Chapter 5 The Secret of Hunter's Cottage

"Anyway," murmured Poirot, "I may not be able to die now." As a patient who has just recovered from the flu, I welcome the optimism.I myself was the first victim of the disease, and Poirot fell shortly thereafter.Now, sitting up in bed, with a pillow propped behind his back and a towel over his forehead, he is slowly sipping a very bitter medicine which I have prepared on his orders.His eyes rested happily on the row of medicine bottles neatly arranged on the mantelpiece. "Yes, yes," went on my little friend, "I am coming to life again, the great Hercule Poirot, the most feared nemesis of the wicked! Think for yourself Well, my dear friend, a short paragraph of my article even appeared in the Society Insider. Ah, yes! Here it is: 'Come out—criminals—come out, all! Hercule Poirot—believe me, girls, he's a bit like Hercules! Our popular detective can't hold you back. For what? Because he's sick himself Already!'”

I laughed out loud. "It's good for you, Poirot. You're becoming a hit. Fortunately, you haven't missed anything particularly interesting in the meantime." "That's true. The few cases I had to decline didn't cause me any regrets" At this moment our landlady stuck her head through the door. "There was a gentleman downstairs who said he had to see you or M. Poirot, and he seemed in a hurry; I brought his card." She handed me her business card. "Mr Roger Havering," I read. Poirot lifted his chin against the bookshelf.I understood, and took out "Who's Who" from the shelf according to his intention, and Poirot took it from me and flipped the pages quickly.

"Second son of 5th generation Barron Wenzel. Married 1913 to Zoe, fourth daughter of William Crabe" "Ah!" I said, "I thought it was the actress—only her name was Zoe Carisbrook. I remember she married a young man before the Great War" "Would it interest you, Hastings, to go downstairs and hear about our guest's particular troubles? Please express my apologies to him." Roger Havering is a man of about forty years old, with good manners and a dignified appearance, but his face looks sad, and it can be seen that he is very anxious inside. "Are you Captain Hastings? You are M. Poirot's associate, I have heard. It is absolutely necessary for him to come with me to Derbyshire today."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," I replied. "Poirot is sick and lying in bed. He has the flu." His face elongated all of a sudden: "My God, this is a huge blow to me." "Is the matter you want to talk to him very urgent?" "My God, yes! My uncle, my best best friend in the world, was shamefully murdered last night." "Just in London?" "No, in Derbyshire. I received a telegram from my wife in town this morning, and after reading it, I immediately resolved to come here and ask M. Poirot to take up the case."

"If you'll excuse me for a minute, I'm going to take my leave for a while," I said, and suddenly an idea occurred to me. I ran upstairs and explained the case to Poirot in a few words, and he asked me all the facts from my mouth. "I understand, I understand. You want to go yourself, don't you? Well, why not? You should know my method of solving crimes by now. What I ask of you is that every day you will report to me in detail progress, and follow exactly the instructions I have wired or telephoned to you." I am happy to obey. An hour later I was sitting opposite Mr. Havering in a first-class compartment of a train speeding out of London through central Scotland.

"First, Captain Hastings, you must understand that we are going now to Hunt's Cottage, where the murders took place; it is only a hunting lodge in the middle of the Derbyshire moors, our real home near New market. When it comes to hunting season, we usually rent a house in town, and Hunter Cottage is being looked at by a The concierge took care of it, she was quite competent and provided us with everything we needed on the occasional weekend we were there.Of course, we also bring some of our own servants from New Market during the hunting season.My uncle, Mr. Harrington Pace, who has lived with us for the last three years—you may have heard that my mother is Miss Pace of New York—has never been with my father and my brother. I don't get along well, I think I'm kind of like his son, although there are

Time wasted, but this does not hinder his feelings for me.Noisy, of course, I'm a poor man, and my uncle is rich - in other words, he pays our expenses!Except in certain respects, though, he wasn't a terribly difficult man, and the three of us got along pretty well together.Two days ago my uncle, weary of our recent gaiety in the city, suggested that we go to Derbyshire for a day or two.My wife telegraphed to the porter, Mrs. Middleton, and we were there that afternoon.Last night, I went back to the city on business, but my wife and uncle still stayed there.I received this telegram this morning. "After speaking, he handed me the telegram.

