Chapter 27 Chapter Six

"Now, my friend, you see that the lies that people tell you can be just as useful as the truth," said Poirot in a teaching tone. "Is everyone lying to you?" Lord asked in amazement. Poirot nodded. "Yes! There is one man who puts the truth above all else more than all the others." "Eleanor herself? . . . " stammered the doctor. "That was her. All the circumstances at the time indicated that she was a murderer, and while she did not admit to murdering Mary, she admitted to attempting it, and was therefore ready to give up what she considered an indignified struggle for a crime she did not in fact commit." . She passed a guilty verdict on herself, because she blamed herself so severely that most people in her position would not be able to do so."

"Yes, she is such a person." Lord said affirmatively. Poirot went on: "When I first started the investigation, I really felt that Eleanor might have committed a crime. However, I remembered the promise I made to you, so as the investigation deepened, I found another person's criminal evidence." "Nurse Hopkins' incrimination." "Not at first. It was Roddy who first caught my attention. It was because he lied. He told me he left England on July 9th and returned on August 1st. But Nurse Hopkins accidentally It is mentioned that Mary refused Roddy's marriage proposal twice, once in Maidensford and once in London. You told me that Mary went to London on July 10th, the day after Roddy left England. So it appears I asked a question: When did Mary and Roddy meet in London? With the help of the friend who opened the door, I saw Roddy’s passport for going abroad. He was in England from the 5th to the 27th. It can be seen that he consciously lied about this matter.

"I don't forget for a second the culpable time when Eleanor left the sandwich in the dining room and went to the dressing room herself. But I understand that in this case the victim of premeditation should be Eleanor Not Mary. Did Roddy have a criminal reason for killing Eleanor? Yes, there was a very important reason. In the will, Eleanor confirmed that Roddy was the heir to all her property. And, from the facts I investigated learned that Roddy may know the contents of Eleanor's will." "Then why do you conclude that he cannot be a criminal?" "A lie, and a little stupid lie, helped me. Nurse Hopkins said the rose thorns got into her wrist, but I checked the rose garden and found out that the roses had no thorns there. Son...that is to say, Nurse Hopkins lied, and her lying seemed pointless and so stupid, but it was enough to draw my attention to her. I analyzed it again in my mind I read her testimony and realized something I hadn't thought of before: that Nurse Hopkins knew something about Mary and was more than willing to bring it to light."

Lord was taken aback. "I think it's the opposite." "It's just how you feel. She does a great job of playing the part of knowing something but trying to hide it. After I put my brain to work, I see that there is an opposite purpose behind everything she says. Me and O Nurse Brian's conversation confirmed this perception, and it was clear that Nurse Hopkins was playing some kind of game. I compared her lies with Roddy's and wondered if I could make absolutely no sense of one of the lies. The explanation of sin? "An event that happened to Rowdy helped me to find a positive answer to this question. A man with such a strong self-esteem, admitting that he could not stay abroad for a period of time due to weak willpower, returned to England early and used it again. How unseemly it would be to bore a girl who had rejected him, so he kept silent about the short time he had returned from abroad, and covered the truth with lies.

"But did Hopkins lie for similarly innocent reasons? The more I think about it, the more bizarre it seems. Why would Hopkins lie about the mark on his wrist? Is there anything special about the mark? "I started asking myself some questions: whose morphine was stolen? It belonged to Nurse Hopkins.Who can get the morphine to old Mrs. Wellman?It's Nurse Hopkins.But why did she draw attention to the loss of morphine?If Nurse Hopkins was the murderer, there can only be one answer to this question: Another murder, that of Mary, was planned and a suitable scapegoat had been found, but it had to be Let people see that this scapegoat has the possibility of getting morphine in advance.

"Let us say a few more words about the anonymous letter to Eleanor. The consequences of this letter must have caused trouble between the two girls. No doubt Hopkins counted on Eleanor's receipt of the letter and Maidensford's efforts to prevent it Mary had too much influence on Wellman. Roddy fell in love with Mary at first sight, which was an unexpected condition that Hopkins did not forget to take advantage of. In this way, he could add another reason for the scapegoat: jealousy. "What was the purpose of these two murderous pursuits? Why did Hopkins kill Mary? I began to see a gleam, if I may say so, at the end of the tunnel. There was a certain prestige in her mind, and she took advantage of that to get Mary to write the will. But the will didn't benefit Hopkins, it benefited Mary's aunt who lived in New Zealand. So I immediately remembered that a man in the village had It was mentioned by chance that Mary's aunt was a nurse and had worked in the hospital. Then the gleam of light was brightened, and the scheme of the crime was revealed. I visited Hopkins again. We both put on a wonderful show Comedy. Ended, she finally said the truth she'd been dying to lay out, maybe a little bit sooner than she expected. But, chances are good, she's hooked right away. Then again Well, sooner or later, anyway, it should be revealed. Hopkins produced a letter with feigned reluctance. My friend, my surmise was immediately replaced by confidence. 2 The letter exposed Hopkins. "

Lord frowned and asked: "what happened?" "Oh, my friend, that's very simple! The envelope reads: 'Forwarded to Mary upon my death'. But it expressly states that Mary Gerard must not know the truth. The envelope reads ' Forwarding', not 'forwarding'. That says a lot. The letter is not addressed to Mary Gerard, but to another Mary. This is Eliza Reilly living in New Zealand Mary Reilly, sister of Mary Reilly. Eliza confided in her. The letter was not at all found by Hopkins in the dressing room after Mary's death. It was received by her in New Zealand many years ago, in Sent to her after her sister died."

