chapter 6 the widow
bryan martin was as good as his word. in less than ten minutes he had joined us. during the time that we waited his arrival, poirot would only talk of extraneous subjects and refused to satisfy japp’s curiosity in the smallest degree.
evidently our news had upset the young actor terribly. his face was white and drawn.
‘good heavens, m. poirot,’ he said as he shook hands. ‘this is a terrible business. i’m shocked to the core – and yet i can’t say i’m surprised. i’ve always half-suspected that something of this kind might happen. you may remember i was saying so yesterday.’
‘mais oui, mais oui,’ said poirot. ‘i remember perfectly what you said to me yesterday. let me introduce you to inspector japp who is in charge of the case.’
bryan martin shot a glance of reproach at poirot.
‘i had no idea,’ he murmured. ‘you should have warned me.’
he nodded coldly to the inspector.
he sat down, his lips pressed tightly together.
‘i don’t see,’ he objected, ‘why you asked me to come round. all this has nothing to do with me.’
‘i think it has,’ said poirot gently. ‘in a case of murder one must put one’s private repugnancies behind one.’
‘no, no. i’ve acted with jane. i know her well. dash it all, she’s a friend of mine.’
‘and yet the moment that you hear lord edgware is murdered, you jump to the conclusion that it is she who has murdered him,’ remarked poirot dryly.
the actor started.
‘do you mean to say –?’ his eyes seemed starting out of his head. ‘do you mean to say that i’m wrong? that she had nothing to do with it?’
japp broke in.
‘no, no, mr martin. she did it right enough.’
the young man sank back again in his chair.
‘for a moment,’ he murmured, ‘i thought i’d made the most ghastly mistake.’
‘in a matter of this kind friendship must not be allowed to influence you,’ said poirot decisively.
‘that’s all very well, but –’
‘my friend, do you seriously wish to range yourself on the side of a woman who has murdered? murder – the most repugnant of human crimes.’
bryan martin sighed.
‘you don’t understand. jane is not an ordinary murderess. she – she has no sense of right or wrong. honestly she’s not responsible.’
‘that’ll be a question for the jury,’ said japp.
‘come, come,’ said poirot kindly. ‘it is not as though you were accusing her. she is already accused. you cannot refuse to tell us what you know. you have a duty to society, young man.’
bryan martin sighed.
‘i suppose you’re right,’ he said. ‘what do you want me to tell you?’
poirot looked at japp.
‘have you ever heard lady edgware – or perhaps i’d better call her miss wilkinson – utter threats against her husband?’ asked japp.
‘yes, several times.’
‘what did she say?’
‘she said that if he didn’t give her her freedom she’d have to “bump him off ”.’
‘and that was not a joke, eh?’
‘no. i think she meant it seriously. once she said she’d take a taxi and go round and kill him – you heard that, m. poirot?’
he appealed pathetically to my friend.
poirot nodded.
japp went on with his questions.
‘now, mr martin, we’ve been informed that she wanted her freedom in order to marry another man. do you know who that man was?’
bryan nodded.
‘who?’
‘it was – the duke of merton.’
‘the duke of merton! whew!’ the detective whistled. ‘flying at high game, eh? why, he’s said to be one of the richest men in england.’
bryan nodded more dejectedly than ever.
i could not quite understand poirot’s attitude. he was lying back in his chair, his fingers pressed together and the rhythmic motion of his head suggested the complete approval of a man who has put a chosen record on the gramophone and is enjoying the result.
‘wouldn’t her husband divorce her?’
‘no, he refused absolutely.’
‘you know that for a fact?’
‘yes.’
‘and now,’ said poirot, suddenly taking part once more in the proceedings, ‘you see where i come in, my good japp. i was asked by lady edgware to see her husband and try and get him to agree to a divorce. i had an appointment for this morning.’
bryan martin shook his head.
‘it would have been of no use,’ he declared confidently. ‘edgware would never have agreed.’
‘you think not?’ said poirot, turning an amiable glance on him.
‘sure of it. jane knew that in her heart of hearts. she’d no real confidence that you’d succeed. she’d given up hope. the man was a monomaniac on the subject of divorce.’
poirot smiled. his eyes grew suddenly very green.
