Chapter 7 Chapter 6 The Piglet Going to the Market

What Philip and Diplech describe are very similar.Smooth sailing, shrewd, jovial--slightly stout. Poirot made an appointment for Saturday afternoon at six-thirty.Philippe had just finished 18 strokes and beat his opponent, and he was in a very cheerful mood.After Polo introduced himself, he explained the mission of this trip. At this time, at least he did not show any inappropriate affection for the innocent facts.Probably, Philip thought, to write books about famous crimes. Philip frowned and said, "My God, why make up so many stories?" Poirot shrugged. Today he was ready to accept the most unnatural thing--to be despised, but to be supported.

He murmured: "It's the general public, they are willing to accept it." "Ghoul!" said Philip. But his tone was very kind, not so critical and repulsive as some sensitive people might make it out to be. Polo shrugged again, and said, "That's also human nature. Mr. Black, you and I are sensible people, and we don't have any illusions about human beings. Most people are not bad people, just not ideal enough." Blake said sincerely: "I have long since ceased to have any illusions!" "But I've heard that you're very eloquent."

"Ah!" Blake blinked and said, "You heard?" Polo smiled at the right time, this is not a teaching story, but it is very funny.Philip leaned back in his chair, his muscles relaxed and his eyes wide with a smile.It occurred to Polo that he looked like a contented pig.A pig -- this little piggy goes to the market... What kind of man is this man -- Philip?It seems carefree, smooth sailing and contented.There was nothing in the past that he regretted, or that disturbed his conscience, or disturbed his sleep or food.No, he's like a well-bred pig that fetches a good price in the market...

But perhaps Philip had had more.He must have been quite handsome in his youth.The eyelashes may have been shorter, and the eyes perhaps closer together, but otherwise, he was a rather handsome, fine young man. how old is he nowProbably between fifty and sixty, so when Corell died, he was probably close to forty. At that time, he should be more respectable, demanding more from life, but getting very little... Polo murmured casually, "You understand my situation." "No, to be honest, I don't think it's strange that I understand?" The stockbroker sat up straight, his eyes became shrewd again, "What are you doing here? You're not a writer, are you?"

"No—to be honest, I'm a private eye." Polo may never have spoken in such a humble tone before. "Of course, we all know that you are the famous Polo." But there was something mocking in his voice.Basically, Philip was too much of an Englishman to take a foreigner's excuses seriously.If it was his close friend, he would say: "Weird little quack. Oh, I think his work is about women." Although this mocking arrogance was exactly what Poirot had deliberately elicited, he couldn't help being a little annoyed.This man, this man who is proud of his career, doesn't even care about Polo!This is a great shame.

"Your Excellency knows my name so well," Polo pretended, "I'm really flattered. Let me tell you that my success is based on psychology—why is the key to my success. I hope to understand the reasons for other people's behavior. This One point, Mr. Black, is also the place where the world is most interested in criminology today. In the past, people mostly associated crimes with love. Famous crimes were all viewed from the perspective of love stories, but now it is different. I said However, what people are most interested in now is why criminals commit a crime." Philip yawned slightly and said, "I believe most of the crimes are committed for obvious reasons—money."

Poirot exclaimed: "But my dear sir, the 'why' is absolutely impossible to be obvious, and this is the most important point!" "That's why you came to see me?" "Yes, that's why I stepped in! To rewrite some old cases—from a psychological point of view—and criminal psychology is my specialty, so I accepted the assignment." Philip smiled. "Is the treatment very good?" "I hope so... I hope so." "Congratulations! Now, maybe you can tell me now, how did I get involved?" "Of course, of course. Sir, it's Currel's case." Polo asked impatiently, "Then you're not unhappy, Mr. Black."

"On that point," Philip shrugged, "it's useless to hate something that you can't stop. Anya's case is open to trial, and anyone can dig it out. It's useless if I object. Let me tell you that in a way I don't like it very much. Anya is my best friend and I'm sorry to bring up this nasty thing again, but it's inevitable. .” "You are such an open-minded person." "No, I just learned that you don't have to use a praying arm as a cart. And I'm sure you're more polite than a lot of other people." "I hope, at least, that I can write with grace and nobility," said Poirot.

Philip laughed loudly, but he didn't seem really amused. "Hearing you say that makes my stomach burst from laughing." "I can assure you, Mr. Black, I am really interested in this matter, not just for the sake of money. I really want to revisit the past, see what happened, and feel the scene The personal experience of the actors in the play.” Philip said: "I don't think there is anything unclear about this matter. It can be said to be clear at a glance. It is completely a woman's jealousy." "I would be very interested to hear your reaction to the matter."

