chapter 15 the comte de la roche

van aldin read the letter through in silence. his face turned a dull angry crimson. the men watching him saw the veins start out on his forehead, and his big hands clench themselves unconsciously. he handed back the letter without a word. m. carrege was looking with close attention at his desk, m. caux's eyes were fixed upon the ceiling, and m. hercule poirot was tenderly brushing a speck of dust from his coat sleeve. with the greatest tact they none of them looked at van aldin.

it was m. carrege, mindful of his status and his duties, who tackled the unpleasant subject.

"perhaps, monsieur," he murmured, "you are aware by whom - er - this letter was written?"

"yes, i know," said van aldin heavily.

"ah?" said the magistrate inquiringly.

"a scoundrel who calls himself the comte de la roche."

there was a pause; then m. poirot leaned forward, straightened a ruler on the judge's desk, and addressed the millionaire directly.

"m. van aldin, we are all sensible, deeply sensible, of the pain it must give you to speak of these matters, but believe me, monsieur, it is not the time for concealments. if justice is to be done, we must know everything. if you will reflect a little minute you will realize the truth of that clearly for yourself."

van aldin was silent for a moment or two, then almost reluctantly he nodded his head in agreement.

"you are quite right, m. poirot," he said. "painful as it is, i have no right to keep anything back."

the commissary gave a sigh of relief, and the examining magistrate leaned back in his chair and adjusted a pince-nez on his long thin nose.

"perhaps you will tell us in your own words, m. van aldin," he said,

"all that you know of this gentleman."

"it began eleven or twelve years ago - in paris. my daughter was a young girl then, and of foolish, romantic notions, like all young girls are. unknown to me, she made the acquaintance of this comte de la roche. you have heard of him, perhaps?"

the commissary and poirot nodded in assent.

"he calls himself the comte de la roche," continued van aldin,

"but i doubt if he has any right to the title."

"you would not have found his name in the almanac de gotha," agreed the commissary.

"i discovered as much," said van aldin. "the man was a good- looking, plausible scoundrel, with a fatal fascination for women. ruth was infatuated with him, but i soon put a stop to the whole affair. the man was no better than a common swindler."

"you are quite right," said the commissary. "the comte de la roche is well known to us. if it were possible, we should have laid him by the heels before now, but to foil - it is not easy; the fellow is cunning, his affairs are always conducted with ladies of high social position. if he obtains money from them under false pretences or as the fruit of blackmail, eh bien! naturally they will not prosecute. to look foolish in the eyes of the world, oh no, that would never do, and he has an extraordinary power over women."

"that is so," said the millionaire heavily. "well, as i told you, i broke the affair up pretty sharply. i told ruth exactly what he was, and she had, perforce, to believe me. about a year afterwards, she met her present husband and married him. as far as i knew, that was the end of the matter; but only a week ago, i discovered, to my amazement, that my daughter had resumed her

acquaintance with the comte de la roche. she had been meeting him frequently in london and paris. i remonstrated with her on her imprudence, for i may tell you, gentlemen, that, on my insistence, she was preparing to bring a suit for divorce against her husband."

"that is interesting," murmured poirot softly, his eyes on the ceiling.

van aldin looked at him sharply, and then went on.

"i pointed out to her the folly of continuing to see the comte under the circumstances. i thought she agreed with me."

the examining magistrate coughed delicately.

"but according to this letter -" he began and then stopped.

van aldin's jaw set itself squarely.

"i know. it's no good mincing matters. however unpleasant, we have got to face facts. it seems clear that ruth had arranged to go to paris and meet de la roche there. after my warnings to her, however, she must have written to the count suggesting a change of rendezvous."

"the isles d'or," said the commissary thoughtfully, "are situated just opposite hyeres, a remote and idyllic spot."

van aldin nodded.

"my god! how could ruth be such a fool?" he exclaimed bitterly.

"all this talk about writing a book on jewels! why, he must have been after the rubies from the first."

"there are some very famous rubies," said poirot, "originally part of the crown jewels of russia; they are unique in character, and their value is almost fabulous. there has been a rumour that they have lately passed into the possession of an american. are we right in concluding, monsieur, that you were the purchaser?"

"yes," said van aldin. "they came into my possession in paris about ten days ago."

"pardon me, monsieur, but you have been negotiating for their purchase for some time?"