‘you are wrong, my dear young man,’ he said gently. ‘i saw lord edgware yesterday, and he agreed to a divorce.’
there was no doubt that bryan martin was completely dumbfounded by this piece of news. he stared at poirot with his eyes almost starting out of his head.
‘you – you saw him yesterday?’ he spluttered.
‘at a quarter-past twelve,’ said poirot in his methodical manner.
‘and he agreed to a divorce?’
‘he agreed to a divorce.’
‘you should have told jane at once,’ cried the young man reproachfully.
‘i did, m. martin.’
‘you did?’ cried martin and japp together.
poirot smiled.
‘it impairs the motive a little, does it not?’ he murmured. ‘and now, m. martin, let me call your attention to this.’
he showed him the newspaper paragraph.
bryan read it, but without much interest.
‘you mean this makes an alibi?’ he said. ‘i suppose edgware was shot some time yesterday evening?’
‘he was stabbed, not shot,’ said poirot.
martin laid the paper down slowly.
‘i’m afraid this does no good,’ he said regretfully. ‘jane didn’t go to that dinner.’
‘how do you know?’
‘i forget. somebody told me.’
‘that is a pity,’ said poirot thoughtfully.
japp looked at him curiously.
‘i can’t make you out, moosior. seems now as though you don’t want the young woman to be guilty.’
‘no, no, my good japp. i am not the partisan you think. but frankly, the case as you present it, revolts the intelligence.’
‘what do you mean, revolts the intelligence? it doesn’t revolt mine.’
i could see words trembling on poirot’s lips. he restrained them.
‘here is a young woman who wishes, you say, to get rid of her husband. that point i do not dispute. she told me so frankly. eh bien, how does she set about it? she repeats several times in the loud clear voice before witnesses that she is thinking of killing him. she then goes out one evening. calls at his house, has herself announced, stabs him and goes away. what do you call that, my good friend? has it even the common sense?’
‘it was a bit foolish, of course.’
‘foolish? it is the imbecility!’
‘well,’ said japp, rising. ‘it’s all to the advantage of the police when criminals lose their heads. i must go back to the savoy now.’
‘you permit that i accompany you?’
japp made no demur and we set out. bryan martin took a reluctant leave of us. he seemed to be in a great state of nervous excitement. he begged earnestly that any further development might be reported to him.
‘nervy sort of chap,’ was japp’s comment on him.
poirot agreed.
at the savoy we found an extremely legal-looking gentleman who had just arrived, and we proceeded all together to jane’s suite. japp spoke to one of his men.
‘anything?’ he inquired laconically.
‘she wanted to use the telephone!’
‘who did she telephone to?’ inquired japp eagerly.
‘jay’s. for mourning.’
japp swore under his breath. we entered the suite. the widowed lady edgware was trying on hats in front of the glass. she was dressed in a filmy creation of black and white. she greeted us with a dazzling smile.
‘why, m. poirot, how good of you to come along. mr moxon,’ (this was to the solicitor) ‘i’m so glad you’ve come. just sit right by me and tell what questions i ought to answer. this man here seems to think that i went out and killed george this morning.’
‘last night, madam,’ said japp.
‘you said this morning. ten o’clock.’
‘i said ten p.m.’
‘well. i can never tell which is which – a.m.’s and p.m.’s.’
‘it’s only just about ten o’clock now,’ added the inspector severely.
jane’s eyes opened very wide.
‘mercy,’ she murmured. ‘it’s years since i’ve been awake as early as this. why, it must have been early dawn when you came along.’
‘one moment, inspector,’ said mr moxon in his ponderous legal voice. ‘when am i to understand that this – er – regrettable – most shocking – occurrence took place?’
‘round about ten o’clock last night, sir.’
‘why, that’s all right,’ said jane sharply. ‘i was at a party – oh!’ she covered her mouth up suddenly. ‘perhaps i oughtn’t to have said that.’
her eyes sought the solicitor’s in timid appeal.
‘if, at ten o’clock last night, you were – er – at a party, lady edgware, i – er – i can see no objection to your informing the inspector of the fact – no objection whatever.’
‘that’s right,’ said japp. ‘i only asked you for a statement of your movements yesterday evening.’
