XVIII + 

The Pineapple + 

тАЬIt doesnтАЩt make sense,тАЭ I said. тАЬItтАЩs dizzy. When we grab our manтБатАФor womanтБатАФweтАЩre going to find itтАЩs a goof, and Napa will get it instead of the gallows.тАЭ + 

тАЬThat,тАЭ Owen Fitzstephan said, тАЬis characteristic of you. YouтАЩre stumped, bewildered, flabbergasted. Do you admit youтАЩve met your master, have run into a criminal too wily for you? Not you. HeтАЩs outwitted you: therefore heтАЩs an idiot or a lunatic. Now really. Of course thereтАЩs a certain unexpected modesty to that attitude.тАЭ + 

тАЬBut heтАЩs got to be goofy,тАЭ I insisted. тАЬLook: Mayenne marriesтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬAre you,тАЭ he asked disgustedly, тАЬgoing to recite that catalogue again?тАЭ + 

тАЬYouтАЩve got a flighty mind. ThatтАЩs no good in this business. You donтАЩt catch murderers by amusing yourself with interesting thoughts. YouтАЩve got to sit down to all the facts you can get and turn them over and over till they click.тАЭ + 

тАЬIf thatтАЩs your technic, youтАЩll have to put up with it,тАЭ he said; тАЬbut IтАЩm damned if I see why I should suffer. You recited the Mayenne-Leggett-Collinson history step by step last night at least half a dozen times. YouтАЩve done nothing else since breakfast this morning. IтАЩm getting enough of it. NobodyтАЩs mysteries ought to be as tiresome as youтАЩre making this one.тАЭ + 

тАЬHell,тАЭ I said; тАЬI sat up half the night after you went to bed and recited it to myself. You got to turn them over and over, my boy, till they click.тАЭ + 

тАЬI like the Nick Carter school better. ArenтАЩt you even threatened with any of the conclusions that this turning-them-over-and-over is supposed to lead to?тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah, IтАЩve got one. ItтАЩs that Vernon and Feeney are wrong in thinking that Cotton was working with Whidden on the kidnapping, and double-crossed him. According to them, Cotton thought up the plan and persuaded Whidden to do the rough stuff while the marshal used his official position to cover him up. Collinson stumbled on the plan and was killed. Then Cotton made his wife write that statementтБатАФitтАЩs phony, right enough, was dictated to herтБатАФkilled her, and led us to Whidden. Cotton was the first man ashore when we got to the hiding-placeтБатАФto make sure Whidden was killed resisting arrest before he could talk.тАЭ + 

Fitzstephan ran long fingers through his sorrel hair and asked: + 

тАЬDonтАЩt you think jealousy would have given Cotton motive enough?тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah. But whereтАЩs WhiddenтАЩs motive for putting himself in CottonтАЩs hands? Besides, where does that layout fit in with the Temple racket?тАЭ + 

тАЬAre you sure,тАЭ Fitzstephan asked, тАЬthat youтАЩre right in thinking there must be a connection?тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah. GabrielleтАЩs father, stepmother, physician, and husband have been slaughtered in less than a handful of weeksтБатАФall the people closest to her. ThatтАЩs enough to tie it all together for me. If you want more links, I can point them out to you. Upton and Ruppert were the apparent instigators of the first trouble, and got killed. Haldorn of the second, and got killed. Whidden of the third, and got killed. Mrs.┬аLeggett killed her husband; Cotton apparently killed his wife; and Haldorn would have killed his if I hadnтАЩt blocked him. Gabrielle, as a child, was made to kill her mother; GabrielleтАЩs maid was made to kill Riese, and nearly me. Leggett left behind him a statement explainingтБатАФnot altogether satisfactorilyтБатАФeverything, and was killed. So did and was Mrs.┬аCotton. Call any of these pairs coincidences. Call any couple of pairs coincidences. YouтАЩll still have enough left to point at somebody whoтАЩs got a system he likes, and sticks to it.тАЭ + 

Fitzstephan squinted thoughtfully at me, agreeing: + 

тАЬThere may be something in that. It does, as you put it, look like the work of one mind.тАЭ + 

тАЬAnd a goofy one.тАЭ + 

тАЬBe obstinate about it,тАЭ he said. тАЬBut even your goof must have a motive.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhy?тАЭ + 

тАЬDamn your sort of mind,тАЭ he said with good-natured impatience. тАЬIf he had no motive connected with Gabrielle, why should his crimes be connected with her?тАЭ + 

тАЬWe donтАЩt know that all of them are,тАЭ I pointed out. тАЬWe only know of the ones that are.тАЭ + 

He grinned and said: + 

тАЬYouтАЩll go any distance to disagree, wonтАЩt you?тАЭ + 

I said: + 

тАЬThen again, maybe the goofтАЩs crimes are connected with Gabrielle because he is.тАЭ + 

