The Sinister Monk Page #4

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Yes. You're quite right, Patricia, dear.

That's exactly what happened.

Have you gone crazy, Richard?

The whole place is swarming with police!

William!

I don't think she can prove a thing.

Or can you prove something?

You see? The trumpcards

are really in my hands.

What you want doesn't interest us.

You will just have to do as we want.

So, I will remain right here.

With Gwendolin.

Pardon! Excuse me.

"Your father is innocent.

The proof is in this house."

You take your men

and form a cordon around the castle.

You drive around the park. 2 of the girls

are going into town at noon.

You provide them with an escort from here

as far as the bus stop and then back.

I was so relieved to hear that the girl

who was killed wasn't you, Gwendolin.

It was a total stranger.

- I was utterly relieved!

You should have accepted my invitation.

- If you ever need something,

you know I'm a doctor and will always

be ready to help.

That's kind of you, Uncle William.

- Did you see this monk, Gwendolin?

Yes, from the window.

- And now Patricia is sending you...

into London? I'll go along with you.

- Oh no, you won't!

Excuse me, Miss Gilmore!

- Yes?

I'm Inspector Black of Scotland Yard.

I take it that you are...

Lady Patricia's brothers. One of you

is a lawyer, the other a doctor?

Yes. But don't you think it's somewhat

rude of you to come bursting in here?

William!

The Inspector naturally wants to ask

Gwendolin some questions.

Not an easy job, after all.

- That's right, Gentlemen.

Why were they in here?

- To welcome me. I'm their niece.

How long have you been here?

- Since last Tuesday.

Are you here as a guest?

- Of my aunt's, yes.

Otherwise, do you usually live alone?

Is that your technique? Asking questions

not connected with the actual crime?

It's not my technique, Miss Gilmore.

It's my profession.

You think it's such fun to poke your nose

into other people's private lives?

Well, you can ask me any questions

you please. I don't have any private life.

In the criminal sense, I mean.

But if it's a matter of life and death,

yes, I live alone.

And... are your parents alive?

My father.

Is this him?

- Yes. But I don't live with him.

I know you'll find out anyway.

I might as well get it over with.

My father is in the penitentiary

for murder.

How do you like that?

But I've got another surprise to show you.

This I just found it on the carpet.

"Your father is innocent.

The proof is in this house."

I thank you for your confidence,

Miss Gilmore.

Those two gentlemen and Lady Patricia

are your father's sister and brothers?

Yes.

- So they inherit, too.

Thank you again, Miss Gilmore.

Inspector? Excuse me, but...

could I speak to you for a minute?

- I'll be right down.

Excuse me. Short is my name.

Alfred Short.

Lady Patricia allows me

to live in the tower room.

Of course, I do pay rent, regularly.

I don't know if my observations

will be of any real value to you.

Naturally, you don't know that. And if you

don't tell me what your observations are,

I won't know either.

- As Lola left the house that day,

I noticed Mr. Ronny out in the park.

He stopped her.

And then?

- They were having a violent argument.

And then,

incredible as this will seem,

she pointed a gun straight at his head.

And then she walked off alone.

And from where did you when see all this?

- Out of my window. Unexpectedly.

Show it to me, please.

- Have you discovered something new?

Maybe, Sir John. Come with me.

- It's this way.

You can make a fortune at anything.

Not quite a fortune, but a living.

- One man's death is another man's job.

A fine slogan for a mortician!

- What's this?

So you keep pigeons, do you?

- It's my hobby, Sir.

Ah, your hobby.

Carrier pigeons?

No, I wish they were!

I'm too much of an amateur for that.

But I'm happy enough just to have

these little ones. They're so gentle.

The dove isn't the symbol of peace

for nothing.

In a way, you might say,

I have my own kingdom of peace.

Enviable!

- So it is. Particularly when I think...

how much evil there is in the world.

It was from this window that I saw...

Ronny and Lola when they were having

their argument.

Black? The dead girl,

isn't this her?

Indeed, Sir. She generously allowed me

to make a cast...

of her lovely face.

- You said these were all death masks!

They weren't originally.

Alas, they are now all death masks.

Why don't you let us try on those

darling little helmets of yours?

We aren't allowed to take them off.

- That's too bad!

Gwendolin!

- Yes, I'm coming.

William! Are you mad?

- She's unconscious! Inspector!

The Monk! The Monk was here!

Inspector! Inspector!

Inspector. Someone's calling you.

Go on!

I came in to take her to town.

- You? I was going to go with her!

I wouldn't have let her go alone with you?

- Somebody called me? What happened?

The Monk was here! Can you imagine?

I walked into the room...

and saw this tall dark figure!

And before I recovered from the shock,

he ran over here

and disappeared over the balcony.

Chloroform!

What were you doing here?

- I was coming here to pick up my niece.

When was it, exactly?

- About 2 or 3 minutes ago, how do I know?

Did you knock on the door first?

- Of course I knocked!

But I didn't get any answer.

And the door opened, and all at once,

I saw... you have to believe me,

it was the Monk!

Would you come to see me in 5 minutes

down in the conference room?

I'm going to make out

an official report.

I don't understand it! It's dreadful!

- Yes. It certainly is!

I'm not waiting a minute longer!

Otherwise, I'm going to miss the bus.

Let's go, Fred. We have to do our duty.

- We're to escort 2 girls to the bus stop.

Then, I'll come along with you.

I want to buy myself a new dress, anyway.

Alright, come on. Goodbye!

- Goodbye!

You haven't thought of anything stupider?

- Calm down, Richard.

It's bad for you. Take your medicine.

- Sure. You're so right, William.

I hope you'll forgive my violence.

It was terribly considerate of you...

to have brought this

tranquillizing medicine for me.

But you need it much more than I do.

So you take it. Here we are.

Come on! Open your mouth!

You coward! You want the will

to be of no benefit to me, whatsoever.

But you won't beat me out of it that way!

And as for Gwendolin, you'd better not try

that trick again! Otherwise, I might

make things very unpleasant for you.

Now, get out of here!

I think you're getting

a little too sure of yourself!

Thank you.

Better?

- Yes.

The first question I want to ask is:

Why did he do it?

I wonder what your attacker could possibly

be hoping to gain with this.

Not money, because I don't have any here.

- But you have no idea...

who it could have been, is that it?

No clue at all?

It was all so quick.

I didn't see anyone.

But your Uncle William.

He saw someone, so he says.

But...

Oh, no! Oh, not again!

The Monk!

I just wanted to dust the room.

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