Chapter 29 Chapter 28 The End of the Journey

Poirot looked around.Everyone's eyes were on him now.Just now everyone felt quite relaxed - the tension has been relaxed.Now, that nervousness has returned. Some important discoveries are about to be announced—important discoveries— Poirot's voice was calm and collected.He went on: "Those letters, that roof—'that window'—yes, everything can be accounted for. Everything can fit together just right. "I said just now that there were three persons who had alibi at the time of the murder: two of them I have shown to be unreliable. Now I see a great mistake of mine--a marvelous mistake. The first The three alibi are also implausible. Dr. Leidner not only may have committed murder, but I believe he did murder his wife."

Then there was a silence, a bewildered, inexplicable silence.Dr Leidner said nothing.He still seems obsessed with a distant world.However, Mr. Emmott moved uneasily and said: "Mr. Poirot, I do not know what you mean by that. I told you that Dr. Leidner did not leave the roof until at least a quarter to three. It is absolutely true. I can swear it solemnly. I am not lying. He can't do that. Because if he's off the roof, I can't see him." Poirot nodded. "Ah, I believe you. Dr. Leidner didn't get off the roof. That's a non-arguable fact. But what I saw—and what Miss Johnson saw—is that Dr. Leidner didn't get off the roof. could kill his wife."

We all stared at him dumbfounded. "That window," cried Poirot, "her window! That's what I found—exactly the same as what Miss Jansen found. Her window is down there, not on the courtyard, but on the other side. Ray Dr. Dana was up there alone, no one saw what he was doing. Those heavy hand mills and millstones were all on the roof, handy to pick up, very simple, very, very simple - assuming the murderer had a chance to move dead bodies without being seen. Ah, beautifully done--unbelievably simple! "Listen—it goes like this: "Dr. Leidner is on the roof sorting the crockery. Mr. Emmott, he told you to come up. While he was leaving you to talk, he noticed--as often happens--he noticed that the boy was taking advantage of the Leave his work station and go outside in the yard while you're away. He keeps you with him for ten minutes before letting you go. As soon as you get down there and call the kid, he's on schedule.

"He took out of his pocket the clay mask which he had used to frighten his wife the last time. Now he hung it by a rope from the parapet until it touched his wife's window. . "Remember, that's the window that faces the field and the opposite direction to the courtyard." "Mrs. Leidner was lying in bed, going to sleep. She was in a very peaceful, happy mood. Suddenly the mask touched lightly against the windowpane and caught her attention. But it was not dusk—then It was in broad daylight--nothing to be afraid of. She's only now finding out what it was--it was a rude trick! She wasn't afraid, but angry. So she did something else What a woman would do in her position, she jumped out of bed, opened the window, put her head through the bars and looked up to see who was playing tricks on her.

"Dr. Leidner is waiting. He has a heavy handmill in his hand, well prepared. At the most opportune moment, he will drop it. "Mrs Leidner gave a faint cry (overheard by Miss Johnson) and fell down on the rug under the window. "There was a hole in the middle of the hand mill. Dr. Leidner had threaded a rope through the hole beforehand. Now he just pulls the rope and the hand mill comes up. He puts the hand mill on the bloody side down, neatly with the roof. Put together other kinds of things. "Then he continued to work for an hour or more until he judged it was time to take a second step. He went down the stairs, spoke to Mr. Emmott and Nurse Leatheran, and walked across the yard into his wife's room, which is what he himself said he was doing there.

"I saw my too-large body curled up beside the bed. For a minute or two I felt paralyzed, as if I couldn't move. Finally, I went over and knelt beside her and lifted her head up and she was dead. …Finally I stood up. I felt dazed as if drunk, and I made my way to the door and called out.' "This is the probable statement of a man in a trance of grief. Now hear what I think. Dr. Leidner entered the room, hurried to the window, and, having put on a pair of gloves, shut the window , and bolted it. Then he moved his wife's body to the spot between the bed and the door, and then he noticed blood on the rug over the window. He couldn't swap that rug with another one because the size was different. but, as a last resort, he put the blood-stained piece of rug in front of the washstand, and moved the piece in front of the washstand under the window. The window had nothing to do with the washstand—it was very important not to think of the window as having anything to do with the murder. Then he went to the door and played the part of the sad doctor. That, I don't think it's difficult. Because he really loves his wife."

