles on his eyes and chin.Although there are still stains of glue on his face, the result is not wrong. He has become much younger, and his face has become completely different from the previous face. That's very different from Mission Impossible, right?There is no way to put it on for a while and tear it off again. Of course not.Real disguise and movies are two different things. And the camouflage of the fingers.Rhyme turned his head to the killer's left hand again.

In order to make the fingers look like they were burnt and fused, he first wrapped the two fingers tightly with bandages, and then applied a thick layer of latex on the surface.Over time, these two fingers became wrinkled, loose and abnormally pale, but these two fingers were normal after all.Sachs examined the two fingers carefully.I was about to ask Rhyme when we were all looking for a man with a deformed left hand at the trade show, but you didn't hide your hand.The reason for not hiding it is simple, because it would reveal his true identity. Rhyme looked the killer up and down again, and said: This is pretty close to the perfect crime: you want us to move the target to another person, make us think it was Will who did the crime, and actually got him. identification, but we'll never find him.Rose would go on with his life, and Will would never be seen again, a vanished person.

Rose's choice of murdering several victims yesterday was to mislead the police, not out of any deep psychological impulse, but Terry.Dubailin's final judgment still fits perfectly with the killer's situation, and he was indeed seeking revenge for the fire that destroyed his loved one.The only difference is that the protagonist of this tragedy is not Will who lost his job or his beloved wife, but Rose who lost his mentor Will. But I still have a question, Sellitto said again, what do you mean when Will disappears forever?He didn't have to run away. Ron, why do you think I have to trouble those big men to carry me up the stairs and come to this place full of obstacles?While looking around the room, Rhyme said: I want to walk through the grid in person, I made a mistake, it should mean roll the grid.After speaking, he began to maneuver the wheelchair skillfully with the touch panel, moving around the room, and finally stopped in front of the fireplace and looked up.Ron, I think I've found him.His eyes fell on a carved box and a candle on the fireplace.Eric.Will is in here, right?His ashes?

Rose said softly: That's right.Knowing that he will not live long, he hopes to leave Ohio and return to his hometown of Las Vegas before he dies.I sneaked him out of the hospital one night and drove him home.He died within a few weeks of returning home, so I bribed one of the night clerks at the crematorium to burn him to his ashes. What about fingerprints?Rhyme asked, did you take his fingerprints after his death?The purpose is to create fake fingerprint cards? He nodded. So you've been planning for years? Rose said excitedly: That's right!His death is like a wound that will never heal, this pain will never fade away!

Bell asked: You took so many risks just for revenge?And to avenge your boss? boss?He's more than just the boss to me, Rose said angrily: You won't understand.My father is still alive, and I think of him only now and then a few times a year; as for Mr. Will, I think of him every hour of every day.From the time he walked into that magic shop in Las Vegas I was doing little Houdini, that's my name, and I was fourteen.I will never forget that day!He told me that he would give me a vision.So, on my fifteenth birthday, I ran away from home and followed him.His voice trembled as he spoke, then fell silent.A moment later before continuing: Yes, Mr. Will beats me up, scares me, makes my life hell sometimes.But he saw in me, he took care of me, taught me how to be an illusionist and he had a dark look on his face.But he was taken from him, all because of Kadesky, and he and his damn business killed Mr. Will and killed me.Arthur.Rose died in that fire.He raised his head and looked at the urn on the fireplace, his face was full of sadness and despair.Such unbelievable love suddenly made Rhyme feel a chill that ran down his neck and disappeared into his completely unconscious body. Rose turned to Rhyme and let out a sneer.Anyway, although you caught me, Mr. Will and I still won.You can't stop me instantly, now that circus is ruined, and so is Kadeski.Even if he hadn't been burned in the fire, his career would have been lost forever. Oh, speaking of the Fantastic Circus and the fire. Rhyme shook his head gravely, and then said: No Rosie frowned and glanced at the rest of the room, as if trying to understand what Rhyme meant.What?What exactly are you trying to say?You think back to what happened earlier, just earlier tonight.You're standing in Central Park, looking at the flames and smoke at the circus, and hearing the screams and you think it's time to get out, because we'll be looking for you soon.You start to walk to your current place, but on the way, a young Asian girl in a jogging outfit bumps into you.You also said a few words about the accident in the park, and then went your separate ways. what are you talking