Chapter 15 3

"Mr. Poirot." Poirot rose hastily.After everyone else had left, he remained on the terrace by himself.When his name was mentioned, he was staring absently at the sleek, shiny black stone. It was a well-bred, confident, charming, slightly arrogant voice. Hercule Poirot stood up, meeting Lina Doyle's commanding gaze.Over her white satin gown she wore a rich shawl of purple velvet, more lovely and stately than Poirot could have imagined. "Are you Mr. Hercule Poirot?" Linna asked. This is hardly a problem. "At your service, ma'am." "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've heard your name. I do know who you are." Lin Na nodded.That was the answer she was expecting.She continued in her charming, assertive manner: "Mr. Poirot, will you come to the card-room with me? I have something important to say to you." "Of course, ma'am." She walked into the hotel first.He followed.She ushered him into the empty card room, motioned for him to close the door, and they sat across from each other at a table. Without hesitation, she went straight to the point.Her words flowed on and on. "I have heard a great deal about you, Monsieur Poirot, and know that you are a very clever man. It so happens that I need help in an urgent matter—I think you are the most suitable man."

Poirot tilted his head forward. "It's very kind of you, ma'am. But you know, I'm on vacation; I don't take cases while I'm on vacation." "This is negotiable." There's nothing offensive about that - just the calm self-possession of a young lady who can always get things done to her heart's content. Lina Doyle continued: "Mr. Poirot, I have been the target of an unbearable persecution. This persecution must end. I would have reported it to the police, but I—my husband thinks the police are incapable of doing so. of." "Perhaps—you would like to explain further?" Poirot whispered politely.

"Oh, sure, I will. It's very simple." Still no hesitation, no hesitation.Lena Doyle has a savvy business mind.She only paused for a minute, trying to figure out how to make things clear. "Before I met my husband, he was engaged to Miss Dubelfer. She was also my—a friend. My husband broke off her engagement—they were totally unworthy. She, forgive me, cared too much. It happened. I'm sorry for it, but it had to go the way it did. She—well, threatened us—I didn't care at all, and she couldn't have done it. Yet she took a different approach. A peculiar way—she follows us wherever we go."

Poirot raised his eyebrows. "Oh, quite a special means of revenge." "Very unusual, very absurd! And very annoying!" She bit her lip. Poirot nodded. "Yes, I can imagine. Are you on your honeymoon?" "Yes. It happened - for the first time - in Venice. She showed up at the Hotel Danieli. I thought it was just a coincidence. It was awkward - but nothing. Then we boarded in Brindish, Italy We saw her again. We—we knew she was going to Palestine. We left her, as we thought, and got on board. But—but when we got to Mona's House, she was already there— Wait for us."

Poirot nodded. "Now?" "We took a boat on the Nile. When we got on board I—I almost expected to see her. She wasn't there, and I thought she had stopped being childish. But when we got here—she—she had Here—wait." Poirot watched her sharply for a moment.Her demeanor is still perfect, only her knuckles are white from pressing hard on the table. "Are you afraid that this will continue?" he said. "Yes," she paused. "Of course the whole thing is utterly stupid! Jaclyn has made herself terribly weird. I'm surprised she didn't ask for more ego — more self-esteem."

Poirot made a slight gesture. "Madame, vanity and self-respect are outdated and neglected! There are other—stronger impulses." "Maybe." Lin Na said impatiently. "But what does she hope to 'get' with it?" "It's not always a matter of getting what, ma'am." His tone displeased her.She blushed, and said quickly, "You're right. Discussing motives is indeed off topic. The most urgent thing at the moment is that this matter must stop." "What do you think of the matter, madame?" asked Poirot. "Well—naturally—my husband and I cannot continue to be involved in this annoying affair. Some legal remedy must be in place to prevent it."

she said impatiently.Poirot looked at her thoughtfully, then asked: "Has she ever threatened you publicly? Using insulting words? Attempting to injure you physically?" "No." "Well, frankly, ma'am, I don't see what you can do about it. A young lady is happy to go to some place that happens to be the same as you and your husband - what's the matter? The air can Breathe freely. She has no reason to force herself to change her itinerary for fear of offending your private life. And such coincidences happen all the time!" "You mean there's nothing I can do about it?"

