'Monsieur Poirot has gone to Paris,' I replied coldly.
Giraud snapped his fingers disdainfully. 'So he has gone to Paris, has he? Well, a good thing. The longer he stays there the better. But what does he think he will find there?'
I thought I read in the question a tinge of uneasiness. I drew myself up.
'That I am not at liberty to say,' I said quietly.
Giraud subjected me to a piercing stare. 'He has probably enough sense not to tell you,' he remarked rudely. 'Good afternoon. I'm busy.' And with that he turned on his heel, and left me without ceremony.
Matters seemed at a standstill at the Villa Geneviève.
Giraud evidently did not desire my company and, from what I had seen, it seemed fairly certain that Jack Renauld did not either.
I went back to the town, had an enjoyable bath, and returned to the hotel. I walked in early, wondering whether the following day would bring forth anything of interest.
I was wholly unprepared for what it did bring forth. I was eating my petit déjeuner in the dining room, when the waiter, who had been talking to someone outside, came back in obvious excitement. He hesitated for a minute, fidgeting with his napkin, and then burst out: 'Monsieur will pardon me, but he is connected, is he not, with the affair at the Villa Geneviève?'
'Yes,' I said eagerly. 'Why?'
'Monsieur has not heard the news, though?'
'What news?'
'That there has been another murder there last night!'
'What?'
Leaving my breakfast, I caught up my hat and ran as fast as I could. Another murder-and Poirot away! What fatality. But who had been murdered?
I dashed in at the gate. A group of servants were in the drive, talking and gesticulating. I caught hold of Françoise.
'What has happened?'
'Oh, monsieur! monsieur! Another death! It is terrible. There is a curse upon the house. But yes, I say it, a curse! They should send for Monsieur le Curé to bring some holy water. Never will I sleep another night under that roof. It might be my turn who knows?'
She crossed herself.
'Yes,' I cried, 'but who has been killed?'
'Do I know-me? A man-a stranger. They found him up there-in the shed-not a hundred yards from where they found poor Monsieur. And that is not all. He is stabbed-stabbed in the heart with that dagger!'
Chapter 14. The Second Body.
Not waiting for anything else, I turned and ran along the trail that led to the shed. The two men who were guarding the door stepped aside to let me through. I entered the shed very excited.
It was quite dark inside. It was a rustic wooden building to keep old pottery and gardening tools. I had stormed in, but slowed down and stopped on the treshold, fascinated by what I saw.
Giraud was on his fours, a lantern in his hand, searching meticulously every inch of the ground. He raised his head with a frown when he heard me coming in. Then he relaxed, and said with an amused expression:
'Ah, c'est l'Anglais! Do come in! Let's see what you can find out!'
Annoyed by his tone of voice, I lowered my head and entered the shed.
'There it is,' said Giraud, pointing his lantern at a corner of the shed.
I went over there.
The dead man was on his back. He was of medium height, dark skin, possibly in his fifties. He was impeccably dressed in a dark-blue well-cut suit. The face was terribly convulsed. On the left side, a little over the heart, there was the black shiny handle of a paper-knife. I recognised it immediately. It was the same knife I had seen in the jar the morning before!
'The doctor is expected at any moment,' Giraud
explained. 'But we practically don't need him. There is no doubt about what killed the man. He was stabbed through the heart and the death must have been instantaneous.'
'When did it happen? Last night?'
Giraud shook his head.
'Hardly. I like to wait always for the medical pronouncement, but I bet that this man is dead for at least twelve hours. When did you see the knife for the last time?'
'At ten in the morning.'
'In this case I think that the crime was commited not much later.'
'But there were people passing by all the time!'
Giraud gave an unpleasant laugh.
'Who said that the man was killed in this shed?'
I felt myself blushing.
'I — I — thought that -'
'Ah, but what a great detective! Look at him, mon petit! Do you think a man stabbed through the heart falls this way with arms neatly beside him? Of course not! And look here — and here -'
Giraud passed his lantern over the floor, revealing strange irregular marks on it.
