Chapter 26 Section 26

The next day, Poirot left Paris.He made a list and asked Jane to complete some tasks. Most of the items did not make sense to Jane, but she still tried to complete them one by one.She had met Joan Dupont twice, had spoken of the expedition, and, at Poirot's behest, she had said against her will that she would very much like to join the Duponts. Five days later, a telegram called Jane back to England, and Norman met her at Victoria Station. The news of Anne Morisot's suicide did not cause an uproar. The newspapers only published a short report saying that Mrs. Richards from Canada committed suicide on the express train from Paris to Boulogne. relationship is not mentioned.

Norman and Jane bask in the bliss that their misery is coming to an end.However, Norman is not as optimistic and confident as Jane. "They may suspect that she was involved in her mother's death, and perhaps there is nothing they can do about it. Anyway, it's a blessing in our misfortune to stay away from suspected murder." He met him in Piccadilly a few days later. Poirot, said the same thing. "You think I'm an old chap who's done nothing, as much as everybody else. I'm taking you to dinner today, and Japp and Clancy are here, and I'm going to tell you some very interesting things."

The sumptuous dinner left no time to talk about the murder, and sweet coffee was served after the meal.Poirot cleared his throat, "My friends, Mr. Clancy is very interested in my way of reasoning, and I hope you will not get tired of it." After looking around at the guests, he said slowly: "I'll start from the beginning. I was traveling from Paris to Croydon on a Prometheus flight, and something unfortunate happened. Near the end of the flight, the flight attendant approached Dr. Bryant and said that a lady in the back cabin had died. Question. I followed them because that is my profession. Dr. Bryant confirmed that the woman was dead. As for the cause of death, he said that a detailed laboratory analysis was required to make a determination. At this time someone-Joan Mr. Dupont -- thinks the death may have been caused by a wasp. To illustrate his hypothesis, he says he saw a wasp and killed it."

"So a conclusion was established, and it was quickly accepted by everyone. The needle holes in the dead man's neck were the result of a wasp sting. At this time, I accidentally saw another wasp, which was actually a yellow and black bee. A poisonous needle with a ribbon. Mr. Clancy came over and thought that the poisonous needle was fired by a blowpipe commonly used by a certain tribe. It's the brain full of wisdom." "Come on, M. Poirot," said Japp, "don't be a fool." "In the first place, such a brutal murder should have taken place without anyone noticing. But two things puzzled me, the presence of the wasps, and the discovery of the blowpipe. I asked Japp why the murderer didn't Throw the murder weapon through the vent. My conclusion is that the murderer wanted us to find the blowpipe."

"On the other hand, the tests showed that the death was caused by a poisonous needle. So I closed my eyes and asked myself: what is the most reliable way to insert a poisonous needle into the jugular vein? I immediately had the answer: by hand." "So the investigation into where the blowpipe came from came to fruition. I thought the murderer walked up to her desk and bent over to commit the murder. Is there such a person? There were two, two flight attendants, and they passed Giselle's seat, and no one You'd find that odd. Who else? Yes, Mr. Clancy. Of all the passengers he was the only one who passed Giselle's seat, and it was he who came up with the blowpipe-and-needle conclusion."

Mr. Clancy jumped up. "I protest, I protest! It's a false accusation." "Sit down," said Poirot. "I have not finished. I am describing the steps of my reasoning." "So I have three suspects: Mitchell, Davis and Clancy. However, on the surface, they are not like the murderer, which of course needs further investigation to confirm." "I thought about the wasp again, which was instructive. It came out when the coffee was delivered, which was a bit strange. So I imagined the murder process. The murderer wanted people to know that death is caused by two possibilities. Caused. The first and the simplest one: Madame Giselle was killed by the sting of a wasp, which means no weapon was used. Jane and I both thought it the easiest way to do it. However, when I saw the needle When looking at the yellow-and-black ribbon on the roof, I came to the conclusion that this color choice was intentionally meant to mimic a wasp."

