The county policeman came in with a cassette recorder and seemed to take this conversation very seriously. I saw him——
——We always go to work at the same time, and the post office and police station are very close to each other.
His name is Tom, he is thirty-seven years old, has a wife seven years younger than him, and has no children.
Three years ago, probably in 1972, he complained to me, and I remember it very clearly.
His wife, Naomi, was unable to conceive, and he mentioned this more than once.
"Mr. Tom..." I was very nervous. I was afraid that the severed limb in my pocket would be discovered by the county police.
"I received a warning and came here to take a look." Tom's eyes were complicated and he did not talk about Margaret immediately: "The weather is too hot, I got up a little late, I'm really sorry."
These redundant and long-winded lines make me feel inexplicably anxious, because Mr. Tom has never been like this when handling cases - Xiaoxinsider is sparsely populated, and in this community, even if someone loses a dog, Tom will
I will also do my duty and get straight to the point.
"Well..." I could feel the severed palm in my pocket struggling, and Margaret grabbed my thigh. I didn't dare to move, and I didn't dare to continue talking.
"I remember you are getting married soon?" Tom then asked, "Next week?"
I immediately responded: "I haven't decided on the specific day yet. It depends on the church's arrangements. If there is a fast day or a choir performance and preaching, it will have to be postponed."
Tom: "Ah..."
I continued: "There is no way, I don't have enough money."
Tom: "You didn't send me an invitation?"
This sentence made me feel strangely offended. It seemed that there was no need to invite this county policeman to my wedding with Margaret——
——I am not familiar with him, we are just separated by a road, and we occasionally exchange a few words as a postman.
"Let's talk about the case, Mr. Tom."
Speaking of this, Tom's eyes obviously changed slightly.
Somehow, I seemed to have extraordinary inspiration. I seemed to be able to smell a strange smell from his slightly opened lips and from the hot and humid air.
His emotions were very strong when talking about Margaret...
It was a mixture of expectation, fear, and a little bit of sour joy.
I don't understand, I can't continue to think deeply, and I don't know where this intuition comes from. It seems that smell can speak and express other synaesthesia that goes far beyond the sense of smell itself.
This statement sounds too mysterious and weird.
"Sam Walker, the police information center has sent me the phone records." Mr. Tom became polite and unconsciously crossed his hands across the table, covering his chest.
He seemed to be very cautious, not facing me head-on, but squinting and looking into my eyes.
"There are also police officers who went to Margaret's apartment to investigate. The security situation at the Vienna train station is very bad. You have to be mentally prepared - as for my search work, it is mainly to collect evidence. For example, as you said, your
Diamond ring..."
At this point, Tom patted me on the shoulder, as if to comfort me.
"Brother, don't worry, she will be fine..."
I was not wary of the county police, so I took the ring box from the drawer of the dining table and handed it over.
"This is the package I received yesterday, which contains Margaret's ring..."
Speaking of these words, my heart almost jumped into my throat. I have never been a good liar.
"Tom, there is blood on her ring. She may have been assassinated. Was she kidnapped? How much ransom do I have to pay? I just hope Margaret can come back alive..."
Mr. Tom frowned when he saw the diamond ring. It seemed that things were not as simple as he thought.
He just continued to ask questions without answering my questions.
"Is the wrapper still there?"
"I don't know, I'll look in the trash can..."
"Is there anything else that was sent with the package?"
"Maybe it's a book, like a hollowed-out scripture..." I rummaged through the restaurant, hoping Margaret wouldn't be a disservice.
Tom then asked: "Where is the postman who sent you the package? What did he say?"
"Nothing was said. He took away my job and we had nothing to talk about."
"The shipping address is Portsmouth, England. Do you have any impressions of this place?"
"No, I may have been there once when I was a child, but I was too young to remember."
"Sam Walker, I just realized that you are British?"
"right."
"You never told the folks in Little New Sider about this..."
"It doesn't matter, Mr. Tom, I have chestnut hair and blue eyes, that's very common. I speak German, I speak Finnish, I speak English - talking about my hometown doesn't make my life any better."
"Just one ring?"
"I don't need to lie to you..." Having said this, I suppressed my inner impulse and wanted to take out the broken palm several times, but the inexplicable sour smell in the air became stronger and stronger, and I almost
To spit it out.
I found the Bible in the cupboard, and it seemed that Margaret had put it away.
"Here it is, Mr. Tom."
When the scriptures were placed on the table, the county policeman's face suddenly relaxed, and it seemed that the anxiety had disappeared.
"oh!"
