chapter 16 poirot discusses the case

everybody looked respectfully at poirot.

undoubtedly the little man had scored heavily. the commissary laughed - on a rather hollow note.

"you teach us all our business," he cried. "m. poirot knows more than the police."

poirot gazed complacently at the ceiling, adopting a mock-modest air.

"what will you; it is my little hobby," he murmured, "to know things. naturally i have the time to indulge it. i am not overburdened with affairs."

"ah!" said the commissary shaking his head portentously. "as for me -"

he made an exaggerated gesture to represent the cares that lay on his shoulders.

poirot turned suddenly to van aldin.

"you agree, monsieur, with this view? you feel certain that the comte de la roche is the murderer?"

"why, it would seem so - yes, certain."

something guarded in the answer made the examining magistrate

look at the american curiously. van aldin seemed aware of his scrutiny and made an effort as though to shake off some preoccupation.

"what about my son-in-law?" he asked. "you have acquainted him with the news? he is in nice, i understand."

"certainly, monsieur." the commissary hesitated, and then murmured very discreetly:

"you are doubtless aware, m. van aldin, that m. kettering was also one of the passengers on the blue train that night?"

the millionaire nodded.

"heard it just before i left london," he vouchsafed laconically.

"he tells us," continued the commissary, "that he had no idea his wife was travelling on the train."

"i bet he hadn't," said van aldin grimly. "it would have been rather a nasty shock to him if he'd come across her on it."

the three men looked at him questioningly.

"i'm not going to mince matters," said van aldin savagely. "no one knows what my poor girl has had to put up with. derek kettering wasn't alone. he had a lady with him."

"ah?"

"mirelle - the dancer."

m. carrege and the commissary looked at each other and nodded

as though confirming some previous conversation. m. carrege leaned back in his chair, joined his hands, and fixed his eyes on the ceiling.

"ah!" he murmured again. "one wondered."

he coughed. "one has heard rumours."

"the lady," said m. caux, "is very notorious."

"and also," murmured poirot softly, "very expensive."

van aldin had gone very red in the face.

he leant forward and hit the table a bang with his fist.

"see here," he cried, "my son-in-law is a damned scoundrel!"

he glared at them, looking from one face to another.

"oh, i know," he went on. "good looks and a charming, easy manner. it took me in once upon a time. i suppose he pretended to be broken-hearted when you broke the news to him - that is, if he didn't know it already."

"oh, it came as a complete surprise to him. he was overwhelmed."

"darned young hypocrite," said van aldin. "simulated great grief, i suppose?"

"n-no," said the commissary cautiously. "i would not quite say that - eh, m. carrege?"

the magistrate brought the tips of his fingers together, and half closed his eyes.

"shock, bewilderment, horror - these things, yes," he declared judicially. "great sorrow - no - i should not say that."

hercule poirot spoke once more.

"permit me to ask, m. van aldin, does m. kettering benefit by the death of his wife?"

"he benefits to the tune of a couple of millions," said van aldin.

"dollars?"

"pounds. i settled that sum on ruth absolutely on her marriage. she made no will and leaves no children, so the money will go to her husband."

"whom she was on the point of divorcing," murmured poirot. "ah, yes - précisément."

the commissary turned and looked sharply at him.

"do you mean -" he began.

"i mean nothing," said poirot. "i arrange the facts, that is all."

van aldin stared at him with awakening interest.

the little man rose to his feet.

"i do not think i can be of any further service to you, m. le juge," he said politely, bowing to m. carrege. "you will keep me informed of the course of events? it will be a kindness."

"but certainly - most certainly."

van aldin rose also.

"you don't want me any more at present?"

"no, monsieur; we have all the information we need for the moment."

"then i will walk a little way with m. poirot. that is, if he does not object?"

"enchanted, monsieur," said the little man, with a bow.

van aldin lighted a large cigar, having offered one to poirot, who declined it, and lit one of his own tiny cigarettes. a man of great strength of character, van aldin already appeared to be his everyday, normal self once more. after strolling along for a minute or two in silence, the millionaire spoke:

"i take it, m. poirot, that you no longer exercise your profession?"

"that is so, monsieur. i enjoy the world."

