Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

Inspector Cogender reporting to the Chief of Police. "I've found out something, sir, and it's a pretty interesting thing about Mrs. Marshall's money, and I've had a little talk with her lawyers, and it's quite a surprise to them. Proof of extortion, you remember old Sir Arnskin gifting her fifty thousand pounds? Well, she's got about fifteen thousand pounds left now." Winston whistled. "Oh, and where's the rest of the money?" "What's interesting here, Chief, is that she sells things from time to time, and each time she takes cash or bearer bonds—that is, after she gives money to people, she doesn't want people to buy it." It was tracked down. It must be blackmail."

The police chief nodded. "It appears to be so. And the blackmailer is also in this hotel, which means he must be one of these three men. Is there any new information on them?" "Nothing conclusive yet, Chief. Major Barry is a retired military man, as he said. Lives in a small apartment, has a pension, and a small income from stocks. But last year he However, several large sums of money were collected in the bank account." "That seems worth looking into. What's his explanation?" "It is said that he won the horse race. He did go to all the big racecourses and bet on the horses, but he didn't have a fixed account."

The police chief nodded. "It's also hard to prove otherwise," he said, "but it's very problematic." Cogender continued: "Secondly, there is the Reverend Steven Lane, who has no problems with his profile - he was originally at the Parish of St Helens in Whitecliffe, Surrey - because of ill health, he resigned a year ago. Priesthood. His illness landed him in a psychiatric sanatorium, where he stayed for over a year." "Very interesting," said Winston. "Yes, Chief, I'm trying to get some inside information out of the doctors in charge, but you know those doctors are like that—it's hard to force them to give you what you want anyway. But according to my research Well, what's wrong with this priest is his paranoid idea of ​​the devil - especially the devil in the form of a woman - a scarlet woman - a whore of Babylon."

"Well," said Winston, "there's a precedent for murder for that." "Yes, Commissioner, I think Reverend Lane is at least a possible suspect. The late Mrs. Marshall was a perfect example of what the Reverend said she was a bad woman—red hair, and her manners and all. In my case Looks like it's not out of the question that he thinks he's sent to destroy that woman. I mean, if he's that crazy." "Does he have nothing to do with the blackmail case?" "No, Chief. I think he's cleared in that respect. He has a little money of his own, but not much, and there hasn't been any sudden increase lately."

"Is there any problem with his whereabouts on the day of the incident?" "Can't prove it. No one remembers seeing a priest pass by on the road. As for the signature book in the church, the last name was filled in three days ago, and no one has ever looked at it. He may have been in the , For example, the day before, or two or three days ago, fill in the date of his signature as the twenty-fifth." Winston nodded. He said: "And the third?" "Horace Bratt. Commissioner, he's the most problematic in my opinion. He pays more in taxes than he makes in his hardware business. Also, he's a slippery fellow. I'm afraid he'll come up with a very plausible explanation—he's doing a little stock in the stock market, and he's got an extra deal or two. Well, anyway, he'll always have a plausible explanation, but anyway, he's nearly has made a lot of money over the years from many unexplained sources."

"By the way," said Winston, "do you think that Mr. Horace Platt is a professional blackmailer?" "If it's not like this, Chief, it's drug trafficking. I went to see Inspector Lei Jiwei of the anti-narcotics team, and he is very interested in this matter. It seems that a large amount of heroin has come in recently, and all they can catch are small and medium-sized ones." They also more or less know who the mastermind might be, but what they don't know is how these drugs are smuggled into the country." Winston said: "If Mrs. Marshall died because she had anything to do with it, whether she was innocent or not, we'd better take the case to Scotland Yard. That's his business. Right? What do you say?"

Inspector Cogender said somewhat ruefully: "I'm afraid you're right, Commissioner, if it's anything to do with drug trafficking, it's the Scotland Yard case." After thinking for a while, Winston said: "That seems to be the most likely explanation." Coggand nodded gloomily, "Yes, yes, Marshall has nothing to do with this matter - although I have some information about him here again, if his alibi is not so good, it would be a little Use it. His firm seems to be on the verge of collapse, not his or his partner's fault, but the result of last year's slump and the current general state of trade and finance. As far as he knows, if his wife dies, he can Get fifty thousand pounds, and fifty thousand pounds is a lot of money for him." He sighed, "It's a pity that this man has two very good motives for murder, but it turns out that he has no money at all. relation!"