'He was dragged here after he was killed. Half dragged, half carried by two people. Their footprints don't show on the hard soil outside, and in here they took the precautions of destroying them. But there is always something left. And I can assure you, my friend, that one of them was a woman.'
'A woman?'
'That's right.'
'But if the tracks were erased, how can you know?'
'I know it — by this!'
Giraud took something from the handle of the knife and held it up for me. It was a woman's hair, long and black, the same as the one Poirot had found on the chair in the library.
With an ironic smile he put the hair back on the knife.
'Let us leave things as they are, as far as possible,' he explained. 'It pleases the examining magistrate. Well, do you notice anything else?'
I was forced to shake my head.
'Look at his hands.'
I did. The nails were broken and discoloured and the skin was hard. It hardly enlightened me as much as I should have liked it to have done. I looked up at Giraud.
'They are not the hands of a gentleman,' he said, answering my look. 'On the contrary, his clothes are those of a well-to-do man. That is curious is it not?'
'Very curious,' I agreed.
'And none of his clothing is marked. What do we learn from that? This man was trying to pass himself off as other than he was. He was masquerading. Why? Did he fear something? Was he trying to escape by disguising himself? As yet we do not know, but one thing we do know-he was as anxious to conceal his identity as we are to discover it.'
He looked down at the body again. 'As before, there are no fingerprints on the handle of the dagger. The murderer again wore gloves.'
'You think, then, that the murderer was the same in both cases?' I asked eagerly.
Giraud became inscrutable. 'Never mind what I think. We shall see. Marchaud!' The sergent de ville appeared at the door.
'Monsieur?'
'Why is Madame Renauld not here? I sent for her a quarter of an hour ago.'
'She is coming up the path now monsieur, and her son with her.'
'Good. I only want one at a time, though.'
Marchaud saluted and disappeared again. A moment later he reappeared with Mrs. Renauld.
'Here is Madame.'
Giraud came forward with a curt bow.
'This way, madame.' He led her across, and then, standing suddenly aside: 'Here is the man. Do you know him?'
And as he spoke, his eyes, gimlet-like bored into her face seeking to read her mind, noting every indication of her expression.
But Mrs. Renauld remained perfectly calm-too calm, I felt. She looked down at the corpse almost without interest, certainly without any sign of agitation or recognition.
'No,' she said. 'I have never seen him in my life. He is quite a stranger to me.'
'You are sure?'
'Quite sure.'
'You do not recognize in him one of your assailants, for instance?'
'No.' She seemed to hesitate, as though struck by the idea. 'No, I do not think so. Of course they wore beards-false ones the magistrate thought-but still…' Now she seemed to make her mind up definitely, 'I am sure neither of the two was this man.'
'Well then, madame, that is all.'
&nbs
p; She went off with the sun making silver threads in her hair. Jack Renauld succeeded her. He, too, failed to identify the man in a completely natural manner.
Giraud merely grunted. Whether he was pleased or chagrined I could not tell. He called Marchaud. 'You have got the other there?'
'The other' was Madame Daubreuil. She came indignantly, sprang with vehemence 'I, oh! Monsieur! This is an outrage! What have I to do with all this?'
'Madame,' said Giraud brutally, 'I am investigating not one murder, but two murders! For all I know you may have committed them both.'
'How dare you?' she cried. 'How dare you insult me by such a wild accusation! It is infamous!'
'Infamous, is it? What about this?' Stooping, he again detached the hair, and held it up. 'Do you see this, madame?'
He advanced towards her. 'You permit that I see whether it matches?'
With a cry she started backwards, white to the lips.
'It is false, I swear it. I know nothing of the crime-of either crime. Anyone who says I do lies! Ah, mon Dieu, what shall I do?'
'Calm yourself, madame,' said Giraud coldly. 'No one has accused you as yet. But you will do well to answer my questions without more ado.'
