chapter 20 the taxi-driver

we found japp interrogating an old man with a ragged moustache and spectacles. he had a hoarse self-pitying voice.

‘ah! there you are,’ said japp. ‘well, things are all plain sailing, i think. this man – his name’s jobson – picked up two people in long acre on the night of june 29th.’

‘that’s right,’ assented jobson hoarsely. ‘lovely night it were. moon and all. the young lady and gentleman were by the tube station and hailed me.’

‘they were in evening dress?’

‘yes, gent in white waistcoat and the young lady all in white with birds embroidered on it. come out of the royal opera, i guess.’

‘what time was this?’

‘some time afore eleven.’

‘well, what next?’

‘told me to go to regent gate – they’d tell me which house when they got there. and told me to be quick, too. people always says that. as though you wanted to loiter. sooner you get there and get another fare the better for you. you never think of that. and, mind you, if there’s an accident you’ll get the blame for dangerous driving!’

‘cut it out,’ said japp impatiently. ‘there wasn’t an accident this time, was there?’

‘n-no,’ agreed the man as though unwilling to abandon his claim to such an occurrence. ‘no, as a matter of fact there weren’t. well, i got to regent gate – not above seven minutes it didn’t take me, and there the gentleman rapped on the glass, and i stopped. about at no. 8 that were. well, the gentleman and lady got out. the gentleman stopped where he was and told me to do the same. the lady crossed the road, and began walking back along the houses the other side. the gentleman stayed by the cab – standing on the sidewalk with his back to me, looking after her. had his hands in his pockets. it was about five minutes when i heard him say something – kind of exclamation under his breath and then off he goes too. i looks after him because i wasn’t going to be bilked. it’s been done afore to me, so i kept my eye on him. he went up the steps of one of the houses on the other side and went in.’

‘did he push the door open?’

‘no, he had a latchkey.’

‘what number was the house?’

‘it would be 17 or 19, i fancy. well, it seemed odd to me my being told to stay where i was. so i kept watching. about five minutes later him and the young lady came out together. they got back into the cab and told me to drive back to covent garden opera house. they stopped me just before i got there and paid me. paid me handsome, i will say. though i expect i’ve got into trouble over it – seems there’s nothing but trouble.’

‘you’re all right,’ said japp. ‘just run your eye over these, will you, and tell me if the young lady is among them.’

there were half a dozen photographs all fairly alike as to type. i looked with some interest over his shoulder.

‘that were her,’ said jobson. he pointed a decisive finger at one of geraldine marsh in evening dress.

‘sure?’

‘quite sure. pale she was and dark.’

‘now the man.’

another sheaf of photographs was handed to him.

he looked at them attentively and then shook his head.

‘well, i couldn’t say – not for sure. either of these two might be him.’

the photographs included one of ronald marsh, but jobson had not selected it. instead he indicated two other men not unlike marsh in type.

jobson then departed and japp flung the photographs on the table.

‘good enough. wish i could have got a clearer identification of his lordship. of course it’s an old photograph, taken seven or eight years ago. the only one i could get hold of. yes, i’d like a clearer identification, although the case is clear enough. bang go a couple of alibis. clever of you to think of it, m. poirot.’

poirot looked modest.

‘when i found that she and her cousin were both at the opera it seemed to me possible that they might have been together during one of the intervals. naturally the parties they were with would assume that they had not left the opera house. but a half-hour interval gives plenty of time to get to regent gate and back. the moment the new lord edgware laid such stress upon his alibi, i was sure something was wrong with it.’

‘you’re a nice suspicious sort of fellow, aren’t you?’ said japp affectionately. ‘well, you’re about right. can’t be too suspicious in a world like this. his lordship is our man all right. look at this.’

he produced a paper.

‘cable from new york. they got in touch with miss lucie adams. the letter was in the mail delivered to her this morning. she was not willing to give up the original unless absolutely necessary, but she willingly allowed the officer to take a copy of it and cable it to us. here it is, and it’s as damning as you could hope for.’

poirot took the cable with great interest. i read it over his shoulder.