"yet you are assisting the police in this affair?"

"monsieur, if a doctor walks along the street and an accident happens, does he say, 'i have retired from my profession, i will continue my walk,' when there is someone bleeding to death at his feet? if i had been already in nice, and the police had sent to me and asked me to assist them, i should have refused. but this affair, the good god thrust it upon me."

"you were on the spot," said van aldin thoughtfully. "you examined the compartment, did you not?"

poirot nodded.

"doubtless you found things that were, shall we say, suggestive to you?"

"perhaps," said poirot.

"i hope you see what i am leading up to?" said van aldin. "it seems to me that the case against this comte de la roche is perfectly clear, but i am not a fool. i have been watching you for this last hour or so, and i realise that for some reason of your own you don't agree with that theory?"

poirot shrugged his shoulders.

"i may be wrong."

"so we come to the favour i want to ask you. will you act in this matter for me?"

"for you personally?"

"that was my meaning."

poirot was silent for a moment or two.

then he said:

"you realize what you are asking?"

"i guess so," said van aldin.

"very well," said poirot. "i accept. but in that case, i must have frank answers to my questions."

"why, certainly. that is understood."

poirot's manner changed. he became suddenly brusque and

businesslike.

"this question of a divorce," he said. "it was you who advised your daughter to bring the suit?"

"yes."

"when?"

"about ten days ago. i had had a letter from her complaining of her husband's behaviour, and i put it to her very strongly that divorce was the only remedy."

"in what way did she complain of his behaviour?"

"he was being seen about with a very notorious lady - the one we have been speaking of - mirelle."

"the dancer. ah-ha! and madame kettering objected? was she very devoted to her husband?"

"i would not say that," said van aldin hesitating a little.

"it was not her heart that suffered, it was her pride - is that what you would say?"

"yes, i suppose you might put it like that."

"i gather that the marriage had not been a happy one from the beginning?"

"derek kettering is rotten to the core," said van aldin. "he is incapable of making any woman happy."

"he is, as you say in england, a bad lot. that is right, is it not?"

van aldin nodded.

"très bien! you advise madame to seek a divorce, she agrees; you consult your solicitors. when does m. kettering get news of what is in the wind?"

"i sent for him myself, and explained the course of action i proposed to take."

"and what did he say?" murmured poirot softly.

van aldin's face darkened at the remembrance.

"he was infernally impudent."

"excuse the question, monsieur, but did he refer himself to le comte de la roche?"

"not by name," growled the other unwillingly, "but he showed himself cognizant of the affair."

"what, if i may ask, was m. kettering's financial position at the time?"

"how do you suppose i should know that?" asked van aldin, after a very brief hesitation.

"it seemed likely to me that you would inform yourself on that point."

"well - you are quite right, i did. i discovered that kettering was on the rocks."

"and now he has inherited two million pounds! ma foi - it is a strange thing, is it not?"

van aldin looked at him sharply.

"what do you mean?"

"i moralize," said poirot. "i reflect, i speak the philosophy. but to return to where we were. surely m. kettering did not propose to allow himself to be divorced without making a fight for it?"

van aldin did not answer for a minute or two, then he said:

"i don't exactly know what his intentions were."

"did you hold any further communications with him?"

again a slight pause, then van aldin said: "no."

poirot stopped dead, took off his hat, and held out his hand.

"i must wish you good-day, monsieur. i can do nothing for you."

"what are you getting at?" demanded van aldin angrily.

"if you do not tell me the truth, i can do nothing."

"i don't know what you mean."

"i think you do. you may rest assured, m. van aldin, that i know how to be discreet."

"very well, then," said the millionaire. "i'll admit that i was not speaking the truth just now. i did have further communication with my son-in-law."

"yes?"

"to be exact, i sent my secretary, major knighton, to see him, with instructions to offer him the sum of one hundred thousand pounds in cash if the divorce went through undefended."

"a pretty sum of money," said poirot appreciatively, "and the answer of monsieur, your son-in-law?"

"he sent back word that i could go to hell," replied the millionaire succinctly.

"ah!" said poirot.

he betrayed no emotion of any kind. at the moment he was engaged in methodically recording facts.