Philip suddenly blushed, and said forcefully, "Reaction! Reaction! Don't be so hypocritical! I didn't just stand there and react! You don't seem to know my friend at all—I tell you, the deceased It's my friend, he was poisoned to death! If I react faster, I should be able to save his life!" "What do you say? Mr. Black." "The thing is like this, I think you must know what happened, right?" Polo nodded, and he said, "Very well, my brother called me that morning (he is very good at making herbs) and said that he had a bottle of herbs missing - and it was a very poisonous herb. I Just ask him to come over to discuss and see what is the best way to do it. Now that I think about it, I am such an indecisive fool! I should have figured out that there should be no further delay. I should have warned Anya directly and told him: 'Kai Ruolin Stealing a bottle of poison from Meredith, you and Elsa better watch out for yourselves." Blake stood up and walked back and forth excitedly. "God, sir, do you think I haven't thought about it over and over again? I know I should have a chance to save him, but I can't make up my mind and wait for Meredith to act! Why didn't I think that Caroline would never Hesitating? She took the thing, and, of course, she would use it whenever she got the chance, and wouldn't wait around for Meredith to find out it was missing. I knew—of course I knew—that Anya was in dire straits, but, I No action was taken!" "I don't think you're berating yourself like that, sir, you don't have much time—" the other interrupted him, saying, "Time? I have plenty of time. There are several ways I can go. Explain to Anya---but of course he may not believe it, he is the kind of person who does not easily believe that he is in danger, he will definitely laugh it off, and he never understands how insidious Kai Ruolin is. But I can also go to Kai Ruolin , and said to her: 'I know what you're up to, if Anya or Aisha gets poisoned with methazine, you'll be hanged too!/This will stop her too. Otherwise, I can call the police .Oh, there's so much I could do, but I'm put off by Meredith's slow, cautious manner. 'We've got to be absolutely sure—know for sure who took it... Damn old fool! He's never been straight in his life! It's a good thing he's the eldest son and has a fortune to inherit. If he tries to make money, he'll lose it all." Polo asked, "You don't Do you suspect who took the poison?"

