Chapter 29 Section 17

Sidney Horberry's appearance would not have given one a favorable impression.He walked into the room, stood there rubbing his hands, looking around, his eyeballs were rolling around, looking very oily. Johnson said, "Are you Sidney Horberry?" "Yes, sir." "The male nurse of the late Mr. Li?" "Yes, sir. It's a dreadful thing, isn't it? I was taken aback when I heard it from Gladys. Poor old gentleman—" Johnson cut him off. "Just answer my questions, okay?" "Well, sir, of course, sir." "When did you go out tonight and where did you go?"

"I left just before eight o'clock, sir. I went to the Grand Cinema, sir, which is only five minutes away. It was Love at the Old Church of Seville, sir." "Did anyone see you there?" "The lady at the box office, sir, she knows me. And the waiter at the door of the cinema, he knows me too. And - well - I actually went with a young lady, sir. I made an appointment I met her there." "Oh, is it? What's her name?" "Doris Buckle, sir. She works at the United Dairy, sir, 23 Markham Road." "Okay, we'll check. Did you go straight home?"

"I sent my lady home first, sir, and then I came straight back. You'll find it all right, sir. I have nothing to do with it, I'm..." Colonel Johnson said curtly, "No one accuses you of having anything to do with it." "No, sir, of course not. But a murder at home is never a pleasant thing." "Yes. I want to ask, how long have you been serving Mr. Li?" "Just turned a year, sir." "Do you like your position?" "Yes, sir. I'm very satisfied, and the pay is good. Mr. Lee is sometimes difficult to attend to, but of course I'm used to looking after patients."

"Have you had experience with this before?" "Oh, yes, sir. I was with Major West and the Honorable Jasper Finch—" "You can pass those details to Sugden at a later date. What I want to know is when was the last time you saw Mr. Lee tonight?" "About seven-thirty, sir. Mr. Lee usually brings his light supper at seven o'clock every night, and then I'll make his bed. After that he'll sit by the fire in his pajamas until he feels I want to go to sleep." "When is that usually?" "No, sir. Earlier he'd go to bed at eight—if he thought it was right. Sometimes he wouldn't go to bed until eleven or later."

"What does he do when he wants to go to bed?" "Usually he rings for me, sir." "And you're going to put him to bed?" "Yes, sir." "But today is your day off. Do you always have Fridays off?" "Yes, sir, Friday is my regular day off." "Then what should Mr. Li do when he wants to sleep?" "He'll ring, and Tracylian or Walter will come." "Isn't he completely immobile? Can he walk around?" "Yes, sir, but more difficult. He has rheumatoid arthritis." "Did he never go to the other rooms during the day?"

"Yes, sir. He just likes to stay in that room. Mr. Li does not pursue luxury. It is a large room with plenty of air and light." "You said Mr. Li had dinner at seven o'clock?" "Yes, sir. I'll take the tray away, and get out the sherry and the two glasses and put them on the desk." "Why did you do that?" "Mr. Li ordered it." "Is this in line with the norm?" "Only sometimes. Mr. Lee has a rule that no one in the family can go up to see him at night without an invitation. Some nights he likes to be alone. Other times he sends someone downstairs to call Al." Mr or Mrs Fred, or both, let them go up after supper."

"But, as far as you know, he didn't do that this time? That is, he didn't send a message to any of the family to come?" "He sent me no message, sir." "Then he wasn't expecting anyone in the family?" "He may speak to them himself, sir." "of course." Horbury went on to say: "I saw that everything was done, so I said good night to Mr. Li and left the room." Poirot asked: "Did you add wood to the fire before you left the room?" The valet hesitated. "It's not necessary, the firewood has already been added."

"Can Mr. Li add it himself?" "Oh! No, sir. I think Mr. Harry Lee did it." "Mr. Harry Lee was with him when you went in before dinner?" "Yes, sir. I came in and he went away." "Can you judge the relationship between the two of them?" "Harry Lee seems to be in a good mood, sir. He throws his head back and laughs for a while." "And what about Mr. Li?" "He was quiet and thoughtful." "I see. Hey, there's something else I want to know. What can you tell us about the diamonds in Mr. Lee's safe?"

"Diamonds, sir? I've never seen any diamonds." "Mr Lee put some rough diamonds there, you must have seen him play with them." "Those ridiculous little pebbles, sir? Yes, I've seen him hold them once or twice, but I didn't know they were diamonds. He showed that foreign lady yesterday--or was it the day before yesterday?" Colonel Johnson said suddenly, "Those diamonds have been stolen." Horberry exclaimed: "Sir, I hope you don't think this has anything to do with me?" "I'm not making any charges," Johnson said. "So now, can you give us some clues about this?"