"monsieur kettering has told the police that he neither saw nor spoke to his wife on the journey from england. are you inclined to believe that statement, monsieur?"

"yes, i am," said van aldin. "he would take particular pains to keep out of her way, i should say."

"why?"

"because he had got that woman with him."

"mirelle?"

"yes."

"how did you come to know that fact?"

"a man of mine, whom i had put on to watch him, reported to me that they had both left by that train."

"i see," said poirot. "in that case, as you said before, he would not be likely to attempt to hold any communication with madame kettering."

the little man fell silent for some time.

van aldin did not interrupt his meditation.

第十六章 波洛分析案情

在座的人都以敬佩的眼光看着波洛。这个小老头的确名不虚传。

“在您的面前，我们真都成了小学生。”高级警官高声说道，勉强地微笑着，“波洛先生懂的事比全世界的警察懂得的还要多。”

波洛显出很谦虚的样子，仰望着天花板。

“你们何必这样！了解一切，这是我的乐趣。”他喃喃地说，然后突然转向范·奥尔丁。

“先生，您也认为罗奇伯爵是凶手？”

“我怀疑他……甚至确信他就是罪犯。”

可是，检查官听得出他的声音并不那么坚定。

范·奥尔丁思虑了片刻，蓦然想起了一个问题。

“您是否已经把这个案子告诉了我的女婿？据我所知，他目前也在尼斯。”

“当然，先生。”.

警官犹豫了一下，小声说道：“这是您已经晓得的，范·奥尔丁先生，出事的那天夜里，凯特林先生也乘坐了‘蓝色特快’那次车。”

百万富翁点了点头。

“我离开伦敦时听说的。”他简短地回答道。

“您的女婿说，”警官继续着他的话，“他那时并不知道同妻子乘同一次车。”

“如果他知道是在同一次列车上，他将感到十分不愉快。”范·奥尔丁气愤地说道。

三个人不解地看着他。

“没有人能够理解，我那可怜的孩子经受了多大的痛苦。德里克·凯特林并不是独自旅行，陪同他的还有一个女士。”

“一个女士？”

“米雷尔，那个舞女。”

卡雷热同科交换了一下眼色。然后他说道：.

“现在谣言不少。”

“这个女人，”科说，“声名狼藉。”.

“另外，”波洛加了一句，“她的身价还很高。”

范·奥尔丁羞得满脸通红。他弯着腰坐在那里，用拳头敲着桌子。“我的女婿是一个该死的流氓。这个家伙，风度翩翩，引人注目。当然，当然，起初我也被他迷住了。可以想象，当您把消息告诉他的时候，他一定表现得特别悲伤和可怕，对吗？”

“他的表现恰到好处。”

“看来他像是当头挨了一棒，显得特别害怕。如果说这次死亡事件在他的内心深处激起了波澜，那么从外表却看不出有这种迹象。”

现在该波洛说话了。“请允许我提一个问题，范·奥尔丁先生！这次死亡事件对凯特林先生是否有物质上的利益？”

“死亡事件会给他带来二百万英镑的好处。在我女儿结婚时我就把这笔钱拔给了他们。因为没有遗嘱，也没有孩子，所以这笔钱理所当然地归她丈夫所有。”

“就是归凯特林女士想和他离婚的那个人。”波洛说道，“您的意思……”警官瞧着波洛说道。

“我什么也不想说。”波洛打断他的话，“我只想证实一下事情的本来面目。”

小老头站了起来。

“我认为，我暂时还不能为您效劳，检查官先生。”他彬彬有礼地向卡雷热鞠了一躬。“在案情发展过程中您能同我一直保持联系吗？如果您能这样做，我将非常高兴。”

“当然，这是不言而喻的。”

范·奥尔丁也站了起来。

“您还需要我吗？”

“不，先生，暂时我们已经得到了所有的情报。”

“这样的话，我要陪波洛先生走了。”

“我感到很荣幸。”小老头说道。

波洛点燃了一支小雪茄，范·奥尔丁也同时点燃了一支大雪茄。百万富翁又显出冷静的神态。他同侦探走了一段路之后，说道：

“据我所知，您已经不干您那一行了。”

“完全对，先生，我对现在的生活很满意。”

“可是现在您在帮警察局破案。”

“先生，如果一个医生在马路上行走，遇上了一次车祸，难道他能够说：‘我已经不干这一行了，我要散我的步。’而且正好有一个人躺在他的脚下流血？这种事可以说是上帝的旨意。”

“我认为伯爵的罪行是确凿的。”过了一会范·奥尔丁说，“可是您好像不这样认为。”

波洛耸耸肩膀。

“也可能我的看法是错的。”

“我请您帮忙，就如我当初说的那样。您能这样做吗？”.