about?Rose growled. You touch your watch strap.Lyme said. Amid the clink of the chains of the handcuffs, he turned his wrist over and found a small black round object on the strap.Sachs stepped forward and peeled the thing off.This is the global satellite positioning tracker, we rely on it to track this place.Aren't you surprised that we came in suddenly just now? who wait!It's that illusionist, that girl!Carla!I didn't even recognize her. Rhyme said in a sarcastic tone: Now you finally know what illusion is, right?We spotted you in the park a long time ago, but we were worried that if we did something rashly, you would run away again. After all, you are a master at this.We figured you'd have a long detour back to the house, so I asked Carla to change into a costume.She really has a whole set, and even I almost don't recognize her after changing her clothes.When she collided with you on purpose, she glued the tracker to your watchband. Sachs went on to say: We can also carry out arrests on the street, but we are also worried about being escaped by you.Also, we want to find out where you are hiding. However, this does not mean that you have seen through it long before the fire started! Oh, Rhyme said contemptuously: you mean the ambulance?The blast team found it and disassembled it in less than sixty seconds.They took that car away and replaced it with another ambulance so you wouldn't get suspicious.We knew you were going to stay and watch the fire burn, so we sent a swarm of plainclothes detectives into the park looking for someone your size who watched the fire start and left the scene very quickly.You were spotted by several detectives at the same time, so we asked Carla to put a satellite tracker on you.It didn't take long for Rhyme to smile and say, "We're coming." But that fire I saw it burn with my own eyes! Rhyme said to Sachs.You see, didn't I keep saying that there would be contradictions between evidence and witnesses?He saw the fire, so it must be true.He turned to Rose and said: But you already know it's fake, right? Sachs said: "The smoke you see is from several National Guard smoke bombs, and we hung the smoke bombs on the top of the tent with a crane.As for the flame?Made with a propane stove.Start with the stage entrance where you parked the ambulance, then lit a few fires in the performance area, and then used the lights to cast shadows on the tent. I also heard screams.he murmured. Oh, that's Carla's idea.She thought we could ask Kadeschi to tell the audience that they were going to stop the show for a few minutes so that a film company could come in and shoot a scene in the tent, which was about a fire in the circus.In order for the film company to tune in live, he asked everyone to scream together when they saw the signal.The audience was so excited, they performed better than expected. The sorcerer murmured: This is It's illusion.Rhyme said to him: It's all an illusion. Brain tricks performed by immobile people. I'm going to start surveying the site.said Sachs, frowning and turning his head toward the room. No problem, no problem, Sachs.How did I do it?We just keep polluting the place by staying here and chatting. Under heavy handcuffs and fetters and a police officer on the left and right, the killer was pulled up and walked out the door.This time, he was no longer as arrogant as he was when he was arrested last time. Just when two members of the secret service team were about to carry Rhyme down, Ron.Sellitto's phone rang.He picked up the phone.There she was. He glanced at Sachs.Do you want to speak to her yourself?Then, he shook his head at her and continued to listen for a while, his face a little ugly.Well, I'll pass it on to her.He hung up the phone. It was Marlowe calling.He said to Sachs. Marlowe is the captain of the patrol team.what happened?Seeing the ugly expression on Sellitto's face, Rhyme couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. Sellitto went on to say to Sachs: He wants you to go to headquarters at ten o'clock tomorrow, it's about your promotion.Then the fat detective frowned.He wants me to tell you something about your performance on the test.What did he just say?He shook his head and looked at the ceiling with a confused expression on his face.What did it say? There was no expression on Sachs's face, but Rhyme noticed that one of her nails started to attack the skin of her thumb, but she forced it to stop. Only then did Sellitto snap his fingers.Oh yes, I remembered.He told you you had the third highest score in the history of the department.He frowned and looked at Rhyme.Do you know what this means?May God be merciful, no one who is still alive has a higher score than her. Run fast, out of breath.But the corridor was like a kilometer long. Carla ran across the gray linoleum carpet, thinking about only one thing: not the late Eric.Will, and not his nervous assistant Arthur.Rose, not to mention the cool and dazzling sea of ​​fire illusion of the Fantasy Circus.No, all she thought was: Will I make it in time? Running in the dark corridor, the soles of his feet pounded on the floor.Quickly past the doors opening and closing, she heard the television and the music, the sound of family and ward talking