Lin Na's tone was a little disbelieving. Poirot said calmly: "As far as I know, Jaclyn Dubelfort has the right to do this. You have no countermeasures." "But—but this is insane, it's unbearable and I have to!" Poirot said dryly: "I sympathize with you, madame—especially, I suppose, that you seldom suffer anything that doesn't go your way." Lin Na frowned deeply. "Something must be done to stop it," she murmured. Poirot shrugged. "You can leave and go somewhere else," he suggested, "and then she'll follow!"

"Very likely—not bad." "It's ridiculous!" "That's true!" "Anyway, why should I—we—run away? As if..." She fell silent. "Ma'am, you're quite right. As if—! That's the whole point, isn't it?" Lin Na raised her head and stared at him. "What do you mean?" Poirot changed his tone.He leaned forward; his voice was full of confidence and pleading.He asked gently: "Madam, why are you so worried?" "Why? Isn't this thing insane? It's outrageous! I've already told you why." Poirot shook his head.

"More than that." "What do you mean?" Lin Na asked again. Poirot leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and said in a detached, impersonal tone: "Madame, I want to remind you of an incident. A month or two ago, I was dining in a restaurant in London one day. There were two people sitting next to me at the table, a man and a woman. They looked happy and seemed to be in love. They talked about the future with confidence. It wasn't that I wanted to listen to what they were talking about, but they didn't care whether others were listening or not. The guy's back was turned away from me, but I could see the girl's face, passionate and in love - heart, soul and body - she wasn't a flirtatious girl in love. Apparently, she put It's a matter of life and death. They're engaged and getting married; that's my impression; they've also mentioned where they're going on their honeymoon. They're planning to go to Egypt." He paused.Lin Na asked tactfully, "How is it?" Poirot went on: "It happened a month or two ago, but the girl's face—I still remember it. I know I'll remember it when I see it again. I also recognized the man's voice.Ma'am, I think you can guess when I saw the woman again and heard the man's voice again.Right here - Egypt.Yes, the man was on his honeymoon, but with another woman. " Lin Na said sharply, "What's the matter? I've already explained the truth." "That's right, it's the truth." "So what?" Poirot said slowly: "In the restaurant, the girl mentioned a friend - she said that the friend was very decisive and would never fail to help her when necessary. I guess that friend is you, madam." Lin Na looked shy. "Yes, I told you we used to be friends." "She trusts you?" "good." She hesitated, biting her lips impatiently; seeing that Poirot had no intention of speaking, she interposed: "Of course the whole thing is very unfortunate. But it happened, Mr. Poirot." "Oh, yes, it did happen, ma'am." He paused. "You belong to the Church of England, I suppose?" "Yes." Lin Na looked puzzled. "You know the scene of the bible being read aloud in church. You also know the story in King David: There was a rich man who had many poultry and herds and a poor man who had only one ewe —how the rich then robbed the poor of their ewes. That's how it happened, madam." Lin Na stood up, her eyes were red with anger. "I know exactly what your intentions are, M. Poirot! You think, to put it crudely, that I stole my friend's boyfriend. Look at things with sensibility— "I think that's the way your generation has to be—it might be close to being true. But the real, unbreakable truth is nothing like that. I don't deny that Jackie is dead set on loving Shimon, but I don't think You have considered that Simon may not have had equal affection for her. He liked her very much, but I think he had begun to feel that he had made a mistake even before he met me. See clearly, M. Poirot. Simon finds out that he loves me and not Jackie. What is he supposed to do? Marry a woman he doesn't care about like a hero—thus risking three lives—in which case can he let It is very doubtful that Jackie is happy. If he was indeed married to her when he met me, then I agree that he should be faithful to her - I am not sure. One is not happy, the other Suffering too. Besides, engagement isn't really binding. Mistakes weren't made, and it's better to face reality before it's too