VI
It was a constable who opened the front door to them and saluted. Behind him, Superintendent
Sugden advanced down the hall and said
Glad you’ve got here, sir. Shall we come into this room here on the left—Mr. Lee’s study
I’d like to run over the main outlines. The whole thing’s a rum business.
He ushered them into a small room on the left of the hall. There was a telephone there and a
big desk covered with papers. The walls were lined with bookcases.
The chief constable said: “Sugden, this is M. Hercule Poirot. You may have heard of him.
Just happened to be staying with me. Superintendent Sugden.
Poirot made a little bow and looked the other man over. He saw a tall man with square
shoulders and a military bearing who had an aquiline nose, a pugnacious jaw and a large
flourishing chestnut- coloured moustache. Sugden stared hard at Hercule Poirot after
acknowledging the introduction. Hercule Poirot stared hard at Superintendent Sugden’s
moustache. Its luxuriance seemed to fascinate him.
The superintendent said
Of course I have heard of you, Mr. Poirot. You were in this part of the world some years
ago, if I remember rightly. Death of Sir Bartholomew Strange. Poisoning case. Nicotine. Not my
district, but of course I heard all about it.
Colonel Johnson said impatiently
Now, then, Sugden, let’s have the facts. A clear case, you said.
Yes, sir, it’s murder right enough—not a doubt of that. Mr. Lee’s throat was cut—jugular
vein severed, I understand from the doctor. But there’s something very odd about the whole
matter.
You mean
I’d like you to hear my story first, sir. These are the circumstances: This afternoon, about
five o’clock, I was rung up by Mr. Lee at Addlesfield police station. He sounded a bit odd over the
phone—asked me to come and see him at eight o’clock this evening—made a special point of the
time. Moreover, he instructed me to say to the butler that I was collecting subscriptions for some
police charity.
The chief constable looked up sharply.
Wanted some plausible pretext to get you into the house
That’s right, sir. Well, naturally, Mr. Lee is an important person, and I acceded to his
request. I got here a little before eight o’clock, and represented myself as seeking subscriptions for
the Police Orphanage. The butler went away and returned to tell me that Mr. Lee would see me.
Thereupon he showed me up to Mr. Lee’s room, which is situated on the first floor, immediately
over the dining room.
Superintendent Sugden paused, drew a breath and then proceeded in a somewhat official
manner with his report.
Mr. Lee was seated in a chair by the fireplace. He was wearing a dressing gown. When the
butler had left the room and closed the door, Mr. Lee asked me to sit near him. He then said rather
hesitatingly that he wanted to give me particulars of a robbery. I asked him what had been taken.
He replied that he had reason to believe that diamonds (uncut diamonds, I think he said) to the
value of several thousand pounds had been stolen from his safe.
Diamonds, eh?” said the chief constable.
Yes, sir. I asked him various routine questions, but his manner was very uncertain and his
replies were somewhat vague in character. At last he said, ‘You must understand, Superintendent
that I may be mistaken in this matter.’ I said, ‘I do not quite understand, sir. Either the diamonds
are missing or they are not missing—one or the other.’ He replied, ‘The diamonds are certainly
missing, but it is just possible, Superintendent, that their disappearance may be simply a rather
foolish kind of practical joke.’ Well, that seemed odd to me, but I said nothing. He went on: ‘It is
difficult for me to explain in detail, but what it amounts to is this: So far as I can see, only two
persons can possibly have the stones. One of those persons might have done it as a joke. If the
other person took them, then they have definitely been stolen.’ I said, ‘What exactly do you want
me to do, sir?’ He said quickly, ‘I want you, Superintendent, to return here in about an hour—no
make it a little more than that—say nine fifteen. At that time I shall be able to tell you definitely
whether I have been robbed or not.’ I was a little mystified, but I agreed and went away.
Colonel Johnson commented
Curious—very curious. What do you say, Poirot
Hercule Poirot said
May I ask, Superintendent, what conclusions you yourself drew
The superintendent stroked his jaw as he replied carefully
Well, various ideas occurred to me, but on the whole, I figured it out this way. There was no
question of any practical joke. The diamonds had been stolen all right. But the old gentleman
wasn’t sure who’d done it. It’s my opinion that he was speaking the truth when he said that it
might have been one of two people—and of those two people one was a servant and the other was
a member of the family.
Poirot nodded appreciatively.
Très bien. Yes, that explains his attitude very well.
Hence his desire that I should return later. In the interval he meant to have an interview with
the person in question. He would tell them that he had already spoken of the matter to the police
but that, if restitution were promptly made, he could hush the matter up.
Colonel Johnson said
And if the suspect didn’t respond
In that case, he meant to place the investigation in our hands.
Colonel Johnson frowned and twisted his moustache. He demurred.
Why not take that course before calling you in
No, no, sir.” The superintendent shook his head. “Don’t you see, if he had done that, it
might have been bluff. It wouldn’t have been half so convincing. The person might say to himself
The old man won’t call the police in, no matter what he suspects!’ But if the old gentleman says
to him, ‘I’ve already spoken to the police, the superintendent has only just left.’ Then the thief
asks the butler, say, and the butler confirms that. He says, ‘Yes, the superintendent was here just
before dinner.’ Then the chief is convinced the old gentleman means business and it’s up to him to
cough up the stones.
H’m, yes, I see that,” said Colonel Johnson. “Any idea, Sugden, who this ‘member of the
family’ might be
No, sir.
No indication whatsoever
None.
Johnson shook his head. Then he said
Well, let’s get on with it.
Superintendent Sugden resumed his official manner.
I returned to the house, sir, at nine fifteen precisely. Just as I was about to ring the front door
bell, I heard a scream from inside the house, and then a confused sound of shouts and a general
commotion. I rang several times and also used the knocker. It was three or four minutes before the
door was answered. When the footman at last opened it I could see that something momentous had
occurred. He was shaking all over and looked as though he was about to faint. He gasped out that
Mr. Lee had been murdered. I ran hastily upstairs. I found Mr. Lee’s room in a state of wild
confusion. There had evidently been a severe struggle. Mr. Lee himself was lying in front of the
fire with his throat cut in a pool of blood.
The chief constable said sharply
He couldn’t have done it himself
Sugden shook his head.
Impossible, sir. For one thing, there were the chairs and tables overturned, and the broken
crockery and ornaments, and then there was no sign of the razor or knife with which the crime had
been committed.
The chief constable said thoughtfully
Yes, that seems conclusive. Anyone in the room
Most of the family were there, sir. Just standing round.
Colonel Johnson said sharply
Any ideas, Sugden
The superintendent said slowly
It’s a bad business, sir. It looks to me as though one of them must have done it. I don’t see
how anyone from outside could have done it and got away in time.
What about the window? Closed or open
There are two windows in the room, sir. One was closed and locked. The other was open a
few inches at the bottom—but it was fixed in that position by a burglar screw, and moreover, I’ve
tried it and it’s stuck fast—hasn’t been opened for years, I should say. Also the wall outside is
quite smooth and unbroken—no ivy or creepers. I don’t see how anyone could have left that way.
How many doors in the room
Just one. The room is at the end of a passage. That door was locked on the inside. When
they heard the noise of the struggle and the old man’s dying scream, and rushed upstairs, they had
to break down the door to get in.
Johnson said sharply
And who was in the room
Superintendent Sugden replied gravely
Nobody was in the room, sir, except the old man who had been killed not more than a few
minutes previously.