'Anything you wish, monsieur.'
'Look at the dead man. Have you ever seen him before?'
Drawing nearer, a little of the colour creeping back to her face, Madame Daubreuil looked down at the victim with a certain amount of interest and curiosity. Then she shook her head.
'I do not know him.'
It seemed impossible to doubt her, the words came so naturally. Giraud dismissed her with a nod of the head.
'You are letting her go?' I asked in a low voice. 'Is that wise? Surely that black hair is from her head.'
'I do not need teaching my business,' said Giraud dryly. 'She is under surveillance. I have no wish to arrest her as yet.'
Then, frowning, he gazed down at the body.
'Should you say that was a Spanish type at all?' he asked suddenly.
I considered the face carefully. 'No,' I said at last. 'I should put him down as a Frenchman most decidedly.'
Giraud gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. 'Same here.'
He stood there for a moment, then with an imperative gesture he waved me aside and once more, on hands and knees he continued his search of the floor of the shed. He was marvellous. Nothing escaped him. Inch by inch he went over the floor, turning over pots, examining old sacks. He pounced on a bundle by the door, but it proved to be only a ragged coat and trousers, and he flung it down again with a snarl. Two pairs of old gloves interested him, but in the end he shook his head and laid them aside. Then he went back to the pots, methodically turning them over one by one. In the end he rose to his feet, and shook his head thoughtfully. He seemed harried and perplexed. I think he had forgotten my presence.
But at the moment a stir and bustle was heard outside, and our old friend, the examining magistrate accompanied by his clerk and M. Bex with the doctor behind them, came bustling in.
'But this is extraordinary, Monsieur Giraud,' cried M. Hautet. 'Another crime! Ah, we have not got to the bottom of this case. There is some deep mystery here. But who is the victim this time?'
'That is just what nobody can tell us, monsieur. He has not been identified.'
'Where is the body?' asked the doctor.
Giraud moved aside a little. 'There in the corner. He has been stabbed to the heart, as you see. And with the dagger that was stolen yesterday morning. I fancy that the murder followed hard upon the theft-but that is for you to say. You can handle the dagger freely-there are no fingerprints on it.'
The doctor knelt down by the dead man and Giraud turned to the examining magistrate.
'A pretty little problem, is it not? But I shall solve it.'
'And so no one can identify him,' mused the magistrate. 'Could it possibly be one of the assassins? They may have fallen out among themselves.'
Giraud shook his head. 'The man is a Frenchman. I would take my oath on that.'
But at that moment they were interrupted by the doctor, who was sitting back on his heels with a perplexed expression.
'You say he was killed yesterday morning?'
'I fix it by the theft of the dagger,' explained Giraud. 'He may, of course, have been killed later in the day.'
'Later in the day? Fiddlesticks! This man has been dead at least forty-eight hours, and probably longer.'
We stared at each other in blank amazement.
Chapter 15. A Photograph
The doctor's words were so surprising that we were all momentarily taken aback. Here was a man stabbed with a dagger which we knew to have been stolen only twenty-four hours previously, and yet Dr. Durand asserted positively that he had been dead at least forty-eight hours! The whole thing was fantastic to the last extreme.
We were still recovering from the surprise of the doctor's announcement when a telegram was brought to me. It had been sent up from the hotel to the villa. I tore it open. It was from Poirot, and announced his return by the train arriving at Merlinville at 12.28.
I looked at my watch and saw that I had just time to get comfortably to the station and meet him there. I felt that it was of the utmost importance that he should know at once of the new and startling developments in the case.
Evidently, I reflected, Poirot had had no difficulty in finding what he wanted in Paris. The quickness of his return proved that. Very few hours had sufficed. I wondered how he would take the exciting news I had to impart.
The train was some minutes late, and I strolled aimlessly up and down the platform until it occurred to me that I might pass the time by asking a few questions as to who had left Merlinville by the last train on the evening of the tragedy.
