Chapter 28 Chapter 28: The End of the Journey

I don't remember much after that night.Poirot ignored my repeated questions.He was too busy blaming François for not telling him about Madame Renault's change of room. I grabbed his shoulders, trying to make him pay attention to me. "But you must know," I said reassuringly, "you were taken upstairs to see her this afternoon." Poirot finally listened to me for a short while. "She was sitting on a sofa and pushed into a room in the middle, which is her inner room." He explained. "But, monsieur," cried François, "the Madame changed rooms almost immediately after the murder. All the associations... so painful!"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" cried Poirot, rapping on the table in a rage. "I ask you...why didn't you tell me? You are a complete fool, wife. Leonie and Dennis are not much better. You three are fools! Your stupidity almost sent your mistress away." If it hadn't been for this brave boy..." He paused, and ran to the other side of the room, where Cinderella was bending over to take care of Mrs. Reynolds.He embraced her with French enthusiasm, which irritated me. I was roused from my fog of thought by a sharp order from Poirot, who ordered me to fetch a doctor immediately for Madame Reynolds.Get a doctor and call the police.He also added, which really annoyed me:

"It's no use for you to stay here, I'll be too busy to take care of you. I'll keep the lady as a garde-malade." I left, trying to maintain my dignity.I finished my errands and went back to the hotel, marveling at what had happened.What happened that night was so bizarre that it was almost impossible.Nobody bothered to answer my questions, as if no one heard them.I threw myself on the bed angrily, and fell asleep like a bewildered and exhausted person. When I awoke, the sun was streaming in through the open window, and Poirot was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, with an adjustable smile.

"Enfin you're awake: you can sleep, Hastings. You know it's almost eleven o'clock?" I groaned and put my hand on my head. "I must be dreaming," I said, "you know what? I really dreamed of us ①French: people who take care of the sick.—Annotation. ②French: In the end. ——Annotation. In Mrs. Reynolds' room, the body of Marta Dobler was found, and I dreamed that you announced that she was the murderer of Mr. Reynolds. " "You're not dreaming. It's all real." "But Bella Duveen killed Mr. Raynor." "Oh no, Hastings, she didn't! She said she killed... yes... but it was to save her loved one from beheading."

"what?" "Remember Jack Raynor's account? They both arrived at the same time, and each regarded the other as the murderer. The girl stared at him in shock, then ran away with a cry. However, the locals heard the crime When it was Jack's head, she couldn't take it anymore, so she turned herself in and spared him the death penalty." Poirot leaned back in his chair, his fingers resting on each other in the usual gesture. "I am not entirely satisfied with the case," he said judgingly, "I have always had the strong impression that we are dealing with a calmly planned crime, which was very skillfully exploited by Mr. Reynolds himself. Arrangements designed to lead the police astray. The most serious criminals (you may recall I once told you this) often employ the simplest methods."

I nod. "To confirm the theory: the criminal must have been well aware of M. Renaud's plans. This brings us to Madame Renaud. But any theory of her guilt is groundless. Is it possible that others knew of these plans?" Yes? Yes. We heard Marta Dobler herself admit that she overheard Mr. Renault's argument with the bum. If she could overhear it, there's no reason why she wouldn't. Other things, especially Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds sitting on the bench to discuss plans, which is very imprudent. Remember, how easy it is for you to eavesdrop on the conversation between Marta and Jack Reynolds there."

"But what motive did Marta have in murdering Monsieur Renault?" "What motive? Money: Renault is a billionaire. When he dies, half of his vast fortune will go to his son (at least she and Jack think so). Let's start with Marta Dobler Reorganize the plot from a different perspective. "Marta Dobler overheard the Reynolds' conversation. Before the incident, for the Dobler mother and daughter, Reynolds was a very comfortable source of income for them, but now he wants Intended to escape the snare they set. At first, Marta's idea might be to prevent his escape. But a more daring idea emerged in her mind. Marta' Dobler is worthy of Jenny Bellodi's Courage, daughter: Reno was obstinately obstructing her marriage to Jack. If Jack disobeyed his father, he would be a pauper, which is not what Miss Marta expected. To be honest, I doubt it Does she have any real feelings for Jack Reynolds. She will pretend to be tender, but in fact she is a cool-headed, calculating person like her mother. I also doubt that she can really grasp She was charmed by him, but if she parted from him--which his father did without effort--she would probably lose him. But if Raynor died, Jack Being the heir to a great fortune, the marriage would be granted immediately, and she would have a huge fortune at once, instead of the meager thousands of francs she had wrung from Renault so far. She was clever. It seemed to her mind that this was the simplest and easiest thing to do. Raynor had been planning his own death, and she just had to take over at the right moment, turning a farce into a harsh reality. Now for the second point that reminds me rightly of Marta Dobler - the bald head: Jack Reynor ordered three souvenirs. One for his mother and one for Bella Duveen, isn't it very likely that the third one will be given to Marta Dobler?

