Chapter 10 9

(Nine) inspector sharp sighed Furious, rubbing his forehead with a handkerchief.He interviewed an angry, tearful French girl, a haughty, uncooperative French youth, a dull, suspicious Dutchman, and a talkative, aggressive Egyptian.He had brief conversations with two nervous young Turkish students who really didn't understand what he was saying, as did a charming young Iraqi girl.He was pretty sure that none of these people had anything to do with Celia Austin's death, and they couldn't help him in the slightest.He dismissed them one by one with a few reassuring words, and was about to do the same to Mr. Akibumble.

The West African young man smiled, showing his white teeth, and looked at him with childish and pitiful eyes. "I want to help -- yes -- please let me say," he said. "She was very kind to me, this Miss Celia. She once gave me a box of Edinburgh sweets--very good sweets. It seems very sad that she should have been killed. A feud, perhaps? Or hers." The father, the elder, mistakenly believed the slander, thought she had done something wrong, and ran to kill her?" Sharp assured him that none of this was possible.The young man shook his head sadly. "Then I don't know why this happened," he said. "I don't understand why anyone here would want to hurt her. But you give me some of her hair and nail shavings, and I'll see if I can find it the old way. Not scientific, not modern, but in my hometown The method is very broad.”

"Well, thank you, Mr. Akibumble, but I don't think it's necessary. That's not how we do things here." "Yes, sir, I understand quite well. Not modern. Not atomic age. Nor do the new cops in my hometown these days--only old men in the jungle do. I'm sure all the new methods are very advanced, and It can indeed achieve a completely successful effect." Mr. Akibombo bowed politely and stepped back at the same time.Inspector Sharp murmured: "I sincerely hope we succeed - if only to maintain the prestige." His next interviewee was Nigel Chapman, who had a tendency to dominate the conversation.

"It's quite an unusual thing, isn't it?" he said. "You know, I thought you were going the wrong way when you insisted it was suicide. I must say, it's a little comforting to think that the real crux of the whole thing was that her pen was filled with my green ink. This is exactly what the murderer could not have foreseen. I suppose you have given due consideration to the motives of this crime?" "It's me, Mr. Sharpman," said Inspector Sharpe sarcastically. "Oh, of course," Nigel said with a mocking wave. "I'm just trying to make a long story short. But I think maybe we'll have to start all over again. Name, Nigel Chapman. Age, twenty-five. Place of birth, I believe Nagasaki--which seems to be the most Ridiculous place. I can't even imagine what my parents were doing there. I think they were traveling the world. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm Japanese though, as far as I know. I'm in London University degree in Bronze Age and Medieval. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Where do you live, Mr. Chapman?" "I have no home, my dear sir. I have a father, but he and I have had a quarrel, and his home is no longer mine. So 26 Hickory Road and the Leedenholle Street Branch of Kutz Bank It is the home of my so-called vagabond." Inspector Sharpe showed no reaction to Nigel's affectated digression. He'd seen his type before, and he was tactful to suspect that Nigel's digression belied the natural nervousness of being asked about the murder. "How well do you know Celia Austin?" he asked. "That's a really hard question to answer. I know her very well and have a good time with her, as far as I see her every day, but I don't really know her at all. Of course, I don't know much about her. Not interested, and I think she might not take me as a person."

"Has she had any particular reason to disapprove of you?" "Well, she doesn't like my sense of humor much. Besides, of course, I'm not a brooding, boorish young man like Colin Marker. That boorishness really attracts women. Best technique." "When was the last time you saw Celia Austin?" "Dinner yesterday. We all applauded her, you know. Colin got up and grumbled and finally admitted sheepishly that they were engaged. Then we all teased him, or something." "At the dinner table or in the saloon?" "Oh, at the supper table. When we went into the saloon afterward, Colin left to go elsewhere."

"And the rest of you are drinking coffee in the saloon?" "If you call that liquid they serve coffee - yes." "Has Celia Austin had any coffee?" "Well, I think I probably did. I didn't actually see her drinking coffee, but she must have." "For example, you didn't hand her the coffee yourself?" "What a ghastly hint! You look at me with that searching look when you say that, and you know you make me feel that I actually handed Celia the coffee and filled it with strychnine or something. I think you've got a hypnotic suggestion. Actually, Mr. Sharp, I've never been near her--and frankly, I haven't even noticed her drinking coffee. I can tell Believe me or not, I assure you that I have never personally felt any affection for Celia, and the announcement of her engagement to Colin Macna has not aroused any vengeance in me."