goodbye as visiting hours drew to a close this Sunday.Listening to her own footsteps echoing in the corridor. She paused outside her mother's room for a while, and took several deep breaths in a row to balance her breath.At this time, she felt extremely nervous, more than the moment before performing on stage.Uneasy, she walked into the room. After a moment of silence, she said, "Hi, Mom." Her mother looked away from the TV, blinked in surprise, and then smiled.Oops, look who's here?Hi dear. Oh my God.Looking into those clear eyes, Carla thought to herself: She is awake!She really woke up. She went and hugged the woman, and pulled a chair to sit beside her.How are you? It's good, but it's a bit cold at night. I'm going to close the window.Carla got up and closed the open window. Darling, I thought you wouldn't be here today. It's been a busy evening.Mom, I'll tell you what I did today and you won't believe it. I can't wait to hear it. Carla was so excited, she asked: would you like a cup of tea or something? Nothing, honey, can you turn off the TV?I want to have a good talk with you.The remote is here, but I just can't control it.Sometimes I can't help thinking that maybe someone sneaked in and changed all the buttons on it. I'm so glad I got there before you went to bed. In order to talk to you, of course I have to be awake. Hearing this, Carla couldn't help but smile.Then her mother said: Honey, I just thought of your uncle.Carla nodded.Her mother's brother was the black sheep of the family. He had gone west alone when Kara was very young, and had never been in touch with the family since.Carla's mother and grandparents were reluctant to mention her uncle's name at family gatherings.But rumors abounded about him: he was gay; he was bisexual and married, but had an affair with a Roman gypsy; he shot a man for a woman; Both are bachelors and a drinking jazz musician, Carla has always wanted to know his real deeds.What's up with him?mom? Do you want to hear it? Sure, tell me his story.She begged her mother, leaned gently beside her, and took her mother's hand with both hands.Well, let me see, when did that happen?It seems to be May of '70, maybe '71 I'm not sure which year it is, I just know it's May.Your uncle came back from Vietnam with some friends from the army. He served in the army?I've never heard of yay. Oh, he's downright handsome in uniform, but they did have a hard time over there.Her tone became serious.Your uncle's best friend died beside him, in his arms, a big black man.Later, Tom and the others decided to start a business to provide relief to the family of their fallen brother.So they went south and bought a boat.Can you imagine your uncle sailing a boat?I can't imagine it.I think it's literally the weirdest thing ever.They started a shrimping business, and Tom made a lot of money. Ma Carla said softly. The memory in her head made her mother smile, and she shook her head: A boat anyway, and they surprised everyone by making the business a success, because Tom didn't look very smart.Mother's eyes twinkled brightly.You know what he said to those people? How to say? Only fools do stupid things. That's a good saying.Carla murmured. Well, you're sure to like him, Jenny.You know he was received by the President of the United States, and he also went to China to play table tennis. The old woman happily continued to tell the story of Forrest Gump she had seen on TV a few months ago, completely oblivious to the tears in her daughter's eyes.Carla's uncle's name was Jill, but in her mother's mind, he became Tom, apparently thinking of him as the main character in the movie, Tom.Hank.Even Kara's name changed to Jenny, and became Forrest Gump's girlfriend. Bukala thought desperately: In the end, I still couldn't get there in time. The mother's spirit has come and gone, and now all that remains in this room is a vision of the void. Her narrative began to sprawl, jumping from a shrimp boat in the Gulf of Mexico to a tuna boat caught in a super-perfect storm in the North Atlantic to a luxury liner that sank after hitting an iceberg, and her Before the sinking of the ship, the younger brother played the last piece on the violin on the deck in evening dress.These impressions, memories and images come from several movies and books, entangled in real memories, but in the end Kara's uncle always disappears completely, leaving only stories that end without a problem. He's out there somewhere, the old woman concluded: I know he's out there.She closed her eyes. Carla sat closer again and laid her hand gently on her mother's smooth arm until she fell asleep.At least, Carla thought, her mother had been sober not long ago.If she wasn't awake, Jenny wouldn't suddenly call her on the pager. Since she was sober once, she was sure that her mother would be sober again. After a while, Carla left the room and walked into the dark corridor, thinking that maybe she had the talent to be a performer, but lacked the one skill she wanted most: teleporting her mother to another place by magic, Back to that sweet, happy day that God had given them; where mother's mind would be so clear that she could remember all the memories of her family; Magical effects Temporary illusions.