‘you didn’t. you said ten something m. and anyway you gave me the most terrible shock. i fainted dead away, mr moxon.’
‘about this party, lady edgware?’
‘it was at sir montagu corner’s – at chiswick.’
‘what time did you go there?’
‘the dinner was for eight-thirty.’
‘you left here – when?’
‘i started about eight o’clock. i dropped in at the piccadilly palace for a moment to say goodbye to an american friend who was leaving for the states – mrs van dusen. i got to chiswick at a quarter to nine.’
‘what time did you leave?’
‘about half-past eleven.’
‘you came straight back here?’
‘yes.’
‘in a taxi?’
‘no. in my own car. i hire it from the daimler people.’
‘and whilst you were at the dinner you didn’t leave it?’
‘well – i –’
‘so you did leave it?’
it was like a terrier pouncing on a rat.
‘i don’t know what you mean. i was called to the telephone when we were at dinner.’
‘who called you?’
‘i guess it was some kind of hoax. a voice said, “is that lady edgware?” and i said, “yes, that’s right,” and then they just laughed and rang off.’
‘did you go outside the house to telephone?’
jane’s eyes opened wide in amazement.
‘of course not.’
‘how long were you away from the dinner table?’
‘about a minute and a half.’
japp collapsed after that. i was fully convinced that he did not believe a word she was saying, but having heard her story he could do no more until he had confirmed or disproved it.
having thanked her coldly, he withdrew.
we also took our leave but she called poirot back.
‘m. poirot. will you do something for me?’
‘certainly, madame.’
‘send a cable for me to the duke in paris. he’s at the crillon. he ought to know about this. i don’t like to send it myself. i guess i’ve got to look the bereaved widow for a week or two.’
‘it is quite unnecessary to cable, madame,’ said poirot gently. ‘it will be in the papers over there.’
‘why, what a headpiece you’ve got! of course it will. much better not to cable. i feel it’s up to me to keep up my position now everything’s gone right. i want to act the way a widow should. sort of dignified, you know. i thought of sending a wreath of orchids. they’re about the most expensive things going. i suppose i shall have to go to the funeral. what do you think?’
‘you will have to go to the inquest first, madame.’
‘why, i suppose that’s true.’ she considered for a moment or two. ‘i don’t like that scotland yard inspector at all. he just scared me to death. m. poirot?’
‘yes?’
‘seems it’s kind of lucky i changed my mind and went to that party after all.’
poirot had been going towards the door. suddenly, at these words, he wheeled round.
‘what is that you say, madame? you changed your mind?’
‘yes. i meant to give it a miss. i had a frightful headache yesterday afternoon.’
poirot swallowed once or twice. he seemed to have a difficulty in speaking.
‘did you – say so to anyone?’ he asked at last.
‘certainly i did. there was quite a crowd of us having tea and they wanted me to go on to a cocktail party and i said “no.” i said my head was aching fit to split and that i was going right home and that i was going to cut the dinner too.’
‘and what made you change your mind, madame?’
‘ellis went on at me. said i couldn’t afford to turn it down. old sir montagu pulls a lot of strings, you know, and he’s a crotchety creature – takes offence easily. well, i didn’t care. once i marry merton i’m through with all this. but ellis is always on the cautious side. she said there’s many a slip, etc., and after all i guess she’s right. anyway, off i went.’
‘you owe ellis a debt of gratitude, madame,’ said poirot seriously.
‘i suppose i do. that inspector had got it all taped out, hadn’t he?’
she laughed, poirot did not. he said in a low voice:
‘all the same – this gives one furiously to think. yes, furiously to think.’
‘ellis,’ called jane.
the maid came in from the next room.
‘m. poirot says it’s very lucky you made me go to that party last night.’
ellis barely cast a glance at poirot. she was looking grim and disapproving.
‘it doesn’t do to break engagements, m’lady. you’re much too fond of doing it. people don’t always forgive it. they turn nasty.’
jane picked up the hat she had been trying on when we came in. she tried it again.
‘i hate black,’ she said disconsolately. ‘i never wear it. but i suppose, as a correct widow i’ve just got to. all those hats are too frightful. ring up the other hat place, ellis. i’ve got to be fit to be seen.’
poirot and i slipped quietly from the room.
