XV

As the door opened once more, Colonel Johnson looked up. For a moment he took the enteringfigure to be that of Harry¹ Lee, but as Stephen Farr advanced into the room he saw his error.

“Sit down, Mr. Farr,” he said.

Stephen sat. His eyes, cool, intelligent eyes, went from one to the other of the three men. Hesaid:

“I’m afraid I shan’t be much use to you. But please ask me anything that you think may help.

Perhaps I’d better explain, to start with, who I am. My father, Ebenezer Farr, was Simeon Lee’spartner in South Africa in the old days. I’m talking of over forty years ago.”

He paused.

“My dad talked to me a lot about Simeon Lee—what a personality he was. He and Dadcleaned up a good bit together. Simeon Lee went home with a fortune and my father didn’t dobadly either. My father always told me that when I came to this country I was to look up Mr. Lee.

I said once that it was a long time ago and that he’d probably not know who I was, but Dad scoffedat the idea. He said, ‘When two men have been through what Simeon and I went through, theydon’t forget.’ Well, my father died a couple of years ago. This year I came over to England for thefirst time, and I thought I’d act on Dad’s advice and look up Mr. Lee.”

With a slight smile he went on:

“I was just a little nervous when I came along here, but I needn’t have been. Mr. Lee gave mea warm welcome and absolutely insisted that I should stay with the family over Christmas. I wasafraid I was butting² in, but he wouldn’t hear of a refusal.”

He added rather shyly:

“They were all very nice to me—Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lee couldn’t have been nicer. I’mterribly sorry for them that all this should come upon them.”

“How long have you been here, Mr. Farr?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Did you see Mr. Lee today at all?”

“Yes, I had a chat with him this morning. He was in good spirits then and anxious to hearabout a lot of people and places.”

“That was the last time you saw him?”

“Yes.”

“Did he mention to you that he kept a quantity of uncut diamonds in his safe?”

“No.”

He added before the other could speak:

“Do you mean that this business was murder and robbery?”

“We’re not sure yet,” said Johnson. “Now to come to the events of this evening, will you tellme, in your own words, what you were doing?”

“Certainly. After the ladies left the dining room I stayed and had a glass of port. Then Irealized that the Lees had family business they wanted to discuss and that my being there washampering them so I excused myself and left them.”

“And what did you do then?”

Stephen Farr leaned back in his chair. His forefinger³ caressed⁴ his jaw⁵. He said ratherwoodenly:

“I—er—went along to a big room with a parquet⁶ floor—a kind of ballroom⁷, I fancy. There’sa gramophone there and dance records. I put some records on.”

Poirot said:

“It was possible, perhaps, that someone might join you there?”

A very faint smile curved Stephen Farr’s lips. He answered:

“It was possible, yes. One always hopes.”

And he grinned outright⁸.

Poirot said:

“Se?orita Estravados is very beautiful.”

Stephen answered:

“She’s easily the best thing to look at that I’ve seen since I came to England.”

“Did Miss Estravados join you?” asked Colonel Johnson.

Stephen shook his head.

“I was still there when I heard the rumpus. I came out into the hall and ran hell for leather tosee what was the matter. I helped Harry Lee to break the door down.”

“And that’s all you have to tell us?”

“Absolutely all, I’m afraid.”

Hercule Poirot leaned forward. He said softly:

“But I think, Monsieur Farr, that you could tell us a good deal if you liked.”

Farr said sharply:

“What d’you mean?”

“You can tell us something that is very important in this case—the character of Mr. Lee. Yousay that your father talked much of him to you. What manner of a man was it that he described toyou?”

Stephen Farr said slowly:

“I think I see what you’re driving at. What was Simeon Lee like in his young days? Well—you want me to be frank, I suppose?”

“If you please.”

