Chapter 13 Chapter One

- "I thought the dead would rest in peace, but that's not the case..." Colonel Race entered Scotland Yard.He filled out the form and a few minutes later was in Inspector Kemp's office and shook hands with him. The two of them are very familiar.Kemp's appearance recalled the great old warrior Poirot.Since he worked under Poirot for several years, he probably imitated many of his characteristics unconsciously.They both give the impression that they were carved from the same pattern—except that Poirot seems to be carved from teak or oak, while Kemp is a more ornate wood—such as mahogany, or fine wood. , vintage rosewood.

"Thank you for calling us, Colonel," Kemp said. "We need all kinds of support on this case." "Looks like we've got the right guy," Reese said. Kemp was not polite.He has become accustomed to the praise of others, and only the most complicated, most important, and most involved cases will fall into his hands.He said solemnly: "It implicates Kidderminster. As you should expect, it means proceeding with care." Reese nodded.He had seen Mrs. Alexander Farrelly several times.A quiet woman in an unassailable position.It seemed impossible to associate her with sensational society news.He had heard her speak in public—unpolished, but powerful, on point, and expressive.

A woman whose social life is in every newspaper and whose private life is practically non-existent. Yet, he thought, such a woman still had a private life.They still know disappointment, jealousy and love.They will lose self-control on the emotional stakes and risk their lives. He said curiously: "What if she 'did it,' Kemp?" "Lady Alexander? You think it's her?" "I don't know. But if it's her, or her husband--he's here because of her. Kidderminster's." Inspector Kemp's determined sea-blue eyes met Reese's dark ones, untroubled.

"If one of them commits murder, we will put him or her to death to the best of our ability. You know that. In this country, murderers are never punished. But we must Incriminating evidence -- prosecutors will insist on that." Reese nodded. Then he said, "Let's get back to business." "George Barton died of potassium cyanide poisoning—as did his wife a year ago. You say you were actually in that restaurant?" "That's right. Barton invited me to his banquet, but I declined. I don't like what he did. I tried my best to refute him, and advised him that if he had doubts about the cause of his wife's death, he should find the right person—— you."

Kemp nodded: "That's what he should have done." "He didn't listen to my advice, but insisted on his idea - to set a trap for the murderer. He didn't tell me what kind of trap it was. I was very worried - I had to go to the Luxembourg restaurant to watch from the side. I sat The table was some distance away from them - I didn't want to make myself too obvious. Unfortunately, I have nothing to comment, and I don't see anything suspicious. The waiter, and their group, were the only ones who ever approached that table people." "That's right," Camp said, "that narrows it down, doesn't it? Either one of them is the waiter, Giuseppe Bossano. I spoke to him again this morning—I miss you Might want to see him - but I don't believe he had anything to do with the murder. Twelve years at the Luxembourg restaurant - good reputation, married, three kids, clean record, good with all customers."

"Then only the guests are left." "Yes. The same guests as when Mrs. Barton died." "How about that, Kemp?" "I've been investigating since it seemed obvious that the two cases were related. Adams was in charge last time. It wasn't what we call a definitive suicide case, but suicide is the most likely solution. Besides, in the absence of When the direct evidence can prove that it was a homicide, we have to treat it as a suicide. There is no other way. As you know, there are many such cases in our files, suicide cases marked with question marks .The question mark is not known to the general public—but we keep it in our minds and continue to spy on it from time to time."

"Sometimes something works—sometimes it doesn't. The case just goes nowhere." "so far." "So far. Someone hinted at Mr. Barton, told him that his wife had been murdered. He got busy himself—fortunately he revealed that he had the right clue—whether he did or did I Don't know—but the murderer must think he's got the right one—so the murderer got nervous and started to kill Mr. Button first. That's all I can see so far. I hope you agree with me." "Oh, I agree—this part seems obvious. God knows what the 'trap' is—I noticed that there was an empty chair at their table. Maybe it was reserved for some unexpected witness. Whatever Anyway, that trap seems to have had more serious consequences than anticipated. That puts the murderer on guard, so he or she decides not to wait for the trap to work, but to strike first."

"Well," Kemp said, "we have five suspects in total. And we have our first case to deal with—Mrs. Barton." "You have now confirmed that it was not a suicide?" "This murder seems to prove that it wasn't a suicide. Although I don't think you can blame us for closing it as a suicide at the time. There was some proof at the time." "Post-influenza depression?" Camp's woodcarving had a little smile on its face. "That's the coroner's certificate, which matches the medical certificate, so as not to offend everyone. It happens every day. Besides, there's a letter to her sister, half-written— —It means that she has her own thoughts on killing her own life. She is very depressed. I have no doubts about this, poor woman—Nine out of ten women’s homes are for emotional disputes, and if they are men, most of them are for money troubles And can't think about it."