"What's the progress? Do you recognize this thing?" I didn't understand the change in Tom's mood. I didn't understand: "Officer..."
"No, no." Tom quickly changed his words: "I thought you couldn't find it. You need to know about transnational law enforcement. Going to the consulate to apply for full cooperation between the two police stations requires a lot of procedures - applying for a search warrant with just a diamond ring? It's not big.
Maybe?"
"Sam, the place you want to check is Chadderton Castle. That is not a castle for ordinary people to live in. The Rose ran aground in front of the Chadderton Castle lighthouse. It has historical significance. It is almost a museum that can be sold.
"
The words of the county police poured cold water on my head. I immediately got up and went to the bedroom to look for the piggy bank.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The wedding can't be done, and there are still about 600 euros. If the police can't do it, I will run back to Portsmouth alone.
When he returned to the restaurant, Tom's expression became visibly relaxed, and the sour smell in the air seemed to have faded a lot.
"Officer, do you smell it? What's the smell in the air?" I became more and more confused.
Tom responded: "Maybe it's the wine? You smell of hangover all over your body."
"No, no no no..." Although my head still hurts a little, the sour smell is definitely not the smell of alcohol.
It happened to come from Tom, I'm just embarrassed to say it openly -
——I went to work with him in the past two months, and we were very close. I had never smelled this smell when I changed cigarettes. This is not his body odor.
...
...
[Part2·Tear off the face]
"Let's talk about something else. The tape is all recorded, and its content is limited." Tom reminded: "Mr. Walker, when did you meet Margaret?"
"The social activities of the chef class seven years ago." I tried to search out the most important memories from my mind: "I was still working as a postman at that time, and the company arranged social activities for me - going to church to learn cooking skills.
It was also the first time Margaret and I met, and we mainly learned about desserts.”
Tom's eyes wandered to the oven: "Apple strudel?"
I immediately said, "Yes, apple strudel."
Tom: "I actually envy you, Sam."
"Huh?" I was inexplicably surprised when I heard this sentence.
Tom opened the oven and took out the hot baking pan without using tongs or using cloth to insulate it——
——Yes, I was almost stunned. At that moment, I felt trembling all over, and a pair of cold hands pinched my neck.
There are some inexplicable auditory hallucinations appearing in my mind, only at this moment, every minute.
The county policeman's flesh seemed to melt along with the sultry humidity, and his fingers were blistered like boiling mud. When he let go of the baking pan, his face was expressionless and he felt no pain at all.
I don't understand...Am I still stuck in an illusion?
What happened to my brain? Ever since I fell out of that damn trap! I felt like something was wrong! Everything was wrong!
In just a blink of an eye, Tom's fingers returned to their original state, as if nothing had happened!
He twirled the apple roll, turned it over and over, and stared at the dessert with envy and jealousy in his eyes.
"Margaret is a good person, she is beautiful, much more beautiful than Naomi."
I don't understand these rhetoric, why?
Why is this guy talking about my bride? Judging my fiancée? Why?!
"Tom? What are you talking about?"
"That's what it means, Walker..." The county policeman put down the dessert and then talked about another matter: "Besides this package, have you received anything else?
"There are some commemorative tickets." I quickly searched through the previous emails and found the tickets I had received before.
When Tom saw these tickets, his eyes changed obviously.
"You said this is a ticket?"
I couldn't quite understand what Tom meant, so I nodded.
Tom: "Walker, this is...this is a thousand shillings."
I was surprised and asked: "Is this money?"
Tom: "A thousand shillings for Austria."
He opened the other envelopes and put the tickets together.
"Sixteen thousand shillings in total, Sam Walker, is there something wrong with your head? Is it too much pressure?"
There was a lot of ink on the brownish note that had smeared into clumps of stains. I couldn't understand why the things in Tom's and my eyes became two completely different things.
I also began to doubt myself, is it really like what Tom said -
——Am I crazy?! I’m already crazy?!
Tom was unimpressed and showed no interest in the tickets.
"What about the neighbors nearby? Have they received anything similar?"
"No..." I didn't ask carefully, but judging from the new postman's driving route, my nearest neighbor is not at home this month, and there is no need to receive mail.
"That's it for now." The county policeman stopped the tape recorder and took out the tape.
When he stood up to leave, I was tightly held by Margaret——
——This broken palm button is scratching my thigh, trying to tear the flesh of my thigh through my work clothes and crotch pants...
I was so pale with pain that I couldn't say anything. The moment Tom took away the diamond ring, he unconsciously raised his sleeves, but I peeked at the dark blood stains on the sleeves.
The almost black, sticky blood stain was very similar to the blood stain left by Margaret on the scripture.
