Chapter 10 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

Poirot and I were waiting for our old friend, Inspector Japp of the Metropolitan Police, to join us for tea, and we sat down at the tea table to await his arrival.Poirot had just arranged the cups and saucers neatly and neatly. When the landlady did these things, he always placed them on the table indiscriminately, instead of arranging them carefully like Poirot.He had just let out a deep breath on the metal teapot, and took out a silk handkerchief to polish it.The teapot was already boiling, and beside it stood a small ceramic urn containing some rich, sweet chocolate.Poirot always referred to chocolate as "your English poison," and he put more of it in his glass than anyone else.

There was the sound of eager footsteps ascending below, and a few minutes later Japp opened the door cheerfully and entered. "I hope I'm not late," he greeted us. "To tell you the truth, I've been discussing the case with Miller; he's then in charge of Mr. Davenheim's disappearance." I pricked up my ears.For the past three days, newspapers and newspapers have been filled with reports of the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Davenheim.Mr. Davenheim is a senior partner of Salmon, both of whom are well-known bankers and financiers. He hadn't been seen since walking out of his lodgings last Saturday, and I hoped to hear some interesting details from Japp.

"I have reason to believe," I said, "that in this day and age it is almost impossible for anyone to disappear." Poirot buttered the bread on the plate, ate eight-tenths of an inch in one bite, and said sharply: "Please be precise, my friend. What kind of 'disappearance' do you mean?" "According to what you're saying, disappearances need to be classified into different categories?" I laughed. Japp laughed too, and Poirot frowned at us both. "Of course they have to be divided into categories. All disappearances can be divided into three categories. The first category, which is also the most common, is self-lost and intentional disappearance; Disappearances of this kind are rare, but they do happen; the third category, murder, is the more or less disappearance of a person's body. From what you just said, do you think these three categories Is it impossible to disappear?"

"Almost so, I have reason to think so. He will probably lose his memory, but surely someone will recognize you, especially someone as famous as Davenheim; but bodies cannot disappear like air Invisible, sooner or later they will be found, either hidden in the middle of nowhere, or hidden in a large suitcase. Murders will eventually be revealed, the same goes for clerks who abscond with money, or criminals who evade debts. In today's era of advanced space communication technology, no matter where he flees, he will definitely be found. If he absconds abroad, he can also be extradited, and the port and station will be closely monitored; as for hiding in this country, his His features would appear in the daily papers, and everyone who read them would recognize him as an enemy of civilization." "My dear friend," said Poirot, "you have made a mistake. You will not allow The fact exists that a person who is determined to kill himself - or, to use a euphemism, to make himself disappear - may have a brilliant mind, a well-thought-out person who can use his intelligence , all the details and details were carefully calculated and carefully arranged. Then I don't see why he couldn't successfully fool the police" "But it's hard for them to fool you, may I think so?" Japp Winking at me with his humor, "They couldn't have fooled you, Monsieur Poirot." Poirot tried, unsuccessfully, to appear modest: "Well, why would I? In fact , to be honest, I investigate such cases with a rigorous sense of responsibility that combines a rigorous scientific attitude with precision similar to mathematical calculations. Ah, in the new generation of detectives, this kind of professionalism is already Very rare!"

Japp's mouth opened a little wider. "I don't know," he said. "Miller, who is in charge of this case, is a shrewd and alert officer. You can trust that he will not miss a footprint, a cigarette butt, or even a crumb. He has A pair of eyes that see everything." "Then London has plenty of sparrows. But, anyway, I wouldn't ask those chirping birds to settle Mr. Davenheim's problems." "Then, sir, you're not going to collect valuable intelligence as clues to carry out the detection work?" "No, that information is useful in itself. The danger is that it may be inappropriately assumed to be too important. Many details are not very useful, and only one or two of them are the key to the problem. One has to rely on one's brain," he patted his forehead, "on the ingenuity in it. Feelings can lead astray. One has to find connections between facts in one's brain, not in one's brain. external appearances."

