Chapter 3 third chapter

I had always been somewhat interested in my father's police work, but I was not prepared to take a direct interest in it. I haven't met my dad yet.He was out when I came back, and I went out to meet Sofia after I had showered, shaved, and changed.When I got home, however, Grover told me he was in the study. He sat at his desk, frowning at a pile of documents.He bounced off his seat as soon as I walked in. "Charlie! It's been a long time." The sight of our meeting after five years of war must have disappointed the French.However, in fact, the emotion of reunion after a long absence still exists.My dad and I really like each other and we know each other pretty well.

"I've got some whiskey here," he said. "When did you get back. I'm sorry I was out when you came back. I've been so busy. Just had a deadly case." I lay back in my chair and lit a cigarette. "Aristide Leonides?" I asked. His eyebrows drooped rapidly.He gave me a quick look.His voice was polite and firm. "How did you say that, Charlie?" "Am I right?" "How did you know?" "According to information received." Dad waited for me to continue. "My news," I said, "comes from within."

"Cut it out, Charlie, and speak up." "You might not like it," I said. "I met Sofia Leonides in Cairo. I'm in love with her. I'm going to marry her. I met her tonight. She's having dinner with me." "Dinner with you? In London? I wonder how she manages to do it? All of them are asked--oh, quite politely--to stay at home." "Good. But she climbed out of the bathroom pipe through the bathroom window." Dad's lips twisted for a moment, then a smile broke into his face. "She appears," he said, "to be quite a clever young lady."

"Your men are efficient, though," I said. "A military-looking guy followed her to Mario's. I figured I'd show up in his report for you. Five foot eleven, brown hair, brown eyes, dark blue pinstripe suit, etc." Dad stared at me. "You and her—seriously?" he asked. "Yes," I said. "Seriously, Dad." There was a silence. "Do you mind?" I asked. "If it had been a week ago--I wouldn't have minded. She's well off--she'd have a share of the property--and I know you. You don't get carried away easily. Now--"

"How is it, Dad?" "Maybe it doesn't matter if—" "what if?" "If the right people did it." It was the second time I heard it that night.Here comes my interest. "Who is the right person?" He gave me a sharp look. "How much do you know about this?" "Know nothing." "Know nothing?" He looked surprised. "The girl didn't tell you?" "No . . . She said she'd rather have me—an outsider's point of view." "I wonder what it's for?" "Isn't it obvious?"

"No, Charlie. I don't think so." He walked up and down, his eyebrows deeply furrowed.The cigar in his hand was extinguished.It shows how troubled he is. "How much do you know about that family?" he asked me suddenly. "Damn it! I know that old man has a lot of children and grandchildren, and I still can't figure it out." I paused, and then said, "You have to make me understand, Dad." "Yeah." He sat down. "Well--I'll start at the beginning--with Aristide Leonides. He came to England at twenty-four." "A Greek from Smyrna."

"You really know that much?" "Yes, but that's all I know." The door opened and Grover came in to announce that Inspector Taverner had arrived. "He's in charge of the case," my father said. "We'd better ask him in. He's investigating the family. He knows more about them than I do." I asked if the local police reported the case to the police station. "That's within our precinct. Svenley is part of Greater London." I nodded as Inspector Taverner entered.I have known Taverner for several years.He greeted me warmly and congratulated me on my safe return.

"I'm letting Charlie know about the case," Pop said. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Taverner. Leonides came to London in 1884. He started with a small restaurant in Soho, and when he made money he opened another. Before long, he owned seven or eight restaurants. Every family was making a lot of money." "He never made a mistake in whatever he did," said Inspector Taverner. "He had a natural sixth sense," my father said. "Eventually he was behind most of the famous restaurants in London. Then he invested heavily in catering." "He's also the man behind a lot of other ventures," Taverner said. "Second-hand clothes business, cheap jewelry store, lots of business. Of course," he added thoughtfully, "he's never been honest."

"You mean he's a liar?" I asked. Taverner shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. Not very decent--but not a liar. Never did anything illegal. But he's the kind of guy who slips through the loopholes of the law. Even in this war, he still Still made a lot of money, he's so old. He never did anything illegal - but if he did, you'd have to add a law right away, and fix it, if you know what I mean . But at that point, he's gone right into another loophole." "It doesn't sound like he's very attractive," I said. "Strange enough, he's attractive. He's got a personality, you know. You can feel it. There's nothing fancy about appearances. Just a dwarf--an ugly little melon--but, attractive--women always fall in love with him."

"His marriage was a shock," my father said. "Married the daughter of a squire—a farmer's representative." I raise my eyebrows. "for money?" Dad shook his head. "No, a union of love. She met a friend when he was planning a wedding reception - fell in love with him at first sight. Her parents were against it, but she was determined to marry him. I tell you, this man is attractive - --something powerfully foreign about him caught her and touched her heart. She was tired of people of her own kind." "Happy married life?" "Very happy, which is strange enough. Of course their respective friends are estranged (money was not everything in those days, and class lines could not be swept away), but they didn't seem to care. They were very happy without friends. He A somewhat perverse house was built in Svenli, where they lived and had eight children.

