Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

Sitting opposite Poirot, Superintendent Spence sighed: "I'm not saying you've gained nothing, M. Poirot," he said slowly. "Personally, I think you've gained something. But very little. It's too flimsy." Poirot nodded: "As far as the facts are concerned, they are. More evidence is needed to make the case." "My staff and I should bring that paper to our attention." "No, no, you can't blame yourself for that. The crime itself is too obvious. Robbery. The room has been turned upside down and the money is missing. How can a clipped newspaper among the piles of debris get your attention? Woolen cloth?"

Spence repeated doggedly: "I should have been more careful. And that bottle of ink—" "I heard that by accident." "However, it makes you discover something—why?" "Just because it has a different meaning to the very act of writing a letter. For people like you and me, Spence, we write letters a lot—it's a matter of course for us." Superintendent Spence sighed again.Then, he took out four photos and placed them on the table. "These are the photographs you asked me to find—the originals that appeared in the Sunday Comet. They are, at any rate, clearer than the copies that appeared in the paper. But, in my opinion, they are not How useful it would be, old and faded - the woman's hair is that way again, you can't tell which is the ear and which is the side. That cloche, that arty hairstyle, and those roses , look what it looks like! You won't find out."

"We can rule out Vera Blake. You agree with me on that?" "I have reason to think so. If Vera Blake had lived in Broadshinney, everyone would have known--would have told the story of that unfortunate part of her life." "What do you think of the others?" "I've seen what I can offer you. Eva Kane left the country after Craig was sentenced. And I can tell you about her new name. Her name was Hope, which means 'Hope.' Perhaps it also means 'sympathy' or something?" Poirot whispered: "Yes, yes - very romantic thought. 'Beautiful Evelyn Hope is dead.' These are the lines of a poet in your country. I daresay she had them in mind when she chose her name." .By the way, was her last name Evelyn?"

"Yes, I believe that is the name. But people always call her Eva. By the way, M. Poirot, now that we have come to the point, I can tell you that the police's opinion of Eva Kane has nothing to do with this. The opinions of the two articles do not quite match. In fact, the two views are far from each other." Poirot smiled. "What do the police think - that's not enough evidence. But it's usually a very valuable, very telling line of thought. Tell me, what do the police think of Eva Kane?" "They decided she was by no means an innocent victim. At the time, I was very young, and I remember hearing my superiors discuss this with Attorney Terrell, who was in charge of the case. Terrell believed (I remind you, he had no evidence ), the brilliant trick of destroying Mrs. Craig's body was entirely Eva Kane's idea. Not only did she come up with it, she did it herself. Craig came home one day to find his little friend had Killed people. I dare say she thought at the time that it would just pass away as a natural death. But Craig knew better than she did. He cleaned up the mess, hid the body in the cellar, made up Lied that Mrs. Craig died abroad. Later, when it was revealed, he insisted that he alone did it, and that Eva Kane knew nothing about it. Okay," and there he goes, Superintendent Spence shrugged. "No one can bring any evidence to dispute. The facts are out there. Either of them could say that. Pretty Eva Kane with an innocent look on her face, full of horror. Her performance is quite good, like a clever actor. Prosecutor Terrell is skeptical, but there is nothing to prove it. Mr. Poirot, I tell you this story in the hope that you will understand its implications. There is no evidence you Nothing can be proved."

"However, it shows that at least one of these so-called 'unfortunate women' is definitely not just an unlucky person - she may be a murderess, and, given sufficient reasons and motives, she may commit suicide again. Murder... Well, now to the next unfortunate woman, Janis Courtland. What can you tell me about her?" "I've checked the records. It's a disgusting thing. If we put Edion Thompson to death, we should have Janice Courtland too. A nasty couple, she and her husband, hard Good or bad. She abetted the young man till he was filled with rage. But, I remind you, there was a rich man in the background all the time, just to marry him, she Only in a hurry to get rid of her husband."