"You don't mean to say that you don't have to get up from your chair to get the case right, M. Poirot?" "That's exactly what we mean - I can do that just by putting the facts in front of me. I see myself as an expert to consult." Japp tapped his knee and said, "If I don't catch you making a fool of yourself by saying that, I'll hang myself. I'll bet you five pounds that you won't find Mr Davenheim in a week's time, Whether he lives or dies." Poirot thought for a moment and said: "Ah, my dear friend, I accept the challenge. This is what you English people do. Now—please tell me the truth."

"On last Saturday, as was his usual habit, Mr. Davenheim took the twelve-forty train from Victoria to Chingside; Walked round the grounds, giving all sorts of instructions to the gardener. Everyone said he was behaving perfectly normal at the time, as usual. After tea, he said at the door of his wife's bedroom that he was going to walk into the village Send some letters, and he also said that he had an appointment with a gentleman named Lowin to discuss business matters. If Lowin came before he came back, he would let him into the study and ask him to wait a while. Then, Da Mr. Wenheim just went out the front door, walked slowly down the drive, and out the gate. Then—never saw him back. From that moment on, he disappeared completely.” “Interesting—very interesting , it is very interesting," whispered Poirot, "please go on, my good friend."

"About a quarter of an hour later a tall, swarthy man with a bushy black beard rang the bell and explained that he had an appointment with Mr. Mr. Davenheim had not returned for nearly an hour. At last Mr. Loewen rang the bell and explained that he could not wait any longer, as he had to catch a train back in town. "Mrs. Davenheim apologized to her husband for his absence. It seemed hard to believe to her, for she knew he himself had said he was expecting a visitor. Mr. Loewen regretted this, and later just left. "Well, as everyone knows later, Mr. Davenheim has never appeared again. Early on Sunday morning, the police received a report, but there was no result of investigation. Mr. Davenheim seemed to have no chance. He vanished into thin air for no apparent reason. He had neither been to the post office nor seen passing through the village, and at the station the police had received confirmation that he had not left by train.

"His own car is in the garage too. If his car hadn't left the garage, if he'd hired a car to pick him up at an undisclosed location, there's now such a large bounty for whistleblowers , the hired chauffeur would certainly have gone to the police station to report what he knew. The fact is that there was a little horse race that day at Entfield, five miles from his village, and if he had walked to the station, he might have would pass through the crowd unnoticed. But since then his picture and details of his condition have appeared in every newspaper and no one will be unaware of him. Of course we have received Many letters from all over the country reported the case, but so far, there has not been a single lead that can offer real help.

"On Monday morning, the case progressed slightly. In Mr. Davenheim's study, behind a portrait, there was a safe which had been broken open and looted. burglary is ruled out. Unless, of course, there is an accomplice in the house who closes the windows afterwards. On the other hand, on Sunday, everyone knew what had happened, the house was in such a mess, the burglary probably took place on Saturday and was not discovered until Monday. " "It is possible," said Poirot dryly. "Is that Mr. Loewen arrested, then?" Japp grinned: "Not yet, but he is being closely monitored."