following is text to lucie adams, dated june 29th, 8 rosedew mansions, london, s.w.3. begins, dearest little sister, i’m sorry i wrote such a scrappy bit last week but things were rather busy and there was a lot to see to. well, darling, it’s been ever such a success! notices splendid, box office good, and everybody most kind. i’ve got some real good friends over here and next year i’m thinking of taking a theatre for two months. the russian dancer sketch went very well and the american woman in paris too, but the scenes at a foreign hotel are still the favourites, i think. i’m so excited that i hardly know what i’m writing, and you’ll see why in a minute, but first i must tell you what people have said. mr hergsheimer was ever so kind and he’s going to ask me to lunch to meet sir montagu corner, who might do great things for me. the other night i met jane wilkinson and she was ever so sweet about my show and my take off of her, which brings me round to what i am going to tell you. i don’t really like her very much because i’ve been hearing a lot about her lately from someone i know and she’s behaved cruelly, i think, and in a very underhand way – but i won’t go into that now. you know that she really is lady edgware? i’ve heard a lot about him too lately, and he’s no beauty, i can tell you. he treated his nephew, the captain marsh i have mentioned to you, in the most shameful way – literally turned him out of the house and discontinued his allowance. he told me all about it and i felt awfully sorry for him. he enjoyed my show very much, he said. ‘i believe it would take in lord edgware himself. look here, will you take something on for a bet?’ i laughed and said, ‘how much?’ lucie darling, the answer fairly took my breath away. ten thousand dollars. ten thousand dollars, think of it – just to help someone win a silly bet. ‘why,’ i said, ‘i’d play a joke on the king in buckingham palace and risk lèse majesté for that.’ well, then, we laid our heads together and got down to details.

i’ll tell you all about it next week – whether i’m spotted or not. but anyway, lucie darling, whether i succeed or fail, i’m to have the ten thousand dollars. oh! lucie, little sister, what that’s going to mean to us. no time for more – just going off to do my ‘hoax’. lots and lots and lots of love, little sister mine.

yours,

carlotta.

poirot laid down the letter. it had touched him, i could see.

japp, however, reacted in quite a different way.

‘we’ve got him,’ said japp exultantly.

‘yes,’ said poirot.

his voice sounded strangely flat.

japp looked at him curiously.

‘what is it, m. poirot?’

‘nothing,’ said poirot. ‘it is not, somehow, just as i thought. that is all.’

he looked acutely unhappy.

‘but still it must be so,’ he said as though to himself. ‘yes, it must be so.’

‘of course it is so. why, you’ve said so all along!’

‘no, no. you misunderstand me.’

‘didn’t you say there was someone back of all this who got the girl into doing it innocently?’

‘yes, yes.’

‘well, what more do you want?’

poirot sighed and said nothing.

‘you are an odd sort of cove. nothing ever satisfies you. i say, it was a piece of luck the girl wrote this letter.’

poirot agreed with more vigour than he had yet shown.

‘mais oui, that is what the murderer did not expect. when miss adams accepted that ten thousand dollars she signed her death warrant. the murderer thought he had taken all precautions – and yet in sheer innocence she outwitted him. the dead speak. yes, sometimes the dead speak.’

‘i never thought she’d done it off her own bat,’ said japp unblushingly.

‘no, no,’ said poirot absently. ‘well, i must get on with things.’

‘you are going to arrest captain marsh – lord edgware, i mean?’

‘why not? the case against him seems proved up to the hilt.’

‘true.’

‘you seem very despondent about it, m. poirot. the truth is, you like things to be difficult. here’s your own theory proved and even that does not satisfy you. can you see any flaw in the evidence we’ve got?’

poirot shook his head.

‘whether miss marsh was accessory or not, i don’t know,’ said japp. ‘seems as though she must have known about it, going there with him from the opera. if she wasn’t, why did he take her? well, we’ll hear what they’ve both got to say.’

‘may i be present?’

poirot spoke almost humbly.

‘certainly you can. i owe the idea to you!’ he picked up the telegram on the table.

i drew poirot aside.

‘what is the matter, poirot?’

‘i am very unhappy, hastings. this seems the plain sailing and the above board. but there is something wrong. somewhere or other, hastings, there is a fact that escapes us. it all fits together, it is as i imagined it, and yet, my friend, there is something wrong.’

he looked at me piteously.

i was at a loss what to say.