Winston smiled and said: "Be happy, Cogender, we still have a chance to solve the case. There is also the matter of blackmail, and the matter of the lunatic pastor. But in my personal opinion, I am afraid it is still The drug business makes the most sense." He added: "If it was a drug smuggler who killed her, then we'd be helping Scotland Yard solve their drug problem, so in the end, it doesn't matter. Anyway, we all did a good job." Cogender smiled reluctantly, and said, "Hey, that's it, Director. By the way, I also checked the sender of the letter I found in her room, and it was signed by J.N. , no problem, he is indeed in China. It is the young man that Miss Brest told us about. He is a young wretch. I have also checked Mrs. Marshall's other friends, and there is no clue. Already got it."

Winston said, "That's up to us now." He paused, and then said, "Did you see our Belgian colleague? Does he know what you told me?" Cogender grinned and replied, "He's a little geek, isn't he? You know what he asked me for the day before yesterday? He wanted all the information on the strangulation case for three years." Colonel Winston sat up straight at once, "Really? I don't understand—" He paused for a minute, "When did you say that Reverend Steven Lane was admitted to the mental hospital?" "Easter a year ago, Director."

Colonel Winston was deep in thought.He said: "There was a case in that year - the body of a young woman was found near Bergsia. She was going to meet her husband but never came. There was also a newspaper that said it was 'a wasteland. The case of the mysterious woman in the woods', I think both cases were in Surrey County." He looked at his inspector, and Cogender said, "Surrey County? My God, Chief, that's right, I think..." Hercule Poirot sat on the top of the hill on the island, and a little past him to the left was the straight staircase leading to Leprechaun Bay.There were some large rocks at the top of the ladder, and he noticed that if anyone wanted to go down the ladder to the beach, he could probably hide in the rocks first.And because of the protruding cliffs, the beach below is not very visible from above.