Poirot nodded. "What was lost in the safe? What do you think of it?" "We have investigated the matter with Mrs. Davenheim and the partners in the bank, and it is evident that there are considerable securities and a large amount of cash, for the company has just carried out a large There are some jewels, all of Mrs. Davenheim's jewels are kept in that safe. In recent years, her husband has been keen on buying jewellery, and he spends a lot of money almost every month on an expensive piece of jewelry for her. , a very rare bead chamber" "Together, this is a great fortune," Poirot mused. "And how is Lorwyn's situation? What was he and Davenheim talking about that evening?" Woolen cloth?" "Loewen only made small trades in stocks, yet he managed to get the upper hand on Davenheim once or twice in the market, though they met rarely or in fact never at all. This time, the banker I asked him to meet because I wanted to talk to him about South American stocks." "Is Davenheim interested in South America?" "I think so. Mrs. Davenheim occasionally mentioned that he spent a whole autumn in Buenos Aires last year" "Is there a problem with his family life? How is the relationship between husband and wife?" "His family life, I should say, is quite peaceful and normal. Mrs. Davenheim is a mild-mannered, simple-minded woman, and in my opinion, a very ordinary sort of person." "Then we don't have to look in his home life for an answer to this mystery. Does he have any enemies?" "He had many rivals in the financial world. No doubt he had won over many who would not have had a good impression of him. But none of them had ever been able to kill him for that— If someone tried to get rid of him, where is his body?" "Excellent. As Hastings said, human bodies are always found sooner or later." "By the way, one of his gardeners said he saw a man walking along the side of the yard towards the rose garden. The window of the study was opened in the direction of the rose garden, Mr Davenheim. Often passed the rose garden when leaving the yard. But the man was far away, and across the cucumber pergola, so he wasn't sure if what he saw was really his owner. Also, he couldn't tell the exact time , the approximate time should be before six o'clock in the afternoon, because the gardener was going home from work at that time." "What time did Mr. Davenheim leave the yard?" "Around five-thirty in the afternoon." "What's in front of the rose garden?" "It's a lake." "Is there a house by the lake for mooring boats?" "Yes, there are one or two square-tops. I suppose you are considering whether Mr. Davenheim is going to kill himself, Mr. Poirot? Well, I remind you that Miller is going to salvage that lake tomorrow, Figure out that possibility." Poirot smiled slightly, turned to me and said: "Hastings, please hand me the Monthly Bulletin, which, if I remember correctly, has a very clear photograph of this missing person printed on it. " I got up and found the newspaper that Poirot had asked for, and Poirot looked at it carefully. "Well!" he whispered, "he has long, wavy hair, and a thick beard and eyebrows. Are his eyes black?" "yes." "Are the hair and beard gray?" The police officer nodded: "Yes, Mr. Poirot, what do you think about this? Can you see the truth of the case at a glance?" "On the contrary, it's hard to tell right now." The officer's expression brightened. "This gives me great hope for solving the interrogation report of this case." Poirot expressed himself calmly. "Ok?" "I've found that it's always a good sign when things are vague. If everything is clear, don't believe it. Someone must have made it that way on purpose." Japp shook his head regretfully: "Well, everyone has their own ideas. However, if a solution can be found in that lake, that would not be a bad thing." "I can't tell," whispered Poirot. "I'm going to close my eyes—and think about it." Japp sighed and said, "You have a week to think about it." "And you'll keep me updated on the status of the case—including the findings of that hard-working, sharp-eyed Officer Miller, will you?" "Of course, that's one of our bets." "Looks like a shameless thing to do, doesn't it? It's like I'm stealing a kid's money!" I smiled, having a hard time disapproving until I was back in the room with a smile on my face. "My God!" said Poirot when he saw me. "You're going to make fun of old Poirot, aren't you?" He pointed at me. Let’s explore this little problem—it’s not quite there yet, but it’s starting to show up.” "The lake!" I said solemnly. "Not just the lake itself, but the cabins to moor your boat!" I stared at Poirot with wide eyes.He had an impassive smile on his face, and it was useless for me to ask him more questions at this point. We heard nothing new from Japp until the next evening.About nine o'clock he strode into our room, and from his expression I guessed at once that he had news. "Well, my friend," greeted Poirot, "is it going well? But please don't tell me that you found Mr. Davenheim's body in that lake, because I don't believe that." "We didn't find the body, but we found his clothes - exactly what he was wearing that day, what do you think about that?" "Is there any other clothes missing from his room?" "No, his valet was sure of it, and he