"The murderer pressed the poison needle into Mrs. Giselle's neck and released the wasp at the same time. The poison was so powerful that death happened immediately. If Giselle shouted, the other passengers could not hear it because of the noise of the plane." "That's one of my assumptions. But if the poisonous needle is found, which is the case, then the conclusion of no-causal death is self-defeating. Maybe the murderer didn't manage to destroy the weapon, but let it easily We saw it, so the conclusion that the blowpipe was the murder weapon was established. The police tried their best to find the source of the blowpipe. At this time, I had one more suspect—Joan Dupont, who told the death of the wasp claim, and he's sitting right next to Madame Giselle. But on the other hand, I don't think he's likely to take that risk."

"I continued to think about the wasp. If the murderer took the wasp on the plane, he must have a small box of wasps, so I became interested in all the luggage items of the passengers. Mr. Gale had a matchbox on him. Unexpected, but all testified that he did not leave his seat. However, there is also the possibility that Mr. Gale committed crimes, and the contents of his briefcase can explain the problem." "Briefcase?" Norman Gale was puzzled. "I can't even remember what's in it now." Poirot smiled kindly and said: "Don't worry, just listen to my opinion first. So, Mr. Gale was added to my list of suspects. I analyzed the motive of committing the crime, but failed. Japp accused me of making the matter To complicate matters. The immediate beneficiary of Madame Giselle's death is her daughter, and the only passenger connected with Giselle is Mrs. Hobre. As far as motive is concerned, Madame Hobre's situation is clear, she departed from Paris had called on Giselle the night before, and her American friend Barraclough had bought a blowpipe, bribed the ticket seller of World Airways, and found out why Mrs. Giselle was going to catch the 2 o'clock plane Condition."

"So, a problem is split in two. It is unlikely that Mrs. Horbury committed the crime herself, and Clancy and Gale's motive for committing the crime does not exist. So I think of Mrs. Giselle's daughter. The four suspects Were any of them ever married? If so, one of them must have been the husband of Anne Morisot. Mitchell's wife was an honest Dorset native, and Davies was courting a woman who lived with her parents. girl, Clancy is not married, and Mr Gale is trying desperately to impress Miss Gray." "I have secretly investigated Miss Gray's life experience. She used to board in an orphanage in Dublin. However, I am sure that she is not the daughter of Mrs. Giselle. Pros and cons of the subject: Mitchell is still recovering from the shock, Clancy gets the subject for his next book, and Gail's career is all but destroyed."

"However, at this point, I gradually began to suspect that Norman Gale was the murderer, because of his matchbox and briefcase. The loss caused to him by Giselle's death was only a temporary illusion. I began to approach Gale. , won his trust, and even asked him to come forward to help blackmail Mrs. Horbury. So he made his first mistake." "He's not a professional actor, but he was so good in front of Mrs. Houbry that she didn't recognize him. I'm sure he had the same talent for pretending to be an American in Paris. At this point, I'm worried for Miss Gray, maybe She woke up one day and found that she was married to a murderer. To avoid a marriage tragedy, I took her to Paris, nominally as my secretary."