"I don't really have any hint of that," said Inspector Sharp mildly. "Unless I'm mistaken, there's nothing romantic about it, but someone's trying to get Celia Austin out." drop. Why?" "I just can't imagine why. It's really funny, because Celia is really a very kind and harmless girl. Incomprehensible, kind of dull; downright good; A girl who committed suicide." "Were you surprised to find out that Celia Austin was the one responsible for the theft that happened here?" "My dear fellow, I am astonished! My idea is that it is very out of character with her."

"Isn't it you who instigated her to do that?" Nigel's look of astonishment seemed quite real. "Me? Instigated her to do that? Why?" "Oh, that's a problem. Some people have a weird sense of humor." "Oh, really, I may be stupid, but I don't see what's so funny about all this ridiculous thieves." "Didn't you joke?" "It never occurred to me that it was for fun. Of course, Mr. Inspector, the thefts were purely psychological?" "You really think Celia Austin is a kleptomaniac?" "Of course there's no other explanation?"

"Perhaps you don't know kleptomania as well as I do, Mr. Chapman." "Oh, I really can't think of any other explanation." "You don't think it's possible that Miss Austen was instigated by someone to do all this, in order--for example--to interest Mr. Mackiner in her?" Nigel's eyes flickered maliciously. "That's a very interesting explanation, Mr. Inspector," he said. "You know, as soon as I think about it, it seems very likely, and of course Colin will swallow it in one gulp." Nigel thought happily.Then he shook his head sadly.