Fitzstephan let his gray eyes go sleepy over that, pursing his mouth, looking at the door closed between my room and GabrielleтАЩs. + 

тАЬAll right,тАЭ he said, looking at me again. тАЬWhoтАЩs your maniac close to Gabrielle?тАЭ + 

тАЬThe closest and goofiest person to Gabrielle is Gabrielle herself.тАЭ + 

Fitzstephan got up and crossed the hotel roomтБатАФI was sitting on the edge of the bedтБатАФto shake my hand with solemn enthusiasm. + 

тАЬYouтАЩre wonderful,тАЭ he said. тАЬYou amaze me. Ever have night sweats? Put out your tongue and say, тАШAh.тАЩтАКтАЭ + 

тАЬSuppose,тАЭ I began, but was interrupted by a feeble tapping on the corridor door. + 

I went to the door and opened it. A thin man of my own age and height in wrinkled black clothes stood in the corridor. He was breathing heavily through a red-veined nose, and his small brown eyes were timid. + 

тАЬYou know me,тАЭ he said apologetically. + 

тАЬYeah. Come in.тАЭ I introduced him to Fitzstephan: тАЬThis is the Tom Fink who was one of HaldornтАЩs helpers in the Temple of the Holy Grail.тАЭ + 

Fink looked reproachfully at me, then dragged his crumpled hat from his head and crossed the room to shake FitzstephanтАЩs hand. That done, he returned to me and said, almost whispering: + 

тАЬI come down to tell you something.тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah?тАЭ + 

He fidgeted, turning his hat around and around in his hands. I winked at Fitzstephan and went out with Fink. In the corridor, I closed the door and stopped, saying: тАЬLetтАЩs have it.тАЭ + 

Fink rubbed his lips with his tongue and then with the back of one scrawny hand. He said, in his half-whisper: + 

тАЬI come down to tell you something I thought you ought to know.тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah?тАЭ + 

тАЬItтАЩs about this fellow Whidden that was killed.тАЭ + 

тАЬYeah?тАЭ + 

тАЬHe wasтБатАФтАЭ + 

The door to my room split open. Floors, walls, and ceiling wriggled under, around, and over us. There was too much noise to be heardтБатАФa roar that was felt bodily. Tom Fink was carried away from me, backward. I had sense enough to throw myself down as I was blown in the opposite direction, and got nothing worse out of it than a bruised shoulder when I hit the wall. A doorframe stopped Fink, wickedly, its edge catching the back of his head. He came forward again, folding over to lie face-down on the floor, still except for blood running from his head. + 

I got up and made for my room. Fitzstephan was a mangled pile of flesh and clothing in the center of the floor. My bed was burning. There was neither glass nor wire netting left in the window. I saw these things mechanically as I staggered toward GabrielleтАЩs room. The connecting door was openтБатАФperhaps blown open. + 

She was crouching on all fours in bed, facing the foot, her feet on the pillows. Her nightdress was torn at one shoulder. Her green-brown eyesтБатАФglittering under brown curls that had tumbled down to hide her foreheadтБатАФwere the eyes of an animal gone trap-crazy. Saliva glistened on her pointed chin. There was nobody else in the room. + 

тАЬWhereтАЩs the nurse?тАЭ My voice was choked. + 

The girl said nothing. Her eyes kept their crazy terror focused on me. + 

тАЬGet under the covers,тАЭ I ordered. тАЬWant to get pneumonia?тАЭ + 

She didnтАЩt move. I walked around to the side of the bed, lifting an end of the covers with one hand, reaching out the other to help her, saying: + 

тАЬCome on, get inside.тАЭ + 

She made a queer noise deep in her chest, dropped her head, and put her sharp teeth into the back of my hand. It hurt. I put her under the covers, returned to my room, and was pushing my burning mattress through the window when people began to arrive. + 

тАЬGet a doctor,тАЭ I called to the first of them; тАЬand stay out of here.тАЭ + 

I had got rid of the mattress by the time Mickey Linehan pushed through the crowd that was now filling the corridor. Mickey blinked at what was left of Fitzstephan, at me, and asked: + 

тАЬWhat the hell?тАЭ + 

His big loose mouth sagged at the ends, looking like a grin turned upside down. + 

I licked burnt fingers and asked unpleasantly: + 

тАЬWhat the hell does it look like?тАЭ + 

тАЬMore trouble, sure.тАЭ The grin turned right side up on his red face. тАЬSureтБатАФyouтАЩre here.тАЭ + 

Ben Rolly came in. тАЬTch, tch, tch,тАЭ he said, looking around. тАЬWhat do you suppose happened?тАЭ + 

тАЬPineapple,тАЭ I said. + 

тАЬTch, tch, tch.тАЭ + 

Doctor George came in and knelt beside the wreck of Fitzstephan. George had been GabrielleтАЩs physician since her return from the cave the previous day. He was a short, chunky, middle-aged man with a lot of black hair everywhere except on his lips, cheeks, chin, and nose-bridge. His hairy hands moved over Fitzstephan. + 