"a little over two months. why?"

"these things become known," said poirot. "there is always a pretty formidable crowd on the track of jewels such as these."

a spasm distorted the other's face.

"i remember," he said brokenly, "a joke i made to ruth when i gave them to her. i told her not to take them to the riviera with her, as i could not afford to have her robbed and murdered for the sake of the jewels. my god! the things one says - never dreaming or knowing they will come true."

there was a sympathetic silence, and then poirot spoke in a detached manner.

"let us arrange our facts with order and precision. according to our present theory, this is how they run. the comte de la roche knows of your purchase of these jewels. by an easy stratagem he induces madame kettering to bring the stones with her. he, then, is the man mason saw in the train at paris."

the other three nodded in agreement.

"madame is surprised to see him, but she deals with the situation promptly. mason is got out of the way; a dinner basket is ordered.

we know from the conductor that he made up the berth for the first compartment, that he did not go into the second

compartment, and that a man could quite well have been concealed from him. so far the comte would have been hidden to

a marvel. no one knows of his presence on the train except madame, he has been careful that the maid did not see his face. all that she could say is that he was tall and dark. it is all most conveniently vague. they are alone - and the train rushes through the night. there would be no outcry, no struggle, for the man is, so she thinks, her lover."

he turned gently to van aldin.

"death, monsieur, must have been almost instantaneous. we will pass over that quickly. the comte takes the jewel-case which lies ready to his hand. shortly afterwards the train draws into lyons."

m. carrege nodded his approval.

"precisely. the conductor descends. it would be easy for our man to leave the train unseen; it would be easy to catch a train back to paris or anywhere he pleases. and the crime would be put down as an ordinary train robbery. but for the letter found in madame's bag, the comte would not have been mentioned."

"it was an oversight on his part not to search that bag," declared the commissary.

"without doubt he thought she had destroyed that letter. it was - pardon me, monsieur - it was an indiscretion of the first water to keep it."

"and yet," murmured poirot, "it was an indiscretion the comte might have foreseen."

"you mean?"

"i mean we are all agreed on one point, and that is that the comte de la roche knows one subject à fond: women. how was it that, knowing women as he does, he did not foresee that madame would have kept that letter?"

"yes - yes," said the examining magistrate doubtfully, "there is something in what you say. but at such times, you understand, a man is not master of himself. he does not reason calmly. mon dieu!" he added, with feeling, "if our criminals kept their heads and acted with intelligence, how should we capture them?"

poirot smiled to himself.

"it seems to me a clear case," said the other, "but a difficult one to prove. he is a slippery customer, and unless the maid can identify him -"

"which is most unlikely," said poirot.

"true, true." the examining magistrate rubbed his chin. "it is going to be difficult."

"if he did indeed commit the crime -" began poirot. m. caux interrupted.

"if - you say if?"

"yes, monsieur le juge, i say if."

the other looked at him sharply. "you are right," he said at last,

"we go too fast. it is possible that the comte may have an alibi. then we should look foolish."

"ah, ?a par exemple," replied poirot, "that is of no importance whatever. naturally, if he committed the crime he will have an alibi. a man with the comte's experience does not neglect to take precautions. no, i said if for a very different reason."

"and what was that?"

poirot wagged an emphatic forefinger.

"the psychology."

"eh?" said the commissary.

"the psychology is at fault. the comte is a scoundrel - yes. the comte is a swindler - yes. the comte preys upon women - yes. he proposes to steal madame's jewels - again yes. is he the kind of man to commit murder? i say no! a man of the type of the comte is always a coward; he takes no risks. he plays the safe, the mean, what the english call the lowdown game; but murder, a hundred times no!" he shook his head in a dissatisfied manner.

the examining magistrate, however, did not seem disposed to agree with him.

"the day always comes when such gentry lose their heads and go too far," he observed sagely. "doubtless that is the case here. without wishing to disagree with you, m. poirot -"

"it was only an opinion," poirot hastened to explain. "the case is, of course, in your hands, and you will do what seems fit to you."

"i am satisfied in my own mind that the comte de la roche is the man we need to get hold of," said m. carrege. "you agree with me, monsieur le commissaire?"

"perfectly."

"and you, m. van aldin?"

"yes," said the millionaire. "yes, the man is a thorough-paced villain, no doubt about it."

