Chapter 33  A NEW THEORY 

"Monsieur Poirot wants to see you, sir." 

"Damn the fellow!" said Van Aldin. 

Knighton remained sympathetically silent. Van Aldin got up from his chair and paced up and down. 

"I suppose you have seen the cursed newspapers this morning?" 

"I have glanced at them, sir." 

"Still at it hammer and tongs?" 

"I am afraid so, sir." 

The millionaire sat down again and pressed his hand to his forehead. 

"If I had had an idea of this," he groaned. "I wish to God I had never got that little Belgian to ferret out the truth. Find Ruth's murderer - that was all I thought about." 

"You wouldn't have liked your son-in-law to go scot free?" 

Van Aldin sighed. 

"I would have preferred to take the law into my own hands." 

"I don't think that would have been a very wise proceeding, sir." 

"All the same - are you sure the fellow wants to see me?" 

"Yes, Mr Van Aldin. He is very urgent about it." 

"Then I suppose he will have to. He can come along this morning if he likes." 

It was a very fresh and debonair Poirot who was ushered in. He did not seem to see any lack of cordiality in the millionaire's manner, and chatted pleasantly about various trifles. He was in London, he explained, to see his doctor. He mentioned the name of an eminent surgeon. 

"No, no, pas la guerre - a memory of my days in the police force, a bullet of a rascally Apache." 

He touched his left shoulder and winced realistically. 

"I always consider you a lucky man, Monsieur Van Aldin, you are not like our popular idea of American millionaires, martyrs to the dyspepsia." 

"I am pretty tough," said Van Aldin. "I lead a very simple life, you know; plain fare and not too much of it." 

"You have seen something of Miss Grey, have you not?" inquired Poirot, innocently turning to the secretary. 

"I - yes; once or twice," said Knighton. 

He blushed slightly and Van Aldin exclaimed in surprise: 

"Funny you never mentioned to me that you had seen her, Knighton?" 

"I didn't think you would be interested, sir." 

"I like that girl very much," said Van Aldin. 

"It is a thousand pities that she should have buried herself once more in St Mary Mead," said Poirot. 

"It is very fine of her," said Knighton hotly. "There are very few people who would bury themselves down there to look after a cantankerous old woman who has no earthly claim on her." 

"I am silent," said Poirot, his eyes twinkling a little, "but all the same I say it is a pity. And now, Messieurs, let us come to business." 

Both the other men looked at him in some surprise. 

"You must not be shocked or alarmed at what I am about to say. Supposing, Monsieur Van Aldin, that, after all, Monsieur Derek Kettering did not murder his wife?" 

"What?" 

Both men stared at him in blank surprise. 

"Supposing, I say, that Monsieur Derek Kettering did not murder his wife?" 

"Are you mad, Monsieur Poirot?" 

It was Van Aldin who spoke. 

"No," said Poirot, "I am not mad. I am eccentric, perhaps - at least certain people say so; but as regards my profession, I am very much, as one says, 'all there.' I ask you, Monsieur Van Aldin, whether you would be glad or sorry if what I tell you should be the case?" 

Van Aldin stared at him. "Naturally I should be glad," he said at last. "Is this an exercise in suppositions, Monsieur Poirot, or are there any facts behind it?" 

Poirot looked at the ceiling. 

"There is an off-chance," he said quietly, "that it might be the Comte de la Roche after all. At least I have succeeded in upsetting his alibi." 

"How did you manage that?" 

Poirot shrugged his shoulders modestly. 

"I have my own methods. The exercise of a little tact, a little cleverness - and the thing is done." 

"But the rubies," said Van Aldin, "these rubies that the Count had in his possession were false." 

"And clearly he would not have committed the crime except for the rubies. But you are overlooking one point, Monsieur Van Aldin. Where the rubies were concerned, someone might have been before him." 

"But this is an entirely new theory," cried Knighton. 

"Do you really believe all this rigmarole, Monsieur Poirot?" demanded the millionaire. 

"The thing is not proved," said Poirot quietly. "It is as yet only a theory, but I tell you this, Monsieur Van Aldin, the facts are worth investigating. You must come out with me to the south of France and go into the case on the spot." 

"You really think this is necessary - that I should go, I mean." 

"I thought it would be what you yourself would wish," said Poirot. 