第六章 寡妇
布赖恩·马丁说话很算数，不到十分钟，他就来到了我们这里。我们在等待他来期间。，波洛只谈些无关的话题，一点也不满足贾普的好奇心。
很显然，我们的消息使得这位年轻的演员很不安。他的脸拉长着，没有一丝血色。
“我的天哪！波洛先生，”他边握手边说道，“这真是一件可怕的事。我实在是被吓坏了——不过，我不能说我觉得惊讶。我始终都有种推测，这种事可能发生。你也许还记得我昨天说过的话。”
“当然记得，当然记得。”，波洛先生说道，“你昨天对我说的话，我记得相当清楚。让我来给你介绍一下贾普警督，他负责这个秦子。”
布赖恩·马丁责备地看了一眼波洛。
“我不知道还有人在，”他低声道。“你该早告诉我。”
他向警督冷冷地点点头。
他坐下来，双唇紧紧地抿在一起。
“我不明白”，他反问波洛，“你为什么叫我来。这事和我毫无关系。”
“我认为有关系”，波洛温和地说，“谋杀案事关重大，个人怨气都应放在一边。”
“不，不，我和简一起演戏。我很了解她。可恶！她是我的朋友。我怎么会对她有怨气呢？”
“但你一听说埃奇韦尔男爵被谋杀，就立刻得出结论是她杀的。”波洛不动声色地说。
这个演员急了。
“你是说——”他的眼睛急得直往外突，“你是想说我有问题吗？她和这个案子毫无关系？”
贾普插话了。
“不是的”是的，丁先生，肯定干了。”
那年轻人沉沉地坐回椅子。
“我还以为我犯了个大错呢。”他低声道。
“遇到这种事，决不该因为友情而影响你自己的判断。”波洛肯定地说道。
“对，但是——”
“我的朋友，难道你希望自己站到一个女杀人犯的旁边？是谋杀——世间最可恶的罪行。”
布赖恩·马丁叹了一口气。
“你们不明白的。简不是一个普通的女谋杀犯。她——她根本没有是非感。老实说，她是不该负贡任的。”
“那要由陪审团来决定了。”贾普说道。
“说吧，说吧。”波洛友善地说，“这并不是你在指控她。她已经被指控了。你不该不告诉我们你所知道的一切。年轻人，你对社会是有责任的。”
布赖恩·马丁叹了一口气。
“我想你是对的。”他说道，“你们想让我告诉你们什么？”
波洛看了看贾普。
“你是否听到过埃奇韦尔夫人——或者说威尔金森女士——说过威胁她丈夫的话？”贾普问道。
“是的，好几次。”
“她说了什么？”
“她说如果他不给她自由的话，她就要‘干掉他’。”
“那不是开玩笑的。嚼？”
“是的。我想她是认真的。有一次，她说她要雇一辆出租车去干掉他。波洛先生。这话你也听到的，是吗？”
他可怜地向我的朋友求援。
波洛点点头。
贾普继续询问。
“马丁先生。现在我们知道她要自由是想嫁给另一个人。你知道那个人是谁吗？”
布赖恩点点头。
“谁？”
“是——默顿公爵。”
“默顿公爵！哟！”侦探吹了一声口哨。
“在攀高枝！据说他是英国首富之一。”
马丁点点头，更加垂头丧气了。
我不太明白波洛的态度。他靠在椅子上，双手交叉，头有节奏地不时地点着，好像一个人选出了唱片放到唱机上，静听着效果。
“她的丈夫愿意和她离婚吗？”
“不，他完全拒绝。”
“你肯定这是事实吗？”
“是的。”
“现在，”波洛突然加入进来，“我的贾普老友。你知道我和这事的关系了。我是受简的委托，去和她丈夫商量，请他答应离婚的。我和他约了今天早晨见面。”
布赖恩·马丁摇摇头。
“那也毫无用处的。”他确信无疑地说，“埃奇韦尔不会同意的。”
“你认为他不会同意？”波洛向他投去和蔼的目光。
“当然。简心里面明镜似的，她并非真以为你会成功的。她早绝望了。在离婚这个问题上，那个人是个偏执狂。”
波洛笑了。他的眼光发亮了。
