Roger Mystery

Chapter 22 The Quill

That evening Poirot invited me to his house after dinner.Caroline watched me go with great reluctance, and she must have been eager to go with me.

Poirot received me warmly.A bottle of Irish whiskey (which I don't like), a soda siphon and glasses are on a small table.He drank himself a hot chocolate made by himself.It was his favorite drink, I only found out later.

He greeted my sister politely and said she was the most interesting woman he had ever met.

"I see her dizzy from being coaxed by you," I said coldly, "what's going on on Sunday afternoon?"

He laughed and blinked.

"I like to ask the experts," commented, but would not elaborate further.

"You've heard all the gossip in the village anyway," I said, "whether it's true or not."

"I got a lot of valuable information." He added calmly.

"for example--"

He shook his head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he retorted. "In a place like this, what Ralph Paton did could not escape being noticed. If your sister hadn't happened to be walking through the woods that day, they would have been spotted." .”

"Forget it," I asked angrily, "but why are you so interested in my patient?"

He blinked again. "Only one of them, Doctor, only one."

"The last one?" I ventured a guess.

"I find Miss Russell well worth studying," he evasively said.

"Don't you think she's cunning, as my sister and Mrs Ackroyd do?" I asked.

"What? What did you say - slippery?"

I explained the word for him as best I could.

"Is that what they said?"

"Didn't my sister tell you everything yesterday afternoon?"

"Their views are not impossible."

"But there is no basis for it," I said.

"Woman," concluded Poirot, "is remarkable! A random guess can miraculously hit the truth. There is a reason for this. Women are good at picking up many details without knowing it. These details are put together — and the resulting result is called a gut feeling. I’m an expert in psychology, and I understand it all.”

He puffed out his chest so pretentiously that it was so funny that I couldn't hold back my belly laugh.Then he took a sip of chocolate and wiped his mustache carefully.

"I wish you could tell me," I blurted out, "what exactly do you think of the case."

He puts down the glass.

"You want to know?"

"Yes."

"You have seen what I saw, so don't we have different opinions?"

"I'm afraid you're laughing at me," I said stiffly. "Of course I have no experience in such matters."

Poirot smiled at me kindly.

"You're like a child eager to understand how machines work. You want to look at the case, not from the family doctor's point of view, but from the eyes of a detective who doesn't know anyone and doesn't care -- for a detective, All the people involved are strangers, and the suspects are completely equal."

"You are very accurate." I sincerely praised.

"Then let me teach you a little lesson. First of all, you have to sort out all the clues of the night when the crime happened-remember, witnesses may lie."

I raise my eyebrows. "Isn't this too suspicious?"

"It was necessary—very necessary, I promise. Start from the beginning. Dr. Sheppard left the house at eight-fifty. How did I know?"

"I told you."

"But you may not be telling the truth—or maybe your watch isn't accurate. But Parker also said you left at eight-fifty, so take that for granted and read on. Nine o'clock sharp, you bumped into A man - we might call it an 'Adventure with a Mysterious Stranger' - was located just outside the gates of the manor house. How do I know it happened?"

"I told you," I replied, but was interrupted by Poirot's impatient wave of the hand.

"Ah, your mind is not working very well tonight, my friend. You do know—but how can I tell if it's real? Well, the reason I'm sure this mysterious stranger is not your hallucination, Because before you met him, Miss Gannett's maid had seen him, and he also asked her how to get to Finley Park. From this, it can be confirmed that there is such a person, and about his two characteristics It's clear—first, he's a stranger to the area; and second, whatever his purpose in going to Finlay Park is, it's not secretive, because he only asked for directions twice."

"Yes," I said, "I see."

"My next task is to further dig into the background of this mysterious man. I learned that he had a drink at the 'Three Wild Boars', and the waitress there also said that he had an American accent and claimed to have just returned from the United States .Did you notice that he has an American accent?"

"Well, there is," I replied after thinking about it for a while, "but it's not too obvious."

"Yes. And this thing, remember, I picked it up in the gazebo before."

He held the little quill in front of my eyes.I checked it curiously, and suddenly, I remembered the plot in the novel I had read.

Poirot, who had been watching my face all the time, nodded when he saw the sudden realization.

"Yes, heroin. 'Powder'. Addicts take the tube and suck the powder up their nose."

"Diacetylmorphine hydrochloride." I said the term reflexively.

"This type of drug use is commonplace across the ocean. This is another piece of evidence that the person is from Canada or the United States."

"How did you come to pay attention to that gazebo?" I was very curious.