тАЬWhatтАЩs Fink been doing?тАЭ I asked Mickey. + 

тАЬHardly any. I got on his tail when they sprung him yesterday noon. He went from the hoosegow to a hotel on Kearny Street and got himself a room. He spent most of the afternoon in the Public Library, reading the newspaper files on the girlтАЩs troubles, from beginning to date. He ate after that, and went back to the hotel. He could have back-doored me. If he didnтАЩt, he camped in his room all night. It was dark at midnight when I knocked off so I could be on the job again at six a.m. He showed at seven-something, got breakfast, and grabbed a rattler for Poston, changed to the stage for here, and came straight to the hotel, asking for you. ThatтАЩs the crop.тАЭ + 

тАЬDamn my soul!тАЭ the kneeling doctor exclaimed. тАЬThe manтАЩs not dead.тАЭ + 

I didnтАЩt believe him. FitzstephanтАЩs right arm was gone, and most of his right leg. His body was too twisted to see what was left of it, but there was only one side to his face. I said: + 

тАЬThereтАЩs another one out in the hall, with his head knocked in.тАЭ + 

тАЬOh, heтАЩs all right,тАЭ the doctor muttered without looking up. тАЬBut this oneтБатАФwell, damn my soul!тАЭ + 

He scrambled to his feet and began ordering this and that. He was excited. A couple of men came in from the corridor. The woman who had been nursing Gabrielle CollinsonтБатАФa Mrs.┬аHermanтБатАФjoined them, and another man with a blanket. They took Fitzstephan away. + 

тАЬThat fellow out in the hall Fink?тАЭ Rolly asked. + 

тАЬYeah.тАЭ I told him what Fink had told me, adding: тАЬHe hadnтАЩt finished when the blowup came.тАЭ + 

тАЬSuppose the bomb was meant for him, meant to keep him from finishing?тАЭ + 

Mickey said: тАЬNobody followed him down from the city, except me.тАЭ + 

тАЬMaybe,тАЭ I said. тАЬBetter see what theyтАЩre doing with him, Mick.тАЭ + 

Mickey went out. + 

тАЬThis window was closed,тАЭ I told Rolly. тАЬThere was no noise as of something being thrown through the glass just before the explosion; and thereтАЩs no broken window-glass inside the room. The screen was over it, too, so we can say the pineapple wasnтАЩt chucked in through the window.тАЭ + 

Rolly nodded vaguely, looking at the door to GabrielleтАЩs room. + 

тАЬFink and I were in the corridor talking,тАЭ I went on. тАЬI ran straight back through here to her room. Nobody could have got out of her room after the explosion without my seeing themтБатАФor hearing them. There wasnтАЩt finger-snapping time between my losing sight of her corridor-door from the outside, and seeing it again from the inside. The screen over her window is still OK.тАЭ + 

тАЬMrs.┬аHerman wasnтАЩt in there with her?тАЭ Rolly asked. + 

тАЬShe was supposed to be, but wasnтАЩt. WeтАЩll find out about that. ThereтАЩs no use thinking Mrs.┬аCollinson chucked the bomb. SheтАЩs been in bed since we brought her back from Dull Point yesterday. She couldnтАЩt have had the bomb planted there because she had no way of knowing that she was going to occupy the room. NobodyтАЩs been in there since except you, Feeney, Vernon, the doctor, the nurse, and me.тАЭ + 

тАЬI wasnтАЩt going to say she had anything to do with it,тАЭ the deputy sheriff mumbled. тАЬWhat does she say?тАЭ + 

тАЬNothing yet. WeтАЩll try her now, though I doubt if itтАЩll get us much.тАЭ + 

It didnтАЩt. Gabrielle lay in the middle of the bed, the covers gathered close to her chin as if she was prepared to duck down under them at the first alarm, and shook her head No to everything we asked, whether the answer fit or didnтАЩt. + 

The nurse came in, a big-breasted, red-haired woman of forty-something with a face that seemed honest because it was homely, freckled, and blue-eyed. She swore on the Gideon Bible that she had been out of the room for less than five minutes, just going downstairs for some stationery, intending to write a letter to her nephew in Vallejo while her patient was sleeping; and that was the only time she had been out of the room all day. She had met nobody in the corridor, she said. + 

тАЬYou left the door unlocked?тАЭ I asked. + 

тАЬYes, so I wouldnтАЩt be as likely to wake her when I came back.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhereтАЩs the stationery you got?тАЭ + 

тАЬI didnтАЩt get it. I heard the explosion and ran back upstairs.тАЭ Fear came into her face, turning the freckles to ghastly spots. тАЬYou donтАЩt thinkтБатАФ!тАЭ + 

тАЬBetter look after Mrs.┬аCollinson,тАЭ I said gruffly. + 