Come back immediately, Uncle Harrington was murdered last night, please Bring a good detective if you can, but make sure to come back - Zoe. "Then, are you still ignorant of the other details?" "Yes, I think it will be in the evening papers and there is no doubt that the police are investigating." About three o'clock we reached a small station.Driving five miles from the little station we came to a small stone building in the middle of the moor. "It's such a desolate place." I looked around, feeling cold all over my body. Havelin nodded yes. "I'm going to find a way to sell it, I can't live here anymore."

We pushed open the door and walked along the narrow path to the oak door inside. At this moment, I saw a familiar figure come out of the door and greet us. "Japp!" I called. The Scotland Yard inspector gave me a friendly grin before greeting my companion. "Is this Mr. Havering? I have come from London to take charge of the case. If you will allow me, I would like to speak to you, sir." "my wife--" "I have seen your good lady, sir, and the porter. I shall not detain you long, but I am now impatient to go to the back of the village to see what is here to be seen. I've seen it all"

"But I don't know anything about what happened—" "Indeed," said Japp, trying to calm him down, "but I'd like to hear your opinion on one or two questions. Captain Hastings is here, he knows me, and he'll come in and get you here." The news came to them. By the way, Hastings, how is your little gentleman?" "He has the flu and is bedridden." "Is he sick now? I'm sorry to hear that. You came here and he didn't. It's a car without a horse, isn't it?" After hearing his inappropriate joke, I headed for the house.I rang the bell because Japp had closed the door on his way out, and a middle-aged woman in mourning opened the door a moment later.