had all his other clothes. Also, one of the maids who had been shutting the bedroom windows that day reported that she saw Lorwyn, whom we arrested, pass the rose garden and enter The study room, the time was around 6:15 that afternoon, that was about ten minutes before he left Davenheim's villa." "How does he explain this?" "First he denied that he had left the study, but the maid insisted, and then he pretended that he forgot. He just walked out of the study and looked at a very unusual rose. This kind of statement is difficult to stand To stand, and in clear evidence against him, Davenheim always wore on the little finger of his left hand a gold ring set with diamonds, and that ring had been pawned in London on a Saturday night. The man who pawned the ring, Billy Kellett, had a criminal record — he spent three months in detention last fall for stealing an elderly man’s watch, and he tried to pawn off the ring in at least five different places. Finally, he pawned it off. After that, he got so drunk that he beat a policeman, so he was locked up. Miller and I went to see him in the detention center, and he is now Sober. I made no secret of it, and when I suggested to him that he might be prosecuted for murder, he was frightened to death. That was his case, and it sounded very odd. "He was at the Entfield Races on Saturday, though I dare say horse-race betting is not his thing. He had bad luck that day. He was sauntering back along the Chingside road. , just before he entered the village, he was sitting and resting by a ditch. A few minutes later, he noticed a man coming from the road in the village, 'the man was dark, bearded, and dressed like a city Rich guy'," he said of the man. "Kelit's body was covered by a large pile of stones, and people on the road couldn't see him. Just when he was about to reach Kellit's side, the man quickly looked around the road, and after making sure that there was no one on the road , he took a small thing out of his pocket and threw it into the bushes by the side of the road, and then he hurried towards the station. The little thing he threw into the bushes aroused the vagrant who was hiding in the ditch Han's curiosity, he searched the bushes for a while, and finally found that it was a ring. This is what Kerritt told the story. However, Lorwin completely denied all this. Of course, people like Kerritt People's words are not reliable at all. It can be inferred that he met Davenheim on that path, robbed him of his belongings, and then killed him." Poirot shook his head. "Very unlikely, my dear friend. First of all, Kellett has no way to dispose of the body. If Davenheim is dead, his body should be found by now. Second, the way he pawned the ring is very public, which means That is, he couldn't have gotten the ring by murder. Third, the sneaky thief couldn't have been a murderer. Fourth, since he's been locked up since Saturday, then, he can be so detailed and precise. There are too many coincidences in describing Lorwyn's appearance." Japp nodded. "I can't say you're wrong, but you can't convince a whole jury of one prisoner. It seems to me strange why Lorwyn couldn't find a smarter way to dispose of that ring." Poirot shrugged his shoulders: "Well, anyway, if the ring was found in the vicinity, it is also possible that Davenheim himself threw it away." "But why did he take it off him in the first place?" I argued. "Then it might be for some reason," said Japp, "you know? There's a trail just over the lake that leads up the hill, and it's a three-minute walk to a—you guess what it is?" place - a Lime Lu field!" "Dear me!" I exclaimed, "you mean it won't do anything to that metal ring when it's buried in a lime cellar, don't you?" "It's absolutely true." "It seems to me," said I, "that everything is settled. What a terrible crime it is!" The two of us came to an agreement and were both satisfied with the conjecture.We turned to look at Poirot. He seemed to be lost in thought, his brows were furrowed, and he looked preoccupied, as if he was trying his best to overcome the pain. fact.How would he react?We will have an answer shortly.With a sigh, his tense expression relaxed, and he turned to Japp and asked: "My friend, can you tell me whether Mr. Davenheim and his wife live in the same bedroom and share the same bed?" This extremely inappropriate question made us both look at each other for a while. Then Japp burst out laughing. "My God, Mr. Poirot, I thought you had made some amazing discovery! As far as your question is concerned, I haven't done any investigation." "Can you figure it out?" Poirot was anxious and curious. asked. "Oh, of course - I can investigate if you really want to know." "My dear friend, I should be very grateful if you could clear up the matter." Japp stared at him for a few minutes, but Poirot seemed to have forgotten both of us.Japp shook his head sadly at me, and said to himself, "Poor old man! He's got a lot of pain from the war!" And he stomped softly out of the room. While Poirot seemed to be lost in a daydream, I took out a piece of paper and kept scribbling on it to amuse myself.My friend's voice awakened me, who had emerged from his deep meditation, looking radiant and alert. "What are you, my friend?" "I have just