I almost lost my mind and was so furious that I instantly grabbed the pistol on Tom's side——
——When I got it in my hand, I didn’t even know how I did it.
The safety of this P220 firearm was naturally released by my fingers, and then a bullet was ejected to ensure that there was a bullet in the chamber ready to be fired.
I was breathing heavily, with white smoke coming out all over my body, as if my heart was beating wildly, and it seemed like I couldn't care about anything, and I didn't care about anything.
"Tom! You know where she is! Right?!"
The county policeman was stunned and slowly raised his hands.
"Mr. Walker..."
"Don't talk nonsense to me! I want the truth!" I pulled the hammer smoothly and naturally, as if it was not the first time I touched this gun.
"Walker, you grabbed the gun and attacked the police." Tom persuaded him nicely: "It's a felony. I know you are very sad...I know..."
Swallowing nervous saliva, I no longer believe in the law enforcer in front of me——
——The blood stains on his sleeves are from Margaret! He must have received a similar package!
He keeps asking me! He keeps comforting me! Wanting me to accept the fact that Margaret is dead!
He told me how difficult it would be to find out all this and asked me not to ask any more questions!
This guy...
This guy may be the real murderer of Margaret!
I forced him to slowly exit the door.
"Mr. Walker..." Tom almost fell down when he crossed the threshold, and the gun in my hand was locked on his head.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Mr. Walker!"
"You are anxious, you are anxious...Walker..."
"You must also have received Margaret's body..."
As soon as I said these words, I could hardly control myself. My fingers got into the bow guard, and I was only one step away from the sound of the gun.
"I received it too, Mr. Walker." Tom suddenly laughed: "I think this is a gift. Margaret is so charming. She often comes to my house as a guest. She and Naomi talk about everything - occasionally
Help with cooking..."
"I have been paying attention to her silently..."
"I thought it would be great if I could have such an understanding wife."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" I was so angry that I began to point my gun out of balance.
Officer Tom rolled up his cuffs, completely exposing the blood stains on his shirt: "What part did you receive? I received half of the upper arm - Naomi and I were both scared at first..."
"This feeling is very uncomfortable, really. I can understand..."
"But then, without saying anything, we became very hungry, very hungry..."
The police officer's expression was unexpectedly cold-blooded.
"She has an inexplicable charm. If she dies like this, it might be a good thing, Sam."
"Having been childless, Naomi and I's life was drying up, and Margaret brought a bit of life - but she was getting married, and you were going to take her away from this good neighbor,
Hide this good girl in the rotten woods, in this shabby house?"
"Walker, are you too selfish? We are so hungry... really hungry..."
At this point, Officer Tom began to scratch his chin, feeling a kind of heartburn.
"My wife and I slowly squeezed out the bone and blood from this big arm and slowly spread it on the slices of bread..."
Speaking of this matter, Sheriff Tom was very happy, and the corners of his mouth turned up higher and higher.
"Swallowing her into my stomach, I felt like I came back to life..."
"Walker! You should really give it a try..."
"You have to give it a try..."
There seemed to be caterpillars squirming under Tom's face. I couldn't understand this guy's crazy talk at all.
The next second, he was going to grope behind him——
——I know, that is the second gun of the Austrian County Police.
The local police in Vienna are fully equipped with weapons. Even if the gangsters take away the gun immediately, they still have backup firepower to fight back.
I didn't hesitate and just pulled the trigger!
"Bang!--"
"Bang!--"
"Bang!--"
"Bang!--"
The bullet shattered Tom's head. He fell to the ground on his back and fell to the dirt under the porch steps.
I stepped forward, fired two more shots into the head, and fired at the twitching corpse.
"Bang!--"
"Bang!--"
The recoil of the P220 made me feel numb. I don’t know why I can do all this.
I have never fired a gun or killed anyone. A month ago, I was just a postman in Neusider, living a pretty much the same life every day, doing repetitive mechanical labor.
Officer Tom's hands were still behind his back. I kicked his body away with my gun and saw him holding a severed limb.
As he said——
——This part of the severed limb belongs to Margaret.
She has a tattoo of a butterfly with golden veins and black spots on her forearm. She has not asked a tattoo artist to take care of it for a long time. These tattoos will gradually disappear naturally over time.
The blood from the broken arm had dried up, and it seemed that just like what Sheriff Tom said, the crazy couple squeezed out the blood from the broken arm, used it as jam to spread on the bread, and then swallowed it in their stomachs!
I finally realized what I had done. Just now, I took away Tom's gun and killed the county police officer in Little New Sidel!