"Did she marry him afterwards?" Spence shook his head. "have no idea." "She went abroad—and after that?" Spence shook his head again. "She's free. She hasn't been charged with anything. We don't know if she got married again, or what happened afterwards." "Perhaps someone will meet her at a cocktail party one day," said Poirot, recalling Dr. Rendell's words. "It's absolutely true." Poirot moved his gaze to the last photograph. "What about that child, Lily Gamble?" "Too young to be prosecuted for murder. She was sent to a juvenile correctional facility. She did well there. Learned shorthand and typing, got a job while on probation and did a good job. Last heard of her The news is in Ireland. I think we can rule her out, you know, M. Poirot, it's the same case with Vera Blake, anyway, she's rehabilitated, and people don't know about a child of twelve. You don't care about what you do in a fit of anger, how about excluding her from suspicion?"

"I might like to think so, if the murder weapon had not been an axe," said Poirot. "It cannot be denied that Lily Gamble struck her aunt with an axe, and Mrs. McGinty's murderer used The murder weapon is also said to be something like an axe." "Perhaps you are right. Now, M. Poirot, let us hear the situation on your side. I am glad to see that no one is trying to deceive you." "Well, no," said Poirot, after a moment's hesitation. "Since that evening in London, I make no secret of telling you that once or twice I have given up on you. Tell me now, among the inhabitants of Broadshinney, is there any possibility?"

Poirot opened his little notebook. "Eva Kane, if she were alive, would be close to sixty. Her daughter, who was described in the Sunday Comet, would be in her thirties now. Lily Gamble also About that age. Janis Courtland must be no younger than fifty by now." Spence nodded in agreement. "So when we surveyed the residents of Broadshinney, we focused on those for whom Mrs. McGinty worked." "That last inference is quite plausible, I think." "Yes, Mrs. McGinty does some chores in different homes and at different times. This fact complicates the situation a bit. However, we can presume that, while she was doing her work, she saw her Things she shouldn't have seen, for example, she saw a picture in one of the homes where she often went to work."

"I agree." "Then, extrapolating the ages of the persons in the photographs may give us valuable clues - first of all the Wetherby home where Mrs McGinty worked on the day she died. Mrs Wetherby and Eva Kane's age matches. She also has a daughter of the same age as Eva Kane's daughter, allegedly from a previous husband." "Does that photo speak for itself?" "There are no definite features. Too much time has passed. The river of time has flowed too much, as you say. The only thing that is clear is that Mrs. Wetherby must have been a very beautiful woman, She still has charm. She looks too fragile to kill. But, I also understand that the general opinion that Eva Kane can't kill. Not sure about the murder of Mrs. McGinty The weapon used, the handle of the weapon, the ease with which it was swung, the sharpness of its blade, etc., make it impossible to determine how much force was required to kill Mrs. McGinty."

"Yes, yes. Why have we never been able to find the murder weapon—go on." "The other thing I will say about the Wetherbys is that Mr. Wetherby can make himself very unpleasant. The daughter is devoted and considerate to her mother. She hates her stepfather. I cannot comment on these facts. I Bringing it up for thought. Daughter might kill to prevent mother's past from getting to stepfather's ears. Mother might kill for the same reason. Stepfather might kill to stop 'slander'. For so-called decency and Respectable people have committed more murders than one can imagine! The Weatherbys are 'good people'."