"It was a smart move for old Leonides to pick Svenley. The area was just getting popular then. The second and third golf courses hadn't been built yet. There were some long-standing families there who were very fond of gardening and they too Both liked Mrs Leonides, and there were some rich urbanites who wanted to befriend Leonides, so they could choose to be friends. They were very happy, I believe, until she died of pneumonia in 1905 .” "Leave him eight children?" "One died young, and two sons died in the war. One daughter married to Australia and died there. One of the unmarried died in a car accident, and the other died a year or two ago. Only two are still alive. ──The elder Roger is married but has no children, Philip married a famous actress and had three children, your Sophia, Eustace and Josephine." "They all lived together in—what was it called?—'Gabled triplex?'" "Yes. The Roger Leonides because their house was bombed early in the war. The Philips have lived there since 1938. And an elderly aunt, Harvey Miss Lane, sister of the first Mrs. Leonides. She had always professed an open dislike for her brother-in-law, but when her sister died she considered it her duty to accept her brother-in-law's invitation to live with him, and to look after the children. " "She's a very personal person," said Inspector Taverner. "But she's not the type to change her opinion of people. She's always disapproved of Leonides' style—" "Oh," I said, "seems like a big family. Who do you think killed him?" Taverner shook his head. "It's still early," he said, "it's too early to tell." "Come on, Taverner," I said. "I reckon you know who did it. We ain't in court, man." "That's right," said Taverner gloomily. "And we may never be able to get this case to court." "You mean he might not have been murdered?" "Oh, he was murdered, yes, poisoned. But you know what these poisoning cases are like. It's hard to find evidence, very confusing. All possibilities may point to one side—" "That's exactly what I want to know. You've already made up your mind, haven't you?" "It's a case with very strong probabilities. I'm thinking of one of those obvious possibilities. A seamless plan. But I really don't know. So treacherous." I looked at my father pleadingly. He said slowly: "As you know, Charlie, the obvious is usually the right answer in murder cases. Old Leonides was followed up later, ten years ago." "When he was seventy-five?" "Yes, he married a young woman of twenty-four." I whistled once. "What kind of young woman?" "A young woman from a tea shop. A very noble young woman--pale, cold and pretty." "She's what you call an obvious possibility?" "That's what I want to ask you, sir," said Taverner. "She's only thirty now—a dangerous age. She likes to be comfortable. And there's a young man in the house. Grandchildren's governess. Not in the war—bad heart or something. Between them Very intimate." I looked at him thoughtfully.This is of course a corny story.Tangled.And my father had emphasized that this second Mrs. Leo Laiz was a very noble person.Many murders were carried out under this guise. "What killed it?" I asked. "Arsenic?" "No, we haven't received the test report yet—but the doctor thinks it's 'Eserin.'" "It's kind of strange, isn't it? Of course it's easy to find out who bought it." "Not like that. His own, you know. Eyedrops." "Leonides is diabetic," my father said. "He injects insulin regularly. The insulin comes in a small vial with a rubber cap. The injection is drawn by sticking a needle through the rubber cap." I guessed what he was going to say next. "It turned out that it wasn't insulin that was drawn. It was Eserin?" "Exactly." "So who gave him the injection?" I asked. "His wife." I now know what Sophia means by "the right person." I asked, "Did the family get on well with the second Mrs. Leogins?" "Not good. I judge they barely speak." This seems to be becoming clearer and clearer.However, Taverner was obviously not satisfied with this answer. "What do you think is strange?" I asked him. "Mr. Charlie, if she did it. She should easily be able to switch to a bottle of real insulin afterward. In fact, if it was her, I can't imagine why she didn't." "Yeah, that seems like the obvious thing. Is there too much insulin in the house?" "Oh yes, full of unused and used empty bottles. And if she did it, nine times out of ten the doctor wouldn't have figured it out. People who die from eserin poisoning are rarely on the body Looked weird. But because he checked the insulin (to see if it was the wrong strength or something), so, of course, he quickly figured out it wasn't insulin." "So," I said thoughtfully, "it appears that Mrs. Leonides is either very stupid—or possibly very clever." "what do you mean--" "She probably expected you to think nobody was that stupid. What about the others? Were there any other—suspects?" Dad said quietly: "Actually anyone in the room could have done it. There's always quite a lot of insulin in there--enough for at least two weeks' supply. One of the vials could have been tampered with and then put back, knowing it'll be gone when the time comes." was used." "And anyone has more or less access to those vials?" "They're not locked. They're on a shelf in the bathroom medicine cabinet in his part of the house. People can come and go from the whole house." "Are there any strong motives?" My father sighed. "My dear Charlie, Aristide Leonides is a rich man! It is true that he has given away a great deal to his family, but there may be one who wants more." "But the present widow is still wanted. Is her young man rich?" "No. Very poor." Suddenly something flashed in my mind.I was reminded of the nursery rhyme that Sophia was quoting.I suddenly remembered the whole nursery rhyme: A crooked man who walked a crooked mile He found a crooked sixpence note by a crooked wooden door He had a crooked kitten who caught a crooked little mouse And they all live in a crooked cottage I said to Taverner: "How did she come to your attention—Mrs. Leonides? What do you think of her?" He answered slowly: "It's hard--very hard. She's not easy to get to. Very quiet--so you don't know what's going on in her mind. But she likes to have a good life--I swear I can't be wrong about that. You know, she Makes me think of a cat, a big lazy cat pampered...not that I have anything against cats. There's nothing wrong with cats...' He hissed. "What we need," he said, "is evidence." Yes, I think, we all need proof that Mrs Leonides poisoned her husband.Sophia needs it, I need it, and Inspector Taverner needs it too. Then everything will be fine! But Sophia isn't sure, I'm not sure, and I don't think Inspector Taverner is sure either...