Chapter 16 15

(fifteen) In a quiet room at New Scotland Yard, four people sit around a table. The meeting was chaired by Inspector Wilding of the Narcotics Unit.Sitting next to him was Sergeant Bell, a buoyant, happy-go-lucky young man who looked a little like an eager greyhound in appearance.Sitting back in his chair quietly and alertly was Inspector Sharpe.The fourth was Hercule Poirot.On the table is a rucksack. Inspector Wilding stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That's an interesting idea, Monsieur Poirot," he said cautiously, "yes, an interesting idea." "As I said, it's just an idea," said Poirot.

Wiltin nodded. "We've given the general picture," he said. "Smuggling has always been going on, of course, in different forms. We cleared out a bunch of smugglers, and every once in a while, it will start somewhere else. Just me." As a group, in the past year and a half we have seen a lot of shipments coming into the country, mostly heroin - and a fair amount of cocaine. There are various depots here and there in the hinterland. The French police have a clue or two about how the shipment got into France - they're less sure about how it gets out of France."

"Do you think I'm right when I say this?" Polo asked, "Your problems can be roughly divided into three aspects. The problem of distribution, the problem of how the goods enter this country, and the person who is really in charge and gets the most benefit. Whose problem?" "Basically, that's pretty much true. We know a lot about small dealers and how their stuff gets sold. Some of these dealers we arrest and some we let go, hoping to catch a big fish with them. Sales Nightclubs, lounges, pharmacies, one or two strange doctors, trendy dressmakers and hairdressers, etc. Delivery places are at racetracks, antique stores, and sometimes crowded general stores. But these don’t need me Let me tell you all. It's not that that matters. We're pretty well on track for that one. And we've got some pretty shrewd guesses at what I call big fish. One or two very rich guys who've never been under any suspicion , respectable sir. They're all very careful; they never do it themselves, and the little fish don't even know who they are. But one of them misses now and then—and this time—we got him."

"That's pretty close to what I'm thinking. I'm interested in the second aspect - how did the goods get into the country?" "Ah. We are an island country. The most common way is by sea, the oldest way. We operate cargo. We quietly dock somewhere on the east coast, or in a small bay in the south, and sneak across the strait with a small steamboat. .This approach has been somewhat successful, but sooner or later we will figure out who owns the private motorboat, and once he comes under suspicion, his chances are lost. One or two times recently, it has come in through the airline. The cost is high, and once in a while. An air master or a pilot would be too tempted to resist. And importers, some imported luxury pianos, etc.! They've gotten their hands on many times, but usually we figure them out in the end."

"Would you agree that the main difficulty when you run an illegal business is the passage of goods from overseas?" "Absolutely, and I would also say that we've been concerned for quite some time now that shipments are coming in faster than our pace." "And what about other things, like jewelry?" Officer Bell spoke up. "There's a lot of smuggling in this area, sir, from South Africa and Australia, some illegal diamonds from the Far East. They come in by agitated routes, and we don't know how. There was a young woman that day, an ordinary tourist , in France, I was asked by someone I met by chance if I could take a pair of shoes for her to cross the Strait. It’s not new shoes, no tax, just a pair of shoes that someone neglected and didn’t take away. She agreed quite unsuspectingly We happened to know about it. It turned out that the heel of the shoe was partially hollowed out and contained uncut diamonds."

Inspector General Welding said: "But listen to me, Mr. Poirot. What are you after, drug trafficking or jewelry smuggling?" "Both. In fact, everything that is small in size and high in value. It seems to me that there's a good chance that your so-called delivery service industry is going to make a fortune moving across the Channel what I'm describing. Stolen Jewelry, taking gemstones out of England and bringing in illegal gemstones and pharmaceuticals. Possibly a small independent broker, disconnected from the dealership network, shipping on a commission basis. And probably very profitable .”