"Soon Madame Giselle's rightful heir appeared and nearly shattered my reasoning when it was discovered that she had been on the plane and lied to us. If she was guilty, she was the one who bought the blowpipe and bribed Perrault Her husband? All of a sudden, I seemed to see the real answer, if one thing could be confirmed. I called Mrs. Hobrey and there was the answer. She had a whim It was decided at the last minute that the servant should be flown." Poirot paused. "I'm afraid I still don't get it," Clancy said. "When did you stop thinking of me as a murderer?" Norman said. Poirot turned to look him squarely. "Never. You are the murderer! Japp and I have done a lot of investigation these days. It is true that you became a dentist to please your uncle. But you are not his sister's son." , was his brother's son. Your real name is Richards, and it was you who met Anne Morisot, Lady Hobrey's maid, in Nice. What she said about her own childhood was true, but what happened afterwards was not Elaborately made up by you. She knows her mother's maiden name. You realize that this is an excellent opportunity to acquire a fortune, which is in keeping with your gambler personality. And so a sinister plan is hatched: to murder The suspicion of Mrs. Giselle fell on Mrs. Houbry. You bribed the conductor of the Universal Company to allow Giselle to fly with Mrs. Houbry. Anne Morisot told you that she would Take the train to England and you never expect her to get on the plane, which almost ruins your whole plan. Your original plan was that she could get the inheritance legally, because she was not there when the crime happened. So you married her Married. You've got the girl in your head, but you're after her money." "Here's another episode. You met Miss Jane Gray at Pinet, and besides the money, you hoped to have the love of your life at the same time. You threatened Anne Morisot that if she revealed who she really was, she would Suspected of murder. You induced her to take a few days' leave from her master, and go to Rotterdam to marry you. For the money, you ordered her not to reveal that she was Mrs. Hobrey's servant, in order to show that you were in foreign." "Unfortunately, Anne and I happened to arrive in Paris on the same day, and I was inspired by Miss Gray to recognize Anne as Lady Hobrey's servant. You then desperately tried to get in touch with her, but to no avail. You went to Paris, but she has already seen the lawyer. She also told you that she saw me. The situation has become very dangerous, and you decide to act as soon as possible." "You decided that your new wife had to die before getting that property, and after the divorce you signed a deed with her. Then you planned to go to Canada, ostensibly because your career was in trouble. You rehabilitated Richards When Mrs. Richards came to you and died tragically, the property naturally came to your name, so you returned to England from Canada and restored the name of Norman Gale. For this one Wishful thinking, you think you must act now." Norman Gale raised his head and laughed, "You are so smart, you can read other people's minds. You should go to Mr. Clancy's line. All this is your imagination, Mr. Poirot, not the truth." "I have evidence, let me tell you how you did it. What's in your briefcase? Why are you wearing a dentist's suit when you're on vacation? My answer is: because it resembles an airplane flight attendant's suit .Then your murderous steps are: When the flight attendant goes to the front cabin to deliver coffee, you go to the bathroom, change into the dentist's clothes, and use cotton balls to make up your face. You pick up a spoon from the cutlery rack next to the bathroom , walked quickly to Mrs. Giselle's table, pressed the poisonous needle into her neck, released the wasps, and then went back to the bathroom to change into her original clothes, and then returned to her seat. The whole process took only a few minutes. Minutes. Passengers don't pay too much attention to the movement of the stewardess. The only one who can notice you is Miss Gray. However, she is a woman, and when she travels with a handsome man, she will take any opportunity to pay attention. Dress up in the mirror." "It's really funny," Gale said sarcastically, "but that's not how it works." "However," continued Poirot, "you have given away in your conversation. You have mentioned that you worked on a farm in South Africa, and we found out that it was a snake farm. Your name there It's Richards, the same person that the photographs show married Anne Morisot in Rotterdam." Norman Gale had nothing to say, his handsome face turned purple, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground and slip down. "Your plans have been ruined by your haste," said Poirot, "which is corroborated by the hasty telegram to Anne from the Director of Mary's Orphanage. Since you and Anne were on the plane, any revelation of the truth by her will certainly lead to You are suspected of murder because you know I have met Anne Morisot. You managed to lure her out of a hotel and onto a train where you killed her with hydrocyanic acid and put the empty bottle in her hands." "What nonsense." "Oh no. She has scars on her neck and your fingerprints on the bottle." "You spitting blood!" Gail threw himself on Poirot, but Japp held him firmly. "James Richards, alias Norman Gale, is formally arresting you on suspicion of murder. Anything you say now will be admissible in court." Norman Gale is completely collapsed and can barely stand up.Mr. Clancy took a breath of delight. "What a piece of material! You're amazing." "No," said Poirot, "it was Japp who found out who Richards was. Poor Miss Jane Gray. I told her life was always cruel. She was a girl of courage who could I'll get over it. And I have another prediction: within a year, Venetia Kerr will marry Sir Hobbury, which I, Hercule Poirot, have arranged." "Is that so? Lady Hobre married Barraclough, then?" "That doesn't interest me. I want Mr. Joan Dupont and Miss Gray to be united." Jane found Poirot a month later, thinner and with dark circles around her eyes. "I hope you will forget what happened," said Poirot. "He was really handsome. I don't think I'll ever be in love again." "Don't jump to conclusions so early," said Poirot. "I have arranged for you to go to Persia with the Duponts, and I heard them say this morning that you are very welcome to join them." "That's great." Blush appeared on Jane's face, "Mr. Poirot, you are a very good man." "Nice guy? But now that I'm obsessed with archeology, I plan to go to the museum to see ancient pottery." "I think I should go too." Jane paused for a moment, and then planted a deep kiss on Poirot's forehead.