波洛沉默了一会儿，然后说道：“您理解您对我的要求吗？”

“是的，我认为我理解。”

“那好，我也这样认为。但我也要求您做到一件事：一定要以诚相见。”

“一言为定。”

波洛突然变成了另外一个人。他用公务上所惯有的那种腔调简短而明确地问道：

“您劝过您女儿离婚？”

“是的。”

“什么时候？”

“大概十天之前。她抱怨她丈夫的行为，因此我向她建议，离婚是惟一的出路。”

“她对丈夫最不满的是什么？”

“他同一个声名狼藉的女人鬼混。”

“噢，是那个舞女。当然凯特林女士对此是不满意的。她喜欢自己的丈夫吗？”

“实际上并不喜欢。”范·奥尔丁犹豫了一下。

“那么说，不是伤了她的感情，而是伤了她的自尊心。”

“可以这样理解。”

“这么说，这桩婚姻从一开始就不是幸福的？”

“德里克·凯特林是个坏透了的家伙。”范·奥尔丁说道，“他是不会使妻子幸福的。”

“他是人们指的那种无用的人？”

范·奥尔丁点了一下头。

“事情是这样：您劝女士离婚，她就同意了。您同她都很高兴。凯特林什么时候知道这件事的？”

“我把他叫来，告诉他我们准备对付他的一些做法。”

“他说过什么吗？”

当范·奥尔丁回忆起这件事的时候，他的两颊绯红。

“他当时表现得特别无耻。”

“请原谅，先生，我提一个问题，他当时提到罗奇伯爵吗？”

“没有指名道姓。”他的话是从牙缝里挤出来的，“但是，看来他对此事已经有所了解。”

“当时凯特林的经济状况怎样？”

“正是成问题的时候。”

“可是现在他得到了二百万英镑！是的，生活有时候会露出奇怪的面孔，不是吗？”

范·奥尔丁只是死盯着他。

“您是指什么？”

“我在鼓吹德性，宣扬道德观念，我在回味人生的一些现象。作为一个哲学家，我在验证着自己的观点。还是回到我们的本行里来吧！凯特林先生看来是不准备离婚的了？”

范·奥尔丁思忖了一会儿。

“我不知道他到底持什么态度”。

“您从那时起就没有再同他联系吗？”

范·奥尔丁又沉默了一会儿，然后说道：“没有。”

波洛猛然站起来，拿起帽子把手伸向百万富翁。

“请原谅，我要告辞了，先生。我不能再为您效劳了。”

“这是什么意思？”范·奥尔丁现出不知所措的神色。

“如果您不愿说出真情，那我就无能为力了。”.

“您指的是什么？”

“这您自己心里明白。请您放心好了，范·奥尔丁先生，我懂得保密。”

“那么好吧，”百万富翁说，“我承认，我没有说出真情。我又找过我女婿一次。”

“您看怎么样。”

“确切地说，我是派我的秘书奈顿上校去的，并委托他给我女婿十万英镑，如果他不给离婚的事制造困难的话。”

“一个不小的数字。”波洛赞许地说，“那么您女婿怎么回答的呢？”

“他说，让我见鬼去。”

“噢！”

波洛显得无动于衷。他正在分析上述的那些情况。

“凯特林先生对警察局方面讲，从英国出发之后，在火车上他既没有看到自己的妻子，也没有同她谈过话。您认为这是可信的吗，先生？”

“因为那个舞女在他身边，当然他尽量回避同我女儿见面。”

“我明白了，”波洛说，“在这种情况下他当然不会尝试去同自己的妻子会面。”

小老头陷入了沉思。范·奥尔丁觉得最好这个时候不去打扰他。