"In this way, to sum up, there are four points that are not good for Marta Dobler, but they are worth noting: (1) Marta, Dobler may have overheard Raynor's plan. (2) Marta Dorrell has a direct interest in putting Renault to death. (3) Marta Dobler is the daughter of the notorious Mrs. Berodi. In my opinion, Mrs. Bellodi was, both morally and practically, the murderer of her husband, even though the fatal blow was the hand of a fake George Connor. (4) Apart from Jack Reynolds, Marta Dobler is the only person who could possibly possess the third dagger. " Poirot stopped and cleared his throat.

"Of course, when I learned that there was another girl, Bella Duveen, I thought she might well have killed Reynolds. But that conclusion cannot be accepted for me, because, as I have pointed out to you, Hastings Well, a professional like me always hopes to meet a strong opponent. However, the crime must be dealt with according to the situation when it was discovered, and not as it pleases. It seems that Bella Duveen is unlikely to hold walking around with a paper knife she kept as a keepsake, but of course it's possible she'd been harboring thoughts of revenge on Jack Reynolds. When she turned herself in, it looked like it was over. But I'm not satisfied, monami. I'm not satisfied..." I went over the case point by point again, and came to the same conclusion as before.If the murderer was not Bella Duveen, the other possible perpetrator could only be Marta Dobler.But I have no evidence against her!

"Then you showed me the letter Miss Tulcey sent you, and I saw an opportunity to settle the matter once and for all. The original dagger was stolen by Tulcey Duveen and thrown into the sea , because she thought the dagger belonged to her sister. But if it happened that the dagger belonged to her sister, and Jack gave it to Marta Dobler, then Bella Duveen's dagger must still be intact Flawless: I didn't tell you anything, Hastings (that was not the time for love), so I got Miss Tulcy, and told her what I thought I had to get out, Ask her to search her sister's belongings. On my instructions, she came to me in the name of Miss Robinson, and brought the precious dagger with her.You can imagine how happy I was!

