an imaginary character far in advance of the crime. This character would be his double. His description would be simple, with, say, a false mustache, dark glasses, and conspicuous clothing. Then he would have this double of his establish a residence far removed from his real domicile, and he would proceed to live two lives. While the real character would supposedly be away at work, the double would be at his home, and vice versa. Matters would be even more simple in the event one of the two characters went away on a long trip. With the stage thus set, the murder could be committed at an opportune time, but immediately before the crime the imaginary character would make himself very obvious to several witnesses. And then, following the crime, he would vanish completely from the face of the earth. Beforehand, of course, he would have destroyed all incriminating evidence, such as his disguise. As a result, he would be permanently missing from his home, while the real character would merely resume his former way of life. Naturally, as the crime was committed by a nonexistent character it would be a perfect crime.
G IRL : Saito kept talking about this until I thought he was going crazy. All this I recalled as I stared into his eyes. But there was one more clue to his hidden thoughts. It was that diary, which he had "hidden" for the express purpose of having me find it. But the diary was planted for me to read, so of course it didn't mention his real secrets. For example, there was not a word about his mistress.
M AN : It was like crossing out lines in a letter to make sure they'd be read.
G IRL : I read the diary from cover to cover. Several pages were devoted to the dual-personality idea. I was quite struck by his ingenious ideas. And I must say he was a wizard with the pen.
M AN : Go on.
G IRL : Well, those were the three clues I had. First, the look in his eyes; next, the man in the blue overcoat; and finally, the diary describing the dual-personality trick. But somehow I had the feeling that the picture was incomplete. There seemed to be no motive. You supplied this when you told me about his mistress. After that I could never look into his eyes without seeing there the reflection of some beautiful girl I imagined his mistress to be. At times I even thought I could smell her perfume on him.
M AN : In other words, these four clues convinced you that he was planning to kill you so he could get the fortune you inherited from your father, and then live with his mistress.
G IRL : Yes, but at the same time I knew he was only playing a game to frighten me.
M AN : Yes, maybe that's what you thought, but his motive was real enough. His plan was to steal into your bedroom in disguise, kill you, and vanish. Later the real Saito would return, "discover" your murder, and play the delicate role of the grief-stricken husband.
G IRL : Yes, but as I said before, it was only part of the same game to frighten me, and to enjoy the thrill of suspense. You can imagine what a horrible game it was! That was the thrill he was aiming for. It's surprising how all these details came to my mind with full clarity in the split second I stared into his eyes.
M AN : But where was Saito supposed to draw the line? What was the actual purpose of his disguise as the man in the blue overcoat?
G IRL : I think he really intended to steal into my bedroom in his disguise and frighten me out of my wits. Then, after enjoying my hysterics, he would burst out laughing.
M AN : But that isn't the way it turned out, is it?
G IRL : It certainly wasn't! Until then, everything had been more or less a joke. But what happened next nearly froze the blood in my veins. I shudder even to think about it.
M AN : No more than I do. But go on—get it off your chest now that there's nobody to hear us.
G IRL : All right. . . . Several more times he went into weeping hysterics in bed, and gradually I began to realize that I couldn't fathom the look in his eyes any longer. In
G IRL : Saito kept talking about this until I thought he was going crazy. All this I recalled as I stared into his eyes. But there was one more clue to his hidden thoughts. It was that diary, which he had "hidden" for the express purpose of having me find it. But the diary was planted for me to read, so of course it didn't mention his real secrets. For example, there was not a word about his mistress.
M AN : It was like crossing out lines in a letter to make sure they'd be read.
G IRL : I read the diary from cover to cover. Several pages were devoted to the dual-personality idea. I was quite struck by his ingenious ideas. And I must say he was a wizard with the pen.
M AN : Go on.
G IRL : Well, those were the three clues I had. First, the look in his eyes; next, the man in the blue overcoat; and finally, the diary describing the dual-personality trick. But somehow I had the feeling that the picture was incomplete. There seemed to be no motive. You supplied this when you told me about his mistress. After that I could never look into his eyes without seeing there the reflection of some beautiful girl I imagined his mistress to be. At times I even thought I could smell her perfume on him.
M AN : In other words, these four clues convinced you that he was planning to kill you so he could get the fortune you inherited from your father, and then live with his mistress.
G IRL : Yes, but at the same time I knew he was only playing a game to frighten me.
M AN : Yes, maybe that's what you thought, but his motive was real enough. His plan was to steal into your bedroom in disguise, kill you, and vanish. Later the real Saito would return, "discover" your murder, and play the delicate role of the grief-stricken husband.
G IRL : Yes, but as I said before, it was only part of the same game to frighten me, and to enjoy the thrill of suspense. You can imagine what a horrible game it was! That was the thrill he was aiming for. It's surprising how all these details came to my mind with full clarity in the split second I stared into his eyes.
M AN : But where was Saito supposed to draw the line? What was the actual purpose of his disguise as the man in the blue overcoat?
G IRL : I think he really intended to steal into my bedroom in his disguise and frighten me out of my wits. Then, after enjoying my hysterics, he would burst out laughing.
M AN : But that isn't the way it turned out, is it?
G IRL : It certainly wasn't! Until then, everything had been more or less a joke. But what happened next nearly froze the blood in my veins. I shudder even to think about it.
M AN : No more than I do. But go on—get it off your chest now that there's nobody to hear us.
G IRL : All right. . . . Several more times he went into weeping hysterics in bed, and gradually I began to realize that I couldn't fathom the look in his eyes any longer. In
Similar Books