Spence nodded. "If--I say if--this article in the Sunday Comet does matter, then the Wetherbys are the obvious candidates," he said. "Very true. Among the inhabitants of Broadshinney, the other person of Eva's age was Mrs. Upward. If she were Eva Kane, there are two pieces of evidence that she could not have killed Mrs. McGinty. For one, she's terribly arthritic and spends most of her time in a wheelchair—" "In a book it's said that being in a wheelchair might be a fake," Spence said, somewhat sinisterly, "however, in real life, it's likely to be an orchestrated appearance." "Secondly," continued Poirot, "Mrs. Upward seems to be a dogmatic, forceful character. Somewhat domineering rather than seductive, a character trait that does not suit young Eva. On the other hand, people Characters do develop, and arrogance usually becomes more markedly obstinate with age." "That's the truth," agreed Spence. "Mrs. Upward—not impossible, but very improbable. Now let's see what else is possible. Where's Janis Courtland?" "I think she can be ruled out. There's no one in Broadshinney her age." "Unless one of the younger women is a cosmetic, makeover Janice Courtland. Never mind, it's just my joke." "There were three women in their mid-thirties. One was Deirdre Henderson, one was Dr. Rendell's wife, and one was Mrs. Guy Carpenter. That is to say, they One of them could be Lily Gamble or Eva Kane's daughter, depending on the age, so to speak." "Is there any specific possibility?" Poirot sighed: "Eva Kane's daughter may be tall or short, blonde or black - we have no evidence of what she looks like. We've considered Deirdre Henderson in that regard .Now look at the other two. First, let me tell you this: Mrs. Rundle is afraid of something." "afraid of you?" "I think so." "That might be interesting," said Spence slowly. "You mean Mrs. Rendell could be Eva Kane's daughter or Lily Gamble. Is she blond or black?" "Blonde hair." "Lily Gamble is a fair-haired girl." "Mrs. Carpenter was blonde too. She was a very expensive, well-groomed young woman. Whether she was really pretty or not, her eyes were very impressive. Very lovely big blue eyes." "Ah, Poirot!" Spence shook his head at his friend. "You know the way she rushes out of the room to call her husband? She reminds me of a beautiful, lovely moth. She spreads her arms and wobbles at the furniture like a blind animal." Spence watched him fascinated. "Romantic, M. Poirot, that's what you look like now," he said, "you, and that lovely moth you describe, with those wide, blue eyes." "Not at all romantic," said Poirot. "My friend Hastings, he is romantic and sentimental, and I have never been! I am serious and very practical. What I will tell you is that if a girl She is really a stunning beauty, mainly relying on her lovely and beautiful eyes. Then, no matter how short-sighted she is, she still has to take off her glasses. Even if the surroundings are blurred and it is difficult to judge the distance, she still has to walk gropingly. In this way to show the loveliness of the eyes and the beauty of a woman." As he spoke, he tapped the little girl in the photo with his index finger. It was Lily Gamble, wearing thick, blurry glasses. "Is that what you expected? You suspect she is Lily Gamble?" "No, I'm just saying it might be possible. Mrs. Carpenter was unmarried when McGinty died. She was a young widow whose husband had died in the war. in a laborer's farmhouse. She's engaged to marry the local rich man—a man with political ambitions who thinks he's important. If Guy Carpenter finds out he's marrying a The girl who notoriously hacked her aunt to death with an axe, or the daughter of Craig, one of the most notorious criminals of the century—the kind that would be on display in your horror gallery—well, people have Reason to ask, is he willing to accept it all? You would say maybe, if he really loves that girl, yes! But, he is not that kind of person. My observation is that he is selfish, ambitious, demeanor The manners matched his reputation very well. I think that if the then young Mrs. Selak, who would become Mrs. Carpenter, were anxious to make herself worthy of Carpenter, she would have been very, very worried that there would be no harm in the slightest. The news reached her fiancé's ears." "I see, you think she did it, don't you?" "I tell you again, my dear friend, I don't know. I'm only looking for conclusions of possibility. Mrs. Carpenter is wary of me, very vigilant, and on guard." "That looks bad." "Yes, yes, it made things very difficult. I used to live in the country with some friends, and they went out hunting. You know what hunting is, don't you? We walked in the woods with guns and dogs, and let The dog frightens the bird out of hiding—the bird is frightened out of the woods, into the air, and we raise our guns and shoot. That's pretty much what we're doing now. We're not just going to startle a bird , there may be other birds hiding in hiding places. Maybe those birds have nothing to do with us, but the birds themselves don't know this, my dear friend, we must find out which one we are looking for There may have been some covert behavior during Mrs. Carpenter's widowhood—it wasn't too bad, it was just very inconvenient to investigate. Of course, there must be a reason why she blurted out to me so quickly that Mrs. McGinty was a liar! " Superintendent Spence wiped his nose. "Let us get this out of the way first, Poirot. What do you think?" "It doesn't matter what I think. I have to know the facts. Yet, so far, the Hounds have only just entered hiding." Spence murmured, "If