“Well, to begin with, I don’t think that Simeon Lee was a highly moral member of society. Idon’t mean that he was exactly a crook⁹, but he sailed pretty near the wind. His morals werenothing to boast about anyway. He had charm, though, a good deal of it. And he was fantasticallygenerous. No one with a hard-luck story ever appealed to him in vain. He drank a bit, but notovermuch, was attractive to women, and had a sense of humour. All the same, he had a queerrevengeful streak¹⁰ in him. Talk of the elephant never forgets and you talk of Simeon Lee. My fathertold me of several cases where Lee waited years to get even with someone who’d done him a nastyturn.”

Superintendent¹¹ Sugden said:

“Two might play at that game. You’ve no knowledge, I suppose, Mr. Farr, of anyone whoSimeon Lee had done a bad turn to out there? Nothing out of the past that could explain the crimecommitted here this evening?”

Stephen Farr shook his head.

“He had enemies, of course, must have had, being the man he was. But I know of no specificcase. Besides,” his eyes narrowed, “I understand (as a matter of fact, I’ve been questioningTressilian) there have been no strangers in or near the house this evening.”

Hercule Poirot said:

“With the exception of yourself, M. Farr.”

Stephen Farr swung round upon him.

“Oh, so that’s it? Suspicious stranger within the gates! Well, you won’t find anything of thatkind. No back history of Simeon Lee doing Ebenezer Farr down, and Eb’s son coming over torevenge his dad! No,” he shook his head. “Simeon and Ebenezer had nothing against each other. Icame here, as I’ve told you, out of sheer curiosity. And moreover, I should imagine a gramophoneis as good an alibi¹² as anything else. I never stopped putting on records—somebody must haveheard them. One record wouldn’t give me time to race away upstairs—these passages are a milelong, anyway—slit¹³ an old man’s throat, wash off the blood, and get back again before the otherscame rushing up. The idea’s farcical!”

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 benignly¹⁴ 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 thishouse.”

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 straightforward¹⁵ enough. All the same,he’s the dark horse. He might have pinched those diamonds—might have come here with a bogusstory just to gain admittance. You’d better get his fingerprints¹⁶, 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. 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 financialposition of members of family. Get on to the lawyers and check up on will. Search house for theweapon and for bloodstains on clothing—also possibly diamonds hidden somewhere.”

“That covers everything, I think,” said Colonel Johnson approvingly. “Can you suggestanything, 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 somany ornaments¹⁷ and knickknacks in my life.”

“The hiding places are certainly abundant,” Poirot agreed.

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

The chief constable¹⁸ looked a little disappointed—rather like a man whose dog has refused todo 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 saidrather suspiciously:

“What line?”

“I would like,” said Hercule Poirot, “to converse¹⁹ — very often — very frequently — withmembers of the family.”

“You mean you’d like to have another shot at questioning them?” asked the colonel, a littlepuzzled.

“No, no, not to question—to converse!”

“Why?” asked Sugden.

Hercule Poirot waved an emphatic²⁰ hand.

“In conversation, points arise! If a human being converses²¹ much, it is impossible for him toavoid the truth!”

Sugden said:

“Then you think someone is lying?”

Poirot sighed.

“Mon cher, everyone lies—in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable toseparate 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 brutal²² murder—andwhom 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 justan ordinary modern lovely. David Lee seems a gentle creature and we’ve got his brother Harry’sword for it that he can’t stand the sight of blood. His wife seems a nice sensible woman—quitecommonplace. Remains²³ the Spanish niece and the man from South Africa. Spanish beauties havehot tempers, but I don’t see that attractive creature slitting²⁴ 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 hehad signed a new will. Stephen Farr’s a possibility—that is to say, he may be a professional crookand have come here after the diamonds. The old man discovered the loss and Farr slit his throat tokeep 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. IfFarr decided²⁵ to kill the old man he could have done it in a minute—Simeon Lee couldn’t possiblyhave put up that fight against him. Can one believe that that frail²⁶ old man and that magnificentspecimen of humanity struggled for some minutes overturning chairs and breaking china? Toimagine 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.

 

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