late. I know that's hard for Jackie, and I'm terribly sorry— But that's the way things are. It's bound to happen." "I suspect." She stared at him: "What do you mean?" "Everything you said is very emotional and reasonable! But there is one thing that cannot be explained." "What's up?" "Your own attitude, ma'am. This pursuit is either irritating or sympathetic to you—your friend is so heartbroken that he defies all worldly scruples. But that is not your reaction. No, For you, this persecution is just unbearable. There is only one reason for why 2 - you feel guilty." Lin Na stood up suddenly and said, "How dare you speak so wildly? Mr. Poirot, you are too far away from the topic." "I dare say it, ma'am, and I will tell you quite frankly. Though you may have tried hard to hide the truth from yourself, I tell you that you are indeed planning to take your husband from your friend. You It was love at first sight for him. You hesitated, and you knew there was a choice - let go or take it. I think it was you who took the initiative - not Mr. Doyle. Ma'am, you are beautiful, rich, smart, clever and charming You can use your charm, or you can hold it back. You have all that life has to offer. Your friend's life is tied to only one person. You know this, and though you hesitated, you didn't let go. You stretched Out of the clutches of the devil, like the rich man in the Bible, who took the poor man's ewe away." Silence fell over both of them.Lin Na tried her best to restrain herself, and said in a cold tone: "These thoughts are too far away from the topic!" "No, not digressing. I was just explaining to you why the sudden appearance of Miss Dubelfort disturbs you so much. Her behavior may not be noble, and you think in your heart that she has a right to do so." "That's not true." Poirot shrugged. "You refuse to confess yourself." "Not at all." Poirot said gently: "Madame, I tell you that if you can treat others generously and magnanimously, your life will be happy." "I'll try." Lin Na said.The impatience and anger had faded from her face.Her tone was simple, almost desperate. "That's why you feel uncomfortable when you intentionally hurt someone and why you don't want to admit it. Forgive me if I offend you, but from a psychoanalytic point of view, that's the case. The most important part." Lin Na said slowly: "Even if what you said is true—I don't admit it—what can we do now? One cannot change the past, one must face up to the reality." Poirot nodded. "My mind is clear. Yes, one cannot go back in time. One has to accept things as they are. Sometimes, ma'am, that's all one can do—accept the consequences of past actions." "You mean," Linna asked in disbelief, "that I can't do anything—anything?" "You must take it upon yourself, madam; it seems to be the only way." Lin Na said slowly: "Can't you—talk to Jackie—talk to Miss Duberfer? Explain to her?" "Yes, I can talk to her. If you want me to do it I will. But don't get your hopes up too much.I guess Miss Duberfer is a stubborn person who chooses what is good, and no one can influence her views. " "But surely there are things we can do to get ourselves out of trouble?" "Of course you can go back to the UK and settle down in your homeland." "Even then, I figured Jaclyn would settle down in the country, so I saw her every time I stepped out of the house." "You guessed right." "Besides," Lin Na said slowly, "I don't think Ximon will agree to the two of us running away." "What's his attitude on this matter?" "He was angry — just angry." Poirot nodded thoughtfully. Lin Na begged him: "Will you—talk to her?" "I would. But in my opinion, I can't achieve anything." Lin Na said excitedly: "Jackie is very special! No one can tell her what to do." "You mentioned that she threatened you. Will you tell me what she threatened?" Lina shrugged. "She threatened to—well, kill both of us. Jackie's character is sometimes very—Latinized." "I understand." Poirot's tone was full of sadness. Lin Na turned to him pleadingly. "Will you work for me?'" "No, ma'am. His tone was firm. "I don't want to accept your offer."I am willing to do what I can out of a humanitarian standpoint.The current situation is full of difficulties and dangers.I'll do my best to clarify this matter, but I'm not entirely sure of my success. " Linna Doyle said word by word: "Will you do something for me?" "No, madam," replied Hercule Poirot.