been jotting down all the interesting points of the case that I can think of in this matter." "You can finally think clearly," Poirot said, approvingly. "What are you, my friend?" I hide my excitement: "Shall I read you the bullet points?" "certainly." I cleared my throat. "One: All the evidence shows that Lorwen forcibly opened the safe. "Second: He has a grudge against Davenheim. "Third: When he first answered the police questioning, he said that he never left the study, which is a lie. "Fourth: If I take what Billy Kellett said to be true, then there is no doubt that Lorwen is a serious suspect." I paused. "How?" I asked, because I felt like I had caught all the vital questions. Poirot looked at me regretfully and shook his head very slightly: "My poor friend! It is a pity that you have no talent for this! You have never paid attention to the most crucial details! Besides, your reasoning it is wrong." "what?" "Let me rephrase your four points. "First: It is impossible for Mr. Loewen to know that he will have the opportunity to open the safe. He came to see Davenheim because of a business meeting. He could not have known in advance that Mr. Davenheim would be out to post a letter and not be at home. Wen will be left alone in the study." "Maybe he'll play by ear on the spot," I argued. "And the tools of crime?" The gentlemen of the city are unlikely to be able to break the door with them. "My poor friend" is in French. ——Annotation. The tool of the lock is used to act on the opportunity.People don't use a penknife to pry that safe, that's an obvious fact! " "What about the second point?" "You said that Loewen had an enmity with Mr. Davenheim. What you mean by that is that Loewen took advantage of Mr. Davenheim once or twice in the business field. If those business dealings were beneficial to Loewen, he Earn Mr. Davenheim's money, and under no circumstances would you hold a grudge against the person you took advantage of - more likely than not, the person you took advantage of. Whatever Whatever hatred there may be is only possible on Mr Davenheim's side." "Then you can't deny that he's lying when he says he never left the study?" "I don't deny it. But he may have been frightened. Remember, the clothes of the missing man have just been found in the lake. Of course, in the general case, it would be better for him if he told the truth. " "How do you explain the fourth point?" "I agree with you that if Kellett is telling the truth, Loewen can hardly deny that there is serious suspicion in the case, and that is what makes the case interesting." "So, am I really right about a key question?" "Perhaps—but you've completely missed the other two most important points. These two points will no doubt be the thread through the whole case." "Oh, please, tell me what they are?" "First, Mr. Davenheim has been buying jewelry in recent years with a questionable enthusiasm; second, he went to Buenos Aires last fall." "Poirot, are you joking?" "I'm serious. Oh, it's true, but I hope Japp won't forget what I've commissioned him to do." Japp took the incident to heart.As if to spice up the joke, a telegram was delivered to Poirot around eleven o'clock the next morning.With his permission, I opened the telegram and read: Since last winter, the couple have been living in separate rooms. "Aha!" cried Poirot, "and now we have got to the heart of the matter! It is all settled!" I stare at him. "You have no money at Davenheim-Saumon's, do you, my dear friend?" "No." I was rather surprised he said, "Why do you ask?" "Because I must advise you to withdraw the money at once--I hope it is not too late!" "Why, why do you think so?" "I think, in a few days, there will be a serious bankruptcy crisis-maybe sooner. This reminds me that we should repay Japp's help. Please pass me a piece of paper and a A pencil, all right. I'll write like this: 'You are advised to immediately withdraw all the money you have in that suspect bank.' It will be of great interest to him! His eyes will be wide-- Great! Tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow, he will truly understand the profound meaning of this sentence!" I still have my doubts, but what happened next made me have to have sincere admiration for my friend's extraordinary wisdom.The news of Davenheim Bank's failure was reported prominently on the front pages of the newspapers, and the disappearance of the famous banker played a decisive role in uncovering the truth about the bank's financial affairs. In the middle of our breakfast the door was thrown open and Japp burst in.In his left hand he held a newspaper and in his right Poirot's telegram, which he threw in front of my friend: "How on earth did you know, M. Poirot? How did you know this beforehand?" Poirot said to him with a calm smile: "Ah, my dear friend, after receiving your telegram, the matter is clear! From the first, I had the impression that the circumstances of the safe-breaker were too dramatic. Jewelry, cash, and securities—all these things were arranged with great convenience—for whom? That Mr. Davenheim is what you call 'prime suspect'! It is almost certain that it is all Arranged for himself. Also, his enthusiasm for buying jewelry in recent years. How simple it all is! He converts