"You're right! You can fit £10,000 to £10,000 worth of heroin in a small space, as can some high quality uncut gemstones." "You know," said Poirot, "the weakness of smuggling has always been the human element. Sooner or later you suspect that you are taking a 'person', a flight attendant, a navigator with a small yacht, a woman who travels too often to and from France. , an importer who makes a ridiculous amount of money, a person who lives comfortably without seeing how he makes money. However, if the goods are brought in by unsuspecting innocents, and furthermore, by a different person each time, then monitor the source The difficulties are greatly increased."

Wilding pointed to the rucksack with one finger. "Is this your hint?" "Yes. Who's least suspect these days? Students. Enthusiastic, hard-working students. Poor, with nothing but as much luggage as they can carry on their backs. Hitchhiking all the way across the Continent. If A particular student has been bringing in shipments and no doubt you will spot him or her, but the fundamental nature of the whole arrangement is that the people who are bringing in are innocent and there are many of them." Wilting stroked his chin. "What do you think the arrangement is, Monsieur Poirot?" he asked.

Hercule Poirot shrugged. "This is purely speculation on my part. No doubt I'm wrong in many details, but I think it goes roughly like this; first, a certain style of knapsacks comes on the market. They're knapsacks of some common form, just Like any other form of rucksack, good quality, durable, and fit for their purpose. When I say 'like any form of rucksack', it really isn't. The bottom lining is a little different. As What you see, is quite easy to move, and the thickness, structure allows valuable jewels, powders to be hidden in the folds. Unless you look for it, you will never suspect it. Pure heroin or pure cocaine accounted for The space is very small.”

"That's right," Wilding said. "Ah," he weighed quickly with his fingers, "you can bring five or six thousand pounds worth of goods each time, and no one will know." "Exactly," said Hercule Poirot, "very good! These rucksacks are ready, and on sale, and on sale--perhaps in more than one shop. The owners may or may not be in the same gang. Probably He just sells it for cheap and high profit, because his price is much better than some other companies selling the same camping equipment. Of course, there must be a syndicate behind the scenes; be careful to hide a picture of a medical student, University of London or other universities List of students. Someone who is a student himself, or who appears to be a student may be the boss. Student goes abroad, and at some point on the way home, the rucksack is dropped. Student returns to England; Customs checks are sloppy After the student returns to his or her dormitory, the luggage is removed and the empty rucksack is thrown into a closet or corner of the room. At this point the rucksack is dropped again, or the false bottom layer may be carefully removed, Then replace it with one that doesn't hide anything."