"it will be difficult to lay hands on him, i am afraid," said the magistrate, "but we shall do our best. telegraphed instructions shall go out at once."

"permit me to assist you," said poirot. "there need be no difficulty."

"eh?"

the others stared at him. the little man smiled beamingly back at them.

"it is my business to know things." he explained. "the comte is a man of intelligence. he is at present at a villa he has leased, the villa marina at antibes."

第十五章 罗歇伯爵

冯·阿尔丁默黩地读完了这封信。他的双颊气得通红，太阳穴的血管凸起，一双大手痉挛地发拦。他不声不响地把这封信递给了卡雷热。卡雷热紧张地看着写字台，科望着天花板，波洛弹着袖口上的、可能是想象中的灰尘。当时的气氛使这三个人都不敢正眼瞧冯·阿尔丁一眼。

过了好大一会儿，侦察官才敢角及这个令人沮丧的题目。

“您可能知道，先生”，他低声问，“是谁写的信。”

“我知道，我知道这是谁写的信，”冯·阿尔丁愤怒地说，“是一个叫名叫什么罗歇伯爵的坏蛋！”

又停了一会儿，波洛低声问道：

“我们知道，冯·阿尔丁先生，让您来谈这个问题是件很痛苦的事。但是，要解决问题，我们必须了解一些内情。”

冯·阿尔丁沉默了片刻。然后他轻轻地点了一下头，表示他懂得这个道理。

“波洛先生，您是对的。这几乎是使我不能忍受的，但是我必须对您说明真情。”

他忍受着内心的痛苦，用手压着太阳穴，继续说下去：

“这段历史是从十一、二年前开始的，那是在巴黎。我的女儿象别的女孩子一样，充满浪漫主义，喜欢想入非非，她背着我认识了这个罗歇伯爵。你们可能已对他有所了解。”

警察局长和波洛同时点了一下头。

“他挂着这个耀眼的头衔。”冯·阿尔丁继续说，“但是我怀疑他是否有权利来获得这个名称。”

“在臬塔宫廷的注册上，您是找不到他的名字的。”警察局长加上了一句，表示赞同冯·阿尔丁的观点。

“这个纨裤子弟在勾引女人方面确有一套本事。露丝就上了他的钩，而且爱他爱得发疯，但是我很快就把他们的这段历史给结束了。这个人实际上是个大骗子。”

“您说得完全对。”警察局长说。“我们警察局方面对这个伯爵完全了解。我们很久以来一直想找个把柄，把他捉拿归案，可是难啊。这个家伙特别狡猾，他以常同上层社会的女士们打交道。如果这些女士肯为他出足够的钱，那么就很难把他押到法庭上。

谁也不愿在法庭面前得罪他。”

“原来是这样。”冯·阿尔丁闷闷不乐地说，“正象我同你们讲的那样，我决心干预这件事。大约过了一年之后。我女儿同她现在的丈夫结了婚。我当然认为，他们的那段情史就此结束了。大约一周之前，使我感到失望的是，我发现我女儿又同这个伯爵联系上了。我向她说明，在她决定同她丈夫离婚的时候，她的这种行为是多么不慎重。”

“真有意思。”波洛低声说道。

冯·阿尔丁狠狠地瞪了他一眼，继续说道：“看来我女儿从没有下决心同这种人一刀两断，而且毫无疑问，她要与他在巴黎约会。我的劝告看来只产生一种效果，即他们会面的地点改变了。”

“黄金岛这地方在耶尔的对面，是一个很幽静的田园小镇。”警察局长说道。

“露丝怎么会成了一个傻瓜。”冯·阿尔丁痛苦地叫道，“她怎么会带着这么贵重的宝石去上圈套！他的所作所为当然只是为了宝石。”

“最近一个时期人们纷纷议论说，俄国女皇皇冠上的一颗宝石被一个美国人买去了。

那么先生，你就是那位买主了？”

“正是。”冯·阿尔丁说。“我十天之前在巴黎买到的。”

“请原谅，我再提一个问题，先生，在你买妥之前，这笔交易谈了很久吗？”

“大概进行了两个月的时间。为什么问这个问题？”

“人们经常谈到，”波洛说，“有些人专门追逐一些珍贵的金银首饰和宝石。”