"Sir, do you mean diamonds or murder?" "It will be all right." Horbury considered, licking his pale lips with his tongue.At last he looked up, a furtive shadow in his eyes. "I think there is nothing to say, sir." Poirot said softly: "Isn't there any chance that the things you overheard while you were on duty could be of any use to us?" The valet blinked. "No, sir, I don't think so, sir. There's been some embarrassing business between Mr. Lee and—certain family members." "And with which family members?" "I presume there was some trouble over Mr. Harry Lee's return. Mr. Alfred Lee objected to it, and I know he spoke to his father about it - but not That's the thing, Mr. Li didn't accuse him of taking any diamonds at all, and I'm sure Mr. Alfred would not do such a thing."

Poirot said quickly: "Then his meeting with Alfred was after he had discovered the missing diamonds?" "Yes, sir." Poirot leaned forward. "I suppose, Hawbury," he said softly, "that you didn't know about the diamond theft until we told you just now. So how did you know that Mr. Lee discovered the diamond was missing before he talked to his son? " Holbury's face turned purple. "It's no use lying, so tell me," said Sugden. "When did you know that?" Holbury said sullenly, "I heard him calling somebody." "Were you not in the room?" "Yes, outside the door, nothing audible--only a word or two." "What did you hear?" asked Poirot mildly. "I heard about theft and diamonds and I heard him say, 'I don't know who to suspect.' And I heard him say about eight o'clock tonight." Superintendent Sugden nodded. "He was talking to me, less than. About ten past five, wasn't he?" "Yes, sir." "And when you walked into his room after that, did he look upset?" "Only one thing, sir, he seemed absent-minded and a little worried." "Is that enough to scare you?" "Look at what you say, Mr. Sugden. I don't like it. I never touched any diamonds. I haven't, and you can't prove that I did it. I'm not a thief." Superintendent Sugden said unmoved: "That will have to wait and see." He looked at the chief of police inquiringly, and after seeing him nod, he continued: "Okay, Yu, I have nothing to do with you tonight. gone." Horbury hurried out gratefully. Sugden said appreciatively: "Well done, M. Poirot. I saw you get him into the trap neatly. Thief or not, he must be a first-rate liar." "An unpleasant person," said Poirot. "A nasty germ," Johnson agreed. "The question is, what do we think of his testimony?" Sugden summed up the situation logically. "In my opinion, there are three possibilities: 1. Horbury is both a thief and a murderer. 2. Horbury is a thief but not a murderer. 3. Horbury is innocent. Some specific evidence: for the first Possibly, he had overheard the phone call and knew that the diamond theft had been discovered. Judging from the old man's manner, he was already under suspicion, so he made the plan, pretending to go out at eight o'clock, in order to create an alibi. It's easy enough to sneak out of the movie theater and get back here unnoticed, though he'll have to make sure the girl won't betray him. I'm going to see what I can get from her tomorrow." "How, then, did he manage to re-enter the house?" asked Poirot. "That would be a little difficult," admitted Sugden, "but there will be a way. A side door opened for him by a maid, for instance." Poirot raised his eyebrows mockingly. "So, he puts his life in the hands of two women? It's a big risk to rely on one woman, relying on two - oh bien (French: ok), I think this kind of risk is difficult Believe it!" "Some criminals feel like they can get away with anything!" Sugden said. He went on: "Let's look at the second possibility. It is easy and probable that Horbury stole those diamonds, he took them away tonight and may have given them to his accomplices. Then we have to admit that someone else chose to murder Mr. Lee tonight. That person has no knowledge of the diamond dispute. Of course, it is possible, but it is a bit too coincidental. The third possibility-Hobury is innocent Yes, someone else took the diamond and murdered the old gentleman. Well, we've got to find the real culprit." Colonel Johnson frowned, looked at his watch, and stood up. "Well," he said, "I think we're going to be up all night, huh? Better take another look at the safe before we go, it'll be weird if those annoying diamonds are still there." But the diamond was not in the safe.They found the code where Alfred Lee had told them, in a small notebook in the pocket of the deceased's pajamas. In the safe they found an empty suede bag.Only one of the documents in the safe is of interest. It was a will signed fifteen years ago.After the list of various inheritances and items, there are very simple terms written. Half of Simeon Lee’s inheritance was given to Alfred and Lee, and the remaining half was divided into four for the other children: Harry , George, David and Jennifer.