“你错了，年轻人。”他友善地说道，“昨天我见到了埃奇韦尔男爵，他已经同意离婚了。”
毫无疑问，布赖恩·马丁听了这消息目瞪口呆。他目不转睛地盯着波洛。眼珠子都快掉出来了。
“你一—你昨天见了他？”他急促地问道。
“十二点一刻的时候。”波洛还是一板一眼地说。
“他同意离婚了？你应该立刻告诉简的。”他责备地说。
“我是立刻告诉她了。马丁先生。”
“你立刻告诉她了？”马丁和贾普不约而同地喊道。
波洛笑了。
“这就有点影响动机了，是不是？”他低声道，“马丁先生，现在让我提醒你看看这个，”
他让他看报纸上的那一段。
布赖思看了，但他没有感兴趣。
“你认为这证明她不在犯罪现场？”他说道，“我设想埃奇韦尔是昨晚的某个时候被枪杀的。”
“他是被刺杀的，不是枪杀。”波洛纠正道。
马丁将报纸慢慢放下。
“我想这也没用。”他很遗憾地说。“简没有参加那个宴会。”
“你怎么知道的？”
“我忘了，有人告诉我的。”
“真遗憾。”波洛若有所思地说。
“我真弄不懂你。先生。你好像不希望这位女士是有罪的。”
“不是的，不是的。我的好贾普，我并非像你想象那样偏袒她。不过，说实话。你所办的这个案子有违常理。”
“你这话是什么意思？有违常理？这可不有违我的常理。”
我能看出波洛的唇抖动着，想很快地说什么，但他还是很自制地说话。
“正如你所说的。这位女士想摆脱她的丈夫。这一点我不反对你。她也很坦率地这样告诉过我。我的朋友，她如何去干呢？她很大声地在许多证人面前说她要杀掉他。然后去他的住处，自己通名报姓，杀了他后扬长而去。我的朋友，你如何解释这些？这难道是常理吗？”
“当然是有点冒傻气。”
“傻气？简直是白痴！”
“好吧。”贾普站了起来说道。“要是罪犯都发傻了，对警察就有利了。我现在要回萨伏依饭店了。”
“我可以同去吗？”
贾普没反对，我们就出发了。马丁很不情愿地离开我们。他精神很亢奋，一再要求我们有了新情况及时告诉他。
“是个神经质的青年。”贾普这样评论他。
波洛有同感。
在萨伏依饭店，我们看见一位极像律师的人刚刚到达。于是我们一起去了简的套房。贾普和他的人说话。
“有什么事吗？”他简捷地问道。
“她要打电话。”
“打给了谁？”贾普急切地问道。
“打给鲤鸟贸易行。买丧服。”
贾普低声咒了一句。我们走进套房。
新寡的埃奇韦尔夫人正对着镜子试帽子。她穿着一件黑白相间、反着光的衣服，容光焕发地笑着与我们打招呼。
“怎么，波洛先生，您也来了，真是太好了。莫克森先生（是她的律师），我很高兴你来了。请坐在我旁边，告诉我该回答什么问题。这个人来这，好像觉得是我今天早上出去将乔治杀了。”
“是昨天夜里，女士。”贾普说。
“你说今天早晨，十点钟。”
“我是说晚上十点钟。”
“啊，我分不清什么上午下午的。”
“现在才刚刚十点钟。”侦探严厉地补充了一句。
简的眼睛张得大大的。
“天哪，”她低低的声音说，“我有好几年没这么早地醒了。你刚才来的时候，一定是天刚刚亮。”
“警督，请问，”莫克森先生用一种严密的法律口吻说，“这件——值得叹惜的——令人震惊的事，是发生在什么时候？”
“大约是在昨晚十点钟左右，先生。”
“怎么，那就好说了。”简机警地说，“我在一个宴会上——唤！”她突然又把嘴捂上，“大概我不该那么说。”
她胆怯地盯着律师的脸，表示求助地询问。
“如果，昨天晚上十点你是在——呃——宴会上，埃奇韦尔女士，我——呃一我不反对你向警督讲述事实——绝不反对。”
“是的，”贾普说，“我只是让你讲一下昨天晚上的行踪。”
“你不是这么说的。你只是说什么十点钟——把我吓坏了。我就昏了过去”克森先生。”
