Chapter 15 Chapter Fifteen Geoffrey Raymond

Geoffrey Raymond I had another piece of evidence that day that Poirot's strategy worked.His challenging language comes from his intimate knowledge of the subtleties of human nature, the complexities of fear and crime that compel Mrs Ackroyd to speak the truth, and she is the first to respond. When I came back from a doctor's visit that afternoon, Caroline told me that Geoffrey Raymond had just left. "Did he come to see me?" I asked while hanging clothes in the hall. Caroline walked up to me. "It's M. Poirot he's looking for," she said. "He went to Larshe first, but M. Poirot was not at home. He thought he was with us, and it's possible he thought you knew where M. Poirot was. " "I don't know at all." "I told him to wait," said Caroline, "but he said he'd come to him in Larsche in half an hour, and then he walked towards the village. Unfortunately, he left, and M. Poirot arrived behind." "Come to our house?" "No, it's his own house." "Then how do you know?" "I saw it from the side window." Caroline answered briefly.

It seemed to me that the subject should be over, but Caroline didn't think so. "Are you going?" "Where?" "Large, of course." "My dear Caroline, what am I going to do?" "Mr. Raymond would like to see him very much," said Caroline. , "You can learn all about the situation." I raised my eyebrows. "Curiosity is not my natural vice," I said dryly, "and I can live comfortably without knowing what my neighbors are doing or thinking." "Nonsense, James," said the sister. Said, "You must want to know about it as much as I do. You're a dishonest, always lying person." "I really don't want to care about this, Caroline." I said as I walked into the Surgery office.

Ten minutes later, Caroline knocked lightly on the door and walked in.She was holding something in her hand that looked like a jar of jam. "James, I wonder if you would like to send this bottle of medlar jelly to M. Poirot? I promised to give it to him. He has never tasted homemade medlar jelly." "Why don't you ask Anne to go and go?" What?" I said nonchalantly. "She's mending and can't spare her hands." Caroline and I met our eyes. "Okay," I stood up, "if you want me to take it, I'll put it at his door, do you understand?" My sister raised her eyebrows.

"Of course," she said, "who would dare tell you to do anything else?" For Caroline's sake, I agreed to make a trip. As I opened the front door to go, she said: "If you happen to see M. Poirot, you tell him about the boots." What a clever order.In fact, I really want to solve the mystery of the boots.When an old lady in a Breton bonnet opened the door for me, I asked dully if M. Poirot was at home. Poirot jumped up at the sound, and came out to meet me with a broad smile. "Sit down, my old friend," he said, "in this big chair? Or in that little one? Is the room too hot?" I felt the room was too stuffy, but I restrained myself from saying come out.The windows were all shut, and the fire was burning brightly in the stove.

"British people have a habit of liking fresh air," said Poirot. "There is a lot of fresh air outside. This belongs to the outside of the house. Why let it in? We will not talk about these old-fashioned topics. Did you bring me something?" "Two things," I said. "The first one—this—this is from my sister." I handed him a bottle of medlar jelly. "Miss Caroline is very kind. She still remembers her promise. What about the second one?" "It can be regarded as a piece of information." I told him the process of meeting Mrs. Ackroyd, and he was very interested. Listen, but don't seem particularly excited.

"That clears it up," he said thoughtfully, "and will be of some value in verifying the testimony given by the housekeeper. You must recall that she said she found the lid of the silver chest open when she came from I closed it as I passed by." "What do you think of her saying that she went into the living room to see if the flowers were still fresh?" "Ah! We never really thought about that, did we, my friend?" Old friend? Her remark was obviously an excuse, which she invented in haste. She thought it necessary to explain why she was in the drawing room--which, by the way, it probably never occurred to you Ask about it? I thought it probably out of the impression that she moved the silver cabinet, but I now think it necessary to look for another reason." "Yes," I said, "whom did she go out with?" A meeting? Why a meeting with that person?" "Do you think she is going to meet someone?" "Yes." Poirot nodded.