"But Celia can't play it," he said. "She was a prim girl. She never made fun of Colin. She was too sentimental about him." "Mr. Chapman, don't you have an opinion of your own about what happened in the house? About Miss Joneston's papers being splashed with ink, for instance?" "If you think I did it, you're mistaken. Of course, it looks like it was me, because of the green ink, but if you ask me, I'd say it was pure resentment." "What is resentment?" "Someone used my ink on purpose to make it look like I did it. There's a lot of resentment here, Mr. Inspector." The Inspector looked at him sharply and said: "What the hell do you mean by a lot of resentment?" However, Nigel immediately retracted into the shell and became ambiguous. "I don't really mean anything - it's just that when a lot of people are crammed into a small room, they get a little small." Next on Inspector Sharp's list was Ryan Bateson.Ryan Bateson was more disturbed than Nigel, though in a different way.He is suspicious and boorish. "Okay!" he blurted out after the routine questioning at the beginning. "So what if I pour the coffee for Celia and serve it to her?" "You poured her coffee after dinner—did you say so, Mr. Bateson?" "True. At least I poured her coffee from the coffee pot and set the coffee cup beside her, but believe it or not, there was no morphine in it." "You watched her drink coffee?" "No, I didn't actually see her drink it down. We were all walking around of course, and I got into an argument with one guy as soon as I finished pouring it, and I didn't notice when she drank it. There are others beside her." "I see. In fact, you're saying anyone could have put morphine in her coffee cup?" "Try to put things in other people's cups, it will be strange if you don't get caught!" "Not necessarily." Ryan said aggressively: "What the hell do you think I have to poison that kid? I have nothing against her." "I didn't mean to say you wanted to poison her." "She took it herself. She must have taken it herself. There's no other explanation." "We might think so if it weren't for the forged suicide note." "Fake fart! She wrote it herself, didn't she?" "Part of the letter she wrote that morning." "Oh—she might have torn part of it off as a suicide message." "Come on, Mr. Bateson. If you want to write a suicide message, you'll do it well. You don't take a letter you wrote to someone and carefully tear out a particular sentence to use as a message. " "I might. People do all sorts of weird things." "If so, where is the rest of the letter?" "How would I know? That's your business, not mine." "I'm making it my business. You'd better answer my questions in a civilized manner." "Oh, what do you want to know? I didn't kill that girl. I didn't have any motive for killing her." "you like her?" Rennes said less aggressively: "I like her a lot. She's a good kid. A bit blunt, but nice." "Do you believe her when she automatically confesses to the thefts that worry everyone?" "Oh, I believe her, of course, since she said it herself. But I must say that seems odd." "You don't think it's possible for her to do something like that?" "Oh, not necessarily." Ryan's rough attitude had now subsided, he was no longer defensive, and he was thinking about a problem that obviously interested him. "She doesn't seem to be the kleptomaniac type," he said, "and she's not a thief either." "And you can't think of any other reason for her to do those things?" "other reasons?" "Oh, she may be trying to interest Mr. Colin McNer." "Isn't that a little pretentious?" "But it did arouse his interest." "Yes, of course it is. Colin is very interested in any kind of psychopathy." "Oh, then, if Celia Austin knew..." Ren shook his head and said: "That's where you'd be wrong. She wouldn't be capable of thinking up that kind of thing. I mean, she wouldn't be capable of planning it, she wouldn't have the knowledge of it." "You have that knowledge, don't you?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, you probably helped her out of good intentions." Ryan said with a short laugh: "You think I'd do something stupid like that?" Inspector shifts position: "Do you think Celia Austin spilled ink on Elizabeth Johnston's papers, or do you think someone else did it?" "It was someone else. Celia said it wasn't her, and I took her word for it. Celia was never mad at Beth; not like the others." "Who's mad at her and why?" "She scolded people." Ryan said after thinking for a while. "She scolds anyone who speaks rashly. As soon as she hears it, she says in her scrupulous way: I'm afraid that's not true. The statistics make it clear... well, it's annoying, especially to someone who has always been rash. Out, for someone who speaks without thinking, like Nigel Chapman, for example." "Ah, yes. Nigel Chapman." "And it's green ink again." "So you think Nigel did it?" "Well, at least it's possible. He's the grudge type, you know, and I think he might be a little bit racist. Probably the only one of us who has that." "Can you think of anyone else who might be annoyed by Miss Joneston's scrupulous manner and habit of correcting other people's mistakes?" "Oh, Colin Mack was not always very happy, and she got Jane Tomlinson a little angry once or twice." Sharp asked some rambling questions, but Rain Bateson had nothing useful to add.Further down Sharpe met Valerie Hohaus. Valerie is calm, demure, and alert.She acted much less nervous than the two men.She had always liked Celia, she said.Celia isn't particularly bright, and it's kind of pathetic that she's so in love with Colin Macnagh. "Do you think she's a kleptomaniac, Miss Hohouse?" "Well, probably. Actually, I don't know much about that." "Do you think someone made her do that?" "You mean to impress that dandy fool, Colin?" "You reacted very quickly, Miss Ho Haos. That's right, that's what I meant. I don't think you wanted her to suggest it, did you?" Valerie looked surprised. "Well, almost impossible, my good sir, considering that one of my favorite silk scarves has been cut to pieces, I am not so altruistic yet." "You think someone else proposed to her?" "I'd almost say I don't think so. I'd say it's purely a natural thing on her part." "What do you mean by natural?" "Well, I first suspected Celia when Sally's shoes made all the fuss. Celia was jealous of Sally. Sally Finch, I mean. She's the most attractive girl here, and Ko Lin paid a lot of attention to her. So on the night of the prom, one of Sally's shoes was missing, and she had to put on an old black dress and black shoes to attend. Celia looked like she swallowed cream Pretentious as a cat. You know, I didn't suspect her of stealing those bracelets and compacts." "Who do you think stole those?" "Oh, I don't know. The cleaning woman, I suppose." "And what about the shredded rucksack?" "Is there a shredded rucksack? I forgot. That seems very unreasonable." "Have you been here for a long time, Miss Ho Haos?" "Well, yes. I should say I'm probably the oldest