his embezzled and embezzled bank funds into jewelry! He is very likely to use artificial Forgeries in lieu of real jewels, he kept those costly, real bead chambers in a safe place under another name, and that would be a fortune to enjoy slowly. Deceived and misguided, and freed from it, he could spend the best part of his life slowly enjoying that considerable fortune. Having arranged this, he made an appointment with Mr. Loewen— —he has once or twice in the past few years had confronted the great man with the utmost indiscretion—he drilled a hole in the safe, and left a message saying that after leading the visitor into his study, he would leave Walked out of the yard—where has he been?" Poirot said, stopping, and holding out his hand, he took another hard-boiled egg.Looking at the egg, he frowned. "It's outrageous," he whispered, "every hen lays eggs of different sizes! How do you get eggs of the same size at the breakfast table? There should be at least a share of eggs in the store." They are all the same size and shape, and they will be sold by the dozen!" "Forget about the eggs and let them do what they like," said Japp impatiently. "Now, please tell us where he went when he left home—if you knew, of course!" "Of course he went to his hiding place. Ah, this Mr. Davenheim may have a weird way of thinking, but his ideas are first-rate!" "Do you know where he is hiding now?" "Of course I do! It's obvious." "For God's sake, tell us!" Poirot gently picked up every fragment of eggshell on his plate, put them in the glass, and placed the large eggshell on top of the fragments.After finishing the project, he looked at the tidy desktop with a smile on his face.Then he spoke to both of us, beaming and enthusiastic. "Listen, my friends, you are wise men. Ask yourselves, as I have asked myself, where should I hide if I were this man, How would you answer, Hastings?" "Me," I said, "I'm inclined to think that I'm not going to run away from London--I'm going to stay in the heart of the metropolis. Driving around in trams or buses, nine times out of ten I won't be. To be recognized; 'hiding in the city' is the safest." Poirot cast his inquiring eyes on Japp. "I beg to differ. I would flee immediately - that would have a chance of surviving. I had plenty of time to arrange this beforehand, I would arrange for a boat to wait for me, start the engine and I would be behind Flee to the most hidden corners of the world before the voices of everyone shouting and apprehending." We both looked up at Poirot: "What do you think, sir?" He was silent for a while, and then a secret smile appeared on his face. "My friends, where do you think I should hide if I want to hide from the police under their noses? In a prison!" "what?" "You are looking for Mr. Davenheim with the intention of putting him in prison. Therefore, you will never dream of the possibility that he may already be in prison!" "What do you mean by that?" "You tell me that Mrs. Davenheim is not a very bright woman, but I think if you take her to the detention center and let her meet with this guy named Billy Kellett, even the IQ She would have recognized him at once, even though he had shaved off his beard and those bushy eyebrows and kept his hair short. A woman can always recognize her husband, even if the whole Everyone in the world has been blinded." "Billy Kellett? But the police already have a criminal record for him!" "Didn't I tell you Davenheim is a smart guy? He started preparing his alibi a long time ago. He didn't go to Buenos Aires last fall - he was busy shaping the A man named Billy Kellett, for three months. So, if it happened, the police would not have the slightest suspicion. Remember, he was betting a lot of money, as well as A gamble on his freedom. Well worth it for such a thing, but what?" "Well, he's had to live with a fake beard and a wig ever since, and he's had to remake him, and it's not easy to sleep with a fake beard on - it's always suspicious , so he could not risk sleeping with his wife. You have established for me the following facts, that in the six months before this, or since his fictional return from Buenos Aires, He and Mrs. Davenheim had always lived in separate rooms. Knowing this fact, I confirmed my inference, and every detail fit perfectly. The gardener thought he saw his master walking around. He was quite right when he crossed the side of the yard. Davenheim went to the boat-hut by the lake and put on the tramp clothes which he must have put there beforehand, without telling the manservant. Then, After throwing the original clothes into the lake and pawning the ring in a very conspicuous way, he planned to attack a policeman and put himself in the detention center safely. People can't dream He'll be there!" "That's impossible," Japp whispered. "Go ask Mrs. Davenheim to identify it," said my friend with a smile. The next day, a registered letter was placed in front of Poirot. He opened the letter, and a five-pound note fell on the table. My friend's brows relaxed: "Oh, I've won! What am I supposed to do with the money? I'm so guilty! Isn't that bullying Japp? Oh, here's an idea! Let's use it for a supper, the three of us!"这样，我也会感到些许安慰，这真是大容易了。我为此而感到羞怯，我是不愿意从一个小孩手里抢钱的——真该死！我亲爱的朋友，你为什么笑得这么开心呢？”