"I think so too," he said thoughtfully. There was a pause in the conversation. "By the way," I said, "my sister asked me to bring you a message. She said Ralph Paton's boots were black, not brown." I told him the message with careful eyes. Carefully observe his—expression.For a moment I found that his expression was a little disturbed, but in a moment he returned to normal. "Are you absolutely sure she's not brown?" "Absolutely." "Ah!" said Poirot with great regret. "It's a pity." He looked a little downcast.

Without any explanation, he immediately changed the subject. "Miss Russell, the housekeeper, saw you that Friday morning—may I take the liberty to ask what you talked about? I mean other than the details about the visit." "That's right," I said, "and the illness After talking about the relevant issues, we talked about some poisons, and whether the results can be tested after poisoning, and finally learned about drug users and drug users." "Especially cocaine, isn't it?" Bo Luo asked. "How do you know?" I was a little taken aback.

Instead of answering my question directly, he got up and went over to the archives and showed me a copy of the Friday, September 16th issue of the Budget Daily, which contained an article on cocaine smuggling.The content is sensational and the narrative is vivid. "That's why she talked about cocaine, my friend," he said. I wanted to ask further, since I hadn't figured out what he meant.But just then the door opened and Jeffrey Raymond appeared in the doorway. He walked in, looking as good as ever.He greeted us both politely. "Hello, doctor. M. Poirot, this is the third time I've been to you this morning. I've been looking for you everywhere." "Then I'll go first," I said awkwardly.

"Don't go because of me, doctor. Don't go, stay here," said Poirot, waving him to sit as he spoke. "I've come to confess." "En verite (French: really)?" asked Poirot with kindness and concern. "Well, just a little thing. But the fact is that my conscience has been tormenting me since yesterday afternoon. You accused all of us of hiding something. I plead guilty. I did have something from you." "What is it, Mr. Raymond?" "As I have just said, it is only a trifle. The thing is, I am in debt--a relatively large debt, and at this critical moment I I never dreamed of getting an inheritance—the five hundred pounds that Aykroyd left me. This money will tide me over, and I'll have some money left.” He smiled openly at us both.The young man's smile was indeed endearing.