"Mr. Inspector believes that anyone who wants to enter the house has to take the path. But when I saw the gazebo, I realized that if anyone uses that gazebo to meet, that is the path that must be taken. It has become clear that, The mysterious stranger did not go to the front door, nor to the back of the house. Could someone come out of the mansion to meet him? If so, what better place than the gazebo? I went to the gazebo with hope. As expected, there are two clues: a small piece of silk, and this goose quill."

"What happened to that piece of silk?" I was even more curious, "Then what's the matter?"

Poirot raised his brows. "You haven't activated the little gray cells," he said coldly. "You can tell at a glance what this starched silk means."

"I just can't see it." I changed the subject, "Anyway, the mysterious man is going to the pavilion for an appointment, so who will meet him?"

"Good question," said Poirot. "Do you remember that Mrs. Ackroyd and her daughter moved from Canada?"

"You accused them of concealing the truth today, so what was your intention here?"

"So to speak. Let's look at another question. What do you think of the parlor-maid's story?"

"what story?"

"Those words about her being fired. Does it take half an hour to fire a servant? How reliable are the so-called important documents? Don't forget, although she claims to be in her own office from 09:30 to [-] o'clock in my bedroom, but no one can prove it."

"You're driving me crazy," I said.

"I think the case is getting clearer. However, I would like to ask you to talk about your point of view and the corresponding arguments."

I took a piece of paper out of my pocket.

"Just jotting down a few humble opinions," I said timidly.

"Very good - you're also using methodology. I'm all ears."

I am a little embarrassed to read it.

"First of all, you need to use logical thinking to look at the problem—"

"Poor Hastings always said that," interrupted Poirot, "but the trouble is, he never did."

"First - at 09:30, Mr Aykroyd was heard talking to someone."

"Second—on the night of the murder, Ralph Paton must have entered the study through the window, and the shoe prints are the evidence."

"Third—Mr. Ackroyd was in a nervous mood that night, so he could only let acquaintances into the house."

"Fourth - the man with Aykroyd at 09:30 is asking for money. And Ralph Paton is in a pinch at the moment."

"According to the above four points, it can be seen that the person who was with Mr. Aykroyd at 09:30 was Ralph Paton. But we already know that Mr. Aykroyd was still alive and well at 45:[-], So Ralph Paton was not his murderer. Ralph left the window open, and that was the window through which the murderer came in."

"And who is the murderer?" asked Poirot.

"The man from America. He is likely to be with Parker, and the person who blackmailed Mrs. Ferrars is probably Parker. If this is true, it is estimated that Parker has heard enough news to make him realize the big deal." Not good, told his accomplice, handed him the dagger, and let him carry out the murder."

"It's a theory," Poirot admitted. "It means that you have brain cells for this. But there are still many details that have not been explained."

"for example--"

"That phone call, and that pushed chair—"

"Is that chair really that important?" I interrupted him.

"Maybe it doesn't matter much," my friend conceded, "maybe it was just accidentally pulled out by Raymond or Brentra, and pushed back involuntarily in a state of high emotional tension. And then there's the Missing forty pounds."

"Ackroyd gave Ralph the money," I suggested. "Perhaps he refused to pay at first, and then changed his mind."

"There is still one problem that has not been resolved."

"what is the problem?"

"Why is Brant so sure that it was Raymond who was with Mr. Ackroyd at 09:30?"

"He's already explained it," I said.

"Do you think his reason is reliable? I will not pursue this question for the time being. Now try to answer this question: What is the reason for Ralph Paton's disappearance?"

"It's hard to say," I stammered, "I can only think from a doctor's point of view that Ralph must be out of his mind! Suppose he suddenly finds out that his stepfather has been murdered within a few minutes of his absence—and that he's just been with him." The dead man had a big fight - he probably panicked and ran away in a hurry. It's not uncommon for suspects to look suspicious when they're actually innocent."

"True," said Poirot, "but there is one more factor which cannot be ignored."

"I know what you're going to say," I resumed. "Motive. Ralph Paton will inherit a large fortune when his stepfather dies."

"That was only one of the motives," said Poirot.

"one?"

"Yes. Did you see that we have three separate motives before us. That blue envelope and the letter inside must have been stolen, and that was one of the motives: Blackmail! Blackmail Vlaar Mrs. Smith's man could be Ralph Paton—what did Hammond say? Ralph Paton hasn't asked his stepfather for money lately, and he seems to have found another cash cow. The second motive is— —to use your exact words just now—is he out of money? His reason for fear of getting himself into trouble will reach his stepfather. You have just mentioned the last motive.”

"Holy shit," I said in shock, "it's 100% against him."

"Really?" said Poirot. "I beg to differ. Three motives--too many. After all, I still prefer Ralph Paton to be innocent."

(End of this chapter)