Chapter 28 Section 16

Colonel Johnson looked at his watch. "There's nothing I can do here, you've got things in order, Sugden. Oh, and one more thing, we should see the steward, I know you asked him, but we know now More. It's important to know where everyone was at the time of the incident." Tracylian walked in slowly.The chief of police told him to sit down. "Thank you, sir. I've got to sit down, if you don't mind. I've been feeling ill—really ill. My legs, and my head." Poirot said mildly: "Yes, you were frightened." The butler shuddered. "Such--such a dreadful thing happened. In this house! It's never been quiet here."

Poirot said: "It's a well-ordered house, but not happy, is it?" "I hate to say that, sir." "In the past, when the whole family was still here, was it very happy at that time?" Tracylian said slowly, "Perhaps it wasn't very harmonious back then, sir." "The late Mrs. Lee was a sick person, wasn't she?" "Yes, sir, she is very unfortunate." "Do her children like her?" "Mr. Davy, he loved her very much. He was more of a girl than a little girl, and when she died he ran away and couldn't live here."

Poirot said: "And Mr. Harry? How is he?" "He's been a very rough young man, sir, but good-natured. Wow, my God, it startled me when the doorbell rang--then it rang again, so impatiently, and I opened the door , there stood a stranger, and then Mr Harry's voice came: 'Hi, Tracylian. Still here, huh?' It was exactly the same as before." Poirot said sympathetically: "It must be a strange feeling, yes, that's right." A blush came to Tracylian's face as he said: "Sometimes it looks as though time hasn't passed. I believe there's a play in London about that. There's such a thing—there's .. you have a feeling in your mind - as if everything has ever happened. To me it's like the doorbell rings and I go to the door and there's Mr. Harry there - or even Mr. Farr or something People—and I just say to myself—I've done this before..."

"It's interesting—very interesting," said Poirot. Tracylian looked at him gratefully. Impatient, Johnson cleared his throat and took the initiative in the conversation. "We just want to check a few more timings," he said. "Ah, when the commotion started upstairs, as far as I know, only Mr. Alfred Lee and Mr. Harry Lee were in the dining room." .Is that right?" "I can't really tell, sir. All the gentlemen were there when I served my coffee—but that was a quarter of an hour before it happened." "Mr. George is on the phone, are you sure of that?"

"I think there was indeed someone on the telephone, sir. The pantry telephone would ring, and there would be a faint ringing in the telephone when someone picked up the handset to dial. Now that I think about it, I did hear that. The sound, but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time." "You don't know exactly when that was?" "I can't tell, sir. That's all I know after I've served the gentlemen coffee." "Do you know where the ladies were at the time I'm talking about?" "Mrs. Alfred was in the drawing-room, sir, when I went to collect the coffee trays, and that was a minute or two before I heard the noise upstairs."

Poirot asked: "What is she doing?" "She's standing by that far window, sir. She has drawn the curtain a little, and is looking out." "Aren't the other ladies in the room?" "Yes, sir." "Do you know where they are?" "I can't tell at all, sir." "Don't you know where the others are?" "Mr Davy, I think, is playing in the music room next to the drawing room." "Did you hear him play?" "Yes, sir." The old man shivered again. "It was like a sign, sir, I thought so afterwards. He played the 'Funeral March,' I remember, and it gave me goosebumps then."

"It is very strange, yes," said Poirot. "Ah, about this fellow," said the Chief Constable, "are you sure he was out before eight o'clock?" "Oh, yes, sir. Just after Mr. Sugden got here, I especially remembered it because he broke a coffee cup." Poirot said: "Hawberry broke a coffee cup?" "Yes, sir—an old Worcester china of that sort. I was in charge of cleaning them eleven years before to-night, and never broke a single one." Poirot said: "What's Horberry doing with the coffee cup?" "Oh, of course, sir, he shouldn't have touched them at all. He picked one up and was admiring it when I happened to mention that Mr. Sugden was coming, and he dropped it on the floor."

Poirot said: "Did you say 'Mr. Sugden,' or did you mention the word police?" Tracylian was slightly taken aback. "Now that I think of it, I mean the superintendent is here." "And Horberry just dropped the coffee cup?" "It seems to suggest something," said the Constable. "Did Horberry ask any questions about the superintendent's visit?" "Yes, sir. He asked the superintendent what he was doing here. I said he was here to collect donations for the police orphanage, and he has already gone up to see Mr. Li." "Did Holbury seem relieved when you said that?"

"You know, sir, now that you say it, I think he is. He changes his attitude immediately, and says that Mr. Li is a good man and generous with his money—he speaks in a very disrespectful tone— Then he left." "From where?" "From the door leading to the lower chamber." Sugden put in: "That's all right, sir. He went out of the kitchen, and the cook and the cook saw him go out the back door." "Listen, Tracylian, come to think of it, is there any way Holberry can slip back without being seen by anyone?" The old man shook his head. "I don't see how he could do that, sir. All the doors are locked from the inside."

"What if he had the key?" "The door is still locked." "How did he get in when he came back?" "He has the key to the back door, and all the servants come in through that door." "So, can he come back like that?" "Impossible not to go through the kitchen, sir. The kitchen is occupied till half-past nine or quarter-to-nine," said Colonel Johnson. "There seems to be no doubt about that. Thank you, Tracylian." The old man stood up, bowed and left the room.But he came back a minute or two later. "Hawberry has just come back, sir. Are you going to see him now?"

"Yes, please tell him to come at once."