"Meanwhile, I took steps to compel Mademoiselle Marta to reveal her true colors. Madame Reynolds, in accordance with my ideas, drove her son away, and announced her intention to make another will the next day, dispossessing him of his father's property ( Even a partial) right. It was a desperate but necessary move. Madame Reynolds was well prepared to take the risk, and unfortunately it never occurred to her to tell me about her changing rooms. I Guess she took it for granted that I already knew it. And it worked out exactly as I expected, when Marta Dobler made one last big bet on the Reynolds million—and it failed!" ①French: my friend. ——Annotation. "What I don't understand is how she managed to get into the house without us seeing it," I said. "It's a miracle. She was still at the Villa Magret when we left. We went straight to Genet." Veeve Villa, but she got there before us!" "Oh, but she wasn't in the house when we left Villa Margaret. While we were talking on the porch with her mother, she slipped out the back door.According to the Americans, she 'tricked' Hercule Poirot. " "But what about the figure on the curtain? We saw it from the road." "Eh bien, when we looked up, Mrs. Dobler had just time to run upstairs to take her daughter's place." "Mrs. Dobler?" "Yes. One is old and the other is young. One has black hair and the other has yellow hair, but to make a silhouette on the curtain, the silhouettes of mother and daughter are surprisingly similar. I didn't even doubt it--I really do." A complete fool! I thought I had plenty of time to spare, that she always managed to get into the villa later in the day.She has brains, that beautiful Miss Marta. " "Then her purpose was to murder Mrs. Reynolds?" "Yes. Then the whole property will be passed on to her son. But the illusion created will be suicide, monami②. Beside Marta Dobler, I found a piece of gauze, a small bottle of chloroform and a A syringe containing a fatal dose of morphine. Do you understand? Chloroform is used first, and after the victim loses consciousness, the needle is used. By the next morning, the smell of chloroform ①French: Hurrah. ——Annotation ②French: My friend.——Annotation has disappeared, and the syringe is near Madame Renault’s hand, as if it has fallen from her hand. At that time, what will happen to the excellent Mr. Ayut Say?' But women! Didn't I tell you? After so many accidents, I can't bear the shock caused by excessive joy: Didn't I say that if she was out of her head, I wouldn't think it was a strange thing. Miles. What a tragedy the Renault incident is!" "However, Hastings, things did not go as Miss Marta had planned. First, Mrs. Renault was awake, waiting for her to come. Then there was a struggle. But Madame Renaud was still very weak.Marta Dobler has only one last chance: the attempt to create the illusion of suicide has to be abandoned, but if she can strangle Mrs. Reynolds to death with a strong hand, while we are still beating on the other side of the room If she escaped on her ingenious ladder at the door, and returned to Villa Margaret before we arrived at the scene, it would be difficult to prove any connection with her.But she met her adversary, not Hercule, Poirot, but the lapetite acrobate ① with wrists of steel. " I recalled the whole case. "When did you start to suspect Marta, Dobler's, Poirot? When she told us she overheard the argument in the garden?" Poirot smiled. "My friend, do you remember the first day we drove to Melanville and saw that beautiful girl standing at the door? You asked me if I was a young goddess, and I replied that I only saw one A girl with anxious eyes. That's how I got Marta Dobler from the beginning. A girl with anxious eyes! Why is she so anxious? Not for Jack. ①French: Little acrobat .—Annotation Reynolds, because she did not know at the time that Jack had been in Melanville the night before." "By the way," I exclaimed, "how's Jack Raynor?" "Much better. He's still at Margaret House, but Mrs Dobler is missing. The police are looking for her." "Do you think she was in collusion with her daughter?" "We'll never know that. Madame is a good keeper of secrets. I doubt the police will find her at all." "Jack Reynolds knows, right?" "not yet." "It's going to be a terrible setback for him." "Need to say? But, you know, Hastings, I doubt he's really in love. So far, we've seen Bella Duveen as a charming siren, and Marta? Doble was the girl he really loved. However, I think we would get closer to the truth if we reversed their positions. Marta Doble was very beautiful. and he did, but you remember, it was strange that he couldn't bear to cut off that other girl. You see, he'd rather go to the guillotine than implicate her. I have a small idea that when he knows the truth, he will feel creepy and disgusted, and his false love will disappear with it. " "What's the matter with Jiro?" "He's gone crazy, that fellow! He's got to go back to Paris." We both looked at each other and smiled. Poirot was a veritable prophet.When at last the doctor announced that Jack Raynor's body had recovered enough to let him know the truth, Poirot explained the situation to him.The blow was indeed enormous, but Jack was far more resilient than we expected.His mother's loving care and dedicated affection helped him through those trying times.Now mother and son are almost inseparable. One more thing was revealed later.Poirot told Madame Reynolds that he knew her secret, and suggested to her that Jack should not be kept in the dark about his father's past history. "Hiding the truth is useless, madam. Take courage and tell him everything." Madame Renaud agreed with a heavy heart, so that her son also knew that his beloved father was a fugitive.A hesitant question from Jack was promptly answered by Poirot: "Don't worry, Mr. Jack. The outside world doesn't know. From my point of view, I am obliged to inform the police. From the beginning of this case, I have acted for your father and not for them. Heaven In the end he was punished, but it was not necessary for him to be known to be the same man as George 'Connor." Of course, several points in the case still puzzled the police authorities, but Poirot's explanations were so reasonable that questions gradually ceased. Not long after our return to London I discovered that Poirot's mantelpiece was decorated with a model of a large E terrier.I glanced at Poirot questioningly, and Poirot nodded in reply. "Maisoui! I won the five hundred francs! That hound is not a bad dog, is it? I'll name him Giro!" A few days later, Jack Reno came to visit us with a determined look on his face. ① French: To be honest. ——Annotation "Mr. Poirot, I come to say goodbye to you. I will leave for South America almost immediately. My father has a large property there, and I plan to start a new life there." "Are you going alone, Mr. Jack?" "My mother will go with me. I will still have Stoner as my secretary. He likes remote places. " "No one else going with you?" Jack blushed. "You mean..." "A girl who loves you so much that she is willing to sacrifice her life for you." "How can I say it?" murmured the young man. "After all these accidents, I can still go to her and . . . well, what kind of story can I make up to deceive people?" "Les femmes, they have great talent! Make up stories, they'll let you go." "Yeah, but . . . what a bloody fool I am." "We're all fools, either at this time or at that time." said Poirot philosophically. But Jack's face turned serious. "One more thing, I am my father's son. Who would marry me after knowing this?" "You say you are your father's son. Hastings here will tell you ①French: those women.—Annotation. I believe in genetics..." "Well, then..." "Wait, I know a woman, a woman of courage, perseverance, great love, great sacrifice..." The young man raised his head, his eyes softened. "My mother!" "Yes. You are your father's son, and you are also your mother's son. Go to Miss Bella, tell her everything, keep nothing, and see what she says!" Jack looked hesitant. "Go to her not like a child, but like a man, a man who has endured the fate of the past and the fate of the present, but who looks forward to a new, better life. Ask her to share this new life with you. , good life. You may not realize it, but your mutual love has been tested by fire and proven to be genuine.Both of you are willing to sacrifice your lives for each other. " What of the whereabouts of Captain Arthur Hastings, the humble narrator of this text? Some people say that he ran a ranch with the Renault family in South America, but as the end of the story, I think it's better to go back to a morning in the garden of the Geneviève villa. "I can't call you Bella," I said, "because that's not your name. And Dulce, again, seems strange. So, Cinderella. Cinderella married the Prince, you remember. I'm not a prince, but..." She interrupted me. "I'm sure Cinderella gave him a warning. You see, she couldn't agree to be a princess. After all, she was just a little person after all. "Now it's the prince's turn to interrupt you," I said. "You know what he said?" "No." "'Nonsense!' said the Prince—and kissed her!" I said and kissed her.