Агата Кристи - Hercule Poirot's Christmas / Рождество Эркюля Пуаро. Книга для чтения на английском языке

Colonel Johnson said: ‘We’re not making any insinuations against you, Mr Farr.’

Stephen Farr said: ‘I didn’t care much for the tone of Mr Hercule Poirot’s voice.’

‘That,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘is unfortunate!’

He smiled benignly at the other. Stephen Farr looked angrily at him.

Colonel Johnson interposed quickly: ‘Thank you, Mr Farr. That will be all for the present. You will, of course, not leave this house.’

Stephen Farr nodded. He got up and left the room, walking with a freely swinging stride.

As the door closed behind him, Johnson said: ‘There goes X, the unknown quantity. His story seems straightforward enough. All the same, he’s the dark horse. He might have pinched those diamonds – might have come here with a bogus story just to gain admittance [247] a bogus story just to gain admittance – ( разг. ) выдумал историю, чтобы проникнуть в дом . You’d better get his fingerprints, Sugden, and see if he’s known.’

‘I’ve already got them,’ said the superintendent with a dry smile.

‘Good man. You don’t overlook much [248] don’t overlook much – ( разг. ) ничего не упускаете . I suppose you’re on to all the obvious lines?’

Superintendent Sugden checked off on his fingers.

‘Check up on those telephone calls – times, etc. Check up on Horbury. What time he left, who saw him go. Check up all entrances and exits. Check up on staff generally. Check up financial position of members of family. Get on to the lawyers and check up on will. Search house for the weapon and for bloodstains on clothing – also possibly diamonds hidden somewhere.’

‘That covers everything, I think,’ said Colonel Johnson approvingly. ‘Can you suggest anything, M. Poirot?’

Poirot shook his head. He said: ‘I find the superintendent admirably thorough.’

Sugden said gloomily: ‘It won’t be any joke looking through this house for the missing diamonds. Never saw so many ornaments and knickknacks in my life.’

‘The hiding-places are certainly abundant,’ Poirot agreed.

‘And there’s really nothing you would suggest, Poirot?’

The chief constable looked a little disappointed – rather like a man whose dog has refused to do its trick.

Poirot said: ‘You will permit that I take a line of my own?’

‘Certainly – certainly,’ said Johnson at the same moment as Superintendent Sugden said rather suspiciously: ‘What line?’

‘I would like,’ said Hercule Poirot, ‘to converse – very often – very frequently – with members of the family.’

‘You mean you’d like to have another shot at questioning them?’ asked the colonel, a little puzzled.

‘No, no, not to question – to converse!’

‘Why?’ asked Sugden.

Hercule Poirot waved an emphatic hand. ‘In conversation, points arise [249] points arise – ( зд. ) всплывают некоторые факты ! If a human being converses much, it is impossible for him to avoid the truth!’

Sugden said: ‘Then you think someone is lying?’

Poirot sighed. ‘ Mon cher [250] Mon cher – ( фр. ) Дорогой мой , everyone lies – in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to separate the harmless lies from the vital ones.’

Colonel Johnson said sharply: ‘All the same, it’s incredible, you know. Here’s a particularly crude and brutal murder – and whom have we as suspects?

Alfred Lee and his wife – both charming, well-bred, quiet people. George Lee, who’s a Member of Parliament and the essence of respectability. His wife? She’s just an ordinary modern lovely [251] an ordinary modern lovely – ( разг. ) обыкновенная современная красотка . David Lee seems a gentle creature and we’ve got his brother Harry’s word for it that he can’t stand the sight of blood. His wife seems a nice sensible woman – quite commonplace. Remains the Spanish niece and the man from South Africa. Spanish beauties have hot tempers, but I don’t see that attractive creature slitting the old man’s neck in cold blood, especially as from what has come out she had every reason to keep him alive – at any rate until he had signed a new will. Stephen Farr’s a possibility – that is to say, he may be a professional crook and have come here after the diamonds. The old man discovered the loss and Farr slit his throat to keep him quiet. That could have been so – that gramophone alibi isn’t too good.’

Poirot shook his head. ‘My dear friend,’ he said. ‘Compare the physique of M. Stephen Farr and old Simeon Lee. If Farr decided to kill the old man he could have done it in a minute – Simeon Lee couldn’t possibly have put up that fight against him. Can one believe that that frail old man and that magnificent specimen of humanity struggled for some minutes overturning chairs and breaking china? To imagine such a thing is fantastic!’

Colonel Johnson’s eyes narrowed. ‘You mean,’ he said, ‘that it was a weak man who killed Simeon Lee?’

‘Or a woman!’ said the superintendent.

Colonel Johnson looked at his watch.

‘Nothing much more that I can do here. You’ve got things well in hand [252] You’ve got things well in hand – ( разг. ) Вы хорошо справляетесь , Sugden. Oh, just one thing. We ought to see the butler fellow. I know you’ve questioned him, but we know a bit more about things now. It’s important to get confirmation of just where everybody says he was at the time of the murder.’

Tressilian came in slowly. The chief constable told him to sit down.

‘Thank you, sir. I will, if you don’t mind. I’ve been feeling very queer – very queer indeed. My legs, sir, and my head.’

Poirot said gently: ‘You have had the shock, yes.’

The butler shuddered. ‘Such – such a violent thing to happen. In this house! Where everything has always gone on so quietly.’

Poirot said: ‘It was a well-ordered house, yes? But not a happy one?’

‘I wouldn’t like to say that, sir.’

‘In the old days when all the family was at home, it was happy then?’

Tressilian said slowly: ‘It wasn’t perhaps what one would call very harmonious, sir.’

‘The late Mrs Lee was somewhat of an invalid, was she not?’

‘Yes, sir, very poorly she was [253] very poorly she was – ( разг. ) у нее было слабое здоровье .’

‘Were her children fond of her?’

‘Mr David, he was devoted to her. More like a daughter than a son. And after she died he broke away, couldn’t face living here any longer.’

Poirot said: ‘And Mr Harry? What was he like?’

‘Always rather a wild young gentleman [254] Always rather a wild young gentleman – ( разг. ) Всегда был необузданным , sir, but good-hearted. Oh, dear, gave me quite a turn, it did, when the bell rang – and then again, so impatient like, and I opened the door and there was a strange man, and then Mr Harry’s voice said, “Hallo, Tressilian. Still here, eh?” Just the same as ever.’

Poirot said sympathetically: ‘It must have been the strange feeling, yes, indeed.’

Tressilian said, a little pink flush showing in his cheek: ‘It seems sometimes, sir, as though the past isn’t the past! I believe there’s been a play on in London about something like that. There’s something in it, sir – there really is. There’s a feeling comes over you – as though you’d done everything before. It just seems to me as though the bell rings and I go to answer it and there’s Mr Harry – even if it should be Mr Farr or some other person – I’m just saying to myself – but I’ve done this before…’