Hercule nodded gloomily, the fragments of his mosaic had been gradually positioned, and he went through all these fragmentary information in his mind: Elena Marshall at the beach the morning before she was killed.One, two, three, four, five sentences uttered that morning, independent of each other. The bridge game that night.He, Patrick Redfonne, and Rosamone Daly were at the poker table, and Christine Redfonne, who happened to have an empty seat, walked out and overheard a certain conversation in the waiting room who else?Who are the ones who are not there? The night before the murder, the conversation he had with Christine on the cliff, and the scene he witnessed on the way back to the hotel. Gabrielle No. 8 perfume. A pair of scissors. A broken piece of a pipe. A bottle thrown from a window. A green calendar. A pack of candles. A mirror and a typewriter. A bundle of wool. A girl's watch. Bath water drained from waste pipe. These irrelevant facts must be placed in their proper positions, and there must be no places that cannot be combined. Then, after every factual fact has been placed in place, it is time to go to the next step!He himself believed that there was evil on the island... Evil... He looked down at a typewritten document in his hand, "Nellie Parsons - found strangled in the weeds near Chubhan Inside. So far no clues related to the murderer have been found." Nelly Parsons? "Alice Corrigan." He carefully read the details of the Alice Corrigan case. Inspector Cogender walked towards Poirot who was sitting on the top of the cliff.Poirot liked Inspector Coggand very much. He liked the inspector's angular face, his shrewd eyes, and his easy demeanor.Inspector Cogender sat down, looked down at the paper in Poirot's hand, and said, "Have you studied all these cases?" "That's right—I've looked at it carefully." Ke Gende stood up, walked over to look at the recess next door, and said, "It's better to be careful as a human being, I don't want anyone to overhear our conversation." "You are very clever," said Poirot. Cogender said: "I can tell you. Mr. Poirot, I am personally interested in these cases-though perhaps I would not have remembered them if you hadn't asked me for them." He paused. "I'm particularly interested in one of these cases." "Alice Corrigan?" "Alice Corrigan," he said. "I've asked the Surrey County Police about the case—hoping to get all the information." "Tell me, man, I'm interested in the case—very interested." "I thought you'd be interested too. Alice Corrigan was found strangled in Caesar Woods in the Black Hills Badlands—less than ten miles from the Marlin Woods where Nelly Parsons lay—and Both places are within twelve miles of Whitecliffe, where Mr. Lane is pastor." Poirot said: "Tell me about the Alice Corrigan case." Cogender said: "Surrey County Police did not initially connect her death with the case of Nelly Parsons because they believed that the husband of the deceased was a suspect. The reason is unknown, only that he was a so-called 'mysterious man' in the newspaper. character'—didn’t know much about him—didn’t know who he was or where he was from. She married him against the objections of relatives and friends, and she had some money herself—insured life insurance, which was also in his beneficiary— —all this will be suspicious, I suppose you agree?" Poirot nodded. "But when the actual investigation came down, the husband was completely cleared of suspicion. The body was found by a woman hiking - a young woman in shorts. She was a very reliable witness - Lancashire A physical education teacher at a school, who noticed the discovery of the body—it was exactly 4:15—also expressed her opinion to the police, saying that the woman had just died—not more than ten minutes. The same inference was drawn by the coroner's medical examiner who examined the body at 5:45. She retained the scene and rushed to the police station in Bergshire to report the incident, while from 3 to 4:10, Edward Corrigan was on the road. Sitting on a train from London, he was going to London on business that day. There were four people in the same car with him, and he took a local bus from the station. Also boarded at the same time were those who came on the train with him Two people, he got off at the gate of Songyan Tea House, because he had promised to wait for his wife to come to drink tea with him there. It was 4:25, he ordered two cups of tea, but the supervisor waited for her to come and deliver them Come. Then he walked up and down outside the store and waited for her. At five o'clock, she hadn't arrived yet, and he felt something was wrong—thinking she probably sprained her ankle. The village crosses the swamp to the Songyan tea house, and then take the bus back with him. Kaiserlin is not far from the tea house. Everyone thinks that because it is still early, she sits there and looks at the scenery before leaving. I don’t want to encounter anything. A rogue or a madman, killed her by surprise. After the husband proved that he had nothing to do with it, the police, of course, connected the case with that of Nelly Parsons - Nelly was a little maid. People, strangled to death in the Marianza woods, they think the two cases are the same person, but the murderer has never been caught-and there is not even a clue, there is nothing everywhere!" He paused, then said slowly: "Now—the third woman to be strangled—and a gentleman whose name we will not say for the moment happened to be present." He paused, and the shrewd little pair The eyes turned to Poirot's face, waiting expectantly for him to speak. Poirot's lips moved, and Inspector Cogender leaned over, and Poirot was muttering: "—it's hard to know which pieces are part of the long-haired rug and which are the cat's tail." "Excuse me, what did you say?" Inspector Cogender asked in surprise. Poirot said quickly: "I'm sorry, but I'm still thinking about myself." "What's up with the long-haired rug and the cat?" "Nothing—nothing at all." He paused. "Tell me, Inspector Cogender, what do you do if you suspect someone is lying—a lot of lies, and you have no proof? " Inspector