"You think that's what Hickory Road is all about?" Polo nodded. "That's my guess. Yes." "But how do you know, M. Poirot—that is, assuming you're right." "One of the knapsacks was cut to pieces," said Poirot, "and why? Since the reason is not obvious, one has to imagine a reason. There is something odd about the Hickory Road knapsacks. They are all too cheap. Mt. There has been a strange string of incidents on Muddy Road, but the girl responsible for them swears that she wasn't responsible for destroying the rucksack. Since she's confessed to some of the other incidents, unless she's telling the truth, why doesn't she Deny? So there must be some other reason for the rucksack being destroyed in this way - and I can say that destroying a rucksack is not an easy task. It was laborious work and must have been done by someone rather desperate I got the clue when I roughly discovered—(only roughly, because people's memory is not very sure after a few months)—that the rucksack was destroyed The date was about the same day that the police officer went to see the head of the school. Actually the police officer went for another reason, but I will tell you this: you are someone connected with this smuggling ring. You Go back to the school. You've been told that the police are coming, talking to Mrs. Hubbard upstairs. You immediately think the police know about the smuggling, and they're here to investigate; let's say there was A rucksack just brought back from abroad that contained—or recently contained—smuggled goods. If the police figured out that method, they came to Hickory Road to check students' rucksacks. You can't put That rucksack was taken out of that house because, for all you know, the police might have someone standing outside the door, and rucksacks are not things that are easy to hide or disguise. The only thing you can think of is to cut up the rucksack and take the pieces Stuff it in the waste pile in the boiler room. If it contains drugs - or jewelry, it can be temporarily hidden in the bathtub. But even an empty backpack, if it has been filled with drugs, may reveal heroin under close inspection Or traces of cocaine. So, that knapsack must be destroyed. Is it possible for you too?" "It's an idea, as I said earlier," Inspector Welding said. "At the same time there may be a small incident, hitherto not considered of any importance, connected with the rucksack. According to the Italian servant Geronimo, on the day the police arrived, or a few days after the police One day, the lights in the hall went out. He went looking for a light bulb to change; the spare bulb was gone too. He was pretty sure there was a spare bulb in the drawer a day or two ago. It seems to me that there is a possibility— —It's far-fetched, and I'm not saying I'm sure it is, you know, it's just a possibility—maybe someone's been in a smuggling ring before and feels guilty that the police might recognize him in a bright light. So he Quietly remove the light bulb in the hall and take it with the new one, so they can't even change it. Only candles are lit in the hall. As I said, this is only speculation." "It's a clever idea," Wilding said. "It's possible, sir," said Inspector Bell eagerly. "The more I think about it, the more likely it is." "Possibly, if so," Wilding went on, "then it's not just Hickory Road?" Polo nodded. "Oh yes, that group must have covered a wide range of student clubs and such." "That would have to find the connection between them," Wilding said. Inspector Sharp spoke for the first time. "There's such a connection, sir," he said, "or there used to be. A woman who runs several student club institutions, a woman right here on Hickory Road, Mrs. Nicoletis." Wilding glanced at Polo quickly. "Yes," said Poirot, "Mrs. Nicoletis qualifies. She has strong financial connections with all these places, although she does not run them herself. The method she uses is to find someone with a good record and integrity to replace her." She runs it. My friend Mrs. Hubbard is such a person. Financially supported by Mrs. Nicoletis--but then again, I suspect she's just a figurehead." "Well," said Wilding, "I thought it would be interesting to know Mrs. Nicoletis a little bit." Sharp nodded. "We're looking into her," he said, "her background and where she's from. It has to be done carefully. We don't want to be too early on. We're also looking into her financial background. Jeez! That woman is a bitch." He described his experience of Mrs. Nicoletis fighting a search warrant. "The brandy bottle, eh?" said Wilding. "The sleepers said she drank? Well, that should be better. What happened to her? Run away—?" "No, sir, she's dead." "Dead?" Wilding raised his eyebrows, "You mean, he was poisoned?" "We think so—yes. After the autopsy we'll know for sure. Personally, I think she's starting to feel overwhelmed. Maybe she wasn't expecting a murder." "You're talking about the Celia Austin case. Does the girl know?" "She knows something," said Poirot, "but if I may say so, I don't think she knows what she knows." "You mean she knows something, but doesn't understand what it means?" "Yes, that's what it means. She's not a bright girl. She probably can't figure it out. But on hearing something, or seeing something, she may be quite unsuspecting. mentioned." "You don't know what she saw or heard, Mr. Poirot?" "I can only guess," said Poirot. "That's all. Passports were mentioned. Was there someone in the room traveling to and from Europe with a false passport under an alias? Would the revelation of that fact pose a serious crisis to that person? Did she see that Was the rucksack tampered with, or, did she see someone take the fake bottom layer off the rucksack one day and didn't understand what that person was doing? Did she maybe see the guy who took the light bulb? Thinking about him or her at the same time Mentioned, without realizing its significance? Ouch!" said Hercule Poirot irritably, "guess! Must know more." "Well," said Sharpe, "we can start with Mrs. Nicoletis's experience and look up relatives. Might find something." Was she killed because they thought she might give something away?Will she speak up? "She's been secretly drinking for a while ... which means that her nerves are over," Sharpe said. "She may have a nervous breakdown and let the whole thing out. Testimony against the accomplices." "I suppose she didn't actually run that business?" Polo shook his head. "I don't think so. No, she's out in the open, you know. Of course, she knows what's going on, but I don't think she's behind it, no." "Do you know who is the mastermind behind the scenes?" "I can make a guess—I might be wrong. Yes—I might be wrong."