第二十章 出租车司机

贾普正在那里询问一个老头。那人乱糟糟的胡子，戴着副眼镜。他说话有一种自悲自叹的调子。

“啊！你们来了。”贾普说道，“一切进展顺利。这人一—他叫乔布森——六月二十九日晚曾在长田那个地方拉过两个人。”

“是的，”乔布森沙哑着嗓子说，“那是一个很好的夜晚。月亮很亮。那位年轻女士和先生在地铁站附近叫住我。′

“他们穿着晚礼服吗？”

“是的，那位绅士穿着白背心，小姐穿着白衣服，上面绣着鸟的图案。我想是从皇家歌剧院出来的。”

“那是什么时侯？”

“十一点以后。”

“好，那么，以后怎样？”

“他们叫我开到摄政门——他们告诉我那个门，还叫我快一些。人们总爱那么说。就好像你愿意慢似的。其实，我们开车的，谁不想越早开到地方越好，好有别的活。人们从下那么想。可是，也要注意啊”一出事，们又要怪我们太快，冒险了。”

“别说了，贾普不耐烦地说，这次没什么车祸，吗？”

“没——没有。”老头仿佛不愿意放弃这个机会似的，其实，没有车祸。那么，开到摄政门，间没超过七分钟。那位先生敲了敲玻璃，就停了下来。是8号门牌。那先生和小姐下车以后，生站在那儿不动，且也叫我照办。那位小姐穿过马路，着房子往回走。那位先生停在车边，人行道上，对着我，朝着她望着，手放在农袋里。大约过了五分钟，听见他说什么话——好像是低声叫什么，后他也走了。我盯着他，为我可不想被人赖账。以前有过这种事，以我得留神他。他走上其中一幢房子的台阶，了门。”

“他将门推开了吗？”

“没有，他有一把钥匙。”

“那房子是多少号？”

“大概是17号，或是19号。他为什么叫我在这里不动呢？我也很奇怪。所以，我一直盯着他们。五分钟以后，他与那位女士一起出来了。他们上了我的车子，叫我开回科文特加登。他们等车子快到的时候，便让我停下，付了车钱。我得承认，他们很大方。我还以为他们会赖账呢，这年头到处有麻烦。”

“对呀！”贾普说，“现在，你要仔细看看这些照片，看那位小姐是不是在里面。”

他拿出五六张样式大小相似的照片。我从他背后饶有兴致地看着。

“就是她。”乔布森说着，肯定地指着杰拉尔丁。马什穿着晚礼服的照片。

“你能确定吗？”

“能确定。尽管她面色苍白，但皮肤很黑。”

“那么，那位男士呢？”

贾普又把另一些照片拿给他看。

他用心地看着那些照片，接着摇了摇头。

“晤，我不敢说一一不是很肯定。这里面有两个人有点像他。”

在那些照片中，有一个是罗纳德。马什的，但乔布森没有挑出来，他所指的那两个人都不是与马什同型的。

于是乔布森走了，贾普将照片扔到桌上。

“很好了。真希望我们能更清楚地把小男爵认出来。这一张是七八年以前照的。我只找到了这么一张。是的。我真希望有个更清晰的认证，尽管这案子已经相当明确了。以前认为不在现场的证据全部推翻了。波洛先生，都亏你聪明，想到了。”

波洛看起来很谦虚。

“当我发现她与她的堂兄都在歌剧院的时候，我就觉得他们在休息时可能在一起。很自然，同他们在一起的人会以为他们根本不会离开剧院。但是半个小时的休息时间足够他们到摄政门来回两趟了。当新男爵再三声明他不在现场的时候。我听着就觉得情形有点不对。”

“你真是个会怀疑的家伙，是不是？”贾普很和善地说，“晤，你大概是对的。在这个世界上，怎么疑心都不过分，新男爵一定是我们要找的人。看看这个。”

他拿出一张纸来。

“这是从纽约发来的电报。他们已与露西。亚当斯联系过了。信是今早寄到她那里的。她说如不是必要，她是不愿将信的原件交出来的。但是她满口答应让我们派去的警官抄一个副本，然后再拍电报给我们。这就是信的副本，实在是有犯罪嫌疑的。”

波洛带着极大的兴趣拿过电报。我从他背后看着电报内容。

（以下是伦敦s·w·3玫瑰露大厦，六月二十九日致露西。亚当斯的信函。

最最亲爱的小妹，我上星期只潦草地写了凡句。很抱歉！但是因为很忙，有许多事情要亲自去过问。那么，亲爱的，我要告诉你，上次演出相当成功！宣传做得很漂亮，票房记录很好，每个人都很帮忙。我在这里认识了一些很好的朋友。明年我想找一家戏院演两个月。