"Mr Havering will be here in a moment," I explained, "he has been called for questioning by the Inspector, and I have come with him from London to investigate the case, and perhaps you can briefly tell me what happened last night. " "Come in, sir." She closed the door behind me, and we stood in a dimly lit hall.She said: "It happened after dinner last night, sir. A man came here to see Mr. Pace. He had the same accent as Mr. Pace. I thought he might be an American friend of Mr. Pace. I Led him to the gun locker, then went to tell Mr. Pace. He didn't say his name, which is kind of weird now that I think about it. When I told Mr. Pace, he looked a bit confused, but he said to the mistress : 'Excuse me, Zoe, let me go over and see what this guy is up to?' He went to the gun storage room. I went back to the kitchen, and after a while, I heard a loud noise outside, as if they were arguing, and I We came to this living room, and at the same time, the hostess came out. At this moment, there was a gunshot, and then there was a dead silence. Both of us ran to the gun storage room, but the door It was locked, so we had to go around to the window. The window was open, and inside the window lay Mr Pace, shot and bleeding profusely." "What about that man?" "He must have jumped out of the window before we got there." "and after?" "Mrs. Havering told me to call the police, which was a five-mile walk. They came back with me, and the police stayed all night. The gentleman who came from London this morning was also here." "What did the man who came to visit Mr. Pace look like?" The janitor thought for a moment. "He had a black beard, sir, and was about middle-aged, and wore a light overcoat. I didn't notice much about him, except that he spoke like an American." "I see. Now, may I see Mrs. Havering?" "She's upstairs, sir. Shall I tell her?" "Tell her, if you will, that Mr. Havering and Inspector Japp are talking outside; the gentleman Mr. Havering brought from London is anxious to see her" "Okay, sir." I can't wait to get all the facts.Japp arrived two or three hours before me, and his eagerness to get away was the reason I was so eager to follow. Mrs. Havering did not keep me long, and after a few minutes I heard soft steps descending the stairs, and looking up, I saw a very handsome young woman coming towards me.She is wearing a fiery red dress with long sleeves, which outlines her slender figure, and a small fiery red leather cap on her black hair. Even if the current tragedy has happened, she can't suppress her exuberant vitality And bright and pretty personality. I introduced myself and she nodded quickly in understanding. "Of course, I've often heard stories of you and your companion, M. Poirot. You two have done wonderful things together, haven't you? My husband was very clever in finding you so quickly. Now, you will Let me ask, it's the easiest way, isn't it? You can get all the facts you want to know about this dreadful incident." "Thank you, Mrs. Havering. Now, please tell me when the man came here?" "It must have been before nine o'clock. We had our supper and were sitting together drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes." "Has your husband left for London early?" "Yes, he left by the six-fifteen." "Did he go to the station by car or on foot?" "Our own car didn't come. A car from the village picked him up and put him on the train." "Did Mr. Pace behave as usual?" "No problem, everything is absolutely normal." "So, can you describe this visitor to me?" "I'm afraid I can't. I haven't seen him. Mrs. Middleton took him straight to the gun store before she came to tell my uncle." "What did your uncle say?" "He looked annoyed, and turned away immediately. After about five minutes, I heard their voices getting louder, and I ran out into the drawing room, and almost ran into Mrs. Middleton. ...then we heard shots. The door to the gun store was locked from the inside, and we had to go around to the window. Of course, it would take some time, and the murderer would have escaped. My poor uncle ’”—she whimpered—“shot through the head. I saw he was dead then, and hurried Mrs. Middleton to call the police. I took care myself that nothing in the house was Touch, protect the scene exactly like what I saw at the time.” I nodded with satisfaction. "So, what happened to the weapons?" "Well, I can take a guess, Captain Hastings. One of my husband's two pistols used to be hanging on the wall. One of them is missing. I spoke to the police about this, and they took the other pistol away." Go, I think they'll figure it out when they've checked the bullets." "May I go to the gun store?" "Of course, the police have investigated there. However, the body was moved." She accompanied me to the scene of the crime when Havering came into the parlour, and his wife hurried to apologize to him and ran to him.I was left there alone to start my investigation. I could tell at a glance that they would be rather disappointed.There are suspicious clues in detective novels, but at this scene, I didn't find any clues that made me feel unusual. Only a large bloodstain remained on the carpet. I judged that it was the place where the dead old man was shot down.I checked everything very carefully, and took a few pictures of the room with the little camera I had with me.I checked the area outside the window again, but it looked so badly trampled that I decided it wasn't worth wasting any more time.Yes, I had checked for any sign that Hunter Cottage could show me, and I had to go back to the village to interview Japp, so I said good-bye to the Haverings and got into the car that brought us from the station. The car leaves. I found Japp, and he took me right away to see the body.Harrington Pace, a short, thin, clean-shaven man of typical American appearance, was shot in the back of the head and the muzzle of the pistol was fired very close to him . "He turned and walked away for a while," said Japp, "and the other guy grabbed a pistol and fired at him. This pistol that Mrs. Havering handed us was