only we could find a little bit of definite evidence. It's a real mystery. As it stands, it's all speculation, and far from it. You know, as I said, the basis for the speculation is also trivial, and will people really kill and kill for all the reasons we speculate?" Poirot said: "It depends on many, many family situations that we don't know about. But there is a strong desire to be decent and respectable. These people are not artists and bohemians. They are Very nice family in Broadshinney. That's what the lady at the post office told me. Besides, respectable people like to maintain their dignity, and they've been happily married for years together, probably without suspecting You were a notorious figure in one of the most sensational and sensational homicides and never doubted that your child would be the blood of a famous murderer. You might say 'I'd rather die than my husband Knowing all this!' or 'I'd rather die than have my daughter find out who she really is!' Then, you might then think, maybe things would be better off if Mrs. McGinty died... " Spence said quietly: "So you think the Wetherbys did it." "No. Perhaps they fit the circumstances best, but that's all. In fact, Mrs. Upward is more likely to be a murderer than Mrs. Wetherby. Very pampered. She got married and settled down and had a respectable marriage with a happy family, and I think she could have done that to keep her son from knowing what happened to her." "Would that upset him so much?" "Personally, I don't think so. Young Robin has a modern sense of skepticism and is very selfish. Anyway, I should say that he doesn't give her all the attention his mother has for him. Not James Bentley." "If Mrs. Upward was Eva Kane, wouldn't her son Robin have killed Mrs. McGinty to prevent the truth from leaking out?" "Not at all, I should say. He's likely exaggerating the fact. Using it to his advantage, in the service of his script! I don't see Robin Upward doing it for decency or wholeheartedly. committed homicide in the defense of his mother, except for the benefit of Robin Upward himself." Spence sighed.He said: "In this way, the scope of understanding is large, and we may be able to discover the past history of these people. But it will take time, and the war has complicated many things. Many archives have been destroyed, which is difficult for those who want to cover themselves. People from the past have brought endless opportunities to do this by using other people's identification and so on, especially after something like a 'distress' where no one can identify whose body it is at all Under the circumstances, it is easier to do so! It would be easy if we could pin down the object of suspicion on one person, but you have discovered so many possibilities, M. Poirot." "We'll soon be able to narrow it down and rule out some suspects." Poirot left the inspector's office less excited than he appeared.He feels the urgency of time as much as Spence.If only he had more time... Taking a step back, there is still a doubtful question-does his and Spence's carefully speculated conclusions really stand?Anyway, if James Bentley is really guilty... He didn't succumb to that suspicion, however, it made him uneasy. He ran over and over again in his mind his meeting with James Bentley.Now, as he stood on the platform at Kiltchester waiting for his train, he thought again of that time.Today is a market day and the platforms are crowded.There were more people than usual entering the station through the fence. Poirot leaned forward to look in the direction of the train.Yes, the train finally pulled into the station. Before he had time to stand up straight, he felt someone deliberately push hard on his back and neck. Completely lost consciousness, and in a moment, he would fall on the railway track and be crushed under the rolling wheels. However, a person beside him on the platform grabbed him at this critical moment and pulled him away. back. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" the man asked.He was a big, strong soldier. "Did you come up with a sudden idea? You almost fell under the wheel." "Thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart." The crowd had already built up around them, scrambling to get on the train, and those who got off had started to leave the platform. "Are you all right now? Let me squeeze you up." Poirot was staggered into the carriage, found a seat and sat down. It's useless to say "I was pushed," but he did get pushed.Until that evening he had been on the alert, always on the lookout for approaching danger.But after talking to Spence, after Spence jokingly asked him if there was an attempt on his life, he inadvertently let his guard down, thinking that the danger had passed, or that it was impossible to act, to really make the case. He encountered. But how wrong was his feeling!One of these investigations and meetings he had at Broadshinney had consequences.Someone is scared.Someone tried to stop his dangerous re-investigation of a closed case. From a telephone box at Broadshinney station, Poirot dialed Superintendent Spence. "Is that you, my dear friend? I ask you to listen to me. I have important news for you, very good news. Someone has tried to kill me..." He listened with satisfaction to the stream of concerns and greetings coming from the other end of the line. "No, I wasn't hurt. But it was a near-miss... Yes, almost fell under the wheels of a train. No, I didn't see who did it. But remember, my friend, I'll find out sooner or later This man's. Now, we know—we're tracking in the right direction."