"You know the situation, those policemen are very suspicious, and if I admit that I have a hard time, they will definitely suspect me. But I am really stupid, because from a quarter to nine to ten, Brent and I Been in the billiard room so I have irrefutable circumstantial evidence that I wasn't there when it happened. I have nothing to be afraid of. But I'm terrified by your stern statement yesterday that everyone hides something In spite of my conscience, I think it's better to say it." He stood up again and smiled at us. "You're a sensible young man," said Poirot, nodding approvingly. "To tell you the truth, when I know that everyone is hiding things from me, I think some of them may be very serious. Now You did the right thing by telling what you were hiding." "I'm glad to be clear of the suspicion," Raymond said with a smile, "I should go." "It's just a little thing." When the young After the secretary went out, I said something. "Yes," agreed Poirot, "a trifle—but if he wasn't in the billiard-room it would be hard to say. For many people commit crimes just to get less than five hundred pounds, to Murder. It depends on how much money it takes to drive a person to a dead end. It's relative, don't you think? Did it ever occur to you, my friend, that many of the people in that house could be killed by Mr. Ackroyd Benefits after death. Mrs. Ackroyd, Miss Flora, young Mr. Raymond, the housekeeper, all of them. In fact, there is only one who does not, and that is Major Blunt," he said. When I said Lunt's name, the tone was a bit peculiar. I raised my head and glanced at him, full of doubts in my heart. "I don't understand what you mean," I said. "Two of those whom I have accused have told me the truth." "You think that Major Blunt is also hiding something?" "On the subject," said Poirot nonchalantly, "there is an old saying Well, there's only one thing the Englishman hides—love. Is there such a thing? I dare say Major Brent is no good at hiding." "Sometimes I wonder if we're jumping to conclusions on that point too soon." " "Which?" "Is it true that the man who blackmailed Mrs Ferrars must have been the murderer of Mr Ackroyd?" Poirot nodded vigorously. "Very well, very well. I don't know if this is your own idea. Of course it is possible, but we must remember the fact that the letter disappeared. Of course, as you said Yes, the murderer didn't necessarily have the letter. You found the body first, and Parker probably took the letter while you weren't looking." "Parker took it?" "Yes, it was Parker. I keep thinking of Parker. --but not that he was the murderer of Ackroyd--no, not him. But it is likely that the mysterious villain who threatened Mrs. Ferrars was he. He may have heard it from Kim Paddock's servant The cause of Mr. Ferrars' death. Anyway, he's more likely to know about it than the occasional visitor, like Brent." "Parker may have been the one who took the letter," I said. "I didn't notice until later that the letter was missing." "When? Was it before Bruno and Raymond came into the room or after they?" "I can't remember," I mused, "I think Before they came—no, after they came. Yes, I am almost sure after them." "Then there are three persons," said Poirot thoughtfully. But Parker is the most likely, and I want to do a little experiment to test Parker. What do you think, my friend, would you like to accompany me to Fernley?" I silently accepted his invitation, And off we went.Poirot asked to see Miss Ackroyd, and she came before long. "Miss Flora," said Poirot, "I have to reveal a secret to you. I cannot yet believe that Parker is innocent. I would like you to assist me in a little experiment to test him. .I want to make him reenact what he did that night, but we'll have to find an excuse—ah! There it is. I can say to him, I want to find out if the voices in the porch can be heard on the terrace Well, please ring for Parker." I followed his instructions, and presently the butler arrived, still as ingratiating as ever. "Did you ring the bell, sir?" "Yes, Parker, I wanted to do a little experiment. I had Major Brent stand on the terrace outside the study window, and I wanted to make sure that standing that night Can anyone over there hear Miss Ackroyd talking to you on the porch. I want you to re-enact the scene. Maybe you're going to get a tray or something?" Parker went out, and we Get up and go to the porch outside the study door.Presently we heard clanging in the hall, and Parker appeared at the door with a tray containing a straw, a bottle of whiskey, and two glasses. "Wait a moment," cried Poirot, raising his hand, looking very excited, "everything must be in order, as it was then. This is my way of handling cases." "It is the custom abroad, sir. , "Par before liberation, "people call this practice the reproduction of crimes, don't they?" He looked very composed, standing there respectfully waiting for Poirot's orders. "Ah! You know quite a lot, Parker," said Poirot loudly. "You must have read on the subject. Well, please do everything as it is. When you came from the outer hall, the lady was Where?" "Here," said Flora, standing outside the study door. "Exactly, sir," said Parker. "I just closed the door," Flora went on. "Yes, madam," Parker confirmed her statement, "your hand is still on the doorknob as it is now." "Begin then," said Poirot, "show me this little comedy. ’ Flora stood holding the doorknob, and Parker came down the hall with a tray. He stopped as soon as he stepped through the door.Then Flora said: "Well, Parker, Mr Ackroyd has ordered him not to be disturbed to-night." "Did I say so?" she added in a low voice. "That's what I remember you saying, Miss Flora," said Parker, "but I remember you saying 'tonight' instead of 'tonight'." Then he raised his voice in a dramatic way, "Accordingly, miss. Do you want to lock the door as usual?" "Okay." Parker backed out, followed by Flora, and went up the main stairs. "Is that enough?" she asked over her shoulder. "Excellent," said Poirot, rubbing his hands. "By the way, Parker, are you sure that there were indeed two glasses in the tray that night? Who was the other glass for?" "I always take Two glasses, sir," Parker said, "anything else to ask?" "No, thank you." Parker stepped back, serious the whole time. Poirot stood frowning in the middle of the hall, while Flora came down to us again. "Was the experiment successful?" she asked. "I don't quite understand, you know—" Poirot smiled at her. "Success is not certain," he said. "Please tell me if there were indeed two glasses in Parker's tray that night?" Flora frowned. "I don't really remember," she said. "I think there were probably two. This—is this the purpose of your experiment?" Poirot took her hand and patted it lightly. "To explain it to you," he said, "I am very particular about people telling the truth." "Is Parker telling the truth?" "I think he is." Poirot thoughtfully. say. A few minutes later we returned to the village the same way we came. "What do you mean by the question about the cup?" I asked curiously. Poirot shrugged his shoulders. "People have to say things together," he said. "It's the same question as any other." I stared at him in bewilderment. "At any rate, my friend," he said earnestly, "I have now figured out what I want to know. Let that be the end of the subject."