“那么关于这个宴会呢？埃奇韦尔夫人。？”
“那是在齐西克——蒙塔古府上。”
“你什么时候去那的？”
“晚宴是在八点三十分。”
“你什么时候动身的？”。
“我大约八点钟动身。我去了趟皮卡迪利王宫饭店和一个美国朋友告别。她是范。杜森夫人，要回芙国去。我到齐西克时是八点四十五分。”
“你什么时候离开宴会的？”
“大约十一点半。”
“你直接回这里了？”
“是的。”
“坐出租车？”
“不是。坐我自己的车。我从戴姆勒车行租的。”
“你在宴会上，一直没有离开过吗？”
“嗯，我——”
“你没离开过？”
这种问法像猎狗扑鼠，节节逼近。
“我不明白你是什么意思。我在晚宴上。十点左右去接了个电话。”
“谁打给你的？”
“我想是什么恶作剧。一个声音说，‘是埃奇韦尔夫人吗？’我回答说是，‘那就对了。’电话那一端大笑，然后就把电话挂断了。”
“你是走出房间接的电话吗？”
简惊讶地睁大眼睛。
“当然不是。”
“你离开餐桌多久？”
“大概有一分半钟。”
贾普一下子很颓丧。我深知他对筒的话一句也不信，但听了她讲的，在没有得到证实前，他一点办法也没有。
他冷冷地表示感谢，便告退了。
我们也要离开，但她把波洛叫住了。
“波洛先生，您能为我做点事吗？”
“当然可以，夫人。”
“帮我给在巴黎的默顿公爵打个电报。他在克里伦饭店。他该知道这些的。我不想自己去发。我想在一两周内，我得表现出一个刚刚守寡的样子。”
“根本没有必要打电报，夫人，”波洛温和地说道，“那里的报纸上会登出来的。”
“看，您是多么有头脑！当然会的。不打电报更好。我想现在我一定要保待自己的身份，一切都如意了。我要有寡妇的样子。您知道，要很严肃。我想送去一个蓝花环。那是顶贵的了。我想我得去参加葬礼。您认为呢？”
“夫人，你得先去回答询问。”
“啊！我想您是对的。”她想了一会说道，“我不喜欢那个警察厅的警督。波洛先生，他要把我吓死了。”
“是吗？”
“幸亏我改变了主意，去了那个晚宴。”
波洛正往门那儿走，听到这话，他突然转过身来。
“夫人“你说什么？你改变了主意？”
“是的，我本想不去，因为昨天下午头痛得厉害。”
波洛咽了一两口唾沫，好像很难开口说什么。
“你对谁说过吗？”他最后问道。
“当然说过。我们好多人在一起喝茶，他们让我直接去鸡尾酒会。我说。不行，。我说我头痛得要裂开了，所以我要直接回家，不去那个晚宴了。”
“夫人，那么你为什么又改变了主意呢？”
“埃利斯骂了我。她说我不该不参加。老蒙塔古爵士是个有势力的幕后人士。您知道的。他是个有怪癣的人，很容易生气的。但我不怕。我——和默顿结婚，这些我都不怕的。但埃利斯很谨慎。她说有很多事要小心的。最后我想她是对的，所以我就去了。”
“夫人，你该好好感谢埃利斯。”波洛先生严肃地说。
“我想是该，那位警督把一切都了解明白了，是吧？”
她笑了。波洛却没有笑。他低低的声音说。
“可是一这倒让人得好好研究一下，是的，应该好好研究一下。”
“埃利斯！”简叫道。
女仆从另一个房间走过来。
“波洛先生说，多亏你昨天让我去那个晚宴。”
埃利斯几乎望也没望波洛一眼。她的样子很冷漠，不以为然的样子。
“夫人，失约是不行的。您总喜欢那样。人们不会总原谅您的。他们会恼怒的。”
简又把那顶我们进屋时她试的帽子拿了起来。她又把它戴上。
“我不喜欢黑色。”她郁郁不乐地说，“我从来不戴黑帽子。但做一个合格的寡妇，我不得不戴。所有这些帽子都难看极了。再给其它的帽店打个电话，埃利斯。我要找到一顶合适好看的。”
波洛和我悄声地从房间里走出来。