"Of course not. I knew right away that it must be Kai Ruolin, because I know her too well." Poirot said: "It's interesting, Mr. Black, I want to know what kind of woman Caroline is." Philippe said sharply: "She is not a victim and an innocent person like the trial people think." "What kind of person is that?" Blake sat down again and said seriously, "You really want to know?" "I really want to know." "Caroline is a vile, very vile. But you know, she has a kind of magic power and a sweet attitude, so people are deceived by her. She looks very weak and helpless, which makes people Involuntary pity. Sometimes when I read history books, I think Mary Queen of Scots must be something like her, so sweet, unfortunate, and attractive in appearance, but in fact she is a cold, scheming, calculating woman , King Darnley's death was directed by her, but she didn't receive retribution. Kai Ruolin is the kind of cold, scheming, and sinister woman, and she has a bad temper. I don't know if they told you- -- This is the most important point in the trial, it shows her personality --- What did she do to her sister? You know, after her mother remarried, she put all her love and concern on little Angela , Kai Ruolin was very jealous and couldn't stand it, she wanted to beat the baby to death with a bookcase, but fortunately she didn't succeed, but it's too vicious to do this kind of fact." "Yes." "This is Kai Ruolin's true face, She wants first priority in everything, and the worst thing she can bear is not being first. And she has a cold, selfish devil in her heart, who will stimulate him to murder.: You know, she looks passive, but she is actually scheming Deep. She had planned everything when she went to Oldbury as a child. She had no money of her own, and I was never in his consideration, as I was the second son and had to fend for myself.She had considered Meredith, but finally decided on Anya.Anya could inherit Audbury. Although she would not have much inheritance, she knew that his painting talent was outstanding.In her opinion, he is not only a genius, but also a cash cow. "Sure enough, she won. Anya's talent was appreciated very early. In fact, he is not a popular painter, but there are people who appreciate his talent and buy his paintings. Have you seen his paintings? There is one over there, Let's go and have a look together." He leads the way into the dining room, pointing to the wall to the left. "This is Anya's work." Polo admired silently, he was surprised to find that a person can express a traditional subject so differently with a colored pen.It was a pot of roses on a mahogany table.The background was gray and old, but Anya made the pot of roses shine wild, even obscene.The bright wooden table seemed to be trembling, as if it was alive.All in all, very exciting.The proportions on the table must have disappointed Inspector Hale, and he would have complained that there were no roses in the world in the shape or color of the picture.Later, he wondered why the roses he saw were so unsatisfactory, and why the round mahogany table irritated him somehow. Poirot sighed softly and said, "Yes -- it's all in there." Blake led the way back, saying vaguely, "I've never known art myself, but I don't know why I love that stuff so much, it's true. It's—oh, fuck it, it's so good." Poirot nodded vigorously. Blake handed the guest a cigarette, lit it, and said: "This is the man—the man who painted those roses—who died suddenly in the prime of his life, and was robbed of his vigorous life. All this , it was all caused by that resentful, despicable woman!" He paused, then said, "You might say I'm mean and prejudiced against Caroline. She does have magic, even I can feel it. But I know—I've always known—that she What kind of woman is she, Polo, I know she is an evil woman, cruel, vicious, and greedy for everything." "But it is said that Mrs. Correll endured a lot of unbearable things after marriage?" "That's right, and she's playing it up so that everyone knows she's a victim! Isn't she? Poor Anya! His family life is a never-ending purgatory. Or, if he hadn't had that genius, It must have caused this situation, his artistic talent - he has always been talented - is his safe haven. When he paints, he doesn't care about anything, put Kai Ruolin and his nagging, those Never-ending quarrels, all on the sidelines. You know, the two of them really quarreled, and not a week went by peacefully. She likes it. I'm sure she must find it exciting, a kind of Vent, love to say sarcastic words, try to say as much as possible, after the quarrel, she is like a cat with a full head, a well-groomed hair, a contented heart, and a high spirit. But he is different, what he wants is peace , a peaceful life. Of course, a man like him really shouldn't get married. He is not suitable for family life, and the trivial matters at home will only make him restless." "He told you this?" "Well --- he knows I'm a loyal friend so let me know a lot. He doesn't complain because he's not that kind of guy. Sometimes he'll say: 'Women are all damned.' Or: 'Dude, don't get married or you'll Like hell.'" "You know he's very fond of Miss Gurley?" "Well, yeah—at least I saw how it happened. He told me he met a wonderful girl with The girls he met before were different. I didn't mind much because he always met some 'different' girls, but after a month, if you mentioned that girl again, he would still Will stare and ask who are you talking about! But this Elsa is really different, I knew that when I got to Audbury. She really got him and tied him tight That poor fool can't escape her palm." "You don't like Aisha either?" "Yes, I don't like her. She is a 100% aggressive woman who wants to take Anya's whole soul and The body is in control. But I still think he is more suitable for Anya than Kai Ruolin. As long as she is sure that she has caught him, she may put him aside, maybe she will get tired of him and fall in love with someone else. Anya is the most Better not get involved with any women at all." "But it doesn't look like he wants that?" sighed Philip. "That damned fool is always getting involved with women. But in a way, Women are really nothing to him, there are only two women he really cared about in his life, one is Kai Ruolin and the other is Aisha." Poirot said: "Does he like the boy?" "Angela? Oh! We all like Angela. She is so energetic, always doing this and that. Yes, Anya likes Angela, but sometimes she is too much, and he also Will be angry. At that time, Kai Ruolin will intervene. Kai Ruolin is always on Angela's side, so Anya is even more angry. He is jealous that Kai Ruolin always puts Angela as the most important thing, willing Doing anything for her. And Angela was jealous of Anya and rebelled against his overbearing style. It was he who decided to send him to school that fall, and she was very angry, and I don't think it was because she didn't like school- --In fact, she really wanted to go, but she was angry with Anya's assertive attitude. She used various methods to make trouble with him, expressing revenge. Once she even put ten slugs on his bed. Generally speaking, I think Anya Yes, she should learn some manners. Miss William is very capable, but even she admits that sometimes she can't control Angela." He stopped before Poirot interrupted, "I'm asking about Anya's own child—his daughter." "Oh, you mean little Carla? Yes, he loves her very much, and when he's in a good mood, he likes to play with her. But although he loves her, he won't stop marrying Aisha." "Does Kai Ruolin love children?" Philip's face twitched, and he said, "I can't say she's not a good mother, that's all..." "How is it? Mr. Black." Philip said slowly and painfully: "That's the only thing I regret about the incident. Thinking of the child—she was so young with such a tragedy. They sent him abroad to Anya's cousin and his wife. .I hope—I hope devoutly—that they don't tell her the truth." Poirot shook his head and said: "Mr. Black, the truth will show itself - even after many years." The stockbroker murmured, "It's hard to say." Polo said again: "In order to understand the truth, Philip, I would like to ask you to do one thing." "What's up?" "I would like you to give me a correct account of what happened at Oldbury during those few days. That is to say, please write down the murder and the circumstances surrounding it." "But, man, after all these years I must have written very incorrectly." "uncertain." "I say sure." "No, as time goes by, the human brain will grasp the main points and reject some superficial things." "Oh, you just want an outline?" "No, I want you to write as much detail as possible, and it would be better if you could remember the conversation." "What if I remember wrongly?" "You can try to write down what you remember, maybe there will be a little discrepancy, but there is no way." Blake looked at him curiously. "Why did you do this? The police can provide you with fairly accurate information." "No, Mr. Black, we are dealing with psychological perspectives. I want more than mere facts. I want to know which facts you pick. Time and your memory will decide. Maybe some of the things you do, say If you don’t find it in the police file. You didn’t mention it to the police because you didn’t think it was relevant or didn’t want to repeat it.” Blake said sharply, "Is this note going to be made public?" "Of course not, I'm the only one watching to decide what to cut." "You wouldn't quote words from it without my permission?" "of course not." "Well," said Philip, "I'm busy, Monsieur Poirot." "I know it will take you some time and bring you some trouble, so I'm willing to offer you a reasonable price." Philip hesitated for a while, and suddenly said, "No, if I promise to do it, I won't accept it." any price." "Then would you like to?" Philip said in a warning tone: "Don't forget, I can't guarantee that I remember correctly." "I know very well." "Then," said Philip, "I'd love to do it, and I think it's me—in a way, I owe Anya."