I approached the chief porter, an intelligent-looking man, and had little difficulty in persuading him to enter upon the subject. It was a disgrace to the police, he hotly affirmed, that such brigands or assassins should be allowed to go about unpunished. I hinted that there was some possibility they might have left by the midnight train but he negatived the idea decidedly. He would have noticed two foreigners-he was sure of it. Only about twenty people had left by the train, and he could not have failed to observe them.
I do not know what put the idea into my head-possibly it was the deep anxiety underlying Marthe Daubreuil's eyes-but I asked suddenly: 'Young Monsieur Renauld-he did not leave by that train, did he?'
'Ah, no, monsieur. To arrive and start off again within half an hour, it would not be amusing, that!'
I stared at the man, the significance of his words almost escaping me. Then I saw.
'You mean,' I said, my heart beating a little, 'that Monsieur Jack Renauld arrived at Merlinville that evening?'
'But yes, monsieur. By the last train arriving the other way, the 11.40.'
My brain whirled. That, then, was the reason of Marthe's poignant anxiety. Jack Renauld had been in Merlinville on the night of the crime. But why had he not said so? Why, on the contrary, had he led us to believe that he had remained in Cherbourg? Remembering his frank boyish countenance, I could hardly bring myself to believe that he had any connexion with the crime. Yet why this silence on his part about so vital a matter? One thing was certain, Marthe had known all along. Hence her anxiety, and her eager questioning of Poirot as to whether anyone was suspected.
My cogitations were interrupted by the arrival of the train, and in another moment I was greeting Poirot. The little man was radiant. He beamed and vociferated and, forgetting my English reluctance, embraced me warmly on the platform.
'Mon crier ami, I have succeeded-but succeeded to a marvel!'
'Indeed? I'm delighted to hear it. Have you heard the latest here?'
'How would you that I should hear anything? There have been some developments, eh? The brave Giraud he has made an arrest? Or even arrests perhaps? Ah, but I make him look foolish, that one! But where are you taking me, my friend? Do we not go to the hotel? It is necessary that I attend to
my moustaches-they are deplorably limp from the heat of travelling. Also, without doubt, there is dust on my coat. And my tie, that I must rearrange.'
I cut short his remonstrances.
'My dear Poirot-never mind all that. We must go to the villa at once. There has been another murder!'
Never have I seen a man so flabbergasted. His jaw dropped. All the jauntiness went out of his bearing. He stared at me open-mouthed.
'What is that you say? Another murder? Ah, then, but I am all wrong. I have failed. Giraud may mock himself at me-he will have reason!'
'You did not expect it, then?'
'I? Not the least in the world. It demolishes my theory-it ruins everything-it- Ah, no!' He stopped dead, thumping himself on the chest. 'It is impossible. I cannot be wrong! The facts, taken methodically, and in their proper order, admit of only one explanation. I must be right! I am right!'
'But then-'
He interrupted, me. 'Wait, my friend. I must be right, therefore this new murder is impossible unless-unless… No, wait, I implore you. Say no word.'
He was silent for a moment or two, then resuming his normal manner, he said in a quiet assured voice: 'The victim is a man of middle age. His body was found in the locked shed near the scene of the crime and had been dead at least forty-eight hours. And it is most probable that he was stabbed in a similar manner to Mr. Renauld, though not necessarily in the back.'
To my knowledge of Poirot he had never done anything so amazing as this. And, almost inevitably a doubt crossed my mind.
'Poirot,' I cried, 'you're pulling my leg. You've heard all about it already.'
He turned his earnest gaze upon me reproachfully. 'Would I do such a thing? I assure you that I have heard nothing whatsoever. Did you not observe the shock your news was to me?'
'But how on earth could you know all that?'
'I was right, then? But I knew it. The little grey cells, my friend, the little grey cells! They told me. Thus, and in no other way, could there have been a second death. Now tell me all. If we go round to the left here, we can take a shortcut across the golf links which will bring us to the back of the Villa Geneviève much more quickly.'
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