Chapter 31 Chapter Thirty-One

Now was Poirot's happiest moment, every face turned to him, full of anticipation.He smiled and said, "That's very kind of you. You probably know I like to give a little speech. I'm a long-winded little old man. "I think this case is one of the funniest I've ever seen. There is no basis for the case. There are four people on the scene. One of them must have done the crime. Which one? Is there any evidence to trace? Essentially Say, no. No concrete clues -- no fingerprints, no documents to serve as evidence. Only the characters themselves. "The only concrete clue was the bridge score sheet.

"As you may recall, I was interested in the score sheet from the very beginning. I saw part of the character of the scorer from it, and more than that. The score sheet gave me a useful hint. I immediately found that the third Fifteen hundred points above the standard. This number can only represent one situation-some people call it a grand slam. If a person decides to commit crimes while playing bridge, that person runs two major risks. First, the victim A person may call out. Second, even if the victim does not call out, a poker player may happen to look up and witness the event. "The first danger cannot be prevented, it depends entirely on the luck of the gambler. The second can be prevented. If the game is interesting and exciting, the three players will naturally concentrate on playing; if it is a mediocre game, they will look around more. Bid The grand slam is always exciting. The opponent often doubles, and this time is also an exception. The three players must be fully focused-the bidder wants to get the tricks he bids, and the opponent wants to play the right hand so that he cannot make it. So, The murder probably occurred in this particular round of cards, and I determined to find out as much detail as possible about the bidding. I immediately discovered that the dreamer in this round was Dr. Roberts. I remembered this and looked at it from another angle. Let's examine the problem—that is, the probability of psychology. Of the four suspects, I think Lorima is the most likely to plan a successful murder—but I don't think she will commit the crime on the spur of the moment. On the contrary, she The behavior of the night puzzled me. She either committed the crime herself or knew who it was. Miss Meredith, Major Desper, and Dr. Roberts are all psychologically possible, and as I have already mentioned, they could be The crime is approached from a completely different angle.

"I did a second experiment. I asked each person in turn to tell what he remembered about the room. I gained valuable information. First, Dr. Roberts, who was born with Good at observing all kinds of trifles--the so-called observation type. But he can hardly remember anything about bridge. I don't expect him to remember a lot, but if he forgets them all, it proves that he has other thoughts all night. You see , which in turn points to Dr. Roberts. "I found that Lorimar's head-up card is very good at remembering. I think someone as focused as her, even if the murder happened next to her, she must not be aware of it. She gave me a precious piece of information. That time The grand slam was called by Dr. Roberts, outrageously, and not his own cards, but hers, and she had to play that round.

"The third experiment - the results of which Inspector Bart and I rely on - was to unearth earlier homicides and find similarities in method. Thanks to Inspector Bart, Oliver, and Colonel Race, we were able to trace the early I discussed with Bart, and he said he was disappointed, the early Santsubaki murders had nothing in common with Mr. From a substantive point of view, almost identical. Those two cases were also what I would call public murder. The doctor washed his hands formally after a visit and had the audacity to smear the virus on the shaving brush in the victim's dressing room. Murder Craddock looked up Under the cover of a typhoid shot. Acting in the open again - committing a crime in front of the eyes of the world. This man reacted the same way. Ducked in a corner, took the opportunity to act at once - a pure, bold, defiant blow - played bridge with him He played the same way. He took big risks at the bridge table and in the Shaitana murder. He played very well. The strokes were perfect and the timing was exactly right.

"When I was sure it was Dr. Roberts, Mrs. Lorrimer called me to see her--and said she did it! I almost believed her! For a minute or two I really believed it, and then my ashen My brain cells have the upper hand. Impossible, absolutely not! "But what she said later was harder to understand. "She said she did see Anne Meredith commit the crime. "It wasn't until I stood next morning at the bedside of the old woman who had died by suicide that I realized that I might be right, and that Mrs. Lorrimer wasn't lying. "Anne Meredith went to the fire and saw Mr. Shaitana dead! She looked down at him, and probably reached for the sparkling jewel brooch.

"She opened her mouth to yell, but she didn't. She remembered what Shaitana said at the dinner party. Maybe he had some records. She Anne Meredith had reason to want him dead. Everyone would say it was her. Killed. She didn't dare to scream, trembling with fright, walked back to her seat. "Mrs. Lorrimer was right in saying that she thought she saw the crime; but I was also right in thinking that she hadn't seen it clearly. "If Roberts stopped at this point, we might not be able to get him to plead guilty. Of course we might be able to bluff and do it with all sorts of cunning. I'd try anyway. But he panicked and yelled too loudly again. Card. This time the card luck is bad, and the loss is very serious.

"He must have been upset. He waited until Bart was prowling around. He knew it would go on indefinitely, and the police were still searching—maybe, by some miracle, they'd find out about his past crimes. He had a brilliant idea, let Mrs. Lorrimer was the scapegoat. He had experience in medicine, and he must have seen that she was very ill and would not live long. In this case, she ended early and confessed before she died. . . . It was only natural! So he found her handwriting—three fake letters, hurried to her house in the morning, and lied that he had just received the suicide note. He had correctly ordered the maid to call the police. And he just had to do it. He It went well. By the time the police coroner arrived, it was all over. Dr. Roberts said the artificial respiration was not working. All applauded, full disclosure.

"It didn't occur to him to put the blame on Anne Meredith. He didn't even know she'd been there the night before. He only intended to make it a suicide. "I asked him if he recognized Mrs. Lorrimer's handwriting. It was an embarrassing moment for him. Now that the police found out that the letter was a forgery, he had to protect himself by saying he hadn't seen her handwriting. Fast enough, but not fast enough. "I called Mrs. Oliver from Wallingford. She reassured him and brought him here. He was thankful that things went well, not as he had planned, and at this moment, the blow Here it comes. Hercule Poirot pounces! And so—the gambler has no more cards to play, but folds up. It's over."

There was silence.Ruda sighed. "The window cleaners were on the phone, so lucky," she said. "Lucky? Lucky? Not lucky, ma'am. Hercule Poirot's gray brain cells are flexible enough. I remember—" He goes to the door. "Come in--come in, good company. You've done a great job." He came back with the window cleaner, now with the red wig in his hands, a changed person. "My friend, Mr. Gerald Hemingway, is a promising actor." Roda exclaimed, "Then there's no window-cleaner at all? No one saw him commit the crime?" Poirot said: "I see. The mind's eye sees better than the physical. Just lean back and close your eyes—"

"Let's stab him, Rhoda, and see if his ghost will come back and find out who did it," Desper said cheerfully.