loaded. Another one, I think. The pistol must have been fully loaded too. It's strange that people would do such a stupid thing as hang two loaded pistols on their walls." "What do you think of this case?" I asked as we turned to leave the morgue. "Well, I fixed my eyes on Havering at first, um, yes!" At this point, he noticed my surprised expression, and he explained, "Havelin has had a bad deed once or twice in the past. His imitated signature had been found on his father's cheques when he was a student at Oxford. Of course, things have subsided since then. Besides, he is now in debt, and of the sort he won't reveal to his uncle. Debts, otherwise, that uncle of his would be willing to help him. Yes, I put my doubts on him, which is why I want to talk to him before he sees his wife, but , what they say is exactly the same, and I have been to the station, and there can be no doubt that he did leave by the six-fifteen train, which arrived in London at about ten-thirty. According to him, He got out of the car and went straight to his club, and if what he said was true - well, he couldn't have shot his uncle with a black beard at nine o'clock!" "Ah, yes, I also wanted to ask you what you thought of that beard." Japp blinked. "I think the beard grows very fast--grows it on the five-mile road from the village to Hunter's Cottage; the vast majority of American men I meet are clean-shaven. Yes, we must Searched for the murderer among all the Americans known to Mr. Pace. I asked first the porter, then her mistress, and they all told the same story. Unfortunately, Mrs. Havering didn't even see it. That guy, she's a smart woman, and if she saw it, maybe she'd notice something that would work for us." I sat down to write for a minute, reported to Poirot, and could add a few more updates before I sent the letter off. The bullets which had been removed from the body proved to have been fired from a revolver of the same type as the one which the police had obtained from Mrs. Havering.Moreover, the whereabouts of Mr. Havering that night have been investigated and confirmed, and it turns out that he did arrive in London by the train of which he speaks.The third point is that the case has made some encouraging progress. A man who lived in Ealing City found a brown paper bag stuffed on the railing when he was rushing to the urban railway station that morning. A revolver was found inside.He handed the paper bag over to the local police station, and before dark it was verified that it was exactly the revolver we were looking for, exactly like the one Mrs. Havering had given us, with one missing. bullet. I included all of this in my report.The next morning, while I was having breakfast, Poirot's telegram came. Of course, the man with the black beard wasn't Havering, only you, or Japp, would have thought that.Telegraph me about the porter, and what she is wearing this morning; and describe Mrs. Havering in the same way.Don't waste your time taking photos of interiors that they don't reveal, there's absolutely nothing false about it. Poirot's writing and phrasing seem unnecessary and ridiculous to me.I can also imagine that he was jealous that I came to the scene and had full control of the case and observed all the scene, which must have displeased him.He asked me to describe the clothes the two women were wearing, which seemed to me utterly absurd.However, I did my best to do so. At eleven o'clock Poirot called back. Ask Japp to arrest the janitor before it's too late. Bewildered, I hastened to show the telegram to Japp, who cursed softly through his teeth. "Mr. Boyu has real skills. If he said that, there must be something wrong. I hardly noticed the woman. I don't know if I should arrest her like this, but I will send someone to monitor her .We act now and go to see her again." But it was too late, and the quiet middle-aged woman, Mrs. Middleton, who had always seemed so normal and respectable, suddenly seemed to disappear into thin air.Her box is still there, but it contains only some ordinary clothes, and there is no clue about her identity at all, and no conclusion can be drawn from it where she is going. From Mrs. Havering we learn all the facts we can: "I hired her about three weeks ago. Mrs. Emory, our former janitor, resigned at that time. She came to me from Mrs. Selborne's agency in Mount Street, a Very famous place, from which all my servants were hired. They sent me several women, but this Mrs. Middleton seemed the most suitable. Her background was very good, and I hired her immediately, And notified the labor agency. I can't believe there's anything wrong with her, she's a very quiet woman." The whole case was, of course, still a mystery.It was obvious that the woman could not have shot herself, for Mrs. Havering was with her in the drawing-room at the instant the shot rang out.However, she must have a connection with the murderer, otherwise, why would she suddenly disappear? " I telegraphed the latest situation to Poirot, explaining that I wanted to return to London at once to make an inquiry with the Selborne labor agency. Poirot's reply was swift, and his telegram read as follows: It's useless to investigate at the agency, they've probably never heard of her, find out what transport she was in when she first arrived at the hunting lodge. Although full of doubts, I did it.Transportation in the nearby villages was very limited, consisting of two old Fords and two hired carriages.None of the vehicles had been used on the day of the homicide.When we questioned Mrs. Havering, she explained that she had given the woman enough money to go to Derbyshire, enough money to hire a motor car or carriage to take her to Hunter Cottage.Usually there was a Ford on standby at the station, but no one at the station noticed if a stranger with a black beard or whatever had come by that day.On the evening of the crime, all the facts seemed to indicate that the murderer had arrived at the scene in a car, which was waiting nearby to assist him in his subsequent escape.Moreover, it was the same