"Maybe you're wrong," Lord said. "Hopkins and Mary Draper are two people, aren't they?" Poirot replied coldly: "I never miss it." The other party smiled.Poirot continued: "Now we know something about Mary Reilly, or Draper. The New Zealand Police were unable to gather enough evidence against her to charge her, but she was under surveillance for a period of time before she suddenly left New Zealand. Understand that one of her patients was an elderly woman who left a large inheritance to her 'dear sister Riley.' The woman died suddenly, much to the surprise of her personal health practitioner. Mary. Draper's husband had life insurance for his wife. He also died suddenly, and the cause of death is unknown. It is possible that other lives are also to be blamed on Draper. This is a sinister woman. It seems that her sister's The letter prompted her to try a new adventure. When she found herself unable to stand in New Zealand, she returned to England, changed her name to Hopkins and resumed her old career as a nurse. By the way, 'Hopkins ' was the name of a former colleague of hers who died abroad. Her target was Maidensford. It cannot be ruled out that she was planning to blackmail. But old Mrs. Wellman is not the kind of person who just let people blackmail for nothing. , Hopkins had no choice but to give up the plan wisely. No doubt she found out that Mrs. Wellman was a royal, and a chance conversation of Mrs. Wellman made her know that the wife had not written will.

So, when Nurse O'Brien told Hopkins that July night that Mrs. Wellman was calling for a lawyer, Hopkins sprang into action.In order for the illegitimate daughter Mary to get all the inheritance, Mrs. Wellman must die without writing a will: Hopkins has made friends with Mary and gained the girl's trust.All that remained was to convince Mary to write a will and agree to leave all her money to her late mother's sister.Notice how well written the will is: no relatives are named, just 'Mary Reilly, sister of my late mother'.Mary Gerard signed the will, which was tantamount to a sentence of death for herself.In this way, this woman only needs to have one chance to strike.For the avoidance of suspicion, I think she has already decided to commit murder with apomorphine after the poison.Perhaps Hopkins was going to try to induce Eleanor and Mary Gerard to his house, but the sudden invitation of Eleanor relieved her burden, and the natural situation could not help people recognize Eleanor as a criminal. . "

"If it wasn't for you, she would have been found guilty," Lord said slowly. "No, my friend, it is to you that she was spared the sentence." "Because of me? But I didn't do anything. I just tried to..." He kept silent. Poirot made fun of him and said: "Yes, you have exerted all your energy, and you have exhausted all your energy. You think that I am not very active, and you are so impatient that you are so distressed that you even dare to speak to me, Hercule. Poirot lied: Oh, my dear, you still don't understand. I advise you to treat measles and whooping cough, etc. in the future, and be your doctor, and stop doing detective work that you can't know. "

Lord blushed. "So you know everything?" Poirot said gravely: "You took me by the hand and led me to a clearing in Zimu Cong, and helped me find the matchbox you yourself had just thrown there. This is so childish and ridiculous! The purpose of your conversation with the gardener is Wanted him to say he saw your car at the back door of the estate, and then you suddenly affirmed that it wasn't your car at all." "I really meant it at the time," the doctor admitted. "What did you do at Manor H that morning?" Lord blushed so embarrassingly to look at him. "That was foolishness... I heard Eleanor's voice, so I walked in the direction of the dining room, hoping to see her. I wasn't going to talk to her. I just wanted to see her. Through A gap in the bushes, I saw her cutting a sandwich... I watched her until she came out of the dining room." Poirot asked quietly: "You fell in love with Eleanor at the first sight, didn't you?" "It should be considered so." There was a long silence.Finally, the young man spoke first: "Oh, what's there to say! Now she and this... Roddy will live happily ever after. Roddy and Mary's episode. She'll forgive, it's a magic indeed." Poirot shook his head and said: "No, no... between the past and the future there is a dark abyss of death, and when a man steps into the dark abyss of death and from it into the sunny world, he starts a new life. Eleanor should thank you for the new life you gave her. She thanks you, doesn't she?" Lord reluctantly replied: "Yes, she thanks me now. But what she needs is not me, but him." Poirot shook his head again and said: "You're wrong. She never wanted Roddy. Eleanor loved him, yes, but only wildly unrequited love." Lord's face seemed to lose weight immediately.He said hoarsely: "She will never love me like this." "Probably not. But she needs you, my friend, because only with you can she begin her life again." The doctor stopped talking. Hercule Poirot said very gently: "Lastly you must understand...she loved Roddy. But so what? This love has brought her nothing but pain. But with you she is happy..."