"So you know Mrs. Barton has a relationship?" "Yes, we figured it out quickly. It was stealthy—but not too difficult to find out." "With Stephen Farley?" "True. They had a tryst in a small apartment for more than six months. I heard they had a fight - or maybe he got sick of her - and she wasn't the only one in despair. A woman who ended her life." "Fixed with potassium cyanide in a public dining room?" "Yeah - if she wants to be dramatic and have him watch her die and all that. Some people just like to be shocked. According to my research, she doesn't like traditional customs - all the caution is on the man's side. "

"Is there any proof that his wife knows that he is a treasured house?" "As far as we know, she has no idea." "She might know, Kemp. She's not an insensitive woman." "Oh, that's what you said. Let's pretend that both are possible. She is out of jealousy, and he is out of his career. Once the divorce is over, it's not that he cares about their marriage so much, but that divorce means that the basic The hostility of the Deminster family." "Where's the female secretary?" "She might as well. Maybe she's been bewitching George Patton. They've had a great time in the office. I've heard she has a lot of affection for him. There was a switchboard lady at noon yesterday who was imitating Button and holding Ruth Lessing's hand tightly." hand, told her that he couldn't do without her appearance, and when Ruth's team came out, they just saw her and immediately fired her - gave her a month's salary and told her to go. It seems that she seems to be very sensitive about this . Then there's the sister who inherits a lot of money . . . that can't be ignored. Looks like a nice girl, but it's hard to tell. And then there's another boyfriend of Mrs. Barton's."

"I'm a little anxious to hear you talk about him." Kemp said slowly: "I don't know much—but from the information available, it's not very good. His passport is all right. He's an American citizen, and we can't find anything against him about him. He's here, Lived at the Claridge's Hotel, made a good friend of Sir Dowsbury." "Could it be a liar?" "Possibly. Dosberry seems to have fallen for his trap—to keep him there. It was a critical time." "Ammunition thing, I think," Race said, "something went wrong with the new tank tests at Sir Dosbury's factory." "That's right. This guy, Browne, professes to be interested in arms. Not long after he got there, they found out about the sabotage--it happened in the nick of time. Browne got a lot of Dosberry's close friends." —he seems to have caught all the main people in the arms company, and as a result saw a lot of things that I think he should not be allowed to see-and once or twice, the factories he visited were not long after he left. Something is seriously wrong." "Interesting character, isn't it?" "Yes. He's obviously charming and can be exploited." "Then how did Mrs. Button get involved with him? Isn't George Button unable to get involved with the Arms Corps?" "You're right, but they seem quite close. He may have revealed something to her. Colonel, I don't think anyone can give you a better idea of ​​what a pretty woman can expect from a man." Reese nodded.He knew that the Inspector was referring to the "Beauty Trap" incident that had occurred when he was in charge of the counterintelligence department, and that the mistake was purely his own carelessness, and not the one commonly thought. After a minute or two he said: "Have you found those two anonymous letters that George Patton received?" "Yes, I found it in his desk drawer last night. Miss Mal found it for me." "You know I'm interested in those two letters, Kemp. What do the experts think of those two letters?" "Plain paper, ink. Fingerprints show both Barton and Iris Marr have touched them; there are also some unidentifiable fingerprints on the envelope, presumably from the hand of the postman, etc. The letter was typed, expert Said to be the work of some man of good health and education." "A good education. Not a servant?" "According to the research, it is not." "That would be more interesting." "At least that speaks to another individual being involved." "Someone who didn't call the police. He expected to arouse George's suspicions, but did nothing further. That's odd, Kemp. Couldn't George have written it himself?" "Possibly. But why?" "As a prelude to suicide — he intended his suicide to look like homicide." "For Stephen Farley to be taken into custody and sentenced to death? It's possible—but he'd have to arrange for all arrows to be pointed at Farley. We don't actually have any evidence against Farley." "Where's the potassium cyanide? Have you found the container?" "Yes. There is a small white paper bag under the table with potassium cyanide powder in it. No fingerprints. Of course, if it is in a detective novel, it must not be like this, but some kind of special paper, or folded in a special way I really want to teach these detective writers a lesson, how do they know that most cases are hard to solve, clueless, not as easy as they think!" Rhys smiled. "That's a good idea, it hits the nail on the head. Did anyone notice anything last night?" "This is exactly what I'm working on today. I asked everyone present last night for simple transcripts. At the same time, I went home with Mal's team and checked Barton's desk and various documents. Today I plan to ask more detailed questions. The notes—including those sitting at the two little tables next to—" he searched among a pile of papers, "here it is. Kinnold Dorrington, a Guardsman, and he Engaged girlfriend Patricia Woodworth, I bet they can't see anything but each other. And then there's Pedro Monos - a hunk from Mexico - even the whites of his eyeballs Yellow - and Miss Christie Sharon - a beautiful blonde - I bet she didn't notice anything, was unbelievably dumb, and was blind to money. These four saw anything odd Minimal sex, but I've left their names and addresses just in case. Now we'll ask Jessup the waiter. I'll have him come in.