car that took the mysterious janitor away.I must also mention that an investigation by the Labor Office in London showed that Poirot was quite right, that there was no Middleton woman in their register.After they had received Mrs. Havering's application to find a porter for her, they had sent her various candidates.She did not mention which woman she had chosen when she sent them the agency pay. I returned to London somewhat dejected, and saw Poirot in a gaudy silk pajamas, sitting in a rocking-chair by the fireplace.He greeted me very affectionately. "My dear friend, Hastings! How glad I am to see you, I do miss you very much! Are you having a good time these days, have you been running around with that fellow Japp, you investigate Are you satisfied with the cross-examination?" "Poirot," I cried, "the whole case is so suspicious that it cannot be solved!" "It is true that we cannot be blinded by the mists of its surface." "Not really. But it's a hard shell to pry open." "Hey, no matter how hard it is, I'm especially good at tackling tough problems! I'm a veritable little squirrel who gnaws on hard nut shells! Hard or hard doesn't bother me, I know very well who killed harrington" "You know? How did you find out?" "Your illuminating reply to my telegram has given me the facts. Listen, Hastings, let us go over the facts and put them in order. Mr. Harrington Pace is The death of a man who possesses a large fortune will undoubtedly leave it to his nephew, that is the first point. Everyone knows that the nephew is in debt and struggling to get by, and the second. Everyone knows that Knowing that he's a -- what do we call a guy who's pretty lax about his morals? Three." "However, it has been established that Roger Havering left for London that night by train." "It's absolutely true—so, because Mr. Havering left the village at a quarter past six, and because Mr. Pace couldn't have been killed before he left, otherwise the doctor would have found out when the body was being examined. From this, we can logically conclude that Mr. Havering did not shoot his uncle. But remember, Hastings, there is one more person, and that is Mrs. Havering." "That's impossible! The janitor was with her when the gunshot rang out." "Ah, yes, the janitor. But she's missing." "She will be found." "I don't think so. There's something very incomprehensible about the porter, don't you think, Hastings? That was the impression I had at once." "She played the role of janitor, I think. Then, at the right moment, she came out." "What is her role?" "Oh, let's say she confesses her accomplice, the man with the black beard." "Sniff, no, that's not her role! Her role is exactly what you just mentioned, she only provides evidence of Mrs. Havering's alibi at the moment of shooting, and no one will be able to find her again, I Dear friend, for she does not exist! 'There is no such a man', as your great Shakespeare once said" "That's what Dickens said." I corrected him, uncontrollably amused, "but what do you mean, Poirot?" "I mean Zoe Havering was an actress before she got married, and you and Japp only saw the doorman in the dim living room, a shadowy figure of middle age, dressed in black, talking The voice was very soft and indistinct. The fact of the matter is that neither you, nor Japp, nor the local policemen called by the janitor have ever seen Middleton and her mistress in the same place. Been on the same occasion. It was an easy game for that brilliant, daring woman. On her way to call her mistress, she ran upstairs, put on a long bright dress, pulled off the Gray wig, black curls parted, a hat on, and a little lipstick, and Zoe Havering, the bright, silver-voiced Zoe Havering, came downstairs. No one would Pay particular attention to the janitor. Why did they do that? Because the janitor had nothing to do with the case, and Mrs. Havering thus had her alibi." "However, what about the revolver found in Ealing? It's impossible for Mrs. Havering to keep it there?" "Of course it wasn't her who did it, it was Roger Havering - but there was a lapse in their casting of roles which led me to the correct conclusion. Murder with pistol found at crime scene He should throw it away immediately, he will not take it to London, absolutely not. The motive for that is obvious, the criminal wants to divert the attention of the police from Derbyshire to a place far away They were eager to get the police away from the area around Hunter's Lodge as quickly as possible. Of course, the revolver that had been found was not the weapon of death of Mr. Pace after it had been examined. Roger Havering removed one of the bullets and put it taken to London, went directly to his club to show he was not at the scene of the crime. He then hurried to Ealing, left the paper bag containing the pistol where it was later found, and turned back into the city, where the whole It took only twenty minutes, and the pretty woman, his wife, shot Mr. Pace in silence after supper—he was shot in the back, you remember. It was Another beautifully done spot! Then she reloaded that revolver and put it back where it belonged. Then began her choreographed tricks" "It's unbelievable." I was deeply attracted by Poirot's narration, "but---" "But that is the truth. It is the truth, my friend. But it is another matter to bring justice to these darlings. Japp must do his duty—I have written to He explained all the circumstances, but--I am afraid, Hastings, that we may have to leave them to their fate. O all the merciful gods!" "The evil tree is always full of leaves and leaves," I reminded him. "But it will cost a lot, Hastings, it will always cost a lot, I'm sure!" Poirot's prophecy was confirmed, and although Japp was convinced by the facts of his reasoning, he could not find enough evidence to charge them.Mr. Pace's vast estate was handed over to the two men who murdered him.However, Nemesis did not always favor them.Later, when I read in the newspaper that the Roger Haverings had died in a plane crash en route to Paris, I knew that justice would be served.