There was a hint of reproach in his tone which was not lost upon the other. 

"Yes, yes, of course," he said. "When do you wish to start, Monsieur Poirot?" 

"You are very busy at present, sir," murmured Knighton. 

But the millionaire had now made up his mind, and he waved the other's objections aside. 

"I guess this business comes first," he said. "All right, Monsieur Poirot, tomorrow. What train?" 

"We will go, I think, by the Blue Train," said Poirot, and he smiled. 

第三十三章 新的见解

    “波洛先生想同您谈谈，先生。”

    “真见鬼，他又来了。”冯·阿尔丁不耐烦地说道。

    奈顿审慎地一声不响。

    百万富翁站了起来，在屋子里走来走去。

    “你看到今天早晨那些该死的报纸了吗？”

    “只是粗略地溜了一眼。”

    “难道还不让我和我那可怜的孩子享受享受宁静吗？”

    “可惜先生，看来还不。”

    百万富翁又坐了下来用手摸着前额。“要是我根本不去找那个比利时老头来破这个案，那么我可能就会轻松多了。”

    “那么说，让您的女婿逍遥法外，您就舒服了？”

    冯·阿尔丁叹了口气。

    “我想同他单独算账。现在，看在上帝的面上，让波洛上来。”

    波洛举止潇洒地走进屋来。他并没有介意百万富翁冷冰冰的问候，仍然兴致勃勃地谈天说地。他声称，他到伦敦来是想请教一位医生。他说出了这位医生的名字。

    “不是，不是战时负的伤……是我当警察时受到的教训。是一个下流坯给我留下的子弹。”

    他摸着自己的肩部，戏剧性地耸了耸肩膀。

    “您又见到了格蕾小姐，是吗？”他以好奇的目光看着秘书。

    “是的，见过一两次。”奈顿承认道。

    他的脸上现出赧愧之色，冯·阿尔丁奇怪地叫道：

    “有意思，奇怪，你一点也没对我说过，奈顿。”

    “我不相信您会对此感兴趣，先生。”

    “那位女士确实很可爱。”冯·阿尔丁说道。

    “她在玛丽麦德村又对自己约束起来，这太可惜啦。”波洛说道。

    “她真不错，”奈顿似乎很激动地说，“很少有人会象她那样，以那样一种方式服侍一位有病的老妇。”

    “这我可没话说了。”波洛说，眨了眨眼睛。“但是我并不认为那是令人遗憾的。

现在我们言归正传。请您对我说的话不必惊慌，我们现在假定，德里克·凯特林虽说是那种情况，并没有杀死自己的妻子。”

    “您简直是在开玩笑，波洛？”冯·阿尔丁大叫道。

    “这我不知道。有点古怪是真的，但说我疯了，那就说得有些过分。现在又有一种新情况，说明伯爵是凶手。至少我现在成功地拆穿了伯爵的‘不在现场’这一谎言。”

    “您是怎么弄清的？”

    波洛谦逊地耸了一下肩膀。“我有一种小小的办法，但决不是在耍魔术。”

    “宝石是在他那里找到的，”冯·阿尔丁说道，“但可惜是赝品。”

    “非常明显，除了宝石之外，他没有其它理由去作案，是吗？但您只看到了问题的一面，冯·阿尔丁先生。可能在他之前已经有人把宝石偷走了。”

    “这完全是新见解。”奈顿叫道。

    “您真会相信这种荒唐的说法？”百万富翁问道。

    “这需要证明，当然暂时还不能证明。这只是一种可能性。但不管怎样，应该调查一下，这种可能性是否存在。您应该同我一道再去一趟利维埃拉，来一个实地调查。”

    “您认为我也必须同去？”

    “我相信，您也有兴趣为弄清真相而努力。”

    由于波洛感到自己的话对百万富翁没起作用，所以他在自己的话里加了一些责怪的成分。

    “您说得对，波洛先生。我们什么时候起程？”

    “最近几天您可很忙，有很多桩交易要做。”奈顿插话道。

    但是百万富翁已经打定了主意。

    “我相信，这笔交易完全要用另外一种方式做了。”他说，“好，说妥了，波洛，明天就走，乘那一次车？”

    “我认为，最好还是乘‘蓝色特快’。”波洛笑着说。