"My man," cried Dr. Riley impatiently, "if he loved her, why did he kill her? Where's the motive? Can't you talk, Leidner? Tell him he's crazy." Dr. Leidner neither spoke nor moved. Poirot said: "Didn't I always tell you that it was love murder? Why did her ex-husband Frederick threaten her to kill her? Because he loved her. You know, in the end, his boasting Cashed out. "Of course it was - of course it was - as soon as I found out that it was Dr Leidner who killed the man, everything fell into place. "I started a second time on my journey - from Mrs Leidner's first marriage - to those threatening letters - to her second marriage, which made her afraid Married to another man--but that didn't stop her from marrying Dr. Leidner, if Dr. Leidner was actually Frederick Basner, how easy it would be.

"Now we start again, this time from the point of view of a young Frederick Basner. "First of all, he loved his wife, Louise. The kind of intense love that only a woman like her can inspire, she betrayed him, he sentenced him to death, he escaped. Once a train accident, he also However, he later managed to appear as someone else—in the form of the young Swedish archaeologist Dr. Erik Leidner. Dr. Leidner's body was beyond recognition, so it was Easily buried as Frederick Basner." "What is the new Eric Leidner's attitude toward the woman who is willing to send him to death? First and foremost, he still loves her, so he begins to gradually build his new life, he is A man of great ability. His occupation coincided with his taste, so he was very successful in it. But he never forgot the one love affair that ruled his life, and he knew everything about his wife. There was one (remember how Mrs. Leidner herself described him to Nurse Leatheran—mild, gracious, but ruthless) that she would not belong to any other man. Whenever he judged it was When necessary, he sent a letter. He imitated some peculiar habits of her handwriting, in case she might think of sending those letters to the police. Some women nowadays like to write themselves lurid anonymous letters. A common phenomenon. If the handwriting is similar, the police officers will automatically conclude that this is the case. At the same time, he makes her wonder if he is still alive.

"Finally, many years later, he judged the time was right and re-emerged in her life, and everything went well. His wife could never have dreamed of who he really was, and he was now a well-known man. The tall, A handsome young man; now a middle-aged man with a beard and drooping shoulders. And so we see history repeat itself. As before, Frederick was able to handle Lois, and she agreed to be with him a second time. Married, for the first time did not receive any letter to prevent them from announcing their marriage. "But after the wedding a letter did arrive. Why? "I think Dr. Leidner doesn't want to take any chances. A husband and wife who are so close in life are likely to bring back her memory. He wants to keep her in her mind forever: Eric Leidner and Frederick Bass There are two people. So the former writes a threatening letter for the latter. The somewhat childish gas poisoning trick - of course, also arranged by Dr. Leidner. Still to achieve the same purpose.

"After that, he was content. There was no need for any more letters, and they could settle down and live happily as husband and wife. "Then, almost two years later, the threatening letters started coming in again. "Why, oh, I think I know why. The intimidation was a fundamental element of those letters, and the intimidation was real (that's why Mrs Leidner was always afraid, she knew Frederick's Gentle but ruthless personality). If she flirts with someone else, he will kill her. Now, she has a crush on Richard Jared. "Therefore, when Dr. Leidner found out about it, he prepared the murder scene with brutal calm.