《俄国舞女》独幂剧上座率很高。《美国女子》在巴黎也很好，人们最喜欢的还是在《外国旅馆》那一场戏。我很兴奋，所以我几乎不知道自己在写什么。为什么呢？等一下，你就会明白了。但是，现在先让我给你讲讲人们都说什么了吧。荷赛默先生非常友善，他请我出去吃午饭。结识蒙塔古。科纳爵士，他会帮我太忙的。前天晚上，我遇到了简·威尔金森。她对我的表演，以及模仿她的动作都狠欣赏。因此就引出一件事。这件事，我要告诉你的。我实在不喜欢她，因为近些曰子，我听到一个认识她的人谈起她，说她手段很毒辣，并且总用偷偷摸摸的方式。但是我们现在不谈这个。原来她就是埃奇韦尔夫人，你知道吗？我也听到不少谈埃奇韦尔男爵的话，他也不怎么好，我可以对你这么说。他对他的侄儿，马什上尉。我和你提过的那个人，也非常不好，他将他赶出家们，并停止他的月生活费。他把经过情形统统对我讲了，我为他感到难过。他很喜欢我的表演。他说：“我想能骗过埃奇韦尔男爵本人的。听我说，你愿意打赌吗？”我笑着问，“赌多少？”露西。亲爱的！他的回答让我喘不上气来。一万美元！想一想，一万美元，只要帮人将这种无聊的赌打赢了，就可以赚一万美元。我说：“为这一万美元，我可以到白金汉宫与国王开玩笑，甘愿冒叛国的罪名。”于是。我们就成交了，开始商量细节问题。

我下星期再杷详情告诉你——我是不是会被别人识破。顺便告诉你，亲爱的露西。无论我成功与否，我都赚得到那一万美元。噢！亲爱的妹妹，那对我们将有多重要啊！没时间再多写了——要去准备那件“戏弄人的把戏”了。千千万万的爱给我的小妹。

你的，卡洛塔波洛将信放下。我可以看出，他深受感动。然而，贾普的反应却截然不同。

“我们可抓住他了。”他高兴地说。

“是的。”波洛说道。

他的声音平淡得让人惊奇。

贾普奇怪地望着他。

“波洛先生，怎么了？”

“没什么。”波洛说，“这和我所想的，不知道为什么，不一样。就是这样。”

他的样子很不愉快。

“但也就该是这样。”他自言自语道，“是的，就得这样。”

“当然是这么回事。怎么了，你不是一直这样认为吗？”

“不”，误会我了。”

“你不是说，一个人在幕后让这女孩什么也不知道地去做吗？”

“是的，的。”

“那，你还想怎样？”

波洛叹了口气，没说话。

“你真是个怪家伙。怎么样都不能使你满意。我是说，幸亏那女孩写了这封信。”

波洛以前所未有的精力连声表示赞同。

“是的。这是凶手未曾想过的。当亚当斯小姐接受那一万美元赌注时，她无疑签了自己的死亡证。凶手以为他已经处处小心了。可是正因为她毫不知情，反而斗过了他。死人会说话。是的，有时死人会说话的。”

“我从未想过她会自己完成这事。”贾普毫不难为情地说。

“是啊，是啊。”波洛心不在焉地说。

“晤，我还得去办事。”

“我想，你是要去逮捕马什上尉——埃奇韦尔男爵。”

“为什么不呢？案件已证明完全对他不利。”

“确实。”

“你好像不很起劲儿，波洛先生。事实是你专门喜欢将事情搞得很困难。你自己的猜想已经被证实了，可你还不满意。你还能从我们得到的证据中找出破绽吗？”

波洛摇摇头。

“不知马什小姐是否同谋？”贾普说，“看起来好像她知晓一切，因为她同他一起由戏院到那里的。假若她不是同谋，他为什么带她去呢？晤，我们要听听他俩说什么。”

“我可以在场吗？”

波洛谦逊地问道。

“你当然可以。我还要感谢你的假想呢。，。

他拿起了桌上的电报。

我将波洛拉到一边。

“波洛，怎么回事？”

“黑斯廷斯，我很不开心。这一切好像迸展得很顺利，明明白白的。但里面还有毛病。黑斯廷斯，我们在某处未曾注意一个情节。现在，各种情形似乎都可以结合起来，如我所料想的那佯。但是，我的朋友，我还是觉得里面有毛病。”

他可怜地望着我。

我不知如何是好。