Cogender thought for a while, "It's very difficult. But I thought that if one person tells too many lies, something will happen in the end." Poirot nodded, "Yes, that's quite true. You know, I just know in my heart that certain things that some people say are lies, and I think they are lies, but I can't know for sure which are lies. But I Take a little test—try a small, unnoticed lie. If you can prove a lie—oh, then you'll know the rest are lies, too!" Inspector Cogender looked at him strangely, "Your idea is really strange, isn't it? But I dare say that there will be a good result in the end. If you allow me to ask, why did you think of asking about the general strangulation case? " Poirot said slowly: "There is an adjective in your words—slippery. This case seems to me a very slippery crime! It reminds me that perhaps this is not the first time this has been done." Inspector Cogender said, "Oh." Poirot went on: "I said to myself, let's look up cases similar to this one in the past, and if there is anything very similar to this case—then we have a valuable clue." "You mean the same method of murder?" "No, no, I meant more than that, for example, the Nelly Parsons case got me nothing. But the death of Alice Corrigan - I say, Inspector Cogender , have you noticed a very similarity between the two cases?" Inspector Cogender thought the question over in his mind, and finally said: "No, I don't think I really see anything, unless it is that in both cases the husband has an unbreakable bond." Proof of presence." Poirot said softly: "Ah, so you noticed this?" "Hi, Poirot, hello, come in. I'm looking for you," said Hercule Poirot, who accepted the invitation, and the Chief Constable pushed forward a pack of cigarettes, took one himself, lit one, and smoked it. : "I have roughly decided on the direction of action, but before I take actual action, I want to hear your opinion." Hercule Poirot said: "Tell me about it, my friend." Winston said: "I decided to call Scotland Yard and hand this case over to him. In my opinion, although we have some evidence to suspect one or two people, the key to the whole case is drug smuggling. I think that The place is Little Demon Bay, which is obviously the place where they smuggled and met to deliver goods." Poirot nodded, "I agree." "Good guy. And I know who our drug dealer is, Horace Blatt." Poirot again agreed, saying: "That too is clear." "I think we both have the same idea, Blatt used to take his little sailboat, sometimes he asked people to play with him, but most of the time, he went out alone, and he used a card on the boat. Weird big red sails, but we found he had some white sails hidden in the boat too. I think he's going to sail somewhere on the agreed day and meet up with another boat - a sailboat or a motorboat - Things of that sort passed hands like that, and then Platt followed the shore of the island to Little Demon Bay, at an appropriate time, of course—” Hercule Poirot smiled slightly and said, "Yes, yes, at 1:30 in the afternoon, it was lunch time for the British, and everyone would probably be in the restaurant. Outsiders are not allowed to come up to this island, and there are no outsiders Come here for a picnic, sometimes hotel guests change their afternoon tea from the hotel to Little Demon Bay to eat, and they also have to wait for the sun there. If they want to have a picnic, they will go to the opposite wilderness that is several miles away go." The Chief of Police nodded. "Exactly," he said. "So Karat went ashore there and hid the stuff on the tor in the Goblin's Cave until someone else came to pick it up." Poirot murmured: "Do you still remember that a couple came to the island for lunch on the day of the murder? That's one of the ways to pick up the goods. Some summer tourists from nearby would come to the smuggler's island and say To have lunch here, they walked about the island first, walked easily down to the beach, and took the sandwich box, which I think must have been put in a big bag that the lady was carrying. —and come back to the hotel for lunch—perhaps a little later, say, ten minutes to two, when everyone is eating in the dining room, and they're off to admire the island." Winston said: "Yes, that sounds quite plausible. These drug cartels are brutal, ruthless fellows, and if anyone encounters them and does anything to them, they will kill them without even thinking about it. I think this is the cause of Elena Marshall's death. It is very likely that Blatt actually hid his goods in that hole that morning. The raft came and saw him go into the hole with the box, and she asked about it, and he killed her on the spot, and got away in the boat as fast as he could." Poirot said: "Do you think it is absolutely that Blatter is the murderer?" "It seems that this is the most likely answer. Of course, it is also possible that Elena already knew about this and told Blatt something, and other people in the drug cartel tricked her into killing her. I said , I think the best way is to hand this case over to Scotland Yard, they must prove that Blatter is related to those people, it must be much more convenient than us.” Hercule Poirot nodded thoughtfully.Winston said: "You think it's a clever thing to do?—eh?" Poirot thought about his thoughts, and finally said, "Maybe." "Damn it, Poirot, are you still hiding something? Uh?" Bai Luo said gloomily, "Even if I have it, I don't dare to say whether I can prove it." Winston said: "Of course, I know you and Cogender have other ideas, which seem to me a little too far-fetched, but I can't help admitting that there might be something in it. But even if you're right, I still think it's a case that should go to Scotland Yard, we give them all the facts and they can work with Surrey police to solve the case. My feeling is that this is not really our case, not entirely local Yes." He paused. "What do you think, Poirot? What do you think we should do?" Poirot seemed to be thinking only of his own mind, and at last he said: "I know what to do." "How about it?" Poirot murmured, "I want to have a picnic." Colonel Winston stared at him wide-eyed.