"Do you now realize how important a role Nurse Leatheran plays in this drama? Dr. Leidner asked her to take care of his wife. His rather strange behavior is now fully explained (at first I also felt Inexplicable). Above all, there must be a credible witness, trained in nursing. Such a person can definitively say: When Mrs. Leidner's body was found; she had been dead for more than an hour—that is, Everyone can assure that she was killed while her husband was on the roof. Some may suspect that he killed her when he entered her room. But when a hospital-trained nurse determined that she had been dead for an hour Now, it won’t be a problem.” "Another thing that has come to light is the tension in this year's tour. At first I don't think it's all due to Mrs. Leidner's influence. Because this tour team has been known for the past few years to be happy and harmonious. Famous. I thought that the mental state of a fellow member of a group was always directly influenced by the person above him. Dr. Leidner, though quiet, was a man of character. The atmosphere in the group had always been very pleasant, which All because of his tact, his good judgment, and his sympathetic attitude in employing people. "So, if there is a change in the regiment, that change must be due to the man above—in other words, Dr. Leidner. It is Dr. Leidner, not Ray, who is responsible for the tension and uneasiness in the regiment. Mrs. Dana. No wonder colleagues feel the change and don't understand why. The amiable Dr. Leidner, outwardly the same, he's just playing himself, the real man is a mad, conspiring murderer madman. "Now, we're going to turn to the second murder—Miss Jensen's. While she was sorting out files in Dr. Leidner's office (no one asked her to do that. It was because she wanted to do something, herself willing to do), she must have stumbled across an unfinished anonymous letter. "She must have found the letter both incomprehensible and disturbing. Dr. Leidner meant to intimidate his wife! She didn't know how—but the letter was very disturbing to her, Nurse Leatheran found. She must have been in that state of mind when she wept. "I didn't think at the time that she suspected Dr. Leidner of the murder. But the sound experiments I had done in Mrs. Leidner's and Father Lavigne's rooms were not ineffective on her part. She found that what she heard The yelling, if it was Mrs. Leidner's, the window in her room must be open, not closed, and it didn't really matter to her at the time. But she had it in mind. "There was something going on in her mind—wanting to find out, that she might have happened to mention those letters to Dr. Leidner. Then he understood the seriousness of the matter. Then his attitude changed. "But Dr Leidner couldn't have killed his wife, he was on the roof the whole time. "So, one night later, when she was alone on the roof, thinking bitterly about the subject, it occurred to her that Mrs. Leidner had been killed there—through the open window. "That's when Nurse Leatheran found her. "Then, as the old passion remained irresistible, she quickly concealed it, taking care not to let Nurse Leatheran guess the shocking truth she had just discovered. "She was looking in the opposite direction (towards the courtyard) on purpose, when Father Lavigne appeared, walking across the courtyard, and she remembered something to say. "She wouldn't say any more, she had to 'figure out a reason'. "Where is Dr. Leidner? He has been observing her movements with trepidation, and now he realizes that she already knows the truth. She is not the kind of woman who hides her fear and pain from others. "Yes, so far she hasn't leaked about him. But how long can he trust her? "Murder is a habit. He changed her glass of water for hydrochloric acid that night. It may be thought that she took the poison on purpose. It is even more likely that she did the first murder. Now remorse has made her suffer. No. To reinforce the latter idea, he took the hand mill off the roof and put it under her bed. "No wonder that poor Miss Johnson, in her dying agony, was desperately trying to get the hard-earned news to others, through 'the window', that's how Mrs Leidner was killed—not through the house. Door. "Then, in this way, everything can be explained, and everything can be coordinated very well. "But there's no proof, not a single bit of evidence." Dr. Leidner neither moved nor spoke.He just sat there the whole time—a tired, worn-out old man. Finally, his body moved slightly.Mild, tired eyes looked at Poirot. "Yes," he said, "no evidence. But that doesn't matter. You know I don't deny facts, I never deny facts, and I think—really—I'm happy, I'm tired— " Then, he just said: "I'm so sorry Anna, I did that very wrong - very confused - that's not something I would have done! She was in pain too. Poor! Yes, the one who killed her It's not me, it's fear." A little smile flickered on his lips, twitching in pain. "Mr. Poirot, if you engage in archaeology, you will become a very successful archaeologist. You have the talent to recreate history." "You've said enough." "I loved Louise, and I killed her. If you'd known her before, you'd have known—no, I think you'd have."