“我想起了一件事，”冯·阿尔丁突然说，“我记得，在我把宝石交给露丝的时候，我开过一句玩笑。我对她说，不要把宝石带到利维埃拉去，因为这颗宝石会招致抢劫或暗杀。天啊，我却不幸言中了，从来也没想到，当时的笑话竟成了今日的现实！”

屋子里的人都沉默不语，充满了同情。波洛以公事公办的腔调说道：

“事情就是这样。罗歇伯爵已经得到了宝石转到您手中的消息。一切表明，凯特林女士对一种迷人的谎话信以为真，把宝石带到了身边。因此，正如女仆所说的，此人也就是火车停在巴黎时她在死者包厢里看到的那个人。”

其它三个人都点了一下头。

“女士对他的突然出现有点不知所措，但很快就转为常态。她把马松留在半路上。

乘务员只去整理了第一包厢的床铺。但没有走进第二包厢。伯爵就藏在里面。除了女士之外，没有第二个人知道他在火车上，而且他尽量回避同女仆面对面相遇。他俩单独呆在那儿……火车在深夜里飞驰，不会发生什么搏斗。因为她把这个男人当作了自己的情人。”

波洛瞄了冯·阿尔丁一眼又继续说道：

“死亡只发生在一瞬间。伯爵只需要那个首饰盒，他得手后不久，火车就到了里昂城火车站。”

卡雷热点头表示同意。

“完全正确。火车到里昂城火车站，卧车乘务员接着就下了车，执行自己的任务。

伯爵偷偷地溜下火车，换乘去巴黎或去其它方向的车，这对他这样一种人来说简直是易如反掌。所有的迹象只能表明，这是一起火车上的盗窃案。要不是在女士的手提包里发现了信，那就很难去怀疑这位伯爵先生了。”

“这说明他很粗心，他没有去检查一下女士的手提包。”警察局长说道。

“当然，”波洛随声附和道。“作为一个熟知女性的专家，人应该懂得：一个女人是不会把这样一封信销毁的。”

“在这种情况下，作案人常常缺乏冷静的思考。”侦察官说，“如果罪犯们都那么按逻辑从事，那我们还怎样去捉拿他归案呢？”

波洛的脸上掠过一丝不易被人察觉的笑意。

“对我来说案情已十分清楚。”侦察官继续说，“但是很难用事实证明这一点。伯爵先生比泥鳅还狡猾，如果女仆不能证明他就是……”

“这非常可能。”波洛同意这一点。

“可惜。”侦察官摸了一下下巴，“事情真棘手。”

“如果真是他作的案……，”波洛说道。

科打断他的话说道：

“您说‘如果真是他’，这是什么意思？”

“是的，我是说‘如果真是’，局长先生。”

“也可能伯爵会提出一个‘不在现场’。”

“上帝，这不说明问题。”波洛说，“如果他作了案，他总要为自己制造一个‘不在现场’的谎言。不，我是根据其它理由提出‘如果真是’这种疑问。”

“那么根据什么理由呢？”

波洛用手指点着，郑重其事地说道：

“是从心理学角度。伯爵是个流氓，是个无赖，这一点很清楚，他要偷女士的首饰，这一点也很清楚。但是，象他这种人，个个都是胆小鬼。他决不想制造任何一件担风险的事件。谋杀对这样一种人来说，是难以置信的。”他摇了摇头。

看来侦察官无论如何也不会赞同他的这种分析。

“这帮家伙早晚要掉脑袋，也可能孤注一掷。”他深思了一会儿说，“我的意思并不是反驳您，波洛先生。”

“我只是陈述了自己的意见。”波洛急忙解释道。“调查的权利当然是在您的手中，您一定会查个水落石出。”

“照我个人看来，伯爵正是我们要抓捕的对象。”卡雷热说道。

“您认为如何？冯·阿尔丁先生。”

“毫无疑问，此人就是罪犯。”

“抓住他也不是一件很容易的事。”侦察官说。“但我们将竭尽全力去做。我立即向各地方发出电报。”

“不必要。”波洛说。

“为什么？”

两个人同时盯着波洛。小老头笑着，笑得很得意。

“我的职业只是了解一切。”他声明说，“伯爵目前就在离我们不远的地方。眼下他就住在昂蒂布的侯爵镇。”