tenant here. I've been here about two and a half years now." "So you probably know the school better than anyone else?" "I think so." "Do you have any personal thoughts on Celia Austin's death? Any thoughts on the motives behind it?" Valerie shook her head.Her face is serious now. "No, it's a horrible thing to have happened. I don't see anyone possibly wanting Celia dead. She's a kind child, and she's just been engaged, and . . . " "And what?" "I don't know if that's the reason, because he's engaged. Because she's going to be happy. But it means, doesn't it, that someone's - er - crazy." She uttered the last two words a little tremblingly, and Inspector Sharpe looked at her thoughtfully. "Yes, madness cannot be ruled out," he went on. "Do you have any opinion on the destruction of Elizabeth Johnston's papers and notes?" "No, that was done out of resentment. I don't believe Celia would do that at all." "Any idea who it might be?" "Uh...an unreasonable thought." "What irrational idea?" "You don't want to hear mere conjecture, do you, Mr. Inspector?" "I'd love to hear it. I'm just listening, and I'm not going to tell anyone that you said it." "Oh, I may be quite wrong, but I have an idea that Patricia Lane did it." "Really! You really surprise me, Miss Hohouse. I didn't expect it to be Patricia Lane. She seems like a well-balanced, approachable lady." "I didn't say she did it. I just thought it might have been her." "Is there any particular reason?" "Oh, Patricia doesn't like Black Bess, and Black Bess is always scolding Patricia's beloved Nigel, and correcting his mistakes, you know, when he sometimes speaks nonsense." "You think it's more likely Patricia Lane than Nigel himself?" "Oh, yeah. I don't think Nigel would bother with that, and he certainly doesn't use the kind of ink he likes. He's got brains. But that's just the kind of stupid thing Patricia would do, and don't want to It is suspected that her baby Nigel might be implicated." "Or, on the other hand, maybe someone who disliked Nigel Chapman was trying to imply that he did it?" "Yes, that's another possibility." "Who doesn't like Nigel Chapman?" "Oh, Jane Tomlinson is one. And he and Rain Bateson are always at odds." "How did Celia Austin get her morphine? Do you have any idea, Miss Hohouse?" "I've thought about it. Of course, I think coffee is probably the most obvious one. We were all eating mushrooms in the saloon, and Celia's coffee was on a table next to her, and she always waited until it was ready." Serve it cold. I think anyone brave enough to put a pill or something in her coffee cup without being noticed, but that's pretty risky. I mean, That sort of thing might be fairly easy to notice." "Morphine doesn't come in pill form." "So what is it? Powder?" "good." "That's more difficult, isn't it?" "Aside from coffee, what other ways do you think it might be?" "She sometimes asks for a cup of warm milk before she goes to bed. I don't think she did that night, though." "Can you describe to me exactly what happened that night in the saloon?" "Well, like I said, we were all sitting there talking and someone had the radio on. Most of the boys were out, I think. Celia went to bed fairly early, as did Jane Tomlinson. Sally And I sat there quite late. I was writing letters and Sally was poring over some notes. I kind of thought I was the last one to go to bed." "In fact, it was just a relaxing evening?" "Exactly, Mr. Inspector." "Thank you, Miss Hohaus. Now, would you go and see Miss Lane?" Patricia Lane looked disturbed, but not worried.The question and answer did not lead to any new clues.Asked about the destruction of Elizabeth Johnston's papers, Patricia said she had no doubts that Celia had done it. "But she denied it, Miss Lane, very vehemently." "Oh, of course, she denied it. I think she felt ashamed afterwards. But that fits with those other events, doesn't it?" "You know what I find in this case, Miss Lane? It's that there's nothing quite right." "I think," said Patricia, blushing, "that you probably think Nigel messed up Beth's papers. Because of the ink. It's just ridiculous. I mean, Nigel wouldn't use his His own ink, if he did it. He wouldn't be such a fool. But, anyway, he wouldn't do that." "He doesn't always get on very well with Miss Joneston?" "Oh, she's annoying sometimes, but he doesn't really mind." Patricia Lane leaned forward eagerly. "I'm going to try and try to make you understand a thing or two, Mr Inspector. I mean, about Nigel Chapman. Don't worry, Nigel is actually his own worst enemy. I'm the first to know about him His words and deeds are very hopeless and kind. This creates prejudice against him. He is rude, ridiculed, and makes fun of others, which makes people feel hostile to him and has a very bad impression of him. But in fact he is as good as he appears on the surface. He was one of those shy, somewhat unhappy people who really wanted to be liked, but found themselves saying and doing things that were not what he meant because of a kind of spiritual conflict. One of the people who happened." "Ah," said Inspector Sharpe, "that's unfortunate." "Yes, but he couldn't help it, you know. It's the result of an unhappy childhood. Nigel had a very unhappy home life. His father was very rough and strict and never understood him. And His father treated his mother very badly. After she died, they had a very serious argument and Nigel rushed out of the house and his father said he would never give him another dime and he had to fend for himself. Nigel said He didn't want any help from his father; he wouldn't take it if he offered it to him. His mother left him a small sum of money, and he never wrote to him or approached him again. Of course, on the one hand I think it's a pity, but his father was certainly a very annoying man. No wonder Nigel has become difficult to live with. Since his mother died, no one has cared for him and cared for him. He His physical health is not good enough, even though his mind is brilliant. He is blocked in life, he just can't express who he really is." Patricia Lane stopped.She was flushed and out of breath with an eager tirade.Inspector Sharpe looked at her thoughtfully.He'd seen a lot of people like Patricia Lane. "Falling in love with that kid," he thought to himself. "He probably doesn't like her, but maybe accepts her motherly care. His father does sound like a mean old guy, but maybe the mother is a stupid woman who spoiled her son and deepened his relationship with him." Cracks between fathers. I've seen enough of that." He wondered if Nigel Chapman had a crush on Celia Austin.This may seem impossible, but it might be. "If so," he thought, "Patricia Lane could be very resentful." Resentful enough to want to hurt Celia?Resentful enough to commit murder?Of course not--in any case, the fact that Celia was engaged to Colin Macna was enough to remove the motive for murder.He got rid of Patricia Lane and got Jane Tomlinson. Produced by: Agatha Christie Fiction